Halloween Preview

I am pretty sure it will be impossible for us to ever top The Gnome, but seeing Ben in his Jet Pilot costume is pretty close in my opinon.

2 Years Old - An Update

I hadn't provided an actual update last week for Ben's birthday, so here is how our little guy is doing at 2 years old:

Weight: 29 lbs 6 oz - (68th percentile)

Height: 36.5 inches - (94th percentile)

Head Circumference: 19.5 inches (73rd percentile)

 

He did great at his last check up, for the most part.  The actual doctor visit was fantastic, but when we had to wait 10 minutes for the nurse to come back and give him his shot, he lost it.  He was putting his shoes on, trying to open the door and walk out, and when I wouldn't let him....well, this happened:

 

 

But back to the visit:  I had been nervous about what the doctor would say about him still drinking milk from a bottle, but she (happily) told me that it was totally fine.  (I'm pretty sure I'm not quite ready to part with them anyway, so what she said wouldn't have mattered much).  In fact, she referred to them as "cozy bottles" - warm milk, in the morning and at night, a comfort thing.  She also said that him having a binky when he is sleeping is fine.  Greg, on the other hand, is ready to see them go.  Blah.  I think we will have to tackle that issue this fall.

 

Another thing she suggested was for us to really encourage him to do things for himself, or to help us whenever possible.  Things like getting dressed, putting on shoes, brushing his teeth, opening the door, etc.  Life skills, y'all.

 

His doctor also was really happy with our attention to and his progress with speech development.  When I told her I think he is around 80 words (plus lots of babbling and sometimes, stuttering - his brain just moving too fast for his mouth to keep up) she said that was well into the normal range and totally normal to stutter.  A good sign, in fact.  And speaking of new words, here are a few we are hearing lately:

 

Thomas (as in, Thomas the Train - Phil (Callie's husband) taught him this one)!

Boom (Which he says every.single.time. he drops a toy on the ground, and now also when he throws his binky in his crib after I pick him up in the morning).

Mickey Mouse

Meow (When he sees the cat).

Pop

Dirt (sounds like "dit")

Oink

Pig

Down

Hot

Up

Boots
All gone/gone (Which he will announce each time he finishes his milk).
I saw a bus - This is my favorite one.  We were out on a walk and from a distance, saw a school bus stop and let all of the kids off after school.  He was pointing at it and frantically saying "bus!!!" as walked towards it.  The bus soon drove past us, but as we approached the corner where the bus had been, Ben pointed to the area and said "I saw a bus"! 

I think this will be the last I keep track of Ben's words, because they seem to be happening at a much more rapid rate these days (and thus cause for less celebration). Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE each time he says a new word, or says an old word more clearly (for example, baby used to sound like "ba-ba", until suddenly today, it was clear as day. "bay-bee").

I've said it before, but I really LOVE this age.  I love Ben's personality so, SO much and it thrills me to no end that I get to hang out with him every day.

 

In his new moustache shirt from Hil and John

 

 

Using his learning tower as a jungle gym.

With that said, he has learned some new tricks that make for some challenging moments.  Things like pushing the footstool all the way over to the counter to reach something we don't want him to have, or the stiff-body move he pulls when he doesn't want to get into the car seat or the bath tub (both of which suddenly seem to be activities he doesn't like to do).  Kids are freakishly strong. 

He also REALLY does not like when we take an item away from him that he wants.  He is obsessed with my EOS chap stick, and will open/apply/close/repeat about 200 times in a row.  And this activity is fine, until he starts to lick and/or bite it, which is when I take it away.  And he will lose it.  He has perfected his pouting moves over the past couple months.  He will either run straight to the couch and bury his face in a pillow, or he will sit down on the ground, gracefully ease himself back onto his elbows, and then put his head on the floor.  And cry.

The last thing I have noticed lately is just how grumpy he is after most of his naps.  He will call for me to go in to get him, but when I arrive, he will lie back down and refuse to be picked up.  Once I do snag him out of there, we will often have a conversation like this:

Me: Would you like some water?
Ben: Nooooooooooooooooooooo
Me: Are you hungry?
Ben: Nooooooooooooooooooooo
Me: Do you want to play with your train?
Ben: Nooooooooooooooooooooo
Me: Should we change your diaper?
Ben: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Me: Do you want to watch Mickey?
Ben: Noooooooooo.....ooooo....uh-HUH!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

But for the most part, we really do have a lot of fun.  When it's nice out (and sometimes even when it's raining) he will happily get into the stroller, armed with a cup of juice and some crackers, snugly with a blanket around him, while we go for a walk around the neighborhood.  On the days I am home, I try to break from work in the afternoon when the buses will be out and about.

 

And when I cannot break from work, the easiest and quietest way to distract him is to say, "Ben!  Do you want to watch the iPad in your tent for a little while???"  Read: please shut your yap and stop climbing on me for 5 minutes, mommy has a conference call.

And he will respond with an enthusiastic "UH HUH"!
 

 

Meal Planning: Week of October 7th

Review from last week:

We only tried two new recipes last week.  One was the balsamic/brown sugar pork loin - and it was VERY good.  I think Greg opted to eat that dish three nights in a row!  It was easy to make and cooked in the crock pot all day.  My favorite kind of recipe.

The other recipe was a salad I found on this girl's instagram.  (She is quickly becoming my favorite blogger, btw).  Anyway, it was cherry tomatoes, avocado, red onion, spinach, salt and pepper tossed with creamy balsamic dressing.  I think next time I'll try it with just EVOO and balsamic vinegar as I found the dressing made it a little too heavy.  We served it up with some meatballs (Costco, frozen) marniated in basil pesto and alfredo.

The rest of the recipes were tried and true. 

Here is the plan for next week:

Saturday:  I purchased a pizza party deal on Living Social a couple months ago, so on Saturday we will be having a chef from Zaw Pizza coming over to make pizza, salad, cookies and do a wine tasting for us :)  The Christensens are coming over to join us!

Sunday:  Dinner at Denali, Kyle and Oliver's house!

Monday: Carnitas (Costco) with coleslaw, black beans and feta.  This is another recipe we make a lot.  We simply saute the carnita meat in enchilada sauce, and then serve it in a bowl with coleslaw (tossed with EVOO, lime juice, salt and pepper) and feta cheese.  I will often heat up some black beans and sprinkle them with some cumin and add that to my bowl.  Greg will usually always add cheddar cheese.

Tuesday: Pizza chicken again - because it's easy, and because I still have ricotta cheese from last week to use.

Wednesday: Leftovers.  The carnita recipe makes a lot.

Thursday:  Thursday is our 6th anniversary!  We are going to go out for dinner on Saturday, but for the actual day, I plan to make this pot roast and these mashed potatoes.  Anyone want to come eat with us? Nomz.

Friday: Leftovers, I think :)

The things that excite me these days

I sometimes think about how small of a window it was between when I became a "grown up" (which for me I think happened somewhere around 22 years old) and becoming a mom.  The period of time where it was truly ALL about me, where as an adult I could make my own decisions and do what sounded fun based solely on my preferences, was quite brief. 

 

Now, most of my time is spent trying to create experiences and happy memories for Ben.  We focus a lot on what HE finds fun and interesting.  It's funny some of the things that change when you become a parent. 

 

These days, I find myself getting excited when I see a bus or a garbage truck.  I will notice it even when Ben isn't in the car, and feel a little disappointed if he missed out on a cool vehicle viewing experience.  I even stopped on our street and took a VIDEO of the garbage truck going by, just so I could show him when I got home.

 

 

Another thing that has become exciting again are holidays!  As much as I loved holidays before, that love is on another level now that Ben is starting to understand what they are all about.  Greg even commented yesterday after I put up some decor that he thought I hated Halloween.  He told me that he always LOVED it, but since I never was into dressing up or decorating, he stopped caring about it.  #Sad

 

I'm also much more aware when a Disney movie is being released on DVD, as I want to make sure Ben can watch all of my favorites from when I was little.  (Little Mermaid came out yesterday, you guys).

I also could not resist snagging the Charlie Brown Holiday Collection. 

 

 

And in addition to the holiday season approaching, I couldn't be more thrilled for the return of cozy jammie weather. 

 

Meal Planning: Week of September 30th

Review from last week:

 

The plague has hit the Ingle house, so there wasn't as much cooking this week as we had planned.  We did make the lemon artichoke chicken, and it was so easy and delicious.

 

 

 

I also made a pasta dish with slow roasted cherry tomatoes, cheese and cream - a recipe I found in my InStyle Magazine (oddly enough).  It was great - and I had the left over pasta mixed with arugula a few nights this week for dinner.

 

The rest of the week was tomato basil soup, and one night, truffle popcorn.  Oh well.

 

On to the next week:

 

Saturday: Crockpot Brown Sugar and Balsalmic Glazed Pork Loin

 

Sunday: Left overs?  Take out?

 

Monday: Pizza Chicken (from last week that we never cooked)

 

Tuesday: Cobb Salad Pizza (again, from last week)

 

Wednesday: Chicken Pot Pie

 

Thursday: Left overs

 

Friday: Sauteed Lemon Pepper Cod and Prosciutto Green Beans

Visiting the Mills Family

On Saturday, we took a mini road trip up to Bellingham to visit our friends Dan, Kate, Ella and Jolie!

 

Kate has been one of my best friends since we met back in Middle School.  In our early twenties, she moved over to Eastern WA for school, met Dan, and got married. In fact, Greg got to meet Kate for the first time at her wedding (at least, I think that is when they first met!  It seems so long ago now)!

 

Over the years, with distance and babies making time together more difficult, we have only been able to spend short amounts of quality time together.  When Kate called me earlier this year telling me that they were planning a move to the west side, I cannot tell you how thrilled I was!  Finally - our friends are in (reasonable) driving distance!

 

We spent the most beautiful day up at their home in Bellingham.  We took a trip to the park at the beach, followed by a quick stop at the local beer store.

 

 

We played in their back yard (and in their bouncy house)!

 

We had a delicious dinner and cupcakes...

 

...followed by a bath, jammies, milk, and Wreck-it-Ralph. 

 

Dan and Kate are truly the best hosts and we cannot wait to spend another family day with them!

Celebrating our 2 year old

Instead of having a big birthday party this year, we decided to celebrate our 2 year old in a quieter fashion.  In all honesty, I just didn't have it in me to party-plan this year - but I also knew that by skipping one, we could splurge a little on a few special gifts.

 

I have had my eye on this rocket tent for several months just KNOWING that Ben would totally freak out if it showed up in his room one day.  I've witnessed his enthusiasm for hiding and then peaking out from behind curtains and blankets, so I knew that this would send him over the top. 

 

Over the weekend, I hung this up in his room.  He.was.so.excited.  We spent a lot of time in that tent that afternoon :)  If I ever need to get something done (make the bed, take a work call), I ask him if he wants to watch the iPad in his tent and he takes OFF running towards his room and happily plops himself down inside.  We keep lots of pillows and blankets in there, along with many of his stuffed animals.  It's so much fun.  He now says good night to his rocket tent every night and before naps.  Love it.

 

 

My parents purchased this train set for Ben, and it's been another big hit.  I need to find a table where this will actually fit well on (and at his level), but for now this is working just fine.  

 

On Sunday, the day we celebrated his birthday, we went to McDonald's for breakfast and then went to the Playdate Cafe for a couple hours. 

 

Here he is enjoying some of his other birthday gifts:  A puzzle from Grandma and Grandpa, his firetruck from Aunt Karen, and a bus Leap Frog toy from the Nikonov's.

 

That evening, Grandma joined us for presents, dinner and cake!

 

That evening, Ben promptly threw up his cake :(  It turned out just to be a nasty cold (and a sensitive gag-reflex from coughing) and a Monday full of cuddles.  

 

On his birthday, Grandpa stopped by for a visit and to bring him a duplo set!  Ben said "Grandpa" for the first (second, third, fourth and fifth) time :)  It was awesome.

 

Thank you EVERYONE who sent Happy Birthday messages, cards, gifts and love.  It thrills me just how much my little boy is loved by the people in his/our life.  There is no greater gift I could ask for than a strong and loving community for Ben to grow up in, and it means the world to me to know that he has exactly that.