Christmas Getaway

When I saw that tickets were cheap to fly out to Seattle.. I squealed with delight. With Brinnley getting older and her personality growing each day, I wanted my brother, sister in law and dad to experience it as well. I booked our flight and started to count down the days until out trip to Seattle. Aaron, working retail, wasn't able to get time off so it was a mommy daughter trip :) We flew out the day I got done with work on an evening flight. Aaron brought us to the airport and soaked up a few last minutes with Brinnley at the airport. 

 It worked out perfectly as Brinnley passed out during take off. 

There was a snow storm that started as soon as we were leaving for the airport and it continued until the valley got quite a few inches. We had to sit on the plane for about 20 minutes while they de iced most of the airfcraft. We arrived a little late but even with the time change it was fine. 

Luckily, Julie was able to borrow a brand new car seat from we coworker so I didn't have to lug ours for the trip. 

Brinnley loved it and treated it just like her own! We had planned on going to Leavenworth the whole day on Saturday, but both Julie and Brinnley were feeling under the weather and we decided that a full day outside and the long drive wasn't worth it. Our Saturday was spent relaxing, eating lunch at Red Robin and some last minutes errands.

Saturday night we spent the evening inside eating pizza and watching a movie. Brinnley loved their place and made herself right at home! 

Brinnley loved her aunt and uncle. It didn't take long for her to warm up to them. She loved cuddling with Julie. 

Sunday we slept in a bit and then got ready for the Seahawks game and my dad coming over for dinner. Prior to the game I met up with my high school best friend who just moved back from Hawaii to Port Orchard. Aaron and I stayed with her and we family the 1st night of our honeymoon almost 2 years ago. For some reason though, I didnt get any pictures of our meet up at panera! Crazy. 

After the Seahawks game we had dinner and then enjoyed opening gifts. Brinnley didn't waste anytime tearing off the paper on her present from aunt Julie and uncle Charlie! 

She loved her presents and I can't wait to put her in her new Sounders onesies!! My dad did a great job this year on gifts... Usually he hands out cash in an envelope, but we got a ton of awesome gift cards for different places (Babies R Us, JcPenny, Bed Bath and Beyond, Buffalo Wild Wings, and my fav, Starbucks!) 

He also got me a Concordia University national Championship Tshirt! I was impressed and although it's too big, I think I can work with it. 

After all the gifts, we relaxed for awhile. Brinnley went to bed and my brother did as well. Julie and I stayed up an chatted for a long time.. Our views on parenting, parenthood, and relationships is so alike that we had a lot to discuss and chat about. We both believe that the way a child is, personality wise (aside from those children who hav internal problems.. Allergies and such) is a lot because of how their parents are. My brother and Julie were so impressed with Brinnley and her calmness manner that they attributed it a lot to how Aaron and I were as both parents and people in general. We are very go with the flow and we do not let her dictate how we live our lives. We do not schedule outings around "nap time" or decline an invitation somewhere because of her. We do not have a set schedule and she is used to napping at different times and is very easy going. She is calm and independent and not needy or clingy (unless she is tired or just woke up!). I appreciated her praise and it made me feel like I am doing a decent job at being a mother and as a wife. Aaron and I have a solid relationship... We talked about how we split responsibilities and have an understanding in what we believe is best and how we view not only our child but her well being and future. 

I know that when the day comes for Charlie and Julie to become parents, we will have many discussions with common views and they will be amazing parents! 

The next day Charlie had to go to work for a few hours and Julie, Brinnley and I went downtown for some last minute shopping. It was the perfect temperature and we got to walk around and even go into a city target! That's a 3 story target! It wa pretty awesome for an avid Target lover like myself :) 

We spent the evening at my dads and then Brinnley and I stayed the night there. Our flight home was uneventful and short. Aaron picked us up and we did a little last minute shopping on the way home! It was a much needed trip to see family :)