Mother's Day

I love Mother's Day.

I really don't understand the hype about a birthday.  I'm always a little somewhat embarrassed about the attention.

But, Mother's Day is a whole different story and a newly special day.  When you are a mom, you give and you give and you give.  It's a lot of (happy and rewarding) work.  Mother's Day is special because it's a day families stop and say, "Thank you for all that you do" and for me, it's a day to stop and say, "Thank you, Palmer for letting me be your mom."  It's also a day to thank my own mother for all of the work that she puts into raising me.

The boys have a two-year-old tradition of making me a delicious breakfast.

I'm wondering if Palmer was more helpful last year in his two month state...

...than this year when Palmer made a big mess while Rick tried to round up breakfast:

After breakfast, we ran over to Fort Worth to see my mother and brother who was in town for a mere few hours for a wedding.

The afternoon brought a swimming date with some friends where Palmer was sweet to share his lounge chair with his friend Brooks.

And an unseasonably cooler evening made our front porch the perfect venue for a wine and cheese kind of night after the little guy went to bed.

Thanks to my boys for making the day special.  Palmer, I'm so happy to be your mom.

-Bethany

Swimming Lessons

We started swimming lessons last weekend with about six other families from our playgroup.  I feel bad for the families that aren't in our playgroup because we kinda take over the class.  I'm pretty sure the swim instructor thinks we all talk way too much.

Our fearless toddler had fun in his first class and actively embraced most of the activities until he reached a breaking point of exhaustion about 45 minutes into the one-hour class. He learned how to go under the water:

Palmer didn't seem to mind too much about going under but needs to learn to not swallow so much water in the process. He was also taught to reach for the side of the pool, jump into the pool, and kick his legs.

Couple that with a few "Ring Around the Rosies" and "Wheels on the Bus" and it was a rompin' good time.

Floating on the back is not a current interest of Palmer's, but we hope that a few more lessons might convince him otherwise.

-Bethany

Wordless Wednesday

-Bethany

Leaps and Bounds

Wow.

We just experienced a ton of developmental changes in the span of a few days.  For those of you familiar with The Wonder Weeks, I wholeheartedly believe we just exited the 55-week developmental phase. 

Palmer has been fussing a bit in the middle of the night for the last few weeks, which is unusual because he is typically a good sleeper.  On Tuesday, Palmer woke up with a raging fever and napped for a whopping 5.5 hours during the day.  On Tuesday night, Palmer slept like a rock and slept in late.

When he awoke on Wednesday morning, he was a whole new boy.

What's new?

1.  Vocabulary:  Palmer is adding (or attempting) new words right and left.  He said the big one we've all I've been waiting for: Mama.  He also says: uh oh, oh wow, whoa, up, down, out, bubble, and tries to repeat a lot of things that I say.

2.  Comprehension: I can definitely tell Palmer understands a lot of what we are saying and doing now.  If I give him instructions (such as, "Palmer, will you go get that cup and put it on the table?") he usually follows thru.  It's so fun to talk thru our day knowing that he is actually grasping a good portion of the world.

3.  Communicating: Last night Palmer looked up at Rick and clearly said what sounded like, "out".  Rick was confused and said, "Out?"  Palmer repeated, "Out."  Rick said, "I don't understand.  Will you point with your finger?"  Palmer walked over to the window, pointed out the back door and said, "Out."  Palmer wanted to go outside and decided he was going to tell us his preference.  Although I'm sure we will soon tire of hearing what Palmer wants, it was amazing to have him clearly communicate with us.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER/BREAKFAST:
POTATO, KALE, ROSEMARY, ONION PIZZA:
Make this now!!  I made this pizza last night for dinner because we had onions, kale, and potatoes in the bin and rosemary in the garden.  It was so delish that I am seriously considering making it again tomorrow.  I substituted real potatoes instead of sweet potatoes because that's what was in the fridge.  I'm sure it's lovely with sweet potatoes, too, and come winter I can bet we'll have sweet potato, kale, rosemary, and onion pizza.

PIONEER WOMAN ICED COFFEE:  Aunt Samantha is staying with us for a few months (more about that in a future post) and she was trying to figure out a new morning coffee routine.  Some time ago, I saw a Pioneer Woman recipe for iced coffee and thought this might be the perfect opportunity to give it a shot.  Survey says: winner.  We both added almond milk and vanilla syrup.  My Starbucks baristas are going to miss me for a little while.

-Bethany

Wordless Wednesday

-Bethany

Swimming!

Palmer isn't a major fan of the bath.  He doesn't hate it, but he isn't one of those kids who LOVES to play around during bath time.  So, I have been wondering how he would take to the swimming pool this year.

My friend Remy and I took advantage of my sister's condo pool since the official pools don't open for another month.

A little poolside cocktail before heading in:

The verdict: the pool is very very fun! Palmer had a blast.

The boy is fearless and immediately started walking around the shallow end.  He didn't realize that it might be challenging to walk thru the water and quickly fell back onto his back in the 1-foot-deep water.  I could see him thru the water with wide eyes not knowing what to do before I scooped him up.

Palmer seemed pretty unfazed by going under the water.  However, he was a bit more cautious and not as quick to leave my side when playing with his water toys.

I am looking forward to swimming lessons starting next week so that we can properly teach Palmer how to deal with the underwater situation.

And because it's bathing suit season, here are some healthy meal favorites...

WHAT'S FOR DINNER:
SPINACH QUINOA SALAD WITH ROASTED GRAPES: You know it's almost summer if we are busting out the quinoa with fruits and veggies again.  Yay for getting away from the heavier winter food!  Try this light salad loaded fresh with spinach, roasted grapes and pears, and almonds.  I serve it just a tad warmer than room temp.  And Rick likes to ruin the healthiness by throwing in some Andouille sausage.  To each their own, I guess.

Spinach Quinoa Salad

YOGURT RASPBERRIES:  So simple and so good.  Stuff yogurt chips or white chocolate chips in raspberries for a great healthy(ish) afternoon snack.  Rick and I agree to disagree on how to serve the berries: I prefer frozen and he votes for room temperature.  Either way, they are a winner.

WHOLE MILK:  I feel obligated to document for my own purposes that Palmer has moved 100% from formula to whole milk.

There, documented.  Check.

-Bethany

Wordless Wednesday

If it wasn't Wordless Wednesday, I would say something witty like, "I caught you red handed" or I would discuss that pink chalk isn't for eating.  But, it's Wordless Wednesday.  So, I won't.

-Bethany