Happy Valentine’s Day!

I’m not terribly good about blogging on a schedule, you all know this by now, but one holiday that I’ve managed to mark for several years in a row now is Valentine’s Day. In fact, I’ve posted something on V-Day four of the five years my blog has been in existence, which is probably better than I’ve done on any other holiday.

So to keep my hot streak going, happy hearts day from three little valentines…DSC_1917DSC_1864DSC_1805DSC_1874Rest assured, no babies were harmed in the making of this valentine…    DSC_1907DSC_1922XOXOXO,

Alethea, Lydia & Caleb

DSC_1809PS. You can check out Valentine’s Day posts from previous years here: 2010, 2012, 2013 & 2014

So Not Cool

Yo Mom. When you don’t post anything on your blog for weeks on end, no one gets to see what a totally rad kid I’m turning out to be.

I think it’s about time to get your head back in the game.

DSC_8360

Sorry, but I gotta tell it like it is.

A little tough love from your son,

Caleb

Happy Halloween 2014!

It’s late and I really should get to bed, but I had to post a few Halloween pictures for you all.

DSC_6464Here’s my crew. Lydia the dalmatian, Alethea a.k.a. Angelina Ballerina, and Caleb who rather reluctantly went trick or treating as a penguin.

DSC_6487If you’re a long time reader, you may recall that this was Alethea’s first Halloween costume as well. I thought Caleb made an absolutely adorable penguin, but the only part of the process he seemed happy about was taking it off.

DSC_6488Lydia seemed to enjoy being a dalmatian, although I’m afraid we made the black spots too big, since she got mistaken as a cow several times. Look at the hat people! And although her costume has been a source of angst in our house for some time, Alethea’s Angelina outfit came together in the end and I think she was pleased with it, although she did come home part way through trick or treating to exchange the ears for a warm hat.

And of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the pumpkins. Once again, we had a carving party a few days before Halloween and Gramma Denny, Grandma Debbie and I whipped up these beauties…

Angelina Ballerina Elsa Frozen Teddy Bear PumpkinFrom left to right: Alethea’s requested Angelina Ballerina pumpkin (yes, she coordinated her costume and pumpkin just like two years ago), Lydia’s Elsa pumpkin (or as the girls called it, the “Let it Go” pumpkin), and a sweet and simple teddy bear pumpkin for Caleb. (And no, unlike last year, there was no surprise pumpkin to carve.)

DSC_6513With costumes on and pumpkins carved, there was nothing left but to hit up the neighbors for candy. Caleb wasn’t out long, but the girls both came home with quite a haul considering they only did two short streets. Their favorite part of the evening wasn’t even the candy though. It was the large inflatable plastic skeletons one house was passing out. Go figure…

DSC_6478 v3

So that was Halloween 2014. We hope you had a good one too!

Caleb John: Weeks 11-19

Our sweet baby Caleb is four and a half months old already! I know it’s been a while since my last update, so this one covers weeks eleven through nineteen.

Caleb 11 Weeks   Caleb 12 Weeks

Caleb is growing up so quickly. I need to get him in for his four month check up, but his stats from his two month check were quite impressive. His height was 24 inches, weight was 15lbs, 13oz, and his head circumference was 42.5 cm. That means he was in the 64th percentile for height and 92nd for weight. Unfortunately he slipped down to the 98th percentile for head circumference. I think I need to rename my blog.

Caleb 13 Weeks   Caleb 14 Weeks

Despite displaying all the classic signs of teething for 6 weeks now, (aka constant drooling, chewing on his fingers, and not sleeping through the night anymore), he has yet to cut a tooth. I know it’s still early, but I hope they start to come through soon, because this mama would really love to get back to a regular good night’s sleep. His current nighttime schedule is down at 7:30pm, up to eat between 1:00 and 2:00am, another feeding between 4:00 and 6:00am, then up for the day between 7:00 and 8:00am.

Caleb 15 Weeks   Caleb 16 Weeks

Alethea and Lydia continue to dote on their brother. All it takes is a little fussing and they zip right over to meet his every need.  The only thing they don’t seem too impressed with is the spitting up and drooling. As Alethea told me when Caleb got up the other day, “I like Caleb’s hands in the morning.” I gave her a puzzled look. “Because they haven’t been chewed on yet!” she exclaimed. Oh right. I see.

DSC_4898   DSC_4320

Caleb continues to be a very social baby. He doesn’t mind being put down, but someone needs to be within talking range, or he’ll get to fussing pretty quickly. He’s generally not too picky about who is holding him, unless he’s tired, hungry, or sick, and then no one but Mommy will do. Sometimes when I put him to bed and leave the room, he’ll cry until I come back and sit in the chair next to his bed. Then he’ll stop fussing and talk and talk until he’s told me everything he needs to say. And then he very slowly drifts off, periodically opening his eyes and looking in my direction to make sure I haven’t left. Lord help me, I think somehow we’ve managed to produce an extrovert.

DSC_4868

Family meals are enjoyed by all. Caleb sits in his high chair and interacts with everyone at the table. However, he is getting pretty jealous of the rest of us eating when he’s not. He watches the food as it travels from a plate to someone’s mouth. Sometimes he even comments, “Mmmmmm,” which I know seems coincidental, but I swear he only does it at meal times. We did let him try some baby food pears. He did well with them, but seemed to know that he wasn’t getting what everyone else was having.

Caleb 17 Weeks   Caleb 18 Weeks

Other milestones from the last eight weeks include Caleb rolling from front to back, rolling from his back to his side (he tries to get all the way over, but can’t quite get past his shoulder), and starting to sit up on his own (though not well enough to be left unattended). We’ve also begun the transition from his Rock ‘N’ Play to his crib. So far we’ve been trying his morning naps in the crib, but his afternoon nap and nighttime still in the Rock ‘N’ Play, and that strategy seems to be going reasonably well.

DSC_4724   DSC_5046

Between his two or three daily naps and his approximately 12 hour nights, Caleb still spends the majority of his time sleeping. However, when he’s awake, his favorite things to do are watching his globe mobile over his crib, playing in his exersaucer, and going outside. He also laughs and smiles every time he’s getting dressed or taking baths. Any excuse to be naked!

Caleb 19 WeeksSo that’s our Caleb John at 19 weeks: handsome, healthy, and happy! We just love our little boy!