Early Fosters: Washington Trip!!

It was soooo beautiful in Washington! It's hard to come back to all this brown here in UT. I know UT is beautiful in its own way, and I have come to love it here as well - but there is just something about the Pacific Northwest that cannot be beat. Ellinor, Becca and I were fortunate to enjoy a few sunny days during our 2 weeks back home; which is pretty great for WA in June. Watching Ellinor interact with my family is always immensely rewarding. Oh how I wish they were closer to us on a regular basis! She is just growing so quickly, as are my baby brothers still at home, that I would love our visits to be more frequent than every few months. But, I am grateful for the time that we do have! :)

Ellinor and I spent most of our time hanging out at my parent's home enjoying their company. I loved having the others around during the day, when I am usually alone with Ellinor. As much as I absolutely love my time with her at home, it is quite nice to have other adults to talk to during the day. ;) Ellinor played with the famous teepee, chased the poor cats and Chloe around and got into every possible drawer/cupboard/room/box/etc possible. My family's home was a whole new world to be explored. Since my house has lots of stairs it is really easy to contain Ellinor to one area - no such thing at my parent's. Ellinor was able to run from the living room to the clear back master bathroom in about 2 seconds flat by the time our visit was over - that's quite the feat if you've seen this house. This meant lots of chasing to be done! :) She certainly had a blast with all the insta-friends (aka, uncles, grandma and grandpa). Constant entertainment, a Chloe dog to feed and "pet," Grandma's amazingly cool piano to play, jumping on the trampoline (she LOVED jumping) and fireworks to be watched made for one amazing trip. I feel sorry for Ellinor now - she can't help but be bored with only myself to entertain her. Thank goodness Daddy gets home in the evenings and can rouse up some good times. ;)

Ellinor took to feeding Chloe pretty much everything she was given. When in her highchair, Ellinor would eat a few bites then begin throwing some down to Chloe - not even trying to hide that fact from her mother. As Ellinor would carry a baggy of goldfish or other crackers around she would eat one then promptly give one to Chloe. And so it would go all day, sharing their treats. It was pretty much adorable. And Chloe was so patient with Ellinor - her version of "petting" was patting Chloe on the head while gradually the patting grew to full on hitting as Ellinor got more excited. It was quite the task to try to teach her the terms "nice" and "gentle." I suppose this means that some day Ellinor will be requesting a dog of her own. Until she can verbalize it herself though, I am in the clear. :) Haha.

It took a few days for Ellinor to adjust her sleeping patterns to the new environment, which makes for one tired Momma. But she became comfortable fast enough and we really did have the best time. I miss my family every day - probably because they really are so incredible. Looking forward to the next time we get together - hoping Andrew can join us next time around too! We missed him bunches.

Here are some pics! And a trampoline video :)