‘eyyy Cheeto puffs!

I hope everyone is enjoying this truly glorious season. For us Portlanders, it means the start of rain season. The start of what I like to call the Pac NW Uniform: jeans, rain boots (Hunter, most likely) and a black puffy coat of a reputable brand. So yeah, I’m actually kinda pissed about it but – que sera sera. I live here.

A couple weekends ago, my whole family gathered in lovely Spokane, WA for a visit to my alma-mater Whitworth University. I played volleyball there a decade ago a little while ago and was being honored for my contributions to the team! GO ME.

Here I am in the fieldhouse, with a picture of my thighs me hitting a ball in the background. We also watched the volleyball game and my HOW THE SPANDEX HAVE CHANGED.

In all seriousness though, it was a pretty special and important moment for me and I am still shocked that I was even considered.

Here I am with my former coaches from SFCC (not sure why I look SO incredibly pointy):

And here I am with some of my teammates and coach from Whitworth:

We also attended a Whitworth football game! A first for me.

All in all, pretty dang sah-sweet.

But then we all went to Manito Park and Amy and Shannon met us and my heart exploded with love for my family and of course, Tate was his usual adorable self.

Then we got a family pic taken from the worst angle EVER but whatever.

Before leaving, we sat Tate on a bench to see if he’d let us take his picture and it actually worked!

Happy fall good friends!

Good morning little pumpkins!

As you all probably know, my darling nephew Tate turned 2 a couple of weeks ago. To celebrate, we made the trek over to Kennewick, donned our Mickey (and Minnie) ears and partied hard with lil’ Taterbug.

My mom and I spent Saturday morning decorating her house and I wish I would have taken more pictures because it was SO friggen’ cute.

Auntie Rachel made the perfect Mickey cake you see here. It was delish!

We did however, all have black frosting mouths which reminded me of the following scene from a Pee-Wee Herman movie that used to creep me the F out.

Of course, Tate gobbled it down. He wasn’t sure about it at first…

But then started shoveling.

The party was super fun and Meg did an amazing job of everything, per usual.

OH! And Tate got baby-Wranglers. I. CANNOT. HANDLE. IT.

In other news…

I brought Meira to work the other day because I had driven my car and it was pretty much the best thing. I think I pretty much qualify for a service dog too because just having her with me made my day so much easier. Dogs > Humans.

She looks so sheepish here! She laid right by my desk all day and let everyone pet her and gave her love. Meira is quite simply, the best dog there is.

Also…

One of my favorite things about E is her imaginative and nurturing mind. She absolutely LOVES playing with her babies and is just so precious with them. Her newest baby Charlotte, came with a tiny, front-facing doll carrier that she can wear and it is just about as cute as you could expect. It is so awesome when David and I are doing stuff around the house and we can hear her talking and singing to her babies. I remember doing the same things when I was her age. Gah! The rampant cuteness :).

Anyway, the other day I came downstairs and she asked me for a flashlight. We didn’t end up finding one so I suggested a cell phone light and when I came into the living room to see what she wanted it for, I found this:

It’s a doll fort. And she packed them little bags with clothes and necessities they would need. Just absolutely so darling.

And that’s all for now! Au revoir BBs.

 

Alright my sweet angel baby.

Auntie’s already turned on the ol’ water works over your two years on this earth and she is barely holding it together. So let’s get to it!

Since you’ve turned ONE a whole year ago, you have been a busy little guy.

You really got into the spirit for your second Halloween! I believe Mommy also put you in a Hamburger outfit which I have made you wear multiple times since then against your will.

Your rocked your plaids and Patagonia and harvest festivals were MOST DEF your thang.

Facetiming with you on Nana’s iPad and with Mommy really helped me to get through the months where we didn’t get to see each other.

But when I did come to see you, it was always pure bliss. You can bring a smile to my face like nobody else can.

Even though sometimes you resist my love…

And while you’ve NEVER been a good sleeper (sorry Meg), you have always rocked those jammies like a superstar.

Another thing you became ob-SEH-sed with is Mickey Mouse.

Nothing can put you in a trance like Mickey.

And Christmas was just theeee best last year!

Since the new year, you’ve been doing lots of fun things! Such as:

Getting hair cuts from Auntie Shannon!

Eating lots of food. Your favorites are pancakes but we all know how much you’re gonna love candy! Muahahahaaaa

Going on trips!

Here you are at our house!

At the park in Sellwood!

At the zoo!

And of course the Beach!

Seattle!

The weather warmed up at home and you were off to the races!

But of course, all that traveling meant lots of good sleep for Mama.

Recently, you’ve been quite the comedian and even learned the classic “CHEEEEEEEESE!” photo face:

You’ve also decided that in life, pants (and clothing) should be optional.

On our family trip, you got to spend lots of time with your favorite little girl E.

And I learned that taking pictures of you while you’re watching TV or while you’re in your car seat is the only way for you to stay still!

Sometimes, you act like the big two year old boy that you are – and prove that being two really is terrible!

But then you get over it.

You can so many words now! You say Mama, Dada, Papa, bowwwwwwl, oval (ohhh-vuhhl), baby (bee bee), bye bye, go!, yeah-yeah, noo and lots more. You know all your colors, body parts, and most importantly, the difference between a dump truck, tractor and pickup truck! You can shake your head yes and no, wave bye bye, make amazing animal sounds, wrestle, be sneaky and of course giggle for hours (my personal fave).

You can draw too!

There is no little boy on this planet that I love more than you my sweet . Keep being the precocious, sweet, expressive little human that you are.

With all my love,

Auntie Nataweee

 

 

 

 

Chassé!

Jeté!

Plié!

You guys. I am officially a ballerina.

Well, technically I am not a proper ballerina, since that word is only reserved for professional, principal dancers at a ballet company.  But I am DARN CLOSE.

On a more serious note, YES. I did sign up for Adult Beginning Ballet at an academy in our neighborhood. 18+. no dance experience needed, one hour per week, ballet shoes required. It was a no-brainer.

You see, I have been fascinated by ballet my entire life. It is without a doubt, one of the hardest things a person can do and I am just enamored by the pros who make it look easy. I love absolutely everything about ballet, the music, the grace, the costumes, THE BUNS, and just how incredibly beautiful it is.

Being an athlete my whole life, I always felt, basically trained my body to be the polar opposite of a ballet dancer. So I never even thought doing ballet as an adult was a thing.

WELL. Apparently it is!

I signed up with my pal Olga and we were among about 10 others in the class. Our teacher explained about alignment, strengthening our feet and how even at the age of 90, a person can become flexible again. She even mentioned that if we work hard enough, we could learn to go en pointe!

I peed a little.

During the class, we warmed up, did demi-pliés, tondus and elevés. We worked on first and fifth position and having our arms en bas and in the first position. We stretched at the end…which for me, was basically this:

But like, it’s okay because I got to:

• Wear a bun
• Put on little tiny dangly earrings
• Wear ballet shoes and point my feet in them
• Listen to classical music at the barre

Here’s Olga and I in all our glory at the end of class:

LIVE YOUR DREAMS guys.

live your dreams.

Here we are at the end of our first class.