Hermann Park

Adam technically didn't have enough vacation time for a two-week trip. We really wanted to see both of our sisters graduate and we really didn't want to make two separate trips or split up somehow, so it was super nice of Adam's boss to allow him to work from home all last week. While he was working, Claire and I found lots of fun ways to occupy ourselves. One morning, we met up with both Claire's grandmothers, Aunt Allie, Aunt Jenn, and her cousin Estelle in Hermann Park.

 

Hermann Park, in my humble opinion, is one of the prettiest spots in Houston. I love, love, love all the beautiful live oak trees.
 

 

We took Claire and Estelle on the little train that runs through the park while Allie stayed behind to watch the strollers. I'm pretty sure the adults got a bigger kick out of it than the babies...

 

After lunch at the "build your own grilled cheese" place in the park, we walked through the rose gardens.


 

This picture of Claire toddling around just kills me.

 

I mean, really.

Allie's Graduation

We are in the midst of a two-week trip to Houston for both of our sisters' graduations! We flew in from Seattle last Friday afternoon.
 

 

Since Claire has been getting really car sick lately, we were worried about her throwing up on the plane. That already happened once, during our trip to Pittsburgh in January, and it was not fun. We talked to the pediatrician and he recommend a small dose of Benadryl, only for very long flights and car trips. We followed his advice and were so, so glad we did. Claire easily fell asleep for the first two hours of the flight. We were able to keep her pretty entertained with books and snacks for the remaining two hours. Best flight ever!

 

My sister, Allison, graduated from Texas Woman's University with a degree in nursing this past weekend. She has a job offer from an awesome cancer hospital here in Houston and we couldn't be more proud of her! Her pinning ceremony, which is kind of a big deal in nursing school, was on Saturday. Our mom flew in from Shanghai for the occasion and had the honor of pinning her! Too bad I only have that super blurry picture of the moment...

 

But Claire was pretty excited about it.

 

Our next-door neighbor growing up, Mrs. Spiering, drove from Corpus Christi to be there. Claire is actually named after her, so it was really great to see her again.  Here they are last May.

 

And here they are one year later!
 

 

Allie and her roommate + best friend, Kailin.


  

Allie and Kailin with their good friends, Ashley and Natalie, who all survived those long years of nursing school together.
 

 

After the pinning ceremony, we had dinner at our favorite Tex-Mex place, Pappasito's. Oh, man, had I missed their chips and queso!

 

The graduation ceremony was on Sunday. Allie and Kailin were both in the honors program and had to write special capstone papers, so they got to walk first! They were actually the only honors students at the Houston campus (there's also a nursing school in Dallas) which made it pretty special.


 

 Allie receiving her diploma!

 

 

After the graduation festivities, we all went back to Adam's parents' house for a joint graduation + Mother's Day barbecue. Adam's oldest brother, Jeff, and his wife, Jenn, also live in Houston. Their daughter, Estelle, is four months younger than Claire. The cousins have only met once before, at Christmas, and it was so much more fun seeing them interact this time.

 

 

Now we're just enjoying the company of our family and friends until Adam's sister, Katie, graduates from high school over Memorial Day weekend. Oh, and all the amazing food down here, of course!
 

 

We might have been to Chick-fil-A three times this week...

Recent Sewing Projects

When you're in the first trimester and feeling pretty crappy, what sounds like a more fun use of nap time - making dinner or watching tv and sewing? Hands down, I would pick sewing every time. Some of Claire's baby friends had birthdays recently, so I made them each a little something.

Amelia and Jude, both turning one, got stuffed giraffes.

The pattern came with the dress pattern I used to make Claire's All Saints Day costume. They didn't turn out as cute and cuddly as I hoped.

I think they are more on the cute side than the weird side, though?

 

 

The long skinny necks are supposed to be good for teething. Claire tested that part out for me!

I also wanted to make something for Katherine, who's turning three. I had a feeling she wouldn't have much use for a teething giraffe, so I decided on a fabric scrap matching game instead.





I used this tutorial, found on Pinterest. The original game included a cute little fabric envelope to store the pieces in, but laziness took over and I ended up just buying a bag that would work at the craft store.

It was a fun way to take my mind off the constant nausea! So, to anyone who wonders how I find the time for this kind of stuff - the answer is frozen pizza.  

Questions For You!

Remember how I answered some faqs about our new addition? Well, I actually have some questions for all you moms of more than one out there!
 

 

Have you cloth diapered two kids at once? How many diapers do you have? We just have twelve right now, because we're cheap and also only like to store the essentials while apartment-dwelling. I usually wash them three times a week. I'm debating whether we want to invest in more diapers though. I like keeping babies in disposables for the first few months and I hope to potty train Claire when she's around two and a half {shortly before the new babe's first birthday.} So both kids would probably be in cloth diapers together for about six months. Is it worth it? Or should I just keep Claire in the cloth diapers and her sibling in disposables until Claire's potty-trained?

 

 

Do you have a double stroller? Do you think it's worth it? What kind do you have and would you recommend it? I want to hold off buying a double stroller until the new babe arrives. It seems like we can probably get by with a combination of the single stroller and the baby carrier {we have the Ergo and Bjorn} for a while. I think we'll want a double stroller eventually because our neighborhood is so walkable {we walk pretty much daily to the grocery store, post office, library, or just along the trail near the river.} But, it might be nice if we could get by without investing in one and don't have to figure out where to store it in the apartment. I've heard lots of good things about the Baby Jogger City Select {we have the Baby Jogger City Micro right now and really like it} but the price tag is pretty scary! Maybe we'll get lucky on Craig's List?

Clarifications + Cute Videos

So, a certain post from last week has been getting a little more attention than this tiny blog usually sees. In light of that, I thought I should clarify a few things. 

Did I write that post because I feel judged? Absolutely not. We have never received any judgmental comments about being young parents. Sure, people have been surprised, but that's about it. I did not write that post because someone said something mean to me. I wrote that post because all these articles from members of the conservative media promoting young marriage but never, ever mentioning children kind of bug me. 

Do I think that our path is right for everyone? Of course not. I definitely don't think everyone should get married in college and have their first child before graduating! We had some pretty unique circumstances that made this path possible for us. The whole point I was trying to make is that there are a lot of different ways to do things. Each way has it's advantages and disadvantages.

Do I perceive more of a stigma because we live in Seattle? Definitely. Seattle has a much higher cost of living and is much less socially conservative than anywhere else we've lived {Houston and Pittsburgh}. Of course those factors play a big role in marriage and family here. We were really, really blessed with a great group of young families in Pittsburgh and we knew when we moved to Seattle that we probably wouldn't find the same kind of thing. 

Do I know what I'm missing? I think I have a pretty good idea. It's easy to feel a little embarrassed of our two-bedroom apartment when most of the families we meet are already home-owners. Or when someone asks what I did before having kids and I don't have a very interesting answer. But I also know what I'm gaining - more time with the people I love. 

Do I know how hard it will be to go back to work?  Honestly, with just one toddler so far, I don't know when or if I'll go back to work and what I'd like to do. I have always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and I feel very blessed to be doing just that. I do know that it would be pretty challenging to enter the workforce later in life with a completely blank resume. But, I also know that people do it. My favorite history professor only started her PhD once her kids were grown. Another doctor at my obstetrician's practice went to medical school at the same time as her oldest child. It might be a really difficult, uphill battle. But it's not impossible. 

Well, enough of that. We're all really here for the cute baby, right? Here are some videos I've been meaning to share. 

Say ahh! Claire is really into feeding us lately.  

She likes to walk around with my phone and have pretend conversations. While doing that the other day, she somehow recorded a video. So that's the world through Claire's eyes!

I saved the best for last. Walking!