Tate’s Birthday Weekend

September 22, 2016September 21, 2016Leave a comment

Last weekend, David and I and E (David’s daughter) were delighted to attend Tate M. Johnson’s very first birthday party!

(yes, David has a daughter. she is sweet, hilarious, ridiculously charismatic and precocious)

Anyways, we had been counting down the days until this little gentleman turned one and could not wait to celebrate this milestone with him. So we hit the road after school on Friday, blasted “wildest dreams” by Tay-Tay and scream sang.

Friday night we had an awesome dinner or chicken, potstickers, random cut-up vegetables with plenty of Ken’s Ranch and a Caesar salad. RANDOM and delicious.

Saturday morning we woke up and Tate came over for his Danielson presents.

My mom made him THEE sweetest little cloth book with all sorts of interactive, movable pieces inside that he could play with. She had worked on it for about 6 months!

Nan also got him an Ikea train set which he already loves.

I got him a Puddle Jumper (those floatie life-jacket things that go around their waist), a Leaping Frog “Scout” teddy bear and the below pictured Mickey Mouse shirt.

The rest of the day was spent prepping for Tate’s party in the form of baking a tater tot casserole (we used this recipe) and getting balloons. Then it was time for his party!

Haaaaaaaahahhaa gotta love this pic.

He was pretty bashful about the cake. He started picking off individual sprinkles and then got more and more into it. We had E go over and help him get the idea (the two of them LOVE each other) and then he kinda dove in more.

He got some great presents and everyone was just so happy to be a part of his first birthday.

I think I was the most excited…

Seattle + Baby Policar

August 11, 20163 Comments

Happy Thursday guys!

Who is watching the Olympics!?

OMG I could NOT be more obsessed with women’s gymnastics. I need to order myself a leotard for a 6-footer for 2020 because I would just like, walk around the house in one while it’s on.

But today, I’m not here to talk about Michael Phelps, The Fierce Five or the CRAZY latissimus dorsi muscles on those woman swimmers (circled below, for reference).

11843174

Today I am here to talk baby. A Policar baby, to be exact that shall belong to my cousin Mike and his wife Karen.

The shower was on Saturday morning, which meant David and I left the night before. On our way, we encountered a 1980’s RV fully engulfed in flames #nature.

I rode to the shower with my mom and Meg (the hosts of the shin-dig) and sat next to none other than Tate M. Johnson. We talked about politics, the upcoming Olympic competition and of course, growing teeth.

We arrived and I admired my mom and sister’s decorating handiwork.

My job was to watch Tate so they could arrange, prep and yell at eachother. SO I did.

Trying unsuccessfully to get him to take a nap

Then we put out all the food and Karen showed up to grace us with her royal cuteness.

OF COURSE Nan and Tate matched the party #ontheme.

Then I snapped what is now one of my fave pics of Tate…

His face THO

Then Rachel showed up with the cupcakes! These had marshmallow cream in the middle.

Auntie Rachel relieved me during the present-opening and rocked Tate for a bit. When I came back, I found Tate partaking in his favorite activity!

She got some baby sh*t, you know.

I forgot a card for her gift of diapers (PRACTICAL) so I made one real quick in the kitchen:

Outside (and Office fans out there?)

Inside

Karen got my mom and Meg THEEEE cutest thank you gifts ever too. Does it get better than macarons and champs? No, I don’t believe it does.

All-in-all a great little shower for Karen. No poop diaper game or chugging beer through a baby bottle but hey, there’s always my shower when I’m FORTY.

Sunriver Trip 2016

July 20, 2016July 20, 2016Leave a comment

Happy summer everyone!

Have I even said that yet? Summer is basically like half way over and I am like already depressed. A family trip to Sunriver was just what the doctor ordered.

I arrived on Wednesday night after the entire Britney Spears Greatest Hits album as well as 1.5 Red Bulls and half a tube of Chewy Spree. The fam had just returned from dinner so I toasted myself up an english muffin with gobs of Country Crock and mixed a vodka + fresca for sustenance. We then discovered the cabin we rented for the week came equipped with THEE most necessary board game ever:

You guys, this game is somethin’ else, I highly suggest it #zitstickers.

The house also had this enormous deck, in which Tate looooved to run around in his walker on. While we played Girl Talk, he happily ran around like a banshee, baby babbling and drooling away. Then he came over and put his hands up so Nan plucked him out and his little feet were SO filthy and his big toe had popped through his jammies! So, we grabbed a pair of scissors from the kitchen and just whacked off the ends #whitetrashbaby.

And then he fought sleep for a million years and Nan ended up getting him to take a snooze while I stole a pic:

The next morning I woke up and of course played with Tate.

As did Nan and Gare:

Ok maybe Gary was watching TV

We ate some brek and the gals + Binny decided it would be fun to go for a float down the Deschutes! So we rented tubes, filled a cooler with ice, vodka, red bull and puffy Cheetos and hit the water.

After we floated, I came home and ~~PTFO~~ took a princess-like snooze. Then I woke up and did some Snaps with the folks.

That night after dinner, we went for a walk and I wore Tate on m’back. He was being the cutest ever.

The next morning, we woke up and explored the little Sunriver “village”. Tate found a little kids play area with rocks and a rope walk to be quite enjoyable.

After that, we ventured over to Lava Lands to walk through the Lava Tube, which sounds really weird. Nan and I decided to stay put in the car with Tate, but we did walk around a little first.

Next up was lunch in Bend, at Deschutes Brewery.

This was just my show beer. AKA my Dad’s. I would never drink this grossness.

Then we did a little shopping around Bend (such cute shops) and David joined! I got these cool shades:

The next day we all went to Cultus Lake and Nan rented us a party barge for the morning! We did a little fishing (unsuccessfully) and drank a bottle of wine (successfully). Tate roamed around the boat, bein’ all cute and I realized that I pretty much reallllly need a boat.

What a beautiful lake! I highly recommend it. as far as bodies of water go. Meg HATED the name cuullltus. It IS kindof a gross name for a lake.

So anyway, that was basically it. Fun times for us!

Independence, Wine & Sweet Baby Tate

July 12, 2016Leave a comment

We went wine tasting with David’s folks over in Hood River and had a swell time. The weather was SUPER hot, but somehow we still managed to consume large amounts of delicious wine. And cheese and meat.

teehee

And the next day we got pedicures and it was glorious! (David gets no polish because he is ~~boring~~ a man). P.S I LOVE how all the nail salons are using fresh files, buffers and toe-separators for every person now! I don’t mind spending the extra $2 to know that the file they’re using on me didn’t touch some fungi-ridden old lady foot but like, letsbereal cuz my feet ain’t winning any beauty contests either :).

Meira got a haircut! Look at this sweet girl.

I celebrated not only America’s day of independence but also Canada’s! The company I work for is based in Canada so I felt it only appropriate to celebrate by wearing a hockey jersey. Other options were a puff-painted shirt I would have had to make that said ” I (maple leaf) Maple Syrup!”

Apologies for thee most scraggly hair

I was also introduced to SPARKLING espresso from Portland Roasting and BALLS was it good! They put a little chocolate in it, and the slight effervescence is seriously delightful.

4th of July was up a few days later and we had QUITE the weekend. Part of it was spent at House Danielson (sorry, too much GOT) and the other half in Portland with David’s family. Here are some highlights.

Splash pad FUN!

Of course, Tate remains my tiny best friend. I meaaaaannnnnn…LOOK AT HIM.

p.s he has 4 teeth and the upper 2 are so cute and really far apart, as megan says “you could fit a whole other tooth in there.”

Here hims is with my Grandma Fran. She can’t remember much these days but she absolutely ADORES Tate and when she plays with him my heart cannot take the sweetness and I literally die a little inside because it’s so stinkin’ cute.

Gary D + Tate. These two are completely hilarious together. They crack each other up. Chase one another around the living room and go for sweet walks together. Here we are at the Duck Pond, enjoying some bevs after playing put put.

Meg proudly displaying the hole she kicked all our asses at. She’s lovely no?

And of course Snapchat filters on Tate for the WIN.

Annnnnd one more of Tate in jammies, just for good measure.

Weekending & T-Giving 2015

December 1, 20151 Comment

Hello mini-seahorses!

What wonderful weekends I’ve been having! A couple weeks ago, Nan, Megan and Mr.Tate decided to come for a visit and I was beyond excited to have this tiny human back in my life.

Girls weekends with Megan and Nan usually involve shopping from about 11 am to 9 pm, with lunch, wine and maybe some fro-yo sprinkled in. Us gals can go go go. We usually start out at a mall, throw in Nordstrom Rack, some consignment stores and then to appease Nan, we’ll hit up a Goodwill right before closing time so she can contemplate a book on CD entitled “The Jewels of Tessa Kent”. But now. Things are a bit different having a tiny gentlemen in tow. We decided the safest option was a straight-up shopping mall and what better place than stroller-ridden Washington Square?

First, we woke up and had play time:

Then we walked down to Jim and Pattie’s for brek:

Then we hit WA Square and Meg gave the Ergo Baby a whirl.

Tate was a champ for the first couple of hours, happily snoozing in the pram and periodically opening those eyes (lined with LONG eyelashes now!) to stare up at these crazies subjecting him to horrible techno at H&M. We went to all our faves, like Pottery Barn Kids and Nordstrom (places I can definitely afford).

Of course I did this.

I found one of those cheesy-ass signs that actually makes perfect sense:

Then, we stumbled upon what could very well be the CUTEST and most magical place in Portland, Lolli & Pop’s!

Look what the employees wear. OMG.

Aside from the fact that everything at Lolli & Pop’s costs $14,000, I am totally a fan.

We had lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe and then I grabbed a Candy Mountain Bubble Bar from Lush! We knew Tate wasn’t going to last much longer, so we all got in the car and made an attempt at Nordstrom Rack before quickly realizing Tater Tot was done. The weekend wrapped up with the three of us watching movies and trying to get Tate to smile (which I am SO good at).

And then of course, it was T-Giving! I drove home after work on Wednesday and spent 3 glorious days at my parents new digs.

The first night, I partook in the following activities:

Playing with Gare’s new label-maker:

teehee

2. Eating gingersnaps

3. Looking at the butter sculpture Nan bought:

4. Taking photo-booth pics of Nan while she was asleep on the couch eating butterscotch disks:

baahahahaaaaaaaaaa

The next day I watched the parade in my jammies and got mad that I missed the Hello Kitty balloon. Tate and Megan came over and I played with him and fell even more in love.

Then, we put hims in his OOTD:

Then I combed my hair and put some makeup on and a headband to go to my grandparent’s for T-Give:

Thanksgiving dinner was spent at my grandparents, which meant we were all sweating from the permanent 80 degree setting on their thermostat.

If that wasn’t enough, my grandma also got out her scarf collection and had me pick out a few for myself (I currently own about 40 of these already), but I was a sport and acted completed delighted to sport a thinly knitted bit of periwinkle! We stupidly only brought one bottle of wine over, so I was reduced to sipping from an old bottle of Disaronno I found behind my grandparents’ 2008 Mall Walkers participation plaque. At this point, I was lookin’ purty good:

Then Ben and Megan brought Tate over and ta-dah!!! Instant distractions and something to stare at for 2 hours! I did snap a few adorable pics though:

Four generations!

Reasons why this is the cutest ever: 1.) They are matching 2.) Tate’s smile 3.) My grandpa’s giant hand 4.) They are matching

And thennnnn we did the unthinkable. Nan, Megan, Tate and I went to Macy’s. This year, they opened their doors at 6 pm and I was really jonesing for the $25 Ariana Grande bubble bath. After grabbing a few deals, we mozied by BBW on our way out and I was terribly disspointed at their half-assed sale. Buy 3, Get 3 Free!?!? WTF. That is, like, NOT a good deal. Give me $8 dollar candles or 75% off of something! GHODddd.

Anyweeeez – the next day was spent hanging with Amy and Shannon, playing cards, drinking Svedka and 7’s and me having perpetual bed-head, which was making Megan actually mad at me. Excuse me if I don’t want to comb my hair for 24 hours.

I made it back to Portland safe and sound and immediately jumped (ok stepped) into my bathtub for a candy mountain soak. NOT A BAD END, my friends.

The Cutest Weekend

September 28, 2015Leave a comment

Hello all you red and pink Starbursts!

Last week, two very awesome things happened to me.

I became an aunt
I became a chi-sitter

The high dose of cuteness was simply too much for me to handle. Here I was, driving down the highway on a sunny Saturday, Henry cozied up in a coil in his carseat (yes, he has a carseat), on the way to see my baby nephew who I had not been introduced to. On top of that, my parents finally moved into their new house and I was going to be their very first house-guest. My cheeks LITerally hurt from smiling and this time – no Redbulls were consumed. Just me, Henry, an awesomely entertaining book on tape and a couple fun-sized Snickers.

Loved this book!

I arrived in Kennewick and went straight over to the new digs. Nan and Gare are going to be so happy there, but right now moving-mode has made them both cray. I totally get it.

We promptly went over to Megan and Ben’s and wouldn’t you know it, Big Gare was holding Tate in the little chair by the window. He looked so tiny wrapped in my Dad’s embrace and yep – I started to cry.

Tate is very small. I don’t know what I was expecting – like an 8 pound BB is big? His head is pretty much totally round and he has a little bit of blonde hair. He has all ten fingers and ten toes and his skin gets red when he cries. He loves to wave his hands around and most of the time, they are right next to his mouth or on either side of his head. His legs get all stiff when you change his diaper and he has that gross belly button clip thingy so you have to fold the diaper down a little. I could talk about this tiny little human forever, I guess.

Megan only had one or two long-sleeved newborn onesies, so Nan and I ran to Fred Meyer to get more. I happened upon a couple a 40% off the lowest marked price racks and tried on a couple skirts (go fig!) to no avail. We bought a bunch more newborn things, a bottle of white wine and a bag of Pirate’s Booty. The we hit up Kennewick’s wide array of fine dining establishments for take-out. We got KFC for Nan and Ben and Bruchi’s for Meg and I. YUM.

That night, Nan and I opened up a bottle a’Hogue and I slipped into these awesome jammies.

The next day I woke up, drank coffee and ate cereal with measuring spoons (again, not everything has been moved to the new house). I threw Henry’s chewie around for a while and then he curled up in a sunny spot. Then we went for a little walk!

My mom and I brought Megan a Starbucks and she happily drank it while Nan and I gave Tate a bath.

Basically he screamed his little head off and Megan was yelling at us because we got his little belly button wet and apparently you aren’t supposed to. So, we scooped him out after about 15 seconds (no joke) and I got to lay with him while he calmed down and my heart was bursting with all the love and joyness.

A couple hours later, I had to drive back to Portland. I got stuck in traffic right after Hood River and my book on tape ended so I went ahead and scream-sang Sister Act 2 until my voice was hoarse. Henry slept through it all 🙂

The Hawks lost to the Packers that day but the warmth of Henry’s little body laying by my side made everything okay.

Oh, and here is Tate today!

Little Man Tate

September 17, 2015September 17, 2015Leave a comment

I. Have. A. NEPHEW.

And he has tiny nipples and tiny armpits. And he is perfect. And he has captured my heart and I haven’t even met him yet. Oh, and his name is Tate.

Megan, thanks for gettin preg and pushing this being out of ya. I really appreciate it. And Ben, you did okay too because now I can say all of these things:

Tater tot (obvi)
Tater McTottikins
T8-Dogg (Must be listening to Regulators while rocking him)
The Tate Escape
See ya Tater!

Best friends, we will be ♥