Prayers of my little one

Em has finally started saying her own prayers. I say finally because for the longest time she would either list her "thankfuls" every night as prompted by me OR she would say or sing a few memorized prayers. It is precious when your two or three year old says "God is great, God is Good..." at the dinner table, but it is even better when they say a full prayer out loud in complete sentences completely from their heart. It is so precious that my heart just melts. MELTS!

My heart smiles because she almost always starts with, "Dear God, it was a beautiful day." Then she starts naming the people she loves and the fun things we did that day. She is starting to learn that we can pray for other people. We try to pray for Hunter and Hudson a few times a week because they are so far away from home. We have been praying for one of my friend's children who broke his leg. (He's the same age as Em.) She usually thanks God specifically for baby Caleb and tells God how cute he is. 

This week I'm going to miss my little girl's prayers and sweet cuddle time at nap and bedtime. I'm tearing up just typing those words even though I'm thankful that she's going to stay with my parents for five days. Five days is just a long time. Mom has wonderful things planned for every day--a trip to KY Down Under, a trip to a butterfly sanctuary, pool time, library time, church, etc. Emily will have a blast--WAY more fun than she would have here as Jeremy and I work our butts off trying to get this house ready to put on the market this week. Also, Em is my biggest mess and trouble maker. I'm almost giddy at the thought of cleaning my house ONCE and it will stay that way for a few days instead of minutes. I'm incredibly thankful for my mom and dad for helping us. I'm glad that they want to spend quality time with her and that they have the energy to keep up with her for almost a week. I know Emily will make wonderful memories with Nan and Pop this week. I'm hopeful that we will be able to accomplish a great deal now that Jeremy's finished with his job and we only have one kid. 

Jeremy and I have been aggressively decluttering our home and selling or donating items we no longer need or want. Little by little, the basement is looking better and more organized. It has been hard work, but I feel a little bit lighter every day. We held a yard sale last weekend and made about $480 on stuff we no longer needed. Most of the stuff was $10 or less, but it adds up. At times, I've had a hard time letting go of some things. For example, I donated an armoire and other home goods to God's Designs, a company that does "Extreme Home Makeover" projects for deserving, needy families. Even though I no longer needed it, it had sentimental value as a gift from my parents after college. Then, I remember that I've used it for almost 13 years. I most certainly got our money's worth out of it and now it was going to a needy family versus sitting in our basement collecting dust. As I sort through our past that has long been in storage boxes, I'm trying to discern what is truly important to keep and what needs to go. Some decisions are hard, but I don't want to hoard things that could be a blessing to others. God has blessed our family in countless ways. Giving back a portion from the overflow of blessing should not be a hard thing for us to do. These donations are not even "first fruits." They are things we no longer love or need. It is sad that it is takes moving to California to motivate me to deal with it all.

I was thinking tonight about how even when you are grown and independent, you still need your parents sometimes. I think Jeremy and I kind of pride ourselves on handling things ourselves and being financially independent. It has been very humbling to need help with this move. I don't like to ask for help or to feel so needy, but I'm in a situation where we are moving incredibly far away in a very short time and we have two children three and under. In the past few weeks, both of our parents have helped us with the children and house prep. We've had friends come over and help with the kids or with odd projects. I AM SO THANKFUL. I'm realizing how much it means when people ask specifically to help and give you permission to call them. It is so much better than having to "cold call" a friend to use their truck or ask for some favor. It is easier to ask for help when someone tells you to call if you need anything. I hope that I will remember that next time I'm in position to be a blessing to others. 

Nine Months

Caleb is now nine months old! I'm glad to say that we finally had his baby dedication at church. Jeremy and I were incredibly motivated to pick a date once we realized that we would be accepting the Twitter offer and moving. It worked out really well to have it on Father's Day Sunday. I thought it was particularly special to dedicate our baby boy on Father's Day and I think it was meaningful for Jeremy, too. We chose Psalms 127:3-4 as his verse. "Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth."

Since Caleb's baby dedication fell on a holiday, we did not attempt a big open house party. We are WAY overwhelmed right now with preparations to get our house ready to sell and move. We couldn't handle a big party, but we did have my parents and Jeremy's parents over for lunch and dessert. Also, Stephen, Becca and the kids came up for the baby dedication and to spend the day with us.

Baby dedication at SMBC 6/16/13

First Father's Day with Caleb!

Kisses from cousin Madelyn, 18 mon.

Emily always seems to find Uncle Stephen's lap!

Kisses for Dad! We got him a cool Louisville Slugger i-phone cover and a handmade card.

Emily and Pop

I think this is the first 3 generation photo I have with Poppy, Jer and Caleb

Dad, Stephen, and me. Missing Laura in this shot!

We couldn't get Emily off her bike long enough to take a photo with Pop, so we did a little improvising!

We recently announced to our friends that we were moving. I sent an email to our class at church explaining our plans. We posted a photo of Caleb on facebook with him wearing his San Francisco Giants onesie. I had people guess where we were moving. Funny thing is that we've had this Giants onesie since Christmas well before any potential San Francisco job. This is the ONLY clothing Jeremy has bought for Caleb. Another San Francisco coincidence???

9 month stats
Height: 28 1/2 in. (60-70th%)
Weight: 19.2 lbs. (30th %)
Head Circumference: 17 1/4 in. (25th%)

Caleb had his nine month doctor's check-up today. He only had to get one shot and he cried big crocodile tears. Emily was concerned that she was going to have to get shots, too, but Dr. Johnson and I explained that she was off the hook today! Caleb has been around the 40th-50th percentile for weight and he fell off a little this month. Dr. J. says that this is normal in active babies. We definitely have an active baby. He crawls around the whole house during most of his awake hours.

We are now going to the pool regularly. Yeah for summer! These photos were taken during our first pool visit in June. The water was still a bit cold and Caleb did NOT like it as you can see in the below photo! We went to the pool Sunday and he was a much happier baby and floated around in his "boat" completely content. Jeremy was working the afternoon we went to the pool, but he came over on his lunch break to take photos of little Caleb during his first time at the pool. (What a great dad, right?)

Too cold, mommy!!!

"If you hold me like this, I'll be fine."

My pretty blue eyed girl

I love how content and sweet he looks in this one!

And finally in other baby milestone news:

~Caleb still army crawls everywhere for mobility. He can hold hands/knees position well. We often find him like this in his crib, but he prefers to crawl on his belly.

~Pulls up to tall kneeling

~Pulls up to stand. We found him standing one morning in his crib. Cutest thing ever to see your baby smile at you when you come in the room and the little booger is standing up waiting for you!

~Picks up items neatly with finger/thumb. He now loves to eat puffs! He has this little snack when we need to buy a few more minutes with him content in his high chair.

~Transitions from belly to sitting and sitting to belly smoothly

~He protests much more if Emily takes away a toy!

~Actively searches for items he knows you are hiding from him.

~Interacts more with Emily in the back seat. She faces forward and he faces backward so they can see one another. She LOVES to make him laugh during car rides.

~Bounces to music. Baby boy is learning to dance! :)

Sleep Schedule:

Caleb goes to bed at about 7:30 pm and wakes up between 7-8 am. I'm thankful that he sleeps so well. I always nurse him before bed and cuddle and rock him. Sometimes he will fall asleep on me. Most of the time, he is pretty fidgety--like he can't get his nest made. So, I lay him into his crib and he immediately grabs his lovey and tucks it close to him. I cover him up and walk away. If he fusses at all, it's just for a minute or two. I can't believe that we never had to sleep train him. He still falls asleep with his bottom up in the air and legs tucked under him. It is the cutest thing. By the time Jeremy and I go to bed and check on him, there's no telling what position he has worked himself into--on his back with arms outstretched, on his side, on his belly, horizontal in the crib, or up next to the bumper!

He hasn't taken a paci in a long time, but I've noticed that he makes a sucking motion with his lips while he holds his lovey. He has learned to soothe himself without the paci. Caleb takes two naps. Morning nap is about 9:30-11 am. Afternoon nap varies depending on what we have going on. Usually he sleeps from about 2-4pm. I try to keep him up a little later in the afternoon so his nap will overlap with Emily's more, but he tends to start getting tired at around 1:30 pm.

Eating:

Caleb now has FIVE teeth! He got the bottom two teeth in first. Then, the lateral incisors started coming in. He was starting to look like a little vampire baby, but now the top central incisors are poking through and one has almost caught up to the others.

He is able to eat small chunks of food now (bananas and other soft ripe fruit.) He mostly eats stage 2-3 jarred baby food fruits, veggies, and some meat combinations (apples/chicken is a favorite). I make a small amount of his food and then we let him try small bites of our food when appropriate. We are working on letting him eat more finger foods for himself. He nurses about 5x/day.

Temperament:

He is really an easy going baby. Very social. Loves to interact and talk with you. Loves to play peek-a-boo and bouncy games. He is curious. If you leave the room, he will come find you. If a door is partially closed, he will push it open and crawl through. As long as you keep him well rested and fed and give him a little attention every so often, he is content. The time of the day that is the hardest is from about 5:30-6:30 pm. I'm trying to get dinner on the table. Caleb isn't getting as much attention as he would like and he's getting tired. By this point in the day, he has already played with a lot of his toys and he just wants to be held or have us feed him and put him to bed. It isn't a good time to try to put him on the floor with a pile of toys. He's SO over that! But, it is hard to cook with a baby on your hip! Lately, Jeremy has been getting home later and it is really hard on me. Frankly, I go a little bit crazy at this hour because I'm tired, too at this point. I'm really scared about how I'm going to survive in California if Jeremy has a long commute home from work.

And a note to baby boy:

Caleb,

I'm so proud to be your mommy! You have a great personality and you're so stinkin' cute! I think you will be very outgoing like your mama and daddy. I've enjoyed watching you grow and develop this month. A month ago, you were just learning to go from sitting to crawling. You more or less fell into that position. Now, your movements are confident and smooth. I love going to your room to pick you up in the morning. You are in such a sweet mood and well rested. Lately, you are waiting for me and standing up at the end of the crib. You see me and light up with your cheesy vampire grin. Sometimes, I get really silly and play with you. I hide from you behind the crib bumper and poke my head up over the rail just to see you smile and laugh over and over again in anticipation of where I'll be next.

This month Daddy and I had to make a really hard decision. We have a great life here in Louisville, but Dad got offered a really cool job far, far away and we decided to take the opportunity. In some ways it was a difficult decision, but in other ways, we had a peace that we were doing the right thing for our family in the long run. You're too little to understand this now, but living with regret is no way to live. We would rather try and not succeed, than let life pass us because we are too scared to take a chance. Son, I hope that if you are ever given a chance to do something special, you will go for it and not be afraid to fail. I hope that one day we will be able to tell you great stories about our adventures in California. I'm planning on taking you backpacking in Yosemite so you had better get ready!

I know that sis has a strong bond with our KY family already, but I worry a little about you. Who will love on you in the church nursery? Who will take care of you when Mom desperately needs a break? Who will be our family when your sweet grandmas are two thousand miles away? I hate that our family will miss some of your baby/toddler years. They go by too fast anyway, but I would rather us be away now while I can keep you safely home with me than for us to be far away during your school years. Those are the years you will be making childhood memories. I don't think your grandparents are happy about this AT ALL, but to their credit, they are trying to be supportive.

Caleb, we are so very thankful for you. I love you always.

Mom

Moving On

Jeremy officially accepted a new job. In San Francisco. With Twitter. THE Twitter. I still can't believe it! We are moving to California? What? How's this possible? Girls like me don't run off and move cross country for a job. Even though Jeremy has been having phone interviews since February, I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around all of this. I'm sure to the outside world our decision looks rather impulsive, but the writing has been on the wall for awhile.

For several years, Jeremy has wrestled with the tension of wanting to be in Louisville--his hometown and a city close to both our families--and wanting to really spread his wings and work somewhere special. When Emily was a baby, Leo Burnett ad agency from Chicago called him about a job. At that time, neither of us wanted to move there so soon after buying our first house and having a baby. Jeremy worked for himself for awhile and while the flexibility of being your own boss was wonderful, there were also things that he didn't like--like having to wear so many hats! (e.g.  the CFO, the account executive, the designer, the gopher, etc.) I kept asking him if he wanted to grow his business and hire another person, but he never felt that he wanted to do that.

When he started talking to Twitter in February, I really didn't think anything would come of it. We talked about  the possibility of moving there if they offered a job, but we both felt that it would have to be a great offer for us to consider it and pack up our whole lives for a job. I worried very little about it this spring.

About a month ago, Twitter flew Jeremy out for an interview. Now it started feeling serious! Jeremy had a great experience there despite some travel glitches. (He didn't get to his hotel until 5 am Eastern time and had to do a presentation and all day interviews the next day.) He came back telling us all about how awesome Twitter headquarters was. He especially raved about the completely FREE cafeteria that serves quality, healthy food prepared by chefs. He also was super-impressed with the people. The employees are talented and incredibly intelligent, but completely down to earth. He said he never felt any hint of ego from anyone he met that day.

A few weeks later, we learned that an offer would be coming. Jeremy and I wrestled with what to do, but the decision pretty much made itself. Ultimately, I think it came down to a feeling of "Let's do this and have no regrets!" God willing, Louisville will still be here. We can come home again, but we may never get another chance like this.

Today I've been thinking a lot about the verse in Ecclesiastes, "There's a time to plant and a time to uproot." Our family is firmly planted in this community. For the past five and half years we've owned our home, I've tried to make it a comfortable, happy place for our family. I'm really feeling the pain of uprooting. Even though I'm so proud of Jeremy and excited about our future, the unknown is much scarier than continuing on the path we were traveling. At this time in my life, I pictured us building or buying our next home where our children would grow up. I pictured us owning more land and being able to play in a big yard--not renting a small house or condo in California! It has been hard to let go of the expectations I had and dream new dreams. Then I think about all we will be able to see and do during our California years and I get so excited! This is a part of the country we would probably never really know. We vacationed in San Francisco almost wo years ago and got a small taste of all there is to see and do nearby--Muir Woods, Point Reyes, Pacific Coast Highway, Yosemite, Wine country. This will be a season of exploration! I don't know how much we will be able to do with young kids, but we're going to certainly try our best!

So, I'm allowing myself to feel completely excited, overwhelmed, scared, sad, and blessed. I've cried a lot the past few weeks. I trust that Jeremy and I will grow closer to one another if we allow God to help us through this challenge. The next few weeks are going to be very difficult and busy as we try to get our house ready to sell and find a new place to live in the Bay area. Every time I get overwhelmed I try to remember a quote I recently read, "Always remember that the future comes just one day at a time." That's all I can handle right now.

Eight Months and Time Is Going Too Fast

I have no idea how my baby is getting this close to being one year old. It scares me how fast time flies by! Just the other day Jeremy and I realized that we haven't had his baby dedication at church yet. I had hoped to do it around six months of age and now he's already eight months! We had a nice baby dedication for Emily with several out of town family members coming in to see us. We also threw a big open house party for family/friends that Sunday afternoon. If I'm completely honest with myself, the reason I haven't scheduled Caleb's baby dedication is I don't want to plan a big open house party! It is SO much work, but I want to be as fair as possible to do the same things for both kids. Also, things are quite different now. When Emily was a baby, my sister and her family were able to come for the dedication. Well, now she lives overseas. My brother and his wife now have two kids and so it is harder for them to come up for a quick trip. Jeremy's sister's family lives in North Carolina and it is rare for them to be in town. Anyway, I really need to just figure out a date soon because he's growing up way too fast.

Eight month stats:

??? I've had a healthy baby boy and haven't been to the doctor lately. Next well baby check-up is at nine months.
Caleb wears 6-12 mon. and 6-9 mon. clothing. We mostly wear my nephews' hand-me-downs. I have bought very little for him. The grandmothers have bought him a few things and I've bought a couple of special occasion outfits, but almost everything else is from the nephews.

Sleep Habits:

Caleb usually sleeps about 11 1/2-12 hrs. from 7:30pm-7:00am or so. Sometimes he wakes up and cries for us to get him. Often he will wake up and entertain himself for awhile by jabbering or playing with toys. I leave a few safe toys at the far end of his bed for him to play with once he wakes up. This buys Jeremy and me a few more minutes to rest in our bed in the morning if he wakes up in a good mood. Caleb's total nap time is about three hours. Sometimes the morning nap is the long one and other times it is the afternoon nap. He is starting to get attached to a little lovey blanket that was given to him. It is super soft and and small with a little teddy bear head at the end of it. It helps settle him if he's a little restless when we put him down to bed. He clutches it and then he stops crying.

Our favorite photo prop is a baseball.

Eating/Nursing: 

We started solids at six months of age. Caleb now has tried numerous veggies/fruits. He's also had pureed chicken with apple sauce. I have tried giving him little finger foods (puffs, cheerios), but he tends to play with them more than eat them. So at this point, I'm spoon feeding his solids. Jeremy and I laugh at the many sounds he makes while eating. He likes to hold his arms away from his body and wave his wrists up and down and around while eating. It is hard to describe, but totally cute. It's like he's saying, "Bring it on! Keep going!"

Caleb and I are still going strong with nursing. He has about five feedings a day (approximately at 7:30am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, 7:15pm). I could probably take it down to four feedings/day now that he is eating more solids. I try to pump a few times a week at times I have a little extra milk (like right before bedtime or in the morning). This helps me to have extra on hand for bottles and to use in his baby cereal. I began the weaning process with Emily at nine months of age by supplementing one breast feeding with formula (so I wouldn't have to pump as much at work.) Since I rarely work now, it's really no big deal to just nurse him. Actually it is easier because my milk is always ready to go, perfect temperature and no mess to clean up! Dealing with bottles, measuring formula, washing everything and remembering to pack it wherever we go is harder for me. If I was having to pump all the time, I wouldn't feel the same way.

Milestones, Discoveries and Latest Accomplishments: 

Caleb is a pro at his Army crawl. He is so fast that I don't know if he will switch to a traditional hands/knees crawl any time soon. Lately, he will be on hands/knees and rocking when I go get him out of bed after bedtime or naps.   He is a brave little crawler and now ventures outside of his room (and the soft carpet) down the hallway and into Mom and Dad's room or Emily's room. He hasn't pulled up to stand independently, but he can do so with just a small amount of help. 

He turns 360 deg. while sitting. Jeremy and I get a kick out of watching him turn himself in circles on the kitchen floor. He rotates himself around using his feet and can turn to get toys from different angles. He hasn't learned to gracefully go from sitting to tummy position, but he can do so when he more or less "falls" into that position. Usually when he tips over, he raises his head to keep from hitting the floor.

When we model hand clapping to him, he tries to imitate by slapping his legs. It is pretty cute.

He is developing his pincer grasp. He can pick up small objects with finger and thumb although the motion isn't  very precise yet.

We haven't hit the separation anxiety stage yet. He definitely prefers me if he sees me, but if I'm not around, another attentive adult will do. :) It's nice to be able to drop him off to grandma or the church nursery without having him melt down. 

He enjoys the playground swings with Emily. I take Emily and Caleb to the playground in their little red wagon. The wagon has two seats with seat belts. Caleb looks adorable in it with big sis. It makes me so happy to have two little kiddos in that little red wagon! 

Memorial Day 2013 

I'm a cutie!

Dear Caleb,

So thankful for you, sweet baby! Lately I find myself more aware of how fleeting these baby months/years truly are and I'm trying to soak up all of your cuteness! I feel that I am finally as adjusted as I'm going to be to having a three year old and a baby. Not that I have it completely together, but we manage quite well now. It helps that you are sleeping well and I'm more rested.

You are a content baby and play quite well on your own. Of course you have your high maintenance moments, too! You prefer to sit and play with a group of toys versus standing in your exersaucer. I think you think the exersaucer is too confining because if you get tired of sitting and playing, you can crawl off to some new adventure. Big sis is rougher with you now because I think she sees that you are growing up, too. While she often gets into trouble for knocking you over or handling you too rough, she is also very kind. She willingly shares her toys and fetches your toys to play when you need them. She asks Mommy, "Is it OK for Caleb to play with this or is it too small?" She dotes on you and frequently hugs and kisses you. You light up when she's around and of course you think she is hilarious! You light up whenever any of us talk directly to you. You love the attention and eagerly reply back in your own way.

I'm so thankful it is summer! We take walks to the park almost daily. Mommy's friend and I took you and Emily to the zoo recently. We visited Amber and her kiddos in Bowling Green at Chaney's Dairy Farm. We plan to take you to the ballpark to watch Daddy play. We hope to get to a Louisville Bats game soon. Life is very full! I feel blessed to be your mommy, but at times I am overwhelmed by the responsibility. Such a responsibility has been entrusted to your mommy and daddy from Our Heavenly Father. I pray that Daddy and I give you the best start in life and teach you to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind.

Hugs and kisses,

Mommy

A Great Day to be Home with the Kids

A few weeks ago, I wrote about some of the more frustrating aspects of being home with the kids full time. Today I thought I'd share some of the blessings. Every day has its blessings. Sometimes they are just more obvious than at other times. As I write this, it is 3:45 pm. I would have missed ALL of this had I been at work today.

7:15 am Caleb wakes up on his own. Emmy is still dozing from a late night out celebrating Dinkney's birthday yesterday. Jeremy sleepily changes Caleb and brings him to me to nurse in bed. After feeding him, we cuddle in bed for several minutes playing and kissing the little guy who is in the sweetest mood. Emmy wakes up and jumps in bed with us. We don't have much time, but before we have to get ready for the day, we have some good snuggles.

9:15 am After dropping off Emily at preschool, I take Caleb for a long morning walk. He naps on/off in the stroller as I walk 2 1/4 miles at the park. It is a BEAUTIFUL day. Warm, pleasant spring weather. The trees and flowers are blooming. I run into a friend from work on his day off and we walk 10 minutes together catching up on all the work happenings.

10:30 am I feed Caleb on a park bench after my walk. Sip water, read a small devotional, and pray.

12:00 noon I pick up Emily from school. Surprise her with a picnic lunch and a trip to Big Rock in Cherokee Park. She has made a Derby hat and is eager to show me.

12:15 pm We eat lunch as Emily darts back and forth to Beargrass Creek. She just wants to play, but I convince her to eat at least half her sandwich first. Caleb is sitting on a quilt on the ground and chewing on his teether.

12:30 pm I strap Caleb into the Ergo carrier and we all go "hiking" down the pathway that follows the creek. We find a couple of blue bird eggs. We see some dogs splashing in the water. We see a few people, but overall it feels quiet and secluded. It doesn't feel like we are in a huge park in the middle of the city.

1:10 pm Time to go home. We enjoyed sticking our feet in the cool water. Emily could easily stay all day, but Caleb is almost asleep in the Ergo and needs his afternoon nap. We load up and head home.

I could go on with a few more special moments, but you get the idea. It was a beautiful day. Even with Emily being at preschool for three hours, I still had plenty of time with her. When she wakes up from her nap, we're going to have popsicles outside.

Gotta go. Caleb is whining that he is finished playing on his own...

Seven Month Old Caleb

Caleb turned seven months old April 23rd. There was no well baby check-up scheduled this month and I didn't bother to take him to get weighed. I guess this is the first month I don't have any "stats" on him! I can tell you that he is now wearing 6-12 mon. and 6-9 mon. clothes. I have put away all of the six month and under clothing. It is hard to believe that we have already filled up a large plastic bin full of clothes that he has outgrown in only 7 months' time!

Hanging with Mom at Emily's Preschool Spring Sing

His sleeping and eating schedules are roughly the same. He normally wakes up once during the night. For the past two nights, he has slept from about 7:30pm-7 am. (Hope I didn't jinx us.)  If I would just go to bed early at 9 or 10pm, I could easily get about seven hours of uninterrupted sleep because it seems like 4 or 5 am is often the time he wakes up at night. But stubbornly, I wait for Jeremy to come up to bed and usually don't go to sleep until 11:30 or 12. I don't know why I do that to myself. I need more sleep!

We started solids when Caleb turned six months old. It took him a good two weeks to "get it." I was almost starting to worry about him and then he started to eat. Initially, he pushed almost everything out of his mouth and was pretty uncoordinated with his tongue. He wouldn't open his mouth to the spoon and often pursed his lips tightly closed and looked away! It was pretty obvious that he wasn't very interested. We tried a number of foods and he frowned and made the most disapproving faces! So, he's only been eating well for the last two weeks and we haven't built up much of a variety yet. He is so cute now as he opens his mouth wide like a baby bird. So far he really likes oatmeal baby cereal mixed with breast milk, apples, pears, peaches, carrots, and sweet potatoes. He has tried avocados and bananas. We are adding green beans and peas this week. For the past two weeks, he has had solid foods twice a day. We will probably add a third solid food feeding this month. I haven't made any of his baby food other than the pureed bananas and avocados. I hope to do a little more of that once Caleb is eating more.

Caleb got his first teeth right at seven months! The two bottom ones came in at exactly the same time.

Caleb is a proficient belly slider! He scoots himself along pretty well if he wants to get to a toy or has some other motivation! It won't be long before he is crawling and we have to put up the stairs gates again. It has been SO nice to not have stair gates for over a year! We finally got out the exersaucer and he loves standing in that and playing with all the toys. He loves swinging at the park next to big sister. That is the only thing they can do at the playground together right now, but I know that will change fast. 

We had a 6 1/2 month photo shoot at Dede Holman's and I'm planning to order those photos this week. 

Caleb started saying "baba" and "dada" this month. His babbling is starting to sound more like actual words.

Dear Caleb,

At seven months old, you are completely charming! You smile when people talk to you. You love our morning walks in the stroller and fall asleep almost every time. You like to play peek a boo, especially with Daddy. You are quick to laugh when we tickle you or play bouncy games with you. We all adore you. Emily fluctuates back and forth between being too rough and being very tender and attentive. I'm hoping that her rough house play will make you stronger.

I'm trying to read to you more. I want you to be as verbal as your big sis. You still spit up on me, but not as often. You got me pretty good today while I was out shopping for Dinkney's birthday gift. Good thing I was still in my work-out clothes which I pretty much live in.

We are having a ball together this spring. We have so much to look forward to this summer. Can't wait to take you swimming at Lakeside! I'm thankful all the time for my sweet son who is healthy, happy, and handsome!

Love,

Mommy

Seven Years and Seven Months

*** We only took photos on the i-phone for our anniversary trip which I may or may not upload to blog. Sorry for text heavy post!


April is one of my favorite months. So many things to be happy about--warm weather, flowering trees, daffodils and tulips, Derby Festival, outdoor picnics, and our anniversary! This year Jeremy and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. Caleb turned seven months old the day after our anniversary. Mom agreed to watch the kids on our anniversary weekend months ago, but I was undecided about what to plan for us.Originally, I thought we would go to a Weekend to Remember conference in Indianapolis. It is a Christian marriage conference that I've wanted us to attend for awhile. Even though we have a great marriage, I think that there are always ways to grow closer to one another and to God. So that was our original plan until about a month before our anniversary and we realized we weren't looking forward to our trip. We really didn't want to be stuck in a conference hall listening to lectures about marriage when we have so little fun time alone together. So, we more or less decided, "Nah, we're good. Let's do something fun instead!"

Since we needed to drop off the kids at Mom and Dad's, it was a logical choice to keep heading south to Nashville.  We wouldn't have to back track and it was just an hour away from Bowling Green. Neither of us has spent much time in Nashville. I grew up just an hour away, but in high school I was too young to take road trips there with my friends. My facebook friends gave us great ideas for lodging, restaurants and things to do in Nashville. We wanted to stay downtown, but when I started looking for hotels a couple of weeks before our trip everything was booked! I finally found a lovely bed and breakfast in Franklin, TN called Butterfly Meadows Inn and Farm. The reviews of the place were wonderful and they had one more room left for our weekend. We quickly snatched it up!

Butterfly Meadows Inn and Farm

Our B&B was about 8-10 minutes from downtown Franklin and 35 minutes from Nashville. We stopped in downtown Nasvhille Friday afternoon on our way to Franklin. We toured the Ryman auditorium, checked out Hatch Show Print (an awesome old letter press facility), and soaked up the energy of downtown. We headed to Franklin to check in and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Red Pony in downtown Franklin that evening. Our suite was clean, spacious, and comfortable. The owners were kind to let me have a small refrigerator in our room so that I could conveniently store the mama milk! I pumped about four times a day. It worked out fine although it will be so nice to get away and not have to worry about pumping. I guess I'm thankful for the breast pump even though I was kind of hating it by the end of the weekend.

On Saturday and Sunday we had the most delicious breakfasts! Drinking coffee and juice during a relaxing, uninterrupted breakfast--what a treat! Best of all, no preparation and no clean up afterwards! We met some other nice folks at the B&B. We met two young married couples in their twenties, an older couple from Gallatin in their 60's, a couple in their 50's combining business and pleasure, and a family with three teenagers that were relocating from California to Franklin. They actually bought a house in Franklin during their trip! Everyone was kind, considerate, and a pleasure to talk to. I think meeting new folks at the B&B adds a nice balance to the alone time we shared on vacation. As much as I love having Jeremy all to myself, it is nice to socialize with others, too.

We spent Saturday morning shopping at downtown Franklin's charming shops. We had lunch at a seafood market, browsed the farmer's market, and shopped the Factory at Franklin (a 12 building complex built in 1929 and former home of Dortch Stove Works.) We rested up during the afternoon at the bed and breakfast. That evening we headed to Nashville to check out the Rosepepper Cantina and Jeni's ice cream in East Nashville. Jeni's ice cream lived up to the hype. The Rosepepper did not. I don't think Nashville has anything on Louisville when it comes to good independent restaurants. Louisville is a great food town! (Just ask Southern Living where we have been listed as one of the South's tastiest towns for several years running!)

Sunday morning we had time for another fabulous breakfast and quick morning hike on the property of Butterfly Meadows. Then, it was time to head back for the kiddos. Emily was so happy to see us! So was Caleb. He kissed me over and over again! We left Nashville/Franklin feeling a bit more rested and reconnected to each other. We definitely wanted to see and do more. A concert at the Ryman is next on our list!