I don’t mean to keep writing about food, but this was too cute.
Bowen has found a new favorite snack. 
I wasn’t sure that spicy salsa was a good snack for a 17 month old, but he loved it.
Eventually, he ran out of chips and ate the salsa with his fingers. 
I love having such an adventurous eater! How cute is that face?!?!
Bowen, what is in that bowl?
My sweet boy carried a tupperware dish full of black beans around the house this evening. He probably ate half of a can.
He is a pretty healthy eater. Baker and I eat well, and monkey see monkey do.
He loves asparagus, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, pistachios, apples, bananas, yogurt, grapes, peas, bell peppers, zucchini, and so many more veggies and fruits. We try not to keep junk in the house, but he eats Cheerios, Goldfish, pretzels, and tortilla chips regularly too.
In other news, I went to put my gym clothes on the other day and left him alone in the kitchen. I heard the pantry cabinet door open, and came into the kitchen to find this.
He used a spoon on his own for the first time the other day. I probably should have let him do it sooner, but it is sooooooo messy.
This required a bath when he was finished. 🙂
This is a few days late, I’ve been so busy with packing up our house, school, and master’s classes. I am ready for Summer!
Bowen is beginning to show lots of personality. He is on the go constantly, and loves to make a mess. He completely destroys each room he enters. My kitchen is covered in baking pans and spatulas, my living room has magazines and toys all over the floor, and the bathroom has hair products in the bathtub. When does this stage end?
He is still of a bit of a needy baby, in that he loves to be held constantly and doesn’t sleep well at night. He wakes up usually around midnight, and then sleeps with us for the rest of the night. It’s not the ideal situation, but at least we’re all getting some sleep.
This month has turned into a trying month for Mom and Dad. Bowen has grown quite the temper. He wants what he wants when he wants it. He’s started hitting when he doesn’t get his way. I have to say, it is mortifying that my child behaves like this.
We tried a few different things before we found something that works for us. When he hits we put his hand down, say “no, we don’t hit,” distract him by taking him to a toy or something he likes, and walk away. Usually it ends with Bowen having a major meltdown on the floor, but we think he gets the point. We tried timeout, but he’s just not old enough to understand it yet.
He’s also learned to climb out of his high chair, which is terribly scary. He loves to stand up and sit down over and over again. I think I may need to find a booster seat for the table.
He’s turned into a climber of anything and everything. If it’s low enough to the ground, Bowen will climb on top. This has caused a few accidents. Just the other day he fell off the ottoman. I keep telling Baker, we will have a broken bone before his second birthday. The kid has no fear.
Height: still a peanut and he won’t stand still long enough to measure him, my guess is 31 inches
Weight: around 24 pounds – using our bathroom scale, so I’m not sure how accurate it is
Clothes Size: mostly 12 months, some 9-12 pants, occasionally he can wear an 18 month outfit, I even pulled out some Summer shorts from last year that fit pretty well
Likes: jumping on the bed & couch, snuggling, riding in his Cozy Truck, the GiggleBellies, climbing stairs, playing outside, Cherrios, animals
Dislikes: being left in the gym nursery, sleeping alone, being told “No,” riding in the car for too long, having his nose wiped
On to then next month.
On Thursday we headed to the Newport Aquarium. We waited quite a while for tickets to go inside, but it was well worth the wait. After a beer and lunch at Hofbrauhaus, we were ready to explore ocean life.
We weren’t sure if Bowen would show any interest.
This visit was money well spent because he was mesmerized by everything going on around him. Â 
He saw the first tank and started ooo-ing and ahhh-ing.
I think he could have watched the shark tank for hours.
I think we might get a season pass next year. I know we don’t live there, but we’d probably visit every time we came home, and we’d save ourselves some money in the long run.
We just ended our Spring Break at the Gardner House. We had a jam-packed week filled with lots of fun and family.
We spent the beginning of the week getting things organized for our new house we are building. We picked out cabinets for our kitchen and bathrooms, while the land was bulldozed and prepared.
We took Bowen to the dentist of the first time. We actually all had appointments, so we took Bowen to introduce him to the dentist. We wanted the dentist to check on Bowen’s bottom teeth. He appears to be missing one of his bottom teeth, which the dentist said not to worry about. They looked in his mouth to see which one was missing. Bowen freaked out a little, but it was expected.
After our dentist appointments, we headed north to visit my parents. The Easter bunny must have visited Nana and Papaw’s house right before we arrived.
We spent our first full day shopping and visiting with one another. We had big plans for Thursday. More to come…
When I agreed to live in this small town, I told Baker we needed to spend holidays with my family since they live so far away. Baker, of course – he’s a saint for putting up with me-, gave in to my request, but we still don’t make it up there for every special occasion. With Easter falling on the weekend before my Spring Break, it was impossible for us to get home to my parents.
We started our Easter celebration on Saturday afternoon with an Easter Egg Hunt at Baker’s Aunt and Uncle’s house. They invite kids from church, so there was a pretty large crowd.
We weren’t sure if Bowen would like it. He can be so bashful at times.
He LOVED it. He picked up eggs, put a few in his basket, and threw the rest of them as far as he could.
We stopped by Baker’s parents house that evening and Bowen got his Easter basket from Mimi and Gramps. They got him some great summer clothes and toys. He’s ready to play outside!
On Sunday morning Bowen and I found his basket full of goodies from the Easter bunny. Since he’s only 16 months, it only had a few eggs filled with jelly beans. (I learned my lesson after Christmas. Santa brought him so so so many toys, and he never touched any of them that day. He played with Harper’s toys instead. I guess I had to learn the hard way.)
Bowen shook those eggs like crazy. He dropped one on the ground and it popped open. When he saw those jelly beans inside he squealed.
Now I know he’s 16 months old and jelly beans are pure sugar and a choking hazard. But, he has more teeth than any 16 month old I’ve ever met, and he’s a very healthy eater and I believe he can have sugar in moderation.
He will do anything for jelly beans!
We went to church and then spent the afternoon at Baker’s Grandmother and Granddad’s house. It was a fun and exhausting day. We’re headed up north tomorrow, and we heard the Easter bunny may be making a late visit.
 
The Gardner's are Growing 