Still sick and a milestone

Well, Bryan and I are all better, but Caleb is still fighting the "BIG D". I talked to a nurse today who said that can last for up to a week after it all starts, it's normal. I feel so bad for him, although he acts 100% normal! She said to just feed him starchy, bland foods and it will work itself out of his system. I was supposed to start watching a friend's kids this week, but that looks like it's going to be held off till next week now!
In other news, Caleb is now doing the CUTEST thing!! He claps! He'll do it if you just say "YAY!!" in a happy voice, and he does it spontaneously as well. I'll have to get a picture of him clapping and put it up soon. That boy melts my heart on a daily basis!! :)

Welcome to motherhood...

YUCK. That has been the word to describe our household since Saturday! At 4:30 a.m. Caleb woke up hungry, and I went to get him, only to discover that he had vomited in his crib-most likely hours earlier based on what it looked like-and it was ALL OVER HIM, the sheet, etc. He was such a good sport, though, just took his bottle and went right back to sleep. On Sat. it started coming out the other end (SORRY, GROSS I KNOW!!!) and WOW, it was bad. The thing was, he acted totally fine-happy as could be! We bought some Pedialyte and I thought it was on it's way out on Sat. night, and we decided to go to church on Sunday, just not put him in the nursery so he wouldn't expose other babies to it. We get to church in the pouring rain, I go to get him out of his car seat and he had vomited all over himself on the drive there (we had to move his carseat so we couldn't see him the little mirror anymore). Needless to say, we turned around and went straight home. Poor thing! He had the "big D" Sun. too, but acted totally happy and fine still. We had life group at Saul Good on Sun. night so my mom watched Caleb and said he was fine. But Monday morning, it had hit both Bryan and I BAD. And I found out later, my mom too--who told me she hasn't been pukey sick for 9 years, when she ate some food she was allergic to in Thailand. Sorry mom!! Bryan had to go to work since he has no sick days left, and so I stayed home and took care of Caleb the best I could. Luckily, he was SOO good about napping. Bryan did come home a little early when he just couldn't take it any more and boy were we a sight to see I'm sure!! It was not fun, esp. when Caleb threw up again after he had some formula before bed. PHEW! But this morning we ALL woke up feeling a lot better, thank goodness! My mom told me, "Welcome to motherhood!" because apparently when the kids get sick, you're pretty likely to get sick as well. Fun times!

Our Easter--Caleb's First!!!!

What a wonderful Easter we had today!!! Caleb got his first Easter basket, complete with a great book on the real meaning of Easter, some toy keys (because he loves Mommy's!), some new onesies, a stuffed bunny, and 2 Cadburry eggs for mommy and daddy! ;) We got ready for church (after poor Bryan only slept for 1 1/2 hours after working from 7-7 the night before!) in our green-themed clothes, and headed out for the service. We got there super early, which was a good thing, because it was a packed house. The service was amazing-music, message, all awesome. The best part was when Jon said, "You know, we do this every week!" Hahaha. He spoke about our response to Christ's rising from the dead...how we need to "die" (be baptized, accept Him) in order to "never die"-have that eternal life He offers us. After church we went to my mom's to eat lunch, had a little photo shoot among the tulips, got another Easter basket, etc. Then we headed BACK to church at 3 for the first ever baptisms in the pond!! There were over 150 people (some are saying 200) who "died so that they may never die"...it was so incredible to be a part of it. Perfect weather. We then went home, where Daddy and Caleb fell asleep in the rocking chair and Mommy uploaded pictures to Facebook. Took a little walk around the neighborhood, came home, and got ready for bed. A wonderful day. "Oh praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead..." Amen and Amen!!

9 months old!

I cannot believe my baby boy is 9 months old! (I'll probably be saying this his whole life!) We went for his doctor's appointment today, and he was 21 lbs and was 30.5 inches! That is the 59th percentile for weight and 97th for length! So, he is still long and lean!!! He was so good, even when he had to get his finger pricked to check for anemia (no shots, hooray!!). Then we came home, had a nap, then we were off to check out the Easter bunny! I will share pics as soon as I scan them in. He smiled, grabbed the bunny's fur, and was SOOOO good. And he looked adorable, thanks to Kendra's son's cute outfit we borrowed. Then we went shopping for an Easter dress for Mommy, and found one, as well as earrings and a necklace that match! (All on sale, yay!) Now, we just have to find Daddy something to match us! ;) So, it has been a good day, and he is conked out now!

Mustard and Ketchup Fun!!

So, I get these emails every week that have ideas of what to do with your baby. This past week, they suggested "ketchup and mustard art". So, we tried it! I squirted some of each on his high chair tray and BOY did he have fun!!! He smelled like a hot dog afterwards. :) Needless to say, he went STRAIGHT into the bathtub after this. So, if you need something to do on a rainy day, now you have something!

Playdate fun!!

Today we went over to Eva's house-she is his friend from storytime-for a playdate!! Her awesome nanny, Kristy, set up an inflatable pool inside the house for them to play in-it was adorable. He loved it until the water got cold, then he was ready to get out!! She also took toys and froze them and they took turns hitting the block to unfreeze the toys, which was fun! He crawled around and played afterwards and now he is CONKED OUT!! Going on a 3 hour nap, which never happens. Here are some pics of the fun!

Storytime friend!

We have really been enjoying going to storytime at the local libraries and bookstores here lately. It's a great excuse to get out of the house, and it's very fun. Caleb has a little friend at storytime named Eva (eeee vah, like in Wall-e). Her babysitter Kristy brings her and her own child to the same storytimes we go to every week. Here are some pictures of the two cuties. She was born 3 days before Caleb.





And here he is on the way home from storytime...ZONKED!

Belated V-day pics!

Here are some pics I took of Caleb BEFORE I got my new camera on Valentine's Day. Isn't that smile adorable????

Valentine's Day Fun

Valentine's Day started out a few days BEFORE the big day when I received beautiful lily's at the house one afternoon!! It included a card with the verse from Song of Solomon 2:2 "Like a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the maidens." How sweet! We've been studying Song of Solomon at church, so it was very appropriate. :) Then yesterday before we went out we opened presents first and I got a card from Caleb and the dogs, a sweet card from Bryan, and a new PINK camera!! I think it is called Cybershot...it has 8.2 megapixels (my old one was 3.2), it has a HUGE screen (my old one was quite small!), and it is so little and skinny!! I LOVE IT!!!! My old camera had been starting to drive me crazy lately, and Bryan knew that, so, surprise! Oh, the other great thing is that it doesn't need batteries. I burn through them so quickly, so this is a great thing! Some women want jewelery, I am thrilled with a new camera! I already take a million pics of Caleb and now I'll take more! I can't wait to see the quality difference.

Caleb got some goodies as well. Grandpa and Grandma Christy in Texas sent him a Vermont Teddy Bear that is dressed up like a monkey! It is so cute! And it is really funny because I've seen the advertisements for those teddy bears every time I've gone to the gym on the TVs there! I'll have to take a picture with my new camera!! We got him a stuffed lamb from the Christian bookstore, where the proceeds went to help kids in an orphanage, isn't that cool? Grandma got him a cool puzzle book, a stuffed teddy bear, a cute card, money for his piggy bank, and some cute overalls.

I got Bryan a card, the movie "End of the Spear" which has special significance to us and our relationship, a bag of dark chocolate m and m's (ok on South Beach-in moderation of course!) and some special gum/mints he loves. We then went out to Saul Good for dinner (we had a gift card, woo hoo!) and did NOT adhere to the diet! I got a grilled chicken sandwich-hawaiian style-and fries-SO good!! We shared the chocolate fondue for dessert-yum yum-they bring you waffles, strawberries, bananas, rice krispie treats, and pretzels to dip in the chocolate (we got dark) and it.was.heavenly!!! So it is back to being extra strict on the diet starting today...or tomorrow...:)

We ended the evening with candlelight and dancing at our house while Caleb slept. I am so blessed to have Bryan as my husband. I fall more and more in love with him every day. He is truly my best friend in the whole world and I thank God often for answering my prayer for an incredible husband. Seeing him as a daddy is wonderful as well...Caleb is a lucky boy to have such a great daddy.

Hope you all had wonderful Valentine's Days as well!! :)

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!

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!

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!!

Some recent pictures

Update

Tonight was so fun! My mom watched Caleb while Bryan and I met my brother and sister-in-law for dinner at Logan's--I got the yummy steak salad--and then we went over to their new house and played games. Their house is really cute and I loved seeing their dogs Lucious (sp?) and Sophie. We found out Lucious got into one of their Christmas bags for Caleb, got out the toy they'd gotten him, and destroyed it! We played Simpsons Clue (fun!) and Scene It on XBox. I lost TERRIBLY at Scene-it and Bryan won Clue! I would have liked to have played Scene-It again but we had to hurry back to relieve my mom of her babysitting duties!

I finished up all my Christmas shopping this week, PHEW! We bought Caleb a toy box that matches his room decor-it's so cute! We also got him a plastic bib, a Christmas outfit, some little teethers, and a wonderful book called "God Gave Us You." Oh, and this awesome wooden block from Craft-E-Family that has his first initial engraved, along with his date of birth, time of birth, length, weight, our names, etc. It was very inexpensive and had free shipping! I was so impressed with it-I will be buying one of these for anyone I know that has a baby in the future, and I highly recommend them!

On Thursday night I went to a Christmas dessert party with some girl friends from church. It was a lot of fun and we had two little boys (aged 2 and 3) who decided to streak!! It was so, so funny. Boys!! (What am I in for??) I made a chocolate chip pie from my friend Liz's blog (see sidebar under Liz's recipes). I think she calls it a Tollhouse Pie. It was so so good!!

Looking forward to the Christmas program at church this weekend and hopefully taking Bryan and Caleb to see Stephanie's amazing Christmas trees!! Oh, and good news-my friend Suzanne from college just found out she is having a BOY in May!! Woo hoo!

Snow day!

Well, yesterday was a snow day, but it was business as usual around here! I kinda missed the whole, "Are we gonna have school??" thing (complete with sleeping in), but it was still fun to look outside and see snow. I was glad I didn't have to get out in it, that's for sure...I'm a nervous driver as it is, and bad weather sends my driving anxiety into overdrive! So I stayed in, made Amish friendship bread which was SOOOOO good, wrapped some presents, played with Caleb, etc. while Bryan studied for his finals that are tomorrow. We also got a surprise visit from my dad (Grandpa!) who was in town briefly. That was fun! Bryan went to his men's group at church last night and I spent forever trying to get Caleb to sleep! He finally fell asleep at 10:00...phew!! I don't know why that was the case, but it wore me out!
I forgot to mention, on Monday night I went to dinner with 2 teacher friends, and then went to one of their houses to see her 17 Christmas trees!! They're all a different theme-it's pretty amazing. And her house is not that big-probably a little bigger than ours!! I'm going to bring Bryan and Caleb to see them on Sunday I think. It was fun to reconnect with them and get the scoop on everything going on around school these days. I miss seeing them all the time, but wouldn't trade my current situation for the world. :)

Such a big boy

Here are some pictures of my little boy eating some rice cereal this week! He's such a big boy these days! I just do the rice cereal every once in a while-we're waiting until 6 months to really get serious about it. He just looks so happy here!

5 months!!!

Today is Caleb's 5 month birthday! Wow!! One year ago on the 10th was our very first ultrasound-he looked like a little upside down monkey/peanut. It is SOO hard to believe that was one year ago. We were only beginning to grasp the idea that WE WERE HAVING A BABY! Now we have this awesome little baby boy who is reaching, grabbing, giggling, drooling (like a madman!), trying to sit up on his own, loving "standing", enjoying his baths now, and generally making me happy to be alive each and every day. I mean it, the world could be falling down around me, but when I go in to get Caleb out of his crib every morning and he smiles in recognition at me, it makes it all worth it. What an amazing love to experience, and how extra-cool that it's happening at Christmas time. I never understood the love Mary must have felt for Jesus until this year. In my Bible study we talked about if she knew what his fate would eventually be, and how she would be able to stand that knowledge. I cannot even begin to imagine.
Today I rounded up a bunch of things to give away to this Christmas store our church is participating in--games, books, etc. that we no longer use, and it was so fun knowing someone else will get enjoyment from these things. We hope to make it a yearly tradition, because the Lord knows how abundantly blessed we are!! :) This is something that was modeled really well for me, and it feels so good to be able to do it. We're hoping to actually volunteer at the store as well. It's a really cool idea. I also wrapped a few of Bryan's gifts today, as well as a gift for our life group Christmas party. It gets me so excited! UPS dropped off a couple more presents today, too...I have to say, this online shopping thing is GREAT, esp. with a little one who I'm not always ready to cart around the mall.
Today I saw my brother and his wife Ashley, who just moved to Lexington from Richmond. They hadn't seen Caleb in quite a while, so they stopped by and hung out for a little while and played with him. They ALSO brought me seasons 1 and 2 of Jon and Kate Plus 8 and a season of Everybody Loves Raymond to borrow; woo hoo! We're getting cable as a Christmas gift this year and I must say how excited I am to get TLC again! AND ABC Family. Bryan is especially pumped for the History Channel and the Discovery Channel. Maybe we'll save money on renting movies!