I have no idea what part of the baby we are looking at
here. Your guess is as good as mine!
Can anyone tell if this kidney bean size kid is a boy or girl?
Hope you enjoyed our little one's first pictures.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Little McBaby
Today we went for our first check-up and were given a few pictures to share. The due date is estimated to be April 4th (the day before Caleb's birthday).
I have no idea what part of the baby we are looking at
here. Your guess is as good as mine!
Can anyone tell if this kidney bean size kid is a boy or girl?
I have no idea what part of the baby we are looking at
here. Your guess is as good as mine!
Can anyone tell if this kidney bean size kid is a boy or girl?
Monday, August 22, 2011
Pasta Shells
My mother-in-law once told me that she isn't a big fan of pictures of babies with messy faces. Grandma McKinstry, unfortunately, you may not enjoy this post. While I'm not a big fan of messy faces either, Caleb has a new quirky habit that I thought was worth sharing.
A few months ago, my cousin told me that she buys pasta made out of vegetables for her twins in an attempt to feed them healthier. Caleb liked the pasta at her house so I decided to buy some similar twisty pasta for our house. Another day while grocery shopping, I found some organic pasta shells made out of different veggies and picked up a box to try.
The very first time we gave Caleb the shells, he started sliding his thumb into the center of the shell and then plopping it into his mouth. This takes a lot longer to eat than just double-fisting the food into those miniature jaws like usual (which can be a good thing if you want to sit and enjoy dinner or have a little extra time to clean up afterwards). Here is Caleb modeling for the camera exactly how to eat this type of pasta:
(Another not so endearing habit Caleb's developed lately is
propping his foot up on the table. I wish I had a dollar for
every time I heard Dave say, "Caleb, take your foot off the table.
It doesn't belong up there.")
If you look closely at his thumbs, you'll see just how this technique is done.
What a silly boy!
A few months ago, my cousin told me that she buys pasta made out of vegetables for her twins in an attempt to feed them healthier. Caleb liked the pasta at her house so I decided to buy some similar twisty pasta for our house. Another day while grocery shopping, I found some organic pasta shells made out of different veggies and picked up a box to try.
The very first time we gave Caleb the shells, he started sliding his thumb into the center of the shell and then plopping it into his mouth. This takes a lot longer to eat than just double-fisting the food into those miniature jaws like usual (which can be a good thing if you want to sit and enjoy dinner or have a little extra time to clean up afterwards). Here is Caleb modeling for the camera exactly how to eat this type of pasta:
(Another not so endearing habit Caleb's developed lately is
propping his foot up on the table. I wish I had a dollar for
every time I heard Dave say, "Caleb, take your foot off the table.
It doesn't belong up there.")
If you look closely at his thumbs, you'll see just how this technique is done.
What a silly boy!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
A night away from Mommy
Caleb stayed with Daddy during all the "yardcrawling" so I wouldn't have to drag him in and out of the carseat a million times. That evening though, he got his own special outing - a night with Na Na and Pop pop (which is what he is now calling my parents). Caleb has stayed overnight with his grandparents on various occasions but never without his mommy. This was the first night in his 16-month life I'd been away from him the entire night. It was difficult in some ways to let him go by himself and break the routine, but it was also a nice opportunity for some rest and quality time with Dave.
After I packed his suitcase, Caleb had to unpack it and
check the contents.
Don't worry! He's a good boy and packed it back
up for Mommy.
Ready for fun!
As soon as we got there, Ginger greeted him at the door.
He quickly made himself at home like he always does.
He loves this old bouncy horse my parents bought me for my
first Christmas so he had to try that out immediately.
What did Dave and I do with our free time? We went to watch the Smurf movie at the Alamo. The Alamo is a theater in Winchester, VA that serves dinner while you watch your movie. We'd never been there before so we thought we'd see what all the talk was about, plus our original plan to go to the drive-in got rained out. We chose the Smurfs for nostalgic reasons (and because most everything else looked sketchy). However, as we sat there waiting for the movie to begin, Dave asked why we sent our kid to his grandparents' and then went to a movie full of kids - the irony!
Afterwards we stopped for the $1 hot fudge sundaes at McDonalds and headed home to play a couple games of Othello before crashing by 10 pm. We slept in until about 8 am the next morning without interruptions from a little boy.
Caleb did wonderfully at his grandparents. When I showed up the next day, I expected him be super excited to see me like he does when I leave him on occasion during the day. Instead, he looked at me calmly and said "boo." Then, he went on about his business in no hurry to get home.
After I packed his suitcase, Caleb had to unpack it and
check the contents.
Don't worry! He's a good boy and packed it back
up for Mommy.
Ready for fun!
As soon as we got there, Ginger greeted him at the door.
He quickly made himself at home like he always does.
He loves this old bouncy horse my parents bought me for my
first Christmas so he had to try that out immediately.
What did Dave and I do with our free time? We went to watch the Smurf movie at the Alamo. The Alamo is a theater in Winchester, VA that serves dinner while you watch your movie. We'd never been there before so we thought we'd see what all the talk was about, plus our original plan to go to the drive-in got rained out. We chose the Smurfs for nostalgic reasons (and because most everything else looked sketchy). However, as we sat there waiting for the movie to begin, Dave asked why we sent our kid to his grandparents' and then went to a movie full of kids - the irony!
Afterwards we stopped for the $1 hot fudge sundaes at McDonalds and headed home to play a couple games of Othello before crashing by 10 pm. We slept in until about 8 am the next morning without interruptions from a little boy.
Caleb did wonderfully at his grandparents. When I showed up the next day, I expected him be super excited to see me like he does when I leave him on occasion during the day. Instead, he looked at me calmly and said "boo." Then, he went on about his business in no hurry to get home.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Yardcrawl
For the past seven years, the Shenandoah Valley has hosted an event called the "Yardcrawl." The annual Yardcrawl is a 43 mile stretch of yard sales down Rt. 11 from Stephens City to New Market. This year one of my friends told me that she even saw some yard sales set up all the way to Harrisonburg! Several people in the area ranted and raved about this event, so I decided to see what it was all about last weekend.
I enjoy shopping and love getting a good deal, but this....this was a bit much for even me! I took some pictures of the scenery down Rt. 11 to give you an idea of exactly what this extreme event was like. Cars were bumper to bumper down most of the scenic country highway and people were parked all over the place!
My mom went on this crazy journey with me. At first we parked on the side of the road like all the other bargain-hunters out there and dodged cars as we made our way across the highway to the next set of tables or field splattered with yesterdays' treasures. Often I had to park off in a ditch so I'd be far enough off the road; my poor mother had to trudge through the tall grass keeping her eyes peeled for ticks and other critters. Finally, we smartened up and did our yardcrawling from the car, pulling over only if we spotted something of interest.
We ended up spending a total of about $5 all day. I picked up a baby signs book and CD for 50 cents and Mom got a giraffe safety backpack for Caleb and a few magazines. For the most part though, I felt like someone should have called Sanford and Son and had them make a few trips to haul most of the junk away. Some of the most extreme finds included a GIANT carousel horse and a car that looked like someone had taken apart and spread out on their yard to sell piece by piece.
In particular, I was looking for clothes or toys for Caleb and maybe a high chair or jumper for the new baby. However, everything looked very used, dirty, and poorly cared for so we'll just have to keep looking else where. I did have a few friends who found exactly what they wanted which was great. I just don't think this girl has the energy to handle sifting through 43 miles of junk to find that awesome deal. While we can say we tried it and laughed about it, Mom and I made a pact to avoid the Yardcrawl in the future. For those brave souls who attempt it year after year, I hope you find something wonderful....you deserve it! :)
I enjoy shopping and love getting a good deal, but this....this was a bit much for even me! I took some pictures of the scenery down Rt. 11 to give you an idea of exactly what this extreme event was like. Cars were bumper to bumper down most of the scenic country highway and people were parked all over the place!
My mom went on this crazy journey with me. At first we parked on the side of the road like all the other bargain-hunters out there and dodged cars as we made our way across the highway to the next set of tables or field splattered with yesterdays' treasures. Often I had to park off in a ditch so I'd be far enough off the road; my poor mother had to trudge through the tall grass keeping her eyes peeled for ticks and other critters. Finally, we smartened up and did our yardcrawling from the car, pulling over only if we spotted something of interest.
We ended up spending a total of about $5 all day. I picked up a baby signs book and CD for 50 cents and Mom got a giraffe safety backpack for Caleb and a few magazines. For the most part though, I felt like someone should have called Sanford and Son and had them make a few trips to haul most of the junk away. Some of the most extreme finds included a GIANT carousel horse and a car that looked like someone had taken apart and spread out on their yard to sell piece by piece.
In particular, I was looking for clothes or toys for Caleb and maybe a high chair or jumper for the new baby. However, everything looked very used, dirty, and poorly cared for so we'll just have to keep looking else where. I did have a few friends who found exactly what they wanted which was great. I just don't think this girl has the energy to handle sifting through 43 miles of junk to find that awesome deal. While we can say we tried it and laughed about it, Mom and I made a pact to avoid the Yardcrawl in the future. For those brave souls who attempt it year after year, I hope you find something wonderful....you deserve it! :)
Monday, August 15, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Corncob
Our toddler is becoming more independent every day. This evening at supper we ate corn on the cob. While fixing Caleb's tray, Dave did what any reasonable parent would do for their 16-month-old; he carefully cut the corn off the cob to make it easier to eat. He didn't realize that "big boys" don't want their daddies to cut the corn off the cob. After eating most of his food, he came over and crawled up into my lap, attempting to grab my corn. I let him take a bite to see what he would do with just six teeth; the boy demolished it!
Video footage:
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Second half
The second half of our trip to the Midwest was spent at Dave's Grandma Swan's house in southern Illinois. This was only the second time Caleb has had the opportunity to see his great grandma and he was very excited to be there!
One of the most common bonding opportunities they had while we visited was reading books together. Caleb brought at few of his favorites from home, but Grandma McKinstry loaned us a few as well which helped entertain our busy boy.
Another interesting source of entertainment was Grandma Swan's wind chime. He repeatedly prompted us to lift him up or stretched up on his tiptoes trying to make music.
While we were unaware at the time, Caleb had an ear infection during the trip. We were tipped off that this might be the case because he was VERY loud most of the time we were visiting Grandma Swan. The last time he was this noisy for an extended period of time was during our trip to visit Dave's parents at Christmas, which was also the only other time he's had an ear infection. He wasn't always upset; a lot of the loudness was squeals of excitement, but he was quite vocal the entire visit. We decided that for the sake of Grandma Swan's ears and our sanity, we'd better get this kid outside a little despite the 90 degree temperatures. One morning we decided to beat the heat by taking a trip to a local playground.
The toys were fun and all but the bobcat moving things
around the park was pretty amazing to Caleb.
Another day, we took a walk to a cemetery near Grandma Swan's because it had a lot of large trees to shade us. While it might not seem the ideal place to visit, it allowed Caleb play outside some and he found ways to entertain himself with lots of sticks we found along the way.
Later that day, Uncle Phil and Aunt Lotella (Grandma Swan's sister) dropped by and took us out for some ice cream at the local Dairy Queen.
It was bittersweet heading home, knowing that it will be a while before we can visit again. But, we're so thankful the three of us had time to spend with Grandma Swan this summer.
One of the most common bonding opportunities they had while we visited was reading books together. Caleb brought at few of his favorites from home, but Grandma McKinstry loaned us a few as well which helped entertain our busy boy.
Another interesting source of entertainment was Grandma Swan's wind chime. He repeatedly prompted us to lift him up or stretched up on his tiptoes trying to make music.
While we were unaware at the time, Caleb had an ear infection during the trip. We were tipped off that this might be the case because he was VERY loud most of the time we were visiting Grandma Swan. The last time he was this noisy for an extended period of time was during our trip to visit Dave's parents at Christmas, which was also the only other time he's had an ear infection. He wasn't always upset; a lot of the loudness was squeals of excitement, but he was quite vocal the entire visit. We decided that for the sake of Grandma Swan's ears and our sanity, we'd better get this kid outside a little despite the 90 degree temperatures. One morning we decided to beat the heat by taking a trip to a local playground.
The toys were fun and all but the bobcat moving thingsaround the park was pretty amazing to Caleb.
Another day, we took a walk to a cemetery near Grandma Swan's because it had a lot of large trees to shade us. While it might not seem the ideal place to visit, it allowed Caleb play outside some and he found ways to entertain himself with lots of sticks we found along the way.
Later that day, Uncle Phil and Aunt Lotella (Grandma Swan's sister) dropped by and took us out for some ice cream at the local Dairy Queen.
It was bittersweet heading home, knowing that it will be a while before we can visit again. But, we're so thankful the three of us had time to spend with Grandma Swan this summer.
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