New Carrier!

Since it was time to give back the Baby Bjorn to my friend Kim I had been wanting to get a new carrier. I still had my Moby wrap, but like I said before it was just not convenient to put on quickly. A friend of mine had an Ergo and really liked it. I decided to check Craigslist and see if I could find a good deal. I found one I really liked and it even came with an infant insert...just in case we need such a thing down the road. My mom and dad gave me the money to get it for Ella. The lady said she was going to hold it for me until after I came back from my MOPS retreat, but she ended up selling it over the weekend instead. I'm not going to lie...I was totally peeved! But...it really ended up being a good thing. It gave me more time to research other carriers. Another friend of mine has a BabyHawk carrier and that's what I ended up going with.

I got a BabyHawk Oh Snap and I love it! It really isn't that different from an Ergo, but there were a lot more color and fabric choices so that was fun. I can wear Ella on the front, hip or back. I can also wear her until she's 45lbs! This is going to get a lot of use that's for sure. It was little more money than my parents gave me, but it was totally worth it. It's super comfy and oh so stylish!

Look at these cute birdies...love it!

Safe Babywearing!

Recently babywearing has been in the news and not for good reasons. Sadly there have been infants that have lost their lives due to being worn improperly or in an improperly made sling or pouch. I never considered myself a babywearing advocate like I do a breastfeeding advocate, but since having Ella I most definitely do now! Looking back in my photos for pictures of Michael and I wearing our children I was pretty surprised by the number of photos I actually have. We really do enjoy keeping our children close and safe in our arms. Head on over to Adventures In Babywearing and the BCIA facebook page to see more posts of other babywearers!

Our idea of babywearing has evolved over the years! ;) Sadly I never wore Owen when he was a baby! :(

My first carrier was a Moby wrap. I barely use it at all anymore. It's just a little impractical in WA state with all the rain and the fact that it's HUGE piece of fabric that ends up getting all dirty on the ground while you're trying to wrap it correctly. I used this mainly with Jack when he was a newborn.

With Ella I have used the Baby Bjorn almost everyday. With having two toddlers it's nice to have my hands free, but still keep her close.

We first bought the backpack carrier to go to the fair. It was great! It kept Owen up high enough to see all the animals and kept him from touching anything that was yucky!

Ella all snuggled in! Who wouldn't want to look down and see this face sleeping soundly!

Another picture of Owen at the fair (in the rain) sleeping in the backpack.

Jackson in the Moby out enjoying the snow!

Again...looking down at their cute faces thisclose is pure joy!

Sometimes we've had to think outside the box when we've forgotten the backpack! :)

The most recently picture of Owen at the fair. I think he only gets worn at the fair now...he loves to run! Ella sleeping in the Bjorn at the fair!

I also have a ring sling that my friend let me borrow, but for some reason I just couldn't get it to feel comfortable on my body. I've tried and each time I do Ella gets really upset. She does not like it at all...that's why I've stuck with the Bjorn. That and it's really super comfy for me. I love that it's structured and fast to snap her in and out. I'm in the process of buying an Ergo carrier for her since she's getting bigger and we have to give the Bjorn back to Kim for baby Josiah. The Ergo will be nice since she's getting bigger. I'm definitely NOT ready to stop wearing her anytime soon. I love keeping her close!

Mowich Lake

Michael didn't have any work to do on Monday and since the pass we bought to get into the National Park was good until Friday we decided extend our little vacation and explore another area....Mowich Lake.

This is the view we got to see about half way up the 16 miles of gravel road!!! It's definitely not the most popular area on the mountain, but we were surprised by how many cars were actually up at Mowich Lake...around 20 -30. At one point we had traveled 10 miles without seeing another car. That was right about the time I pulled off for another trail, realized it wasn't the trail we wanted, backed up into a rock, pulled forward, tried to back up again, started freaking out because I thought I got us stuck in the dirt. That's when Michael so calmly said, "Hon, your in neutral!" I love my husband! :)

When we first got there we had a bite to eat.

Then we started off on the trail that took us down by the lake. The water was SO clear and glassy! It was also quite cold outside...high 40's and low 50's.


Of course the boys had to throw rocks in the lake.

The wildflowers are so beautiful...pictures don't do them justice. The the bugs are crazy up there too. In this particular area I could hear so much buzzing I kept looking around to find the hive. Thankfully we never got stung, but Michael didn't get dive bombed by a few bees.

We only ran into 2 other people while we were on this trail.

A little ways into our walk we took a side trail and went out on a rock island on the lake.

This was only the third or fourth time I've worn Ella facing out. She likes it! I like her facing in better so I can see her face and kiss her cheeks, but she likes to see and reach out and touch things. I did end up turning her around on our walk back since the sun was in her face and she wasn't too happy about that.

It was so nice to get to see the mountain in all it's glory since Saturday was so cloudy.

Since we just extended our vacation and didn't go home we still didn't have the backpack to carry Jack in. He is such a cutie and gets tired so fast. Michael started carrying him, but he's pretty sturdy so it wasn't the most comfortable so we improvised and used Michael's thermal and belt and made this...

Jack LOVED it! In fact when Michael got back to the van he refused to put his legs down. He didn't want to get out he was so comfy! I just need to remember to keep my Moby wrap in the car for times like these.

We ended up walking a little over a mile. We almost made it to the top of the lake. Owen was so tired though so we turned around. We want to take the kids on more and more hikes. They really do love exploring and seeing the beauty around us. We just need to build up to going on longer hikes. On the way home Ella cried the whole 40 minutes it took us to get to pavement and I had such a headache from all the noise. I wouldn't mind going back to Mowich Lake though, but the 16 miles of gravel road is definitely a minus in my book.

Point Defiance Zoo

On Monday the boys and I headed out to the Point Defiance Zoo. We were meeting some friends there. It was the most perfect day to go to the zoo! I'm not sure if I've ever been to the Point Defiance Zoo...if I have it was for a field trip many, many years ago. I definitely like this zoo way better than Woodland Park though. It's much smaller which is nice with little kids and the view is spectacular! I'm actually thinking of getting annual passes...it was so much fun!

Here's how we started the day. Both boys happy....okay tolerable in the stroller!

It wasn't very long and Jack was riding on my hip in the Moby Wrap. I think I wore him like this for almost 2 hours. He even ate his lunch while he was in the wrap. He never fell asleep, but he was quite happy and for the most part it was really comfortable for me too. I loved having him so close to me.

Of course Owen didn't stay in the stroller for very long either. He had to be out looking at all the animals with the other big kids. He did a really great job of listening to me and holding my hand or the hand holds of the stroller. I'm so proud of him!


We came with my friend Julie and her two kids - Louise & Kadyn and Julie's friend Tamra and her daughter Heather. It was nice hanging out with other moms and I love getting together with other kids so Owen can play. When Owen and Kadyn were getting pretty tired we let them run around in this open area. They had so much fun running all the way to the other end and back.

Ready....Set....Go!!!

I'm gonna get you Owen!

I'm catchin' up!

Owen loved the sharks...well he loved all the animals. When we went to Woodland Park last summer he wasn't really into it, but this time he got it. At every animal station he would get upset when we had to leave and he would say 'more' or 'again'. I finally started having him say 'bye-bye' and blow a kiss to the animals so that made it easier for him to leave.

All the kiddos except Jack...Kadyn, Owen, Heather & Louise.

There is this great Discovery Kids area where the kids can climb, jump, slide, play in sand and water, go through tunnels and more. Jack of course crawled right over and put a piece of rubber in his mouth. It was supposed to be the "rock" for this tunnel area.

Louise doesn't like babies at all...can't you tell!

He's leaving the nest so soon! Sniff Sniff!

Ahhh....slides Owen's other best friend!

Again!!!!! I second that...we will definitely be going again!

West Fenwick Park

On Friday afternoon after the boys napped we decided to get outside and enjoy the semi spring like weather we were having. We headed over to a park that's only a few minutes drive from our house. I've wanted to take the boys there for a while now, but just never got around to it. It was surprisingly a really nice park. It had two playgrounds for the kids and a merry go round, basketball courts, two baseball fields, a skate park, three racket ball courts and two tennis courts.

Could he get any cuter?



I haven't worn Jack in the Moby Wrap in quite awhile, but since he'd just try to eat everything on the ground if I put him down I decided it was better that he get carried around instead.

I was really surprised to see one of these old metal curly slides. I love these things. The climb up was pretty steep so it made me nervous watching Owen climb up with his little legs. He did great though and Mommy and Jack even went down twice.

Sir Jackson!

Princess Owen....huh??? I don't think so!

Did I mention he loves slides!

After Owen was done or I should rephrase that...after we were done letting Owen play we walked across the soggy baseball fields to this hill that's kind of steep. We decided to hike up it to get a better view. Unfortunately it wasn't clear enough to see Mount Rainier, but imagine it...it would be right beside Michael in the background. I guess we'll just have to go back on a nicer day.