Brussel Sprouts and Silliness!!

He loved them!  I am so proud of my big boy!

Being Silly on the Couch now.....

Itching Like Bridgette..

Action Shot!

Day with Dad

I had training at work today, so Cruz was home with Ben.  It is so nice that Ben works 9 hour days so he can choose a day off every 2 weeks.  So, he did not have to miss any work, and we saved on a babysitter.  Brittney will be here tomorrow to hang out with him for my second day of training.

Pillows lining the floor are typical these days as Cruz is a wild man on the couch.

Silly boy bounding around his crib after his nap.

Swimming in the Tub

Cruz surprised Dad tonight and showed him how he can "swim" in the bath! 

Monkey Man

Today we went to Olivia's first birthday party.  The party was great!  There was pink everywhere, and the house was decorated to the nines.  The food was great, and the cake was gorgeous and delicious.  Cruz ran around, back and forth, through the house.  He had a great time and was such a good boy.  He tried mini quiches, and even ate some raspberries for me.  He thought he was pretty special because mom did not make him sit in a chair to eat.  He just got bites from my plate and would run off and then come back for another.  Luckily, this was not a demand at dinner tonight.

Anyways, Cruz's party favor was an adorable BabyKAMP Bucket that Maria made, complete with his name embroidered on it, and a fun floppy monkey.  When we got home, we realized the monkey had Velcro arms, so I put it around Cruz's neck expecting him to rip it off immediately, and to our surprise, he ran around like it was not even there.  He just carried on and played with his toys, making a large mess.  I even snuck his dog hat on his head.  He had no idea how hilariously cute he looked!

New Buddy

He got his broom out right away...Maybe he was teaching him how to sweep?

The monkey hung out on his back for quite some time.

Reading to the Monkey and Stuffed Daddy.

Playing a song for the Monkey and Stuffed Daddy amidst the gigantic mess he made.

If you are ever looking for a personalized baby gift, you should check out Maria's BabyKAMP website.  Here is the link: http://www.babykamp.com/

Sneaky Bridgette

Bridgette has been quite sneaky lately.  Up until Cruz started eating solids, she had NEVER eaten anything other than dog food, dog treats, and peanut butter.  Now, she gets little "food presents" from Cruz all day long, and she loves it.  Well, she has taken it to a whole new level and is nosing around in Cruz's bib after he is done eating.  I can't believe she does this now!  I finally caught her in action today.  Usually I find the bib on the back of the couch, but she was very careful this evening to nose around and leave it in place.  She is one smart puppy!

"What did he leave me tonight?"

"Who me?  I have been sitting here so pretty this whole time!"

Swim Pictures and Progress

Here are the pictures from the first day of swim.  Anese's husband took them.  They are wonderful!

Taken July 7, 2013

These boys have no idea what is in store for them!

 

This is right before Cruz started screaming, and has screamed every other time it is his turn with Miss Kasie.  He was fine until she dunked him underwater.  Then, it was over.

Here are a few pictures from the last day of Session One.  Miss Kasie gave the kids an Otter Pop.  Cruz was not so sure what to think at first, but sucked on it a bit.  I was elated that he was not all that interested in it!  I know there will be plenty of Otter Pops in his future....but glad for now he has not realized how yummy they are!

Swim is going better than it was before.  We are in our second session.  This past week, Cruz had two really good days.  He still cried when the teacher took him, but today he actually was holding onto the side of the wall, and was moving his hands with some coaxing as he "monkeyed" toward the steps without having Miss Kasie keeping his hands holding on tight.  

We have all decided that he knows what to do, but just doesn't like doing it.  He and I will work together, and he is not upset like he is when he is with the teacher.  She said we should try to go to a different pool and try some of the exercise in a different environment to see if that helps him.  He smiles when his turn is over and is working on kicking on his own.  He is now comfortable walking on the baja step, and can find his feet when he trips and falls face first.  

Yesterday, Miss Kasie was working with him on floating on his back, which he hated, but he tolerated it as he screamed.  She also pushed him underwater toward the steps to have him grab on and find his feet.  On the first try, I guess he was not ready and smashed head-first into the step and got a scrape on his forehead.  He did not even notice, as he was already upset it was his turn.

We have two more classes, next week, and then will have a break.  I am hoping to do a fall class in the late afternoon.  I think this has been really good for him.  Miss Kasie said any experience in the water is just making deposits for the future.  It has been really nice having something to do each day, and it gets us out of the house and outside, which is rare in Arizona in the summer.

After swim class today, Anese and I took the boys to the Splash Pad.  Liam had been there before, and was very comfortable with the water, but Cruz was not excited about it.  He wanted nothing to do with it.  I am hoping swim has not scarred him!  He still loves his bath though, so that is a good sign.  We instead played on the playground equipment, had a snack, and the boys walked around exploring.  

This will probably be the last time the boys will see each other till they start daycare next Friday.  It has been really nice having a friend for Cruz to play with, and now they will get to see each other almost everyday now!

Blueberry Yogurt Cookies

I made these healthy Blueberry Yogurt Cookies, complete with oat flour(which I made myself), egg whites, fresh blueberries, and stevia(which I have never worked with before...).  I saw them on my cousin, Tessa's website.  She really liked them and even said her daughter loved them too.  I can't say they were bad, but not anything to write home about.  I gave one to Cruz to try, and he liked them.  The cookies were more of a muffin consistency, so they were nice and soft.  He now shoves multiple pieces of food in his mouth at once, so I thought I would give him a whole one and see what he did.  He did a great job, and I know he liked having that big hunk to hold onto.  He is getting so big!  I even got some huge smiles out of it too!  I was one happy mom!

Here goes!

Happy Boy!

Look at that smile!

Bridgette in the Crib!

Each time Cruz wakes up, Bridgette and I go in and greet him.  Bridgette always runs around on the carpet and is so excited to see Cruz.  So this afternoon, I thought I would see what would happen if I actually put Bridgette in there with him.  I honestly thought she would freak out, but she made herself at home.  The first thing she did was itch her back, and then she laid down.  Cruz was so good with her, and was so excited about his "birds" to care about who was in the crib with him. 

These "Birds" are his new obsession.  They sit on the shelves above the chair in his room.  They were part of the decorations at my Arizona Baby Shower.  He points to them every time we get him from his crib and says, "What's That?" or some version of that.  We had always just talked about the birds until I got them down yesterday to show them to him.  Today, I gave them to him.  They are not the safest things to play with, but he LOVES them.  It will be just a matter of time until one of them breaks.

He doesn't even notice her at first.

She is as cool as a cucumber.

"Look at my Birds, Bridgette!"

He loves his birds!

She is ready to get out now!

Bachelorette

Cori has been coming over every week this summer to watch the Bachelorette with Cruz and I.  It is so nice of her to always come here.  I am so lucky to have such a nice friend.  We always have something yummy for lunch and always have lots to comment and gossip about while watching the show.  I am so sad school is starting up again soon.  I am hoping we can squeeze one more show in before our work freedom ends.  

Cruz loves showing off for Cori when she comes, just as much as Bridgette loves attacking her with love.  Everyone loves Cori!!  I am actually surprised Bridgette did not Photo-Bomb this picture.

 
 

A Fresh Coat of Paint

This weekend, we were supposed to go to Flagstaff for the Celtic Festival, but did not end up going.  Ben had been sick with a bad cold this week and had missed some work.  Instead, he re-painted the guest bathroom.  

This project has been a long time coming.  The paint that was in there before was found in the garage when we bought the house, and it never took to the walls very well.  The picture in there was from high school, and I had never really been happy with the whole deco package.  Ben had replaced the light fixture and the faucet last year.  So all we had to do was paint and replace the picture.  

We did not like the first paint sample.  It ended up being too dark, so we went in blind with the second one and got a gallon.  It looked so light in the bucket, but looked great on the walls.  I am excited to have it all done!  Ben did such a great job!

He Finally Did It!

Cruz finally got on his little car all by himself.  He tries just about everyday, and his one leg only makes it halfway over, and he gets stuck.  Go figure, when I was not looking, he got right on.  I was so proud of him, and he was quite proud of himself.

 Later on, I tried giving him his food on a plate at dinner time.  He actually did not seem to notice or care about the plate until the food was almost gone.  Then, he tried lifting it up.  Not too bad for the first time.

First Car Wash

Today, I had to run some errands and my little buddy came with me.  He is such a good boy when we are out and about, and I love taking him with me.  One of our stops today was the car wash.  I am usually not the one who takes the car to get washed; Ben does that.  I was not sure how Cruz would react, but he did great.  He was a little unsure of the man putting on the pre-spray and scrubbing off the windows, but the wash itself did not scare him.  I was terrified of the car wash for a period of time when I was younger.  I am glad it was not an issue for him.  It actually did not occur to me that he might be scared until we pulled up. 

I remember being so nervous last summer about taking Cruz out and about when he was so tiny and unpredictable.  I remember being afraid he may cry or if I would have to change his diaper in public.  Was our trip going to interfere with his bottle or nap?  Will he spit up on his clothes?  It is amazing how much changes in a year.  It is no big deal anymore.  He sits so well in the cart and just looks around.  He is so infatuated with all the people and all the neat things to look at.  I know this may be short-lived as he gets older.  He is just now becoming aware of toys, and gets excited when we go near that section, but luckily he is not screaming and begging for them yet.

Later on that evening, we met Ben's friend, Larry and his fiance, Chelsea for dinner at the Yardhouse.  They were in town for work and were staying 5 minutes from our house.  It was nice to meet Chelsea.  She was very sweet.  She is going to school in Michigan for teaching.  So, we naturally had stuff to talk about.  It was very interesting hearing about the teaching situation in Michigan.  I can't say it sounds very good.  She said she is on a waiting list for her internship in the classroom.  She may even end up doing it before she is done with all of her classes.  There are just so many people graduating in the education field.  I guess they are telling people to forget finding a job in Michigan and go out to Arizona, New Mexico, or Texas.  Sounds like much has not changed.

Play Date with Liam

We have been having so much fun seeing Liam at Swim Lessons, it was time for a Play Date.  Liam and his mom, Anese, came over and we had a great time.  It was great for the kids, and great to get to know Anese, instead of talking in bits and pieces as we come and go from daycare.  We were actually able to have a full and non-abbreviated conversation.  She is so great!

There were some extra sunglasses left over from Kindergarten Graduation that I was waiting to give the boys when they were together.  It was so fun watching them play "together" and not along side of each other.  It was honestly like they had played at COOP together just the other day and not almost two months ago.  They are sure going to give those teachers a run for their money this year.  They are both just so busy!  We were even invited for a play date at Liam's on Wednesday!  We are excited!

Showtime!

So Darling!

Running around the coffee table!

"Here Liam, you can have these too!"

Playing nicely.

Playing on my Exercise Step.  I can't believe they were both looking.

"Excuse me!"

I am not sure why Cruz is actually looking at me in these pictures. He barely looks at the camera anymore.

Cleaning Machine

Yesterday, we found a child-sized vacuum at the secondhand store, and could not pass up the $3.99 price tag.  I cleaned it up this morning, and even though he was trying to "help,"  I was able to get him to sit nearby and watch.  We practiced sitting the other day while I was trying to load the dishwasher.  I felt like he was a dog as I am telling him to "sit."  He had the biggest smirk on his face all morning as he played with his new toy and even vacuumed along with dad.  It was so precious.  

He was equally excited when dad got out the mop to polish the floors, but would not give it back to Ben so he could work.  It was hilarious, but exhausting at the same time.  He was in quite a mood today. 

Dad even gave him a taste of his chocolate milk(which I do not condone), but I just had to capture him drinking out of a non-lidded cup.  Yesterday at the mall, he drank perfectly from a straw.  He is growing and changing so much.

Back at the Doctor

I took Cruz to the doctor to get some red bumps checked out on his left cheek.  They appeared after our trip to Flagstaff.  They look like red freckles.  They are not raised or itchy, they just have not gone away.  He then got them on his right cheek after the first day of swim lessons, but they have since faded.  I thought it was some sun/skin condition.  It turns out they are blood vessels/capillaries that have burst.  It can happen to kids when they cry really hard or throw up a lot.  He was crying hysterically on the way home from Flagstaff and also at swim lessons.  It makes sense.  

She did take a look at his drool rash on his chin and said it looked a bit infected and gave us some antibiotics.  I honestly thought it was almost cleared up the other day, and then I saw him scratching at it making it bleed, and then it looked horrible all over again.  The medicine won't get rid of the rash, but will clear up the infection.  When will this drool end?


Exciting Developments!

Cruz finally caught on to "So BIG!" today!  He did it on command at dinner for Ben.  It was so cute.  Even though we practice with two hands in the air, he likes to just raise one when he does it on his own.  I can't wait to get it on camera.

Also, when he and Ben were waiting for me to come play this evening before bed, Ben asked, "Where's Mommy?" and he started yelling, "Ma..........!   Ma.........!"  I think this is the start of talking and not babbling! 

Cruz also tried pizza(again) today for dinner!  He liked the cheese and dough part.  He picked off the toppings.  It was funny to watch him eat.

Below are a few pictures from this afternoon.  We went outside to blow bubbles, but it was impossible to take pictures by myself while blowing bubbles.  It was super duper windy out!

Look at that hair fly!

"Knock Knock, Bridgette!"

Just as I was going to bed, I noticed this in the dining room...I wonder what he was thinking as he arranged this? 

Here is also a picture of our buffet.  While it still holds our nice crystal bowls, china teapot, teacups, and a glass set from Elva, there are also some daily additions.  It varies from day to day.  Today there is a Magna Doodle, an empty Sensodyne box, a plastic tray from an old egg cooker, and a dog toy under a wire pot holder.  Yes, this is another favorite game Cruz plays.  Surprisingly, he has only ever taken out 1 thing from the glass set but has not bothered anything else.  It is now all shoved to the back, just to be safe.  He does however, LOVE to screw the knobs off and that drives me nuts!  I can't say I ever thought this is what the buffet would look like, but it sure makes me smile.  I just love that baby!