First Haircut

It took 2 years and 4 months for Aiden to finally grow enough hair to require a haircut. A trim actually, because I don't know how to do anything fancy. It hurt me a little to cut off his adorable little baby curls, I knew he was going to look older, less baby like, even (gasp) like a little boy! I put it off as long as I could, people started asking when I was going to cut it or if I was trying to grow it long. Finally I decided to cut it when it was clearly annoying him. So, here are the before and after pictures of my little man's first haircut. And yes, I saved every single strand of hair that I cut.

So here is the before picture...

 And here is after...

So what do you think? Did I do a good job? I was a little hesitant to do it myself, since I have a tendency to think I am some sort of hair professional and then really screw things up...just ask my sister ;)

Oh and a big thank you to the good people at Apple for making the iphone so darn irresistible to toddlers and keeping them distracted for this type of thing.

Beany Baby

Aiden has shown some signs of having a few sensory issues going on lately. Which is probably to be expected given his difficult start and all the things he has had to go through. I have done a lot of research on Sensory Processing Disorder lately, and some of the things he is doing fall right in line with the symptoms of SPD, which is usually diagnosed in school aged children. He has not been diagnosed with anything, but I see some things that do concern me and I want to do what I can for him now, before he gets into school. Mostly the things I notice are on the auditory and tactile (problems with certain textures) level. In my research I have also found some great playtime activities to do to help him with some of those sensory issues.

He loved this activity. I put him in a big bin and added 2 bags of cheap mixed dried beans. It gave him exposure to a new texture, made him look for buried objects (cars) and picking up the beans one at a time was good work on his fine motor skills - all why he was just happily playing. He had a great time scooping, tossing and kicking the beans around. He put them into a smaller bowl and took them back out, plowed his cars through them and just dug around in them. I turned on some music and he stayed in the bin playing for over an hour. I had to take him out when he decided it was fun to throw the beans all over the living room. Oh, well, we got some good play in before he figured that little trick out!

 

Puppy Love

Our little Sophie gave us a little scare this week. She had to have surgery, and was really touch-and-go for a couple of days. She was bleeding in her digestive tract, and they could not tell why. She lost 1 1/2 pounds in a month, which is a lot for an 8 pound dog. She was severely dehydrated. She had not kept food down for weeks and literally had only blood in her stomach. The vet threw around words like organ failure and tumors. Words I did not like hearing.

She is doing better now, with rest and lots of medication. It made me really think. I am so not ready to lose her. While I am no longer the person who wants to adopt every stray cat or dog she sees, the thought of losing our little Sophie made me realize just how much she means to me and to our family.

It is easy to take a pet for granted. When you are busy. Or chasing after a high needs 2 year old. Then things like this happen, and you are reminded about how special they really are.

Sophie has been there for me and comforted me in ways that no human being could ever do. She stuck next to me during every failed In Vitro cycle, through loss and through times of worry. She slept next to me every second that I was on bed rest with Aiden (I even made Jeremy bring her to the hospital to visit me). She is my first born child. And I love her so much. She never judges, never gets mad at me for saying something wrong or being in a bad mood. She will will stick by me no matter what. She loves me when I don't love myself.

I know one day she will pass on, and all that I can hope for is that I will be there for her, petting her and giving her kisses. Supporting her in her time of need just like she has supported me in mine. Until then, I will give her every spare moment, give her the little kisses on her cheek she loves, let her sleep on my lap as often as possible and give her booty scratches when she wants them - because they are her favorite.

She weighed 1 pound when we got her

She was the cutest little puppy

Her innocent look...

A family picture is not complete without her, because she is a big part of our family :)

I love my little Sophie - with that face, how could you not?

Now go pet your dog/cat/rabbit/fish/whatever and tell them you love them ;)

A slight obsession...

I have been completely and totally obsessed with Meyer lemons for the last month. I don't know what it is, the endless supply coming from my Grandma's tree or maybe I associate lemons with summer and sunny days and this is my way of bringing some sunshine into my life! I don't know, but it certainly does not help that there is a delicious plethora of lemon based dessert recipes floating around the blog world right now.

It started with this...

Meyer Lemon Sweet Rolls. They called my name, as soon as I saw them I went out and bought the ingredients and I made them the next day. They were so, so good. Too good and the recipe makes 3 dozen of them. I literally had to give them away to avoid eating them all. I drove around delivering sweet rolls to family and friends so they could share in the calories joy of eating them.


Next were these...all I wanted was breakfast for dinner and searched for a new pancake recipe.

What I found were these. Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce. Oh, the lemon-y blueberry-y goodness. I will warn you, you will eat more than you planned on and your whole mouth will look like a blueberry. Don't eat these on a romantic date or anywhere you do not have immediate access to a toothbrush. But, don't worry - they are totally worth it!

While I was on the Two Peas and Their Pod site, I spotted these...

I had all the ingredients, so I decided - why not? Lemon Sugar Cookies. I'll take 'em. They turned out great - light, summery, and sparkly - and not a cookie that I want to eat 10 of. One or two was all I needed to get my sugar craving satisfied. Would be really good with a cup of tea, which I am going to go make right now and have myself a couple...


So, now that I have made you all hungry, I encourage you to go find some fresh Meyer lemons and try out all 3 of these recipes. Just don't try to get them from my Grandma's tree. Those are mine. And I will fight you for them ;)

5 reasons why it needs to stop raining...

I am so ready for some warmer temperatures and sunny days. I'm not ready for the 100 degree heat or anything, but some warm spring days would be nice. This never ending rain and clouds are getting really old. It is time for them to GO AWAY. And here are 5 reasons why:

1. I am ready to plant some flowers and make my backyard pretty again. I am tired of looking out the window and seeing dead plants and dirt. I need to get back there and work on a garden, get a little dirt under my fingernails. So far, all I have to tend to is this little pot of succulents. It needs friends. And warmer temperatures.

2. A certain little boy has taken to standing by the sliding glass door and yelling because he wants to go outside. He loves playing out there. On the days that it is not raining, I take him out there. He ends up playing in the mud, getting seriously dirty and cold. He finds every puddle and splashes in it - no matter how cold or dirty it makes him. He is ready to splash around in his pool again.

See what the cold wind is doing to his hairdo?!?!?

3. My peach tree bloomed. Then it froze, it rained, and it has been cold. No bees have been flying around. Which means no one is pollinating the blooms. Which means no peaches this year. The sun needs to come out so that the bees can pollinate the few blooms that remain. Most of them are already on the ground. Not to mention we missed looking at all the beautiful bright pink blooms.

4. These shoes. They are new. They are the cutest shoes I have ever seen. They are cream colored with an aqua polka dot gathered half bow on the front. I can't wear them in the rain, they will get destroyed and no longer be cream colored. I really want to wear them soon. These shoes do not belong in a box in my closet - they belong on my feet! If the sun comes out, these shoes will be on my feet in a matter of moments.

 P.S. It is surprisingly difficult to take pictures of your shoes.

5. I am ready for a large margarita. Little drink umbrellas are optional. It's not just margaritas, I am just generally ready for barbecues, homemade ice cream, and frozen drinks of all kinds. I am also ready for sunny days so Aiden, Sophie and I can go for long walks. So I can burn off all of the ice cream and frozen drinks ;) Oh, and I will definitely be trying out that watermelon margarita on the right this summer.

I could go on because there are so many reasons why I am ready for the rain to stop. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we are not in a drought and summer will be fun at the lake, but it's time for a few sunny days! Plus Project Park is on hold until the weather cooperates!

Last blog about Pismo :)

We had a lot of fun, of course we did plenty of relaxing also. There was a lot of eating and napping. And sitting around outside chatting. It really is a neat place to visit, and the RV park my parents stay at is really nice. We get to go back next year...right?

The hotel on wheels :)

On the way back from the beach through the RV park

A little computer time, relaxing

Cuddling with Papa and watching cartoons on his lap after nap time

Just being plain silly

Serious case of bed head.

That's all from Pismo Beach. You have no idea how long it took me to do all the blogs about it, right Jeremy?

Tuesday at Pismo Beach

We knew we were going to leave after dinner on Tuesday. I really didn't want to go. It was another nice day. We spent the morning at the beach, Aiden had a great time! He crawled all over the beach and played in the sand. After nap time, we walked back into town, out on the Pismo Beach pier and had an early dinner. We packed up the car and left around 6pm. Aiden slept more on the way home, probably because he was tired from all the fun. He really enjoyed the outdoors and was always ready for nap time and bed times. He got spoiled by Nana and Papa, too :)

Breakfast - leftover crab omelets with avocado and jack cheese

Setting up our spot on the beach

Crazy sand crawler - he made some funny looking tracks on the beach

Nana Robyn collecting sand dollars

Big boy taking a walk with Nana

Jeremy's sand artwork

Before dinner walk on the pier - looking back at Pismo Beach

We watched surfers and the waves crash for a little bit

Another attempt at a family picture

Storm clouds coming back, we left before the storm got there that night

Walking the pier, ready for dinner!

Monday at Pismo Beach

A little storm came in, it drizzled a lot but no real downpours. We went out to Avila Beach and DROVE onto a pier to get some seafood for Valentines Day dinner. We walked down to the lower part of the pier and introduced Aiden to the sea lions that nap there. We got fresh crab and lobster and drove around Avila Beach, next time we will have to explore a little more, but it was a little wet to take Aiden out strolling for too long.  We came back home and my dad cooked the seafood while Aiden napped and me and my mom went to visit my sisters former room-mate and best friend Angie. She is one lucky lady to live down there. I wanted her to meet Aiden and wanted to introduce him to her 2 year old twin boys and 3 year old daughter. Yep, the girl has her hands full :)

We got as close as we could...

But not close enough for them to bite us :)

Looking toward Avila Beach from the Pier

Cheese!

Vday dinner - lobster, crab, farmers market salad and potatoes!

Vday dessert - home made strawberries and goodies from a local bakery