Problem: Dishes. They are the menace to every household in America, especially if you don't have a dishwasher and you have baby bottles to clean. For almost two years, we've been eating off of paper plates and plastic silverware to help keep the dish load down. I know, I know. Our carbon footprint is shameful.
Problem: Food. It can get expensive. Last week, we were eating some Thai food that I made at home. We're chomping away quietly when Jeremy suddenly blurted out, "This meal cost us over $20!" Sure enough! The pre-made curry sauce ($6), the eggplant ($2), mushrooms ($1.5), onion ($.30), spinach ($1), green pepper ($1), jasmine rice (about $2 for a cup), the labor of cooking and cleaning (I'd say my work was worth $5), and of course the paper goods (let's say $3) all added up to about $20.80 for a meal for two--and a crappy meal at that. We could have eaten like kings at a real Thai restaurant!
Solution: Eat out from now on. Well, at least a for a few nights, just to see what it's like. So we decided to eat out every night for the following week. And that, my friend, solved everything! I didn't have to stress about grocery shopping, cooking, or cleaning. We got to enjoy our meals and get waited on. I haven't had to clean a single pot or pan for over 9 days!! Well, we did end up cleaning all the dishes that were piled in the sink by doing a few each night. It was great because the pile always got smaller. What a novelty!
The best part is that we didn't bust our budget. We used gift cards, coupons, and went on days that we knew had specials. Here was our menu:
To start off, last week Tanner finally learned how to clap!! When we had his 9 month check-up in March, we realized that he hadn't clapped yet. I wasn't surprised, though, because we never clapped around him, so why should he? Well, after the check-up we started clapping tons, and he looked at us with his furrowed brow, totally confused why we all of a sudden we decided this was a cool thing to do. After a few days, he would join in the cheering part, and seemed to think that he was clapping with us. Finally, about 1.5 months later, he did it!! Click the video below.
Monday- We went to TK Burger! We love eating at this place. It's right across the street from the beach and they have great buns on their burgers.
During our walk around the beach, we saw tons of stage lights and a large area gated off from the public. We soon found out that one of Jeremy's favorite bands, The Offspring, was going to be doing a filming for a new music video. So we hung around to see it.
The lights were sooo bright, that we put sunglasses on Tanner. I love this picture because you can see both me and Jeremy in the reflection of the glasses. We try not to spoil and coddle our child, but I think this picture proves otherwise.
Look at those cheeks!!
Tuesday- Tanner expressed a great interest in the piano. I try to play about once a week (and let him play too), which isn't that much, so I was surprised that Tanner all of sudden was so eager to play it. He can stand next to the piano bench and reach the keys now. So this week, he would stand at the piano and fuss and fuss until we put him on the bench. He'll play for 10-20 minutes. Also lately, he has been fascinated with anything that makes noise. He loves his maracas, rhythm tapper, and tambourine. And of course, his new skill of clapping.
I made him some shakers with plastic eggs by filling them with different items to make different timbres- noodles, rice, smarties, and sugar sprinkles. They each have a match so that later we can play match-the-timbre, but for now he just shakes them. There is also a pair with nothing in it, and he looks very concerned when shaking them, as if something is wrong with them. He also notices sounds that come from unknown sources. He'll hear the kids playing outside or the ice cream truck or a dog barking, and look toward the window. He'll hear water running in the next room and look that way. Today, he noticed the low tones of the neighbor's loud video game, turning his head each time there was a quiet boom, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Actually, while I was trying to take these pictures below, he turned toward the kitchen and wouldn't answer to me. Then, I realized a plane was flying by, and he was looking at the window. After the sound stopped, he looked back at me. Being a music teacher, all of this makes me very excited!!
Thursday- Jeremy is in between semesters at school so he has been home more after work. I caught him reading to Tanner while Tanner drank his bottle. So cute! Tanner is almost completely weaned from breastfeeding. We are down to just one or two feedings a day. The rest are with a bottle. That means that I've gone about 2 months with no more pumping at work! (I stopped pumping the week Jeremy was in China, simply because I was too stressed out).
I re-arranged Tanner's room a couple of weeks ago because we finally put his swing in storage. Now it feels much more open and it looks more like a baby room!
Saturday- Yesterday was a big day. We took Tanner to the pool for his first time swimming!! We bought the swim suit at the store earlier in the day (and went out to lunch, did a bunch of grocery shopping and went to a baptism) and then we took him swimming in the early evening.
He was a little uneasy at first, prob cuz the water was a little cold.
But once we got used to the temperature, he was pretty happy chilling in his raft, splashing every now and then, watching the other kids. He didn't really squeal or even smile, he just leaned forward and chilled.
Sunday- This morning, Tanner (and Jeremy) brought me breakfast in bed with chocolate cake!! And Tanner made some dots and lines with a marker on paper that Jeremy turned into a card.
Also today, Tanner ended up asleep with his blankie like this. Tanner loves his blankies. He will smother his face with them and then play with the fabric in his hands until he falls asleep. It's sweet to watch his fingers open and close the fabric, tugging, folding, and stroking it. Very sweet.
This week marks the first full week of Tanner sleeping without any feedings during the night! I've been waiting for his lead on this, and it's finally happened nice and naturally. He slept 8:30pm-5:30am Monday all on his own. So the rest of the week, I encouraged this to happen again by not feeding him if he woke up before 5:30. Tuesday morning at 2:30am, he was pretty upset that I didn't feed him and he cried for almost 30 minutes. I made Jeremy comfort him so that I wouldn't be tempted to breastfeed him. By the end of the week, he just woke up once each night, fussed until I got up to put his paci in his mouth and lay him back down with his blankie. Hopefully this week he'll stop waking up and just sleep the whole night on a regular basis!
I am so grateful to officially be a mother this Mother's day! I love my son more and more each day. He has such a wonderful disposition, and he makes being a mommy super easy. It is an amazing blessing to have him in my life!
Jeremy's mom, aka Mom Z, aka Gramz, came to visit and help us during the last week of April (Tues-Sat). It was perfect timing because I had a school performance to direct that week, and Tanner got his DOC Band, so we needed a lot of help.
On Tuesday night, we took Mom to the farmer's market on Main Street in Huntington Beach. It's one of our favorite things to do!
On Weds, Tanner got his DOC band.
So now a little about the band, aka baby helmet... Tanner was born with a moderate to severe case of plagiocephaly, which means asymmetrical head. The entire back-right side of his head was really flat, caused by limited space in the womb; his head was pressed up against my pelvic bone for about 2 months in utero. This is not uncommon. Babies can also get plagiocephaly after birth by sleeping too much on one side of their head.
Anyway, we waited to see how much his head would round out on its own. Things improved a little, but after 6 months, I still felt like there were major issues. Everyone else, including my pediatrician and Jeremy, felt like it wasn't a big deal. But it bugged me a lot, and I kept getting this nagging feeling that I needed to take him to a specialist. I prayed a lot to know if I was just being overly worried or if this was something that I should be legitimately concerned about. Well, it just so happened that my great friend Chelsea got her baby a DOC band for her flat spot. That was an answer to my prayers, and I was inspired to make an appointment with some specialists.
The cranial specialists said that I've did all I can to keep it from getting worse, but it won't completely improve unless we get a helmet. His right ear, eye and forehead are too far forward, his forehead is sloped, his back right side is flat. Brain, eyes and ears are all normal functioning, but he is at risk for TMJ when older. Also glasses, hats, helmets will never fit correctly unless we get the helmet. Luckily, our insurance covered it, so we got him his band!
He will wear it for 3 months, 23 hours a day, only taking it off for bathtime. I'm sooo glad that MomZ was here when he got the band. I didn't anticipate how much work the first few days would be. Tanner sweat profusely with the band on, so she had to continually clean the band with rubbing alcohol, keep Tanner cool, monitor redness, etc. Luckily, Tanner--once again-- proved to be a great sport with change to his life. Even though he sweat tons, it barely seemed to bug him. We were told the first few nights would be sleepless, but Tanner slept normally without any complaint! We're still getting used to what he looks like with it on. And it's still pretty loose on him (they said that's normal for the first while), so it falls in front of his eyes a lot. The poor guy has to sit back funny if he wants to see things above him. Thanks so much to Gramz for taking care of him those first few difficult days! She even watched him on Friday night while Jeremy and I went on a date to the temple!!
On Saturday, we all went to the LA Natural History Museum. Jeremy got in free for being a USC student. I got in free for being a teacher. Tanner got in free cuz he's a baby. Gramz ALMOST got in free for being a senior, but she still has 12 more years to reach their minimum age!
Tanner loved all the sights.
It was interesting to witness how people reacted to Tanner's helmet. Some people acted normal and said "what a cute baby", others just stared, some looked at us and then quickly looked away, and many kids passed us asking their parents about it. Some kids just flat out asked me "What's that thing on his head?" I love how children are so honest, it makes life easier. Without taking offense, I would tell them, "His head has a flat spot, so this helmet helps his head grow round." At church, everyone was worried it was a cast because his scull cracked open, haha.
Dinosaur footsteps!
My favorite was the rock exhibit!!
Out in the rose and flower garden.
Tanner had a blast with his Gramz all week. Not only did he play tons with her, he learned a lot from her, too. They played out on the grass everyday, went for walks, read books, sang songs and shopped at Target. Gramz taught him to say "uh-oh!" He now crawls around or eats toys while saying "AH-ohhh" and "UH-owe" over and over. She also taught Tanner how to play Peek-a-boo. The day after Mom left, I was changing Tanner's diaper. He grabbed a nearby blanket and slowly covered his eyes. Then he threw down his arms, ripping the blanket off his face. He quickly did this about 3 more times before I realized he was playing Peek-a-boo!
Here's my favorite picture of the two pals-- studying a piece of grass together.
We love, love, love you Gramz!! Thanks so much for playing with us and taking care of us!
