Rainbow Cupcakes

I have seen these rainbow cupcakes on the web for sometime now and have been wanting to try them. So what better time than Spring to enjoy a colorful treat. Ben was a big help. First I mixed a box of white cake mix together and then divided the batter into five small bowls. Next I added a few drops of neon food coloring to each bowl and stirred (this is where Ben came in). Then you simply scoop the batter into the cupcake liners one color at a time layering them (I guess you could take a toothpick to swirl the colors together to create a tie dyed effect).

We were excited at our first glance at the cupcakes in the oven.

I piped on green icing with a leaf tip and then plopped some blue peeps on top to make them especially festive.

And here is a look at the inside. Super fun and easy!

Say Aaaahhhh!

Ben went to the dentist today. Really for the first time. He went when he turned one and sat on my lap while the doc took a brief glance at his few teeth he had then. So really this was his first time. And he was a champ! The dentist and dental assistant kept going on and on about how good he was. My child loves doctors and dentists. It's strange but boy am I thankful. Makes it so much easier. He climbed right up into the chair eagerly waiting for his dentist to arrive. While he got pretty quiet and hesitated opening his mouth real wide for her, he let her look at all of his teeth and even clean some plaque off with the scrapper. He however, was not a fan of the polisher and only let her do a few teeth before he was done. She said she just wanted to get him acquainted with it and it wasn't necessary to do till his next checkup in six months.

I really like the dentist we found. Not only is it in walking distance to our home, and the appointment was 100% covered by our awesome insurance, she was really great with him. She began the appointment by having Ben practice brushing the teeth of a stuffed dragon, and then the dragon squirted water at him, which Ben thought was pretty cool. She showed him all of her tools and what she would be doing with them, usually practicing on his hand first, so that he felt more comfortable.

I was told that I was doing a good job brushing, but that I need to start flossing his teeth. Usually baby teeth have spaces between them so this is not necessary, but Ben's teeth are right up against each other like adult teeth (which is why in my opinion his teeth are so pretty), so I have to floss them like adult teeth. I would just like to know one thing: how on EARTH am I supposed to do that. We gave it two tries today and I could barely get my fingers with the floss inside his tiny mouth. And after getting in between two teeth one time, Ben was through. I guess we will both just try our best. But overall it was a great checkup and it made me so proud of my big boy!

Family of Four

No this is not an announcement, but we are working on that . . . No, this Monday and Tuesday I got to sit for my friend's cute as a button 5-month-old baby girl, Adelyn. She is such a doll I tell you. On Monday Ben was napping in my bed, and then James came home and joined him, and then Addy fell asleep in my arms in the living room so we made our way into the room to join them. I sorta dozed off with her in my arms and when I awoke I looked over and couldn't help but feel like I was glancing into my future as a family of four. And I liked what I saw. Except hopefully all four of us in my bed will be a rare moment and not an everyday occurrence. Yikes!

I also got to see my little boy as he may be as a big brother. He really does love babies, and while I don't know how he will be with a baby in our home everyday, I think it is a rare and special thing how much love he has for babies. He was extremely helpful and was actually listening to my every request, so long as it related to helping with the baby. He kept giving her back her paci when she would spit it out, every time saying "here you go girl." And while eating his lunch, she began to fuss a little bit in my arm and Ben said "Oh, she needs me mom." And then looking right at Addy asked in a softer tone, "you need me girl?" I be right there. I almost done." I'm not delusional enough to believe that things are going to be perfect when baby #2 does come, but spending time with Addy made me really excited to see my baby become a big brother one day!

Easter Eggs- Both Real and Pretend

We had a lot of fun prepping for Easter this year. Ben was fully aware of the approaching holiday and was very curious about the Easter Bunny coming to his house. We also have been "playing Easter" for over a month now- aka hiding eggs around the house and hunting them out. So while playing playdough, I asked Ben what I should make and of course he asked for Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny. So I delivered.

Then for Family Night last Monday we decorated real eggs. As the eggs were cooling in the sink in a pot I saw Ben playing in the water a bit and didn't think much of it. Luckily James took a closer look at what he was doing and realized that he was crushing the eggs. We only lost about five of the eighteen, so it wasn't a total disaster. I knew I wanted to find a no mess egg dye kit and happened across a super easy kit. We simply placed the eggs in the included plastic baggies, dropped a couple dots of dye onto the eggs, and then swirled the eggs around in our hands until completely covered. Then we covered those babies in glitter and we were done. Ben even enjoyed eating the eggs afterward, although not as much as me. I had forgotten how much I loved hard boiled eggs and enjoyed a couple myself that very day (the ones that Ben had crushed in his apparently very strong hands).

More Easter pics to come from my first ever holiday hosting!

ENGAGED!

My sister is getting married and I am so excited for her. A few Mondays ago my mom and I went wedding dress shopping with her. She was so relaxed, not at all the bridezilla. : ) She went in the store with this dress in mind . . .

We realized it was much too much dress for her tiny frame to carry.

My mom and I knew she had to try on a mermaid style to show off her figure and brought her this dress . . .

She loved the fit but not the styling, so her consultant brought her another mermaid style and she ended up with this . . . Just kidding, you'll have to wait for that one.

Before leaving the store we spotted this cute dress for her rehearsal. It fit like a glove and she left the store with this in hand (I don't think she'd mind me showing this dress. Besides no one really reads this anyway!)

Congratulations Kate, with my help we will make this wedding beautiful! Wink. I am the maid of honor and dubbed "wedding planner" after all.

Let the Easter Festivities Begin

I have a few things up my sleeve this week to celebrate Easter and make it special for Ben. We kicked off the celebration on Saturday morning at the Easter egg hunt and celebration downtown. We were glad to have Auntie Katie staying with us this weekend and getting to go with us. We arrived after a delicious breakfast at our favorite diner just in time for the 2-3 year-old's egg hunt. Ben was very excited, especially when he spotted the Easter bunny. As he walked by Ben stuck his basket out at him, but he just walked right by making Ben very sad. He turned to me and sadly said, "he didn't put anything in my basket." I had to assure him that his basket would be full soon and we would see the Easter bunny again later. Ben raced around collecting plastic eggs, but mainly focusing on scoring as many little chocolate eggs as he could.

The crowd was out of control; I could not believe how many people were there. The lines for the petting zoo and pony rides were much too long, so we settled on the little carnival games. Ben enjoyed collecting his little prizes: a watch, chinese finger trap, and a bracelet. The longest line we waited in was for this giant Toy Story ball, which Ben was very excited about. I guess he didn't realize that he actually would get into the ball and then be rolled around whilst inside. It lasted about ten seconds and he was outta there. Oh well.

Finally three hours later we were back at home. Then Ben enjoyed the rest of the day with his Daddy as Katie and I set off for the big city for our microderms. We had a great time doing a little shopping; I love my Easter outfit. And then we were each pampered for an hour, and I was really glad that my sunburned skin was not affected by the treatment. Phew! Such a great day and a great weekend with my sister. We decided that we need to do this monthly and give our men a boy's day.

Scriptures

Just now we were reading scriptures as a family before bed and while I was reading

Ben was chatting away to his Daddy. I frustratingly said, "Ben, I'm trying to read."

He just looked right back at me and said, "well, I'm trying to talk."

Hilarious this kid I tell you!

Day of Discovery

A few Fridays ago my parents met Ben, Seb, and I at the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose. First Ben channeled his inner Papa, dressing like a bonafide firefighter.

Next we hit up the bubble room while the power was briefly out because no power required there, and enjoyed blowing bubbles and mostly getting really wet and soapy in the water.

Once the power was restored we made our way to the water room, where the boys got more wet and enjoyed seeing the colorful balls fly up the water spouts and get sucked into the water vortex.

And then my phone died (no more pics), but we did continue to have great fun. The toddler room was probably the biggest hit. The boys enjoyed playing in the sand table and doing a messy art project with shaving cream. The last stop of the day was face painting. And I should have known by the look of the other kids painted faces walking around that they actually got to paint their own face. Ben kept it simple with a big dab on his chin and little dots on his cheek, while Seb went with the athlete eye black look.

We then walked to a classic diner downtown and enjoyed some burgers and fries. I'm considering a season pass but still not quite sure about it. While it was a lot of fun, it's a once-in-a-while kind of place, so we'll see. In the meantime we have plenty to keep us occupied and with summer coming up we will be looking for fun pools to splash in. Maybe this Fall I'll reconsider.

Sunday Funday

I just love Sundays. They are all pretty much the same round here, and all pretty great. I'm usually the first to wake up and quickly hop in the shower before anyone else awakes (it's funny how much I cherish the quiet still of morning before you-know-who is awake). James woke up second today and we were both in the living room when I heard Ben wake up and tell his stuffed monkey, "be right back," which is a classic Ben phrase used all throughout the day. I try and always bath Ben on Saturday evening to make Sunday mornings go smoother. Then set Ben up with his breakfast and a show, usually Cailou, as I get dressed and ready, while James hops in the shower. Ben is the last to get dressed because what mother in her right mind would dress a two-year-old in church clothes and then give him pancakes and syrup! And then we're off to 10 am church (love, love, love the 10 am start time, and the fact that it NEVER changes because we are the only ward who meets in our chapel). Sacrament meeting is for the most part a success with Ben. Although for the life of him he just wont use his whisper voice, and there is inevitably one or two requests to use the bathroom, he overall sits fairly nicely throughout the hour fifteen minute meeting. His favorite part is the actual partaking of the sacrament. As soon as we take the bread he starts asking about the water. He also has recently become quite the fan of the sacrament meeting back tickle. Not sure why it is, but if you take a look around any LDS chapel you are bound to see mom's and wife's giving son's and husband's back tickles. : ) Except Ben prefers his Daddy's back tickles, which is A O K with me. Ben also asks a lot throughout the meeting, "when I go to nursery, mom?" And he is great in nursery. Don't get me wrong, we definitely have our bad days, when I myself am thinking: when can I take this kid to nursery! But overall it is such a blessing each week to have my family sitting with me in the pew feeling the spirit together and drawing closer to each other and our father in heaven. It has amazed me over the past month or so how much Ben is learning and absorbing in nursery and at home during our personal scripture reading and family night. We were listening to a children's hymn and he asked me, "mom, is this Jesus Christ gave me a body?" Which isn't the name of any of our children's hymns, but I'm assuming was the name of a lesson he heard in nursery. I ask him two questions each week about nursery and he always gives me the same answers. Me: "how was nursery?" Ben: "I a good boy, mommy." And Me: "what did you learn about in nursery?" Ben: "Jesus Christ." I try to get more out of him and ask what he learned about Jesus Christ, and he usually just says "I don't know." We'll get there though. And by the rate he is growing up on me, it will be soon.

Once back at home today our day continued on like most other Sundays. I immediately fix lunch because by this time it's after one and James and I are starving (Ben's usually not even hungry because they feed him a feast at nursery). Then Ben and I hit the hay. A Sunday nap is almost a requirement. : ) When we awoke the day was still warm and sunny so we took a nice walk around town. Ben in his shorts and t-shirt with popsicle in tote got a little chilly by the end of the trip. As I got dinner ready (yummy salmon, red potatoes, and green beans), James disappeared into our room. When I opened the door it looked like our closet had thrown up; he called it cleaning. Apparently James caught the spring cleaning bug and decided to purge and organize his closet. Now I have a garbage bag by the door which he requested I take to Goodwill and another bag of dress shirts that he requested be taken to the dry cleaners. But it does look great.

Now these two are in bed sleeping and my day is ending the way it began, quiet and peaceful.

Capitola-la-la

Being that it was nearly 90 degrees yesterday we decided to go enjoy some sun on the beach. So I packed up a picnic dinner, woke Ben up from his nap, changed him into his swimsuit, and we got in the car. Ben immediately fell back asleep and James and I enjoyed the scenic thirty minute drive to Capitola-- the most perfect little beach town. It really does blow Santa Cruz away, which has gone down hill since I was a kid. Capitola was wonderful though. Things we loved about it: (1) 30 minutes from our house, (2) cheap parking (.50 per hour), (3) convenient and close beach access parking, (4) downtown and the beach are on the same side of town (unlike Santa Cruz), (5) amazing patio restaurants overlooking the ocean (next time we go we will dine at one of these-- probably the mexican restaurant, it smelled delish), (6) there was a shallow cove area which is perfect for Ben to play in because there are no waves, the water is warmer, and mommy is less fearful of sharks, (7) fun bright colored buildings, (8) and at least for now it was not crowded at all.

James and I realized yesterday just how perfect a beach trip is for our family. Ben is so entertained playing in the sand. He literally spent nearly an hour filling up his two buckets making "mac and cheese," and then dumping them out again. While James and I got to lay on our giant beach blanket soaking up the sun and relaxing. The only thing Ben cares about is that I don't go to sleep, he kept saying when he could see my eyes close behind my sunglasses, "wake up mommy" and "look at me mommy." But other than that he let me relax and just did his thing.

It will definitely be a favorite spot of ours from here on.