Stress Relief

Yesterday was stresssssssful.  (With a happy ending - don't worry)!  Constant (self-made) deadlines at work, plus waiting (impatiently) on some news (more on this later), joined with never-ending laundry and dishes and grocery shopping to be done, combined with that whole "there is never enough time in a day" thing that so many people can relate to, topped off with my never making time for yoga these days = ONE STRESSED OUT JESSICA.

Last night, a few awesome things happened that helped to turn around my mood

1) My friend Becca learned she and her husband Cam are having a BOY!  I really wanted baby O to be a boy - I'm beyond excited!

2) When we got home, Ben sat quietly and happily in his chair while we ate pizza and watched Sex and the City on the iPad.

3) Ben slept for 11 hours - straight (for the third night in a row)

4) I was reminded that my parents are constantly looking out for me and doing everything in their power to make life easy for us.

And tonight, I am teaching yoga.  Om.

And tomorrow - we are embarking on our first annual Cougan/Ingle aka "Cougle" Family Vacation = a weekend getaway at a cabin in the woods by a lake.

Booze + Food + Sun + Family + BFFs + Jet Skis (yikes!) + Board Games = Perfection.

Ben - Get in the Kitchen!

I kept asking him to bake me cookies - but he wasn't into that idea.  He repeatedly opened and closed the refrigerator - probably looking for string cheese.

Sunny Weekend

Lots of sunshine and warm temperatures this weekend = lots of opportunity to get outside and play!

On Friday evening, we stopped over at the Broady's house so the boys could play together in the back yard.  The pool was a little too cold for Ben by the time we arrived, but he did play in the pool long enough for me to snap a picture.

While drying off in the pack and play, the neighbor's kitty decided to give them a little show.

Fascinated with the pot of dirt.

On Sunday morning, Greg and I took Ben down to the Mukilteo Beach.  We had coffee, skipped rocks into the water, played on the grass, watched the ferries take off, and enjoyed some fish and chips at the Ivar's Fish Bar for an early lunch!

(This is how ALL our photo shoots go:  "Ben, look over here, Benny - look at daddy!  BEN"!)

4th of July

It's funny, on each major holiday or special occasion last year, I would think to myself, "Next year at this time, we will have a ____ month old".  I distinctly remember sitting in our friends Dan and Jeannette's yard last year thinking, "Next year, I will have a 9 month old".  Of course, I was also thinking, "It sucks that I am the only one who can't drink today". :)

So, fast forward to this 4th of July:  9 month old baby, a sunny day off in the middle of the week, and some more fun with friends! 

I started the day off with a little errand running and shopping by myself.  Ben must be going through a growth spurt or something, because by the time I left at 9:45 am, he was already down for his second nap of the day.  When I returned, the three of us (in coordinating red, white and blue) went for a stroll through the Mill Creek Town Center.  We even ran into some of the new friends we met on our babymoon last year on the clipper to Victoria - so fun :)

After a third nap for Ben, we packed our stuff in the car and drove to Lake Stickney where this year's party was - which conveniently was about a 4 minute drive from our house.  Nice!

We enjoyed a few drinks, an awesome BBQ spread, the sunshine, a "drive contest" (as in golfing off the dock into the water), some music, great conversation, and were home and in bed before any of the fireworks.  (Perfect in my opinion - I hate fireworks).

Hope you all had a happy 4th of July, too!

At the Town Center

With Dan and Jeannette

Gimme some hamburger!

Loud and scary firecrackers! 

9 Month Checkup

Unrelated photo - fresh from the bath, and giving me his best "Gerber Baby" look

Ben had his 9 month check up on Monday!

Weight: 19 lbs, 9 oz - (25th - 50th percentile)
Height: 28.5 inches - (50th - 75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18.25 inches (75th percentile)

I thought that we were going to avoid shots completely at this visit, but since he got a flu shot instead of some other shot (I can't keep up) at 6 months, he had to get the third (whatever) shot at this visit.  It was quick, with about 20 seconds of sad crying following the shot, but then it was over and we were out of there.

Nothing super exciting to report on, other than the fact that my doctor encouraged me to start feeding Ben "more dense calories" when it comes to his solid foods.  Clearly, this whole food thing has been a bit of an issue for us from the start, both with him not taking well to it for awhile, and with me not having much patience or creativity in the kitchen...but she gave me the go ahead for him to try anything but honey.  This actually helps me a little because now that I know he really is able to have ANYTHING we are eating (assuming it is not a choking hazard and assuming it's not totally non-nutritious).

Her exact words were, "butter on his toast, cheese sauce on his vegetables, peanut butter (!?!) on his banana".

So....

When we returned from the appointment, I shared some of my bagel and cream cheese with him.  He loved it. For dinner, he enjoyed whole wheat pasta slathered with butter and cheese with a side of zucchini (LOVED it - especially the zucchini, BTW). 

Baby Cage

Ben in his pack and play.

L
O
L

"Dada"

It happened this morning.

Greg: Ben, say "Dada".
Ben: Dada.

And Ben has pretty much been saying "Dadadadadada" all day!

Am I jealous? Yes - but I can't really blame him :)

Ben, your dad rocks.