We are standing!!

Ok--here's the pictures of our newest trick. We have been practicing for a few weeks now, and have gotten to be an old pro! Standing up is sooooo much cooler than sitting down!!

And, even better than simply standing up...standing up while drinking from a sippy cup!!

Now if we could just figure out how to get from standing to sitting!

Kaleb the Turkey!!

Pickles

I have grown up being a not too picky eater. I do have some weird food issues, (white stuff-mayo, sour cream, alfredo sauce...) but nothing compared to Mom and Adam. They won't eat rice or pasta. (two of my staples!) And for Adam, growing up the list was even longer. I can remember dinners where Mom made two meals--one for Dad, Bret and I, and one for her and Adam. I always swore not to do this.

But, of course, as a mother, if your child just doesn't like something you are going to feel bad and let them slide. Kevin, on the other hand, has made it VERY clear that our kids will eat what is put in front of them, or they will eat nothing at all.

Well, I do not think we will be worrying about any of this with Kaleb. So far, he will eat anything and everything you put in front of him!! He is a total Veggie Kid! I guess that's a good thing! One of his absolute favorites are pickles...I know...a 7 month old that likes the sourness of pickles? He has actually been loving them for a while now. It's soooo weird!

Oh Kaleb, I love how much you love to eat...I hope you stay this easy!!

The Strike is over...

Well, I finally have a house free of piles of laundry. Did Kevin finally run out of clean clothes and catch on?? NO! Did I give in? Absolutely not!! Did Dad cave and tell him? Of course.

Yesterday morning I walked into our room to find none other than the clothes that were actually in the laundry hamper, in the floor. It seems that Kevin had no clean clothes and needed something that wasn't "as dirty". So, he opted for a pair of shorts from the bottom of the hamper. So, Dad gave in and sent him a text message stating that if he would put his clothes into the hamper, they would get washed. To which Kevin responded something to the point of, 'obviously not because I am wearing dirty clothes from the hamper'. I wanted to kill him. Now, on top of everything else, he is implying that I don't do any laundry ever... URGHHH!

He called a little while later, trying to be funny about the situation, and failed. I didn't see the humor in his ignorance. Especially not while Kaleb was screaming in my ear!

Finally, I made the point that I do laundry when the hamper gets full, so if he had been putting all of his dirty clothes into the hamper throughout the week, more of his clothes would have been clean. I still don't think he fully understands, but he did come in from work and start a load of laundry, put away what was in the laundry room, hang up what was in the dryer, put all of his clothes into the hamper and start a new load. So, at least for one day, there are no dirty clothes piles in my house. Sweet Victory may you last...

Laundry Stand Off Update...

So, it has now been two weeks since I started my boycot on Kevin's laundry piles, and guess what??

They are still there...growing...multiplying.

He has to be running out of clean clothes. I don't understand how he has not caught on yet. I have washed everything else. The laundry hamper has been emptied several times...is he really this stupid?? We even had company over yesterday and yet he didn't catch on that I didn't pick up the piles. (one of which is now in our laundry room--which can be seen from the kitchen and living room) I cleaned the house yesterday. Everything else was spotless...how did he not get it? Ughhhhhh!

I am holding strong...I must fight the urges to give in...he MUST LEARN!!!

Halloween

So, this was Kaleb's first Halloween. Unfortunately, I had to work on Saturday, so trick or treating plans were pretty much out of the question. Then, I found out that the George Bush Library was doing a big trick or treat event on Friday, and Liz (one of my employees) was going to be at some friends house for a party and they would LOVE to have a trick or treater. So, I figured this was the closest I was gonna get!!

Mom and Kaleb met me in town after work and we were off to the library. When we arrived, there was a line about 200 people long, and Kaleb was asleep. So, we decided that it wasn't worth it. I was really bummed. So, after a little retail therapy and some chick fil a, my little bull calf, Gammie and I stopped by Liz's. And finally, some real trick or treating!!

As you can see from the picture, Liz was dressed as a zombie chef. Kaleb thought she was soooo cool!! He couldn't get enough of her. He kept touching her face and grinning.





He was really impressed with all the shiney candy!!



So, Kaleb, I am sorry that your first experience with Halloween was not so eventful, but I promise the years to come (when you will understand what is going on) will be better!!

Explosion

I referenced this story in the previous post, so I thought that I would elaborate...

Last Wednesday our store hosted a "meet and greet" for the department coordinators. This is my event. Usually it is a big luncheon with lots of goodies, but because of the shortage of money, we went a little smaller this year. Anyway--it was about 3:45 and the event was going to begin at 4. I was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, trying to finish all of the last minute details.

I feel the need to explain my wardrobe for the day.

We were doing a sports theme, so we were going to be wearing referee jerseys and black pants. Well, the only black dress pants I thought I could fit into were maternity...and after 7 months that was really depressing. I got up that morning and thought I would try a pair of "pre-pregnancy" dress slacks--just on the off chance that the stars had aligned and God felt I needed a pick me up...well it had and HE did. They fit!! I was soooo happy! So, off I went.

Now, back to 3:45...

I needed to get the extra tray of cookies under the table and out of the way. Instead of being a "young lady" and squatting in a ladylike fashion. I bent over like a man...that's when it happened...SNAP...


I quickly jumped up and attempted to hold my pants (and my pride) together, all while getting Jana's attention. Let's not forget that I was on the sales floor and there were about 5o junior high kids in shopping...

Out of nowhere an employee ran up behind me and "shielded" my hiney. (I don't think I need to go into the details of what type of underwear I was wearing--I'll let you figure that out...) She said something along the lines of, "It's ok girl, I've got you covered. By the way, I'm Carla." It was her first day!

SO, now what to do. I couldn't leave. It was my event. I couldn't walk out of there...my hiney was definitely catching a breeze... Jana found a sweater to tie around my waist, I found a pair of black capri pants that we sell, and all was well. I made it to the bathroom, changed and the event went off without another hitch...or snap.

So much for pre-pregnancy pants...oh well, maternity pants are SOOO much more comfortable...

Laundry Strike...

After a few months break, I am back!!! Oh how I have missed you blog!! I know that I need to post updated pics of Kaleb, but I am going to begin my re-blogging with an on going husband battle.

A week ago today I was doing laundry. By "doing laundry" I mean that I was running through the house after work trying to pick things up, sorting clothes and beginning what was sure to be the first of many unfinished loads of laundry--all before running over to Mom's to eat and get Kaleb. (This is after I had been at work from 7:30 to 6, prepared and hosted a meet and greet, ripped my pants from belt loop to crotch and made the 30 minute drive home.) I had a load started when I walked out of the bathroom and noticed another pile of clothes that needed to have been in that load. I quickly added them and went on about my business. Then it hit me. I just bought a new hamper and conveniently placed it in our bedroom, next to the door.




Why were Kevin's clothes in the floor instead of the hamper? I then devised a plan.

I am not going to wash anything that is not in the hamper.

It has now been a week. The following are pictures from today.

(foot of the bed)

(in front of entertainment center)

(beside Kevin's side of the bed)

All of these locations are within 10 steps of the laundry hamper.

Kevin still has not caught on. And it's not like I haven't done any laundry since last week. I have done plenty of laundry...(even his laundry that has made it to the hamper) He is about to run out of khaki shorts for work. I wonder if he'll notice then? I will keep you posted!

Swimming!!!

Rachel gave Mom this really cute bathtub for bathing Kaleb at her house. It is an inflatable turtle and Kaleb LOVES it. So, on the Fourth of July, we got the great idea to use it for a swimming pool!! It was a BIG hit! Kaleb LOVES swimming!

We even worked on kicking our feet!

All of this completely exhausted him!!

And even more than swimming outside--Kaleb LOVES swimming NAKED!!

All of the feet kicking practice is working!!

Cousins

I LOVE that Kaleb has cousins, and I know that his cousins are SOOO happy to have him. This picture is just one of many that proves this point! But, I think I have to give Conner the Best Big Cousin award! He can be in the middle of watching something "really interesting" on tv and he will take a break to check on Kaleb. In this picture he was telling Kaleb how much he loved him! He then proceeded to ask "is Kaleb big enough to have a belly button?" Which he then needed to inspect! It was too cute! I guess because he knows that babies start with the umbilical cord stump, he figured that they don't get their belly buttons until it falls off. Which, technically, I guess is right! Thank you Conner, Micah and Joey for being such good big cousins!

Hands!?!

Kaleb has discovered his hands!! This past week we have been VERY amused by all of our hanging toys! He can make the ball in the Zebra's mouth play music and sometimes he can even catch the butterflies!! When this happens, you would think that they had super glue on them. He will hold on to the butterfly for at least 5 minutes and is SOOO proud of himself!! Of course, finding his hands does have a downside. My earrings, glasses, necklace, hair, neck, lips, nose, eyes...all are in grave danger!

Not only can he grab things intentionally, but he can now pinch intentionally! I know, you are all thinking, oh-now he's not doing it intentionally...bull...he knows that if he pinches the back of my arm I will speed up the serving of his dinner!

On another note--we weighed Kaleb last night and he is a whopping 15.3 lbs!

New Pics

Kaleb is getting so big and is really beginning to be "aware" of his surroundings. The best thing in the world is walking in from a long day at work and having Kaleb recognize me! He gets sooo excited, of course, part of this is because he knows that I mean dinner, but hey--he's happy to see me!

Fun with Poppy!

I am so blessed to be able to leave Kaleb with Gammie and Poppy while Kevin and I are at work. If there was any doubt that he would be well cared for or played with, they are definitely washed away by these pics! I called Mom yesterday on my way home and could hardly hear her over the coos from Kaleb and baby talk from Poppy. You could tell -even over the phone- that they were having a blast! I am actually not sure who was having more fun--Kaleb or Poppy!




Kaleb -who is of course the smartest 2 month old EVER-- has learned some tricks!
One of his favorite things to do is stand up! If he is sitting and you grab his hands--he's going to pull himself up. If you try to keep him from standing up and just pull him up to a sitting position--he screams! He some times stands up so much in one day that his little legs will be shaking!




His other favorite past time is blowing spit bubbles! He's actually gotten pretty good!

I cannot wait to see what other "tricks" he has in store for us!!

Big Boy!!

Well, as most of you know, Kaleb is a little piggy!! At last weigh in (last week) he weighed a whopping 13.6 lbs. He is growing soooooo fast! So fast, in fact, that his usual milk feedings just aren't cutting it! So, we have begun a little cereal! He LOVES it!

I just cannot believe that he is already eating (well sort of) from a spoon! And boy does he have an attitude! You almost cannot shovel it fast enough into his mouth. And trust me, he lets you know if you are not going fast enough! He is such a piggy that you can barely even burp him anymore. Everytime I stop feeding him to burp (which usually is only once) he screams at the top of his lungs! This is no cry-it's a scream. High pitched, mouth wide open, neck stretched, legs out straight, SCREAM!! It's really too cute! A little annoying at 5 am--but still cute!!

Our House!!

Ok, so I know that this post is a long time coming, but we've been pretty busy! We still don't have internet, so I am trying to get things posted from work!! Anyhow, here's our new house!!

This is us signing our lives away! If you've never bought a home--it's Ridiculous!! There were soooo many papers to sign and most of them said the exact same things.
I thought this looked pretty cool--our house coming down the dirt road!

This is our house in it's final resting place!

Kaleb enjoyed being outside while they set up the house!

He also had a good time playing with Poppy!

This is my FAVORITE part of the house! My BIG bathtub! It's AMAZING!

The second best room in the house! My closet (which has turned into OUR closet)

This is our kitchen from the living room!

And more kitchen!

Our view from the kitchen/dining room windows! So much better than someone else's house, backyard or a street!!! Yay for the country.

Then there's the view from the front. Not as nice ;) Just kidding! It's really great being so close to Mom and Dad--yet still in a separate house!!!

So, this is it. Our new house! There are, of course, more rooms--but I won't bore you with the pics of emptiness! We have actually finally moved in and are almost unpacked! I will get pics of that up as soon as the house is clean!! (If that point in time ever exists!!)

Happy 2 Months!!

First--pretend as though I am writing this on Wednesday night and not Thursday morning...

Kaleb is 2 months old!! We had our 2 month checkup today! I am happy to report that Kaleb is VERY healthy. He weighs a whopping 12 lbs 7 oz--which puts him the 75th percentile--and is 24 in long--which puts him in the 90th percentile!! Needless to say, Kevin was very proud!! But, along with measurements, the 2 month checkup means shots...:( Kaleb, although he screamed the worst scream I've ever heard, took them like a champ. About one minute of screaming, then sound asleep!

So what have we learned in our first two months?

*sleep is highly over rated
*Daddy's are good with smiles, bad with screams
*work is highly over rated (do we really need two incomes?)
*Even better than seeing your baby smile for the first time is seeing your husbands face when he smiles at his for the first time!
*ALWAYS approach the diaper "side peek" with caution
*Sometimes, you just have to let them cry
*Things that used to be such high priorities, just aren't anymore. (showering, brushing your teeth, eating...)

I promise to get better at blogging soon. I know that I have been slacking! Between going back to work and getting our house and being at Mom's with her SLOW connection, it just hasn't been working...I will get better!!

Smiles!

Kaleb is so much more aware of his surroundings these days! He has started smiling more now, and it is very obviously not related to gas! (although he does a lot of that too!) We have our two month check up next week, so we'll have the doctor's measurements, but by our scale our little man is a whopping 11.5 lbs!

Here are some cute pics from today!




He is smiling so good in this one--I had it rotated when I uploaded it--why is it not rotated anymore?

On another front, we signed the papers on our house Saturday and it will be delivered tomorrow!! Stay tuned for pictures!!

What a STRONG little man!

I finally caught a good picture of Kaleb holding his head up! He's such a big STRONG boy!!

Ava Grace

Well, she has arrived. Our friends Sam and Kinsey Johnson welcomed the beautiful Ava Grace into our world at 8:04 Sunday night. She weighed 7 lbs and was 19 in. What a GREAT Mother's Day gift!

She is the spitting image of her father!!

I knew that Kaleb was going to look big next to her, but I never dreamed just how big he would look! While he wasn't ever quite as small as her, he was close--just a short 6 weeks ago! Even now, without Ava next to him, he looks so big! He is no longer my little curled up newborn. Man how time does fly!

Kaleb was very excited to meet his new friend and future bride! He even went prepared with a conversation starter!

While they may not actually get married, they will always be friends. What a sweet keepsake this will be! They already look like the perfect match...they can nap together forever!!

On the Kaleb front...not only is he growing so much in size (we are wearing a good bit of 3 month clothing--at 6 weeks), but also in intelligence and and skills! He is getting VERY good at holding up his head. In fact, it is pretty rare that we have to hold it while holding him upright. He is working very hard on keeping his head up while laying on his tummy...and if the tv is in front of him he does a really good job! He is getting really strong with his legs and is already putting some good strength behind his pushing--I think he is going to give Joey a run for his money on the diapering--I am going to have to quickly master Rachel's technique! He is becoming more and more alert everyday and has started cooing more and more! Those of you who haven't seen him in a while will be amazed at the difference! I cannot believe how fast this is all happening!