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!

Enjoying the time we have

I have been finding myself stuck thinking about the Sandy Hook tragedy a lot more than I would like to.  Every time I hear or read a new detail, I end up wishing that I hadn't.  (I need to stay away from CNN for awhile...)  It is the most unimaginable thing a person, a parent, a child, could ever experience.

On Friday afternoon in the midst of this tragic new story unfolding, I text Greg telling him that we would be spending the day on Saturday doing an "All About Ben" day.  ALL I wanted to do was enjoy a day off with him, do something new and fun, and make sure he knew how much his mom and dad love him!

We started the day off with french toast and Super Why :)  We played at home, put Ben down for his morning nap, and then when he woke up we headed out for lunch at Red Robin!  Ben is very into "dipping" things, so this was the perfect opportunity for him to dip his wrap, french fries, (sleeves, hands) into ranch dressing.

After lunch, we went to spend a few hours at The Children's Museum.  OMG.  Both Greg and I had heard that this place was a fun place to take your kid, but we were NOT expecting to have such a fantastic time. 

At one point, Greg looked over at me and said,

"I don't think I have EVER seen Ben this happy". 

And it was true!  Ben was running from one thing to the next, exploring buttons and levers and stairs and bridges and water and lights and music and (fake) animals and trains and tractors and ON AND ON.  I wasn't expecting it to be as fun for Ben at his age, but it absolutely was.  And it will become fun in different ways when he can pretend and climb on bigger things, too! 

Here are some of the pictures and videos from the day.  We seriously cannot wait to go back, and luckily, due to an early Christmas gift from my parents, we will be able to enjoy unlimited access for the next year :)  We are thrilled!

Playing on the fire truck:

 

 



Standing directly in front of the light on the bus.  There was a kid inside the bus flashing the lights on and off and Ben was just mesmerized (or blinded).

 

 

Playing with the funny mirrors:

 

In the music/light room:

 

"This is the lamest phone I've ever seen":

 

 

Playing on the stage (more like walking in and out of the curtains and cracking up):

 

OMGbuttonsandlevers:

 

Playing in the water...:

 

 

...in his water dress smock:

 

 

Meal Planning - Week of December 17th

A few of my favorites from last week:

BBQ chicken quinoa salad - this may not look great, as I failed to get a picture before I stirred everything into my bowl, but it was delicious!  Greg told me no less than 10 times that night that I had done a good job AND gave me a Facebook shout out about it - so, it was a success.

We made tandoori chicken (teriyaki and tandoori spice) in the crock pot and had it with the lemon orzo pasta.  Instead of "blanching" the asparagus (because, uh, what?) I roasted it in the oven.  I also left the cheese off because I didn't think it needed it.

 

I've decided to put my weekly produce deliveries on hold, as I'm finding them a lot more fun to do in the summer.  I don't want it to become something that I'm planning all of my meals around (finding the right recipes to include the sometimes random vegetables they send), so I'll report back on this when I start them back up.

 

I'm excited that next Friday begins my vacation for the rest of 2012 - woot!  We also have Jamie and Collin's Christmas Party (and due to recent events, it will now also serve as their ENGAGEMENT PARTY - yesssss) so no cooking that night.

 

Since we seem to have accumulated a lot of stuff in the pantry and freezer over the past couple of weeks, this week's theme will be:

 

Use What You Have!

 

Monday: Ever since I made it a few weeks ago I have been craving it, so I'm going to make another batch of Chicken and Potato Florentine Soup, except this time, I will definitely halve the recipe.  This will help me use up some of the frozen chicken I have in the freezer, as well as the carrots, cream cheese and cheese I have in the fridge.  The recipe also calls for fresh spinach, but I have frozen....so I might see how that works this time.  (And I'll be making this Sunday evening to heat up on Monday since I teach yoga that night).

 

Tuesday: Cod and Saffron, Zucchini and Herb Couscous. 

 

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner!  We have some bacon from the cobb salad pizza I made last week and a full carton of eggs.  And to make it a classy meal, I'll use up the rest of the tater tots we have in the freezer.

 

Thursday: Spaghetti (not from scratch), green beans and garlic bread. I have some vodka sauce that I'll add some mild Italian sausage to and call it good!

 

Friday: Par-tay!  I may pick up a Papa Murphy's gourmet veggie pizza for my mom and Ben to enjoy since she will be babysitting!  Isn't that what you are supposed to do for your babysitter?  Order them pizza? :)



 

His Crib

Last night, I could tell that Ben was pretty tired and knew I should probably get him off to bed. I said to him, "Ben, do you want me to take you to your crib"? He got a huge smile on his face and started to nod yes! At first I wasn't sure he understood me, so I asked him twice more and he continued to nod yes :)

Then I told him to say goodnight to Dada, and he immediately waved goodbye, and I took him into his room and put him down. Right away, he tucked his arms in and laid his head down and that was it.

A few months back I never could have imagined we would ever have such an easy bedtime experience, but lately Ben has been super happy to go down for naps and at night.

(Temporary) SCORE!

Photos Lately

 

Anxiously waiting to get in.

 

 

Ben has learned how to climb up on the couch by himself, which usually leaves him BEYOND pleased with himself.  This time, it left him pantless in his raccoon sweater.

Another fun trip to the community center.  I need to take him to the Children's Museum soon - I think he is ready!

 

Starting this year, I'm going to get Ben a Hallmark Keepsake ornament - whatever seems to make sense for his age/interests.  This year, I got the Fisherprice toy :)

 

First time at a mall play area.  He got knocked down 3 times by the bigger kids and we spent a total of 10 minutes there.  It was just as gross and hectic as I imagined it to be, but Ben loved it.  I'm sure we will be back (after the holidays)!

 

Enjoying his first sucker courtesy of some stilt walker at Snowflake Lane in Bellevue.  This was a few minutes before he got scared by the announcer's voice and we were out of there well before the snow started to fall.