Ringa Ringa

Our evening routine is as follows:

• Dinner at 6:30
• Bath at 7:00
• Family playtime in Caleb's room from 7:30-8:00
• Bedtime is 8:00

We started doing the 30 min of family playtime a couple of months ago. Before then we let Caleb play in the play room with his toys until bedtime. We were having trouble with Caleb getting too riled up and putting up a fuss when it came time to brush teeth and go to sleep. So, thanks to Juan, family playtime was born.

The rules of family playtime are that we stay in Caleb's room and either read books or play and sing. We try to keep the wrestling to a minimum and the vibe calm. Well, as calm as an almost two year old boy can be at least.

Caleb's new favorite thing to do during play time is Ringa Ringa - also known as Ring Around the Rosies for those of you know not well versed in Toddlerish. He loves it and does a fabulous dramatic fall at the end. He also insists that we ALL play (no sitting out by Dada) and we ALL have to fall down. He then heroically pulls Juan and I back to a sitting position and it all begins again.

Family bonding at it's best. All three on the floor giggling, holding hands and spending time as a family.

I am so very thankful.

Owie

We have our first real injury. Caleb managed to stick the ring finger of his left hand in the door at school as it was closing about a week and a half ago.

Pinched the skin off of the pad of his finger (that's the right term, right?) and severely bruised the nail. Half of the nail now looks dead. I'm not sure what will happen as it grows out, guess we'll see.

And yes, a bruised finger is not an excuse for not being a timely blogger. I promise to try harder as we move into the holidays.

Clean Thursday

Today started off well. I worked for a few hours and then decided to run some errands before lunch. In an effort to be efficient I started a load of laundry and then headed off to Target. Found everything I needed there and was back home within 30-45 minutes at most. When I came in the back door Chloe had a major hissy fit. I fussed at her and told her to go get on her bed. She snorted and gave me a you-have-no-clue-do-you? look. I didn't. Until I walked into the laundry room to switch out the clothes and saw this:

Seems as though some little fingers pushed the spin cycle button until it got to extra high. And that brand new, totally full bottle of Tide on top of the washer? It spun right off! And onto the floor.

I stared in disbelief, ran to find the phone to call Juan, took a picture, laughed, and cleaned it up. Note: My husband said at least ten times for me to be careful and not slip and break an arm. I was careful.

The up side? My house smells Tide-fresh. My laundry room floor is clean. I wiped the baseboards down too for good measure.

The down side? I don't think the slippery-ness will ever go away. Oh, and we need more Tide.

Hope your Thursday is as clean as ours!

Halloween pictures coming soon....

Ten Wonderful Things About Sunday

1. Caleb sleeping until 5:03 am and then snuggling with Mama and napping on the couch until 6:23 am when Dada came and woke us up. It's illegal and I don't care.
2. Walking/Running the IBM 10K with Juan, Caleb and Angelica. Armed with a healthy supply of fruit snacks, Cheerios and excellent company we all had a lovely race.
3. Caleb falling asleep on the way home and being carried up to his bed still asleep - coat and shoes still on - and sleeping for 1 hr and 45 min. My kid! And yes, we made sure he was still breathing after an hour and a half.
4. The above napping toddler allowing Juan and I to have breakfast in peace. Coffee, pancakes, sausage, the paper and eating quietly together. Not having to get up from the table 100 times to refill a sippy, get more applesauce or retrieve a flung fork from afar. Kinda like life before baby...
5. Caleb waking up in a fabulous mood and playing a hearty round of race and nunnel. Love him!
6. Caleb saying "yes" for the first time. Way better than "No no no no no no".
7. Taking a trip as a family to ride the choo choo in Cedar Park. It even had a haunted nunnel! And for only $2.50 people! We are definitely going back.
8. Stopping by the outlet mall on the way home to get Caleb some long pants and realizing that the purse I want for Christmas at Coach is 50% off and they only have one left. And having my dear husband say "Well we should buy it then, right?". Hell yes!
9. Pushing Caleb around the sports court on this trike and listening to him squeal with delight.
10. Making meatloaf and gravy for dinner. Rice with red gravy is one of my most favorite things. Yum!

Hope your Sunday was as great as ours!

Enter the Nunnel

Otherwise know as "Why Juan should Win Father of the Year". It rained this weekend. A lot. So, my toddler couldn't play outside. At all. What does one do with a energy-laden toddler who can't play outside? In a moment of brilliance my dear husband built Caleb a nunnel. (That's tunnel to those of you who don't speak Toddlerish). Our nunnel is hand-crafted of dining room chairs, a couch pillow and an IBM beach towel - finest grade nunnel makings in all of east Round Rock.

Nunnels are my son's second favorite things. Bridges are #3 and Choo Choos are #1. He loves going under overpasses. "Nunnel Mama, nunnel Mama!" I hear joyously from the back seat. And so what in the world could be cooler than your very own nunnel people! Nothing, nothing at all.

On a side note one might wonder why the nunnel picture has Chloe in it instead of Caleb. That's because if I took Caleb's picture I would have been roped into playing nunnel afterwards. And my poor back just can't bend quite as easily as it once did.

Thanks Da! We love our nunnel!

Crash

I'm a lame-o blogger. I didn't write our super fun visit with Reese, Kasey and George. I also didn't write about Caleb's first trip to the zoo. I did post pictures though. That's better than nothing right?

Caleb has an ear infection. Appears as though his left tube has come out or is blocked. We have an appt on Tuesday with the ENT to see what's going on. Antibiotics have made him happy again. Thus, we're all doing well.

And now onto the point of this post - Crash - the most fun game EVER! Credit goes to our Nana for teaching us all how to play.

Crash is very simple. You get two objects - preferable the choo choo and the bus - and you make them crash. Over and over and over and over. Whichever vehicle Caleb has usually wins. If you want to annoy him you make yours drive off in a different direction. I mean, why have kids if you don't harass them a little? Anyway, here's a super fun video of our game of Crash this afternoon. Have a great weekend everyone!

Flashback Friday

Yesterday was our 4th wedding anniversary. This picture was taken the morning after we got engaged, at the top of Haleakala. Juan rode the bike down, I preferred to take in the view from the van. We've come a long way in the last seven and a half years. He's made me a better person. And he made me a mommy. My husband is the most devoted and loving person I've ever met. He'd do anything for his family and works so hard to ensure we're well taken care of and happy. I love you Tiger. Happy Anniversary.

Wordless Wednesday

If I didn't know any better I might think he was praying. But alas, he's just staring in awe at the ceiling fan.

Happy 18m Birthday!

Love my boys!

Big Wa Wa! Big Wa Wa!

Those were Caleb's first thoughts on the beach - which he referred to as the "pool". He loved it! He shoveled things, splashed, made mud and knocked over any attempts by his father or grandfather to build a sandcastle. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time. It was overcast, warm and perfect toddler beach weather.

The trip down and back was ok. Caleb was awake more than in trips past and so copious amounts of cheerios and goldfish were needed to keep him content and occupied. I consider that pretty easy in the grand scheme. What was much harder was sleeping. Caleb's not a big fan of the pack-n-play and being subjected to sleep in it while his snuggly parents were two feet away in a real bed was simply asking too much. The first night was pretty rough. The second night he had a runny nose (cough,cough) and slept straight through. We'll have to come up with plan b though before we take another trip. I'm afraid the pack-n-play just won't cut it anymore.

It was fun to get to see Abuelita, Abuelito and Adriana. Caleb loved having an audience and even Chloe did very well (her first trip to the Valley).

Lots of pictures here. Enjoy!

Baby Pictures

I'm not sure why this picture turned out so small. I was actually worried it would be too wide for the screen. Whatever.

I was cleaning house today and found this picture of me. I've always said that Caleb has my nose, chin and mouth. But his eyes and forehead are all Juan. I thought it would be fun to post us all together.

We had a fun trip to the beach. Caleb loved the big wa wa. More on that to come!

Flashback Friday

Yup, another baby picture. One year ago today...

Details, details...

Well cyberworld, it took about 18m or so but I'm now officially sure that my son is smarter than I am. Crap.

He knows the word ball and he also knows that balls are meant to be thrown. He likes to throw. He also knows that non-balls cannot be thrown or else you get sent to time out. He doesn't like time out.

The solution?

Everything is a ball. He'll pick up a shoe, block, car etc and proclaim "ball! ball!" and then throw the sucker halfway across the room. Nice. See, is it's a ball then it's a legal throw and you can't fuss mom. Yeah, no. Time out here you come buddy.

Tonight I asked Juan if perhaps Caleb might be a little confused and not know the word "throw" and thus he was saying "ball! ball!" because he wanted to throw and didn't know how else to express himself. I said this in front of Caleb. Who promptly looked at me and said "throw! throw!"

The game is on.

Wordless Wednesday

My sweet boys!

Hodgeblog

A few random updates for your Thursday morning...

1. We have a nice visit with Nana, Poppy, Bub and Amber. Amber posted some super cute pictures of Caleb on FB.
2. Our second electric bill came and was quite a bit smaller than the first. You can thank the energy police for that.
3. Caleb has several new words - home, crash, oops and close. He's also starting to put two and three words together. It's almost like we're having a real conversation. Only about the choo choo though. We're still choo choo obsessed.
4. No big plans this weekend. We're hoping to enjoy some quiet time at home and perhaps take the kiddo to see the choo choo. We are truly domesticated!
5. Juan has some super cute new pictures of Caleb. I'll try and add them to the August album this weekend.

J

Flashback Friday

One year ago today.

I can't even imagine where we'll be a year from now!

Remember the Alamo

So, you might file this under "duh Jan!" but regardless I thought it was worth a post...

This past weekend Juan and I took a mini-vacation to San Antonio. We left our little darling in the very capable hands of his Abuelos and enjoyed two glorious days of sleeping late, eating out and bumming around. We got to go to two of my favorite restaurants and never gave a second though to nap time, bed time, diapers or toddler-friendly environments. Not that we didn't think of the kiddo - we did talk about him all the time and called home twice each day to make sure he was doing ok and not driving my poor in-laws crazy.

What's the "duh Jan" part? The IMAX. Specifically, the IMAX showing the History of the Alamo movie. Now, as a kid growing up in Texas I was taught my fair share of Texas history. I know all about Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Santa Ana and fighting for a cause. What I failed to realize until we were about 5 minutes into the Alamo movie was that my husband (who lived in Mexico until he was 12) was taught a different version of the same events. Santa Ana is a hero, not a loser general who spent too much time with his girlfriends at San Jacinto. And all that business about Texas wanting it's freedom? What exactly were the terms of the treaty and who had a right to be there anyway? I'm not so sure that the movie portrayed things exactly as they were. Anyway, it gave me pause. My child is Mexican American. Both sides of the story are his heritage. And as his parents we want to embrace fully both worlds from which he comes. Truthfully and honestly. Good and bad. Gaudy trinkets or not.

Will this be a struggle for him? Am I a worry wort mother? Do I not even have the first clue about what it means to be a bi-racial child in this day and time?

I don't know. But I will remember the Alamo.

P.S. Thanks to everyone who made this weekend possible!

July Pictures

Such a ham!

See pictures here...

Happy Birthday To Me!

Okay, so my birthday isn't actually until tomorrow but whatever. I've been around long enough to start celebrating early if I want. We're skipping swimming lessons tonight and having Bertolli for dinner. I'm in a nostalgic mood and thought I'd start the festivities off with a flash back to 2007. It was my 30th birthday and I was exactly 8 weeks pregnant with Caleb, whom at that point we were all referring to as Francois. Can you even remember?

This is the email I sent out to publicly announce the news. All of you knew already and we'd just had our first sono with Dr. Binford and were ready to tell the world....

Hi Guys,
My 30th birthday is this weekend and today I got the best birthday present ever... Juan and I heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time - yup, we're pregnant! We're about 8 weeks with an expected due date of March 9th. We are absolutely thrilled to say the least.. This will be the first grandchild on either side and our parents are over the moon (in English and Spanish). Jonathan, Adriana and Lily are thrilled too - planning to spoil the baby rotten in retribution for the years of abuse suffered at the hands of their bossy older siblings. Amber has been #1 Aunt seeing to it that we got in with the OB we really wanted. My poor husband has been a real trooper. My mood ranges from moderately difficult to snarling beast. He's taking it all in stride so far and providing lots of Gingerale, Grilled Cheese sandwiches and Twix. As always, Chloe is completely clueless. I've attached our first baby picture - not really looking like a baby yet but I think it's absolutely perfect none the less.

Two years later and the birthdays keep on getting better....

Bon Appetit

What do you notice about the picture below?

You're supposed to say "Wow! A real place setting - napkin, utensils and a cup without a lid! Pretty brave Mom..." And it is. I decided that the child wouldn't learn how to eat like a civilized person if never given the chance so he's now got exactly what we have and we have happily seen some success.

I've also decided that he needs to start eating what we eat. I'm tired of making two meals three times a day - one for us and one for him. So, we're eating a little less spicy things and he's having to expand his palette a little. It's working ok. Last week Caleb ate shrimp, spaghetti and chicken. This is a huge accomplishment given that he usually avoids all forms of meat and pasta. Last night we had baked fish, baked potatoes, asparagus and tomatoes for dinner. See how cute it looks all cut up and on his plate?


He didn't think so. He ate 1/4 of a tomato and promptly haded the rest to me. He tried one bite of asparagus and then threw the rest on the floor. He took one look at the fish promptly poured the contents of his cup (milk) on top of it and asked for "kakers nana" which for those of you not familiar with Todderlish means graham crackers and a banana. I informed him that this WAS dinner and that he'd met his cracker and banana quotient for the day. He glared and proceeded to eat the cheese off of the baked potato. I tried to hide some fish under it in the hopes that he'd eat it by accident. Nope. I finally relented and gave him some carrots. He ate those and we called it a truce.

We are persevering though....

I Heart IKEA

Last weekend Angelica and I went to IKEA to see if we could find some storage for the playroom. I wanted something that would hold toys and be functional without being too childish since the room also doubles as the media room. I also wanted it to go with the entertainment center which is a dark wood. We found a bookcase that looked perfect and so yesterday Juan, Caleb and I went back to take another look. Luckily for us it was 50% off! Hello! That means it was just $109. The only one left however was the floor model which luckily didn't even have a scratch or ding. Getting it home already assembled was a bit tricky but we made it and Juan got it upstairs and I put everything away. I love it. So totally love it and am VERY proud of us. What do you think?

And as a bonus - check out how WHITE this baby's butt is!

Condiments

I think he liked the ketchup...

Things I Say Every Day

Pretty entertaining if I do say so myself. Get it? Say so? And it's things I say? Ha!

1. Uh oh what? Caleb says uh oh and I have no clue what for.
2. Stop pulling her hair out! He has a new fascination with Chloe's fur and loves pulling it out by the handful. Nice.
3. You've had enough bananas for today. Let's eat something else. Yesterday he ate 3 bananas and still wanted more. He really is a little monkey.
4. Dude, don't throw your food. If you're done eating then just say so. This requires no explanation.
5. Where's the choo choo? Great distraction although I do feel a bit guilty when I know that choo choo is nowhere to be found and that he's just wasting his time looking for it.
6. It's too hot for outside. Let's play inside. Never works but it's worth a try.
7. Wow, you are so pretty. He is. So very pretty.
8. Nice touches. Don't poke Mommy's eyes out please. He knows where your eyes are and he loves to poke. Hard.
9. Seriously. Where do you learn these things? He knows how to put the lid on tupperware. He can do a puzzle meant for 3yd olds. Oh, and he also knows how to undo the top buckle on his carseat. Why me? Why me?
10. I love you big boy. I do. A lot.

Have a great weekend!

Wordless Thursday

This is what happens when Mom leaves the bag of goldfish too close to the edge of the table. He thought it was fun to stomp on them. Nice.

New Shoes

Caleb and I went shopping this morning for new shoes. His old shoes had been through quite a bit and were getting too tight. We went to the Stride Rite outlet and found snazzy new shoes for just $30. Score!

House pictures and new shoes pictures here.

Weekend Update

My car is sick. Bleah. That's managed to blow whatever concentration I had left on this hot Friday afternoon so I thought I'd entertain all of you with some updates on our adventures in the new house.

1. Pool Cover. The pool cover was installed on Monday. It's pretty snazzy and we are quite happy. The only issue so far has been that Chloe can't drink the pool water when it's on. She's annoyed but we're thinking that pool water probably isn't good for bassets anyway.

2. New Dishwasher. I have a new dishwasher. Don't ask why. Or at least don't ask why in front of my husband. Just wait til he's not around and tell me it's pretty.

3. Decorations! A huge thanks to my parents for helping spruce up the new digs last weekend. Eat your heart out Martha Stewart.

4. Caleb and Chloe are both sleeping through the night again. Such a relief to be back in our normal routine and well rested.

5. What's left? We still have NO clue where Juan's running watch or his scuba goggles are. Note: I was not responsible for packing either of those items. I've checked and rechecked every remaining box in this house. I think they must be in the garage somewhere.

I'll add pictures soon...

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Home Sweet Home

We're home! The last week has been long, tiring and at times quite stressful but we're here now and mostly settled. I owe a huge thanks to a few people for their help over the last week. And so that brings us to the (last ever) Acosta Family Moving Awards!

Please give a round of applause to....

1. The Best Use of Psycho-manipulation on Sellers award goes proudly goes to my dear father for convincing the previous owners to let us in before we were legally supposed to. Granted, they were supposed to be out 12 hours earlier and stayed at least two hours after the house was ours but it saved us the extra expense of paying the movers to hold our stuff. Thanks Poppy. I knew that shrink stuff would come in handy some day.
2. The Super Brave Toilet Cleaner award goes to Abuelita. Not only did she drive by herself to our new house but she fearlessly tackled dirty toilets everywhere to ensure we could all pee with a clear conscience. Muchas gracias Abuelita.
3. The Above and Beyond the Cleaning Call of Duty award goes to Angelica for driving all the way up here to the North Pole after a really long day battling RNA strands just to wipe out really dirty cabinets and help my dad find sheets for his bed. I owe you big time.
4. The Super Duper Baby Proofer award goes to my father-in-law for not only securing every cabinet, drawer and outlet in this house but for also figuring out how to install baby gates to banisters at very tricky angles. Nobody is getting past you Abuelito!
5. The Honestly the Smartest One in the Bunch award goes to Nana. She took the kid and skipped town. Seriously, why didn't I think of that? Thanks for showing Caleb a little bit of Oz and lots of love and attention. And yes, we totally credit you for his new found ability to say "no" and "mine".
6. The Wow, I'm So Lucky to be Married to You award goes to Juan. He worked his butt off to get us here and settled. I love you dude. Thanks for being such an amazing Da and husband. And also for fixing the garage door openers. That is VERY appreciated.

In summary, we're here, we're settled and we're so very happy to be starting this next chapter in our lives. Want to see pictures? Look here. Want to come and visit? Come on!

Drinking Coffee From A Dixie Cup

That sounds like a bad country song eh? Well, it's life around here on this muggy Monday morning. We've got one day to go and things are moving along. Today we have some minor packing to do and then several errands to run plus yard work. We'll sign, sign and move tomorrow. I'll post an update once we're there and reattached to the cyber world.

Potty Talk

So let me start by saying that I am not ready to potty train my 15m old. My plan is still to wait until 2y before making a push for the big potty. I am happy to report though that in the meantime Caleb is starting to show pre-potty interest. So, the point of this post is to give you a good laugh and perhaps brag a little about my kiddo and his ability to poop.

The following conversation started happening about two weeks ago:

Caleb: I poo.
Me: Caleb poo poo?
Caleb: I poo.
Me: Sniffing
Me: Yup, Caleb poo poo. Time for a clean diaper. Diaper! Diaper!
Caleb: Runs to his room and stops in front of the changing table
Me: Good job! Caleb poo poo! New diaper, new diaper!

We were so totally proud that a.) the kid realized that he'd pooped and b.) that he's willing to follow directions and go into his room willingly to be changed.

Then a few days ago the conversation changed a little...

Caleb: I poo
Me: Okay then, let's go get a new diaper.
Caleb: Runs to his room and stops in front of the changing table
Me: Dude, there's no poo poo in here. I thought you pooped.
Caleb: I poo
Me: Sighs. Snaps him back up and puts him on the floor.
Caleb: Grunts, turns red and squats.
Me: Oh! You were going to poop!
Caleb: I poo. All done.
Me: Juan! He just freaking told me he's done! Isn't that cool!

Aren't you impressed!?!?!?!

Note: This does not apply at ALL to peeing. He could care less when he pees or if he's wet. That's ok though. I'll take poop for now. :)

One week til we move. We're hanging in there...

So. Grown. Up. Sigh.

Productive Thursday

My work schedule has changed a little bit and so now I'm working for 3 hrs on Thursday mornings. Caleb is now going to school on Thursdays and so I have a good part of the day to clean house and run errands. With everything we've had going on with work and houses this is the first week I'll get to try the new schedule out. Juan and Caleb have left and I'm now about to start my day! Here's my to-do list for today once work is over:

1. Call to schedule new utilities to be turned on
2. Call to reschedule washer/dryer delivery
3. Call to reschedule fridge delivery
4. Research UHaul locations and cost
5. Email mortgage broker to make sure she has all the paperwork
6. Clean both bathrooms. Bleah.
7. Bathe dog before #5
8. Go to grocery store so we can eat dinner
9. Email Jon and Amber and tell them we've decided we don't need the furniture. Unless they're reading this before I get this far down the list and see it for themselves.
10. Dishes
11. Laundry
12. Pay bills
13. Mop floors

My stretch goal is to also pack a few more boxes. And, my "treat" to myself for getting everything done is to take a shower and then decide where I'm going to put things in the cabinets in the new kitchen. Lame perhaps, but it makes me happy.

Wordless Wednesday

Admit it. You sniff your kid's butt too. Way easier than fighting him on the changing table only to find he's dry.

Weekend Update

Hope you are all having a restful Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed some time with Nana and Poppy and are SO happy to have our puppy girl back home again. No more crawling around on the kitchen floor cleaning up after Caleb! Chloe's home and on food patrol once again! Things are quiet around here now, all three are sleeping and I'm trying to get caught up on bills and email. We went and bought our new fridge, washer and dryer this morning. Very exciting! We've never had "fancy" appliances before and so I can't wait to give them a try at the new house. We're still all systems go for closing a month from today. I'm hoping the time goes quickly and without a lot of stress. We have a lot to pack, a roof to replace and lots to get organized. If you don't already have plans for July 4th please pencil us in. We're planning a housewarming pool party that weekend. Fun!

Fabulous Things About Fourteen Months!

Mr. Helpful turned 14m this past week. Wow, time really flies. In honor of his 14m birthday and the fact that I've been blogging more about housing woes than about him lately I'm dedicating this post solely to my little guy.

14 Fun Facts about 14 Months:

1. Caleb has a blankie (from Nana and Poppy) and a stuffed elephant (from Vero y Cesar) that he just can't part with these days. Nana already bought us a backup blankie in case ours meets an unfortunate end. Yeah, he's my kid. Gotta love your blankie!
2. Caleb is a talking machine! He has said (at least once): red, thank you, help, Mom, Da Da, up, outside, uh oh and apple. Now, to the untrained ear these might sound like baby babble but we're 100% sure that's what he said. Really.
3. Caleb loves asparagus and green peas but won't touch mac n cheese or chicken nuggets. No explanation there.
4. Caleb loves playing outside. All we hear is outside, outside, outside. At 6am, 7pm, rain, heat - no matter. This boy loves his watering cans and dirt.
5. Caleb understands a ton! If you ask him to go get the book about babies or the dog book or the color book he can rifle though the basket and return with the correct one. How freaking cool is that?
6. Caleb is an artist at heart. He loves whacking his sippy on the floor until the milk comes out and then drawing lovely pictures in milk all over my floors. Especially when they've just been cleaned. Thanks kiddo!
7. Caleb loves his Da Da. We wait for Juan to come home in the afternoons while playing with the wooden blocks and listening to Cri Cri. We then bang on the window when we see Juan and run to the door to hug him.
8. Caleb is a fabulous dancer. He can shake his rear end like no other toddler I've seen. Watch out ladies!
9. Caleb's favorite (inside) toys are the Rudy's cup and old Tupperware. Why we buy anything else for him I don't know.
10. Caleb loves flowers and especially enjoys picking the blooms off and bringing them to me. Yeah, we're working on that one.
11. Caleb can throw a tantrum that would bring tears of joy to my grandmother's eyes. I'm not sure what the little boy equivalent of drama queen is but buddy we've got one here. You try and tell the kid no and see what happens.
12. Caleb loves bathtime and splashing. He really, really, really likes it when his Daddy lets him slide up and down in the tub. Once that's done he takes his toys (filled with water of course) and dumps them over the side onto the floor and innocently proclaims "uh oh"!
13. Caleb loves Chloe. We miss her a LOT and are looking forward to her coming home from her trip to the great northern wilderness. I hear they have snakes and armadillos up there!
14. Caleb is the best thing that we've ever done, our greatest joy and our truest love. We tell each other every day what a fantastic little boy we have and how so very lucky we are to be his parents. We love you Scooter!

Casualties of War

Moving is rough. The troops are standing firm but unfortunately we're already two men down. Who have we lost? The card reader for the camera and the potato peeler. Let's face it, in the process of decluttering, sometimes you just have to say screw it and start throwing things in boxes. A realtor calls to show the house and you shove everything on the counter off into a drawer with one fell swoop. It happens, even to the most organized and anal retentive of us. And somehow, somewhere, we lost the card reader and the potato peeler. Now, both have been seen and used within the last few days. That means they're not in the storage unit but still at large in the house. Perhaps they went AWOL. I know I've considered it a few times this week. But, I'm standing firm and fighting the good fight. Inspections went reasonably well and I don't foresee any deal breakers in the near future. We do have a few issues to resolve but things should be settled this week and then we'll be well on our way to closing in June.

Happy Mother's Day!

House Update

This has been quite the week! Seven days ago we were looking forward to a quiet weekend at home. Maybe some yard work or a trip to HEB, nothing more. Now here we are bought, sold and soon to be inspected. They're inspecting our current house tomorrow morning and the new house tomorrow afternoon. Assuming no dead bodies or major structural issues are found we should be set and all systems go for closing. It's still over a month away but I know the time will go quickly. I've been working hard to educate myself on pools, cook tops and fridges. Exciting and a bit scary at the same time. We've decided we don't like living in showable condition. My boys aren't neat freaks and the poor dog hates having to stay in a kennel (thanks Raider!) while we're gone. It will be over soon though and we are so excited about the new house and the memories we'll have there.

Think good inspection thoughts for us tomorrow! Happy Mother's Day to me! I want a rain check for a nice fruity drink served poolside...

Moving On Up...

Our offer has been accepted on the new house. And we accepted an above asking price offer on our house this afternoon. First day on the market! Woo Hoo!

We're moving to the east side people. Watch out Round Rock!

Eventful Weekend

We are on the market people! The house has been de-cluttered, staged and mostly cleaned. We're now the proud owners of a storage unit and hopefully soon a new house. No word yet on if the sellers have accepted our offer. Our first open house is tomorrow so send the good selling karma and any extra St. Joseph statues my way...

Will keep you updated as things progress!

Eat Your Heart Out Neil Sperry

Caleb is really into outside. He'll bring me my flip flops and squeal "ooooosiiiii, ooooosiiiiii". Pretty cute. Here are a few pictures of him outside playing. He loves to carry a watering can in each hand and walk around talking to himself and wacking the plants.

And a shot of breakfast #2 this morning. We love our Cheerios!

More pictures (including the succulent pictures I promised Kasey) are here. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Plague

We have the plague. I don't think it's swine flu so no need to rush over with face masks and Lysol. There was a stomach virus going around daycare last week and somehow Juan and I managed to catch it while Caleb stayed healthy. Whatever. I suppose that I should be grateful and thank my lucky stars that my 1y old isn't projectile vomiting all over the house. Although it is hard to care for a well and very active toddler while feeling like crap yourself. We've managed so far and I think we're all on the mend now.

Out toddler room interview went really well yesterday. I went by myself b/c Juan had already been struck down by the plague. I had a lovely chat with Ms. Liz about how fabulous Caleb was doing in the infant room and then an extremely educational chat with Mrs. Linda about what lies ahead for us in the toddler room. Very exciting! The toddler playscape is super cool and I know he's going to LOVE being outside so much. They said to expect a much sleepier baby for a few weeks - hooray!

Off to de-plague the house while the boys sleep. No playing with swine!

Busy Weekend

We have had a super busy weekend! We visited with Abuelita and Abuelito towards the end of last week and Caleb was sad to see them leave on Saturday morning. We then got dressed and headed out to get him a haircut. Caleb's hair grows very quickly and he was a very good boy and cooperated the entire time! Saturday afternoon we made a quick stop by Richard's to say hello and then went on to Noelito's birthday party. So much fun! Melva and Noel had a petting zoo and Caleb enjoyed seeing the animals and playing with the other kids. We didn't get home until after 7pm (which is unheard of for us) and then did a quick dinner and bath before Caleb's 8pm bedtime.

Today should be busy as well. We're off to Home Depot this morning to get air filters and then Caleb has an appt to get his 1yr pictures taken at 3pm. Yes, I realize I'm a bit behind there - but better late than never. We're also having a family picture taken as well. Keep your fingers crossed for baby smiles and no snot.

Caleb is growing so quickly. He's running everywhere and has learned to throw and kick. Not necessarily the developmental milestones I was hoping for but whatever. He's still not talking much but he understands quite a bit and on some days I'm actually glad he's not talking. Given some of the looks I get it's probably better that I don't know what's on his mind.

Easter pictures in the slideshow.

Happy 13m Birthday Mr. Helpful

Caleb is 13 months today. We spent some time this afternoon outside watering the day lilies and irises. Caleb wanted to make sure they were well watered.

We came in and dried off and are now about to have our second afternoon snack.

I know I've been a slow poster these last few weeks. Things have been super crazy but will hopefully settle down soon.

Food

Ah, feeding toddlers. This is the stuff legends are made of....

Caleb has always been a super easy eater. You simply stuck it in his mouth and he ate. No problemo. He wasn't too fond of fruit but everything else he loved. We transitioned into table food without issue and on most days he eats as much as I do. He's getting a little pickier as he gets older though and I'm wondering how long it'll be before the battle of wills begins.

His new favorite things are Ritz crackers, grapes and sharp cheddar cheese. He also loves oranges, asparagus, all kinds of beans and carrots. Veggies are a no brainer - the only one he won't touch is potatoes. Not mashed or baked - no potato. Period. He also doesn't like meat. If you put it on his tray he'll immediately drop whatever he's eating and pick up the meat and fling it overboard. And then growl as if to say "You KNOW I don't like that Mah"! Despite this Mah keeps trying. Although he does like bacon quite a bit. Unfortunately for him it's not on the menu that often. I figure that maybe he'll be an Angelica vegetarian. :) I'm ok with that.

I've been putting peanut butter on his Ritz crackers to try and sneak some protein in there. It works as long as it's not a big glob. If there's a lot on his cracker he wipes it off with his finger and then smears it on the tray, his hair, me or anything else within reach.

We've tried eggs, nuts, fish and strawberries now without issue. Hooray for no food allergies. That's a nice thing to not have to worry about.

A few of his old favorites aren't so favorite anymore. He loved sweet potatoes as a baby but I made sweet potato fries a few weeks ago and he totally balked. He's also been sending green beans over the side of the tray recently and those were one of his tried and true favorites as well.

In the area of foods-I-swore-I'd-NEVER-give-my-kids he's had Reese's peanut butter cups (he BEGS for them) and Frito's. Not a lot, just a little but he gobbled both up. I'm proud to say we made it over a year without any french fries or Coke. I did give him a tiny sip of orange soda last weekend just to see him make a face. It was well worth it.

The teeth are still coming in. His bottom 1yr molar is about half in and we now have three bottom teeth. The next top two teeth should break through any day now. The Roseola is gone and we're treating his snotty nose and goopy ear with drops. We see the ENT next week for a checkup.

Be sure to check out the latest video of Caleb playing with Juan. It's quite cute!

The Week In Review

What a week! Caleb got sent home from school at the end of last week b/c of fever. We took him in and were told that it was mostly likely Roseola. Sure enough, the fever broke on Sunday and the rash started. Not pretty. By Wednesday he was back to normal and we were all much happier. I think we have a rash picture somewhere - if so, I'll post it.

Caleb had his 12m well check yesterday. He's actually lost weight since his 9m checkup in December. Yesterday he weighed 23 lbs even (he was 23lb 1oz in Dec). I guess an ounce probably isn't consider losing weight but it was still a surprise to us. He's 29.75" and his head was something large. I never remember the head measurement.

Dr Ramirez assured us that the weight thing wasn't a concern and said that now that he's running around everywhere and off of high calorie formula his weight should slow down. He said to make sure he's eating well (no problem there) and we'd just watch it going forward. He's still between 50-75% in weight and height so it's not like we're in danger of falling off the charts anytime soon.

I think Juan added some pictures to the last album - you might want to check and see.

New pictures in the slideshow

So very cute - out future Master Gardner at work!

And Then The Rest Of Thursday Happened...

I should have known better than to post something about how wonderful my Thursday was and how good my baby had been. He woke up from his nap in a bad mood. A very, very bad mood. That turned into a bad afternoon and a night from hell. Juan spent from midnight to 2am on the couch with him and I spent from 2am to 6am on the floor in the nursery. We were all really tired this morning and I was threatening to run away to Botswana. My husband seemed unfazed. We somehow manage to get dressed and off to school and work respectively. I stumbled into work feeling rather sorry for myself. And then I read this.

I love my pasture, teething and all.

Happy Thursday

Today has been a really good day! Want to know why?

1. Caleb slept until 6am this morning. Yesterday he slept until 6:15am. This is HUGE. He also took a super 2 hour nap yesterday. I'm really hoping that this new schedule lasts...
2. My jungle pants from Costa Rica fit perfectly. It's been a long time since I could say that! Hooray!
3. Caleb and I went to the park this morning and he was so fun to watch walking around everywhere and checking out the playscape. I love my little guy!
4. We gave Caleb peanuts and pecans and he had no reaction. Not that I was expecting him to, but it's still nice to know that we don't have to worry about a nut allergy.
5. The laundry is done, house is clean enough and I have nap time all to myself.

Happy Thursday!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Birthday Pictures!

Caleb's birthday was lots of fun. We played, ate and celebrated one super fun year of baby, parenthood and family. Party pictures in the slideshow. I'll post again with more details soon...

My Cupcakes Overfloweth

It's the eve of my first born's first birthday. I could write some sappy post about how having a child has changed me or how I now truly understand how deeply a parent loves their child etc etc.

I'm not though. Instead, I'm going to whine about cupcakes.

In all fairness to Betty Crocker and the universe, I should have known better. I've never actually made cupcakes before and the night before Caleb's birthday party probably wasn't the time to start. I've had twelve months to prepare for this but I assumed that if I was a.) capable of reading and following instructions and b.) somewhat knowledgeable about cooking that making cupcakes couldn't be that hard.

Apparently, I was wrong.



My first batch (chocolate) turned out fine. I just didn't realize that a box mix made 24 instead of 12. I only own one muffin pan. Annoying. I then decided to make Caleb's cake and unfortunately his cakes were coming out of the oven at the exact time my second batch of cupcakes were whirling away in the mixer. The result was that the cupcake batter got slightly over mixed and gave stiff peak new meaning. They spilled over quite a bit and my yellow cupcakes resembled portabella mushrooms by the time they emerged from the oven. My sweet father-in-law assured me they were fine and taught me how to say "mushroom cloud" in Spanish.

I decided to do the only logical thing (no, not eat all 12 by myself before anyone saw them - although I did consider it) and perform a round of cupcake plastic surgery. My husband came home to a super stressed wife standing over the kitchen sink with a dull steak knife and a dozen sheared mushroom cloud cupcakes. He backed away slowly.

Adriana was gracious enough to help me frost them and I have to say that the end result wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared. The rest of the yellow cupcakes came out nicely, mostly because the mix had time to settle while the first set were in the oven.



So, happy birthday eve to my little man. I'm a hell of a lot more comfortable tonight than I was a year ago. And perhaps next year a HEB cake might not seem like such a bad idea...

What A Difference A Year Can Make....

Caleb's recovering well. Still a little cranky at times but he has THREE teeth about to break through so I'm not sure that that isn't the real issue. We have a busy day ahead with part prep, grandparents arriving and grocery shopping to do. Only two more days til Caleb's birthday!

Recovery

Thank goodness for lunch! How else is a boy to survive a morning like this! Ignore the fact that he has a Christmas bib on. It's been a rough day people.

Moooooooooooooo

We made the switch to whole milk! I gave him some yesterday morning with breakfast as a test. He drank it (or at least as much as he will ever drink from a sippy) and didn't even blink. He had a little more with lunch and dinner. Caleb still prefers water and I'm ok with that. We've tried diluted juice a few times and he just spits it out and glares at me. Before bedtime last night we gave him what will probably be his last bottle ever (sniff!). We've got a tiny bit of formula left and from here on out it's milk and sippys all the way. He did ok this morning - drank about 2oz of milk before tottering off to find more interesting things. I'm a little concerned about his overall fluid intake though. His morning and night bottles were about 80% of his daily fluid intake and by replacing those with the sippy we'll need to watch and make sure he's getting enough to drink during the day. He still thinks sippy are more for throwing than for drinking. Hopefully once he realizes that he has no other option that will change.

On a very exciting note, he's now signing "done" and "more". That will help with the drinking b/c it's easier to know when he wants it. He's made the "milk" sign a couple of times but it's not nearly as consistent as the others. He'll sign "more" when he wants more food at meals and yesterday made the "more" sign when he and Juan were playing peek-a-boo. Juan stopped and Caleb wanted to keep on playing! For the things he can't sign his method of communication is clapping. When I do something he likes he'll clap for me. When he doesn't like it he screams. Very effective. I feel a bit like a trained monkey working for claps but it's worth knowing that I can communicate with the child. At least to some degree.

Birthday party preparations are in full swing. Abuelita and Abuelito arrive on Thursday followed by Tia Adriana and Tia Lil on Friday. Nana and Poppy will come in on either Friday night or Saturday morning. Our little guy is growing up so fast and I'm excited to celebrate this huge milestone with our family and friends. There's one last major 1 yr accomplishment to look forward to and it's the one I'm most excited about (although not paying for formula is a close second). We can turn the car seat around! Finally! Caleb hit the 20 lb mark way back at 6m but we have to keep him rear-facing until his birthday. I can't wait to be able to SEE him and get him in and out easier - and with significantly fewer bumps to my head and his on the door frame.

We have an exciting week in store with the tubes, family and party. Stay tuned!

New pictures in the slideshow

Thanks to my husband!

Thursday

I had to bribe Caleb with graham crackers so he'd stay still while I wrote this post. He's a fast eater so I'll make this quick!

The tubes are scheduled for next Tuesday (3/11) in the morning. We won't know the exact time until the day before. They schedule based on age so we're bound to be one of the first ones. I'll be sure and post something once we're home and let everyone know he's ok.

Caleb is walking everywhere these days! Here's a fun video Juan took yesterday afternoon. He seems to have mostly recovered from this last ear infection. He's still snotty and a bit melodramatic but he slept all night last night and that is a HUGE improvement. Thank goodness for good sleep!

Graham crackers are gone. Basset is moving in for the crumbs. Posting time is over!

What Caleb's Getting For His Birthday

Ear tubes. Seriously. We went in yesterday and have a big ole ear infection in his right ear. This was after a rough Friday night and a cranky Saturday morning. Thank goodness Nana and Poppy are here to lend a hand! I'm going to call the ENT on Monday morning and see about getting him in this week. I'll be sure to let everyone know when they schedule the tubes and how things go. Intellectually, I'm totally ok with it. We need to end this ear infection hell and get him well. Emotionally, it's harder because my baby hurts and I don't like the idea of people sticking things is his ears and feel like it's my job as Mommy to avoid things like this from happening. What could I have done better or differently or sooner or later or whatever to not get us to this place. I know that this isn't my fault but it still stinks. But, he's gotten more than his fair share of attention this weekend I think he'll survive. This is his real birthday present in case anyone was wondering:

He's all over button and switches these days so I think he'll like it. His new favorite thing is to get to push the button on the garage door opener to make it go up or down. He pushes it and then turns around and squeals and claps and the big door goes down. It's the highlight of coming home in the afternoons. He's still walking well and his balance has definitely improved. He looks a lot less drunk these days! :)

I'll post pictures this afternoon...

Overdue

I know it's been awhile since my last post - sorry. Things have been super busy around here and any extra time has been devoted to sleep. Caleb's been going through a growth spurt (you wouldn't believe how tall he is!) and it's totally messed up all our sleep. He wakes at 4am starving and then refuses to go back to sleep. Things for the last several days have been rough at best. Juan's recovering from the flu and hasn't felt well. Caleb and I are well - knock on wood. He's walking like crazy and into everything. He especially loves Chloe. Seriously, obsessively in love. It's sweet in a I-love-my-babies kinda way but he's not always gentle and she's not always in the mood to be adored. We've moved her dog bed into our bedroom to give her some safe space and a little peace.

Swimming lessons ended last Saturday and so we're now thinking of enrolling in a Gymboree class. I need to re-read the website and see if it will fit with our schedules. Nothing too exciting is going on besides that, we're getting ready for the big birthday in a few weeks! Time flies!

New pictures soon, I promise

Real Haircut!

Caleb went and got his first professional haircut this afternoon. He looks so grown up!

He was a really good sport and didn't cry at all. Go Caleb!

He liked sitting in the car and turning the steering wheel.

Afterwards we went to check out the new light rail station by Lakeline Mall. Pretty cool!

Happy Valentine's Momma

I got to sleep in this morning (6:45am! Woo hoo!). Love Juan for that! I got up and walked into the living room and got Valentine's kisses from my boys. Juan asked if I wanted my Valentine from Caleb and I said yes. Here it is:

It's a beautiful heart! On second glance though the heart looked rather familiar. Then it hit me. He painted it with his BUTT! :)

Happy Valentine's at all...

We Have A New Puppy...

...and his name is Caleb. He's 11m and running around with stuff hanging out of his mouth. Seriously! Currently, he's crawling around the kitchen with part of the letter "P" from the alphabet mat dangling from his lips. Before that it was a cup towel. Teething perhaps? I've pulled him out of the dog bed at least five times this morning. He speed crawls over to her and then throws his arms around her in a big bear hug and then rolls with laughter. Too freaking cute but not acceptable. Sigh. Kids!

Our latest video will be up later today hopefully. I'm having problems uploading it at the moment. He's gotten really good at the ring toss and putting the ball in the musical ring toss. I'm impressed!

My Kid Is Really Cute

Playing Ball

Here's a super fun video of my boys playing ball. Juan took us out to lunch today and stayed to play for a few minutes before going back to work. Be sure to check out Caleb's teeth - you can see all four of them towards the end.

Tonight was out first attempt at yanking the binkie. He went to sleep without a peep - no crying at all. We could only hope it's this easy!

Moving On Up...

When I dropped Caleb off at school yesterday I noticed that Kenzie wasn't in the room. I asked Ashley where she was and Ashley replied that Kenzie had started to transition to the toddler room. She turned 1y about a week and a half ago so I guess this shouldn't have surprised me too much. I then realized that Caleb will be 11m next week (seriously!) and we too would need to start thinking about transitioning soon enough. On my way out I picked up a list of the transition criteria. It is as follows:

1. Takes 1 nap a day on a cot. Naptime is from 12:30-3pm. You need to stay on your cot during that time.
2. Eats table food. No jar food or bottles.
3. Walks well and can walk holding an object
4. Responds to simple commands - come, sit, stay.
5. Drinks from a cup without a lid.

There are a few more but I think this should keep us entertained for awhile. Average age for transitioning fully is 13-15 months. I'm not so sure we'll be there that quickly, specifically #1.

Hmmm.

Walking Video

Here's the latest video of Caleb walking!

First Thursday

Caleb said his first (understandable) word today. It was "uh oh". I don't think he actually knows what it means but he sure sounds cute saying it.

And after that? He took his first steps. Four steps actually.

I'm proud and happy and a bit nostalgic. My baby's really not a baby anymore. He's a talking, walking, wild man!

Videos to come soon. He wasn't in the mood to preform for the camera this afternoon.

Squirrels, Ears and Ice

We've had a very busy day today! First our new friend the bug man came out to check our house. It seems that something has been nibbling on the fascia boards on our roof. Normally, I'd assume it was Caleb since he enjoys chewing on wood. Take a look at his baby bed. I promise he's not part beaver.

Caleb seems to be a bit too short to reach the roof though so he's out of lineup for now. The bug man says it's squirrels. Squirrels who can't tell the difference between my attic and a bathroom either. Hmph. He put out a thingy to see if they're still residing upstairs and then once we know what's living there we'll move forward with an eviction notice.

Next we went to see the ENT. Caleb's ears look great and so we don't need tubes just yet. He suggested we wait this ear infection out and then see how Caleb does in the next few weeks. If we end up back in Dr Ramirez's office then tubes may be inevitable but for now we're hoping that the meds are working and that Caleb's ears can stay in one piece.

And ice! It's supposed to freeze tonight (don't laugh at me you Yankees!) so we're going to stay home and snuggle. And sleep well - hopefully. We've had a major lapse in Ferberization so the drill sargents are on task now. Now that we know the ears aren't a valid excuse for slumber parties at midnight it's time to get back to normal sleeping around here.

Alone Time

My favorite time of the day is naptime. And no, it's not because I like to watch my precious angel sleep, it's because it's the only time of the day that I'm alone in the house. Well, the baby is still here but it's as close to alone time as it gets on most days so I'll take what I can get. I feel somewhat like a horrible mother for saying this but the peace and quiet is pure bliss. I can get so much done so much faster when Caleb's asleep. My mother had warned me of this before he was born and she's totally right. Doing anything or going anywhere with a baby is really complicated. For example, if I want to fold laundry I have to first make sure Caleb is well occupied with toys and located in a safe spot (ie. middle of the living room rug). Then I have to sprint to the laundry room, grab a basket and pull the clothes out of the dryer before he has time to notice I'm gone and crawl into the laundry room and start playing with Chloe's water or food bowls. Then I have to sprint back into the living room with the basket and make sure that instead of following after me he didn't instead head for his room or the kitchen and find something else to get into. Assuming we're both safely back in the living room I can then fold clothes until he notices the basket. I've found the easier thing to do is to dump the clean clothes on the couch and just give him the basket up front. He loves it and until I do he's going to stand there and "help" me fold all the while trying to pull the basket onto the floor. If I give him the basket up front he'll be occupied for a good 10 minutes in which time I can fold everything and even put some stuff away. All piles of clothes must be placed on the top of the couch though b/c any piles left on the seat will be pulled onto the floor by the baby who by this time is bored with the basket. (You just brush off the dog hair and re-fold - nobody will ever know. Until now at least).

It's not that I don't love being with my child - I do more than everything. But it's also nice to have a little quiet time every now and then. Off to fold laundry...

Yummy, Yummy Food For Caleb's Tummy!

Caleb is becoming quite the culinary connoisseur these days! I try and buy one or two new foods each time we go to HEB and so far it has worked. He's still not a huge fruit fan but will eat any veggie you plop down on his tray. It is a bit tricky though because he's decided that he wants to feed himself and doesn't much appreciate help. Thus, no more purees fed with a spoon unless you trick him by putting a pea or carrot on top. Then he'll open up and let you feed him.

Here's the new stuff he's tried:

1. Blackberries
2. Black Beans
3. Cheese - Cheddar, Swiss and Mozzarella
4. Plums
5. Kidney Beans
6. Abuelita's Mexican Rice
7. Goldfish Crackers
8. Rice Cakes (Apple and Cinnamon flavored)
9. Brown Rice
10. Bubblegum flavored antibiotics

We've yet to try Jello (strawberry) and asparagus but will this week. Lunch today is elbow macaroni with peas and parmesan. We'll see how that goes!

On an ear note, we have an appt with the ENT on Tuesday. I'd like to know his thoughts on the fluid buildup and how best to proceed. I'm not opposed to tubes but want to know my options and understand more about what's going on before we make a decision. The medicine is working (his nose has stopped running) although the last three nights have been pretty rough. He woke up around 10:30 pm last night and Juan was up with him until after midnight. Not fun. Hopefully by tonight he'll be feeling better and we'll all sleep well.