where has the baby gone?

This past weekend has proven to me that we are now truly entering toddlerhood. The baby in my precious little boy is rapidly fading as he is now making room for the toddler. The image of the small infant we brought home from the hospital a bit over a year ago still is strongly imprinted in my mind and sometimes I forget just how much he's grown. Sometimes I'll pass a newborn in the grocers and think aww a new baby just like my lil O but look down at my boy and realize that he is anything but small or new. Or I will have moments when nursing, holding on to memories of his small swaddled body but quickly realize his body is now spilling over my lap with kicking legs full of energy. There just isn't too much baby left in him anymore but somehow I still can't seem to let go of the image of my tiny newborn baby. I think he will truly always be that for me even when his 37. It may sound corny but its so so true. However as a mother I must constantly change the image I have of my son and our relationship as I must remind myself that he is not an extension of myself but a growing individual. So yes in my heart he will always be the precious baby boy that I cradled in my arms on his very first birth day but also I will welcome each and every new stage because I love him more that words can say.

There were a few specific moments this past weekend that really resonated with me of his entering toddlerhood. First off Owen's now really getting the hang of walking. Here is a new video of him having some fun at Together in the Park

Secondly we bought Owen his first wet suit and of course had to go give it a test run. So we headed to the beach and got him all suited up. Luckily putting a wet suit on a baby isn't as hard as putting on your own wet suit since they aren't as tight. Then we were off to go have some fun in the waves and of course have a go on Papa's surf board.

Lastly Owen got his very first boo boo this past weekend (boo boo's are a sure sign of toddlerhood!). He tripped on his way out to the patio and fell face first into the patio door. My poor baby was so sad but after a lil milk, some hugs, kisses and some dancing to some favorite mothersong tunes he was back to his happy energetic self. Although he has been noticeably more cautious when going through the patio door now. I'm glad to see him learn from his ouchies! Oh toddlerhood! We shall see what new adventures it will bring us in the coming weeks and months.

a new hat

Last week Sal's younger sister Elisa went on a school trip to Washington DC and as a gift to Owen she brought him back a racoon hat. Its seriously the cutest thing ever on him. Thank you Tia Elisa!

In other news our lil' Kai pie is finally signing back to us. He is now signing the words "more", "milk", "up" and "fish". For a long time I was feeling pretty discouraged, thinking that he would never use the signing I had been using with him since day one. I was starting to think that all I had been doing was for nothing but mostly I'm pretty sure I never would have felt that way if I wouldn't have started it so early. Most books I read did suggest starting around 5 months but I thought I might as well start early and just get in the habit of using sign.

Anyway I am just so happy to see my sweet pea using sign to communicate his needs or just for fun. Most of all I hope that the signing I am teaching him will come in good use so that he is better able to communicate his needs and avoid frustration and tears.

Today Owen got to hold a frog for the first time thanks to his Zia. Our backyard is filled with tiny frogs but since Mama is too scared to touch them he hadn't really gotten the chance to look at them up close. It was quite the feat to get the frog to sit on his hand and to actually get a decent picture but totally worth it!

We also got to play with some ducks today. After our usual visit to Mothersong on Thursday mornings we headed over to San Lorenzo Park for lunch and some play time with other babies. Here's a short video of Owen chasing some ducks around the park.

So now that Owen is older I'm finding more time to cook again and since having a baby I'm also finding it that much more important to cook healthy meals that the whole family can share together. Yesterday I made a red quinoa and kidney bean salad to go along with our veggie burgers and I'm still pretty new to making dished with quinoa and basically made the recipe up as I went along so I truly didn't expect it to turn out too good but I was so impressed by it that I just had to blog about it. I'm thinking that I'll try to make it a regular thing to blog about new recipes I try out. Excuse the poor photograph of the salad, I really looks much better in person and tastes a million times better! Lemme know if you try it out and how you liked it.

Red Quinoa and Kidney Bean Salad

Ingredients:

1 1/2 red quinoa

2 cups red kidney beans

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons celery, chopped

1/2 a lemon, juiced

1/2 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons salt

Preparation:

Wash quinoa (to wash quinoa I usually let it soak about 15 minutes then drain it through a colander) then cook according to box direction or preferred method. Combine red kidney beans, balsamic vinegar and salt. Once quinoa is cooked, remove from pan and let cool. Add beans, celery, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, and cumin. Serves about 8. Although I was so hungry I didn't wait for the quinoa to cool and simply mixed all the ingredients right away and it tasted great warm and then today for lunch I had it cold and was great that way too! Enjoy!

more about his first steps

Oops! So I'm not to sure how the last post got posted to the blog but I definitely wasn't done editing and adding videos so here is the rest of the post!

In this video Sal is holding out a cherry for Owen to walk over to and if you notice he basically does a head dive right into the cherry Sal is holding out for him at the end. So funny!

I can't believe my baby boy is so close to becoming an independent walker. I must admit as exciting as it is it is also a bit scary! In no time I'll be running after this lil' adventurer trying my best to prevent the most bumps and bruises as possible!

these feet were meant for walking...

and thats just what they'll do! Our lil' O bear has been interested in walking for the last few weeks, letting go and walking unassisted a few times here and there but only to take a couple of steps in his own and then sitting down when realizing mama or papa were no longer holding his hand. And this morning was no different however when we got to Sal's parents house around 6 he decided today was going to be the day to really start taking some big steps. Here are some videos of out lil guy taking some of his very first steps all on his own.

Update

Our baby boy is now one and yes I know I have been gone from the blogging world for a long time. We had a stream of visitors pour into our home over the last month all to celebrate with us the first year of our son which made life a bit more hectic than usual. But now with all of my visitors gone life is once again returning back to normal and soon I promise to have posts on Owen Kai's birthday celebration. Stay posted as pictures and stories are soon to come!