Thankful Thursday: Babies!

Today I am thankful for babies.  This seems obvious since I am the proud mom of a wonderful baby boy.  And I am so very thankful for Ben.  I am not just thankful for him though, I am thankful for all babies.  I am thankful for the ability of babies to make adults do crazy, silly things just to make them smile.  I am thankful that they remind us it is okay to announce our needs clearly.  I am thankful for how adorable they are.  I am thankful for all that they teach us.  Babies are so in the moment.  They are so curious and open.  They want to learn and experience and love life.  They bring so much joy.  I am so happy to be in that stage of life where it seems like everyone is having babies.  I love seeing the pictures of them pop up on facebook.  I love hearing about what they are up to.  Friends of Team Cartwright are welcoming a baby girl into the world today.  Another had a baby several months before Ben.  And yet another is expecting a baby in August.  It is so exciting to see and be a part of all these new beginnings.  I am thankful for the happiness babies can bring.

And of course, I am always super thankful for this particular baby.  :)

-Kim

PJ Party

I love shopping for Ben.  I try not to buy too much for him.  It is so easy to get too much 'stuff' when you have a baby.  But when I know I can get a deal on some things I really want for him, I am so there.  Luckily we have a local consignment sale that takes place twice a year where I can get good stuff at a great price!!  We've actually been going to it since before Ben was born.  It is held at a local elementary school, so of course Pat heard about it while he was teaching.  We were able to get a great deal on Ben's travel system back when I was pregnant with him.  We've also gotten a ton of cute clothes and some toys.  I love a good deal!

This year I decided we should go early to be sure to get what we wanted.  The only problem with this is that Ben is doing so well with his naps, I didn't want to mess with them to take him with us.  What does that mean?  Meo to the rescue!!  She volunteered to watch Ben so Pat and I could focus on deal hunting.  I brought Ben over to her house right after he woke up and nursed.  So Ben got to have a pajama party with Meo!

He looks so little in his chair!

He had his breakfast there and got to keep his first nap on schedule.  I am so thankful for Meo for watching him!  Yes, we could have brought him with us or shopped at a different.  Time, but it was so nice to be able to get in and out of the sale quickly.  And Pat and I were pretty quick!  We were happy to find everything we were looking for at a good price.  After the sale, we went back to pick up Ben.  He was still napping, we were that fast!  Pat had to tutor in the morning, but Ben and I got to spend most of the day with Meo.  She had some friends come over to see Ben.  They hadn't seen him in months.  That is a long time, especially with how quickly babies grow and develop.  It is good for Ben to be exposed to new people.  He is starting to be in that stage where he is aware that he doesn't know some people, and it makes him a bit hesitant.  I think the best thing to do with that is to keep letting him see new people to see that everything is okay.   Of course he was great.  He took a few minutes to warm up to the new people, but then he was awesome!

Happy we're back!

After all that excitement we had lunch (I swear all we do is eat all day!;)), then did a little shopping with Meo.  Overall, a nice little Saturday.  A big thank you, again, to Meo.  Pat and I are so blessed that we have family nearby that can watch Ben for us.  It really made getting in and out of the sale so much easier, and it was wonderful that Ben still got to keep his nap time.  And Ben had a lot of fun!

Lunch!

Shopping is fun!

-Kim

Happy Tax Day!

Today is a milestone for our family, Baby's First Tax Day!  Okay, maybe it isn't something most families recognize.  But as someone who does accounting work it is a big day!  Ben worked really hard all season and did a great job at keeping up office morale.  Way to go, Ben!!  A big thanks to Omi and Associates for being so helpful with Ben!

My two favorite accountants!

I'm still getting used to this new camera.:)

He worked so hard!

Best tax season yet!

-Kim

Elvis

It is amazing how silly people will be to make a baby laugh.  Case and point, Pat singing with Ben.

Ladies and gentleman, Ben "Elvis" Cartwright.  Long live the King.

-Kim

Baby Goose

We are very fortunate that the local library has some great children's programming.  There are activities for all age levels, they take place throughout the year, and most of them are free.  Currently Ben is only old enough for two, and we go to one of them, Baby Goose!  It is a great program run by a former preschool teacher.  We sing songs, read books, and recite nursery rhymes.  There are fun toys to play with, and we dance to music.  All around it is just a fun little time to play with Ben.  I love it because Ben and I get to see other babies too.  I think it is important for Ben to get to see and interact with other kids.  Well, interact as much as he and they can at this age.  It is helpful to me to see what other children are up to as well.  I know I shouldn't compare children.  They all grow and develop at their own rates.  But it is helpful to see what other kids are up to, and it is exciting to see the stages Ben will be approaching.  Now Ben isn't the youngest one there all the time, so it is fun to see the younger babies and think back to when Ben was that little.  (I know, it wasn't really that long ago.  But he is just growing and changing so fast!)

Baby Goose gives Ben and I a nice little break in the middle of the week to just enjoy him as a baby.  The program gives us great songs to sing, and helps us pick out new books to read.  I've learned about new games to play with Ben, and how to make simple toys for him.  It's also fun to just hang out with other caregivers and just focus on the babies.  Ben seems to really enjoy it too!  I love that we have this time to just be together and focus on having fun.

I didn't take any pictures during the actual program.  We were too busy having fun!  Oh, and I didn't want to make the other parents uncomfortable by taking random pictures of their kids.  But Ben and I got to the library a little early, so we got a chance to play a bit before Baby Goose started!

There was a real goose ready to play! And yes, I know I am a huge dork for taking a picture of it. :)

Yay for books!

Looking everywhere but at Mommy

So handsome in his tie.

Already so studious. :)

Books taste good.

We love Baby Goose!

-Kim

Thankful Thursday: Little Things

This week I am thankful for the little things.  I know it is important to be thankful for the big things, like family, my home, my job, my health.  But the little things are sometimes what get us through the day.  I am thankful for so many little things.  I am thankful for ice cream.  I am thankful for books.  I am thankful for good movies.  I am thankful for so-bad-they-are-good movies.  I am thankful for silly cat pictures on the internet.  I am thankful for sunny days.  I am thankful for coordinating outfits.  I am thankful for crossword puzzles.  I am thankful for bunnies.  I am thankful for chocolate.  I am thankful for cute shoes.  

I think these little things matter.  They make us smile.  They might not be life altering, but they have a valuable place in the world.  And I am thankful for them.  I am also thankful that I can take the time to be thankful for them, if that makes any sense. 

And ice cream.  I know I said it, but it bears repeating.  I am thankful for ice cream. :)

-Kim

Easter Pictures

Today Ben met the Easter Bunny for the first time!  A great local store hosted an event for kids to meet the Easter Bunny.  Second Born Consignment is one of our favorite stores in town.  It has so many great clothes and children's items for good prices.  And they had this lovely event!  It was super cute with little crafts for the kids to do.  Ben was too young for the crafts, so we just got a picture with the bunny.

Ben did a really great job!  You never know how kids will react to this kind of thing.  We saw Santa twice this year.  The first time Ben cried a bit.  Though in his defense it was a long line, so he fell asleep.  He woke up in Santa's arms.  That can freak a kid out.  The second time he saw Santa at the library and he was great!  I have found that Easter Bunnies have a tendency to be a bit creepier than Santa though.  This bunny was cute!  Ben did smile, but of course not for the camera.  I'm just excited that he sat so nicely.

Meo was super great and came with Pat, Ben, and me to take pictures.  I am super cool, so I picked out coordinating outfits for us all.  :)  The actual bunny pictures didn't take too long, and it was a beautiful day out.  Since I had Meo with us, I made her take more family pictures of us outside!  I mean, we were dressed all cute, it was lovely weather, and I had a captive Meo.  Of course I had to take advantage of that all!  A great big thank you to Meo for taking all these pictures.  I really do appreciate it.

Here are our bunny pictures and spring family pictures.  Team Cartwright, Spring 2014!

Team Cartwright and the Easter Bunny

Aren't they cute?

Hugs!

He loves to fly!

Mommy hugs!

Of course we had to get some Meo shots

Thank you again to Meo for taking all these great pictures!

-Kim