May 21st-27th, 2012

May 21st-27th, 2012

Getting ready for church

Caleb has gotten very proficient at eating puffs with both of his hands. It's harder when they stick to his wet fingers and don't roll into his mouth... imagine trying to do a layup but instead of rolling off of your fingertips the basketball is stuck to your palm. Difficult. It's funny when he tries to suck them off of the tray by bending over. He can't ever quite reach them though.

He already loves soccer balls!

Caleb drank out of his sippy cup for the first time but doesn't really like it, even with undiluted apple juice. He preferred the straw on the juice box but only when we squeeze it up out of the straw for him.

Talking on Skype is getting tricky as Caleb crawls to the computer and bangs on it as hard as he can. He also crawls to cords, especially the fan cord in his room.

He found the package of diapers...

When he spits up on the floor, he immediately starts hitting the spit up and splashes it all over.

All toys are to be played with hands and feet simultaneously.

We're so glad when Daddy comes home!

My little baby is growing up.... No more cuddling to sleep! He used to nurse and then cuddle with me as he fell asleep for the night. Now he stops nursing and starts wiggling around as if to say, "I can't get comfy Mom! Put me in my crib so I can get comfortable and fall asleep!" I know this is important for him to learn how to fall asleep on his own but it still makes me sad that I won't have any more cuddle time with him. He's only cuddly when he's asleep. 

He was happy playing with his toy until...

...he saw the camera.

 Those tree branches I tried to cut last week have now been taken care of. We bought a ladder last weekend and I trimmed back our trees away from the house and from over the driveway. It looks much nicer now! I also realized that I still get scared of heights when I'm on a ladder, even when it is only 8 feet high. Our lawn is also starting to look pretty good!

The neighbors would laugh...

This week (May 14-20) I had several moments when I thought, "if my neighbors were watching me, they would think I'm crazy!" Then today I found out in a conversation with one of them that they do watch me! Here are some of those laughable moments when I literally laughed at myself too:

• On Tuesday, I decided it was time to trim some of our tree branches that are too low above our driveway. We didn't own a ladder until Saturday so to reach the branches, I had the clippers extended as far as they would go and then would jump and snap them shut. I was only successful on about 4 of the 20 jumps but then I got a leaf stuck in my eye and gave up. 
• On my run I was pushing Caleb in the stroller with one hand, and had a two foot long stick in the other hand. My neighbors weren't aware that a woman in my ward was attacked by a pit bull that day on the same path I jog on. They just saw me running carrying a stick.
• Since the tree trimming went so well, I decided I should weed on Wednesday. After my run, Caleb was still happy and so I started weeding and then he started fussing. To try to keep him from fussing, I started singing "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly..." and kept singing funnier and louder to compete with his fussing. I gave up before I finished weeding, but only after realizing that Caleb was no longer just fussing, but crying and I was singing very loudly (and probably off-key).
• Stepping off of our driveway to begin our morning run, I gasped and jumped as I almost rolled the stroller over a dead squirrel. I'm not sure how he died since he wasn't squished at all but his eyes were open and I was scared he was going to wake up and jump on Caleb or I. 
• Lastly, my neighbors weren't in the dressing room at any of the places I tried swimsuits on... but I'm sure everyone in the changing room thought I was crazy as I was in the stall trying to bargain with a 7 month old, "Just two more minutes, this is the last swimsuit I'm going to try on!" And then proceeded to attempt to use singing to distract him. Any time I change clothes he thinks it's time for him to eat, even if he just ate. (Shopping for swimming suits, what a frustrating experience. I've gone four times and I can't find anything modest that fits. I can't find anything online either.)

 It seems like Caleb grew up a lot this week!

Hi Mom! 

Oh, you're taking a picture?!

Can I play with the camera too? (in Caleb terms play = eat and he always wants the camera)

When he eats, he opens his mouth wide and says, "Haah." Then while he's swallowing he says, "Mmmm." That made me realize that I do both of those almost every time I feed him and he's imitating me!

Caleb eating an apple slice

He flipped himself out of the bumbo and onto the table in the three seconds after I took the tray off and was wiping it off. That scared him a little. And scared me a lot.

Sometimes we just have a nice afternoon sink bath. It makes Caleb so happy!

When we're done washing Caleb in the bath and Allen grabs Caleb's towel, Caleb drops his toys and puts his arms out to be picked up. It's so cute!

Sorry, don't know how to rotate the picture once it's on the blog and I forgot to do it before I uploaded it.

He has been taking longer naps and at first I thought it was because he wasn't feeling well still but it may just be a new trend! He's started taking three naps and the middle one is close to 2 hours sometimes! Long naps are a gift from heaven. I can get so much done!

He just reaches up in his sleep and continues sleeping while holding on.

Caleb anticipates things very well, for example: he cringes and laughs when he realizes Dad is about to kiss/wuzzle his neck. He also gets mad when I take away the things that he wants. On two different occasions I took a pen away from him and he began crying and kicking his legs furiously. Here is a video of him kicking his legs, but it's not because he's mad... he's just running.

This was a few minutes before I decided it wasn't smart for me to let him play with the pen.

Caleb started army crawling! Wednesday night we were babysitting for some friends and after the kids were in bed Allen helped Caleb practice moving his legs. Thursday he would crawl to get Allen's phone, my phone or the iPod. None of his toys were interesting enough to crawl for.

Eating his book... check out those big feet!

Also on Thursday Caleb said his first word that he's attached meaning to: Mama!!!! A few days before that he started making an mmm noise when he was tired or hungry or wanted to be held. Then he began saying mmmmaa and I have witnesses (my mom on Skype and Allen in person) that he has been referring to me as mma or ama or mama. The m is just always drawn out extra long. And it is only when he's upset. I guess all of my brainwashing is paying off! If you add up all of the times I point to him and say, "Caleb" and then to myself and say, "Mama," it is probably close to an hour a day. We'll start on dada now. :)

You can kind of see the white creases between his little ankle rolls. He has gotten so tan already!

Other things that happened this week:

Tuesday night I taught part of a relief society meeting. It was about being Healthy, Holy and Happy. There were three workshops that the women rotated around to, I taught a twelve minute workout that can be done without any equipment. It includes a warm-up, a little cardio, leg strengthening, arms, core, stomach and then stretches.

Thursday night we had a "tea party" for the 8-9 year-old activity day girls and their moms. It was fun!

Saturday we went on a run, cleaned out the garage, washed the cars, parked Allen's car in the garage to be worked on (this is significant because almost no one in Houston parks in their garage), drove to Harbor Freight to buy tools, he started fixing his car, I cleaned, we went to the pool, we went to Home Depot... and then I think we watched a movie. To be honest, I can't really remember. I just know it was a full, busy and fun day that we got to spend together.

When Allen isn't preparing for an exam, we get to spend the whole Saturday together! And we get to spend weeknight evenings together too! I'm grateful he chose a career that will continue to challenge him and am grateful he is a hard worker. It has made me that much more grateful when we do have more time together.

Exam Week and Mother's Day

It's exam week: (May 7th-13th)

Monday Allen studied from home. We went to Mama Juanitas for lunch and Caleb was sitting on Dad's lap while we were eating. We were just talking when Caleb took his pacifier out of his mouth, talked for several seconds, stuck his pacifier back in and kept listening to us talk. It was cute! He joined in the conversation. Then we dropped Dad off at the library and got library cards. 

Tuesday Allen went into work for some meetings and to study with the other people in the office who were taking the same exam. Caleb and I went on a run and to a RS cooking class. Wednesday Allen studied at home so Caleb and I tried to stay out of the way. We ran, cleaned went to Sam's club and made a burned mess in the kitchen. 

Thursday was Allen's exam. He won't get the results back for 6 weeks but said the problems took too long to finish all of them. But it's over for a little while! We got our pool passes since the pool opens Saturday!!! Friday  Allen was back at work, Caleb and I went to a Mother's Day lunch/playgroup with some friends. 

Saturday was great! Our friends watched Caleb so we could go to the temple and then in the afternoon we went to the pool. What a fabulous day! Here's a video of Caleb when we first got in the pool for his first time. 

Water baby!

Even though it wasn't a very warm day and the water was kind of cold, Caleb still loved it.

We're excited just contemplating all of the days we'll spend at the pool this summer.

Caleb loved sitting on the alligator/crocodile

Time to go home. After an hour at the pool Caleb was still loving it!

Caleb has started sleeping better. Most nights this week he only woke up once or twice!! In fact, for his Mother's Day present for me, Caleb slept from 7:30 pm-5 am and then went back to sleep after eating. I'm not sure when he woke up because he didn't cry but he was just playing happily in his crib when I woke up at 7:45 am. What a great gift!

He's still getting over his sickness so he's been napping better too. He even falls asleep on our runs!

He's been eating lots of solids but has been getting constipated. I'm not sure if dehydration is part of it or just not ready for some of the solids I'm giving him. Thank you prunes for your help.

Still shot of the rocking bumbo... Click here for the video.

One cute thing Caleb did this week was to grab the spoon each time I brought it to his mouth. He would help me bring the spoon to his mouth and then let go so I could get more food for him. Caleb also slides the bumbo all around the table so every few mouthfuls I have to slide him back closer to me. Either that or he rocks it back and forth. 

He successfully ate three puffs this week. He usually gags or just spits them back out. He LOVES to chew on apples. He also thinks it's hilarious when I chop an apple. He won't let me eat one without sharing. Usually the chunks he bites off come out on their own but occasionally I have to reach in and risk getting bit to keep him from choking on large chunks.

Smiles for Daddy

Caleb does not like the blender. I use it when I'm making his food (I make a lot at once and freeze it) and he rarely naps long enough for me to finish making it so he just buries his face into my shoulder and cries. The blowdryer is almost as bad but he's entertained enough by my hair to not cry, unless he's already mad that I took a shower without him. He does like the vacuum though.

When Caleb gets fussy I pull out the computer and open up Skype. Caleb gets so excited when it starts ringing and likes to see himself on the video while we're waiting for someone (usually Grammy) to answer. 

Or if he's fussy I can just turn the faucet on. He loves running water!

Caleb bangs his hands on the floor, his bumbo, me, himself, his crib, everything. When he does it with something in his hand, he closes his eyes tightly like he's preparing for it to hurt if he accidentally hits himself. He is still fascinated by watching his hand open and close. 

He looks so peaceful here... a rare, cuddly, tired moment.

We don't actually use this nasal aspirator for his nose. He just likes to chew on it.

Get in my mouth!

Do you want to try some?

I just love these guys! What did I ever do without them?

We got him a binky leash to keep him from dropping/throwing his binky so much. It is helpful but he is good at pulling it off of his clothes. Oh yeah! He also fell off of the couch for the first time. He landed on a bunch of pillows below it and I kind of caught him (I was sitting on the floor below the couch but looked away for a minute) so he didn't get hurt or scared.

We love playing together... here's a video of us playing.

"I feel funny. Is it going to be like this forever?!" (Quote from David at the Dentist that describes me this week.) My hormones have been going through some strange changes... I (for NO reason) cried myself to sleep three nights this week and cried when we left Caleb at our friends' house for four hours. I wasn't sad any of those times, I just needed to cry apparently. (I even took a pregnancy test to make sure that wasn't why! Allen just laughed at me after I told him... and no I'm not pregnant.) On a better note for me, I have been eating a little bit of dairy every day and Caleb seems to be doing okay!

The Week After My Birthday

What a cutie!

In my last post, I forgot to mention that while we were in Utah I had a birthday! I am now 27 years-old. On my birthday Allen and I watched Lizzi play soccer with Jeremy and Derek, had Jamba juice, watched Hunger games (Allen and I on a date, without Caleb!), ate In and Out, played tennis, watched an RSL soccer game and ate Dominos. It was a great day AND the next day on the way home, my birthday was made complete by getting a caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.

Now, onto April 30-May 6:
I didn't write down much for this week and hardly took any pictures and every week blurs together, so... this week was mostly made up of Allen, Caleb and I all getting sick. Caleb developed an old man cough that woke him up at night. Allen's test was coming up so he was studying a lot. The three other things I wrote down were: I played basketball again and Caleb cried almost the entire time, I made peas for Caleb and they were good, and  there is a bird by our house that attacks squirrels.

Friday night was fun because we went to watch a dance recital. It was so cute! We went to support one of the 8 year-old girls in our Primary class at church. She had her dances down pat and did great. The little preschoolers were hilarious: didn't know the dance, just waved to their parents the whole time they were onstage, fell down, etc. Saturday and Sunday were Stake Conference...

He likes to crawl up me when I don't pick him up.