Let Summer Begin!

What better way to celebrate the end of another school year and the start of summer than with a great visit from NomiAnn.  Super generous with her time, she was on a plane and headed to Washington within 48 hours of having arrived back home from her 10 day field trip to Europe with her own Central students.

Never one to miss a moment with her grandbabies, NomiAnn generously volunteered to be daycare for my last three days of school.  What a superwoman!

I love this picture because if you look closely you’ll see that Eila’s holding her bottle in one hand and her binky in the other...just to make sure she knows where they both are. 

As usual, NomiAnn arrived with suitcases full of treasures for our little bump.  Papa Kay always says Nomi Ann is happiest when she has a baby to sew for - and clearly our little one is equally happy to serve as her youngest muse.

FLOWER POWER!!!

Our first weekend brought celebrations for Adam’s first Father’s Day.  While he may not have been lavished in presents and gifts that day (his “new” baby backpack didn’t appear until Wednesday) - we certainly attempted to smother him in love.

Daddy and Daughter.  Eila’s wearing her Eric Carle dress her papa bought for her at Easter.  Thanks to her discovery of solid foods, she’s finally taking a lesson from the hungry caterpillar and is almost big enough to wear it!

Adam’s one request for his special day was a good hike through the trails of Point Defiance Park.  While it turned out that the original plan for a 5 mile hike became a bit overwhelming for us all, we certainly enjoyed the miles we completed.

A family fit for walking.  Wait a minute...who’s the stroller for?

Alternate transportation methods employed.  Pretty cute hat, Adam!

Later explorations in the week brought us to a new park with swings and perfect Eila-sized slides!

Wheeee!

Several months ago I agreed to speak to an audience at the Anacortes Public Library about my experiences on the Hobbit.  The Wilhoit’s were, as usual, amazing hosts.  They recruited many of their friends to come and fill the library space where I spoke, and then invited everyone back to their beautiful home for desserts and baby ogling.

The next morning, though, Oma didn’t need to share at all - Eila was all hers!

Pretty pink Hawaiian dress brought to you all by Oma (via, I suspect, the Red Door :) )

As much as we loved the great company and beauty of Anacortes, I have been promising my mom a trip to Leavenworth, WA for years.  Since we were already up North and had a day to spare, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to cut a few hours off of the journey and do some exploring.  

Little Miss Periwinkle the Prius was valiant in her chugging over Stevens Pass to get us to this Bavarian gem in the middle of the Cascade Mountain Range.  Eila was almost has brave - napping for at least half of the drive.  

Upon arrival, our first stop was a large, shady tree in the town square for a chance to nurse the babe in  a beautiful location.  We were serenaded, of course, by a local accordion playing troubadour.  Once Eila was well fed - it was time for the adults to find some fare.  When in Bavarian - do as the Germans and enjoy a good Bratwurst (or chicken-brat).

Extra sauerkraut, of course!

Gorgeous though it was for pictures, the weather was oppressively warm.  There weren’t nearly enough misters, fans, or air-conditioners to keep ups entertained for more than a few hours, so we stopped back at the city center to enjoy the beautiful planters for a photo opportunity, and then popped back in Peri for a ride back to Puyallup via Snoqualmie Pass (you know, to keep the snipers on their toes).

Back in Puyallup again, Mom and I have been checking tasks off of the to-do list as fast as my sewing machine can sew.  Check out these cute baby leg warmers I finally made!

The ruffle bum comes courtesy of Aunt Kara and Cousin Annika

Sunday is a day of rest, though - so today we put down the pins and escaped to Lake Tapps for some relaxation in the breeze and shade.

Dad’s dream!

I’m trying hard not to feel melancholy that mom’s only here for two more days - but we have truly enjoyed having her stay with us for so long.  Thankfully, our New York adventures are just a few weeks away - so we won’t have to be apart for long!

Splishin’ and Splashin'

Puyallup, Washington is the proud new host to a brand new splash pad.  Situated less than 50 feet from our front door, we are sure to be frequent visitors this summer.

The “before” shot.  Is it just me or does Adam look a bit nervous?

Eila loves bath time and delights in playing with the running water from the faucet, so we were fairly confident that she would love the splash pad.

Things seemed to start off well. 

We might have misjudged her reaction.

OhhhhhKay.  Maybe not, yet!

Eila may not be a huge fan of the cold water, just now - but rest assured that the new splash pad will have plenty of other visitors.  

And this was later in the afternoon when we hoped it would be less busy!

Thankfully, there is still plenty of green space surrounding our new water park.

Loving the traction of this furry green carpet!

Even the most devoted sun worshipers need to rehydrate eventually - so the evening found us at a favorite local BBQ watering hole - where my baby promptly stole my drink.

Bottoms up!

Moving and Grooving!

It was a busy week around the Wilhoit Jr household.  Eila Kay was in fine form and vaulting over milestones like they were nothing at all.  All I can say to that is “TOO SOON!”  She’s just growing up too fast - but it’s so much fun to watch!

It all started at the end of May (the 29th, to be exact) when Adam and I got a text from Jamie, our daycare mom, saying that Eila had finally turned over from back to front and was on the move (in reverse - but still moving).  We’d been watching her carefully in the days prior - just waiting for her to finally figure it out - but we mostly just ended up with situations that ended up looking like this.  A better mom would grab the baby - but I reached for the camera, instead.

Who turned out the lights?  Am I on my belly yet?

Thankfully, Jamie does a much better job encouraging Eila than we do - so we eventually got to this point.

As if finding your tummy wasn’t enough fun - Eila also adopted a fun new toy last weekend.  Replacing the swing she has largely outgrown - she is working on growing legs long enough to support her in her new exersaucer.  I think the wide variety of activities available is still a little overwhelming - but she enjoys it for short visits.  

Smiling in the saucer!

Once the workweek arrived - it was time to take on another first - sign waving!  Puyallup’s teachers voted for a one day walk-out to protest the state legislature that took place on Wednesday.  As a result, Eila and I joined 800 of our fellow educators waving signs and attending rallies in our park.  I suppose it’s never too early to become an activist!

Shirt says “A child is more than a test score."

Honk if you’re cute!  (Eila got lots of horn beeps).

Personally, I'd like to stage my own protest against Eila’s diligent work towards becoming more mobile.

Alas, I suppose if she starts crawling then she’ll be capable of coming over to retrieve her own pretzels.  I do believe we have a carb-a-holic on our hands (and face, and arms, and neck)

The line for more pretzels starts behind me!

A Memorable Memorial Day

I’m pretty sure long weekends were invented to keep families like our sane.  As a Washington teacher, I always find the slog from Spring Break to Memorial Day to be the toughest part of the year.  This was no exception.  Thus, when the blessed day finally arrived (and I hadn’t strangled my 6th period 7th grade guys) Adam, Eila, Zoe and I packed up a few bags and headed to the peninsula.

Dressed to impress - it’s important to travel in style.  We are particularly excited that this onesie given by cousin Claire finally fits our Petit Chou.

True to Washington stereotypes, our beautiful sun deserted us just in time for the long weekend.  Working on our webbed feet, we were not to be deterred from a bit of an excursion.  We started with a visit to Fort Flagler outside of Port Townsend.

Just the ladies!

Since the weather wasn’t cooperating for real adventuring on the water, Adam had to settle for fishing for his baby in the hotel room.

A real catch!

While we certainly enjoyed our short time in Port Townsend, the next morning found us eager to give Eila her first ride on a ferry.

The Kennewick was a great introduction to the ferry system.   We even saw porpoises along the way!

Not to be outshone by a hunk of white and green floating metal, Eila stole a bit of the ferry’s thunder by first showing off her new sitting alone skills aboard the rocking vessel.

So proud of herself!

Back on dry land, we headed out to state park #2 of the weekend.  Just as you drive off the ferry on Whidbey Island you practically run into Fort Casey.  Since the day was nicer - we did a bit more exploring.

Fort Casey has a bunch of deserted gun batteries that visitors can climb over and explore.  Eila and I made Adam just slightly nervous scaling the walls in tandem.  

Zoe, Eila and I explore a beachside driftwood teepee.

Meanderings complete - we were eager to make our way across the island and over to Anacortes to visit the Wilhoits.

Grandma time = food time!

Mmmm - celery munches well!

A gift from her Aunty Aunt Lanette - Eila and Oma show off her newest flamingo sundress.

As usual, Anacortes cast its sleeping spell over us all.  Eila enjoyed her snooze so much that she wore her pajamas to breakfast the next morning.  All snuggled up in her cuddly sleepsack, Eila looked quite a bit like our favorite Frozen Snowman, Olaf.

My what a long nose you have!

Unfortunately adventures must come to an end sometime.  We’re lucky to get to return to such a lovely home with such happy inhabitants.

Donning a pinafore worn by her momma decades before, Eila shows off her sitting alone skills...just before that 93% noggin’ took her for a face plant to the carpet.  Thank goodness she already has a pug nose!