New Toy

If only he could touch the ground! Soon..

All sorts of action

Mom and Bennett's favorite drinks, jam jams and ducky, shirtless Wednesday, Riley doing work, big eyes, holding bottle by himself, half roll.

Accessories

Ali's fun.…

Hi!

Head Holding

Bennett is practicing holding his head up!

Newborn lounger??

Riley would like to rename it.

Bennett Lately

A few pictures from the last week... we have been busy!

Dad's new summer look.



Touchdown! Bennett sleeps like his cousin Morgan.

Minnesota baby -- Twins onesie from Josh and Sarah Dahms.

Out little bug face.

Kickin' it on the lounger pillow.

Zoolander blue steel look.

Sleepy time.

Riley the babysitter.

Wide awake!

Napping in the snug-a-bunny bouncer.



Getting squeaky clean!

Bath Time

The frog man did well.

Basketball Fan

Last night, I watched the NBA finals with my dad. But I had a big milkshake and got really sleepy half way through the game! Im sure my dad and I will watch lots of basketball together.

Turtles & Giraffes

No need to go to the zoo...

Words of advice

Note the writing on Bennett's diaper.. written by the one and only Aunt Linda. Wonder if I can find the tip on how to make him not cry while changing...

- Dad

A few more of the B man

Looking forward to the ride!!

Hello world.

Baby Kicks

Most mornings, Mike likes to see if the baby is awake and kicking. He/ she usually is. This week, movement hasn't been as much as the last 2 weeks. Mike thinks I am just getting more used to feeling it, and that the baby is on vacation too and just "chillin." Every time he feels a kick, he asks if I felt it. If you can feel it... I can too!!

I think the baby likes Hawaii. Maybe we should stay longer. I mean, for the baby's sake.

Sunshine!

Our morning was planned around watching IU play in the next round of the Big Ten Tourney (déjà vu), and the sun finally came out after the game ended! We spent the afternoon hanging at the pool that looks out to the ocean. IU lost, but it was a great day sipping (virgin) cocktails. Tonight we are walking down the beach to a restaurant for a 3-course tasting menu. Hope tomorrow's weather is as good as today!

Hoo Hoo Hoo...

Hoosiers! This morning is all about the Big Ten Tourney, with IU playing Penn State at 2pm EST. That means a 9am game for us. Mike called all around yesterday to see who might have the Big Ten Network and be showing the game. Turns out... no one and no one. Why? Because apparently no one cares about the Big Ten out here, and bars aren't open at 9am.

What a dilemma. Luckily, Mike was able to download the iPad app for BTN traveller. Whew, he can stream it live. If not, our vacation may have been ruined.

We had to set our alarms to wake up in time to eat breakfast before tipoff - missing a meal would be unacceptable. Who hurries their 6 month pregnant wife through a breakfast buffet? A husband who has to get back to the room before an IU game, duh. We got a AAA hotel rate that includes breakfast, and a bountiful buffet it is. This morning, I had an egg white omelette with green onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese with salsa on top. Mike had one with tomatoes and green peppers. I also had a piece of cinnamon French toast with macadamia nuts, and some pineapple, watermelon, and cantaloupe. Mike had his fruit with yogurt. Yum!

After 3 cups of coffee at breakfast, he had to get Starbucks on his way back to the room. Hurry... only 4 minutes until tipoff!!

The weather here isn't pleasant this morning. It's raining now and I hope it clears up soon. In the meantime, I will catch up on some work and Mike is happy as a Hawaiian clam watching IU. Go Hoosiers!

It's 5:00 Somewhere

But it's 11:30am in Maui!!

We're back in action with the blog... lots to catch up on in the last month! For now though, it's vacation time. Aloha!

New Recipes

I'm really into food these days. I have found some great recipes on Pinterest. Here are some of the ones that we have tried.

Delicious peanut butter cookies! They remind me of my grandma. She used to make them sometimes.

This salsa recipe is a winner. Throw some Rotel, canned diced tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, cumin, garlic in the Cuisinart and pulse for deliciousness. Really good, quick and easy recipe we both like and I will definitely make again! This one isn't my pic, the Pinterest pic was better so I am posting it instead.

I used the homemade salsa for this recipe below instead of store-bought jar salsa. Black bean, spinach and corn enchiladas made in the crock pot. Not my pic either.

Santa Fe crock pot chicken recipe. It was ok, didn't taste as good as this pic looks.

Potato, beef and quinoa soup. This is a good one for keeping warm during these cold months.

So many good recipes out there! Just need a few more people to cook for and more time to make and eat the creations.

Saturday Morning

Last Saturday morning, I woke up at 7:15 and was starving. Mike wasn't ready to get up yet, so I tried to quietly entertain myself. After checking People.com, Facebook status updates, Tweets from all of the Real Housewives and Kardashians, playing Hanging with Friends and Words with Friends, and pinning some new recipes on Pinterest, I decided to get up and eat. Here is my breakfast in the making (turkey bacon to share). Those are my new Le Creuset pans. They deserve a blog post of their own.

I made coffee and brought some to Mike, but he said he would be down in 3 minutes. I decided to go ahead and eat. Good thing I did, because he didn't surface for over an hour! Who says you can't have a candlelight breakfast? Everything on this table made up a great start to the day.

View to my left: beggar #1.

View to my right: beggar #2. This is Winston Schneider. He came over for a play date on Friday and stayed for a slumber party. Winston is a counter surfer. I went to pick up Mike from the airport on Friday... he was returning from an IU recruiting trip. When I got home, there were a few thick stems on the kitchen floor. I realized our bunch of 5 bananas was missing. Winnie ate all of them, peels included -- but I guess he didn't like the stems. One time he ate an entire large Papa Murphy's pizza from the Schneider's counter. Hope he doesn't teach Riley that trick!

Mikey is up! Beggar #1 has relocated for prime sniff position.

Besties! After breakfast, all 4 of us went on a walk. Family fun day!!



Riley's Winter Playground

Here are some shots from Riley's favorite activity at his favorite elementary school.

game time.

watch and learn.



i dare you.



heaven on earth..

waiting patiently..

 He met a new friend - Caroline. He liked her.. although she couldn't chuck the ball very far... he was ready for me to take the helm again......

snow fox.

until next time.

Caroline told us there's an 8 week old golden in the neighborhood named Kevin. Sounds like an interesting character.. even with the name - Riley wants to meet him.