Vacation at home

This week Ben took a couple days off so we could relax and spend more time together.  We decided to pretend we were visiting Denver, so we would do things we normally ignore.

Thursday Amanda came to stay with the boys so we could have 24 hours to ourselves.  We shopped Cherry Creek, went to the Mark Mothersbaugh art exhibit, had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, strolled 16th Street Mall, then went to our hotel for a long night's sleep.  The next morning we had breakfast at DJ Berkley's cafe in the Highlands. 

Sam missed us, but Jack bemoaned our return, a testament to Amanda's tremendous babysitting skills.  All day I heard "too bad Amanda had to go home [pout pout]."

We cheered them up with a visit to the gym.  Yes, we go there four or five times a week already, but this time we went swimming!  The indoor pool there is really great, with slides and whirlpools and jungle gyms.  Jack went completely bonkers loving it.  Sam was not so keen, but eventually sat in the kid area and splashed a little.  Friday night was regular dinner for the boys, take-out Indian food for us, and a movie in the basement theater after bedtimes.

Saturday we took the family to the Denver Aquarium.  It's one of those places we never bothered to visit even though it's right there downtown.  It was nice.  A bit overpriced, a bit schlocky over science (you can tell it's owned by a restaurant corporation now rather education based).  But we saw a lot of fish, some fiesty otters, a regal tiger, and a mermaid performance I'm embarrassed to admit that I loved.  We didn't spend more than an hour there before we felt done.  Just as well since Sam was feeling the effects of a skipped nap.













Lunch at McDonalds, because why not, if we are on vacation?  The boys took long naps while I finished sewing a shirt.



Later we had another babysitter come so we could enjoy one last dinner out together.  We planned to stay local, but then I found a place in Boulder that looked good.  We visit so infrequently now, I'm always astonished at how much has changed and how much has stayed the same over all this time.  We briefly browsed Pearl Street, only to find the restaurant, Centro, had a 40 minute wait.  Yeesh.  By stroke of luck we found another place a few doors down that could seat us right away and had a similar menu.  The tacos really hit the spot for me, exactly what I was looking for (I blame Jason's Mexico vacation).



(snuggled watching TV together, waiting for the sitter)


So that's it, our little "stay-cation" at the media types like to call it.  Fun to try new things while spending time together. 

Date with friends

Last night we met friends in Old Town Arvada for dinner and dessert. At Scrumptious my dipped waffle cone of Mint Chip and Black Forest was ogled by all the kids in line. I told them "this is what you get to do when you are a grown-up."

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Even the dumbest holidays are important when you have a preschooler.

A Great Date

I'm still smiling from our date last weekend.  We went to the Alamo (as usual) to watch one of our favorite movies.  We first saw  Scott Pilgrim when it came out in 2010.  We're not sure, but we think it was our first real date after having baby Jack (mentioned here).  We loved it then.  One reason is the nostalgia.  Although the movie came out in 2010, it takes place about 5 years earlier.  So these young twenty-somethings fit right in with our memories of the post-college life.  Watching it again with child number two leaving baby-hood, my nostalgia has increased.

Why do I love this movie?  Why WOULDN'T I? It's directed by Edgar Freakin Wright.  It has loads of NES love.  The soundtrack is awesome.  The cast includes Arrested Development lovers, future Captain America, and the final villain is Max Fisher! 

But this wasn't simply a screening.  They had a live band playing whenever the bands played in the movie.  We were concerned at first whether that would work, but it worked SO well.  The volume was just right, the energy was higher, and I loved that the Scott in the band changed his t-shirt to match the one screen.  They gave us merch to use with the show: Bob-Omb logo Light sticks to wave when the band plays, firecracker poppers to blow when you favorite ex dies, and bubbles to blow when there is kissing.

I haven't smiled so much in a long time.  It was pure fun.  On the drive down we even joked that they should have specials for the show, especially chicken parm.  Imagine our glee to see this:

Oh, and I totally had the Garlic Bread Makes You Fat?

Animal Sounds

Looking sharp in our Sunday clothes

Sam is 18 Months Old

Here is another Friday the 13th to commemorate Sam.  Is it just me, or have there been a LOT of Friday the 13ths since the one when he was born?

I post a lot so I don't have much new stuff to say.  Sam loves his brother.  He has to copy EVERYTHING Jack does.   Consequently, he plays with more advanced toys and playground equipment than Jack did at this age, and is scribbling earlier too. 

Now that the weather is warmer we've been playing outside more.  Sam is trying to ride the trike and swing and blow bubbles and anything else he can get his hands on.  For my birthday I got a bike and kid trailer.  This week we've taken three trips to playgrounds.  The kids love riding in it and they get more time to play than when we walked.  (Yes, they both are buckled in five point harnesses and wear helmets.  This photo was while I was taking them out.)

Sam has a large vocabulary.  It's mostly monosyllabic and highly dependent on context to understand what he is saying.  But it's clear he is trying to communicate with us.  His favorite word is "sure."  He says it with a Chinese accent, and says it even when he means no.   We giggle at his enthusiasm when he answers us "sure sure!" I made a list of other words that he says consistently:

• Mom
• Dad
• Jack
• Amanda
• Dog
• Bird
• Yes ("sure")
• No ("mm mmm" in a sassy tone)
• More
• Shoe
• Sock
• Hello
• Hi
• Uh oh
• Bunny
• Chocolate
• Chicken
• Cookie
• Cheese
• Bubble
• Thank you
• Book
• Bottle

Sam loves to help me with the chores.  He vacuums with me, either getting his own or taking a turn with the big one.  I bought him a broom for his dinner sticker chart prize and he sweeps the kitchen with gusto now.  Lately I've had him help me with laundry and he gets so excited, you'd think it was his favorite activity.

Sam must be getting close to age two, since his fascination with trucks and trains is growing.  He plays with our trains every day and beelines for them at the library.  At home, he runs to the window when he hears a garbage truck.  In this photo we had several trucks clearing snow from the street in front of our house.  A front loader, a road grater, and a dump truck all working together right in front of us! 

I realize this is a rather whitewashed account.  For the past two weeks he has been teething 3 new teeth at once.  That means he hasn't slept through the night for a long time.  Teething and weaning (today was the last time I'm going to nurse him) have caused havoc with meals. They are emotional and difficult and he has become super picky.  He also has had the sniffles for two weeks, with a constant stream of boogers, and a sore nose from all the wiping.  Yesterday and today he has had diarrhea, causing a bleeding diaper rash, making him scream every time I change him, which is often given the diarrhea.  Toss in all the usual toddler bumps and scrapes, and you can see how he spends about 80% of the last few days crying.  Poor kid.  

I love you Sam.  It's a tough time but you will grow out of it.  You impress me every day!

Tandem Sliding

Fort

For the four minutes that it lasted, the boys were very still and happy.

It makes me wish I was small again.