on our trip to MX

The couches were dirty in the lobby.  That was my first impression, despite the kind servants bringing me a glass of champaign and a cool towel that smelled of lavender, or something delightful after traveling since 6:30 that morning.  Oh no... did we choose the wrong resort?  I thought it was going to be clean and modern and white - that's how the pictures portrayed it online.  It turned out that those couches were not in fact a true representation of the rest of the resort, which was very clean, well kept, and our room had a very modern & updated feel to it.  But, first impressions are a big deal.  Even if it is something as minor as dirty couches.  Because of them there was something I wasn't convinced of about this place.  Did I really like it?  Was it worth the $?  Why is there a musty smell in our room?  With those thoughts setting the tone for our trip (plus it was gray & rainy when we arrived and the first day), it took me a couple days to embrace it.  All of it and just enjoy myself.

Really it took both of us a couple days to find our place.  It was our first all-inclusive resort and we weren't quite sure where we fit in and how to just make it the trip we wanted.  Kind of like the new kid in school.  We weren't part of the noisy/cool group who were in the "big pool" all day.  We weren't honeymooners.  We didn't stay up late and woke up before 6 am every day.  We always felt ahead of the crowd and not a part of it, which sometimes feels lonely.  But on about day 3 we talked about it and reminded ourselves of why we came on our trip and enjoyed it for what it was and what we wanted it to be.  For us.

Our room was freezing.  16 degrees C to be exact (which we discovered is 60.8 degrees F.  Yea.  Glad I packed a sweatshirt).  And no matter how much I turned up the thermostat, it stayed the same temperature.

The maids had way too much energy and would clean our room multiple times a day.  We caught on to this quickly and put our "do not disturb" sign out after the first cleaning, as it seemed a little excessive to have our soap rearranged and the blanket on our bed in a new design every time we entered our room.  Really, all the staff was incredible with their service and would say "it's a pleasure" when you thanked them for their service.  I really started to believe them.

We wanted (or thought we would get) massages but ended up being too cheap.  We're accountants.  I got a manicure instead... a fun shade of blue.  Thelma was the most detailed manicurist I know and my 24 minute manicure took an hour.  The spa had mint flavored chlorophyll water that was amazing.  It said it restored & repaired everything in my body, or something very close to that.  I wanted to drink about a gallon of it on the spot, but wasn't sure if my body could handle such a cleansing.

We, of course, didn't take as many couple pictures as we wanted, because who wants 10 million "selfies" and who wants to ask strangers for pictures?  I've already confessed this battle.

The forecast said it was supposed to rain everyday.  Like an 80% chance.  It rained the day we got there and the next and that's about it.  Thankful for that.

I hated my hair.  Sounds shallow, but short bangs & short hair that barely goes into a ponytail = not fun.  The minute I went outside my hair was instantly frizz, frizz, frizz.  I tried not to be grumpy about it.  On about day 4 I bought a head band thing that saved my burned part and made me happy.

I decided I wanted to be a hat person.  It seemed like the best solution to my hair and the fact that my face only wanted about 5 minutes of sun before it felt like it was burning.  I wore Chad's baseball cap and bought a fun hat on the way home in the airport.  Good timing.  I'll use it next beach trip.

I read my first Shauna Niequist book, Cold Tangerines.  It reminded me that I like to write & really need to get back to regular journaling.  2014 goal.  Add it to the list.

We laid on one of those beds on the beach.  I always wanted to do that.. it seems like a very vacationy thing to do.

Remember those days when you could stay outside soaking up the sun all day?  I'm getting farther & farther from those days.  I really prefer shade more than full blast sun & like lots of clouds to break up the sun.  I wear more sunscreen too and care less about a tan.  I think this means I'm growing up.  Or that I'm a mom.  Probably both.

I thought we would eat more and constantly feel full.  I stereotyped all-inclusives to be that you just ate food all day or something.  But really we just ate meals and no snacks and I was actually usually hungry for each meal.  The courses were pretty small, which was a good thing since I ordered about 5 every meal.  The buffet was the only place that really really filled me up.

I ate the same thing for breakfast everyday.  Literally.  The exact same omelet with green juice.  But it was delicious and that's why I ate it.

The other most delicious thing we ate was ceviche & aguachile (which were very similar).  I want to make it.  It was so fresh.  So lime.  Sooo delicious.  We found out about it with only 2 days left.  Only 2 days to eat it.  That was the saddest thing about our trip.

I don't think I'm a natural at vacationing.  I'm one of those people who likes structure, things planned, small activities to keep me busy so then I enjoy the downtime more.  A day full of down time can tend to make me feel a little stressed out about what I'm going to do all day & how I'm going to make it feel productive.  Exercise and reading were about the most productive things I found to do, and in the end, the days went by fast and I definitely enjoyed them.  Note to self:  vacation isn't supposed to be productive.

We loved early mornings on the beach.  A couple runs.  A sunrise.  Reading before the crowd arrived.  Peacefulness.  We spent most of our days on the beach too.  All day.  Listening to the waves and soaking it up.  

The beach was different than I thought it would be.  Narrow.  Lots of seaweed lining the edge (I believe partly due to lots of rain).  But they worked hard to maintain it and kept it as clean as possible.  But it was a beach so it was still beautiful.

I was reminded that it's hard to keep perspective on vacation.  Life is suddenly easy and you get to be selfish with your time and my biggest decision of the day was how many lattes to drink.  I found myself getting annoyed by things like my towel blowing in my face - oh no!  And such it is with life... if it were always easy and never hard we would lose perspective and wouldn't appreciate it, so we should welcome challenges.

And  now we've had time to hash our trip and talk about our favorite parts and what we learned.  It's always good to learn things.

  1.  We loved our time together and our days were great, but by the evening we were ready to socialize (with people we know).  It would be a fun trip to do with friends.

  2.  Eat the things you like over and over again.  The other things are probably disappointing.  Be ok with a little indulgence.

  3.  Be opposite of the crowd - early to the beach, find a quiet spot and claim it for the day.  We liked the little huts.  A little privacy and shade.

  4.  People wear all kinds of things they shouldn't and fail to wear what they should.  Enough about that.

  5.  If you want your Mojito (my drink of choice) with fresh lime, you have to order it that way.  No fake syrup please.

And there you have it.  It was a good trip.  It was our trip and it was good.

my breakfast omelette and green juice

the beloved ceviche 

and aguachile

the spa outcome

a couple pics of our room

a pic of one of the many pools at the resort

the little hut we snagged for a couple days

every morning they raked the sand volleyball court to say "welcome" in english and spanish

before our departure home.. a slight bit more tan than when we arrived

8 months

Hum... I'm always amazed that another month has gone by when I do these monthly posts about Creighton.

I feel like he's changed quite a bit between 7 and 8 months.  Feeling more grown up and partaking in the world around him more and more.

As babies are always changing, there are of course some new things that C's been doing lately...

+ doing a fake laugh, especially when Beckham is laughing about something
+ pulling on his socks, chewing on them, and pulling them off.. especially in the morning or after naps
+ turning in circles on his tummy and scooting backwards
+ doing this weird excited squeal that I can't even begin to try to describe, but I'm pretty sure Beckham did/still does something similar, so it must be genetic :)
+ being highly entertained by his big brother and wanting to play beside him as much as possible
+ eating more and more new foods... tahini, broccoli, and kiwi were some new additions this month.  I love this age when they're so flexible and will try about anything.

... And all he wants for Christmas are his two front teeth.  I'm pretty sure they're about to come in and have been causing him some grief the past few weeks.

And then the little photo shoot is suddenly over when Beckham decides to join the fun, which seems to be happening every month.  Beckham pulls on Creighon's shirt, sits & bounces on him, jumps over him & gets in his face... but Creighton doesn't seem to mind.  In fact, I think he rather enjoys the attention from big brother.

it's starting...

... potty training that is.  Beckham turning 3 was my cut off for being lazy and letting him get away with zero interest in the potty.  Since he is now 3 and we have a few weeks at home before traveling for Christmas, it was time to start.

There's different theories on potty training and I really did zero research on it, just listened to my friends stories and experience.  I guess I'm a combination of the differing opinions on whether to "wait until your kid is ready" and "just pick a day and start."  Clearly I did not push Beck to start potty training at a young age to get it over with, but I also did not wait until he was really interested.... because we might be starting kindergarten in diapers if I waited until he cared.  

So today was the first day and we started with big boy underwear and no diaper.  I was expecting an accident and was hoping that would motivate him to tell me when he needed to go to the bathroom.  No such luck there.... he wet his pants, didn't tell me, and when I noticed he just acknowledged what he did and asked to keep watching his show.  :)  The rest of the day I've just been asking him very often if he needs to go to the bathroom and spending extended times on the pot.  

One big success was that I caught him before he was going to go the dreaded #2 in our closet.... one of his standard places for such business.  After reading books and watching shows on the pot for at least an hour, he went!  (although I really have no idea how long it took, as I left after I read books. :))

I think it's hard to set expectations on how long it will be until he is "fully potty-trained."  Hopefully not too long, with the exception of overnight diapers.  I think our first challenge is just getting him to tell me he needs to go.  I'm also a little unsure of how much to use pull-ups for going out in case of accidents, or just wear underwear (depending on the place) and be ok with some accidents as part of the training process?

And now your turn - give me all the advice you would like on potty-training the little guy!

Beckham's over emphasized "cheese" face, displaying his excitement for potty-training day #1 

why not?

Some of my blogger friends have been posting this little questionnaire lately and I've had fun reading them, so I decided why not join in.


I'm currently obsessed with:  hmm... obsessed is a strong word.  I tend to not get obsessed with things... as Chad would put it, I'm a classic under-rater of everything, so I don't usually go crazy about anything.  Don't I sound fun?!  However, I have been loving a cup of Tazo's Zen tea in the afternoon.

My biggest pet peeve is:  well, I've ranted about things I dislike on the blog before, but something to add to the list would be oblivious people.  The ones who don't pay attention when they drive and hop over to the new check-out lane that opens at the store, even though they were last in line.  Somehow social norms don't apply to them.

I could eat an endless supply of:  Tomatoes fresh from the garden.  With just salt & pepper.  Or cottage cheese.  Or just about anything.  Sooo good & juicy.

I'm currently reading:  I just finished Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist and really enjoyed that.  I like her writing style and found her relatable.  Kind of behind on the Shauna Niequist bandwagon.

My bedtime has recently been:  I usually don't get into bed fully ready to sleep for the night until 10/10:30, however, it's starting to be pretty rare if I don't fall asleep while putting Beck to bed or on the couch before that.  Yea, it's bad.

The last movie I watched was:   The entire movie (which is an accomplishment for me)... Gatsby on a rainy afternoon during our recent vacation to MX.

I am writing this while:  The boys sleep.  Otherwise Beck would be on my lap asking to watch videos of himself.

The scripture that is really speaking to my heart is:  I'm studying Matthew in BSF right now and been have learning through the example of Christ.  About being content and used by God wherever we are.  About being willing to serve anyone and everyone and not just choosing my favorite people to interact with and help.  About standing up for the truth of the gospel no matter what other's think.  It's been good.

On days when I don't leave the house, I:  Work out in the morning to give me energy & focus for my day at home.  I usually clean and do laundry, whatever I need to catch up on.  I like to spend time in the kitchen cooking or baking.  I try to prioritize the boys over my task list and just enjoy them.  My favorite thing would be to do some sort of organizational project, but those don't happen very often.  I like days at home, but no more than a couple in a row and then we get antsy to get out.

If I could hug anybody today, it would be:  My boys.  They get most of my hugs.

Mr. Beckham turns 3

About a couple weeks ago, or on the 11th to be exact, Beck turned 3.  It happened shortly before we left for a week trip to MX for a 5 year anniversary getaway, leaving it undocumented until now.

In true Beckham fashion, he had 3 little parties (this seems to be happening every year somehow).  We were with my family for a big Pfledderer family thing the weekend before his b-day, so we celebrated with his cousin Keaton and aunt Callie on Sunday.

His birthday was on Monday, so we had a little party of cupcakes and a couple gifts at our house that night.

Beck requested chocolate chip pancakes for lunch, along with reading "If you give a pig a pancake" while he ate them :)

coconut cupcakes with lemon glaze... just what Beck requested - haha, or maybe what sounded good to me!  although Beck and Chad gobbled them up as well!

when I asked him how old he was, I think he said 3, but held up 10 fingers

And of course Uncle Jim and Aunt Sheli (or more like grandma and grandpa in Indy) wanted to celebrate the little man, so we had yet another party on Wednesday night when we dropped the boys off while they watched them during our trip.  She did a much better job of decorating and making it feel like a "real" party. :)

I was thinking today about how I would summarize Beckham and what it's like to be his parent.  He's such a fun guy and a delight to parent overall.  Of course every kid has their things that need disciplined and weaknesses, but most days I love spending the day with him.  I never know what he's going to say, whether funny, intelligent, random or kind... like tonight when he told me thank you for dinner.  He's focused, observant, curious, intense, smart, funny, one-track minded, impatient, repetitive, an encourager, and sometimes soft.  He's social and likes to make friends, but can also be timid and shy in certain situations.  I think one of the things I love the most about him is now easily excitable & passionate he can be about the littlest things (like the garbage man picking up the trash on Thursday's).

He is boy through and through (although occasionally he does put on a headband or necklace and say he's a girl :)).  His loves are construction sites, farms, any kind of machine or truck, books, wrestling, one-on-one play, talking, talking & talking, and being outside, especially digging in the dirt.
He loves being a helper, figuring out how things work and "fixing" them, talking to himself/imagining things while he plays, and likes organization & follows categories well when putting away his toys (No idea where he gets that.. haha!).  He likes to imitate his dad, whether it be playing golf, mowing (he does a fantastic impression of pretending to start the mower by pulling an imaginary string and saying "vrrmm, vrrmm" in a very serious manner), shaving, or using his tools.

As he gets older I'm noticing him already starting to bargain to get what he wants.... like if he knows he really isn't supposed to watch another show, he'll suggest, "Can I watch "Mighty Machines"?  But not all of it.  Just some of it."  Or, "just one show mom, not two, just one."  Which makes me smile, as it's so obvious what he's doing.

I love seeing him start to learn truth from the Bible, sing bible songs and learn to pray.  I love the moments of tenderness he shows his brother when he wants to play with him & include him, rather than take away his toys or be bothered he's stealing my attention.  I love when he thanks me for the things I do for him in a sincere way.  And when we wants to help me in the kitchen, even though it can be the opposite of helpful.  And especially when he responds well to instruction and discipline and learns from it.

He really is such a blessing and I'm humbled that God gave him to us as a gift to parent.  I can't wait to see His plans for Beck's future.

7 months

I started this post and when I just came back to it I noticed that I titled it "8 months" instead of "7 months."  He's growing quite fast enough, no need to rush it along!

What's new with Creighton these days?  Very, very exciting things, in the baby world.... or really not that much.  :)

+ becoming quite the stinker with changing diapers and clothes - trying to roll and arch his back... I don't remember Beck doing this.  might have to start enforcing some discipline  :)
+ enjoying his baby food more and more and developing quite the appetite
+ squealing in delight at his brother
+ clenching his jaw and making a cheesy grin face
+ sitting up by himself, with just a few tumbles here and there
+ reaching and grabbing for everything... like books while we read stories, much to his brother's frustration :)
+ getting frustrated with his brother when Beck decides Creighton doesn't need toys anymore and puts them away... nice of him to put away toys when I don't want him to, but not want to when I do want him to!

then Beck joined the photo session and made some great "cheese" faces for the camera