today's mail

today caleb got his first package in the mail! these books from aunt beverly! SUPER FUN!! thanks, aunt bev!!

this is what happens...

...when i don't secure caleb in the swing.

back to school -- NOT!

so after three days of leaving caleb, i decided to take some more time off from school and spend more time with him. i'm not ready to be away from him yet. so, for now i'm a stay at home mom! something i've always wanted to be anyways.

the week in pictures

back to school

so for lots of families around here, their kids went back to school today. not for this family! mommy went back to school today. it was weird being away from caleb all morning, but i knew he was in good hands with my mom, and he'll be in good hands the rest of the week too! daddy the next two days and miss elizabeth on thursday! he is a lucky boy, i must say. :)

school went pretty good. my speed wasn't too bad after taking the whole summer off. i'm hoping i can whip out some passes on tests so that i can be DONE! then i can work part time, but spend most of my time with my boys. :) sounds good to me!

cotton ball, cayucos, and crab

this weekend, caleb and i tagged along with my parents and claire and bauer to the beach for a night. we left on sunday, came back monday, so it was a quick trip. we didn't do much on sunday, but monday we did a few things.

first, me, my mom, and caleb went to the cotton ball in morro bay. i hadn't been to the new location -- it was nice! i got some fabric to make some gifts for some soon to be born babies. caleb got a little fussy, so after i paid for my purchases, we went outside and waited for grandma to finish shopping.

after shopping, we drove up to cayucos to go find some tidepools. the tide was kind of high, but we did enjoy looking at sea anemones and snails and this cool crab. i really wanted to see a starfish, but alas...none were where we were.

we had a good time, but we were happy to come home.

shoes

yummy

the movies

caleb went to his first movie today! me, my sisters, my mom, and my grandma all went to go see julie & julia. very cute movie. there were at least two other babies there, so i didn't feel as bad having him there with me (although i know it was a somewhat selfish move -- i really wanted to see the movie!) caleb did awesome during the previews and the very beginning of the movie. then all the sudden he started crying so i booked it out of there as fast as i could. he calmed down and we were able to stand on the side so i could still watch the movie but make a quick getaway if he started crying again. we stood there for probably half an hour before he finally went to sleep. then i stood there for about another 10 to make sure he would stay asleep if i went back to my seat. i got back to my seat, sat down, and all was good. until about the last minute of the movie. then he woke up and started crying again. i didn't leave this time; i bounced him on my lap instead, which helped a little. then the movie was over and we were home free. i don't think i'll be taking him to a movie for a while. :)

a trip to aunt annie's classroom

7:30 a.m. -- grandma comes to pick me and mommy up. mommy had lots of stuff to make sure i could be kept happy (sling, front carrier, swing, blanket, rattles, my bottles, diapers). we went and picked cousin claire-bear up, swung by mcdonalds for some breakfast, and we were on our way. i screamed most of the time. i'm not sure why. i guess i just didn't want to be in my carseat. i was excited about seeing aunt annie though!

9:11 a.m. -- we arrive at aunt annie's classroom in dinuba! yay! i'm not screaming anymore.

9:12 a.m. -- mommy got me out of my carseat and i am HAPPY!

9:16 a.m. -- that happiness was short-lived, so mommy decided to put me in the sling kangaroo style. i liked this for a little bit.

10:13 a.m. -- after being fed and almost falling asleep in my swing, i decided to not be happy again. i knew my mommy would pick me up. she always does. then she did one of my favorite things -- let me rest my feet on her tummy while she sways back and forth! this makes me really happy.

 

12:08 p.m. -- finally i sleep. mommy tried to get me to sleep for a long time, but i just didn't feel like it. i sleep when i want. i only slept for about an hour or so. too much going on. and i hardly get to see aunt annie, so i wanted to stay awake! and be held, of course!

1:01 p.m. -- we enjoyed a nice, yummy lunch at subway (i drank my formula, of course), took some fun pictures, said goodbye to aunt annie, and came back home!

when i got home, i pretty much slept the afternoon away. i was one tired little guy. i didn't want to sleep during the car ride, so i didn't. i screamed a little, but then mommy played with me so it was all better. she's cool like that.

today

shortly after these pictures were taken, he got frustrated...surprise, surprise. :)

an update

so caleb changes everyday (like every baby does :). as i mentioned in a previous post, he can roll from his back to his belly. HE DOES THIS ALL THE TIME. he's starting to hold his head up high, getting better head control every day. he'll stay like that for a while, then he gets stuck, then he gets upset. he has been able to roll over the opposite way a couple of times, but we usually give him a little help. but once he's back on his back, on to his tummy he goes again! over and over and over. crazy baby. :)

here are some bonus pictures:

inspired by a friend, i decided to try my sling again. here we are, caleb in the kangaroo position. he lasted quite a while like that. i look forward to putting him on my hip when he has good head control.

because i can't resist...

...taking pictures of this little boy

the progression...

before caleb was born, a friend gave me a stuffed animal so that i could take monthly pictures of caleb with it to see his growth progression...here are the first three months and a bonus from early on...

nine days old...

one month...

two months...

three months...

he's definitely gotten longer!! he's giving that frog a run for his money!!

hungry girl cookies

we love chocolate chip cookies in our family. since most of us are doing the biggest loser challenge, we wanted to find a very low-fat, low-cal way to make them. i'm a big fan of hungry girl so we searched her website for a chocolate chip cookie recipe. we found one and made them and they were pretty good (nothing close to nestle tollhouse, the best ever, but good, nonetheless).

here are some of the ingredients in hg's cookies which differ from other cookies.

here is the final product.

try them!

natalie's wedding

on saturday, we took the trek down to the l.a. area again for my friend natalie's wedding! it was beautiful and caleb was so good! here are some pictures from the day.

the happy couple

family portrait

trying to get out of his seat

me, curtis, natalie, amanda, and stacey

their centerpieces

their cake (i didn't get to taste it, but it sure is cute!)

it's so fun to see friends get married and start life with the one they love.

congratulations natalie and curtis! many blessings to you both!