Friday Roundup



Happy Friday! I'm excited to be a guest at a wedding this weekend, it's always fun to get to wear a dress and eat lots of cake when you're so used to be the one taking pictures of all the action!

I have a few links for you, but not a ton. It's the time of year when we should all be outside and not indoors on the internet! I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Life goals. 

Perfect summery salad that I want to eat right now.

Rank and Style's picks of the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale for clothes and also for beauty. 

Baby penguin!

Would you sleep in this hotel "room"?

40th anniversary of US Women's Basketball in the Olympics...


Ireland!



If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed that I quickly popped out of the country to Ireland for a few days. It was a last minute trip, but so much fun! I loved getting to be there with Jason this time, as last time it was a girls trip to visit Teresa when she was living in Dublin.

As with most of our travels, it was technically a work trip, but it also sort of doubled as a mini anniversary getaway :) 

For the most part, we were driving through the Irish countryside and it was lovely to be out of a city and in a place that felt so different from my normal. 








Fiona's Birth Story


Better late than never!

Fiona Maeve was born on May 27th via a planned c-section -- pretty much the exact opposite of her brother's birth. After my first traumatic labor and emergency c-section I considered a VBAC but in the end decided that since I'm really not a good candidate (small pelvis) and I didn't want to end up with another emergency situation I would go for the planned c-section. It was a hard decision for me but one that made the most sense for all of us.

Ready to go for surgery and meet our little girl!
On the morning of her birth we arrived at the hospital with all of our stuff after a good night's sleep (so different). The nurses took great care of us and my anesthesiologist was absolutely amazing. After about 90 minutes of taking vitals and getting prepped we were wheeled down to the operating room. I was feeling very nervous and excited at this point, everything seemed like it was going SO quickly. I was administered the spinal which would numb me from the waist down, which stung but not as bad as I was anticipating. The worst part of the day was right after I got the spinal, I started to feel very nauseous and tingly throughout my whole body. I thought maybe I was going to feel like this for the whole surgery but within 5-10 minutes my body felt numb and a complete calm washed over me.

I had a moment to look around and made a comment about how exciting it was that there were about 10 people in the room and only one (besides Patrick) was a man (a scrub tech in the corner). I had two female OB's performing the surgery, a female anesthesiologist, and a whole bunch of amazing female nurses. It will be so fun to tell my daughter that she came into the world surrounded by a group of talented female clinicians!



After about 20 minutes we heard that she was about to come into the world! There was a little clear section of plastic in the drape that was shielding the surgery which was opened and after a little pressure on my abdomen she was right there in front of us! The first thing I said was "she looks exactly like her brother!!" Then I asked if she was really small because she seemed so tiny to me. I think it was just in comparison to her huge older brother. They told me she was normal size. :)


After a couple of minutes clearing her lungs they set her on my chest and she immediately relaxed, was quiet and snuggled in to me -- which is soooo her personality still. The doctors and nurses remarked that she was a very relaxed baby and it was unusual that she was so calm. She laid on my chest for another 40 minutes while they stitched me up and I think Patrick and I were on cloud nine just smiling and taking photos. After that we got wheeled upstairs to our room and spent the rest of the day feeding her and meeting family.




Fiona's birth-day was really sweet and heavenly, I couldn't have hoped for more from my planned c-section. I will say that the next day reality began to settle in that I was going to have a long recovery from major surgery. I unfortunately had a tear in my bladder during the procedure (caused by previous scar tissue) that caused me to have to wear a catheter home for a week. I would never recommend a c-section to someone who can give birth vaginally but it was definitely the right choice for us. And two months later I am feeling great!


Happy Birthday Myles!


Mr. Mylo turned THREE last week! Where did the time go? It was the first holiday that he has asked me if I'm getting him a present so it was also the first time I actually bought and wrapped him one! In the past he has gotten ample presents from family and friends so I never bothered with it. We bought him some Magna-Tiles and a remote control car (Patrick's idea and a huge hit). I also made him cupcakes from scratch (this delicious recipe) and regretted it immediately, who do I think I am? SOOO time consuming.


Here is a little snapshot of our three year old:
  • He is a curious, sweet, sensitive, inquisitive, caring, energetic, gentle giant. He weighs 40 lbs and is very tall for his age, entering into 5T clothes already. 
  • He loves his baby sister, cousins, Rafa, and being with our family. Our little extrovert often asks me first thing when he wakes up in the morning "who is coming over to our house today?" 
  • He loves to read books of all kinds but especially about animals. Bunnies and ducks are two of his favorites. 
  • He likes to eat shrimp, hot dogs, berries/fruit of all kinds (nectarines are a current fav), grilled cheese, and of course ice cream. He also still drinks a ton of milk.
  • His favorite TV shows are Blaze and the Monster Machines, Super Why, and anything to do with trucks and construction. He is also majorly into Space Jam right now which cracks me up. 
  • Although he doesn't even watch the TV show, he is totally obsessed with Ninja Turtles. I swear he almost cried for joy when he got a Michelangelo T-Shirt for his birthday. 
  • He has a huge vocabulary and is CONSTANTLY asking why why why? We are very excited for him to start preschool in the fall and quench his thirst for knowledge :P
  • He loves playing soccer with his dad in the field across the street from our house and throwing rocks in to the water at Lake Washington. 
  • He's a great little sleeper still and would nap for 3-4 hours a day if we didn't wake him up so he'll sleep at night. 
  • Patrick has taught him to ask people questions about themselves so everyday he'll ask people "How was your sleep mommy?" "How is your day Mimi?" "How was your work Daddy?" -- It's pretty much my favorite thing. 
  • He does not enjoy brushing his teeth, having his finger nails cut, bugs of any kind, ketchup, or potty training. 
Happy Birthday Butter! I love you!

Friday Roundup


After a long hiatus we are back at the blog! It's been a busy but fun summer for me -- having a newborn and a toddler is no joke but we've been making some great summer memories along the way too. I'll be sure to catch everyone up next week with some photos of what we've been up to. Hope you are enjoying your summer!

This weekend I'm co-hosting a baby shower for a friend and trying to get some much needed sleep. What are you up to?

Here are some links from around the web to get us started:

This is maybe the most romantic meet-cute ever.

Loving the "READ WATCH BINGE" installment on NPR this summer! Brilliant idea.

Need a vacay? 35 awesome (affordable) AirBnB's.

Fascinating tales from a certain ghost writer.

This movie teaser is intriguing. And yes, that is Gosling's voice.

Prince George is as cute as ever. That dog tho.

Definitely need to book a night in this Seattle hotel for a special occasion this year.

Love these essential oil combos. 

These look sooo delicious.

10


It's been a busy summer! But Jason and I paused the non-stop working on projects for a day to celebrate our TENTH wedding anniversary on the 15th. That's right, TEN. 10. How did we get here?

We talked about doing something big, going somewhere, etc. etc. and in the end, I told Jason I wanted to eat cheeseburgers and ice cream in bed, but also have some fun photos so we look like people who do more with their spare time than eat cheeseburgers and watch The Office while laying in bed with cats. 

Our wonderful friends Johnny and Julia of Mazagran Photography hung out with us for a few hours and snapped a few pictures of us around our neighborhood. 






And of course, because it's us, we did cool things like this...





Friday Roundup


Happy Fourth of July Weekend! This is the first 4th in YEARS that I haven't been at a wedding! Our plans are pretty low key and my main goals for the weekend include getting out of the city and reading in the sun as much as possible.

Happy Canada Day today to my friends from the north! Lets all celebrate with this list of all the reasons Justin Trudeau is awesome. 

These fake animal facts are just the best. 

Why you should hire a professional organizer. (I really need to do this!)

Donkey milk masks and other cult favorite Korean beauty products to try...

Make ahead salads for a week of lunches, for people like me who need to stop eating at the taco truck every day...

I'm currently listening to "The Most Beautiful Song in the World" playlist on Spotify.

Yoga Nidra, something I need more of in my life.

Wine & Popcorn