Five on Friday..

Today I'm linking up with ladies of The Good Life, A. Liz Adventures, Carolina Charm, and Hello Happiness for 5 on Friday...and you should too! 

One. Rice Cooker.
I am pretty sure that I use this more to steam Bo's fruit and veggies than I do to make rice. It works great for rice but is way easier than using the stove and steams the veggies perfectly to be mashed, pureed, or used as finger foods. Bo also loves to play with it when it is on the shelf.

Two. Mosquito Net
This mosquito netting from Babies R US is awesome! Without it we would never get to spend so much time outside or enjoy watching Dean play softball. It also means I don't have to spray Bo down with bug spray, which is awesome. He doesn't really mess with it and it keeps all his toys off the ground when he throws them. I just love it and wish I would have bought one for everyone I know that was having babies.

Three. Flowers
Dean doesn't really like flowers. He thinks they are a pain to mow around and doesn't really see my desire to plant them. This year I decided I was going to plant some by the garage and I think it turned out pretty good.

Four. Stairs
Bo loves the stairs. He learned how to go up so he climbs every chance he gets. It is fun watching him master this new skill but also makes me a little nervous. He hasn't quite figured out how to go down.

Five. Phones.
Bo loves phones. Every time he sees our phones he has to play with it. This mostly consists of trying to put it in his mouth but he just loves them. I have quite a few pictures on my phone that he accidentally took. He also loves our house phone and spends hours trying to reach it and press all the buttons. He has only redialed once and deleted a few messages so far. It makes me wonder what phones will be like when he is older. It also makes me a little sad how much technology changes everything.

 One of the many photos Bo took with my phone.

Ten Months Old

I can not believe that we are only TWO months away from Bo's birthday. Time has flown by this first year and doesn't seem to be slowing down. Bo is picking up all kinds of new skills and is so smart. He definitely keeps us on our toes.

This month Bo ......

• weighs 21 lbs 2 oz (according to the bathroom scale)
• wears 9 month clothes, some of the pants are still too long
• wears size 3 diapers
• takes two naps during the day
• wakes up once or twice during the night
• loves going outside
• loves Moxie but she doesn't really like him
• crawls really well
• pulls up on everything
• stands with only one hand holding on
• can climb up the stairs
• does not stay still (only when napping)
• can walk while holding our hands or holding onto something
• loves baths, the shower, and anything to do with water
• loves to play in the kitchen cabinets with the pots, pitchers, and containers
• loves to watch out the window
• brushes his teeth
• says dada, nana, baba, mama, and makes all sorts of sounds and gibberish
• is happy almost all the time
• added spinach, cantaloupe, black beans, and bread. He loves them all
• doesn't like cottage cheese
• climbs up on the couch and coffee table using a pillow or us
• is very inquisitive about everything and everyone
• visited Jill for the first time since being born
• took Daddy to the airport for a long trip
• helped Mommy work in the Pokagon library
• waves hi, bye bye, and if he wants something
• shows us whatever he picks up and tries to give it to you or take it back
• puts EVERYTHING in his mouth

 His favorite spot, looking out the window.

 This is how most of photos went. Trying to get him to sit still and not try to grab the camera or jump off the couch.

Not happy, but sitting still.  It lasted about two seconds before he ripped the sticker off and stuck it in his mouth. Photo shoot over.

 Climbing the stairs. He gets a little nervous at the beginning then scurries all the way to the top.

 We LOVE to brush our teeth!!

 Permanent swinging face. He always has his mouth open.

Five on Friday

Once again I am linking up with these ladies ( Darci, April, Christina,and Natasha) for Five on Friday. I decided this was a good way to keep me accountable to actually blog. Two weeks in a row is pretty good. 

One. Outside!

The weather finally got nice here and we were able to spend some time outside. Bo is facinated with the grass and loves picking at everything on the ground. He got his first taste of dirt this week too. He thought it was hilarious as I was trying to wipe it all out of his mouth. We may not be able to spend much time in the grass, as every leaf, weed, and flower goes right in his mouth. 

Two. Stairs.

Dean taught Bo how to climb up the stairs. At first it was just one step and then it was all the back porch steps. Instead of using his knees he tries to put his foot up on the next step. It is a little scary. Dean thinks I should teach him to go down, but I don't want him going up or down so I am going to discourage any stair climbing for as long as I can. 

This is not of the stairs but it is of him climbing. I just love him!

Three. Tulips.

On Wednesday we went to Holland, MI to Tulip Time. It was an overcast rainy day but we still had fun. We watched the parade, which Bo loved. He especially liked the flags and marching bands. It was fun to see him get so excited. We had a good time. The tulips haven't all bloomed yet, so that was a little disappointing. The ones that were bloomed were very pretty but it would have been nice to see a bigger variety of them. We have one random tulip in our yard that has bloomed so I can look at that and imagine a whole field of them. 

Four. Garden

Soon I will be planting our garden. I probably should have already started but it hasn't been warm and I have to ask our neighbor to till it for me. I am not sure what all I will be planting but I know it will have Bo's current favorites (carrots, green beans, and peas). I am going to try tomatoes again. The last two years they haven't worked out. Probably no green peppers or zucchini, as we still have some in the freezer from last year. We will probably try watermelon and muskmelon, even though I didn't have good luck with those last year either. I guess we will just see how I feel when I go to buy seeds. I am also going to a canning workshops so maybe I will get the motivation to can some things too. 

                                                                                  Our happy pea eater.

Five. Mother's Day.

This will be my first official Mother's Day. Last year I was pregnant, so that kinda counts. I love being Bo's mom and getting to spend my days with him. Even those days when he is fussy or wears me out from trying to get into everything. I enjoy seeing him grow every day and watching him experience new things. He is such a happy boy and I love the inquisitive personality that is developing. I loved my life before I was a mom but I love it even more now. 

Five on Friday......Hawaii Edition

Happy Friday Everyone!! I am linking up (for the first time) with Hello! Happiness for Five on Friday. I thought I should start using this blog for more than just updates on Bo. So I thought I would start with Hawaii. Here goes nothing....


One. LONG plane rides.
Our actual vacation was AWESOME. Getting there was another story. A four hour plane ride, sprint to the next gate, a six hour plane ride, sprint to gate, miss flight, wait FOREVER on standby, a one hour flight, and finally rest. The flight home was basically the same story. The vacation in between was AWESOME! Thankfully both guys slept almost the whole time in the air.

Two. Snorkeling.
One of my favorite things to do in Hawaii is snorkeling. From boat or beach it is awesome. The water is so clear and the we always see the most colorful fish. This time we also saw a turtle and eel. Dean's mom and dad were with us and were real troopers. Especially for it being their first time. Bo even got in the water for just a few minutes. The boy loves the water.

Three. Shaved Ice.
My very favorite thing to eat in Hawaii is the Shaved Ice. There is a great place in Kona called, Scandinavian Shave Ice. I know you can get shave ice anywhere but here you get the best flavors and combinations. I love it.

Four. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
If you ever go to the Big Island of Hawaii, you must visit the volcano. The whole island is a mix of amazing ecosystems but to actually see how the island was formed and all the hardened lava is incredible. Our favorite place is "the end of the road."

 Five. Turtles
One of my favorite places to visit on The Big Island is the Punaluu Black Sand Beach. We got up EARLY so we could make it to the beach to see the turtles. I was slightly worried that we would miss the turtles since I never seem to see any animals when we search them out. Lucky for us there were three hanging out on the beach. We also saw a couple in the water and one snorkeling, so I believe our grand total for seeing turtles this vacation was seven.

Aloha!