The Ingle Family: February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

17 months old

Ben turned 17 months old over the weekend. I don't have much to say that wasn't covered in the last Ben update, but here are a few things we are noticing:

His appetite seems to be increasing, although he definitely needs to be in the right mood to eat. When he isn't, he will push everything away and off of his tray. I'm really working on getting him to say or sign "all done" like he used to. Lately, I feel like he is yelling at me or whining loudly when he is finished, which is not a habit I would like to see continue.

Zoning out in a Nutella coma

As I have previously mentioned, Ben is into EVERYTHING right now. I really need to let go of the notion that I can/should have a clean and tidy house during this stage. He also is letting us know how frustrated he is with us when we take items away from him that he shouldn't have.

While Ben is not saying too many words in clear English, I'm starting to wonder if I am just not great at deciphering his baby talk. He babbles constantly, and in the past few days, the words are becoming more consistent and possibly more understandable. For example, he will stand up on the edge/arm of the couch (the only part of the couch he is not supposed to stand on) and say what I'm convinced is "that's dangerous!". He also says what sounds like "yabba dabba dabba dabba" when I'm changing his diaper, so maybe that is him saying "diaper"? (He has not yet been introduced to The Flinstones, so I don't think this is from that) :)

Ben is starting to outgrow a lot of his 18 month clothing and is moving on to 24 months/2T. Insane.

Ben is super playful, and he is happiest when we are watching him play (eyes focused on him and not anything else), playing with him, or when we are outdoors.

He enjoys grocery shopping a lot! He loves to smile at everyone and will often wave. Recently I have only been allowing his binky when he is in his crib (or right before bedtime), so he now will babble loudly or yell (loud noises!) when we roll through the aisles. I'm sure everyone in the store loves when we show up :) He also will stare at the computer and scanner when it's time to check out. If only he could get his hands on all of those buttons and screens!

Ben loves to snuggle (and he loves our iPhones).

Ben loves to dance! One of these days I will need to capture him in action. Last weekend we went up to visit Erica and meet Baby Luke (who is teeny and adorable and I wished I could have snuggled him forever), and him and Dylan had a short Justin Bieber dance party!

Us with Erica (looking seriously amazing 6 days after having him) and baby Luke!

We have a pretty reliable routine each day, which is helpful and keeps us sane. I always wanted to be that mom that had a flexible schedule, whose kid could adapt to any situation or setting, but I had to face that I am just not that type of person and that just isn't really our lifestyle. Ben has definitely learned (and I think appreciates) consistency, to the point where he literally LOVES naps and bedtime (as long as they are taking place in his room and in his crib - or at Callie's in his designated sleep area) :) This is fantastic most of the time, but when we attempted to put him down in his pack and play over at the Cougan's the other night, he almost lost his mind. I think we need to work on keeping on a good schedule, while at the same time incorporating a little more spontaneity into our lives. I read a great blog post about this exact thing this morning, which was a good reminder to me that it is fun to mix things up a bit from time to time and let go of the "schedule" at times.

Overall, I'm getting the feeling that we are entering a challenging phase of parenting. I need to remember that Ben, while he understands much of what I say, is a little kid (a baby!) that is still figuring out what everything means and doesn't quite understand why he cannot have and do everything he wants and still cannot communicate to us in the way he wishes he could. It feels like a hard thing to have to teach someone else the "rules" of life. I want nothing more than to have an environment where he does not have to be told no, where he can have 100% of our attention at all times, where he can learn and grow and explore as much as he desires - but unfortunately, that cannot always be the case. While I may feel like I am not always doing the best job I can balancing work and being a mom, I feel grateful to know without a doubt that Ben feels how much we love him and is learning so much more from us than I even know.

I guess I was wrong, I had a LOT to say!

I would love to hear from others about how you have/are navigating toddlerhood! :)

Friday, February 22, 2013

Meal Planning - Week of February 25th

Review of last week:

The jambalaya was SO good. I think I overcooked the chicken a bit, but it really didn't seem to matter.
The chicken florentine soup didn't thaw too well. Bummer.
Can't ever go wrong with boboli or cod tacos

After re-watching a few documentaries recently, I'm back to insisting upon organic meats and produce (when available). Which usually means more expensive grocery bills. Lame. This week will be an easy and likely inexpensive week, however, because we still have a lot of great stuff stocked up from our Costco trip :)

Monday: Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cheese with......can you guess? An arugula salad. I'm bringing a meal up to my friend Erica on Saturday (while I meet Baby Luke!!) so I think I'll make a double batch of this and save it for our dinner on Monday.

Tuesday: Black bean tacos with Cabbage Slaw and homemade guacamole. (Have I mentioned how much Ben LOVES guacamole??)

Wednesday: Boboli Pizza - Greg makes a delicious pesto alfredo meatball pizza. I'm usually able to sneak in some spinach or arugula under the cheese.

Thursday: Costco ravioli and roasted vegetables.

Friday: Soup and paninis - made with whatever we have on hand.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

A few JUICE recipes

I cannot explain how satisfying it is when I can get Ben to consume vegetables. I made this enormous glass of juice just now and my 24 ounce tumbler was filled to the brim. In one gulping session, Ben took this much down.

Here are a few of my most successful juice recipes:

1 handful spinach

2 handfuls of kale

3 carrots

2 small apples

1/2 pineapple

1 nub (1.5 inches) of ginger

2 cups grapes

2 pears

2 apples

2 handfuls of spinach

1/2 pineapple

4 carrots

1 nub (1 inch) of ginger

I've noticed that if you toss enough pineapple or apple into any juice combo, it is likely to taste good. I've also noticed that if you toss too much celery into any juice combo, it will taste bad (in my opinion). And you can easily cram as much spinach or kale as you want into any combo without it changing the flavor of the juice much at all.

Keeping himself busy

Last summer, I took a few days off from work to pack before our move. I remember having a conversation (or email exchange) with my friend Maureen about this, and her saying, "is Ben with you unpacking everything that you pack"?

At the time, he wasn't - he was 11 months old and (luckily) not interfering with it much!

Fast forward to life now: Ben (who is probably around the same age Maeve was when Maureen said that) seems to have a daily mission: remove every item out of every drawer, shelf, bin, etc.

The great news is that if I give him full access to something (like drawers with safe items in them), he can occupy himself for extended periods of time!

Organizing his Library

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Beautiful Day in Bothell

The novelty of having a yard has NOT worn off on us yet. Every day (particularly on sunny days) we love dressing Ben up as a bear and running laps around the house. #HomeSweetHome

Project Furnish

We sure have come a long way since September!

Callie's New Camera

I was so excited when I dropped Ben off at Callie's last Friday, as she showed me the new camera Phil got her for Valentine's Day! I knew that she would want to practice taking pictures a lot over the upcoming days/months, and sure enough - here are some pictures she captured of Ben last week!

I'm looking forward to seeing more and more of what the four of them are up to when I'm at work :)

Bubbles are Terrifying

Lately, during baths, I will squirt shampoo or body wash on my hands and rub them together and say "bubbles"!! Ben seems to get a kick out of it each time, and today, he pumped soap into his hands, and rubbed them together and showed me the bubbles!

It seemed like the perfect time to open and try out the bubble gun that Greg's mom got him for Christmas. I had put a lot of his Christmas gifts away with plans to bring them out throughout the year, which has been working out great so far!

The gun is really cool - it lights up and pumps out a steady stream of bubbles. Unfortunately, something about it terrified Ben. Like, he immediately stood up and watched in fear as bubbles floated all around him, eventually sticking to his naked body.

We will have to give it another shot outside, (while he is fully clothed)!

But really, what a WUSS! ;)

iPhone Reverse Camera

I have learned that the quickest way to get Ben to zip his lip (particularly when we are in public) is to show him a mirror or the reverse camera image of himself on my phone. He immediately gets confused, or acts shy - but eventually it leads to him practicing his expressions.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Meal Planning: Week of February 18th

Review of last week:

The Honey Sesame Chicken in the crock pot was REALLY good. The leftovers made for a good lunch the next day.

The steak and roasted sweet potatoes were delicious. I haven't had a steak in a long time. Yum.

I had never had the spinach and cheese ravioli's from Costco before, but they are amazing and I hope to always have them stocked in the freezer.
Can you tell we love arugula?

The menu for this week will be fairly simple due to our Costco run last week! Also, The Ingle's have been enjoying lots of JUICE lately (usually for breakfast or lunch, or for Ben to have along WITH his breakfast or lunch). I have been making juice for Greg at night for him to drink for breakfast in the mornings (his current favorite is grape, apple, ginger, and SPINACH) and then making another batch for myself to share with Ben each day (we like pineapple, carrot, ginger juice - and sometimes I will throw a couple handfuls of spinach or kale and an apple into that). It has definitely increased our fresh produce budget, but I no longer am buying the fruit/veggie puree pouches for Ben (that would run about $1.99/each) so we are saving in some areas, too.

Monday: Crock pot Jambalaya. Brenna blogged about this recently and I immediately harassed her for the recipe :)

Tuesday: Spinach and Cheese Ravioli's (Costco), roasted carrots and salad.

Wednesday: Boboli Pizza and salad

Thursday: Chicken Florentine Soup (I froze some of the last batch I made, so this will be easy)!

Friday: Cod tacos

Musical Valentine

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day!

I got to spend another fun Valentine's Day with my littlest valentines today :) After having some banana and peanut butter tofu shakes for breakfast (in his sparkly, heart covered glass from Grandma) we visited Grandma at work this morning! We then spent the rest of the day resting at home. Ben has a bit of a cold, so we stayed indoors for the most part and he is currently on his second of two very LONG naps.

I bought some candy and some whiffle golf balls for Greg, and he got me Godiva truffles and Lush bath bombs - the ultimate in luxury gifts, in my opinion :)

While I finished up a work project, Greg switched up the menu and made us carnita tacos and margaritas.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day of LOVE! XOXO

Sunday, February 10, 2013

The Music Man

For Christmas, my dad and I purchased tickets to the Music Man for me and my mom to attend! We both were surprised how quickly February came, but we were so excited that the day had arrived!

We grabbed lunch at Belle Epicurean, a small Parisian bakery, and then went to the theater. We were AMAZED when we arrived at our seats. I knew we had purchased good seats (thanks, Black Friday special!) but actually sitting in them and seeing how close we were to the stage was awesome.

Things just got better from there. Once the show started, I realized that I knew almost every song from the musical/movie! Apparently I watched it more than I had thought growing up, and all of the songs just came back to me. It was great!

I also picked up this shirt for Ben (although it won't fit him for awhile)! I also decided that if Ben wants to join band or drama one day, I will be MORE than supportive :)