Single Mommy

Justin is away at a bachelor party this weekend, so it's just been me and B and we've been having a ball. B slept in until 7am (sad to say, but that's sleeping in for us these days) so I was happy. Julie's hubby happens to be away at a bachelor party this weekend too, so she and I decided to pack up the kiddies and head over to her parents for the day. Here are some videos I took of our fun day. :)

As you can see, B loooooves the water. It was so hot we never got out of the pool. We put B on top of a boogie board and fed him his snack in the pool b/c he didn't want to get out. And don't think I'm a bad mommy, I did have a hat on him (except for in the video so you can see his cute facial expressions).



B and Annalia playing before dinner. They see each other 2-3 times a week and this is pretty much how it goes.....he points/grabs at her and she just stares at him like "Who is this guy?"

Justin's 30th!

The last two weeks have been insanely busy, but super fun! We celebrated Justin's 30th birthday on Thursday with our first overnighter away from Bennett in Half Moon Bay. We had such a wonderful time welcoming J into the 30's club. We were so relaxed and even slept in until 8AM. What a treat! I was so consumed with pulling the surprise trip off that I didn't have much time to concentrate on leaving B for the first time. I'm happy to report I survived though! Grandma and Grandpa Simon stayed with B at our house, so he was showered with lots of love and attention. Then on Saturday, Michelle, Dee and I threw Justin a surprise bday party at our house.

Drinking Dom on our balcony before dinner.

View from our room.

FINALLY!

On Saturday Little B finally said "Mama"! I'm not gonna lie, I was getting a little jealous of hearing "dada" all the time. Finally, some love for mama! :) Here's a pic of B eating spaghetti the other night.

Auntie Val is Here!

My sister arrived last Tuesday and we have loooooved having her here. She is such a BIG help around the house and loves spending time with her Godson. We've been pretty much on the go and having fun all week - I don't want her to leave! It's so nice to have another adult to talk to during the day. :)

At my birthday dinner

This is right before Bennett got poo all over Val's shirt.....it was nasty but we had some good laughs!

At the California Academy of Sciences. Such a fun day.

B preferred to ride on Daddy's shoulders.

He loved the penguins and was banging on the glass.

Beach day in Capitola.

Snack time - standing up eating his yogurt.

A Heavy Heart

Today my wonderful, hilarious, spunky, 87 year old Papa passed away or as he would say "kicked the bucket." It was an incredibly sad day for me, but I'm relieved and happy to know that he is in a better place. In fact, I smile when I think he's probably up in heaven right now chatting with the other angels, only he is smoking his Lucky Strikes and drinking a cup of coffee. I could write a book about all the amazing, fun memories I've shared with him over the past 33 years, but instead I want Bennett to look back on this blog one day (I hope he's able to do so) and remember the last time we both spent with Papa. In early July, we were leaving Portland to fly back home so Papa came over to say goodbye. While we were sitting around the kitchen table chatting, Bennett looked directly at him and said, "Papa". He had only said "hi" and "dada" until this point, so hearing him say Papa to his Great Grandpa who he's only seen a few times since he was born was AWESOME. It was one of those moments I will never forget! We walked Papa out to his car and he told me what a special little boy I had, how incredibly sweet Bennett is, and how I should feel very lucky. After hugs and kisses goodbye, Papa got in his car, rolled down the window, lit up a smoke and said, "I love ya babe." He always said that to me, every time. I love you too, Pop.