First Mother's Day

I have bite marks on my chin. Smudge marks on my watch. Pureed food on my arm. I know what a good price per diaper is. I clean up toys nightly. And I haven't slept through the night in over 9 months...

And I think my heart could actually burst into a million bits, I'm so full of love and joy.

Baby Drake, thank you for making me a mother. The second you were born, a new version of myself was born too. I've sure had to learn a lot. I hope you always, always feel of my love for you. Always.

Easter

Holidays are so much different now that we have Drake. They become a little more magical with a little one around. We headed up to my mom's house for Easter weekend. On Saturday, her neighborhood has a big egg hunt and other little activities for families. I was nervous about Drake finding eggs with the older kids running around, but they were smart and separated the kids into age categories. Obviously, Drake was in the youngest group. There were tons of eggs too, so he got a good amount. He really would have been happy with the first one he found.
We picked up this egg on the walk over (cheating, I know).

Mimi & Dad with Drake before the big hunt


Pretty good little hunter



The big kids were so into the egg hunt. It was fun to watch.

Drake was a fan of the Easter Bunny as soon as he figured out he could terrorize him. He loves pulling hair, so he was in heaven!






Chilling around the house




Drake was a fan of his Easter basket!

A trip to Salt Lake City

We headed to SLC for our nephew, Henry's baby blessing. Drake has become quite the little traveler. He loves people watching and the hustle and bustle that the airport offers. He's also always a big fan of the flight attendants, especially the blonde ones.

As soon as we got our bags and car in SLC, we headed straight down to Provo for a quick trip down Memory Lane. It was so fun to be together back in the place where it all began. It was a little crazy that we had our child with us this time around! We ate at Rumbi and walked around BYU campus quickly (it was freezing and windy). It was so fun to revisit where we met, etc. It's really weird thinking we graduated almost 7 years ago!



The next morning is when Drake and Henry officially met. It was the sweetest thing ever! Like they already knew each other. I know they have many great memories to make together in the future.


We headed to Scheel's after grabbing some Dunford Donuts. This place is incredible. Has a huge ferris wheel inside and every sport you can imagine, they have the gear for. It's huge. Super fun.


The main event: Henry's Blessing. Jeremy did such a wonderful job. It was beautiful. It sure is something special to witness the love a father has for his child. We were lucky to be there. Love this picture. Captures the free spirit that lives within Pearce.


After the blessing, we ate some delicious food. Emily's mom brought meats from the family business back in Louisiana. I was in heaven. So delish.

Our last day, the kids played while I got us packed and ready to go. Emily captured some adorable pics that I'm stealing.



We headed downtown with Emily and the kids before catching our flight. We went to the Children's Museum which was so cute! It was pretty crazy with Preschools on field trips there, so we left and headed to Temple Square to roam for a few before meeting Jeremy for lunch.




The grounds at Temple Square are always sooo beautiful. I love it there.


Drake crashed in the car after lunch, so we drove out near the airport and sat in the car so he could get as much rest as possible before our flight home. Such a sweet boy.

First time swingin' at the park

Hello, Seattle

We headed to Seattle February 15-18 so that Brandon's family could meet our pride & joy. Our flight was early, and with the parking lot shuttle that made 5,000 stops before taking us to the airport and the totally worthless TSA agent who stood there reading over his work schedule for 5 minutes before screening our milk, and then not knowing how to actually screen it, we were the last to board our flight. But, once we were on, we were good to go. Drake is such a ham. He was working the flight attendants with his smile. It's interesting trying to change a 6.5 month old in an airplane bathroom. Especially one who does the gator roll every time you change him. We had a good ole time though and got his diaper and clothes on... for the most part.

Brandon's sister, Shannon, took Friday off so she could spend time with Drake. It was so great chatting and laughing with her. We miss our time in Utah with her. When we landed, there was a really thick layer of fog over the city. We literally broke through the fog and the runway was right there. But once we got home, got settled, and ate some delicious Sugee's sandwiches, the fog had burned off and it was gorgeous outside. We went for a long walk and stopped by Brandon's Elementary School. School was just letting out so we snuck in and got a picture with the flag that he designed in 4th grade.


So pretty out.


This is how Drake "naps" when we aren't at home. Hahaha. Crazy kid.


Beautiful sunset Friday night.

The whole clan came over on Saturday for dinner, and everyone loved on Drake. He was a happy guy. He really enjoys attention from people. We also got to see everyone for dinner again Sunday afternoon and enjoyed shooting some hoops out back since the weather was decent.








Before heading for Alki & the airport, we snuck away on a quick putt around the island.

Monday, we went over to Alki for some Pegasus pizza and Greek salad before heading to the airport. It's something we always looks forward to. Delish! It was chilly, but I took Drake out to see the water and watch the seagulls. It was adorable how he was trying to talk to them as the flew by. He was also mesmerized by the water. He's my little buddy. He was really tired at this point and screamed his little guts out in the car on the way to the airport. Not my idea of a good time! I hate it when that happens. But once we got to the airport and he was out of his car seat, he was great. He did really well on the flight home and before we knew it, we were back in Denver. It was a whirlwind of a trip, but we were so glad all of Drake's close family has now met and loved on him.