I'm going to dump all the pictures here and then caption them all by way of a timeline. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I'm in more than one or two of these pictures. Lol. But I was there, I swear it.
The first night we were there was Friday, June 23. We decided to walk from our hotel down to Hard Rock Cafe (which is kind of a tradition for me every time I'm in Seattle, no matter who I'm with). It's all the way down next to Pike Place Market so it took about 10-15 minutes to walk down there. Well, it should have taken about that long, but with Mara walking, you have to stop and smell the flowers. As is evidenced by this photograph.
Saturday, June 24. I turned 17 weeks pregnant this day and, as appears to be my habit, I take photos with coffee cups in hotel mirrors while waiting for elevators. (I did this in Astoria, too, back in May.)
We headed out to Seattle Center to find the fountain. Mara wore her swimsuit under her dress, and quickly shucked her outer layer once the fountain came alive. It was a little overwhelming for her as the water does shoot out very far and can be a little loud. All told, we stayed at the fountain for about 30 minutes before finding something else to do.
A selfie.
Mara and Grandma.
After we left the fountain, we headed over toward EMP and found this music-themed playground. That main climbing structure is literally 50 feet tall! Mara wanted to climb on it so badly but neither my mom nor I could climb up to help her (my mom being not a fan of climbing and me being pregnant) so she had to pass on it for this trip. She did keep herself entertained with the low ropes and the little kid slide area (not pictured) as well as the swings.
It was really hot at this point (almost noon) so we played here for about an hour and then finally decided enough was enough as far as sun exposure. I was pretty sure our sunscreen was about to wear off, too. So we went off in search of lunch.
Mara and her artisan PB&J sandwich (on brioche bread).
BEFORE
and AFTER
She annihilated that sandwich! She actually ended up eating all of it. So much for my plan to eat her crusts as my lunch, haha.
Another Seattle tradition for us is to go to Daawat, an Indian restaurant a block from the hotel we typically stay at. We went here the first year we did the 3-generation Seattle trip (2015) and it was the first time I ever really tried Indian food. I'd tried it once before but hadn't enjoyed it, so to go here and like it was a nice surprise.
Here's my mom and Mara walking over.
Being silly at the table.
They gave us a free piece of cake for dessert. Not sure if that was because I mentioned to the waitress how we come back every year or because Mara was so cute. Maybe a combination of both. Anyway, my mom and Mara enjoyed the chocolate.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, changed into our swimsuits (yes, even me) and went to the hot tub. Mara floated back and forth between my mom and me for half an hour and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Bedtime wasn't very smooth that night, but eventually she went to sleep.
Sunday, June 25. We walked down to Pike Place Market, as we hadn't yet done that this trip. Mara has to climb on everything everywhere we go.
At the market, my mom decided to buy half a dozen mini donuts. (Cue a little freak-out on my part. I don't like having donuts near me. I'm not even sure I actually like them any more. I used to, but now.. I don't know. My tastebuds changed. Anyway, donuts are a hard food for me regardless of whether or not I actually like them.) Mara's behavior was deteriorating as the morning wore on. She hadn't napped either Friday or Saturday so lack of sleep was accumulating and she was starting to crash and burn. After a particularly loud disagreement about whether or not she could stand up in the stroller (I eventually prevailed), my mom sweetened the moment with a mini donut for Mara, which she promptly devoured. The only downside was that the sweetness was short-lived. As soon as she finished the donut, she wanted a second one and had a massive meltdown when I said one was enough for the time being. Gotta love toddlerhood.
We walked down to the water and found.. The Norwegian Pearl! Again! In 2015, we took a walk down here so that Mara could nap in the stroller and we happened across this very same monstrous ship. (Click HERE to see the post where this is featured, if you don't believe me!)
Lastly, on our way home, we stopped in Centralia at the outlet stores, as is also tradition. I took Mara to Children's Place but they didn't have much. However, she spied this pair of sunglasses that she absolutely couldn't live without. They were only $1.99 so I bought them for her and she kindly posed for this photo outside the store. Look at ALL the sass!
On the whole, the trip was fun. Definitely had some behavior challenges to work with, but generally it was a good time. I'm not sure if this will be our last year to do this trip. My mom didn't seem overly gung-ho about going again next year with two children. It seemed to me that this traditional trip to Seattle doesn't mean as much to her as it does to me. I told her that next year, if she wants to go, she has to approach me about it. We'll just see.
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