Ahhh ..... sleep

Sleep, which wasn't around much a week ago, has finally made it into our home.

Ethan wasn't sleeping very well at night, which of course means that I wasn't sleeping very well either.  He did fine during the day, but even then, he needed to be held in order to fall asleep, and with a toddler running wild through the house I couldn't be holding him all day.

The problem began because we had Ethan sleeping in our room.  And our room happens to be right next to Caleb's room.  And Caleb happens to be a very light sleeper (he gets that from me).  So as soon as Ethan started fussing, I'd grab him up to keep him quiet, because the last thing I wanted was a wide-awake 1 year old at 3am.  That started the habit.  He wanted to be held every time he went to sleep.

Well, this had to be nipped in the bud because after a month of getting very little sleep every night, it was beginning to wear on me.  So I started putting him down for naps in his own room and decided not to pick him up, even if he cried.  And after a few minutes of crying, and a few paci inserts by me, he was off to dreamland.

After an entire day of naps in his room, going to sleep by himself, I decided he needed to sleep in his own room at night too.  So last night he spent the first night in his own room.   I fed him at 8pm and then it was bedtime, so I put him in his room and after crying for a few minutes he went to sleep.  I fed him again at 11pm and put him down.  (he pretty much stayed asleep during this feeding).  He slept until about 3:30am and then woke up hungry, so I fed him and back in his bed he went.  He then slept until 6:30am, which gave me time to feed him before Caleb woke up at 7am.

That's the most sleep I've gotten in awhile.  It was lovely.

I'm hoping that he'll stretch the time between his 11pm feeding and his 3:30ish feeding, and then we'll be well on our way to sleeping straight through the night.  Just the thought of it makes me smile.  I like sleep, what can I say?

So, sleep has finally found it's way here.  Let's hope this becomes the new normal.

Little Peanut

Ethan had his 1 month doctor's appointment this morning and he is still a little peanut.

He weighs 7lbs. 4oz. And is 20 1/4 inches long.

Everything else went great and he's right on track in his growth.

It's crazy to me that at 1 month old Ethan is smaller than Caleb was at birth.

Here's what Ethan's up to at 1 month old.

* He still sleeps a lot, and has gotten better about sleeping at night in the last few days.

* He likes to be moving, and prefers to be held or in his swing when he sleeps, but we're working on sleeping in his own bed.

* He eats every 3 hours.

* He likes being on his tummy.

* He doesn't love being swaddled.

* He likes his paci but is ok without it.

* He is still in newborn clothes and diapers.

* His hair cant make up its mind about which direction to go so it just kind of spikes up in the middle.
* He has gorgeous blue eyes.

* People say he looks like me.

* He is a very content baby and doesn't cry much unless he's hungry, tired or wants to be held.

* He has a great big brother who only occasionally gets mad at Mama for holding him instead of playing.

I said it when Caleb was younger and I'll say it again. This past month has flown by, but we've had a blast and are loving this little guy more and more every day.

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Rub a dub dub ...

Ethan had his first bath the other night, at 2 weeks old.  It took awhile to get around to it, we're busy around here, besides it's not like he's running around getting dirty or anything.  So anyways, at 2 weeks old, he had his first bath.  And his reaction was much like Caleb's reaction to his first bath.

He didn't like it.

Here's the photo evidence.

But at least he's clean.  Maybe next time will be better.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

Just a quick little post, more for my sake than yours. 

Caleb went through a little phase a while back, where if you asked him for a kiss he would plant his opened mouth on your cheek.  Not exactly right, but he got the general idea. 

Well, it became very ... let's say ... wet.  So we quit asking. 

But tonight, for the first time, I got an actual, legitimate, no doubt about it, kiss from my little man.  Right on the cheek, with puckered little lips and a smacking sound and all.  It was precious. 

I believe Charles' comment to Caleb was, "Oh gosh, if you didn't already have her wrapped around your little finger, you do now", and you know what, he's right.  I'm wrapped pretty tight.

Caleb's Birthday!!

Caleb had a great 1st birthday!!  I haven't had a chance to upload any pictures yet, but it will happen before I go to bed tonight.  But for now, I'll just tell you about his birthday.

His actually birthday was June 23, so last Wednesday, and he had his doctors appointment (is it mean of me to schedule that on his actual birthday??) and then church that night.  Everything was good at the doctors office.  He's still growing well, and getting bigger and bigger.  He got his first sucker after his appointment and it took him a few minutes to figure out what he was supposed to do with it, but as soon as it hit his mouth he caught on pretty quickly.

We gave him his presents Tuesday night since we had church on Wednesday night, and he loved them all.  One of his favorites is a VeggieTales book that plays music (over and over and over and over ...which may have been a mistake).

We got his new carseat and he now gets to face forward, such a big boy.  He loves it, particularly since he can see the DVD player in the van.  He likes being about to see me and Charles too.

He is so close to walking, I feel like it will happen any day.  He has taken his first few steps, and will take 3 or 4 steps before losing his balance or just sitting down, but he's not officially a "walker" yet.

I can't believe it's already been a year and he's getting so big!!

On Saturday we had the big party, but I'll post about that later tonight, along with some pictures.

First Tooth

I just have a few minutes.

But for those who are interested.

Caleb's first tooth has finally appeared. 

We thought he'd be getting one soon, at the end of last week.

And then, yesterday, it finally showed up. 

So he now has one tooth, on the bottom.  I'll try to get a picture soon.

Guess what we did today ...

We had some fun in the sun!

A few things worth mentioning

There hasn't been much going on around here lately. But a few things worth mentioning.

My sweet husband brought me some flowers when he came home from work the other day. I love when he brings me flowers for no reason.



Caleb is really enjoying the warmer weather and his new swing.









He also got to play in the grass for the first time this week. He loved pulling it up and trying to eat it, but was scared to crawl on it. As soon as he would put his hand down, he would sit right back up again.









And he has learned in the past week how to go from lying down to sitting up on his own, and has started pulling himself to a stand. It took him a few days to realize that he could do both of these things in his crib, but now that he's figured it out he spends at least 15 or 20 minutes before each nap sitting in his crib, then standing in his crib before he finally lies down and goes to sleep.



He's getting so big and I feel like it won't be long before he's walking. We'll see. Although on another note, he still has no teeth, go figure. But that certainly doesn't stop him from eating all kinds of things. His favorite foods right now are bananas, sweet potatoes, plums (I kid you not, he ate a whole plum the other day ... I peeled it, handed it over, and took it away when there was nothing left but the pit) and any of the gerber snacks (which probably aren't that great for him, but very convenient).

A day at the park

actually, it was more like an hour at the park (if that), but "an hour at the park" just doesn't have the same ring to it as "a day at the park" so that's what we're gonna go with ... anyways ...

We finally got some nice (sunny, pleasantly warm-ish) weather around here and we took full advantage of it. I have been dying to get Caleb outside to play, but it has been so cold and/or wet and/or snowy that it hasn't happened in awhile.

But today, with the sun shining bright, we headed to the playground. Leave it to me to pick the most outdated, grungy playground in the city, but oh well ... I'm learning.

The fresh air was wonderful and Caleb had a blast. He rode on the swings for the first time, and really enjoyed it. And then he got to spend a little time by the pond with his daddy, looking at fish and ducks and geese (does that surprise anyone?)

And now a few pictures to document Caleb's first trip to the park ...

Icy Days

The last time it snowed, it only lasted about 20 minutes and I didn't get the chance to take Caleb's picture in it, so I took advantage of this wintry storm to snap some photos of Caleb's first snow, errr, I mean ice ... or something. Caleb wasn't too thrilled with the cold, but he warmed up to it after a few minutes (pun completely intended, hah).

He's on the Move

Caleb is working on some new skills.



Sitting up all by himself!! He can sit for a few minutes without any help and then he loses his balance and topples over, but we're working on it. He really enjoys being able to play with his toys while sitting up.

He is also close to crawling, I think. He plays on the floor on his tummy several times a day, and for awhile he was rolling everywhere. If he saw a toy he wanted and it was out of reach, he would just roll on over and get it. But just recently he has discovered that he can push off the floor with his knees and scoot over to a toy out of reach. Once he figures out how to get up on his hands and knees at the same time, he'll be on the move.

I'll have to say goodbye to the days of being able to put him on a blanket on the floor and leave the room for a minute. ( I can't really do that anymore anyways with the speedy rolling skills)

And finally...
He has figured out how to reach for people that he wants. Just a few weeks ago he would see someone he likes and just give them a big ole' grin, but now if he wants you to hold him he will actually reach his arms out towards you. It's really cute!

He's getting so big and learning so many new things. Time sure is flying by.

Can You Guess What We Did Today?

That's right. Caleb had his first taste of "real" food.

It was actually more like a soupy formula - rice cereal mixture, but anyways. I decided to go ahead and start him on rice cereal, just to get him used to eating from a spoon and used to eating while sitting up, and after Christmas we'll move on to other foods.



He didn't know quite what to do with the spoon, and I'm not entirely sure he actually swallowed any of the cereal, but practice makes perfect, and we'll keep practicing until he figures it out.



Look at that face ... "This isn't how I'm supposed to eat, what are you thinking?"

New Trick

Well, new in the last week or so.

Some Pictures

Here are some pictures from Caleb's baptism day ...

like I've said, we had his picture professionally made in his baptism gown
and once we order some prints I'll share them on here, but these are from the lunch.



His yummy cake! Isn't it pretty??



Caleb thinks his "Pops" is so funny.



Caleb and his great-grandfather.

Practice Makes Perfect

Caleb has been working on some new skills the past few days. He's been very strong since the day he was born, but he's just now learning how to use this strength. He has been holding his head up well for a couple of months now, but this week he has learned how to hold up his head and chest while resting his weight on his arms. Since he sleeps on his tummy, this new skill lets him look around the room while in his crib. It's somewhat of a distraction, but not much I can do about that.

He has also started rolling over. He did it for the first time over a week ago, but I think that was just a fluke. This week he has started actually rolling from his tummy onto his side, and occasionally all the way to his back. He does this in his crib, and still I don't think it's quite intentional on his part. Sometimes he's very fidgety when I put him down for naps, and he gets his legs kicking, and just kicks himself onto his side or back, but he can't get back onto his tummy by himself. I need to help him learn this soon, or I can just see myself making hourly trips into his room to put him back on his tummy in the middle of the night.

The last thing is laughing. This little man has been smiling for weeks, and let me tell you, it is cute. But he hasn't quite got the laughing thing down. You can tell by the look on his face that he thinks something is funny, and it looks like he's laughing ... but no sound. This afternoon, for the first time, he actually laughed out loud, or at least Charles says so. I missed it, but I'm sure I'll hear plenty of his sweet laughs in the days to come.

He's still growing like crazy. I'm not sure how much he weighs now, but if I had to guess I'd say he's at least close to, if not over, 14 pounds. And he's already starting to outgrow some of his 3 month clothes, and moving on to 3-6 month stuff. I can't get over how cute he is. I know that I'm completely biased, and that everyone thinks their kids are the cutest, but really... I really think he might be.

I got my first real smile today from Caleb. I woke him up from his nap and he gave me a big grin, several actually. It's harder than you'd think to catch it in a picture, but I'll keep trying. I know you are all just dying to see if for yourselves.