cold days

It had been warming up a bit (enough that there have even been some late January wagon rides in the neighborhood), but it's still coooold...and expected to snow again...and again... We have filled our days with visits to Target to get a new set of markers. Sometimes it's a new set of Pipsqueaks that can get you through a long cold day...and Daddy can draw a really mean dinosaur.There is also the splish splash fun of the lego table converted into a water table. He liked the spicket action on this pitcher:
Playing baby burrito by rolling Aiden up in a blanket - He gets really excited to be a walking baby burrito.
Dinosaur stomps around the house:

updates

It's hard to believe I've been blogging so much and I've missed some fun updates.

J's colleague had us over to celebrate the milestone of submitting their book manuscripts to the publisher last week. He said he was always told to celebrate each milestone. Aiden was in plenty-of-attention heaven and even sat in the normal dinner chair to eat a bit. They had a huge box of old dinosaurs that he loved.

We went to the Gymnastics Academy to try out a class last weekend. Aiden was very excited to run on the bouncy floor and answer the teacher's questions. He was most excited about hanging from the bar and kicking over the foam bricks and pretending to be spiderman by climbing the wall. We're excited to go back there for a birthday party next month.

This was that drunken snowman we built in 2009, still standing on January 15, 2010 before my folks left for Florida! It was essentially a big block of ice that lasted another week or so even with that big crack. It finally realized that January blues set in and my sister reports it was completely melted by the 50 degree weather this past weekend after leaning for nearly 24 days!

science photos

The dual tasking of video and photos was surprisingly relaxed. We were all pretty calm and curious at the museum (despite the crowds).

Making the pegs look like a face:
Chanting macky cheese waiting for dad in our sunny lunch spot:
Magnifying glasses were everywhere to take a closer look:
Cuddles in the mirror wall:
Busting a move in another mirror wall:
Pressing buttons to hear the choo choos:
That's a big engine - they encourage you to touch things:
More touching:
Lions and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My:
Dino giggles:

Dancing in the light shadows:
Discovery Zone:
Glancing at the big heads on the wall in front of the hippo skull:
Wondering how does that magnet work:
A big bug model with a train model underneath in the scientific model section:

do something

We can see so many images from Haiti of people that need relief. I am thankful that people are resilient. I believe that at the core people can recover and choose to accept a feeling of relief. I liked this little snippet from one of the photog bloggers I follow:

"For me, I watch things like what's going on in Haiti, feeling helpless to do anything. Feeling like I'm just this one person and nothing I can do is going to help on any large scale. But I think the key to anything is simply doing something, no matter how small or insignificant it may feel. I've actually been trying to work this philosophy into my everyday life (And believe me, I need it right now.) If the house is a mess and I'm feeling overwhelmed at the thought of cleaning it, rather than wallow in it and do nothing, I'm trying to tackle one thing that's been bugging me. Last weekend, I tackled my closet. And it felt so good to have my closet cleaned that I actually felt motivated to tackle the girl's closet too."

science museum

We ventured up to the Boston Science Museum this weekend. The museum is huge and it was packed with people (who mostly wanted to see the special Harry Potter exhibit given their scarf choices), and we managed to see a pretty good amount of it in about four hours although not all.

Some of the memorable bits:

- The big T-Rex you can see through the window before you actually enter the museum got Aiden very excited to follow the green line to the entrance.

- They had a "sneaking" chamber where you slink along pretending that you are creeping up on a bird, if you creep too quickly or too loudly you don't get to see which animal is hiding. We snuck up as a family, and it's funny to think that we'd actually be able to sneak up like that in the woods.

- I asked Aiden what he liked the most when we got in the car and he said "the good foods" because he was very happy with his baked mac and cheese for lunch.

- My favorite was watching Aiden's reaction to the light shadows and his attempt at break dancing like the kids before him...and watching him try to make a face with the peg board.

My favorites:

Groovy Museum from LB on Vimeo.

Thanks to Flip's magic movie compilation:

Boston Science Museum from LB on Vimeo.

P.S. Happy 30th Jess! I hope this year is a good one - welcoming a new family member is bound to make it fun!

great poppie

Aiden is lucky enough to have two Great Grandparents (that deserves capital letters, eh?) My mom's dad is a magician that makes bunnies and m&ms multiply, keeps whiffle dust and schnitze schnitze powder in his pocket, and woos everyone with his radio voice. Today he celebrates his birthday on a cruise with my mom and aunt. Happy 88th Birthday Poppie!

Aiden was asking to see this over and over when I pulled it up - then he wanted to hold the bunnies - We'll just have to meet down in Florida when they get back from the cruise for some more bunny trick action ;)

tgif video

It's a silly shuffle:

Shuffle Shuffle from LB on Vimeo.

playdoh time

Playdoh time is fun to mush, mold, and sing! Aiden loves gabbing over some playdoh fun:

Playdoh time from LB on Vimeo.

funny craigslist

We've "containerized" just about all of Aiden's old schtuff. The biggest stuff is loaned out and I hope that it is getting good use. It's amazing to see how much stuff has accumulated from one little guy. I got a kick out of this post J found somewhere:

FREE STUFF! (Port Moody)

---

Date: 2010-01-12, 9:25PM PST
Reply to: sale-a7uny-1550242063@craigslist.org

I just don't have time to deal with negotiators, bargain hunters, and other annoying people.

Stroller: One big thing with air-filled tires and the removable baby carrier that snaps into the car (everything included, in great shape, just a flat tire but its free so fix it yourself)

Stroller: One smaller umbrella-style stroller, not one of the cheap-o ones, this one is actually pretty decent. Good shape. Our kid learned how to walk and its too small for me.

Baby Bjorn: Fits one baby, named Bjorn or Bjork or Brent or Brillo Pad.

Snow Suit: For putting baby into, so baby can crawl in snow. Not a suit made out of snow. That would be silly.

Wood Chest: Fill with pirate booty and say YARRRR. Also fits 2 babies, I hear this is inadvisable though. Pirate booty probably makes more sense.

Crib: One really excellent crib! With a non-soiled mattress! Yeah no kidding, its in really good shape, our boy outgrew it. Maybe it has a scratch or nick here and there, but otherwise it is a great crib. If you are Xzibit you can put it in your house and say "yo dawg I heard you like cribs so I put a crib in your crib" and the women will flock to you.

Tricycle: Um, this one is a bit dented. The wife almost ran it over (don't worry the kid was in the chest at the time looking for pirate booty) so the back wheels are wobbly. I'm not a handyman so I just bought a new one. Yeah that's how I roll. If you are a handyman, take it away. If you are a handywoman ... marry me? No just kidding. Unless you're hot and make wads of cash.

Baby Backpack: Carries lazy babies up Mt Everest. Or down the road to get a vanilla latte, whatever your style. Great shape, like new, true story: I once carried my kid all the way to the pond and back.

Baby Tub: One of those baby tub things that you wash your baby in. You know, because its cruel to just spray them with the hose in the backyard. Stupid nosy neighbors.

Baby Gate: To keep babies from getting into your house. Or from falling down stairs.

That's it. Take it all away please, I just don't want it, I don't want to deal with the drama of selling it. But hey if you want to toss me a couple of bucks I won't say no.

Port Moody, near Rocky Point Park. Daytime, nighttime, weekend, whatever suits you. I work from home. Yeah its awesome.

baca's anniversary

It's our one year anniversary with Baca as Aiden's nanny. She started right after our vacation to Ohio last year. It's been such a perfect match for us having Rebecca take care of Aiden this past year. I'm so, so glad that she is part of our family life. It doesn't bother me one bit that everyone thinks Rebecca is Aiden's mom because they look so much alike. She knows him about as well as we do - although I tease her that she doesn't know what it is like to have a baby or a little boy in the middle of the night.

When she arrives in the morning, Aiden has been saying lately, "oh yay, Baca's home!" I hope she feels as 'at home' with us as we do having her here.

To celebrate we got her a few favorite things:

- a frame full of favorite photos

- a clock to remember that time flies!

- her favorite sour patch watermelons (she claims she can eat a whole bag in one sitting)

- pedicure set to pamper herself

- doggie treats for her doggie Rex from the farmer's market (which J at first offered to me since they had peanut butter banana ruffins - which he mistakenly thought were muffins - they did look good though!)

Here are my earliest photos with Aiden and Rebecca from the Luau at his old school when he was seven months old (and just a little ball of baby chub - look at those wrists!) Rebecca was his teacher for about three months at the time.


Trying to get a tired baby to smile - I have pictures of him konked out in the car just after this:

1st movie

Yep, we were brave (and maybe a little bored due to the empty January fun calendar) and decided to risk taking Aiden to the cheap theater for a movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. We figured if he declared he was "all done" like he does with most tv or if he was too loud with his running commentary, we'd just bail. It would be $6 lost to an attempt at fun. We showed him the trailer ahead of time and he was excited to see meatballs.

He did a great job whispering to us when he got excited and only yelped with excitement when it was pretty loud and other kids were hollering anyway. During one slow moment he seemed like he was getting a little restless, so I pulled out a special movie mix I'd made for him - cranberries, raisins, cheerios, peanut butter crackers, and pretzels. He munched away feeding us all the pretzels since he wasn't a huge fan. He sat in his own seat for about a minute, but I think he mostly loved sitting on our laps and giggling at the big screen. It must be pretty fun to have that much mommy and daddy cuddle time, eh?

It was a strange interpretation of a classic book, but overall a fun movie to watch and the best option at the cheap theater for our little experiment. Right after the movie another little two year old stormed up while I was asking him what he liked and he made a new friend. It was fun to see them playing and jumping around - and when we got to the car that was his favorite part of visiting the movie theater. Here are some little snippets of him eating meatballs watching the trailer, quietly getting excited, and then staring at his new friend as we exit the theater.

farmer's market

We happened upon an indoor farmer's market that was just bustling yesterday on a balmy nearly 45 degree day. We'd ventured to the Hope Artiste Village to check out the Rhody Craft 100 shop I'd wanted to check out since before the holiday. It just so happened that the farmer's market was just getting geared up. Some of our favorites were there including the Wicked Good people who make the caramel mustard yumminess. We had a nice morning of favorites: kettle corn treats for mom, some jerk pork for dad, and some dancing music for Aiden. We came home with some delicious yogurt dill sauce and green pea lemon pesto. Reminded me of some nice summer days that will be coming around again soon.

Most of the iphone photos looked like this since Aiden was spinning and grooving:

inventions

In honor of Benjamin Franklin's birthday today, I started thinking about his inventions, like eyeglass bifocals. Aiden just started figuring out what Daddy's glasses are for and even though he thinks all glasses are mostly to block the sun, I think he understands now that they help him see better. We are on the prowl for some small profile sunglasses that will fit around Aiden's big noggin, any suggestions? We can't seem to find ANY in this bright winter tundra. Guess we have to wait until they are in stock when the sun starts doing it's job to melt the ice.

In the meantime, we're going to have an excuse to celebrate Ben Franklin's birthday with some cake (ok, I just wanted cake and it's too cold to do much of anything else.)

I also want to try this recipe from sneaky chef:
Quick Fix for Yellow Cake Cupcake Mix
Nutrition Highlights: Compared to traditional yellow cake mix recipe: 42% less calories, 67% less fat, 37% less cholesterol, 36% less sodium, 93% more potassium, 23% less carbs, and 153% more fiber, and 37% less sugars.

Many moms across the country start with a cake mix for cakes and cupcakes their kids can bring to school. Readers have requested this sneaky upgrade, which retains all the taste and texture of the original. This is a great way to respond when the school requests healthier birthday party events and bake sales.

- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup Orange Puree or White Bean Puree (see Make-Ahead Recipe #2)
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup oat bran
- 1 box (about 18 ounces) yellow cake mix (such as Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Classic Yellow Cake Mix)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a cake pan (then lightly flour) or muffin tin (lined with muffin cups).

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine eggs, Orange or White Bean Puree, applesauce, water, and dry ingredients. Blend at low speed for 30 seconds, then increase speed to medium speed for another 2 minutes.

Pour batter into cake pan or muffin tins. Bake cake for 33 to 36 minutes, cupcakes for 18 to 21 minutes (both until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean).

good list

Our Sandra Boynton book collection is 28 books strong! There are a few in our massive collection not pictured here because they are bath or car books.... and believe it or not there are even more out there - Two of which show up on the back of some of the books and Aiden inevitably asks for them (the Wake Up one with the lion and the Birthday Monsters). We even have three cds worth of Boynton's silly music. The hippos hooked us, but they really are favorites.

The adorable book ornaments my mom made with velcro, so they could come off the tree to be read. They are the sweetest little illustrations and there is even a story with hippos! I'm so excited that Gran and the library book sale gave us some new family treasures. Aiden was so happy to have his own tree and still talks about it.
Aiden's car collection included this daredevil launch for the dressed up version of Mater. I was able to cram it in my already too full luggage so it made it home from Gran and Pop's house. The rest of the toys delivered by santa to their house will come our way in February - yay!
Snowman pancakes - no need for molds (which btw ARE easier if you spray them and heat them up with your pan ahead of time) - This is mommy's batch from xmas day:
Quinoa added to crock pot chicken - Simmer crock pot chicken in a little seasoned broth, then in the last hour add the quinoa. It's so yummy and simple!
"Haut Dogs" made it into this swanky food catalog!? These are an O family holiday tradition and believe me you can make the little smokie and crescent versions for a lot less mula. But I'm excited they are considered "the new foie gras" - ha!

still standing

The seven foot tall snowman is still standing/leaning after 14 days in Ohio! It even has a new fresh layer of snow to hold up. That is one determined snowman and a very determined cold winter.

friends

I think about Aiden's friendship with Tyler (who he was really excited to see after our vacation! I guess Tyler was asking about him all week too) and it blows my mind that they've hung out nearly every week since they were four months old. They used to see each other every day at school for a little less than a year and now they get together once or twice a week.

It got me thinking and I realized that I've known my best friends for over half my life! We went from classes and lunches to emails every week and holiday visits (and girl's weekend too!), but it's amazing the life moments we've shared. It blows my mind that the super six are able to keep in such close touch after over 16 years! Woo Woo 97!

We missed you A and E!

fall flashback

The playground is currently covered in snow, so it is fun to flashback to the very tail end of fall when we were bouncing around on the field and the slides.

End of Fall 09 from LB on Vimeo.

museum with tyler

Here's crazy hair Aiden at the Children's Museum with Rebecca, Cheryl, and Tyler last week. They both loved it and ran off it different directions to check everything out. As usual, I think Aiden liked the skeleton and historic boat area the best. It's so great that he gets out and about even when this weather is so frigid. I love it when Rebecca sends me photos:

going out

J and I got a chance to go out last night (after we all headed to Ikea to meet up with my friend) and it made for a really nice day. We used a gift card from J's brother's family to this nice, fairly new restaurant near our house. Thanks! It took a loooong time to get our food but it was totally worth it (and we had plenty of time before our movie and they gave us free drinks). I had a braised lamb shank with toasted orzo and tomato jus - delicious! J had a filet mignon with their award winning steak sauce. The dessert was a freshly made lava cake with homemade ice cream with gold flakes on it ;) We then headed to see Brothers, which was supposed to be a movie that both of us would like. I liked the parts that I watched, but some of it was too intense and I'm a wimp. I literally closed my eyes and started going through my to do list in my head. Overall, I think it was a movie worth seeing. I suppose the three movies I've seen in the theater the last two years make a bizarre combination - Role Models, Where the Wild Things Are, and Brothers. Someday I'll have to order netflix since there will a couple year period where I haven't seen any movies.

Here are some more Ohio tidbits of us out and about...

PopPop got some fun shots of A playing at the mall:

Hibachi could've been better. He was mildly scared by the hot fire at the hibachi table... then tried to stick rice in my hair. good times.