Hello and Happy Fall! Dempsey’s birthday is less than a month away but it feels like we are already in the season of the threenager 😩 Tantrums have leveled up and as someone who gets overwhelmed easy and doesn’t consider themselves the most patient, I don’t feel especially cut out to deal with it but I’m trying my best! And tantrums aside, he is so sweet, smart and funny. Lydia has been especially fun lately too, even if she crawls quicker than I’m always ready for and wants to put every piece of paper in her mouth. Last night, the two of them were playing together and it was the absolute best 🥺🤍

Friday started with a fall-colored mani for me and after Joey picked the kids up from Grandma’s that evening, we headed straight to Tennyson for dinner. The wait at Hops & Pie was a bit too long, so we pivoted and got BBQ at Post Oak. Between all the restaurant noise, Dempsey not wanted to walk on his own and Lydia trying to climb out of her highchair, I was feeling mostly insane but I do remember my brisket sandwich being especially good! After dinner, Joey took Lyida in for a bath and my boy and I played in the backyard for a bit and it was the best. After the kids were asleep, Joey and I watched Theater Camp and thought it was fine. I expected a little more but I did think Molly Gordon was amazing and the theater kids (plus Glenn 😉) were legitimately talented.

I made us all Greek yogurt pancakes on Saturday morning and while I really liked them, neither kid seemed to 🤷‍♀️ We played until Sissy went down for her morning nap and then I took off on a run and got back in time to take Dempsey to his swim lesson. He talks about swim all week long, so it’s especially fun when Saturday rolls around. He did so so good! Who knows what we did the rest of the day but I made caprese gnocchi and salmon for dinner and then we had some really fun evening plans! My sis and Wayne came over in time for my sis to help me put Lyds to bed while the boys set up the movie projector and made popcorn for our movie night. We watched Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers and it was actually pretty funny! I laughed out load at the “Polar Express eyes” line 😂 Demps made it through the entire thing and only asked a few questions (impressive because he is truly in his “why?” era 🤪) Got him to bed pretty quick and easy afterward and I think we all had a fun time!

Sorry for the picture overload but I hope the sight of bright blue skies and golden leaves is as refreshing to your eyes and spirits as it is to mine! We took a drive up to Dillon Reservoir and gosh was it so pretty up there 😍😍😍 Well once we got past a total meltdown from Dempsey when we were leaving the house and a total blowout from Lydia when we go to the reservoir. I should’ve known better than to put her in a cute fall outfit before a car ride! And we somehow forgot a back up pair of pants so she rocked big brother’s 3T sweatpants 😂😂 We had fun anyway. Dempsey was LOVING throwing rocks in the water and the leaves were lovely. I love breathing that fresh mountain air too. Around 11, we got back in the car and headed to Outer Range Brewing for lunch and beer for the adults. That place is so nice and has the best beer! It was actually sort of chilly sitting outside but we had a good time out there and I’m a big fan of the food from Bird Craft. Got back home in time for both kids to take a nap and for me to make salads. A special moment when Demps and I watched a movie in the playroom so Joey could watch football and then I made us some really good burritos for dinner. Lydia ate a bunch of the filling and couldn’t seem to get it in her mouth fast enough but then was all red and rashy afterward. Ugh! Got both kiddos to bed and watched Big Brother. We have a busy week ahead so going to do my best to be present, patient and flexible 😅

We did so many fun things this weekend and I was in a bad mood during most of them 😕 And who knows why! I’m gonna blame post-vaca blues or just every day frustrations getting to me or both. We did end on a high note with a good dinner and a family walk though 🤍

Friday was a good day! I dropped the kids off at Grandma’s and treated myself to a rainy day PSL from MOB Coffee, then got a lot of work done. Plus we finally got our dishwasher fixed. Only a month and three visits from the repairman later 😬 Felt like going out, so we met my sis and Wayne at Edgewater Public Market. Juggling adult conversation, feeding two small children, eating my own food and restaurant noise is always so overstimulating for me but we had fun just the same.

We have been moving Lydia from her bassinet in our room to her crib in their room after her dream feed and for the most part it has gone really well but there are definitely nights when they wake each other up and it’s always so rough. We were all up multiple times Friday night and were up for the day at 6 AM on Saturday 😩🥱 Tried to revive us all with pumpkin pancakes but neither of my kids seemed into them. Late morning, I got to take Dempsey to his swim lesson and he did so good!!! It was so fun to see it in person 🥹😍 During his nap, I took Lydi on a walk to the coffee shop and the leaves are already changing here in Denver. That night, I did something I’ve wanted to do all summer… a mommy-son date to the Rockies game! He asked for cotton candy from the second we got in the car until the top of the fifth when I finally bought him some. Stayed through the 7th then took our boy home. We had a really good time AND the Rockies won!

We all slept good on Saturday night and woke up for quick breakfasts and a walk to the farmers’ market. I’ve been three times with one or both of the kids but was excited to go as a family. It was perfect weather and we were in and out before it got too crowded. Got corn, apples, tomatoes, shishitos and a cronut for the boys 😋 Got to play with Lyds during Dempsey’s nap and take Dempsey to Home Depot for mums during Lydia’s nap — check out his cool Frozen box from Auntie Lauren! — and then we all played outside for a bit before I started cooking dinner. Chicken teriyaki burgers were so good! Took a walk afterward then put the kids to bed. I wish it could be fall weather like this forever!

Happy 9 Months to Miss Lydia today!