Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Milestone: high chair jan 30th
H in a high chair for the very first time and loving it. He was so proud of himself! You could just tell he felt like a big boy
Goodbye hair
My gorgeous thick preggers hair is starting to fall out. It's kind of devastating because I was just getting used to these luxurious locks. And the hair that isn't falling out is getting pulled out by the little man. H is uhhhbsessed with hair! He likes to pull it, hold it, and wrap it around his tiny fingers....but most of all, holden loves to eat it! He will grab it, wad it up, out it in his mouth and start sucking. I try to keep it pulled into a high bun and out of his reach, but he somehow always manages to fanagle it into his mouth. Little secret...his daddy has an obsession with twirling a tiny piece of his hair in his ear, a habit from childhood. Like father, like son.
we're going to the zoo
The Benesch bunch had a great weekend!! After Dustin being in Dallas for the majority of last week for business, we caught up on some much needed family time. Dustin stayed home on Friday and we took a picnic to the park, enjoying the gorgeous weather after the cold spell. On Saturday we stayed home for most of the day lounging, washing the cars, and playing outside.
Sunday was Holden's first trip to the zoo! After his first nap, we packed up the car and headed to the Oakland zoo. Being used to the San Diego and santa barbara zoos (that have a lot of money, beautiful exhibits, happy animals, and are well maintained) the Oakland zoo was a bit disappointing for Dustin and I. The Oakland zoo was what you would expect: poor and not very well maintained. The zoo wasn't very large - I actually wore heels and managed to trek around to every exhibit without complaining - and the animals seemed really depressed. Maybe it was because it was winter (although it was a warm 70 that day), but they all seemed extremely lethargic and sad. All animals that is except for the chimpanzees who were going crazy, screeching and slamming their bodies up against the glass where we were all standing watching them. A zoo employee said that there was a power struggle going on between two of the male chimps, but it was heartbreaking to watch because you got the feeling that all of the people were making them anxious and that their enclosure was too small for them to escape all of the inquisitive eyes. Thankfully he was asleep for the chimp exhibit otherwise he would have been terrified. I was even scared. Although you logically know they are enclosed, I kept imagining them escaping and ripping my head off.
Of course holden didnt notice all of this and seemed to enjoy being outside the entire day. Most of the animals were pretty far away so it was hard for holden to see them. There was also a petting zoo within the zoo which I thought Holden would love, but he started crying when he saw the goat. Regardless of the fact that the zoo wasn't the best zoo we have been to, it was definitely a memorable experience and we managed to take some great photos.
Mommy's takin' us to the zoo tomorrow,
zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow,
Mommy's takin' us to the zoo tomorrow,
We can stay all day.
We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo,
How about you, you, you?
You can come too, too, too,
We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.
Look at all the monkeys swingin' in the tree,
Swingin in the trees, swingin' in the trees,
Look at all the monkeys swingin' in the trees,
We can stay all day.
~Raffi
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
bits & pieces
i've been trying to take a lot more photos with an actual camera versus the ever-handy iphone. i still need to figure out lighting (since a few of these have horrible lighting), but there's no bad photo when working with this subject (although, i am slightly biased).
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
project 365: 19
365: 19
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| fell asleep in the car for the first time ever after a long hour at gymboree |
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Nursery Inspiration Board
Holden's nursery inspiration board. I'll be posting photos of the final product in a bit.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Another Slow Cooker Meal
All new mommies should use the slow cooker because lets be honest, who really has time to cook when you've got a new baby in the house?? I do all the prep work in the morning during Holden's first nap, we have a house that smells great the entire day, and my husband thinks I'm an amazing wife! Last night I made BBQ pulled pork sandwiches (although I forgot to take a picture of the actual sandwich). My husband said it was mouthwatering good (I don't know because I'm a vegetarian and had a veggie burger). I added a little extra BBQ sauce than the recipe called for and a dash of hot sauce. Since we have left overs, we are having tacos tonight! I bought pinto beans, cotija cheese, avocado, and cilantro. This whole meal planning thing is working out so well!!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Like A Boy
Holden is such a boy. I know that's an obvious statement, but he's
getting to the age where he is acting like such a little boy. He's
constantly whacking things (including his own body), he's always trying
to move in five different directions at once, he is a bit destructive
(the majority of our pop-up books no longer pop up), he pulls your hair
and grabs your face incessantly, when he sits his arms and legs move a
mile a minute like he's swimming in the air, and he is a little
chatterbox (an older lady came up to me at Target yesterday and said my
he's expressive!). I left Holden with my mom for an hour today while I
went horseback riding and she looked (and felt) like she has been
through a tornado. It kind of makes me giddy to see his personality
come out!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Meal Planning 101
Dustin and I used to be the worst at eating out, wasting food, and spending thousands a month on food (thousands might be a slight exaggeration, but we did spend A TON of money on food). Then I stumbled across Pink Pistachio's meal planning guide and thought hey, I can do this. So armed with my new years resolution to be a better wife and cook for my husband who commutes an hour each way to work, I decided to give it a shot. Instead of heading to the grocery store and winging it like I usually do, this time I looked up recipes, figured how I could make one meal last for two and how to best utilize all ingredients, and shopped with my list in tow and a little more direction than usual (no more ummm that looks good). Meal planning is a bit more challenging since I'm a vegetarian and Dustin isn't, but to make it work I just choose meals that can go either way (think salad with or without chicken) or I just throw a veggie burger on as my main dish and eat the sides. This is our second week of meal planning (so in no way am I a pro), but I have to say meal planning is awesome! There's no more what are we having for dinner? or I'm so hungry, but there's nothing to eat. Dustin loves having each meal prepared for him, I love the praise I'm getting from making the meals, we are saving money by eating almost every meal at home, and no food goes to waste (we literally had an empty refrigerator at the end of last week where we used to have a full refrigerator of rotting fruits and veggies). We have spent around $130 at Whole Foods and Sprouts both weeks which is pretty good for us.
The key to meal planning is choosing one or two meals that you really want for the week and then working the other meals around that. For example, I made ribs one night and then we had tacos the next night with the leftover ribs. I also got a whole chicken, put it in the crock pot with lemon and rosemary and it lasted for quite a few meals (chicken sandwich, chicken taco soup, chicken salad). I definitely recommend giving meal planning a shot.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Musical Play
Every Tuesday we take a music class with all of my mommie friends at DayOne in walnut creek. Although i sometimes feel ridiculous with the things I am doing (if my hubby or friends could be flies on the wall they would just die laughing), Holden loves the class and it's fun to do classes that are just for him. In one part of the class, the teacher puts on a dog song and walks around to each kid with this giant, shaggy dog puppet. When we first starting going to class, Holden showed no interest...oh no thanks, I have one of those at home. But yesterday, he was obsessed! He reached out with both hands, gripped the fur like his life depended on it, and pulled that doggy to his mouth. When the teacher moved to the baby beside him, Holden reached out with both hands trying to get the doggy bac. It was so cute! I love watching him see something he wants and try to go after it.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Slow Cooking Obsessed
So I'm not much of a cook, but my husband is amazing and loves cooking so I've basically resigned to let him be the chef in our house. When I first got married I decided to be a good wife and start cooking meals for him to come home to (since I worked from home), but after Holden was born that goal completely went out the widow and my husband would come home ad cook our dinner after s long day of work and an hour long commute to get home. Holden's bath and bedtime all happen between 5 and 6:30 (around te same time my hubby walks in the door so it's hard to prepare a meal that he can come home to. So this week I've started using the crock pot and although he said he didn't mind cooking in the past, he has been ecstatic about having meals ready for him after work. My first attempt this week was ribs and it was a HUGE success. The hubby was so impressed and it was one of the simplest meals I've made (and thats coming from a vegetarian who has no idea how to cook meat!). You have to try this recipe.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Cooking In Our House
This is what goes down at our house when we start to cook...
a giant chicken dancing around the kitchen and shaking its tail feather at me!
When Is the Next One?
When I was growing up all I ever wanted to be was a momma and I imagined
myself surrounded by a bunch of little kiddos. Even the first couple
weeks after Holden was born I still wanted to get pregnant as soon as it
was physically possible (which meant I had to wait at least 6 months
because of the c section). But now...I'm not sure if I want any more
children. Holden has fully and completely satisfied my craving to be a
momma and I finally feel like my life is complete. I love showering
every ounce of my attention on him (and of course my hubby and my pup)
and I'm not sure I want to take any of that away from him. I know it
sounds silly but on the days that I meet up with girlfriends or go to
lunch, I feel bad that I'm not giving 100% of my attention to Holden.
On days when its just us, we talk and play constantly. He goes
everywhere with me, watches me do errands, and I tell him what We are
doing every step of the way. So on the days that I spent the majority
of my time talking to someone else, I come home and miss that special
time that we spend just me and him. I will tell my hubby "I miss him!"
which he doesn't comprehend since I've spent the entire day with him.
So if I feel bad about that, how would I handle dividing my attention
between more than one child since right now I don't like to take a
second of my attention away from Holden. This doesn't even bring up the
whole issue of splitting my heart. It's impossible to even think how I
could feel the same love and affection for another child. I know that
all mothers say you don't think it's possible to love another child, but
you can and you do...but it just doesn't seem feasible right now.
Besides, the next child would get a little gipped out of all the 1:1
momma time and the fun activities and classes. Holden and I do
something fun together every single day like new parent group, music
class, playgroup, swim lessons, etc....but I wouldn't be able to attend
classes like this with the next child unless Holden wasn't with me. But
I'm not sure how I feel about Holden being an only child. Although
I've had a rough time with my siblings in the past and we aren't the
closest family, I still don't know what I'd do without them. So it's
quite the dilemma since every single person is already asking us when we
are having the next one! I think I'll bide my time, enjoying every
single second I have alone with my little prince.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Love These Moments
"I wonder if it's possible to have a love affair that lasts forever."
- Andy Warhol
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Dear Holden: More Baby, Less Boy
Holden,
With each and every passing day you seem more like a little boy and less like a baby. I have a love-hate relationship with your development. I absolutely adore this little boy that you are becoming (I see more and more of your personality), but I anguish the fact that you aren't my tiny little baby anymore and you're growing so quickly.
It's these little things that I'm noticing where you appear so grown-up. For example, last night we sat in the rocking chair and read a few books and you were paying such close attention as I read each story pointing and grabbing at the pages. You have always loved reading but you used to get fussy before I could finish a book. Last night you were enthralled! You sat like a big boy listening so well as I put on various voices for each character.
You are also very adamant about where you want to go. Although you're not mobile on your own yet, you will definitely let me know if you want to go see something by leaning and twisting and attempting to move in that direction. It's really amazing to know that pretty soon you will be going wherever your little body will take you (although I think we still have some time before you are crawling).
I love you big boy!!
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