Pint-Sized Patriots Fan

10 / 14 / 1210 / 18 / 12

To say that Brad is a Patriots fan would be an understatement. A huge understatement. So when they come from New England to play in Seattle once every four years, we go. Simple as that. Last time, we were living in Kuwait and managed to swing a stop in Seattle on the way home for Christmas vacation… And this time we got to take our little girl to her first ever football game.

Being that the game started at 1:00 and we needed to arrive at noon, I knew it wouldn’t be an easy outing for Miss G. With her normal lunch time being just before noon and her usual nap time being between noon and 1:00, we were pushing it to say the least. Since Grae was born, we’ve always put her sleep ahead of outings and events, so skipping a nap or sleeping while out and about just aren’t things she’s used to. But…. If you can’t delay nap time for a live Patriots game, then what can you delay one for then, right? ☺

We came armed with the Ergo, a yummy lunch, tons of special treats (roasted cashews, apple chips, just fruit fruit snacks, and wholewheat bunny crackers), a pair of Baby Banz Earmuffs, and a few little activities to keep her busy and hoped for the best.

It was an awesome game, and despite the fact that the Pats were ahead by quite a bit for most of it, it was one of those games where you just knew anything could happen.

Despite the great game, Grae was more interested in eating, climbing on and off chairs, watching the neighbouring fans, and the ‘dancing pink ladies’ (the cheerleaders with pink boots) than anything else. She did fairly well considering the circumstances, but I’d be lying if I said it was easy to wrangle an overtired, squirmy two year old without a seat of her own for a three hour game during her normal nap time. All I have to say is thank goodness for Grandma Charlotte’s purse full of goodies during the last quarter… A package of Band-Aids quickly became our best friend.

Sadly, the Patriots weren’t playing their best, and in the {crazy} last minute and a half of play, the Seahawks got control of the ball, scored a touchdown, and won the game by one point. Ugh. Not what we were hoping for, but what can you do?

On the plus side, Grae fell asleep almost immediately once we started walking out of the stadium and caught up on a few much needed moments of sleep.

Next time we attend a Patriots game, Gracen will be in Grade One… How crazy is that?!

Until next time, Patriots…

♥

Pike Place Market

10 / 14 / 1210 / 16 / 12

This morning we headed downtown to the quintessential Seattle destination… Pike Place Market. I’ve always loved strolling slowly through the market and out onto the nearby streets, and I knew Gracen would too. Live music, flowers, fresh treats, and flying fish… What’s not to love?

Here’s our morning in photos…

Topping the favourites list? Watching fresh fish fly through the air to slippery-handed market visitors was without a doubt her favourite, and coming in a close second? Devouring the roasted nuts she was more than willing to be strapped into her stroller in order to eat.

♥

To the {Woodland Park} Zoo!

10 / 13 / 1210 / 13 / 12

Zoos are one of those things I love and really dislike all at the same time. (Well, unless we’re talking about the Kuwait zoo, that is… Sadly, that one would have to fall into the category of ‘really dislike’ more than anything else… Animals from all over the world all kept in dry, desert-esque habitats with school children harassing them and visitors feeding them ice cream and popcorn is just not my idea of animal-friendly.) So when I found out that we were staying outside of downtown Seattle this weekend, very close to the Woodland Park Zoo, I had mixed emotions about going. On one hand, I knew Gracen would love visiting. She’s a true animal lover and it would be a chance to see many of the animals in person for the very first time. On the other hand, I knew that leaving feeling terribly for animals kept in small, non-natural confines was a real possibility (I obviously hadn’t done much looking into the Woodland Park Zoo beforehand).

I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised. The Woodland Park Zoo is the least zoo-ish zoo I’ve ever visited. And I mean that in the very best way possible.

Because it spans 92 acres, its {more than} 1000 animals have tons of space to live and roam as they would in their true habitats. And the best part? There are no tiny plexiglass confines or cages in sight. In fact, most of the animals live in fields and forests so giant that visitors can only see small parts of them (though many can be accessed from several sides and have designated viewing areas). It’s hard to describe, but it felt as though we were visitors to the animals’ environment, rather than them being the visitors in our environment. It was peaceful. And beautiful.

And we had a wonderful time.

Here’s our morning in {a ridiculous number of} photos (try to ignore the fog and smudgy fingerprinted glass)…

♥

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