Before and after

In Seattle we put Calum in a highchair for the first time and ever since he's loved it (and it's allowed us to almost get through a meal without having to pick him up!) so when we got home we decided it was time to get him one of his own. As he's also passed the 6 month mark, this is the time when doctors advise that you should start your baby on solid foods. For some reason I was really looking forward to giving Calum food but as you can see from the pictures above, it's messy (which is why I've started feeding him in his diaper!)!! I'm also a massive neat freak so this is especially difficult for me; everytime the poor baby sits down to eat we go through a roll of paper towels and we already need to wash the straps after only a week! Never the less, it is fun and I love to see his reaction to new foods. His favorite so far is a combo of vanilla, blueberry and banana and least favorite was cheesy vegetables (which I wouldn't have eaten, either!). Whilst we're enjoying this it did make me a bit sad when we went to buy the highchair, it's like saying goodbye to yet another chapter of his babyhood and another realisation that he's getting older each day. Have a great weekend and a Happy Halloween! x

Montana

After our whirlwind time in Seattle, Mark, Calum and I flew to Missoula for a few days. Grandma & Grandpa McEvers live in Victor, outside of Missoula and my Grandpa Britton (Mom's Dad) is in Polson on Flathead Lake. I was especially excited for this part of our trip because I love Montana and knew that Mark had never been somewhere as remote as this before (nor seen any mountains like the ones we were going to see). We spent our time there really relaxing and enjoying the time with family, Calum is very lucky to have met three of his great grandparents!

On our second day there Mark and my Dad headed out for a fly fishing trip which was also a success, despite having only fished once before Mark caught (and released) 4 fish and had a great time bonding with my Dad. We also took a day out to make the drive to Polson to see my Grandpa Britton who shares a birthday with Calum. Just before Calum was born my Grandpa had surgery to remove a tumor from his brain and has since been doing pretty well up until recently so temporarily he is in a retirement home which is where we had our visit. Was great to see he still had the same spark as before although of course very hard to know that it might be the last time I see him.

The trip was great and Mark even left saying we might go again in the summer! Unfortunately on the way home we ran into some trouble with our flight-the plane we were to take from Missoula to Seattle to catch our Seattle to London flight needed a part replaced which they were going to have to drive in from Spokane. In addition to a delay of 6+ hours (which guranteed we would miss our flight to London from Seattle), they couldn't guarantee the plane would be repaired and if that was the case the next flight wasn't for another 3 days!!! In the end they chartered a special flight but we missed our scheduled flight back to London from Seattle and had to stay in a ghetto Comfort Inn in Seatac (and lost a bag along the way!) and wait until 6.50 p.m. the next night to get our flight back to London. We're very lucky that Calum is such a good baby and after 44 hours of travelling, we were happy to finally be home on Tuesday afternoon.

With (Great) Grandpa Britton (p.s. I had no hair dryer in MT, as you can see!)
With (Great) Grandma McEvers-Calum LOVED this apple so much and when we left it was black from being bruised by his little gums

Mark with a bear in the Missoula airport (only in Missoula!) during our 6 hours there
(Great) Grandpa McEvers, Calum and Grandpa McEvers (my Dad). Love the look Calum is giving my grandpa, this is probably right after he yanked on his beard which he loved to do!

Seattle

After a two day journey home, Mark, Calum and I are back in London after a great two weeks away in Seattle and Montana. Every day was packed with things to do and visits with our friends and family, after so much attention and excitement I think Calum is going to find things pretty boring at home!

Last night as I lay awake at 4 a.m. praying for Calum to go back to sleep (the only down fall to our trip, he did amazing adjusting to the 8 hour time difference but I think he will find it hard to adjust his body clock back to London time), I thought about the things I missed about Seattle and came up with this list (in no particular order!):

Starbucks. Of course we have them here but not on every corner! The first night we were in Seattle we were woken up by Calum at 2.30 a.m. to start the day and it was great to be able to drive to a near by Starbucks DRIVE THRU (we definitely don't have those here!) and get a Pumpkin Spice latte at 3 in the morning. Yum.

The ocean. Okay, we have this here too (we are after all, living on an island!) but it just doesn't seem to be nearly as beautiful as the Puget Sound. Our first day in Seattle we met up with my Dad and visited the park he works at up on Camano Island and it was gorgeous. Calum loved it!

Me and my Dad at Camano
Mark, Calum and Grandpa

American football. I say American because here in the U.K. football is soccer and you musn't confuse the two! I got to take Mark to his first ever Seahawks game and I surprised myself at just how into the game I was getting which made me realise how much I missed the game. Mark got really into it, too-he's now an official Seahawks fan and will soon be a Coug fan too as I'm definitely going to take him back to Pullman someday to experience REAL football.

My friends. This goes without saying but it was just so great to see all of my friends again and pick up right where we left off. I got to celebrate Katie's 29th at the Barking Frog, have a play date at Ashley's house, an old time reunion dinner with Dett & Ash and a farewell get together at Katie & Jerame's. My friends are the best and I am so lucky to have them.

Dett, Ash and I
Katie's b-day at Barking Frog (Ash, Katie, me, Keri and Jeanne)

My family. It was a long time coming for Calum to meet Grandma and Grandpa and the Brittons and it was amazing to see them all together in one place. Wish we got to see them all more often but am looking forward to my Mom coming in a couple of months, hopefully seeing my Dad and Shakeh in the spring for their 20th anniversary and maybe even getting my Aunt and Uncle over, too!

With Grandma at Ken & Lorie's

Green Lake. After a week in Seattle I realised that Mark and I hadn't spent any time together just the two (plus Calum!) of us so we headed down to Green Lake for Spuds and a walk. It was a perfect Seattle fall day and we had the BEST lunch at Blue Water Bistro after. Yum. If I lived in Seattle I would be down here all the time!

Loving Calum's hat from Aunt Lorie & Uncle Ken! (Also notice how Seattle Mark turned towards the end of the trip, North Face jacket and all!)

Yes, Seattle-I'm going to miss you. But I promise never to go so long between visits again. See you soon x