Holiday Snapshots: The big #2 Birthday!

Yep! The little one is officially 2 years old! I want to know: What is it about birthdays that naturally drives the mama to make sure that the celebration goes smoothly at all costs? How much do the kids really care about the details at 2? First case in point: CAKE. That sucker was the bain of my existence for one day. I woke up on the 20th with one thought only: get the cake right and make it edible by 3pm when the other grandma arrives. Okay, yes, I failed. I woke up and immediately cooked the super mom cake from scratch. When I inserted the first well meaning toothpick, the cake deflated. I deflated. I waited a couple of hours and deliberated between baking another and sending the papa off to fetch a premade savior. We decided to try again, instead. All was well... and then the timer went off. My mother-in-law confidently opened the oven and I watched both cakes meet their demise. Deflation the second. Ugh. Behold the first set of defeated cakes!

Did the 2 year old care? HA! He was too busy playing with his vehicles to notice.

Oh! And then the balloons arrived! Fat chance of expecting any consciousness beyond "Wow, the balloons are colorful and fabulous". Thanks Daddy! Good idea!!!

Next, he opened some gifts. Monkey after monkey made itself known...

There were some coloring books... Elmo themed, of course (with a portrait of the kiddo on the package):

+ some hand wrapped and decorated surprises sent by mail from the other loved ones:

And, of course, 2 grandmas made it for the celebration! Grandma Winnie had as much fun as the birthday boy!

The prized gift! Sebastian reeeeeally wanted this toy jeep. Really, it was the only thing he asked for. I made a sneaky move into the toy store one day when I sent Dad and Bas to fetch some reverse osmosis water at the grocery store... Sebastian led me to the toy store a few days later and was distraught to discover that "jeep" had disappeared. He stared for a long time at the empty shelf and then said something along the lines of, "MAMA! Jeep all gone!!!! OH NO!" I talked to him about how some nice parents must have purchased the jeep for their kiddo. For 2 weeks, Sebastian would walk up to me and talk about how the jeep was gone and some lucky kid would be getting a gift. Poor little guy had no idea that he was the lucky kid.

And then there was the car... Grandma Winnie had mama pick up a ride around car for Bas (the 30th anniversary edition of the car mama had when she was a kiddo). This was the straw that broke the camels back, for sure... At bed time this kid still would not get out.

The cake did prevail after all! We took the first two cakes and carved them up to fill in the fallen parts of the second two... then we added a blueberry jam (by birthday boy request) and frosted the poop out of it. We then decorated with black and blueberries. Oh my! I cannot tell you how delicious the cake turned out. Pure bliss served up alongside vanilla ice cream and blueberry gelato. We could not keep the boy away from the berries. He also made a wish (or at least blew out the candle on the first try).

By the end of the day he was flat out done. Thankfully, Mama only cried twice. #1: Cake ruined!!! (and then revived... a blessing in disguise). #2: @gift presenting time, Mama could not find the gifts for about 8 minutes. Two closets were torn apart, tears discarded before someone asked if they were in the closet by the dining room. OF COURSE... A foreshadowed easy location. I am ashamed to admit that in those 8 minutes I referred to myself as the worst mother in the world. I mean really... Who forgets where their birthday baby's gifts are?!?

All is forgiven, truly. It was an all around good time. Sebastian has way more than his share of toys, he LOVED his cake and berries and he had so much fun with 2 of the grandmas (and grandDud & Daddy & Mama). He loves his book and Yo Gabba Gabba video from Uncle Jevan and Aunt Amelia. He cannot stop drawing on the chalkboard of his easel from Banana Alta and Lenny... And he can't get enough of his "street rug" from Grandma Myrna. Success!!! Next year? Mama will have less emphasis on making it all perfect, because in the end it *was* exactly as it should have been.

Holiday snapshots: Zoolights!

Our little holiday season began with a week long visit from Ben's mama, Myrna, who hails from SoCal. We spent a whole lot of time lounging around the house, drinking coffee & chatting away the way-too-early o'clock in the morning hours and just enjoying our time together. We *did* get out of the house long enough to shop a bit and to take an evening walk around the zoo to experience Zoolights! We had so much fun enjoying the lights that we barely noticed our frozen noses in the frigid weather (It was in the teens!). This just might be the makings of a yearly tradition:

See what I mean? Fun *&* magical! Ben and Myrna were all smiles:

...and so were Ben and I:

We were astonished when we realized that we never got a photo of the 3 of us together this season... so much for a holiday photo. Looks like we will have to make use of the camera timer for once. Here is the continuation of the fam photo from above:

Man, those flashes sure are bright! The lights were plentiful and I only have room for so many pix. In addition to the animal light sculptures, many of the trees were covered in varying colors of lights and adorned with snowflakes, ornaments and stars. A little taste of the fantastically lit winter trees:

And any trip to the zoo would not be complete without a whirl around the good old carousel. Sebastian has decided that the up and down animal riding is just not okay, so we opted for a bench seat. I never ever thought I would have to sit on the bench seat, but it was surprisingly fun. I guess the lesson is that anything I do with Sebastian ends up being fun. It's blurry, but it captures the movement and joy:

We celebrated a birthday just days after this, another special visitor arrived and we had Christmas a few days later, so there are so many more photos to come. Can't wait to share! Hope you all enjoyed a holiday as magical as ours!

All is well: Celebrate!!!

It has been a lonnnnnng few weeks, yes ma'am/siree. I do declare: We are all *finally* well! We spent a whole lot of time getting over this cold and subsequently staying indoors since Thanksgiving. All is well. The tree is up:

The best part about the tree? It is 6 & a half feet tall, pre-lit and it was free (a dumpster dive rescue that was passed on to us... Thanks Gray family!) . We price compared at Target and Home Depot. Holy cow! Who knew that these things went for close to 200 dollars?!?!? Like I said: free! Free is good. 2 Strands of lights were dead and were replaced for 5 bux. Sweet deal! Sebastian LOVES to undecorate and redecorate the tree daily.

Other indoor fun? Making a "choo choo train" out of dining room chairs and kid table/chairs. I am constantly amazed by what this kid comes up with to entertain himself.

And then, of course, we had to get ourselves outside to experience a bit of snow and sunshine!

Smile Sebastian!:

Don't ask me what the underbite smile is all about. It is cute and totally his own.

Things are really good. We are anticipating a visit from Grandma Myrna (my Ma-in-law) beginning tomorrow and Grandma Winnie (my Mom) on Tuesday. Sebastian's birthday is on Sunday!!! I cannot quite wrap my brain around the fact that my kiddo is turning 2, though he reminds me daily that he will be opening "giffs" on his "happy birthday to me"... heheh. We are waiting to celebrate when the 2 grandmas are here on Tuesday and will surely overload you all with pix of the event. So many other loved ones will be missed this time around, but we will catch up with them and make up the difference down the road. Blessings to you all this week as you celebrate your brand of holiday! Happy Solstice/Hanukkah/Diwali/Holidays & Merry Christmas!

Craziness prevails.

Remember that nasty cold we came home with from SoCal at the beginning of December? Um, yeah... It's lingering. Just when I realize that this is the first evening I can remember without coughing: Ben decides to try his hand at hot sauce making and grinds up some cayenne in the coffee grinder (which we use only for herbs). We are all hacking up a lung and opening the windows without a thought toward the less-than-20-degree temp outside. Seriously... the DOG is even coughing his head off. So I think it would be safe to say that there is a little bit of craziness up in our house.

Sebastian's terrible 2's have arrived full force and he has taken to hitting me whenever he is frustrated. He will literally walk up and start slapping me in the face while telling me that he is mad at Ben or Murphy. We had some success with curbing the biting early with the book 'Teeth Are Not For Biting', so I rushed out to the bookstore yesterday and purchased 'Hands Are Not For Hitting'. As we were leaving the store a sales associate offered complimentary gift wrap. Sebastian began to scream "Escaaaalaaaaaaytor! Ride Escalator!!!!" while beating me with both arms. I was trying to calm him and leave the store while trying to convey to the woman that gift wrap was the least of my worries and I began laughing. C'mon. That book is obviously the most necessary purchase we could come up with and gift wrap would only delay its immediate use. Like I said, no shortage of crazy.

It came to my attention that I tend to focus on the positive and mostly only blog on shiny little bits of our everyday. Well, truthfully it has become more like shiny little bits of our every few weeks... I'd really like to utilize this space to the fullest and think that I need to round out my posts with a bit of the wildness that comes with parenthood. Soooo, I guess what I am saying is that you can expect more frequent posting along with a heavier dose of reality. Looking forward to sharing with you a more balanced glimpse. My focus word these days? AUTHENTICITY.

The Living Desert!

Our Thanksgiving was nice and low key. We started out with no plans to make anything other than a little something here and there as we desired it. We ended up with a full meal: wild boar, brussel sprouts, honey ginger sweet potatoes, cranberry chutney, french bread and a bit of wine & chocolate. Perfection. We spent the rest of the week lazing a tad, chasing the dog, wishing we could destroy the Elmo's Potty Time video after seeing it at least 10 times, hot tubbing, eating delicious food (including an awesome indian feast!) and enjoying fabulous company. Sebastian had loads of fun drumming with Grandma Myrna, playing with his "Old Grandad" Terry and keeping Uncle Andy (Grandma & Grandad's chihuahua mix) from kicking Murphy's butt. Oh yes, and Ben helped his mama prune her olive and grapefruit trees... that was big and much appreciated work. A friend of Myrna's gifted us with free tickets to The Living Desert, so we made time one day for a visit.

Sebastian was happy to be on the carousel... until it began to move. He proceeded to try to climb his way off and ended up riding draped over my shoulder. Weird... he ususally loves carousels. Maybe the music wasn't to his taste.

There is a fantastic little butterfly and hummingbird habitat on site. We spotted this tiny hummer's nest.

Here is one of 5 species of butterflies featured. They also had a "cocoon nursery". We were fortunate enough to watch one butterfly work it's way out of the last of his cocoon.

We saw some big cats mating... but it was over before I could even think of the camera. I did catch some camels exhibiting some strange behavior. Not sure if they were wooing each other or playing.

I got up close and personal with a goat names Sonny. Wise eyes?:

I think this might have been my fave part, though. So regal!:

Oh wait! The roadrunner was pretty awesome, too. He was kind enough to pose for the camera:

The turtles basked:

And the plants did, too:

I'd love to have a cactus garden like this, but I have no desire to live in that climate. Ben totally loves that heat. I am more of a Sequoias and Sea sort of girl.

Check out the thorns on this tree! Sorry for the blur...

We had a great time. Plus, we worked our legs walking around for about 4 hours. Good good times. If you find yourself down that way, make a stop at The Living Desert. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Trippin'.

Operation road trip was a complete success! We feared constant screaming from the child and car pooping from the dog... It looks like we worked it out perfectly, though. We left our house around 10pm and travelled through the night. Sebastian and Murphy slept most of the way! It does seem that we found ourselves a carsick dog, but things could be worse. They were all smiles in the morning (okay, I am not sure that Murphy is smiling... he's just sort of making the best of his circumstance):

It was warm with a beautiful cloudless sky and the road beckoned us forth:

We stopped off in the Mojave Desert for a bit of exploration. It tickles me how enraptured Ben becomes with every rock and plant. Here he is engrossed in his element:

Some of his discoveries:

A bit o' the landscape:

I realized that I am crappy at taking pictures once we get to our destination. We have some sweet pics to share of our trip to the Living Desert gardens/zoo, but none from our time with Ben's family. Oops! Maybe Grandma Myrna will send us some of the pics she took... if she does, we will be sure to share.

I'm great at getting pics of the actual trip. Here are some from the return. On the way home we left at 4am so that we could see Southern Utah in the light. Beautiful! This is actually a tiny stretch of Arizona just before making our way into Utah. Lovely Canyons... unfortunately I couldn't get a shot of the Virgin River flowing just below. Spectacular beauty.

The almost full moon lead us home. After 13 hours in the car we capped our trip off with a whirl around IKEA. Some little boy I know is turning 2 in a few weeks and we just don't get out that direction much. It was a good leg stretching opportunity, at least.

Ben and I (and Murphy for sure) were so happy to make it home and unwind a bit. Sebastian, however, was not. We pulled into the driveway and he said, "NOOOOOO! NO HOME! Go bye car, pleeeeeeease!" I guess he is a true travelling Sagittarian. Looking forward to many more trips with him in the future.

Vacation!

Wow, who knew that settling into life with a puppy would prompt a much needed blog break? I knew it would be work, but the break part was unexpected. It's all good though. Murphy is fully comfortable in his new space, Sebastian is very much in love (and treats him as he would any younger sibling - complete with wrestling) and Ben and I are just flowing with the changes. Unfortunately, my break may be extended a tad bit longer. We decided to go spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Ben's mama in the Palm Springs area. Yes, we decided to take the puppy with us. Surely many fantastic photos and a few stories should result from this trip. I'm looking forward to finally having something "worth sharing" to contribute to this space again.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. Hot tubs & warm weather, here we come!

It's a BOY!

A few days back I spotted this sweet little Irish Terrier on Petfinder.com. Wasatch Animal Rescue had rescued him from a puppy mill in Missouri and they were looking for a family that might be able to offer him some stability. Benjamin and I had decided that we still wanted to try to find the right dog, but that we weren't in a hurry about it (especially after our less than stellar experience with Jasper a few months back). We thought maybe sometime around Spring... Well, you know how that goes. We put the idea out there and manifested our match. So here he is: our nameless 4 month old cutie. We have narrowed the potential names down to just a few faves and are waiting to see how his personality unfolds.

Of course, being an Irish Terrier, it is only fitting that he bear an Irish name. What do you think? Fergus? Murphy? Finnegan? Clover? We're still open to suggestions... As you can see, Sebastian is in love. He is already covering the poor dog in kissins and huggins. A boy and his dog; perfection.

Our family is happy to finally have a canine friend in the house. Now we are just keeping our fingers crossed that my crazy deaf cat gives him some space and a warm welcome.

***Update: The winning name is MURPHY! We spent the day throwing names around and getting to know him a little bit. This evening we asked Sebastian what he thought the puppy's name should be. Actually, we asked him 3 times to be sure. Each time he answered "Murphy". The first time we asked he looked at us like we were crazy for not knowing; so matter-of-fact. It seems fitting that the boy would name his first real puppy friend. I'm sure going to enjoy watching them grow together.

Trick or Treat!

I had it all planned out. Jack O' lantern shaped pizza for dinner, a glass of wine each for Mama and Papa, Cupcakes as our "treat" and an eve of greeting costumed kidlets from our porch. We even gave the front porch an eerie glow and one carved pumpkin.

Sebastian was having loads of fun jumping on the sofa and helping Mama answer the door... and then he tried to escape with the crowd. We brought him back inside and he kept demanding "more kids!". We talked about why the kids were ringing our bell and taking treats before moving on to the next house. Sebastian thought about it all for a few minutes and then proclaimed, "Sebastian trick or treat! Sebastian ring bell!". So, we left Papa to tend the door and off we went with the intention of just hitting a couple houses on our block. Sebastian was having so much fun (and his smallness and precociousness was such a hit at each house) that we ended up making a loop around the block. We met some super friendly neighbors along the way who invited us over to a hot dog BBQ/hot cocoa shindig in their front yard. How could we pass that up?! Bas and I went home, fetched Papa, turned off the porch light and went over to mingle with the neighbors. It was all so very whimsical, unexpected and just plain fun. Of course, Bas scored enough candy to keep our household sweet for some time to come.