A full night's sleep!

This past week Caleb has been doing a few new things. He rolls from his back to his belly....and rolls and rolls and rolls. Today I left for a few minutes to do some dishes and when I got back he was pinned in the corner across the room.  He sits up unsupported and plays by himself really well. He is on the way to cruising!

He is getting his first tooth on the bottom left, it just broke the surface of his gums yesterday. We can tell it hurts him sometimes so we hope it sprouts soon.  Most exciting....Caleb sleeps through the night! The last several nights he has been sleeping from bedtime to wakeup = VERY HAPPY PARENTS! When he does wake in the middle of the night, he rolls himself onto his belly. There is nothing sweeter than seeing a soundly sleeping baby with his butt in the air.

Whoever thinks you need fancy toys for kids is crazy. Give this little boy a spoon, whisk, baby food top, cup, pretty much anything he can hold, and he is set. He started banging things the last few days too. Here was our dinner entertainment last night - both Nathan and Caleb.

Nathan plays the guitar for Caleb in the evenings, it is really sweet. I told him he needs to learn some kid songs -:). Our little guy cracks us up and makes us smile all the time. I think he knows how much we love him!

Living close to Uncle Nathan

Elizabeth told us that Sam has been very excited he will be living close to his Uncle Nathan when they move to Virginia. So, on they way to their new home in Richmond for the next 8 weeks, they came to visit us for the night. As soon as the boys ran in and gave us hugs, they headed straight for the toys and Twix, our cat. It had been a couple of months since they were last here, but they knew exactly where to find the trucks...kids are smart, especially when it comes to toys!

Caleb was asleep when they got here, but after napping for 3 hours, Andrew came with me to wake him up. Andrew jumped right into his crib and Caleb's eyes got so wide when he woke up to his cousin in his bed. Haha, I wish I had a camera to capture his face! We played with the boys all afternoon. It was fun to get Caleb and Jacob together again. They are getting so big and they were really staring at each other...in between grabbing each others face, ears, hands. It was very cute. Sam and Andrew are great big brothers and big cousins. They are so sweet with Caleb and they like to hold him. Sam and Caleb had a good hug going, but I think his patience was wearing a little when it came Andrew's turn -:).

Andrew quickly moved on to the trampoline...I mean exercise ball. Good thing dad was close by!

After dinner we gave the boys a bubble bath in our big bathtub and they loved it! They had fun making beards out of the bubbles and splashing around. Towards the end, they decided to have a contest about who could tolerate the coldest water. They would turn the water on super cold, sit under it as long as they could, then run away. I think those two are ready for the polar plunge. Little boys love running around naked after bathtime...let's just say it took a few minutes of chasing around to get pajamas on!

The night ended with dancing to Hap's cell phone ring tones, a wrestling match, getting arrested (jail was our hallway bathroom), and reading bedtime stories. Kids have the best imaginations. If only we can be more like little kids!

We had a wonderful visit with the Jolliffs and were thankful for the time we got to spend with them. We will be seeing them in the coming months and looking forward to another fun weekend soon. We love you -:).

6 month update

Caleb had his 6 month checkup earlier this week. As promised, here are his stats:

Weight: 14lbs 5.5oz (5th %)

Height: 25'' (5th %)

Head: 17''

Daddy said he did great with his shots and he just cried a little bit. Did I mention that Caleb is active???The only time he is not moving is when he is asleep (or watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for a few minutes after he wakes up). It is a lot of fun to play with him, and only a matter of time before he is moving on his own. He is sitting up pretty good and is getting better at playing by himself. Last night when he woke in his crib, he was on the other side from where we put him down to sleep and he was turned around. I think our stationary days are about over! 

We took Caleb to dinner twice this week. One night at a Chinese restaurant, he accidentally knocked a plate off of the table, and the waitress tried to charge us $15 for the plate. After she and Nathan had a little discussion, she ended up charging us $5. Hello, have you heard of an accident? Needless to say we will not be returning to that restaurant. Last night we went to an Italian restaurant and we made it out plate breaking free. Caleb makes an attempt for just about everything in his potential field of reaching, so we are pretty careful to keep the knives far away and some things he can play with close by. He's great table company if he has something to play with!

We have had a very mild winter this year. We have had a few 60 degree days in January and in general pretty mild days in the 40's. I am sure I just jinxed us and we will now get a blizzard and 2 feet of snow like we did a couple of winters ago for the snowpocalypse....we shall see. It was nice to wake up to a couple of inches of snow. I love how pretty the snow looks on the trees and covering the ground. Here is a view into our back yard.

Hap, Elizabeth, Sam, Andrew, and Jacob will be swinging by for a visit tomorrow, so be on the lookout for another post in a few days. 

Home Renovations

One of the things I love about Nathan is his drive to learn new things, especially when it comes to projects around the house. We have been talking about putting up crown moulding and a kitchen backsplash for some time, and since Nathan had a 2 month break from school, he learned how to do both and he was hard at work during his time off. He worked on the moulding as he had time and it took him a couple of weeks, and the kitchen backsplash we did over New Years weekend.  I can't take much credit, except for holding trim while he used the nail gun, and helping place tiles and with the grouting. He did all of the precise measuring, cutting the trim and tiles, and the finishing work. I am really proud his hard work, and the house looks great. I have a very handy husband -:). Here are some pictures of his hard work.

Kitchen Before 

                                                                             Progress

                                                                        

                                                                        Kitchen After

My pictures do not do the crown moulding justice since I can't get that high to take pictures unless I am on a ladder, but it looks awesome and it brings a new dynamic to the rooms. I especially love how it looks on our red dining room wall.

Thanks for all your hard work Nathan, the house looks great!

6 Months Old!

Six months ago today we welcomed Caleb Nathan into the world! Our lives have changed in wonderful ways these past 6 months, and we could not imagine life any differently. At 6 months old, Caleb continues to be a very active and curious little boy with so much energy. In the evenings after we pick him up from daycare he plays for another couple of hours before bed.  He sits up on his own for a couple of minutes at a time while playing with toys, he still loves to stand and gets excited that he can do it himself while holding onto couch cushions. He loves putting his feet in his mouth (and everything else he gets his hands on - like his birthday sign), he plays with all kinds of small toys, his music table, exercauser, door jumper, and any object you give him. He smiles and laughs a lot and likes playing peek-a-boo.  His teachers at daycare say he loves food and he eats every ounce of it.

Clothes: 3-6 month and 6 months sizes
Diapers: size 2
Eating: bottles every 3-3.5 hours. When I got pneumonia in December and had to get on antibiotics for a couple of weeks, he stopped nursing:( But I continue to pump so he gets mommy's milk during the day and formula at night. With his bottles, he eats oatmeal for breakfast, a fruit or vegetable for lunch, and rice cereal with his night bottle.
Sleep: about 7:30pm - 6:30am, waking once a night to eat (and multiple times just because...we are working on that)!
Naps: 3 a day - he sleeps well at daycare

We take Caleb for his 6 month appointment on Wednesday, so stay tuned for his height and weight.

Happy 6 month birthday Caleb, we love you!

Back to the Grind

I survived my first week of work and Caleb's first week of daycare. Going back to work is bittersweet. I love the time I had at home with Caleb, but there are aspects about work that I was happy to return to, especially the people. It will be an adjustment getting back to the fast paced days, but being home gave me a different perspective on life, family, and work, and I really look forward to going home each evening to spend time with Nathan and Caleb.

While it is sad to leave Caleb in daycare, sad for us at least, he seems to be having fun. Nathan said he goes well to the teachers in the morning, and when I pick him up in the afternoons he is playing with toys or other kids. He eats all of his bottles and food, takes 3 naps a day, and his daily report says he babbles a lot and is very sociable with other kids. We are thankful he adjusted so quickly and  that he is enjoying his new daytime setting. Now if we can only get his night time sleep under control we will be good!

Nathan started back to school this Saturday. He is half-way done with his Masters program, and he can now count down in semesters...only 3 to go!  It was great for him to have a 2 months break from school over the holidays. During that time we visited my family for Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Extravaganza in Florida and his family for Christmas A Plan B Christmas, and we did some home improvement projects. More to come on that in a future blog post when they are complete.

This weekend was quiet which was exactly what we wanted -:). On Saturday I enjoyed being home with Caleb while Nathan was at school and we had a 65 degree day in January...love it! On Sunday we went to church, we got outside for walks and runs, and hung out at home playing with Caleb.  His latest fun activity is standing on the couch and holding onto the couch cushions. He gets the biggest smile and starts laughing when he stands up all by himself. It is sooo cute!

I also did some crockpot cooking. My mother-in-law gave me a couple of cookbooks for Christmas and each week I have been making a new recipe. This week I make crockpot lasagna. It was so easy and it tasted delicious.

Have a great start to your week!

First Day of Daycare

We started Caleb in daycare on Friday, since I will be returning to work on Tuesday and we wanted to give him a trial day before he begins full-time. Over the last 5.5 months we have left him at the gym and church nursery and with family and friends, so we were not worried about leaving him, though sad that this time has come. The time I have had at home with Caleb has been wonderful, and I am so thankful to have had this opportunity to bond with him and help him grow and learn about the world. Going back to work is going to be a transition in many ways. 1) re-integrating into work after being home for 6 months, 2) leaving Caleb in full-time daycare, 3) being a 2-person working household. When we picked him up in the afternoon, he was sitting contently in a swing.  His report said he ate all his bottles and food and took 3 naps, so he seemed to make an easy transition. We know Caleb will have fun with all the kids...it will probably be harder on us than him, but we know and trust that he will be well taken care of -:).

Happy New Year

As I welcome 2012, I look back on the wonderful 2011 we have had. I am very thankful for God, Nathan, Caleb, our wonderful family, and friends. In January, we took at nice vacation to Argentina, in February Nathan built our awesome deck, in March Nathan started his Masters in Engineering Management program, in April I had a baby shower in Florida, in May we went hiking in Shenandoah, in June I had a baby shower in Virginia, in July we welcomed Caleb Nathan into the world, in July and August my and Nathan's parents, my brother, and many good friends came to meet Caleb after he was born, in September we visited Nathan's family and friends in Illinois over Labor Day weekend and my mom came to Virginia to visit, in October I did a 5k race, in November we visited my family in Florida for Thanksgiving, and in December we visited Nathan's family in Illinois for Christmas. We spent a lot of time together as a family, with our families, with good friends, and I am looking forward to what lies ahead this year! This little boy is wishes you a Happy New Year -:).

A plan B Christmas

This year we celebrated Christmas in Illinois with Nathan's family. It was a special year because we all got to celebrate Christmas together before Hap, Elizabeth, Sam, Andrew, and Jacob head overseas in the coming months. During our stay we got to see a lot of family and spend good quality time together. We left Virginia on the 16th at 2am and drove through the night so we could maximize the time Caleb slept. It was a good plan and we arrived in Salem a little over 13 hours later. We were happily greeted by Ned and then we spent a relaxing evening with Nathan's parents, Hap, Sam, and Andrew. Elizabeth was home with Jacob who was recovering from a respiratory virus...he was one of many of us to be sick this trip. Caleb grew and changed a lot since everyone last saw him in person in mid September and he was very content hanging out with his grandpa and grandma, uncle, and cousins.  

On Saturday we went to the annual Purcell Family Christmas at Gale and Martha's house. There was a great turnout, and this year 3 new babies were born, Aaron (6/28/11) who did not make it this year, Caleb (7/14/11), and Jacob (8/22/11). Over the last 5 years there have been 10 new additions. I wonder how many more there will be? We saw lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, ate good food, played games, and Caleb got to meet lots of new family. It was nice for the Jolliffs to also be able to visit with lots of family before they leave. Sam found me at the end of the day to let me know he ate all of the m&m's, and he showed me the proof -:).   At the end of afternoon, Jennifer, Michael, Catherine, Ron, and Nancy left to begin their rode trip to Rhode Island, where Jennifer's family will be living for the next year while her husband Joe attends the Naval War College. It was a fun day!

Cousins - Luke, Caleb, Emily, Jackson, Conner, Catherine, Sam, Andrew, and Jacob

Sam, Andrew, Jacob, and Caleb

Luke, Andrew, and Jackson

Great Uncle Ed and Caleb

Jennifer and Michael

The Fox's and Cluney's

Caleb and Grandma

The m&m monster

Sam ate them all!

I sure hope not!

Nathan and Catherine

I had been coughing now for 3 weeks and it was not getting better, so on Sunday  Nathan took me to the health clinic. I was trying to ride it out because of nursing, but I needed medicine at this point. After a checkup and few antibiotics they sent me home. My report said I had a 'VERY LOUD HARSH COUGH'. It took Caleb about 1/2 day to transition from nursing to a bottle and formula, and we were thankful that grandpa and grandma could help us and Caleb with the new plan.


The next day Nathan headed to Bloomington to visit Mike, Brittney, Caty, and Aubrey. They met at a restaurant at IU where they all went to school, and then Nathan continued onto Indy to see Sam and Andrew's preschool Christmas program. I was bummed I had to stay home and miss the fun, but I know resting at home was where I needed to be. Nathan said the program was cute and even included a little two year old girl and boy getting into a fight on stage....it was a funny video!  Nathan spent the night in Indy, and on Tuesday he helped Elizabeth get closed out and transitioned back to Illinois where they will be living for the next month. Ironically the Jolliffs will be living in the house that Nathan and Elizabeth grew up in through most of grade school. It is neat that things came full circle and their family is living there. The house has a great backyard and it brought back a lot of nice memories from Nathan's childhood. That evening we all relaxed at home and grandpa and grandma really enjoyed having all 4 grandsons to play with -:).

On Wednesday Eilzabeth, Jacob, Caleb, and I got to spend half of the day together shopping while Nathan played with the boys at home. One of my favorite stores in Illinois is 'Rural King', a farm and home store. They also sell cute kids John Deere toys and clothes, so I like to pick up a few things each time we go home. This trip Elizabeth and I got matching bibs for our little guys -:). We finished the day with lunch at Chico's, a Salem Mexican favorite. Nathan had a fun day with the boys. All they need is a shovel and some dirt, and they are happy!

 On Thursday, Hap invited us to his parent's farm in Patoka. Sam and Andrew love visiting the farm, and they were happy to go see the 'moo moos.' Hap's brother Jay was there with their two sons, Hunter and Beau, and it was good to finally meet them. Hunter, their oldest son, drove Andrew and I around on the mule and gave me a tour of the farm. He drives really well for a 9 year old! Hap's mom came home for lunch and brought us all pizza, and Nathan got in a good game of basketball with Hunter, Beau, and Jay. On Christmas they announced a new addition to their family, and we are really happy for them. 

That afternoon Nathan's good childhood friend John came over to hang out and meet Caleb. It is always fun to hear stories about Nathan growing up, and John sure does have a lot of them!  He now lives in Arizona with his sweet wife Lindsay, so it was good to get to see him. Later that evening we went Santa Clausingkids's reactions when Santa shows up at their door. It's everything from excitement to tears. This year we mistakenly went to a wrong house. Three little boys in underwear ran to the door screaming Santa is here, and then shut the door...haha. 

That night I came down with chills and a fever and it was back to the clinic on Friday. This time they took a chest x-ray and sure enough I had pneumonia and an ear infection. I got on stronger antibiotics and spent the next several days at home in bed. By the end of the trip, I ate my in-laws out of honey, tea, cough drops, cough medicine, and Kleenex. Nathan's parents were wonderful helping us out with Caleb, so I could recover and we could both get a good night sleep. For the rest of our time at home they took Caleb in their room at night and watched him a lot during the day. We really appreciate their kindness, help, and all the sleep we got those few days. I think taking care of Caleb also brought back memories of when Nathan and Elizabeth were infants, and Nathan's dad really enjoyed feeding him. We are thankful for all of the time they got to spend with Caleb, and he sure did have a great time with grandpa and grandma.

On Christmas Eve we all went to church, except for Sam and Betty because today was Sam's day to be sick. He was running a fever and had a sore throat, but he miraculously got better that evening to open gifts. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids open gifts. I still remember Sam's 2nd Christmas when he was more interested in the boxes and dog cage than the gifts...times have changed and he and Andrew had lots of fun opening presents. Caleb and Jacob had a short attention span, as expected, but they still ripped some paper. Thank you very much grandpa and grandma for the nice gifts.

Christmas day was quiet since we celebrated the night before with family and the Jolliff's went to Patoka to be with Hap's family. I spent most of the day in bed with a fever, and today was Caleb's turn to not feel well. He had a low fever, but later that day he seemed to be feeling himself again. Later that afternoon, Nathan and Caleb went to visit Grandma Rose and that evening John came back for a second visit. Thanks John for the adorable rain coat, Caleb will be the coolest dinosaur in town!

On Monday was my dad's 66th birthday, and my brother was home to help them celebrate. They had a fun day together and even got to see my mom's brother and sister-in-law who were in town from Boston. Not too much was happening in Illinois, I spent most of the day in bed, and Nathan ran some errands. Later that afternoon, their neighbor Bella came over to hang out. She is very sweet with all the boys and really enjoys spending time with Mark and Betty. 

On Tuesday the Mintons over for a quick visit before visiting Mike's parents. I was glad I got to see them since I missed out earlier in the week. Aubrey, who is 3 weeks younger than Caleb, has grown so much since we last saw her in September. She is all smiles and very sweet. Caty, who will be 3 in April, is so personable and outgoing. We had a fun game of hide-and-go-seek going, but she kept hiding in the same spot -:). Later that day, we went to the Jolliff's so Nathan could shoot bebe guns with Sam. Sam was a good shot and hit the can a couple of times! Nathan loves spending time with Sam and Andrew, and he got to do a lot of it this trip!
That evening we had dinner with everyone, before turning in early for the night and starting our drive home at 2am.

We had a wonderful time in Illinois, and are so thankful for the time we got to spend with everyone. Betty got a gift from a friend that summed up our week: 'Life is all about how you handle Plan B.'  All things considered, I say we all handled Plan B pretty well!