Good-bye January

Another busy week down for the Banuelos family! On Monday, I dropped Salem off at my parents’ house in order to take Piper to the doctor in peace.  She is a super healthy beast, but we already knew that. 

Check out her stats:

Weight: 19.5lbs (100^th Percentile)

Height: 27in (80^th Percentile)

Head Circ: 40cm (10^th Percentile)

Ha! If you happened to just read these and didn’t look at Piper, she would seem like a tall, chubby pinhead! The hardest part about these ‘well-baby’ visits is the vaccinations.  After careful consideration, lots of reading and a bunch of conversations, Miguel and I agreed that we are going to vaccinate.  I’m not judging those who don’t as I can understand the concerns and fears, however, we just feel that it is what is right and responsible for our family.  We do opt out of flu shots for all of us though, which again was a choice based on education and discussion.  Neither Miguel nor I have ever subjected ourselves to the flu shot but we have also never had the flu.  I realize this statement irks some people as we can be potential carriers of the virus and thus can get others sick. I could rant about this, but that would turn this post into something I don’t believe really warrants further discussion.

                     

After the nurse poked my child, we returned to the parents’ to pick up Salem (and Miguel who was just finishing up work).  Apparently Salem had convinced my Dad to play hide-and-seek (his new favorite game) and Dad couldn’t find him.  Eventually my Mom discovered Salem in her closet. Too funny! Salem loves visiting his grandparents.

Miguel was given Tuesday off, which was awesome because it snowed and he was home to enjoy family time.  Salem helped to shovel and the boys played outside for quite a while, which allowed for some freedom for me to care for a grumpy, post-shot, feverish Piper Jane.

Wednesday was full of baking in an attempt to use up some freezer items. First was some pumpkin puree that was taken out to give to Piper but there was two cups of the stuff and she wasn’t the biggest fan.  I decided to make pumpkin bread with that.  Then I decided to use some frozen peaches, blackberries and blueberries that were nearing their expiration to make the most amazing peach-berry pie bars ( I had originally planned on making a pie so I made pie dough then discovered I had loaned out my pie tin so opted for pie bars).  I really should have taken pictures and written down recipes!  Both items turned out perfect!

On Thursday we accompanied Miguel to the eye doctor where we were lucky to run into an old friend, Lachelle.  The last time Mig and I saw this sweet girl was just after she graduated high school some 6+ years ago.  She has grown into such a beautiful and lovely woman who has driven herself to success and I guarantee makes her daughter and family very proud every day.  We were especially fortunate to run into her on this day as it was her last day at this office and is relocating to Denver this weekend.  I hope we can see her again and meet her daughter in the near future.  After the appointment and Salem’s nap, the kids and I ventured to the store to gather supplies for a dessert I had been asked to make for Mig’s work.  Salem is such a good kid at the store and I am so grateful for a toddler who rarely throws fits in public! Salem really didn’t want to go home after the store, so I promised him I would take him somewhere the next day.  I think the poor kid has a serious case of cabin/spring fever.

Holding true to my promise, I took the kids over to my sister’s house on Friday morning for a change of scenery. Before we left though, I told Salem he needed to let me cut his hair as it was getting super shaggy.  I had been attempting to chop his locks all week but he kept telling me he wanted to grow his hair long like Daddy.  In the end, I won and his hair is now neatly trimmed. 

Salem loved being at Sara’s house and playing with the different toys she has over there.  I am so grateful to live close enough to my family that we can take advantage of using their houses as a free activity!  Sara was even able to sneak away from work and visit us.  Salem was so sad when she had to leave that he decided we should just go home.  He passed out in the car and stayed asleep once we got home, which gave me the peace I needed to create a few desserts (peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip walnut blondies and leftover pumpkin bread) for Mig to take to his workmates. 

And that brings us to today. Miguel’s coworkers must have liked the treats as everything came back empty this morning.  The kennel is slow this weekend so Miguel will be home with us rather than working job #2.  Looking forward to some quality family time and maybe we will have something more to share in a few days.  Cheers and Happy Groundhog Day and Super Bowl!