Seattle, Washington.

We got back from Seattle a few days ago after visiting Sean's brother and his wife for a little over a week. Javi had a blast on the plane and took the chance during the flight to find his voice and learn how to squeal. Loudly. :) On the way there, he complained for a bit at takeoff, slept for 3 hours and then enjoyed being entertained for the final 2 hours. It was hard work and a bit overwhelming. We rented a car and decided to bring along his stroller, carseat and carseat base (and 2 backpacks and 2 suitcases and the list goes on and on). Thankfully, TSA was so polite, kind and patient and it was really easy to go through security and walk thru the airport.

We had such an amazing trip after getting settled at Joe and Kim's house. They were amazing hosts and we can't thank them enough! Javi loved going out to lunches, falling asleep outside in his stroller, racing around the house and opening cabinets and drawers. We had to make some purchases while there... like a walker to keep him a bit contained. :) We also shipped a pack and play to the house so that Javi had a place to sleep and play that was safe.

We spent a lot of time touring Seattle neighborhoods, breweries and distilleries and walking along the water. We've done many of more tourist-y things in past trips so this one was really to become more familiar with Seattle as a place to live and just to spend time with family. We cooked (well I didn't, but you know) most dinners at home so that Javi could go to bed early and luckily for us he continued to sleep thru the night! :)

One day we took a ferry to Bainbridge Island. It's a short ride and one that you take your car on. Javi loved feeling the breeze in his hair and I loved seeing his facial expressions! We stopped by Pikes Market Place on our way to Top Pot to get donuts (amazing donuts!) and got Javi his first Mariners shirt. We took walks near Lake Washington, ate dinners at 10PM and went to Starbucks nearly every day.

On the days that Javi seemed to have a bit too much energy to contain indoors in the house with fancy floors and tables and breakables (AH!) we brought him to the nearby playground. He loved every moment of it and for the first time we actually put him down in the wood chips. He wasn't so sure about it! The 3 of us took an afternoon to explore Alki Beach and quickly discovered it was our most favorite place in Seattle. 

We explored Snoqualmie waterfalls which was pretty sweet and just a short drive away from Seattle. And we also took a ride on the huge Ferris wheel which Javi turned out to be a fan of but Sean wasn't! One day, Kim and I had facials and massages at a spa while Sean, Javi and Joe smoked meat which we later ate way too much of.

We had such an amazing trip and we can't wait to go back!