Our American Tale

Birthday Celebration in Washington

After our busy weekend of partying in Arizona, I returned home and jumped right back in with getting ready for Lucas' second first birthday party at home in Washington. Unfortunately, Lucas and I caught a stomach bug, so Tuesday was spent comforting my sick little buddy and Wednesday and Thursday I was completely out of commission as I spent most of my time either head in the toilet or sleeping next to it on the bathroom floor. I don't think I've ever been so sick! Fortunately, I was feeling a little more myself by Friday, so we had a marathon day of running errands, cleaning and disinfecting the house, prepping food and baking and decorating a cake. I'm not sure how it all got pulled together in one day, but somehow I made it! I'm just thankful I did some of the decorations in the weeks before our trip!

I was pretty proud of my centerpiece, mostly because I thought of it all on my own! (So take note, Land of Pinterest, this is an original!)

I picked up a bunch of tolsby frames at Ikea and freehanded the letters in velum. The truly hard part of the project was picking only ten photos to put in the double sided frames!

Instead of vases, I used our drinking glasses and just added coordinating ribbon. Easy peasy. The bunting I sewed several weeks before the party (thank goodness!) and I plan to hang it in the nursery since it matches the blue of the room. The fabric for the bunting was my starting place since I didn't really have a theme for the party - I decided to just go with a color scheme.

This ribbon wreath was pretty easy to make - I cut and tied ribbon to a foam wreath while watching a bad Jason Statham movie with Dan one Saturday. I plan to do a couple more for Halloween and St. Patrick's Day.

I love hydrangeas! I was hell bent on having hydrangeas at the party. Costco only had this one batch left, but I was happy to take what I could get!

Flowers for the table

I did a birthday message on our new chalk board and added some paper bunting to make it look festive!

Chalk board paint is my new love. I had so much fun making the chalk board for the nook (and a big one in the laundry room) that I was brainstorming all the other surfaces that I could paint it on! I really like how these letters for Lucas' initials turned out. I wrote words on each letter that started with the same letter (L says laughter and love, for example).

I didn't get a proper photo of the food since I was still rushing around getting everything out by the time everyone started arriving. We had sandwiches on croissants, pasta salad, chips, veggies and fruit and raspberry chipotle meatballs.

Present opening was a lot of fun since Lucas seemed to be a little more practiced by this round. He had great helpers, also!

My drooly birthday boy, who was having a rough week with molars.

    

After presents, we were on to cake!

The proud parents with our birthday boy!

We had forgotten to sing Happy Birthday to Lucas at the AZ party, so he got his serenade around the candle this time around. We leaned in to blow out the candle, and he reached for the flame. As you can tell, I was a little surprised!

The cake was the only thing I was truly disappointed about. Sure, it doesn't look bad, but it's not particularly interesting. I had a great idea planned to do bunting along the sides of the top layer and polk-a-dots on the bottom layer, but I didn't have the time. Heck, I didn't even mix my own colors for this job. Pre-made and colored fondant saved me! I think this was the fastest I've ever pulled a cake together!

Another little trick I pulled out since I was short on time was these cookies. I bought the break and bake chocolate chip cookies and shoved blue and green M&Ms from the Easter mix in them once they were close to finished baking. Voila!

You can kind of see the cupcakes behind me in this one. What you can't see in this photo is the wall of children standing behind me waiting for cake. At one point, I turned to them with my giant knife in my hand and said "you all need to take two BIG steps backward!" You can tell I'm not well seasoned at this kid party thing yet!

Ombre cake layers! Lucas was a little out of his element as the day went on and I didn't think he'd tolerate being stripped down for cake. Since we had already done the big smash in Arizona, I decided we'd just skip it for the party at home. Teething takes the fun out of sugar layers!

The kids all went home with goodie bags filled with items from Target's great Spritz party line - a book, play-dough, crayons, and bubbles. The bags I picked up had pink ribbon for the handles, but I used some of my extra ribbon and rethreaded them to coordinate.

We had a great time with our friends and family and Lucas enjoyed his party so much! I was pooped by the time everyone left, but I was so thrilled that everyone made it to celebrate our boy's big birthday with us!

Later that evening, Lucas and Daddy got to enjoy his gifts and try out some new big boy toys!

That kiddo sure does love his wheels!

March 31, 2012

First Birthday in Arizona

We decided not long after Lucas was born to travel to Arizona for his first birthday. It's hard enough being away from grandparents and we didn't want them to miss out on this momentous milestone. Of course, since we have friends and family here in the PacNW also, that meant I would be planning two parties! Anyone who knows me knows that I had no qualms about throwing two first birthday parties!

Our trip home was a quick one, but we made the most of it!

On Friday, we started the day off with Gymboree! I thought it would be fun for the grandmas to join us, so we all headed to class together. They had a fun time seeing Lucas play on the equipment and interacting with the other babies.

Sweet boy.

That night, we went with Grandma and Papa Nelson to a Diamondbacks spring training game - Lucas' first D-Backs outing!

Saturday was spent golfing for Dan and running errands and party prep for me and mom. Grandma and Papa Nelson got to watch Lucas for the afternoon so we could make tracks without a baby in tow. We finished the evening with a joint Bakke/Nelson dinner.

And Sunday was the big day: Lucas' first birthday celebration!

I didn't really have a plan for the cake until I started mixing fondant, so I'm glad it turned out so cute! (If I do say so myself...)

Flowers with a little flair!

I put together a little photo collage of our boy and I'm pretty sure grandma still hasn't taken it down!

Lucas and grandpa taking a stroll before guests arrive.

    

Grandma made a wonderful spread of food - her ever popular barbeque with buns, chips, pasta salad, coleslaw, fruit and veggetables with dips, and bean salad. I did the cake, smash cake and cupcakes.

Lucas got so many wonderful gifts! We were so touched by everyone's generosity!

    

After opening presents, it was time for CAKE!

Oh mama that looks yummy!

Is that for me?!

Lucas wasted no time digging right in.

Of course since Lucas isn't a big eater, he didn't really want to put any of the cake in his mouth. Daddy figured he'd help out and gave a big smear of frosting on his lip. I think he was a little surprised by the offense.

I don't think he's a fan!

    

    

    

After we got Lucas cleaned up, it was time to serve the crowd cake and ice cream! We had 63 people in attendance to celebrate the day, so I'm glad I made plenty of cake and cupcakes. By the time the party was over there was only two slices of cake left!

It was a great day and Lucas really enjoyed the festivities, even without a nap! He got so many great gifts from our wonderful friends and family - a complete new wardrobe in the 18 month size and plenty of big boy toys and books! We borrowed my mom's largest suitcase to get most of it home (thank you, Southwest for your bags fly free policy!) and the rest had to be shipped! What a spoiled boy! The best part was seeing so many of our favorite faces there to celebrate our boy. It truly warms my heart!

We departed Phoenix for home on Lucas' actual birthday. On our way to the airport at 5:11 am, I sang happy birthday to our boy and told him how happy I was to be his mama. Most of Monday was spent napping and picking slowly at the unpacking and laundry. After a whirlwind weekend in Arizona, we were all tired!

March 22-26, 2012

Alfalfa

Lucas is finally getting some hair in and it looks like the most glorious blond baby comb-over ever. After spending a majority of his life without much hair, it's fun to see him starting to get "bed head" with his little sprouts.

March 13, 2012

Disneyland and the Tinkerbell Half Marathon

Had you told the puffy, seemingly ruined postpartum me that I'd run 13.1 miles 10 months after having a baby and live to tell about it, I'm not sure I would have believed you.

I started with the Couch to 5K program at 6 weeks postpartum and by June, I had signed up for the Inaugural Tinkerbell Half Marathon. Taking the plunge and just registering for the race was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Even though I was still struggling to run a full 3 miles at that time, I knew if I kept going I would make it to 13 miles.

And I did.

Crossing the finish line for my first half marathon was such a solidifying moment for me. The pride of that accomplishment meant more than fitting into my skinny jeans again. It meant I am strong and whole - that my formerly weak and wrecked postpartum body is now something amazing and powerful. It's not perfect, but I love it more now than I ever have before.

It was such a great weekend! 

Lucas and I flew in to Phoenix and met the grandparents at Sky Harbor to fly to LA together.

On Saturday, we did Disneyland. It had been two years since my last visit, so I was pretty excited. Lucas was obviously too small for a lot of attractions, but he really enjoyed looking at everything on the kiddie rides.

Our first ride of the day was my favorite Fantasyland attraction - Peter Pan's Flight!

Monstro!

It was unseasonably warm with plenty of sunshine, so within an hour of entering the park, we were stripping layers off of Lucas and trying on hats at the Mad Hatter Hat Shop to cover up his bald little head.

Lucas had solidly hit the NO HATS! milestone, so keeping him distracted with the strap to try and keep his cute little hat on was the task of the day.

After getting outfitted with new headgear - a wide brim hat for Lucas and some sparkly Minnie ears for mama, we were off to Dumbo the Flying Elephant.

Since we had detoured from our usual Bakke Family Disneyland Itinerary, we decided to head over to Pirates of the Caribbean next.

Lucas took his morning nap while we wound through line under the cool shade of New Orleans square.

I was a little nervous how he'd do on Pirates of the Caribbean since there are certainly moments that might be a little scary with noises and effects, but he did great!

I think Lucas' favorite ride was the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. More than any other ride, Lucas spent the entire trip sitting up as alert as ever, darting his head back an fourth and pointing at everything. It was a lot of fun to watch him.

We had lunch at our favorite restaurant, the Hungry Bear.

Not long after lunch, we hopped on the monorail and headed over to the Disneyland Hotel to pick up my race packet and check out the expo. It was pretty exciting to get my bib number and check out all the gear and freebies. The tech shirts were really nice, as was the official merchandise... so yes, I bought a few totally necessary items!

We went back to the hotel for a couple of hours to let Lucas nap and stretch out and give my feet a rest. I think it was the first time I've left the park before closing, but we didn't mind being on a slower pace with the baby.

Saturday evening was filled with rides and fireworks, a pasta dinner, a little shopping and then back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

In the wee hours of Sunday morning, I was up, in my favorite running tights and shorts, shoes laced up, bib pinned on and ready to head to the race! I fear I may be spoiled and find any race I do going forward a complete drag because let me tell you, Disney knows how to put on an event. The pre-race entertainment, the fireworks at the start line, the mile marker entertainment and of course the finish line celebration were amazing. I got choked up a few times while running through the park, but I don't mind admitting to it - a Disneyland nerd running her first half marathon in the park is a perfect storm for sentimentality!

All my training paid off and I had a great run. As much as I feared my knees giving me trouble, they both held out great and my aching feet were my main complaint. I did a little bit of walking between mile 10 and 11 and I was slowing down by mile 12 as I tried to adjust the strike of my gait to alleviate some of the discomfort in my feet, but by the time the 13-mile mark was in sight, I felt like I had the wind with me and I perked up and charged ahead to finish the last .1 mile like a champ. I was hot and achy and my lips were chapped with salty sweat, but after that huge medal was placed around my neck, I couldn't help but beam with pride.

Back at the hotel, I took one of the top 3 most amazing showers of my life (the number 1 title goes to the first shower in the nasty hospital bathroom after I had Lucas!), re-hydrated, took a little nap and within a couple hours of my big finish, we were off to Disneyland again!

Lucas and I waiting for the shuttle - you can't tell, but I'm wearing my "Eat My Pixie Dust" shirt! 

The rest of the evening I had my fill of popcorn and sour balls and pineapple whip without a shred of guilt because, dangit! I had just run 13.1 miles! (Don't worry, there was healthy real food in the mix also!)

Lucas enjoyed watching the ducks fight over fries during lunch!

After yet another spin on the Winnie the Pooh ride, we stopped to allow Lucas to model his custom knit Mickey ears that his Auntie Shannon sent him!

Napping again in line.

We hit the Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Tiki Room, Storybook Land, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Alice in Wonderland and swapped baby watching duty to ride Big Thunder a few times. Though I wouldn't have made a trip to Disneyland with a child as young as Lucas had it not been for the race, he really seemed to enjoy all the sights and sounds and I got such a kick out of watching him.

No trip to Disneyland is complete without a shopping stop at the Emporium on the way out! Grandma and Grandpa bought Lucas his first Mickey Mouse plush and he chewed on the nose the whole ride back to the hotel!

It was such a great weekend for so many reasons and I was glad to have my parents there, not only to help with Lucas and watch him during the race, but to be a part of a fun new Disney memory!

And a BIG thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for hauling their stroller, car seat, pack-n-play and even the extra foam to make the bed more cushy for our spoiled wee babe all the way from Arizona! I am a well-seasoned pack mule, but I couldn't have done all that without you!

January 27-30, 2012

The Outtakes: February

The February shots on the cutting room floor for Project 365.

  

   

  

  

  

  

Napa! (Alternate Title: How to Succeed at Parenting While Drinking Wine with a Baby Strapped to Your Chest)

The weekend after Valentine's Day, we headed south for a getaway to gorgeous Napa Valley for a surgical conference Dan was presenting at. After close to two years of either being pregnant or nursing, I was looking forward to enjoying some awesome wine at the source. (Though, I still had to plan my sips so that Lucas didn't get any vino in his milk!)

We stayed at the Silverado Resort, which was absolutely beautiful. The resort is set up as a sprawling community of bungalows centered around a mansion, built in the 1860's. We had a beautiful view from our suite and, though I had a full itinerary planned for the weekend, I could have easily stayed in and just relaxed with a good book and the quiet beauty of the scenery around us!

On Saturday, Lucas and I joined some of the other wives for an afternoon of shopping while our docs were at the conference. It was a successful outing and Lucas only tried to escape the dressing room once! In the afternoon, we headed out for the wineries. We didn't have enough time to get to all of the wineries I had planned for, but we enjoyed a nice walk and tasting at Beringer, the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley. Though Lucas did great for us as we sipped, we definitely want to plan to come back without kids. As I researched for our itinerary, I discovered that not many wineries allowed children. Napa is an adult playground!

Dan was excited for some pinot noir!

My little milk connoisseur accompanying me for the tasting.

On our way back, we made a snap decision to pull into Gott's Roadside, an open air hamburger joint. Dan and I love little local places like this and, after reviewing the menu with gourmet variations on a traditional Americana staple and specialty beers and wines served alongside milk shakes, we decided it was a must do. It was a great decision... best. hamburger. ever. Plus sweet potato fries. Ah bliss.

That night, we had a dinner planned at the resort with some of Dan's colleagues and their spouses. Lucas was a little tired after a long day of shopping, wine, and burgers, so we decided to let Daddy go while we enjoyed a relaxing night in our pajamas. I was still pretty full from our late lunch at Gott's, so I did what any sensible woman would do: I had dessert for dinner! Room service, a quick pedicure and the first episode of Downton Abbey before going to bed at a luxuriously early hour. No, I didn't mind missing out on dinner one bit!

I was most excited for Sunday because my Jennifer was driving down from Tahoe to spend the afternoon with us! Dan had an early presentation that morning, so when he finished and came back to our room, we had breakfast together while Lucas worked to crack the hotel safe.

Jenn and I had lunch downtown at the Kitchen Door in the Oxbow Public Market. As always, it was a wonderful visit. As much as I love my time with Jenn, I'm always a little sad because I hate that we don't live closer where we could meet for lunch on a random afternoon whenever we wanted. I miss her so much in between those glorious facetime visits!

Lucas clearly enjoyed his time with his Auntie Jenn!

Partyin' with no pants on!

Our last evening in Napa was nothing short of magical. We had a big dinner scheduled at Artesa Winery. The vineyard and winery is located further out in the country of Napa Valley. There was nothing but vineyards for miles around us. 

Dinner was in the wine cellar, which was built into a hill underground. The scene was amazing, the food was amazing, the wine was amazing, the musicians were amazing... even Lucas was amazing! Yes, we brought our baby to the black tie optional dinner, but all the old surgeons' wives were smitten with him (more than a couple of them pinched his cheeks!) and the wait staff kept coming to our table to oogle him and declare that they had never seen such a well behaved baby! No broken china or stemware, no stains on my LBD, no screams over the musicians... I was very pleased with our boy!

The best part of the evening, though, was when Dan won the resident competition. It was already an honor that Dan's research had been selected to represent the region, but beating out presentations from some pretty prestigious programs was the icing on the cake! We definitely did a mini Team Awesome fist pump when they announced his name. I am so proud of that man!

After dessert wrapped up, we decided to head out. Two and a half hours with a nearly "perfect" baby... we didn't want to push our luck! However, as we got to the balcony, the real entertainment for the evening began - a performance of Phantom of the Opera. Lucas was mesmerized and happy, and we ended up with the best vantage point to enjoy the performance, so it worked out beautifully! I couldn't have asked for a better finish to a great weekend in Napa!

Our flight the next day was early, so we were out of our room and on the road by 3 in the morning. The only upside was we were home and had Frankie picked up from camp before lunch. Huzzah!

 

Learning to Share

Lucas has really been enjoying sharing lately. He's constantly offering me toys or soggy little nuggets of food, and the pride that beams in his little face over his generosity melts my heart.

Lucas' little buddy Mason was with us one afternoon and I set the boys up with a snack. Mason finished his first and made a move for Lucas' half.

Lucas didn't mind and even offered some on his own!

Look at that smile! I hope he always has such a generous heart! ;)

February 15, 2012

Pals

She adores him and follows him everywhere.

He is endlessly amused by her and touches her as gently as his awkward baby hands will allow.

She is his first buddy and will be the first girl to break his heart.

He will be her source of secret snacks and bedtime snuggles.

They will have imagined and real adventures and the dirty feet to prove it.

They are best friends.

February 14, 2012

Scenes from Valentine's Day

The Pinterest bug has had me in a crafty/bake-y/schmoopy mood, so this Valentine's Day, I went a little nuts with goodies. I might have to spend the remainder of the week at the gym to work off today's transgressions, but it sure was a good time!

I started the Valentine's Day preparations last week after a trip to Michael's.

I made these conversation hearts

And this super easy garland.

The 14th started with packing Dan's lunch for work. Of course, I had to make sure to include a sweet for my sweetie.

I hosted a little lunch and playdate with a couple of my mama friends and it was a fun afternoon noshing and chatting and doing crafts with the "big" kids.

I made sandwiches for the kids in the shape of lips and hearts. (The lip cookie cutter I used was from when I was a little girl and in to anything S.W.A.K.) The munchkins didn't eat much though, they were too excited for...

CUPCAKES!

And MARSHMALLOW POPS!!

Lunch is served!

The kids made valentine mailboxes and cards and the babies roamed around looking adorable.

It was a nice little afternoon and Dan got home from the hospital early, which was a great surprise! 

Two dozen gorgeous roses from my Valentine...

Oh, and I wasn't kidding about spending the rest of the week at they gym. Honestly, though, can I be blamed when there is this...

And these...

Within my temptation radius? Cupid is a little fat man, and he wants to take the rest of us down with him!

Our Valentine's Day tradition for the last 11 years has been to eat at a 50's style diner. We haven't found a good diner in WA, so the last couple of years, I've actually done the diner-style dinner at home, complete with malts and cherry Coke! This year, neither of us were in the mood for burgers, so we broke from tradition. I made herbed salmon and roasted vegetables and we had a lovely candlelit dinner at home with Lucas, who seemed to enjoy his first taste of fish!

And because I didn't have enough sweets in the house, I made these for dessert.

Oy!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Lover's Day! Although we tell those we cherish how much they are loved each and every day, it's fun to have a holiday to spoil one another and revel in the idea of love and romance.

The Longest Four Days

We had snow this January that made national headlines. Since we love a good snow storm, we were pretty excited. Of course, snow in WA always comes with a side of foreboding and this time was no exception. Thursday morning, the power went out. We snuggled in bed with the baby and I savored the idea of a day without the nagging TO DO list of work and vacuuming and laundry and, and, and... It was a forced break from obligations and a perfect setting for schmooping it up with my family with a beautiful winter wonderland scenery surrounding us.

(Thank goodness our tree survived!)

And then night came.

Still no power.

And then it got very cold.

For four days we shuffled around in sweatpants and multiple layers of socks while waiting and hoping to see that flicker of power come back on.

Dan studied for the ABSITE by candle light, 

I rigged the fireplace to start with batteries, 

Frankie enjoyed lounging in front of the flames,

Dan and I both ate plenty of soup and drank a lot of hot tea, 

And snuggled our bundled up babe. 

I tried really hard to keep a good attitude throughout our ordeal. I'd count our little blessings to keep from getting too frustrated. Mostly, I was thankful that we had the fireplace. And hot water for showers. I was also thankful that my candle hoarding problem had finally paid off.

During the day, we kept busy with what we could do in our normal routine, and at night, Dan would pick up takeout for dinner and we'd camp out in the living room and read by flashlight or watch a movie on the portable DVD player. It wasn't all bad. In fact, if Lucas had been a little older, I imagine it would have been a fun little adventure for him!

Puget Sound Energy had originally projected that we wouldn't get power back until Wednesday, which would have been a full week in the dark, but we ended up getting juice back early Monday morning. Dan and I both did a silent fist pump as soon as we heard the heat kick on.

I certainly have a new appreciation for all the magic of electricity!