2012 Reflection

Another year has completely FLOWN by - much more so than any other year has in my life.  If you read my blog, you know that the year has pretty much revolved completely around Ben.  I simply CANNOT BELIEVE that in 1 year's time, Ben has gone from this:

 

Little Bear

 

To this:

 

 

Big Bear!

 



He has changed so, SO much, and we have had to adjust with each stage.  The other day, I was reading a book my mom got me for Christmas, Your Toddler Month by Month.  It said the following:

"If you had an easy time in the first year, you may find the toddler years a bit of a shock as your baby transforms into an independent soul" (page 17).

Um, yes.  This is us :)

It was another good reminder to me that as Ben grows and changes, we need to as well!  I feel like I am adjusting and learning to explain everything to him even more so than when he was a "baby",.  Knowing that his adorable little tantrums are simply because he can't quite express himself and what he wants helps get through them.

The good news, is that I know we still have it really easy.  He is the sweetest and happiest kid!  He LOVES to learn, loves to figure out how things work, loves to be silly and gives us about a zillion hugs each day.  To know that 2013 will be the year that he and I will fully communicate with one another with WORDS kind of blows my mind.

This time last year I was absolutely DREADING going back to work.  This year, I'm thoroughly enjoying my holiday break and am actually looking forward to getting back to the office and back to our regular schedule.  I think all three of us have settled in quite nicely to our routine.  Greg has been at his job for over a year now and is no longer the "new" guy there.  There have been a lot of changes at my company over the last year, but it feels like the majority of them have been good changes.  Ben loves his two days a week with Callie and the girls and his one day a week with my mom.  I am so happy with how this situation has worked out for all of us!  We are all happy with where we spend our days :)

Greg's mom came out to visit us for a month, TWICE, which was so wonderful for all of us! We don't get to see her every week like we do my mom, but I'm so happy that when we do we really get to catch up and spend a lot of quality time.  She is such an enormous help and we were so lucky that she was able to visit us!

When I think about our lives now, I often times feel like we aren't doing as much as we used to.  It sometimes feels like "parenting" (or at least our style of parenting) has taken over.  Sure, we didn't take any "big" (read: beach) vacations this year, we rarely got out to the movies or to dinner alone (compared to what we used to do), and our lives definitely revolve around the little man's sleep schedule.

HOWEVER, we went to San Diego for a great family trip, went on another weekend trip with the Cougans, Greg went on a "man" trip with his friends, we attended FOUR weddings, we made it to many of our friend's parties, celebrated many new babies being born, I started teaching yoga again, AND we purchased our new home!!  Sure, things may not happen as spontaneously as they used to, but I think we are doing a pretty good job at balancing it all when I really think about it!

I'm excited to see what 2013 will bring!  We have already booked a trip to Palm Springs in April, and have been talking about planning a trip to Chicago/Wisconsin in August or September (before we have to pay for a ticket for Ben)! 

I hope everyone has a fun and safe New Year's Eve and Happy New Year!

What makes Ben laugh

When you are 15 months old, the simplest things make you DIE LAUGHING:

And also:

Utensils - FML

I am way too OCD for this, but he has to practice sometime I suppose.

Christmas 2012!

Christmas has come and gone.  I packed up all of my decor, Greg lugged the Christmas tree down the driveway for the Boy Scouts to pick up this morning, and we took down our lights!  I have to say, we REALLY enjoyed the holiday season this year - but I'm ready for it to be over now :)  As much as I have enjoyed the constant stream of cookies, danishes, and chocolates (truffles, hot cocoa and candies galore!) I can literally FEEL the holidays on me right now ;)  So much so, that I started my cleanse early!

But our first Christmas in our home was wonderful!  On Christmas morning, my parents arrived during Ben's first nap - which was timed perfectly!  We enjoyed a relaxing brunch, set up the Christmas tree for "Christmas Morning" (i.e. unopened gifts ready to be played with) and when Ben woke up, we got started!

Ben definitely doesn't "get" Christmas yet (duh), and after looking at a few new toys, he was a little overwhelmed I think.  I continued to open his gifts for him, but I don't think it was until the next day that he really settled in and got to fully enjoy his stuff!  Also, since he received so many awesome things, I'm putting several of them away to pull out throughout the year!

After a MUCH needed afternoon nap, we went over to Debbie's house to have Christmas dinner with her, Hilary, John, Violet and Hilary's sister Rachel!  I totally failed to get any photos from the evening because Ben was in a SUPER AMAZING mood and kept us busy the entire time.  :)  It was a DELICIOUS dinner of Prime Rib, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, salad and apple crisp for dessert!  It was really special to get to open gifts with their family on Christmas and see them one last time before then headed back to San Diego.

I am already looking forward to next year (although, Ben probably has enough toys to last him for the next couple years) :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas this year!

Merry Christmas!

Pre-Christmas Blog

I don't want to forget anything from the last few days before the big day tomorrow, so I wanted to get caught up on my blogging tonight!

I cannot BELIEVE it's already Christmas Eve!  And what a difference a year makes!  While Ben obviously still does not understand the whole concept and excitement of Christmas, WE definitely are excited for him and look forward to watching him open his gifts tomorrow morning.

To start, I have loved all of the Christmas cards we have received from our friends and family!  I know how much effort it takes to get your shiz together enough to get cards out during the busy holiday season, and we have enjoyed each trip to the mailbox over the past few weeks!

Yesterday, (Christmas Eve Eve), the three of us went out to breakfast in Downtown Bothell.  It was a non rainy morning, so we took a short walk around before heading home.

 

Later that afternoon, I took Ben for another walk around the neighborhood.  I bundled him up in SEVERAL layers as it's pretty cold out right now:

 

 

Rachel came by this morning so that she and I could exchange gifts, and she brought (made) me the coolest gift!  A frame with silhouettes of our family :)  #LoveIt  (This picture of the picture is kind of lame - it was hard to not catch the reflection of lights in the kitchen)!

 

 

And of course, Ben loved her visiting us as well.

 

 

My cousin Melissa sent a gift for Ben that we let him open this evening - such fun toys and books!  He loved everything!

 

 

 

And finally, some Christmas traditions!  For many years, my mom would make soup for Christmas Eve - I remember clam chowder in particular.  I decided to change up the plans to go out this evening and opted to make some soup for us for dinner!  I made the chicken chili that my mother in law made for us while she was out - it's definitely one of my favorite soups.  Here is the recipe, in case anyone wants to try it!

 

Marcia Ingle's Chicken Chili

 

1 lb Chicken Breast (cut up)

2 tsp olive oil

Salt and Pepper

(Brown the above ingredients in a pot)

 

Pour 2 cups of chicken broth on top of the chicken.

 

Add:

 

2 Tbl chopped onion

1 can green chilies

4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp oregano

1 can diced tomatoes

3 cans northern white beans (drained but not rinsed)

 

Simmer 1/2 hour

 

Top with shredded cheese and sour cream.

 

We also each opened up a gift.  I opened up a new bathrobe/wrap that Greg got for me.  He was super smart and asked someone at Nordstroms to help him pick it out, and I LOVE IT.  I plan to live in it throughout all of the winter months :)  Greg and Ben opened up a gift from me, The Muppet Christmas Carol on BluRay!  We all watched it together in our coordinated Christmas plaid jammies!

 

 

 

I hope everyone has a VERY Merry Christmas and enjoys some traditions with your family!

Snowflake Lane (Round 2)

We decided to give it another go at Snowflake Lane (after Ben being terrified when we took him a couple weeks ago).  I'd say it was a more successful evening this time around, but it definitely started out like this:

 

 

 

We knew that John and Hil took Violet out to eat (and to various other activities) much more often than we do.  We pretty much adhere to our strict nap schedule and as of late, have needed to avoid going out or dining out to eat when we know Ben is in a mood.  But these guys, they know how to keep up their normal routine (for the most part) with a baby.  Here are the guys feeding the babies, complete with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the iPad for their dining entertainment.  Love it.

 

 

Reunited! (Hilary, John and Violet are here)!

Hilary, John and Violet are in town for Christmas!  We are so excited to have them nearby, and we have been lucky enough to spend a lot of quality time with them so far!

 

On Thursday night while Greg was at a meeting for work, Ben and I went over to Hilary's mom's house to visit.  I cannot believe how much Violet has grown, and this little 10 month old girl is WALKING.  It is so hilarious to see her and Ben (sort of) interact with one another.

 

 

Really wanting in on the bath action:

 

Hanging out with John (and his iPad):

 

Reading to Violet:

 

On Friday, we each left our babies with their grandmas, and went to Jamie and Collin's 5th Annual Christmas Party!  It was so freaking nice to get out and have an "adult" night, and we had so much fun.

 

 

Ah, marriage. ;)

On Saturday, they came to visit and spend some time relaxing at our house.  We had been wanting to do something "Christmasy", so we made hot chocolate, decorated cookies and watched a National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  John also brought his camera and attempted to get some good pictures of the kids, but Ben was way too interested in the "behind the scenes" action.

 

 

 

New outfits for Christmas

 

Our friend Adam sent this ADORABLE Captain America T for Ben.  It's size 2T, so we will get a lot of wear out of it!  He sent another outfit that Ben doesn't fit into yet, but it has a cape and it's awesome.

 

Shirley brought this super cute outfit for Ben which fits great!  It's so nice to have another fleece vest for him to wear this season as he has outgrown ones he had before.  Here is Ben striking his best catalog baby model pose.

 

 

And Grandma Ingle sent these cozy dinosaur jammies for Ben!  There is nothing better than a new pair of Carter's fleece jams in my opinion. :)

Meal Planning - Week of CHRISTMAS

Hello! 

I'll start by saying, safforn is CRAZY expensive!!  ???  I sent Greg to the store to do our shopping last week, and he came back with a $20 bottle of saffron!  We could have purchased 2 (or 3) bottles of wine for that amount!  I definitely would have revised the week's menu had I known that the 1/2 teaspoon of saffron I needed for the couscous would have been more than what the entire meal should have cost.  I probably should have read through the reviews of the recipe (as I'm doing now) as it would have been obvious to me at that point!

But hey - my husband is awesome and buys me what I ask for so I'll stop complaining now.  (However, the couscous was just eh, so whatever).

All in all, last weeks dinners were good! I tend to mix up the nights on which I cook things, and on Monday I ended up cooking both the soup and the spaghetti which made the next night very easy :)

Here is Ben eating some of the sausage/vodka sauce spaghetti:

 

My challenge lately is to find stuff to make that Ben will be able to eat with his hands.  We are going through an "Oh Hell No" phase when it comes to utensils, so anything offered to him via spoon or fork is NOT HAPPENING.  (And him eating with his own utensils is also not happening yet - probably due in equal parts to my cleanliness OCD and for his own safety).

 

Since we are hosting Christmas morning brunch this year and then having Christmas dinner with Hilary and her family, we will attempt to "eat what we have" once more on rest of the days next week.  I also would like to clear out what remains in the freezer and pantry and sort of start fresh in the new year.  Does anyone else ever get like this?  With their homes stocked full of stuff that gets pushed to the back and never eaten?

 

Additionally, on January 2nd I'm starting a 10 day cleanse.  Fun, right? (No?)  I have been interested in trying this one though, as we sell it at the yoga studio and I've only heard great things, and after a month year of cookies, I think my body could afford to go 10 days without them (and wine, and dairy, and wheat, and sugar).  So, it would be nice if my fridge was somewhat cleared out and organized so that I can prepare for this. 

 

Monday/Christmas Eve: We have a Groupon to use at the Mukilteo Lodge, so I'm thinking Christmas Eve may be the perfect time to use that up.

 

Tuesday/Christmas:  Brunch will be eggs, breakfast sausage, and fruit and my mom is bringing over a danish.  My favorite.  Yum!  That evening, we will be heading over to Debbie's to have Prime Rib and will be bringing a green salad and a green bean casserole.  (If anyone has a better green bean casserole to share, please send it to me)!

 

Wednesday: Marinated chicken (of some sort), arugula salad and quinoa with whatever veggies I have on hand.

 

Thursday: Frozen Costco Pastas with an arugula salad.  (We have a few different kinds in the freezer right now that I'd like to use up)!

 

Friday: Black bean tacos with cabbage slaw (a new favorite) and fresh guacamole.

 



A few minutes in the life...

...of an almost 15 month old (and his tired mama).

Opening Gifts Early (Like a Boss)

In efforts to not completely overwhelm Ben on Christmas morning, we have started to open a few gifts early.  One of those gifts, is this fun new car that Aunt Karen got for him:

 

We sent a text to Karen and Alyssa (our niece) to thank them for the gift, and Alyssa's response cracked me up.

 

 

Growing up

 

Even though I am a parent myself, it is sometimes strange to think of myself as adult enough to have a kid of my own.  To add to that, it is even stranger to see people that you have known since elementary and middle school become parents...particularly my guy friends!

 

Last weekend, my friend Jess (left), his girlfriend Becca and their almost 9 month old, Myles along with Chris (right), his wife Emily and their 6 month old, Jaxon came over for brunch and baby-time.  It. Was. Awesome.

 

We all share such fun memories together - from being kids (I met Chris in the second grade), to the awkwardness of middle school, to high-school football games and dances (each of these gentlemen escorted me to a dance at some point), to turning 21 and having parties and then at some point, growing up, getting into relationships and having little boys!  It's pretty rad to all be at the same stage in life right now.

10th (ish) Annual Mom/Daughter Christmas Lunch

 

For at least the last 10 years, Lisa (my oldest, dearest friend) and our moms have gotten together for lunch and a gift exchange shortly before Christmas.  We discussed it yesterday, and we think we started this tradition when Lisa returned from college.  It is so much fun to celebrate the holidays with not only your family, but your like-family friends.

 

This year, Shirley and my mom came over (I think mostly to see Ben) and then we carpooled down to Eastlake Bar and Grill, which is right near Lisa's new condo (which my mom hadn't seen yet).  We enjoyed a delicious lunch (although most of us had breakfast) and then walked over to Lisa's place to have tea, cookies and exchange gifts! 

 

This is one of my favorite traditions each year, and I'm so glad we have kept it going!