Boxes

I'm so tired of boxes. We first moved into this house because we wanted to be in before Christmas. I don't think either of us "loved" the house. We signed a six month lease and decided we could move when the lease is up if we find somewhere we like better. I think we'll stay here until our tour is up. I can't stand the thought of moving again. We spent a few hours Saturday and a few hours Sunday unpacking. On Saturday I had a different helper.

I'd much prefer he play in boxes than climb the stairs, which he can now climb all the way to the top. At the top of my to do list is ordering another baby gate.

Sunday evening Tom went for a walk and came home and handed me an appointment card for a massage. What a treat. When I got home I walked in the door and saw this.

A relaxing massage, dinner was ready when I got home, AND he did the dishes. What a man!

At night after dinner we always play in the floor. Last night we had to show Daddy how Brendan can point to the dog in his book. He can now point to the kitty and the bird. We like to sneak up on him while he's playing and whisper right on the back of his neck. It never fails to make him giggle.

And that's all folks. Just a quiet weekend around the Jones house.



Baby Einstein

In the confusion of this week, I forgot to do a post about Brendan's actual birthday. Most of the day was spent quietly at home. He had pancakes, one of his favorites, for breakfast.

He also likes sausage links but we were all out.

We did have to leave the house so I could go to a job interview (I got the job). Brendan was supposed to go to the CDC. Well, I got there to drop him off and they wouldn't let him stay because he wasn't wearing shoes. My kid doesn't walk, and from what I've read shoes are not necessary indoors. Plus, he takes them off every time I put them on so I don't usually bother. It was his lucky day.

Daddy got home extra late so I didn't bother cooking. Brendan had soup and grilled cheese for his birthday dinner. Grilled cheese is another favorite, and we followed it up with a birthday cookie.

When I got this cookie, I told the man at the bakery that I wanted either blue or green. Due to the language barrier, he thought I said blue and green so I ended up with two cookies. What a shame, I had to eat the other one.

As you know, we had the birthday party last weekend so there were no presents on his actual birthday. Well, I checked the mail and we had THREE boxes. One contained these.

We've been having some trouble with leaking diapers. The poor little thing wakes up with his clothes soaking wet. He's actually been going to bed with TWO diapers on. I ordered these Huggies Overnites from walmart.com. So far, so good. He has slept all night twice and had dry pj's in the morning. The box also makes an excellent push toy.

He also got his birthday/Christmas gifts from Will.

This book was in one of the boxes, and I could hear it talking through the box the whole way home.

I'm a sucker for a brand, and I LOVE Baby Einstein.

Well, this afternoon we were playing on the floor. I've mentioned several times that I'm trying to get this boy interested in books. He does love the interactive ones. We were looking at this one and I said, "Show Mommy the dog." He pointed right to it. No kidding. And he did it three times.

Don't believe me?

There's your proof.

My kid IS a Baby Einstein.

And if your kid did this way before mine, please keep it to yourself and let me bask in it for a while. Thanks.

Now, on to the rest of our week.

I've been doing some unpacking, which is difficult, but I have had some help.

We went grocery shopping yesterday. We tried out the racecar cart.

I must say he wasn't totally thrilled. I thought it was hilarious. There are lots of moms driving racecar carts at the commissary at 10 a.m. Maybe it's because I worked at a grocery store for eight years, but I love to walk into a store and see the shelves blocked, nice and neat. It almost makes me hate to take something off the shelf.

I call this Cheerio Head.

We think Brendan makes an abnormally big mess when he eats. Maybe all kids do? And we only give him finger foods. I have yet to let him try to self feed with utensils. I shudder at the thought.

Sadly, I think it is time for a haircut.

It's beginning to resemble Justin Bieber.

What's even more sad is that I have no intention of getting it cut for a while.

Okinawa Zoo

We took advantage of a gorgeous Sunday and went to the Okinawa Zoo. There are pros and cons. I felt a little sad as I walked through because the enclosures are so small. It's sad to me to see animals in captivity, but I'm used to big, sprawling zoos and this was definitely different. However, we could get up close to the animals unlike anything we've seen back home. And we saw lots more animal caretakers than we usually do.

Brendan rode his first horse.

And we saw some family.

I took this one on manual. :)

Brendan was really straining to see the hippos. And see that hip high fence? That's all that separated us from them. No kidding.

Back home we call this a peacock.

We fed the elephant, a first for all three of us. Tom said, "Hold him tight. That thing could snatch him up."

Anyone know how to get rid of those circles? Tips welcome.

We checked out the petting zoo.

We had to put this guy down because Brendan tried to squeeze him. We're working on being gentle.

He's a mean motor scooter.

Party Time

There's no time for chit chat. Our household goods were delivered this morning so there is MUCH work to be done. However, we had Brendan's birthday party this weekend.

I made him a photo book for his birthday. To view it, click here.

It was a small affair. Only the family across the street came. And then when Tom got home with the pizza and cake, he invited two little girls who were playing outside. Can you imagine being their mom and hearing, "Mom, some strange man said we can come to a party at his house and have pizza and cake." She quickly came to meet us, and decided we were safe enough to let them stay.

We learned something new about our boy: he likes sausage pizza.

He likes cake, too.

He likes cake a lot.

Can you tell?

She likes cake, too.

Note to self:  Blue icing stains.

Looks like everybody had a good time.

I ordered his presents online. Some of them didn't make it in time. But the biggest one sure did.

We took him to the zoo yesterday. Photos of that to come. We had a blast.

Brendan's real birthday is tomorrow. He has to go to daycare for a little while because his mommy has a job interview. Hopefully, I'll get the job. Then I can buy him lots more toys. Even though he's going to daycare, we'll make sure he has a special day.