Curran Apple Orchard

There are a lot of really hard things about having a toddler, but in the past few months I’ve found a group of fellow moms with kids about the same age as Jack and it’s been super fun watching him forge friendships with other kids, and it’s been a godsend for me to have other women around me who GET it and are in the trenches too.

Fall has been extra fun this year as we get to do fall activities together! One mama put together an apple orchard field trip for us all, so we all trekked out to Curran Apple Orchard in University Place and learned about apples! It was super fun, even though Jack lost interest halfway through and charged off to explore the orchard on his own. And thankfully the weather was sunny, if brisk, until it started to drizzle right before we left.

Watching this kid discover the world is so fascinating and special. Next week we head to a farm field trip, and sometime this month we’ll hit up a pumpkin patch because duh. I can’t wait!

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My Happy Camper

It's not entirely true that he's a happy camper, he's been relatively fussy these days, but I think he probably just wants to be running around at a playground most of the time now that it's summer.  We've been getting our yard a little more kid-play friendly, and I'd like to pick up a kiddie pool soon because he's definitely loving all kinds of water play.  It's fun to see him in the garden, a few of our peas are ready for harvest so I gave him a couple to nibble on.  It's nice to be able to teach him (though I'm sure he doesn't have the awareness to make the connections yet) that food is grown from plants.  I remember growing little gardens with my mom when I was a kid and it was fun to eat the strawberries we grew and harvest radishes and such.  He's probably a bit young to really get it, but I like having him barefoot outside with me playing in the dirt.

Hat : Carhartt | Shirt : Carters | Tee : The Bee + The Fox via Satori | Jeans : Thrifted

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Jack's Gender Neutral Nursery

I've been doing some rearranging of Jack's room, and I'm finally liking how his little space has come together.  It can be challenging to place furniture with the angled ceilings, and so one thing I moved out of this room into the adjacent space (which is where our closet is) is his changing table.  Having that out of this space made it a little easier to work with furniture.

The rug, cube shelf (Ikea), rattan shelf, and crib (Babyletto) were all Craigslist finds!  And his little dresser was a cheap Target dresser which I fancied up with some Pretty Pegs legs to give it a little mid-mod flair.

This room is a converted attic space, so the stairs to get up here are very small. Any furniture has to be less than 25 inches wide to fit up there, or able to be built in the space like most Ikea furniture.  Luckily I found that round chartreuse chair at World Market and because of it's weird shape and removable legs, I was able to fit it upstairs!  It's the perfect little chair for bedtime stories.

The floors are actually just the subfloor.  There used to be ugly brown carpet up here and we ripped it out and I liked the wood floors.  But we never put trim back on, so if you're wondering why we have no floor trim in here, that's why!  We're probably going to eventually put *real* flooring in whenever we end up putting this house on the market.

I love having a space that feels uncluttered and natural.  I'm not a fan of bright plastic toys, so I prefer classic wood toys that look nice and are also more eco friendly.  I've found a lot of cool wooden toys on etsy and at thrift stores!

*for those wondering about the plants, Jack is never alone in this room because we're unable to fence off the stairs, so I'm always with him when he's playing in here.  Peace Lilies are toxic to humans and pets, and Snake plants are mildly toxic, so make sure you watch your kids and pets around those plants!*

Kilim rug, rattan shelf, hamper : thrifted/Craigslisted | Cube shelf : Ikea via Craigslist |  Yellow Chair : World Market | Crib : Babyletto via Craigslist | Dresser : Target | Dresser legs : Pretty pegs | Kind + Brave banner : handmade | World is your Oyster Print : Rifle Paper Co. via Moorea Seal |  Floor Pillows : Target via Goodwill

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little poncho gnome

Just wanted to pop in here super quick with some adorable photos I just took of Jack.  I haven't busted out my big camera for a while, mostly because my main lens is on the fritz, but I have all my gear ready to go for a photoshoot that I'm leaving for in mere moments so when I got this little poncho in the mail from my mom, I had to put it on him and snag some shots. My mom got it at a craft fair in Seward AK so unless I can find an etsy shop or something where the maker sells them, I can't help any of ya with finding one of these adorable little things! Also: scroll down for some epic Dusty derp face.

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Nine Months

On Jack's 9 month "birthday" we are down here in Joshua Tree California!  I had to capture desert vibes for his 9 month shoot, since we are in the desert, so we popped out to the front yard this morning and sat in the dirt next to a couple of little agaves.  We're down here visiting Jacks' other grandparents (Dan's parents) for the week before we hit the ground running with our big move back to Tacoma!

These days Jack is very cute and chatty, he likes to repeat noises, very loudly says "mamamamamama" when he's hungry, and he's standing on his own, if only for brief moments.  I'm sure walking will come along in the next couple months so I'm just enjoying these last weeks/months of not worrying about him falling on his face while trying to walk. 

I'm so looking forward to establishing more of a routine with this kiddo (and honestly, with myself too!).  Not having a home of our own and traveling all the time doesn't do much for creating a solid routine and schedule and I know we'd both benefit greatly from one.  I for one am looking forward to fall, to having our own place again, and to having a more stable lifestyle!

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