My little heartbreaker

Caleb's smile and laugh melt my heart every time. He was in a good mood while I was getting his breakfast ready, so I did some silly dances and songs and had him in stitches! Look at that face!!

Walkin' in a winter wonderland

Well, the ice storm of 2009 has come and is still lingering!! We lost power Tues. night around 8:30 p.m., got it back in the middle of the night, lost it again in the early morning, and got it back around 1 p.m. on Wed. Phew! I was so nervous Caleb was going to freeze, but it was ok. However, I had a NASTY 24 hour stomach bug on Tues...I was worried it would be the flu, but no fever, no chills, aches, etc...just getting sick. Gross. Bryan had to be "Mr.Mom" all day and he did a great job...I had him keep Caleb as far away from me as possible. He hasn't been sick yet in all almost 7 months of his life, and I don't want it to start now!! I was all better on Wed., thank goodness!! The ice/snow has been beautiful, but I have not ventured out in it. School has been cancelled all week--I would be in heaven if I was still teaching!! I AM going a little stir crazy, though...luckily this weekend Bryan and I are headed to Louisville to see "Wicked"! I can't wait!! We were worried it might be cancelled, but happily, it's not!

South Beach update, etc.

Just wanted to update that the South Beach diet seems to be working very well for Bryan and I! I haven't gotten on a scale, but I've been trying on a pair of jeans once a week to notice the difference. These jeans certainly are not my "goal" size, but they are what I wore pre-pregnancy. Before I started, there was no way they were even close to being buttoned. Now I can get them buttoned but it's not a pretty sight to behold (or comfortable for that matter!). So, I'm getting there!! I can tell a difference in my current jeans (a terribly scary size!) though...they're getting looser and looser. It has been remarkably easy for the most part, as long as we don't try to eat out! I just don't trust restaurants-I like to be able to know what is going in my food right now. We have gone out and gotten some yummy grilled chicken salads, but I'm even wary of those. For me, it's a matter of retraining my tastebuds to like whole grain pasta/bread/etc. because I DON'T like them. I grew up on all white breads, so I guess it makes sense. I was reading in a magazine that if you start your child out on whole wheat/whole grain, that's what they'll be used to and like. So that's the goal with Caleb. :)
Speaking of Caleb, we got him this awesome rainforest jumperoo last weekend with some Christmas money. He loves it! He could jump in it all day I think. (Well, maybe not THAT long, but still!) It is SO funny to watch him in it. Bryan has some priceless video footage. I took him over to school today to see some of my teacher friends and they couldn't believe how big he had gotten! I had him crawl around for them. His 9 month clothes are getting too short for him...arg!! I REALLY am not ready to venture into the 12 month clothing!

Picture time

My "studmuffin"!

At church last week, Jon challenged the husbands in the room to take their wives out on a date this week, have it all planned out and everything. I was so excited that Bryan decided to do this on Friday night! He told me to be ready at a certain time, but that's all I had to do! He picked out the restaurant (Logan's--it's a good one for South Beach dieters!) and took me to go see "Twilight"! We NEVER hardly go to a "real" movie because it is so stinkin' expensive, and I knew he wasn't thrilled at seeing a movie about teenage vampires, but he did it anyway! He also had gotten the tickets ahead of time so we didn't have to wait in the EXTREMELY long line (out the door)! It is really, really cold here, so I guess everyone in Lexington got the same idea. Anyway, it was really sweet. I liked the movie, although of course I liked the book better-they changed/left out things in the movie that I wasn't a huge fan of. It was really interesting to see the characters I've had in my head for so long now on the screen. I totally pictured Carlisle and Esme differently, as well as the Cullen's house. At first I didn't really think Edward was all that "beautiful" as Bella puts it (constantly) but he grew on me. Of course, MY heart goes out to Jacob...I know, some people think that's terrible, but it just is the way it is for me! I am more than halfway finished with "Breaking Dawn" (the last book) and am interested to see how it ends...

Yum, fruit!!

Caleb officially seems to love fruit! We've now given him bananas, peaches, pears, and applesauce and he loved them all. I just hope this translates to toddlerhood and beyond because Bryan doesn't like fruit at all (he says it's a texture thing). I am also very excited because now Bryan and I can have fruit since we're on Phase 2 of South Beach! Woo hoo! Too bad it's so dang expensive this time of year. I have also been enjoying bagel pizzas for lunch (on whole grain bagels)! Let's see, what else is new? We put Caleb in size 3 diapers this week, boo hoo. I loved the Pampers Swaddlers and am so sad to not have them anymore, they are sooooo soft! But it was necessary. I have also become OCD in my vacuuming now that Caleb is on the floor-our dogs shed like crazy and I can't stand it! So vacuuming makes me feel a little better. :)
And can I just say how excited I am for the Lost premiere next Wednesday???? Bryan and I have been addicted to this show from the beginning, so we're excited. There is a great blog: www.lost-and-gone-forever.blogspot.com if anyone else out there is a fan.

I love my church

Can I just tell you how much I love my church??? Jon is preaching a series on the Song of Solomon (sometimes called the Song of Songs) and it is so, so, so good! And so, so, SO not what you would expect to hear in church! You can listen to it online at www.SouthlandChristian.org I believe it is under podcasts. Anyway, I just LOVE how Jon can be so real with us, and practical, and really speak the truth in love. We're learning so much about what it means to have that covenant marriage relationship that God desires for us. The first week of the message, there were 2 older ladies sitting in front of us who literally were FANNING themselves during the message it was so "racy"! It was so funny! Anyway, the whole thing has inspired me to already begin praying for Caleb's future wife. She may not even be CONCEIVED yet, but God knows who she is. It's also had me praying for Caleb himself--that he would grow up to be a godly man, husband, and father. And of course, praying for Bryan and I that we would be godly models for him of what a Christian marriage should look like. We're certainly not perfect by any means, but I hope he will look back on us and see how much we loved God, each other and him (and future siblings of course!).

Recent pics of my 6 month old son!!

I really can't believe Caleb turned 6 months old on Thursday!! He crawled for the first time the night before his birthday!! His 6 month check up went well. He weighed 18 lbs 12 oz. and was 28.5 inches long! That is the 72nd percentile for weight and 95th (I think) for length. He had to get 4 shots (because he had to get the flu shot), and he cried of course, which broke my heart (of course!!). He ate squash this week, and I gave him fruit (bananas) for the first time today, he loved them!! We've also given him a sippy cup a couple of times with some water in it, just for practice. He held it on his own yesterday! He is such a big boy!

Sweet potato bliss and teething sadness

Let me just let everyone know that Caleb LOVED LOVED LOVED the sweet potatoes I gave him tonight. He couldn't get enough!!!! He certainly didn't act that way with the peas/green beans. That was the happy part of our night!! He definitely needed a bath after that adventure.
The not-so-happy part of the night was that I am almost 100% sure a tooth is on the way because he WAILED tonight (pre-sweet potatoes), inconsolably, and we coud not figure out what was wrong with him for anything. We tried all the old standbys-food, diaper change, rocking, paci, etc. and nothing. Finally I had Bryan get him his teething tablets we had bought and not used yet. They are really simple to give babies-just put a couple under their tongue and they dissolve. Well sure enough, after he had those, he calmed down and fell asleep. Poor baby! We don't see any teeth, but it wouldn't surprise me with the amount of drool and hand chewing he's been doing lately. I sure hope it comes in soon!

South Beach Diet-one week down!

Well, Bryan and I decided to try the South Beach diet out starting last Monday. We had both done it before, with success, so we figured we'd give it another shot. I have to be honest when I say it is mostly ME who needs this diet! This baby weight (plus more) has GOT TO GO. Seriously...Caleb will be 6 months old this Thurs. I know they say 9 months to put it on, 9 months to take it off, so...it's time! Anyway, it's going pretty good so far. We have been on it for a week, only cheating a teeny tiny bit at Regatta this weekend when we had ONE delicious biscuit. It.was.heavenly. :) I am a little tired of salads all the time, but soon the initial 2 weeks of NO SUGAR will be up and we can eat fruit, whole grains, etc. again. I really want to be able to swim at the Y this summer with Caleb and there is no way I would do that right now in my current condition. I have a feeling I need to be in good shape once he starts running around, period, because he is going to be a little boy on the move, I can tell already!! Bryan is such an encouragement to me, and I love that he's doing it with me, even though he really doesn't need to. What a good hubby! :) I already feel better all around, and I like myself a whole lot better when I feel better about myself. So wish me luck and diligence in this!

Eating machine!

I have some pics I haven't downloaded onto the computer yet, but I just wanted to update you all on Caleb's solid food eating progress! He had now tried rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, carrots (LOVED THEM!), peas (tolerated them), and green beans (ok). We're going to try squash or sweet potatoes after we finish up with the green beans, and then it will be on to fruit!! I heard that I should do veggies first because of the sweetness factor of fruits-they apparently don't want veggies if you give them fruit first! He's SUCH a big boy! He will be turning 6 months old on Thursday, and has his check up on Friday. I can't believe it!! He is rolling everywhere he wants to go now; I really have to be on the lookout!! He doesn't sit up on his own yet, but he's getting there. And did I mention he said "dadadada" on Christmas and since?? I know he doesn't relate it to Bryan but it's so sweet regardless. He is also getting cuter by the day (if that is even possible!!). We are so blessed...so hard to believe that this time last year I was only 2 months pregnant. Time truly does fly!!