Valentines Day

I LOVE love.

Love stories, engagement stories, weddings….you name it.

So, it is not shocking that I also love valentines day.

Yep, I totally buy into it.

We don't do flowers or cards (flowers because I complained once, and cards because we just don't do cards. Ever)

So what do we do?

well, this year:

Boxes (yes boxeS) of chocolate the night before

A trip to the doughnut shop in the morning

Truth: this was actually a night-time trip from a week ago, but it was adorable, so enjoy

For Rico:

A bouquet of man-gifts that included most of his favorite naughty things:

Pudding, Popcorn, A new IPA that just came out this month, Sunflower seeds, Racquetball equipment (he and his brother have taken it up, they play so intensely that he's been saying for weeks now that he needs a "headband" to keep the sweat out of his eyes. I think this was his favorite gift),

Eli also made him this:

…awesome penmanship Eli. He made similar valentines for all his grandparents and great grandparents- we had a good time delivering those (except for the one minor "I want to be in bed" meltdown)

Inside Rico's vase were more gifts…written on slips of paper in folded paper fortune cookies that included...

Eli missed the "paper" portion of the "paper fortune cookies"

a cookie cake, an ice cream cake, his ultimate meal of chicken tenders and tater tots (real deal- I didn't know where to buy them in the store. I wandered the freezer section. I had never bought them as an adult. Chicken strips are surprisingly expensive), and Whiskey and Coke (we have a TON of whiskey at the house, but we don't buy pop, so he can never make them). So, basically, crap food that we never have in the house…excpet ice cream, we eat a lot of that.

For me:

Rico hasn't been doing so hot on the gifts lately (it sounds harsh, but he'll tell you the same thing)

For example: I haven't gotten a Christmas present for the past 2 years. I mean, in theory I do- like the 12 months of dates (of which I got January and February) 

This year he told me he would build me the mudroom wall I found on pinterest…but then we found a drying rack that would have made it a bit redundant. 

SO…all that to say 

I got freaking diamonds!

He bought me diamond earrings!

He knew how sad I was that one of the ones from our wedding day (from his mom) had fallen down the sink last year. 

They were literally the ONLY earrings I would wear…

and that Rico didn't hate (he has a thing about jewelry, lipstick, and fingernail polish)

Plus, "Eli" got me a new cookbook (mine's spine is literally shredding) with Eli's hand prints in the cover "So you can smile whenever you have to cook"

It is even sweeter because he had to go to a million stores to find one.

I also got an owl necklace that I had found a couple of weeks earlier and texted Rico, "Hey, you bought me a $10 owl necklace for valentines day" because I wanted it.  How's that for honest?

We went to lunch. Rico was hinting around to whether or not I would rather go somewhere fancy or somewhere new. I reminded him that we've spent the past 3 years or so at a bar on valentines day, so it would only seem fitting. His response was: "Oh, perfect, because the place I picked is a bar!"

To be fair: it was a nice bar

and the food really was delicious

and we got to be adults and drink with our meal

Eli:

What do you get a child that can't have chocolate (ok, besides the chocolate I let his tongue touch so I could take these adorable valentines day photos)

I considered filling a chocolate box with blueberries. I went on a trip to the toy store with Rico's mom (so SHE could try to find the solution to the same problem). We saw LOTS of crazy toys, including an Optimus Prime that was basically as tall as Eli

 and Eli Manning. Here Eli  is having an identity crisis.

Then...I found them.

Baby aviators.

Rico loved them too, so it was a double bonus.

Then, between the grandmas (ok, technically "grandparents") and great grandparents- he also got all of THIS…who knew valentines day could be a miniature Christmas?!

Balloons, his first wooden train (with animals hitching a ride), bath toys, valentines day books (grandmas that love books- melt, my heart), stuffed animals, money for his piggy bank, sweet cards, and even a way to get around the "no sweets" issue…dried fruit! 

Eli also shared some valentines day love with his cousin, who came over to the house and got to be a part of our tradition of waiting for daddy at the window. He was SO excited to see her there...

Other Adventures in the life of Eli include:

A test to see how he would react to a cartoon. It was as expected- zombie like. So, that lasted all of the time it took to take this picture. We'll see how long I can hold out.

Dinner dates with Nana and Papa (Rico was sick)

Play sessions with grandma and grandpa (he has SO many fun adventures while mom and dad go to the gym)

Block building (aka- destroying) and tunnel adventures with Nana

So. Much. Love.

Now pardon me, I have to go "cook" chicken strips and tater tots. 

(I'm rolling my eyes as I type this, just so you know)

Lil' Swimmer

Eli had his first swim class. Here are some pictures and random musings:

-Eli got this as a gift from my sister for Christmas. Friends and family everywhere take note: events and classes are AWESOME presents and parents appreciate them. Eli did too, but at first he was unimpressed.

Splashing was by FAR his favorite thing. He pretty much ignored everything we were supposed to be doing, and splashed instead.

-I wore the same swimsuit (and swimsuit cover) that I wore in labor (except with a more mom-appropriate, aka non bikini, top) I felt like I had a secret the whole time.

-Swim shirts were invented by the devil, 

especially after they get wet

especially when your child has a giant head.

Also, I am super jealous of all the cute baby girl swimsuits. 

- Eli was super chatty in the pool (and even talked over the teacher)

-He was OBSESSED with the instructor. All she had to do was come by and he would giggle. It looks like we have a teacher's pet on our hands. 

-We ran into his aunt Emily in the lobby- and her niece hung out with us in the pool- Eli loved her…perhaps we have a future babysitter on our hands.

-When we were practicing back floats, Eli got SUPER relaxed. Rico said it looked like he was going to fall asleep. (Where was THAT when we gave him his "relaxing" family bath when he was a day old?!

-They don't sell swim diapers at Walmart in the dead of winter (or we are stupid and couldn't find them after 10 minutes of looking)

- We got to use the FAMILY locker room. 

Now, this may seem silly to you, but we grew up going to this rec center. 

WE would hang out in the lobby after school everyday

We had 6th grade dances on the back patio

and NOW we were ADULTS using the very ADULT family locker room

Weeeeeeeird.

This last one just made me laugh- splashing aftermath. 

If You're Happy and You Know It

Eli has a new trick...

His grandma was singing "if you're happy and you know it" to him during the Super Bowl, and he just started clapping. 

I have to admit- this one is more exciting to me than crawling. Crawling was a long drawn out process, and trying to descide if 2 shimmies constituted a crawl, or if he needed to cover a certain distance before it was official- well, it kind of made it anti-climactic. 

THIS though, this was OUT OF NOWHERE. 

Just BOOM, how about I clap on command. 

My favorite part about the whole thing is also that, in reality, it couldn't have been "boom"- someone (more likely some oneS) were working behind the scenes to teach him this. 

It gets better, when I started thinking about "who it could be...who has he had 1-on1 time with recently?" THIS was my list

Well, it could have been Rico's parents all the times they watched him while Rico and his brother played racquetball. 

It could have been my parents, she babysat twice this week and he has been over there a lot. 

It could have been Rico during their many early morning play times or after work "mom's cooking dinner so we'll go play in the playroom" sessions

It could have been watching his cousin Grace do it, or maybe Josh and Em (his aunt and uncle) were showing him tonight. 

It could have been Lizzie (his other cousin) when they played at Nana's

It could have been his great grandparents while they watched him while I worked out.  

It could have been his OTHER great grandparents when they were playing at church, or at their house  for Sunday brunch. 

Well, for that matter it could have been any number or his third cousins or great aunts and uncles that were also over for Sunday brunch. 

I finally stopped to realize just how amazing my list of culprits was. I am so very happy that he gets to see so many relatives- and those were just in the last week!  

That moment of thankfulness was almost better than watching how proud he gets that he can clap...almost. 

Daddy's Home!

In an effort not to forget the little things that we do everyday- THIS is what 5:25 looks like in our house

At 5:20 we go stand on the bench under the front window and wait for daddy to come home. 

I sing "He'll be coming round the corner when he comes" (other verses include "he'll be driving a black jeep, oh he's gunna get the mail, he's gunna make funny faces, we're all gunna get kisses… you get the idea)

Then, this happens: 

Every. Day.

Eli watches until Rico gets out of the car and then you can literally SEE the moment he realizes it is Rico-

he smiles his double-dimple smile

he lets out a little squeal

and he bounces around a bit

After getting the mail, Rico comes up to the window and they proceed to blow fish faces-

 BOTH of them (yes, my glass is ALL sorts of smudgy, and I don't care)

and high five…

Until daddy gets cold and comes in for those kisses we sang about earlier. 

I thought that it was something I did for me (I literally count the minutes until he comes home on some of my rough days), but the one day that Eli took a late nap and wasn't at the window for Rico, I realized that it is for him too. 

He was so sad, and then admitted, "It's the best part of the whole day"

"The WHOLE day? Really? That seems like a bold statement."

"No, really, the WHOLE day"

I think we are all in agreement there.

Bad Day Solutions

When you have a rough day (not horrible, just everything being harder than it needs to be)…

you skip your workout

put on some sweatpants

drink a glass of wine

watch some Big Bang Theory

and eat a Carmel brownie sundae with cappuccino chocolate chunk ice-cream 

When you have a rough day AND you're breastfeeding…

you still do all those things, 

BUT 

you mix your wine with 1/2 grape juice

When you have a rough day AND you're breastfeeding AND you've recently discovered that your child is extremely sensitive to caffeine and chocolate and it may very well be the reason he's been waking up 12-14 times a night...

you do all those things

BUT 

you mix your wine with 1/2 grape juice

AND you swap your naughty snack from ice cream to a naughty snack of a GIANT bowl of cereal

Ladies and gentlemen…my Thursday night

(and we can go ahead and tell my sister to shove it - I KNOW I am not supposed to serve red wine chilled- and especially with ice cubes and mixed with grape juice)

Baby Food Secret

Yes, I eat baby food.

You might be thinking- "But your BABY doesn't even eat baby food"

You'd be right, with the exception of prunes.

Whole prunes (without crazy preservatives) are stupidly expensive. 

and messy.

and a choking issue.

Even before Eli came around, I ate baby food. 

The fruit flavors are SO yummy.

You eat applesauce right? 

Well, it's the SAME THING, only with different fruits.

It's an amazing dessert.

Yes, dessert, those suckers are loaded with sugar (one of the reasons I love them so much and also one of the reasons Eli doesn't eat them)

I've recently discovered another AWESOME reason to love purees.

During these cold winter days, I like hot oatmeal. 

I refuse to buy the pre-packaged stuff because it is jam packed full of sugar AND it is expensive.

So, I dump some oats in a bowl, mix in some cinnamon, and sprinkle in some frozen fruit.

The problem is that it is still too bland (remember, I am a sugar addict)

I used to add honey.

Then I had a child.

Who eats what I eat.

…and literally the ONLY food that every single website or book or pediatrician will tell you he can't have is:

Honey

So

Now, 

I have THIS:

All you smart cookies have put it together already. 

That's some prune oatmeal. 

AND IT IS FREAKING DELICIOUS

I give some to Eli, and I get the rest. 

I also eat it with his baby spoon, it helps me to not gulp it down.

Maybe some day I will mix it up. We bought more prunes at the grocery store last night and I saw some super tasty looking combinations. 

Pomegranite/Apple/ Blueberry oatmeal? 

Now that sounds fantastic!

So, here I am, singing the praises of pureed baby food. 

For me

as a sugar substitute,

and mixed in with a food that actually has a texture

….but singing its praises none the less.

High Five

Tonight, I high fived my husband for catching handfulls of breastmilk vomit without spilling any on the rug or ottoman. 

Yep.