Well, almost two weeks after our precious niece, Karis, was born, Miguel and I made it out to Seattle to meet her! I hate flying but I think I was so excited to just get to Washington to meet Karis that the flights went really well. Although, they did not seem fast. Flying to Seattle takes a longgggg time! But it is totally worth traveling the 3000 miles to be with family!
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| The house we stayed at had a map where people could pin where they came from. It was really neat seeing all the different locations people visited from! |
Meeting Karis was really special! It was different and better than I thought it would be. I definitely had tears immediately once I laid eyes on her. In fact, the whole trip was littered with tear-filled eyes for me. At moments all throughout the trip I would look at Karis and would find myself blinking back the tears. Babies are truly a miracle from God.
Miguel was really sweet with Karis. I loved seeing Miguel, a tall, strong man, be all tender and gentle with her. Karis is really lucky to have him as an uncle and I know he will make a wonderful dad one day!
We got in to Seattle pretty late which was of course super late East Coast time, so our visit was pretty short the first night. But the next morning my parents took the whole crew - now a party of 7 - out to breakfast. I literally did not eat. All I wanted to do was hold Karis the entire time! I did, however, end up sharing her with my Dad and Miguel so that my mom and I could give Karis a special gift. It was actually from all the ladies on our side of the family, including my Grandma too. All of us have charm bracelets and we collect charms for special occasions in our lives or to remember the places we've been. It seemed only fitting that we all let Karis in on the deal too. So my Grandma bought the silver bracelet in a too-cute-for-words little girls' size and we all three gave her a charm. I'm sentimental and I really hope it becomes something Karis will cherish all her life. Sarah seemed really pleased when she opened the gift. I'm writing that because this is a big deal. Sarah isn't a very expressive gift-opener. Not saying she isn't grateful, she just doesn't give huge reactions to gifts. She teared up (okay, some of that may be hormone related...) but she really was happy and that of course made me tear up too =)
As you can imagine, the new parents were pretty worn out. The first day this was pretty much their body language and the expression on their faces:
I had to snap a shot of Jared at one point just to document the still sheet-imprinted face he was sporting after a quick moment of "just shutting [his] eyes for a second".
Although, I love visiting with my sister and Jared, Miguel and I were more than willing to hang out with Karis for them so they could zonk out for a while.
Yeah... look at that face! Those cheecks! That tiny, pink jacket that just ate her up! Yeah, we were totally willing to hang out with that sweetness for her parents!
The weather was unseasonably warm the weekend we visited Seattle and the skies were really clear. We took advantage of the nice weather the first full day we were there and headed out to Golden Gardens to enjoy the sun and scenery! It was fun because this was the first outing Karis had in her stroller, which was a gift from Miguel and me!
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| My dad chauffeured Karis, too cute! |
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| Look at the mountains in the distance! SO beautiful! |
Golden Gardens had such a fun energy! Everyone and their brother was out and about enjoying the weather. I have never seen so many sailboats out on the water at one time in one area. Really, really cool. We took blankets and some snacks and lounged around talking and I spent most of the time just staring at Karis.
Miguel, however, took his school work to the park (rolling eyes). I'm just playing. I'm really thankful that Miguel is so responsible and diligent in all areas of his life, including his school work.
At one point when Miguel went to go get some water Sarah decided she would do some light reading and picked up Miguel's school book. It was really funny! None of us could even being to understand the equations in that book!
Literally one of the coolest things ever happened that afternoon. We saw a pod of wild orca whales (apparently it isn't P.C. to call them Killer Whales anymore) in the water right next to us! This is rare even for Seattleites! I was kicking myself for not bringing the long lens, but even if I had, I doubt the moment could truly be captured on camera!
Super bowl Sunday we mostly just hung out at Sarah and Jared's. We tried to soak up as much Karis time as we could. While I was monopolizing Karis, Miguel hung out with the cats, Milo and Busby. They are characters and crack me up!
Sunday afternoon Sarah gave Karis her first bath. I was so tickled to be there to experience one of Karis's firsts! While almost everyone was in the kitchen helping or watching Karis's first bath, Miguel couldn't help himself to watching some pre-show coverage of the Super Bowl! Haha! He makes me smile, he is so male.
Karis did really well with her bath. But of course she would. She is a rock-star like that. No seriously. And no, I am not bias. =) Okay, maybe just a smidge.
But she really did do really well. She is not fussy at all and so even tempered. Unfortunately, both are traits that did not come from her Aunt Laura. It's cool though, we share the rock-star gene. ;) Karis knows what it means to get pampered, and girl knows she deserves it after a long two weeks of being that adorable. So after her bath I filed her nails for her and Miguel did her hair. And in true rock-star fashion Miguel styled her locks into a faux-hawk. Don't knock it till you've seen it... she has the face shape to pull it off ;)
Right after Sarah and Jared found out that Baby Ray was a little girl, I whipped up some little girly onesies with some matching tu-tus and headbands and sent them to Seattle to await Baby Girl's arrival. Karis was kind enough to model one of the outfits while we were visiting.
Oh my gosh, I know it is a little much... that HUGE bow and tutu, but I just can't stand the cuteness! I think it is precious! Not practical, but precious!
The absolute worst part of the trip was leaving. Rip your heart out, tear it in two, break it into a million pieces type stuff. I cried in the airport, I cried while boarding, I cried on the plane. I am so happy that Sarah and Jared have found a city that they are thrilled about and love, but it just breaks my heart that it is on the opposite coast! I wish sooo badly that I could watch this little girl grow up in person. I just won't get to see her as much as I wish I could! Especially in these first few years when I know she'll change so much in the gaps of time when I don't get to see her. But I keep reminding myself that we are blessed to live in a day and age with computers, skype, and airplanes!
I'm counting down the days till I get to see Karis and her pinch-able, cheeks again! April cannot get here soon enough!!!
