Good, cheap fun

It's amazing how many toys this little boy of ours already has. He's got tons of books, talking stuffed animals, instruments that light up, and lots of assorted balls.

Surrounded by a few fave toys

While he does like all of those store-bought (mostly gifted) toys, he seems most fascinated with the cheapest things around the house.
He is particularly fond of boxes, no matter the size. He makes a mad dash for any of our boxes going out to recycling and gets some good use out of them before trash day. He also absolutely loves pulling the bags of refill wipes out of the big box they came in. It's nice for us cause we can put them back in the box, and he starts all over again!

Bubba also loves the laundry basket. When he was younger, we put him inside of it and pushed him around or let him try to find his way out of it. 

Now that he's up and cruising around the house, he uses the laundry basket as a walker. Such a brilliant baby :)

The other preferred "toys" of his are our cell phones, any remotes, and my laptop. He especially loves when the phone or remote lights up and is quick to grab these things and put them in his mouth (like everything else). It's funny how he doesn't want some imitation remote that has no batteries in it and isn't in use by us. That one is passed over in favor of the real deal, mostly when we are trying to use them!

Bubba has also enjoyed walking around the kitchen the past couple weeks, and he seems rather entertained by the cabinets and pulling down the dish towels. Jay spent last weekend baby-proofing after Bubs figured out how fun it is opening the cabinets and pulling stuff out.

Having kids is a great reminder to look for the joy in everyday things, and a great reminder of the value of recycling! 

March Update!

Wow. I cannot believe it is already March 1st! I feel like I always have to start my posts with an apology for not writing sooner... So no excuses this time. I am gonna do my best to get this up to date for my loyal readers (you both know who you are)!
Since my last post over a month ago, we have managed to stay quite busy with our little Bubster. First off, we had the amazing fortune of getting two of our most favorite people visiting us for a long weekend. My brother Aaron and his fiance Daphne made their first trip to the Northwest to see us- well, mostly their beloved nephew. After driving through the worst rain storm I've ever encountered in my life to pick up Aaron at the airport, we immediately got lost because I was talking too much and not paying attention!! Even after all these years, my brother and I are still BFFs and have plenty to talk about with each other. He of course just loves his nephew to pieces and was so happy to spend time with him.

Thanks to the typical Portland weather, Aaron and Daphne had a lot of indoor snuggle time with Bubba. When it started to clear up, we ventured into the city to check out the famous food carts. There are lots of city blocks filled with carts that are open for lunch and really popular out here. You can find every type of food imaginable, and it's all super affordable. Once we chose our lunches, it started pouring and we found ourselves running through the streets looking for the nearest Starbucks to take shelter! At least they get the real Portland experience :) 

Waiting in line outside Voodoo Donut, 

keepin Portland Weird!!

The last afternoon Daphne was with us, we went back to our fave Chinese restaurant for some dim sum. It didn't disappoint, and we chowed down on shrimp dumplings, steamed chicken, and some other unknown but yummy delicacies. 

We already can't wait to see them again and hope it's sooner than later. It was not only nice to spend time with them, but so great to have 4 extra arms around for holding Bubba! 

The weekend after they left was the Chinese New Year, and we actually went back for more dim sum with Bubba's other aunt and uncle from Jay's side and a few other friends. We definitely got a little carried away with 8 people at the table and had a table full of delicious Chinese food. All 3 plates of salt and pepper calamari were great! 

We continued our celebration of the Lunar New Year at the Chinese Garden in downtown Portland. Because of the holiday, it was packed. There were a lot of arts and crafts for the kids and presentations of Tai Chi for the rest of us. It seemed like a really serene place (potentially), and I hope to go back one day to the Tea House when it's not so crowded. 

Now that Elijah is getting older- 9.5 months!- we can get out and do more stuff together. We started going once a week to a Mommy and Me group at a preschool with a great group of Moms and kids. I'm fortunate to have found this group because all the moms get along really well. Besides a 4 month old, Elijah is the youngest mobile kid there and has a fun time crawling around, playing with their toys, and interacting with the bigger toddler kids. He has done a good job of charming the other mommies and flashes his big 4 teeth smiles when we sing and dance. It's cool seeing him exploring the room and being so independent. Not to mention, we don't have to clean up :) 

At home after our play group

We also have been waiting for an opportunity to get together with a Portuguese/Brazilian group in the area. Until a few weeks ago, the only outings were at clubs starting at 10 pm at night and that definitely doesn't work for us anymore. We were really pumped when we found out about the Carnaval Party at the Bahia Cultural Center that started earlier for families. We all dressed up for the festa and all the Portuguese was music to our ears! There were a lot of kids in costume, fun decorations, Brazilian music playing, and videos from Carnaval in Rio. We enjoyed the presentation of the kids' capoeira class, and it felt nice to be surrounded by so many Brazilians again! After all that stimulation and fun, Elijah passed out immediately in the car on the way home.

Our cute little monkey

On that note, I think that is enough blogging for one night! For some reason, I can't wait to go gaze at my precious boy sleeping soundly in his crib....