Meow Meow Meow

Yesterday as we were looking at houses Ben found yet another kitty friend.  He chased the poor thing all around the house until finally the cat took quite an interest in Ben.  I found them facing each other near the back stairs, nose to nose, Ben MOOOINg away with delight.  I was thrilled as I realized that no, he didn't have animal confusion, he just doesn't have "Meow" down quite yet.  His sweet low Mooooooooo, and the kitty's unwavering gaze were too much for this Mama.  Amid the stress and chaos of our no you cant wait until the weekend and look at houses when you have a babysitter because they all will sell day, it was a wonderful frozen moment when I only cared about my sweet boy and what he was doing.  Certainly worth noting here and trying to never forget.........

21 months and DANGEROUS

I know I sound like a broken record, but the months lately feel like weeks they fly by so fast.  I'm hoping that when 2 arrives and Ben is just "2" for a whole year rather than measuring his age in monthly milestones, that maybe it won't feel so frighteningly fast. 

I'll get to the DANGEROUS part of the post in a moment, but first the monthly update.......

We wrapped up dance class last week and not only did Ben gain a love for several new songs, but when we practice them at home he does lots more than he did in class and shows he learned quite a lot.

He is now mooing, cock-a-doodle-dooing, Bert laughing (from Sesame Street), and saying baby on command.  He is also signing please in the last week and I hope is coming to realize it will be required with regularity by this Mama.  While he is asking to be read to less, he still loves books and the favorites haven't changed.  He has really been enjoying his Hallmark recordable storybook from Tante although I think I love it more:).  Just last weekend he started carrying around his Ikea stacking cups (that he's had for months) like they are gold, or candy, or Jellycat reincarnate.  He stacks and un-stacks but mostly holds onto them tightly nearly every minute of the day.  For now it's quite entertaining.

Physically, he's still running everywhere but getting quite adept at using hand rails up and down stairs rather than the hands and knees method.  We still request the "old way" on long or steep flights, but he's gaining confidence in this arena everyday.

We have some travel and a big move coming up so we don't have any organized activities on the books right now.  We take a nearly daily trek to the nearby open space right before lunch for some fresh air and exploring and with school ending there are more kids at the park we frequent.  I am quite anxious to find a house for many reasons, but finding a preschool for the fall is at the top of the list.  

Ok, without further adieu, the DANGEROUS....

"No!" continues to be a struggle for all of us living with Ben.  Not only does it barely faze him, it usually produces a huge grin and a second attempt at whatever you have asked him not to do.  Removing him from situations and taking things away from him unfortunately does little to hurt his feelings or his ego.  Lately we have tried to teach him to ask for our help with the stereo (although he can do it all), so no further damage is done to it by him.  In the last couple of weeks, I've gotten more firm with him when he helps himself to it.  When the situation escalates and I move him away from the entertainment center he initially would hug my legs and look up and smile.  I would reiterate that I loved him but that he was still to ask for help.  This "loving" quickly escalated and now the hug is followed by a plea to be picked up and a big wet kiss followed by a head tilt flirt!! OH boy!! I am so in for it! and yes, very, very afraid!!!  That this reaction is innate in my 21 month old is fascinating and awesome and so wonderfully disconcerting.

 

They turned the pop-a-jets on Pearl St. on early this year and I couldn't say no:)

Practice

 

No matter what the toy on or in the water table, it's all about getting the water in the mouth-yuck!!

let the hunt begin..........

I toyed with titling this post, Not at Home on Harrison St., but we still have "favorited" homes on Harrison st. from the far south to the far north of the city.  It's curious and almost laughable how many out of the very few.  Sadly, that's about the only laughable part of the start of our forever home search at home in the Mile High City.  We went under contract in Wichita and as inspection drew closer, decided to start looking in Denver.  The first offer we put in was topped by a second only after a delay by the seller's realtor.  There was a third buyer in line though, so we probably would never have ended up at home on 832 Harrison St:).  Boy were we in love! Totally moved-in in our heads, but as my Mom said, it's probably a good thing if you're making an offer on a potentially very long-term home that you have pictured yourself at home there. 

After a day off to regroup and repair our hearts, I found another home that would be a vastly different lifestyle than Harrison but that had a huge lot on open space at the base of a foothill.  I could hardly believe it was still available! Only after setting up a showing (I was prepared to offer without even seeing it in person,) did we learn it not only had multiple offers, but multiple contracts!!-in less than one full business day!

So, yes, it is a seller's market in Denver.  But, interest rates are low and prices are far from where they once were.  There are just way more buyers than sellers and that makes things tough.  I feel paralyzed looking (what the heck am I doing blogging right now?) because homes literally go in hours and I am afraid of missing something like the second house above that I missed because we were offering on the first.

While I love nearly any competition, no part of this is fun.  We are resolved to the fact we will have to move our lives into storage nearby and miss out on the company benefit of having it moved into our new home.  Despite all this, we are prepared for the fight ahead of us and continually grateful to be home and in a position to settle into our lives in a wonderful home.  In the inspiring words of 2 of my 3 readers.........with clear eyes and full hearts, we will let the hunt begin!!!!

Sue's Sweet 6-0!!

Despite the Tornado Flu and all it's power, we were able to salvage a bit of MeeMee's birthday and make a pretty nice day of her actual birthday on Sunday.  We started the day with breakfast favorite, The Eggshell and next stopped for flowers for MeeMee's annual yellow ribbon flower pot that sits on her front porch.  A relaxing afternoon, mani/pedi's for the girls, and a delicious Italian dinner at Grappa in Golden rounded out the day.  We will work to reschedule the party and perhaps turn it into a fun summer BBQ.  As MeeMee reminded us, she is 60 all year:)

Tornado Flu

Whew! We survived.  There were moments last week and weekend when I wondered whether we'd all make it.  And just when I posted about real deal sickness someone played a cruel, cruel joke on me.  Last Tuesday night about 1130 pm I was thrust awake by the sound of Ben screaming like he never had before.  I ran faster than ever up the two flights of stairs to find MeeMee already with him and a mess I will only describe as gargantuan.  With help from MeeMee I pieced some things together but didn't even have my glasses on before the sickness came again.  Sadly, by morning, Ben and I had been through two beds together and had quite a routine down when he started the tell-tale grunting warning what was to come.  Tears streamed down my face many times throughout that night and sleep came only from sheer exhaustion.  Thankfully my resilient Monkey was back to his old tricks within 12 hours and really back to himself the next day:).  I was confident it had been some sort of food poisoning as there was no fever and it came and went so quickly.

Ryan came home early from a work trip Wednesday evening and I was thrilled to have the day to spend with him and Ben on Thursday.  We made plans to view a house in the late afternoon and went about our day.  By 2 pm my stomach was wrenching and by 4 pm when we arrived to look at the house it was all over.  Victim 2 had fallen.  Try as I might to bounce back the next day, it was only after a long afternoon nap that I started to feel like myself again.  Ryan stayed home again to care for Ben and MeeMee was home from work after only a couple of hours.  Victim 3 had fallen.  

By Friday evening I started to feel better and it's a good thing because before 9 pm Ryan became Victim 4.  

The most devastating part of all of it was that Ben and Ryan missed cousin Ian's first birthday celebration that I was not attending due to MeeMee's 60th birthday surprise party.  Sadly, MeeMee's party that Molly and I had been planning for months was also cancelled.  So sickness turned to sadness over what was to be that wasn't and as fast as it came, the Tornado Flu was gone...............

Mother's Day Weekend

While Mother Nature was surely present somewhere else this weekend (I know D-town can't have perfect weather all the time,) it was a quite lovely Mother's Day weekend.  Ryan was gone and was very missed but Tante and MeeMee were great girls to celebrate with.  Saturday we ventured to Home Goods and out to lunch and on to a couple Open Houses and drive-by's.  We came home with a gorgeous hanging planter for MeeMee and to a beautiful vase of flowers from Ben being kindly kept at a neighbor's house.  Saturday night I made Nana Pat's fish tacos in honor of her birthday and we watched Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.  It was as moving as I expected and actually had a very different plot than I anticipated.  

 

Benjamin you did a fantastic job with these!!

Sunday started with a couple away from home tasks for MeeMee and me so Tante and Ben got a little quality time in.  The weather was rainy all weekend so we all enjoyed relaxing, reading, and giggling.  A group trip to Costco and some amazing Mother's Day steaks were the perfect ending to a great weekend.  Molly even took the challenge to grill and not ruin the Prime New York strips in her first time at the helm.  She did a fantastic job!

Post Nap Mama tickles :)

head

nose

ears

A Mother's Day recital

The highlight of the weekend for me occurred after lunch Saturday when we popped into a little high-end kids clothes and gifts shop.  Ben ran in and straight for a VERY large Jellycat brand stuffed dog and turned and headed straight back for the door.  He had Tante and I in stitches and did oblige when we asked him to put it back.  He did, however, keep going back to it and really really loving it.  Tante and I immediately started justifying the crazy and unplanned purchase that was about to occur.  My heart was frighteningly warmed by giving Ben something he wanted so badly.  He had never shown interest in anything in a store like this before.  I assured his DaDa on the phone that no! we weren't going to "give him everything he wants just because he's cute and shows interest no matter the cost."  I also assured Ryan that I would never have purchased it if Ben had thrown any kind of fit when I initially asked him to put it back.   It was a very scary happy feeling for me though that I will continue to work to subdue in the future:).

a re-enactment of him trying to leave the store

Who could say No to this.........

Perhaps because we are so busy and have so many other in-person birthday celebrations this year, the week leading to Mother's Day this year was less emotional than last.  I still had many moments of sadness mixed in with all the overwhelming joy.  Looking back on last year's Mother's Day post though, I can say I've held up my commitments in writing to legislators both in CO and KS.  I've also stayed connected to Resolve and their efforts and lots of the very scary Personhood bills in state legislatures all around the country.  My wishes are sadly unchanged but tax credits for infertility treatments (although they are minimal) are still alive in congress.  I have just recently been connected to a few different people going through some of the struggles we did and I hope I can be helpful in sharing and listening as they journey down the difficult path of infertility.  

My strongest Mother's Day wish this year is that lots more moms and parents take time to be grateful for what they have and reap the benefits of the love of their children and the immeasurable benefits those children would feel when they are deeply and unconditionally loved.  Mother's Day really is every day and I'm overwhelmingly grateful it's the most important role in my life.

the real deal :(

Sadly, last week's fever, that I thought was just that, was the pre-cursor to Ben's first cough and first Real Deal sickness:(. He was only really down for a couple of days last weekend and at the beginning of last week, but the nasty cough is lingering along with a little runny nose. I swear my heart breaks a little with every cough. As I've written before, I think sickness is good and necessary to build immunity, but is no less trying on a Mama's soul.  I'm confident Ben only made it this long without a sickness like this because he's not in day care, and he will need to continue to be exposed now and again or face being monumentally sick when he starts preschool.

I am overwhelmingly thankful to the friends that recommended our pediatricians.  They wrote a book, (a link for purchase or more info here) which I may have blogged about before, that is a true life-saver.  When I opened it at midnight when the fever first struck, Fever was the top item on the handy reference guide.  As our Dr's philosophy is blend between traditional western and homeopathic medicine, they offered many homeopathic suggestions for dealing with Ben's cough.  Traditional medicines that loosen cough, etc., are not recommended for children as young as Ben so I am very grateful for the handful of suggestions that have proven very helpful.  This book will be one of the go-to gifts from now on for anyone I know having a baby.

I definitely think we're on the homestretch of this bug and am confident a stranger would never guess Ben any worse for the wear.  My heart is a different story :(.  Though as Tante commented on my post about his fever, the extra snuggles are a welcome treat.