Out of Hibernation

 

 

 

Also, we turned Ben's car seat around!  I had kind of been planning on waiting until he was 2 years old, but he is pushing 27 pounds and has such long legs and we decided that now was a good time.  (Also, our cars were in desperate need of vacuuming - you cannot imagine how many crumbs can accumulate behind a car seat - so the timing was good to make the switch).

 

I really think Ben is enjoying his new view!

A day outside

We have had a beautiful couple of days this week.  We have tried to spend as much time outside as possible, since we never know how long the sun will stick around.  Yesterday, Ben and I walked around Greenlake, went to the park with Callie and the girls, I worked outside (both on a spreadsheet for work, and weeding in the yard), Greg mowed the lawn, and Ben pushed around his lawnmower and had a snack on a blanket in the grass. 

Weekly Meal Planning: Week of April 29th

Okay, I'm back at it.  I've noticed we definitely eat more delicious meals when we plan ahead.  When we don't, we end up just sadly digging through our fridge and freezer trying to throw together whatever might go well together - and it usually is not well balanced.

After our vacation, and after eating most meals out for a week, we have decided that we need to limit our restaurant time until Ben is a little older.  It's more expensive, and we are usually just rushing through our meal to get out of there before Ben freaks out.  We will obviously go out from time to time, but meal planning is becoming even more important for this reason!

With that being said, we have plans to go out twice this week... :)

Sunday:  We are going out to dinner with Lisa and Evan at Ravish.  Lisa and I bought a Groupon to go here and it expires on April 30th.  The plan is to have an early dinner and, since it's in the same building as Lisa's condo, hopefully we will be able to hang out at her place for awhile afterwards.

Monday: Lemon and Caper Cod and Strawberry Basil Quinoa Salad

Tuesday:  Greg hinted that he may have a late night at work on Tuesday, so I will take that opportunity to make the Chicken Sausage and Quinoa Stuffed Squash dish again that I know Greg would not be a huge fan of.

Wednesday:  Greg's birthday!  We have another Groupon to use, this time at Tandem Wine Bar in Bothell.  I may try to wrangle a babysitter for this one (Mom?) but Greg may also want to spend his birthday with Ben, too!  TBD :)

Thursday:  I think our friends Jess, Becca and Miles are going to try to come over for dinner, so we will probably BBQ hamburgers, make sweet potato fries and have a green salad.

Friday:  Blackened cod tacos and homemade guacamole

Swinging

Callie sent me this picture this morning.  I loved to see that they were having such a great day!  I think Ben really missed the girls last week :)

Reasons Ben is Crying

 

I recently came across this blog, and OMG did it hit home with us :)  Ben is at an age where he clearly cannot tell us exactly how he is feeling, what he wants, and especially what he does not want.  Certain things that never used to bother him (like having his diaper changed) will often set him off.  When it's not totally frustrating, it can be pretty comical.  My doctor warned me to not laugh when he does this, (which is what I told her my response often was to his tantrums), but to instead ignore it until he has calmed down and then acknowledge his feelings by saying something like, "boy, you were really frustrated, weren't you?".  I'm trying to handle it this way more often....

 

But just so I can remember this adorable phase, I wanted to document what typically will piss Ben off:

• Diaper changes - 75% of the time he will do that toddler move where he spins himself onto his stomach so it becomes impossible for me to change him.
• If he sees an iPhone, iPad or my computer and doesn't have it placed into his hands within 3 seconds.
• Offering him a food item when what he really wants is another food item.
• Sitting in his highchair 1.5 seconds longer than when he was finished eating.
• Lately, reading books to him upsets him.  He only is interested in books if he can sit with them alone and turn the pages as fast as he pleases.
• When I close the door behind me when I'm going to take a shower or bath - he gets so upset that he isn't invited in as he LOVES showers and baths.
• When we take him OUT of the shower or bath.  Water baby.
• Carrying him when he wants to walk.
• If we enter the house after being away and don't immediately pick him up (which, duh - we love).

I'm sure there are SO MANY MORE, but you get the idea.  I know how hard it must be to not say exactly what is on your mind (which I can especially understand, because I always like to say exactly what is on my mind), and I hope that as he starts to be able to communicate more, these instances will start to diminish.  It's times like this that I REALLY wish I would have taught him baby sign language - for whatever reason, I just wasn't into it - but looking back, this would have probably been very helpful for the 1.5 to 2 year old range! :)

Videos from Palm Springs

Just a couple videos that I took on vacation:

Chasing ducks around Civic Center Park in Palm Desert:

Checking out the parrot at the JW Marriott Hotel:

 

Exploring the golf course at Indian Canyon:

 

Vacation - Palm Springs

Ah, vacation.  What a blast we had!  I definitely had a lot more fun than I expected to have travelling with a little one.  I think know I have been spoiled after all of the fun and lazy vacations Greg and I have had over the years, but I think we are lucky to have formed a good parenting "team" and were able to give one another the opportunity to rest and relax while the other entertained Ben.  Plus, we still had plenty of quality family time together - it was a great trip :)

Back in March of last year, Greg and I attended a charity auction thrown by our friend Jamie.  We purchased a week's stay at her grandpa's condo for an amazing deal (and supporting an great cause) and we were so happy we did so!  We hope to stay there again in the future!

Greg golfed most mornings while Ben and walked to get coffee or breakfast and explored the area.  After Ben's morning nap, the three of us would venture out for lunch (and cocktails).  We would spend the afternoon at the pool, and then once it cooled off a little, we would head out somewhere in the evenings to walk and explore. 

 

Arrived in Palm Springs!  Our dentist was on our same flight,

so he offered to take a family picture of us :)

 

View from our condo's deck