First Haircut!

Caleb's hair has been growing in thicker, longer and blonder. :) I LOVE his hair and have been dreading his first hair cut. It was almost down in his eyes and starting to get really knotty at the back. We took a trip over to Snip-Its in Brier Creek and had a great experience there!


Watching TV....
The tears came out in full force when the electric razor came out! But our little man has a handsome hair cut and looks so grown up!

Wordless Wednesday: We love Autumn!

Wordless Wednesday: Big Boy Bed!

18 - 19 months

Caleb is almost 20 months old. I have been meaning to post an update forever and just have not taken the time to do so. =( I'm so behind on his baby book so this blog is where I remember his milestones and cuteness!

Many of my friends have said that 18 months is a total change in their children. And they are so right, Caleb has just blossomed so much in the last few months. Let's see if I can remember all of his new tricks!

• We've had a vocabulary explosion! I don't think I can even remember all the words Caleb can say. A few of his new ones - drink, cup, hungry, pizza, pasta, train, car, truck, bike, plane, down, moo, quack, roar, BOMB!, , Elmo, Barney, purse, more, rain..... He also goes VROOM VROOM and Choo-choo when playing with his cars & trains. I really feel like we are able to communicate with him and it's so much fun!
• Caleb has a new fascination with music. We listen to a mix of preschool songs in the car and he really enjoys it. He likes the "Ants Go Marching" and "I like to Eat Apples & Bananas" best. He sings along with the BOOM BOOM; and signs/says eat. It floors me that he can comprehend that much!
  
• We've been doing a lot of reading lately, plus a trip to the nearby library. His favorite books are "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can you?" and "Dinosaur Parade." He will carry book after book to us, sit on our lap and let us read a few pages before he grabs another one.
• We have settled into our new home in Raleigh. Caleb spent the first night at Grandma Kathy's while we set up his room. His first reaction when he got into his room was "WOAH!" I think he was surprised to see all of his things in a new place. He loves the new house and our yard that comes with it. We spend a lot of time outside, playing basketball, using chalk, riding the tricycle and the wagon. He would be outside ALL day if he could. (On that note, he can now open doors so we have to keep the doors locked to prevent runaways!)
  
• Since we moved, I have been trading off childcare with a friend/co-worker, Amanda. Her little boy, Wyatt is 1 month older than Caleb. The boys have fun playing together and I think its been good for them. Caleb can even say Wyatt! We also watch Autumn one day a week so Aunt Nancy can finish her degree. Caleb tolerates Autumn, but he does not like her stealing Mommy's attention!
  
• Caleb & I have been very active in our playgroup. We get together usually once a week with our friends. It's a great way to get out and I love the interaction. My "mommy friends" are a great support group for me and I am glad to have friends here with kiddos!

Alright, it's getting late. (Seriously 10:30 is late for me!) I'm signing off for now! I'll update again soon with his 18m stats.

Wordless Wednesday: Pizza Night

17 months!

Random fact. 17 is my favorite number! In the 4th grade, I had Mr. Madeline and he assigned each student a number and mine was 17. I've always liked that number. ANYWAY!

17 months, on our way to being closer to 2. I'm sure I say this every month but this age is SOO much fun! Caleb is such a little personality and we love every second of it.

• Teeth - I am pretty sure Caleb has 12 teeth, 6 on the top and 6 on the bottom. It's so hard to tell because he either covers his gums with his tongue or bites me when I try to look. :) I know that his 2 canines are about to cut through.
• Caleb's vocabulary is just amazing me. He often repeats what we say i.e. umbrella, all wet, up there etc etc. His newest words are eat, beep-beep, bubbles and EW! Caleb has been doing great with baby sign language. He regularly signs eat, more and we are working on milk, water and bubbles. Soon I hope to take an ASL class and plan on Caleb & I being fully bi-lingual. Overall Caleb understands a lot of what we say and can react to what we ask him.
  
• We've been playing with crayons, play-doh and markers. Caleb does not fully get the concept but overall thinks its a lot of fun. He likes to squish the playdoh, eat the crayons and paint his hair!
  
• Caleb knows a lot of his body parts now. He can identify his head, eyes, nose, ears, mouth and penis. (See video below, in which he is not entirely cooperative but still entirely adorable)
• Caleb just has a lot of adorable habits. He likes to throw the dirty diapers in the pail, wave bye-bye to the water when we get out the tub, point (and grunt!) to things when he wants them, wave bye-bye when Yo Gabba Gabba is over etc.
• We got a bunch of new toys this month, including work tools, a school bus, stacking/nesting blocks and a xylophone. He has been having lots of fun with the bus and can put the people in & out of the seats. Caleb makes a great VROOM noise while pushing cars, and now says beep-beep! One of our favorite toys is the pots & wooden spoons. Caleb makes a delicious pot of letter soup. :) He is also becoming much more interested in books, he will carry them to me and sit on my lap so I can read. Caleb also climbs up in his rocking chair to look at books himself.
  
• Caleb was very busy this last month - he had 2 play dates with Autumn, spent the weekend at Grandma Nancy's house, took several trips to the park, went to story time at the Wilson Library, visited Marbles Kids Museum, and the Imagination Station Science Museum.
• OH! Caleb also had his first stomach virus last week. He threw up a few times and had an uncomfortable tummy for nearly a week. It was so sad seeing him sick, we enjoyed lots of cuddling and too much TV.
• Our little man loves to give out hugs and raspberries. We're working on kisses, he saves those for his baby doll. He gives her a big kiss and says MWAH!!!
  
  
  
  
  
  

Wordless Wednesday: Just like Daddy

My Little Cow!

Today Caleb & I celebrated "Cow Appreciation Day" at ChickFilA. We both put on our best cow attire and enjoyed a free lunch! CFA was really crowded and Caleb was a little overwhelmed. But everyone agreed he was the cutest cow ever. :)

16 months!

*sigh* 16 months already! I feel like I just wrote about 15 months. Summer is officially started and time is flying by. Here are some new updates about my crazy little monster:

• One new tooth popped through! Caleb now has 9 teeth.
  
• His new words: NO!, thank you, bye, hi, what. He's saying Mama and Dada more often. He likes to say "bababa" when he wants something. I'm not sure why but its one of his favorite phrases.
  
• Aunt Nancy says he snorts like a deer.
• Caleb enjoyed his first real vacation to Florida. He was very good! We drove down overnight and he slept most of the way. He loved the hotel! Some of his favorite features - the elevator buttons, the ice machine, and the clock radio. Glen was actually on a business trip so Caleb and I were left to explore alone. We went to the Gulf Beaches, splash playground, orange grove, swimming in the pool and ate lots of ice cream. Glen had the weekend off and we visited The Florida Aquarium in Tampa.
  
• While on vacation, Caleb started coloring. (yes, he still eats crayons). I saved the menu he colored on and its going in his baby book. :)
• His new favorite toy is a squirt bottle. He LOVES to spray it in his face and then he just laughs! He is also a huge fan of the hose.
  
• We took 2 trips to Grandma Nancy's house. The first time we enjoyed playing with his cousins and swimming in the pool. Caleb fed the animals, one kernel of corn at a time.
  We're actually on our 2nd visit right now. Aunt Nancy and baby Autumn are here with us. Caleb is getting better at being nice to the baby - he keeps handing her toys to hold. He loves to sit in her bumbo!
• Caleb can point to his nose and his eyes, when he chooses to do so. :) I think he prefers poking his eyes over grabbing his nose. He's a silly boy.
• He is still wearing 18 months clothes, and is just starting to fit into 24 months.
  
• Caleb is now forward facing! He has a hard time falling asleep now, but overall seems to like it!
  
• Caleb still takes 2 naps a day. He usually naps at 9am for 2 hours, and again around 2 for 2 hours. Mommy loves nap time!

Just one picture for now since we're away. This is Caleb after he squirted himself in the face with the water bottle!

Honest Scrap Award

My best friend Cici from Giggle, Giggle, Hiccup! nominated me for the Honest Scrap Award. :) Blog awards are a silly fun thing - but are a good way to find out more about other bloggers, and discover some new blogs. I googled this award and apparently Honest Scrap is a logo for chewing tobacco. Random! Anyway...

The rules for the award? List 10 interesting, random facts about yourself & then nominate other blogs!

So hold onto your hats...here I go!

1) I love music of all kinds. I love to sing even when I don' t know the words. I love to dance like an idiot in the living room.
2) This one is really weird, but I have a secret fear. I fear finding an abandoned baby in a bathroom stall. I don't know when this started or why, but sometimes I'm afraid I'm going to open the stall door and find a baby sitting on the floor. Or worse, in the toilet. I know, I know - it's so twisted I can hardly bear to type it. :(
3) I like to eat cold pasta. I could happily live on cold Chef Boyardee for years.
4) I'm a scatterbrain. I lose everything I touch and tend to lock my keys in the car. I was always a scatterbrain but pregnancy & a baby made it worse. I have never lost my baby. :)
5) I like playing video games and get very vocal while doing so. If you want to hear me curse, have me play Super Mario Brothers!
6) I spend money obsessively at Babies R Us. I think I buy something every week. It's hard to resist.
7) Windshield wipers excite me. I love the noise when they push a window full of water off. I like the smell of washer fluid, and a clean window makes me a very happy person.
8) I love grocery shopping. It's seriously one of my favorite things to do. I do not enjoy carrying the groceries in the house or putting them away.
9) I used to have a cat named Mikey, but we always called him Kitty. He was an orange tabby who had to be re-homed because of my mom's allergies. I was devastated, but now barely remember him.
10) If I accidentally honk my horn while driving, I wave. I think I got this habit from my mom.

Whew that was fun! Now onto my nomimations:

*Beth - my sister! Her 101 challenge blog is just getting started and I love love her goals.
*Meredith - one of my playgroup friends. Her little girl Savannah is absolutely adorable. Mere is very honest on her blog and is always fun to read. Plus she's been having lots of giveaways lately!
*Natalia - another playgroup friend who is Mama to the handsome Nicolas. Nicolas is one day older than Caleb, and although Natalia & I have hung out several times our boys have yet to meet. Someday!!
*Kaity May is an internet friend who is trying for her first baby. She is blogging about her journey to becoming a mommy!
*Lindsay's blog is one of my favorites. She lost her perfect baby boy Ayden to SIDs and is now expecting his little brother. Her journey has been challenging but she absolutely inspires me.

Our breastfeeding story

I have wanted to write about our experience with breastfeeding for a long time. It was a journey that was entirely different than I expected and one I want to remember. This is a long post, and (obviously) talks about breasts. I included a picture of my sweet Caleb nursing at the end. Read on if you choose. :)

I, like many other new moms, was very naive about breastfeeding. How hard can it be? Put baby on boob, let him eat and repeat a few hours later. HA! I will 100% say that nursing was the hardest thing I ever did in my life. Harder than carrying a baby for 9 months, harder than having a c-section.

Caleb was born on February 24th. I was able to nurse him soon after he was born, and he did wonderfully. We had some latching issues in the hospital and the lactation consultant/nurses were very eager to help. When we came home, Caleb had a fairly severe case of jaundice. He was 5 days old when I saw one of the Physician's assistant at his pediatrician. I was having so much trouble getting Caleb to latch, he had not eaten in nearly 5 hours and the PA said "so, give him a bottle." I was SO mad at the PA and the lack of support he gave me. I'm not sure why I decided to be so strong about it, but I was determined to make nursing work.

Fast forward to 2 weeks later. I was in PAIN! I had shooting pains from my breast to my back, it hurt all the time. Caleb was still nursing, plus getting some breast milk from a syringe. My supply was great and I was able to pump for him. We made an appointment to visit D, the lactation consultant at the Pediatrician's office. D was very patient and praised my efforts. She diagnosed me with thrush and put both Caleb & I on prescriptions.

Two weeks later, after 3 or 4 more doctor visits - I still had thrush. My breasts hurt so badly I cried, a lot. Glen was amazing through this time, he never asked me to give up nursing and played the role of baby soother for me. A friend of mine referred me to Freeman Lactation Services. Cindi came to our apartment. She assured me I was doing great, Caleb was doing great and we just had to find a solution to stop the infection and let me heal. We made the hard decision to take a break from nursing and pump exclusively, for a time.

On April 1st, still in pain, still not healing, I was so frustrated. My obstetrician recommended I see Carolina Breast Care. That was the WORST visit of my life. She had no clue about nursing or any solutions for me. I felt so let down, that there was no one that could help me and ultimately that the medical community sucked. My obstetrician assured me that she would help and put me on stronger rounds of medicine. I continued working with my lactation consultants, and taking interim breaks from nursing. By the beginning of May, things were getting better. I had no trouble latching, the pain was gone and my breasts were healing. It had taken over 2 months before I was a confident nursing mother.

So many memories of those first few months....
I remember being so frustrated with Caleb not latching. I remember calling my sister and sobbing because I couldn't get Caleb to eat. I remember my best friend spending the night so I could pump and still get some sleep. I remember my mom letting me spend night after night with her so she could help with Caleb. I remember my "mommy" friends offering countless words of support and advice. I remember my lactation consultants and my obstetrician helping me try endless options and always reminding me that I was doing great. No one ever made me feel that I should quit, but no one ever forced me to continue.

Now, 15 months after that sweet boy entered my life, we have finished our nursing journey. Caleb weaned right around the end of May. It's a bittersweet feeling. I'm so grateful for being able to nurse him, to nourish his life for over a year. My heart melts remembering all the times I held his body close to mine and stared into those sweet blue eyes. When he was older he would laugh and smile at me, milk dribbling out of his little lips. Those are the times I will remember about nursing, those are the time I will always cherish.

15 months

Caleb turned 15 months old last week, time is seeming to move faster as he gets older. Some days I wish I could just freeze time because he is just so sweet, so precious and I want to remember this stage forever. But I also remind myself that every day with him is precious and will only get sweeter as time marches on.

We had his check-up today and Caleb is doing great! He had 4 shots - MMR, Dtap, HepA and PCV13. He was NOT a happy camper about the shots. His mouth was frozen in the kind of silent cry/scream where you don't breath for a good 30 seconds before he let loose. =(
Here are his stats:
Weight: 26lbs, 1oz (70%)
Height: 31.5 inches (55%)
Head: 48.6cm (85%)

So let's see if I can remember all the new things Caleb is doing!

• His vocabulary is expanding quickly. He can say up, uh-oh, Mama, Dada, wiggle, and woah. He tends to repeat sounds that we say, a few I can think of are mail and Cailou.
• Caleb knows where his eyes are & can point them out. We're working on the other body parts!
• He is getting much more involved with his toys. He knows that trucks/cars should be pushed and make a sound. He (tries) to stack blocks, but still prefers to knock down Mama's towers!
  
• Caleb is fascinated with trucks and motorcycles when they drive by. He points and waves, but if they get too close the noise scares him.
  
• Waving is one of his favorite things to do. Caleb will wave at cars and people. He is at the stage where he usually waves before they acknowledge him or after they look away. I love the waving, he is such a sweet boy!
  
• Caleb is still nursing each morning. He gets really mad if I make him wait too long! He loves cow's milk too! Caleb is finally to the point where he eat what we eat (if he wants to!) and its much easier to plan meals now.
• He can climb up and down stairs. He knows to use the railing and take the steps one at a time.
  

Please #helpSam

Mommy blogger Jill over at Baby Rabies has setup a fundraiser/giveaway in honor of baby Sam. Sam is 5 months old and is diagnosed with stage Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma and given a 30% cure rate. Read more about his story here, and if you want to donate here.

#helpSam

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Wordless Wednesday: Picking Strawberries

Grandma & Grandpa's Farm

I've been meaning to post some pictures of my parent's house. We all love visiting there. It's not "home" to me because I never lived there, but it still feels like going home. I'm so glad that Caleb will have the chance to be around so many animals and experience the outdoors. My nephews & niece are true country kids, and I hope some of that rubs off on Caleb.
My parents live in a log cabin that they designed and built.
This is my Dad's tractor. (notice there is no house in the background). The big kids enjoy going for rides. Caleb & Daniel both enjoy it, while the tractor is off!
My parents started out with 2 goats in December of 2004, Holly & Noel. Now they have more than a dozen Pygmy goats. They are friendly and love love love to eat!

The newest addition is a bunch of peafowl. This is one of the peacocks strutting his stuff for the ladies. I named him Kevin after the bird on "Up," but I'm not sure that name will stick.
There are lots of chickens! One of the many perks of staying at my mom's house is breakfast made with farm fresh eggs. They taste so much better than the ones from Food Lion. (There are some ducks and geese hanging around here too)
And this is Tom the turkey. He is the only turkey that survived from some poults (the name for baby turkeys!) and is very friendly. He hangs out by the back door waiting for table scraps.

And here is Moo, the pig! Moo is around 6 years old. She has her own little house and free reign to wander around the woods. I named Moo after the pig on the movie Uptown Girls, moo means pork in Thai. I thought that was hilarious!