He speaks!

Ok, not really. More like animated baby babble at best. But it's a
cute video . Check out the new pictures too... Yes, his hair really is that crazy.

Don't cry for me Argentina

Juan and I have decided (well, almost decided) to go to Argentina next summer. We've decided to use our AA miles in one big bang and take a trip next June. This morning Caleb and I went and got two travel books. I told him Juan was ok going for ten days as long as we went somewhere where I could get in touch with Nana anytime I wanted. (Nana has graciously agreed to keep BooBoo). We're excited - no tears yet about leaving Caleb for so long but I'm sure they'll come...

The jar food conundrum

So, we have a little problem at our house. Caleb isn't liking jar food. Well, he likes jar veggies but not jar fruit. After much discussion and label reading the only thing we can see if that the jar fruit has added vitamin C and the veggies do not. Caleb's been eating solids for over 6 weeks now with no problems. Ok, so there's the oatmeal issue but that's another story. He's not too crazy about rice cereal, peaches or peas. He adores pears, sweet potatoes and oatmeal. He's so-so with apples, carrots, squash and bananas. Dr Ramirez gave us the ok to start Stage 2 foods at 5m so for the last couple of weeks I've been mixing them up. This morning for breakfast he had apples and pears and for lunch we'll try jar sweet potatoes and see how that goes. So far I've made all of his food (except bananas - that's another long story). It's been very easy. You just peel it, steam it and then puree it. Much cheaper than buying organic baby food and I know exactly what is in - or not in - his food. I'd like to find a few jar foods he likes so add some variety to his diet. The poor kid can't have sweet potatoes for lunch every day until he's two. So, we keep trying and seeing what works and what doesn't.

Decision 2008

Presidential candidates? Ha! Car seat pattens people! THAT's a decision worth blogging about! I'm going to try and add a poll to the blog. I've narrowed it down to three. The experts I've polled (Mom, Amber and Angelica) are leaning towards Crocodile. Juan seems not to think this is worth quite so much time and thought. Snort!

Note: From L to R: Granite, Crocodile, Cowmooflage

Sitting up, Holding his bottle and BIG TEETH!

Enjoy!

Our Weekend

We had an exciting day yesterday!

In preparation for our trip to Garland next weekend, Caleb had (gasp!) jar food for lunch. It's not practical to bring ice cubes on a road trip so I bought a few jars of baby food for him. I didn't want to find out three hours from home though that either he didn't like it or that it didn't sit well with his system. So, we're going to try it out this week just to be safe. For lunch he had lentils and brown rice. It tasted really gross but he loved it. What does Mere call Reid? Lunchbox? I may start calling mine Garbage Disposal!

After lunch we headed to Babies R Us to look at big boy car seats. The one that I want is really big. It took us a few minutes to get it all figured out. Caleb was very well behaved - he sat in the umbrella stroller and smiled and babbled to anyone who walked by. He fits in the car seat but slumps a little. We're going to have to get it soon though b/c we only have a pound or two before we're too big for the infant carrier. I'm hoping we still have a month or so left and in that time his sitting up improves and thus he doesn't slump quite as much.

Today we're going to try another jar of food at lunch and do yard work. Caleb likes to sit in his stroller on the driveway and watch me pull weeds while Juan cuts. Hopefully the weather will be nice and not too hot. Chloe's in for a b-a-t-h at some point. So, all in all a typical weekend. Hope you all had a nice one as well!

All for one and one for all

My husband has gotten up at 4am the last two mornings. Caleb usually sleeps until 5:30 or so but since Friday he's had other ideas. I got up with him on Friday and it made for quite a long day. Saturday morning was Juan's turn. I love the fact that I don't even have to ask - he just does it. It took two of us to bring this little being into the world and it takes two of us to care for him. It's our job to be his parents and be partners in raising our son. We each have areas that we naturally excel in - Juan is the king of nail trimming and bath time. If it were up to me Caleb's nails would look like the lady in the Guiness Book of World Records! I do bedtime. After spending 41 long weeks living inside me he knows I'm a warm soft place to rest (and a total wimp who rocks waaaaay longer than his Daddy). A very smart person told me long ago that marriage was like playing the game where you hold hands and spin around. If anyone lets go you both spin out of control. It's a balancing act. I appreciate my husband immensely and I'm grateful to have such a loving partner and a good father to our child. He's a total team player.

Video of Caleb and Chloe playing

I tried to upload it here a few days ago but couldn't get it to work...

Caleb and Chloe

Parental Olympics

Yes, another post about the Olympics....

I took Caleb for a walk this morning and was pondering what the Olympics would be like if the events were based on parental skills. I know that Juan and I have certainly done quite a bit of training over the last five months and are now experts in things we'd never even considered doing before March. So, here's my take on what events the Olympics would include if it were all about babies.

1. Speed Diaper Changing. Perhaps both baby boy and baby girl competitions? Every time I change Caleb I hear Auntie Amber's voice proclaiming "Point the peepee down! Point the peepee down!". Perhaps another round of competition for wet diapers vs those with a fun surprise in them? And all done at 2am on about 4 hours sleep. That's worth a medal people.

2. Long Haul Baby Carrying. Take a 10 lb car seat and add a 18+ lb baby to it and see how fast you can walk! Yeah, Mr. Jamaican Runner guy! I'll take you on any day! Ok, not really but boy do we need to move up to a big boy car seat soon.

3. Binkie Quest. This is one we do quite often at our house. Juan is the champ by far. How we can have seven binkies and still lose them all is a mystery to me. I started offering $1 for every binkie they could find. Chloe just yawned but Juan found them all. I never paid up but we did have a happy baby.

4. Endurance Rock and Sway. Come on! You all know the rock and sway, right? Cranky, sleepy baby. Rock and sway and rock and sway til he's asleep. (Sorry Ferber - we're still getting there). How long can you rock and sway? And then can you put the baby down and slowly slink away without him waking up? I'm a pro.

Ok, that's probably enough for one post. This parenthood thing beats badminton any day.

And on other notes... Caleb is sleeping all night again! New baby pictures are posted too - check out my big boy sitting up AND standing!

Attention Olympic Athletes:

Please shave your armpits! For goodness sake people, you do not go on worldwide TV and parade around waving your arms in the air and not shave first! Hello!

Perhaps if I had the kind of athletic abilities it takes to be in the Olympics I would have better things to worry about. But I don't have any athletic abilities whatsoever so I reserve the right to comment on other people's.

I did tell Juan last night that having a baby was way harder than some of these sports. (Note: I'm still waiting for my trophy). He was strongly in favor of me NOT trying competitive childbirth. Point well taken.

Almost back to normal...

We had a pretty good night last night. After two weeks of virus and teething, Caleb almost slept all night! He went down about 6:30 and didn't wake up to eat until about 4:30 this morning. It would have been really, really nice if he'd made it until 6am but at least we're getting close to being back to normal. I'm happy.

Both of his bottom teeth are totally through the gums and now just need to get a bit bigger. He no longer has "alligator" teeth - they are nice and square! I think he was in a better mood this weekend. Hopefully, we're through the worst of the teething drama.

The best part of this past week has been watching Caleb and Chloe interact. It absolutely delights me to see him smile when he sees her or see her wag her tail when she seems him. My babies love each other - what more could a Mommy want? I'll see if Juan can get some video of them playing. It is the cutest thing ever!

Bloggin Momma?

There was an article in the Statesman last weekend about Moms who blog. It got me wondering if this wasn't something I should do - not because I think they are bzillions of people who really care about my baby's teeth or the health of Juan's live oak. But instead because childbirth has made my memory fade quite a bit and the only way I might remember things in the future is if I write them down. I figure I'm guaranteed two readers at least - my mother who really does care about Caleb's teeth and the perilous health of the live oak and also my sweet husband who loves me and figures he's better off knowing what I'm thinking. So, here we go.