10 months and 5 days old

He was way more into crawling than taking pictures today... Also, his little scab on his nose is from falling off the bed the other night. It was very scary and still very sad to think about :(

Mars is 10 months and 5 days old.

It's amazing how much Mars grew physically from 0-6 months. He looks completely different and got so big so fast. After 6 months, he kind of slowed down, but mentally, he is still going. For the past couple of weeks, we've been playing this game where I say, "Shakey, shakey!", and he'll shake his head left and right. It's so cute! But sometimes he did it, and sometimes not. However this week, it's different because I'll say it, and he'll sorta smile and then do it every time. Like he knows and understands now and it's incredible!

I've been exposing him to a lot of baby sign language but kind of gave up because I didn't think he was picking it up, but today, on our way home from getting his booster shot, I strapped him into the carseat and said, "Ok! We're all done!", and he just shook his hands in the air for the "all done" sign. His facial expression looked like he was asking me if that's what I meant. It's so crazy! He's not a little baby anymore! He is learning and growing everyday and soon he'll be one! 

After scheduling his 12 month appointment with the receptionist today, she said that by then, he'll be running into the office. Can we just slow down for a moment here? How is time going by so fast!?

Simple and Easy Mochas

We had some friends visiting and staying over this past weekend, and rather than all going out for coffee, or sending one person out on a chilly morning, we made our own at home! I adapted a recipe I found online and used ingredients that we already had around the house. Super simple, easy, and yummy on a cold morning!

Simple and Easy Mochas (makes 4 cups)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

4 1/2 cups of milk (we used almond milk)

4 shots of espresso OR 4 individual packs of instant coffee

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Whisk together the cocoa powder, sugar, salt, and about 1 cup of milk in a pot over medium heat.

2. After the ingredients are dissolved and blended, slowly whisk in the rest of the milk.

3. Whisk occasionally until it starts steaming and is at your desired temperature.

4. Stir in the vanilla extract

5a. (If using espresso shots) Prepare 4 cups by putting a shot of espresso in each, then pour the hot chocolate mix into the cups.

5b. (If using instant coffee) Prepare 4 cups by putting a pack of instant coffee in each, then pour the hot chocolate mix into the cups, and stir to dissolve.

6. Enjoy!

9 months and 4 weeks old

Mars is 9 months and 4 weeks old.

In just two days, Mars will be 10 months old! These pictures were taken last week in Costa Rica where we pretty much spent all our time in our hotel room because it was so hot and humid! During our trip, Mars reached so many milestones.
He...
...started mimicking drinking from a cup
...points at things
...makes a new funny smile when people interact with him or when he's happy
...popped out his second tooth!

After we got back from Costa Rica I also noticed that he is starting to express his feelings more. For example, when his dad leaves the room or when we take something away from him, he whines a bit and makes crying sounds without really crying. Also! He can turn the water on in the bathtub and play with it, which can be super dangerous!

This weekend, we have some friends driving up from Los Angeles and staying with us, so it'll be a lot of fun for Mars. He had so much fun interacting with all the new people in Costa Rica, I think he really likes being social and having people around!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Travel: Wedding in Costa Rica

One of the reasons why I've been so MIA on this blog is because last week, we took a trip to Costa Rica to be a part of our good friends' wedding. J was one of the groomsmen and Mars was the ring bearer. I wish I took pictures during the ceremony because it was a beautiful sunset beach wedding, complete with a double rainbow, but with baby in one arm and an extra long dress, it just wasn't possible. Hopefully we'll be able to grab some pictures from other people. So far this phone picture is the only one I have of us during the day with Mars in his full outfit plus his little ring bearer pillow:

During the reception, and actually the whole trip, Mars was a social butterfly. Strangers would come and pick him up and play with him and he was completely fine and laughing the entire time. 

It was a really beautiful wedding, and overall, a fun trip. Next week, I'll post more pictures of Mars' first swim in a pool, and on the beach. Congrats to the happy couple!

Vintage Bottle Brush Trees

This holiday season, I've been obsessing over vintage Christmases. I grew up in the 90's but the city I grew up in still had a lot of houses, buildings, and signs from the 50's and 60's so everything midcentury feels very nostalgic to me and reminds me of home. Pair that with Christmas and I think we have the perfect combination.

After obsessively searching and pinning "midcentury modern Christmas" images, I kept coming across the beautiful pastels and silvers in vintage Shiny Brite ornaments. This set the stage for my color scheme this year, and so I decided to make my bottle brush trees match.

I started out with a bag of trees from Michael's, plus some leftover from last year. Dipped some in a 3 parts bleach, 1 part water solution. Rinsed them throughly in soapy warm water, and then waited for them to dry.

To make the light green trees, I just took them out of the bleach a bit sooner, and to really rinse out the bleach or it will continue to lighten the green as it dries. And for the pink ones, I just dipped them in a water and red food coloring bath.

Super easy, cute, and gives me that warm fuzzy nostalgic feeling. Also, please excuse the bad lighting, as I made these at night in the garage while baby slept!

9 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days and Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

 

Mars is 9 months, 2 weeks, and 2 days.

On the morning of baby's first Thanksgiving, we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving parade and put up the Christmas tree. He loves the tree, but at first, was afraid to touch it. After we showed him that it was ok, he couldn't keep his hands off! We had to put some baby friendly ornaments made of felt towards the bottom just so he has something to tug at and pull off. At night, we went over to the in-laws for a turkey dinner and Mars got to spend some time with his cousin before they move to Denmark. 

Lately, Mars has been playing little games with us. He likes to repeat behaviors to get expected reactions out of us, and it's so cute. One game that we play, is that he'll bite my finger and I'll say, "Ouch!". He thinks it's so funny and it's really cute, but probably not the best game for teaching about biting! 

Yesterday, we went to his cousin's first birthday party. I can't believe she's already one! Pretty soon, it'll be Mars' turn! At the party, Mars had a blast chasing around balloons and socializing with everyone. Who knew he would be such a party animal! 

9 months and 7 days old

Mars is 9 months and 7 days old.

Can you see his first tooth in the top picture? So cute!

Last Friday, we went out to dinner with my former student and her mom. Out of nowhere, just sitting in his high chair, Mars started clapping! And since then, it's been his favorite thing to do. The other day, I went out with him in the Ergobaby, and the moment I took him out of it, he started clapping his hands. I guess he wasn't able to clap since the Ergo separates his hands, so he was extra excited to do it once he got out! 

I haven't been blogging very much lately and it's for two reasons. (ONE) When Mars isn't trying to mash the keyboard while I'm typing, he's (TWO) crawling away from me and getting himself into dangerous situations. So I'm gonna be gone for a little bit, but don't worry, I'll be back and with even more fun things to share!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Going Out: The Academy of Sciences

Last week, I took Mars to the Academy of Sciences for the second time. The last time we went, he was still a sleepy infant. This time, he was a lot more alert and aware of his surroundings. He loved looking up at the butterflies in the rainforest room, and at the giant fish in the tunnel aquarium. 

The Early Explorers Cove playroom was the best part. It was big and baby-proof so I just let him crawl around and play.

Here he is with his friend, Jasper.

And of course, every time we come we take a picture with Sue the t-rex. Next time, I want to let Mars crawl around the African Hall and see the penguins and dioramas up close. He'd probably enjoy that :)

9 months old

Mars is 9 months old!

His newest thing is trying to feed me his food (he's trying to feed me carrots in the top picture). He's also getting a little better at cruising on the coffee table, couch, or tv unit. He does't fall and bump his chin anymore so that's good. Sleep is also getting a lot better now that we're feeding him a big meal of solids before bedtime. He's been waking up just once to feed now! 

Also, I had been working on making a baby photo book for Mars' first 4 months and I am FINALLY finished! There were so many pictures to sort through, in the end, I just packed them all into 49 pages and clicked "order". Now to make a book for months 5 through 9! I feel like we take so many photos and they just live on the computer. While I enjoy having photo documentation of every little detail, I miss the days of developing a roll of film and having photos to put in an album. I feel like that's so much easier than sifting through all the photos to put in a digital photo book for printing. One of these days, I think I'll load up my analog camera with film and start taking film photos again. 

This weekend and next weekend, we have plans for two different Friendsgivings. I'm excited to try out some new recipes since they're both potlucks!

Going Out: My Birthday!

This picture was taken last year on my birthday:

And here we were for my birthday last weekend, dirty dishes and all:

I had a really nice birthday this year. We went into the city for brunch and ice cream, took a two-hour nap after we got home, and had a delicious homemade dinner with meat we bought at the French butchery.

Chicken and waffles at Hard Knox Cafe.

Red guava and cookies and cream ice cream from Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous.

Amazing looking meat from Olivier's Butchery.

It felt like any other weekend but just a bit more special since we got to do things that we normally don't do. I'm not really into going out and doing things big for my birthday anyway, and since this was my first birthday as a mom, there's really nothing I want more than to spend time with my little family. Maybe in a few years when I turn 35 we can do something big, but for now, this is just fine :) 

8 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days old

Mars is 8 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days old. 

He started cruising along the coffee table this week and his little tic-tac of a tooth is getting bigger and bigger everyday! With his new mobility, he is getting more ouchies throughout the day. The other day, he had FOUR little falls that made him cry! Nothing he doesn't get over quickly, though. That's one of the things I love so much about Mars. He wakes up smiling every morning and doesn't really get upset about things. He only cries when he bumps his head sometimes, or when he wakes up in the middle of the night. He's just an easy-going, happy baby and we are so lucky. 

This past week, I've upped Mars' solids game. I made a huge batch of oatmeal and pureed a batch with carrots, another with pears, and another with apples. For every meal, he's been eating two ice cubes of oatmeal along with some kind of finger food. He loves it! He loves to eat and gets super excited when I put him in his high chair. However, more food definitely means more poop. But on the positive end, his solid poops are a lot easier to clean!

Happy weekend, everyone!