Plimoth Plantation Field Trip & Crawling Like Crazy

Last Thursday Caleb and I went on a field trip with Jen's school to Plimoth Plantation. We were originally supposed to go on Tuesday, but it was snowing and freezing, so Jen canceled the field trip and rescheduled for Thursday. Luckily we had a relatively small group, so we were able to reschedule. Everyone wants to go to Plimoth Plantation close to Thanksgiving.

We got to the school and got ready to go. I had 4 kids in my car along with Caleb. I had 2 8th graders and 2 2nd graders. One of the 8th graders, Josie, is one of the daughters of Caleb's babysitter Dede, so she is very comfortable with Caleb and she sat in back with him and was his special helper for the day.

We got into a lot of traffic because of a bad accident and bridge construction, so we were about half an hour late getting there. Originally I thought Caleb wouldn't take a nap until we got there, but since it took so long in the car, he actually fell asleep about 15 minutes before we got there and then of course woke up when we arrived, so it was just a quick catnap. At least it took the edge off. We went to the Mayflower first. I knew that I would have to carry Caleb on the Mayflower because a stroller wouldn't fit. He was very heavy by the end, but we weren't on there for too long, so it was ok. It was fun and Caleb really enjoyed touching everything, especially the big ropes on the sides of the ship.

The group, minus Jen and I

Sitting on one of the beds on the Mayflower

Plymouth Rock

 

After the Mayflower, we drove to Plimoth Plantation. The first thing we did was go watch a short movie. That worked out well because I needed to nurse Caleb. Initially we were the only ones in the theater, so I told Jen I would just sit in the back and nurse Caleb during the movie while the rest of the group was in the front. Well, then a huge group of about 60 kids and chaperones came in, so I was no longer alone in the back. They kept their distance from me, but it was still not ideal. Oh well. After the movie, we walked around. I knew Caleb was tired, so I laid him down in the stroller. He fell asleep pretty quickly and slept about 40 minutes, which wasn't bad considering all the noise around him.

Such a sweet face!

 

We visited the Wampanoag Village before lunch and then we ended up eating lunch outside because the cafeteria was full. It was a pretty nice day actually, so it wasn't too bad. I had planned on feeding Caleb some solids during lunch, but since we were outside I didn't even take him out of the stroller and just gave him some puffs instead.

 

Caleb and all his girlfriends after lunch

 

After lunch, we went to the English Village, which is what you think of when you think of Plimoth Plantation. It is all the little houses where people act as if they were living in 1627. It was very interesting and the kids had a good time. I think Caleb enjoyed just being out and about and being with the kids, but obviously he didn't get too much out of the experience.

 

My group

This woman was plucking a chicken and the kids were very intrigued with it

 







Most of the day, it was crowded there, but towards the end we had the place almost all to ourselves because most schools had to leave earlier than we did to get back home. It was nice to not have to deal with the crowds. After we went to the English Village, we went to the gift shop and then left to go home. It was a very nice day and Caleb did very well on his first field trip! In a few weeks, we are going to the Boston Aquarium on another field trip. I think Caleb will be more interested in that one.

On the way home Caleb stayed awake, so I assumed he would sleep when we got home. It was late, so I didn't try to put him down for a nap. I just nursed him and he would not go to sleep, so that was a bummer. He probably wasn't tired because he hadn't had any activity all day. So, I kept him up but just put him to bed early instead. He was happy the rest of the day, so it all worked out.

Friday Caleb was with Grammy in the morning and with Rad and Jen in the afternoon. Caleb went shopping with Grammy to the party store for tablecloths for our church Thanksgiving dinner and Grammy had fun with a Thanksgiving hat.

 

Grammy also took a picture of Caleb crawling across the room. He is so much better and faster at crawling this week. He has really taken off. He loves to crawl over and pull the DVDs off the shelf, bang the gate and the dog crate door in the living room and shut the door in his room.

 

On Friday night we didn't do supper with everyone so we just had a quiet evening by ourselves. Sabbath morning Caleb was of course up at 5:30 so it was a long-ish morning before going to church. Caleb didn't take a very long nap, which was a little annoying, but we still didn't make it to Sabbath School because I ended up nursing Caleb at home so I wouldn't have to do it at church. We stayed in church for awhile until the sermon started and then we went into the mother's room so Caleb could play. We had potluck again this week and then brought Caleb home for a nap. He took a longer afternoon nap, so that was good. After sundown, Caleb, Steve and I went out and did the grocery shopping for the church Thanksgiving dinner so my mom didn't have to do it. Then we came home and Caleb had a bath and got ready for bed. I got Caleb to bed around 7:15 and then I met my mom and Dania at the church at 7:30 to start cooking for the dinner. I stayed until about 9:30 and then went home so I could go to bed. I am glad that I was able to help my mom some because she is so busy and has so much to do.

 

Sunday morning Caleb woke up a little later than 5:30 but not much. I am pretty much resigned to the fact that this is his normal wake-up time for now. Maybe once he starts walking and running around he will sleep later, but for now, this is it! I am a morning person, so it is fine, although it would be nice to sleep in a little on Sabbath mornings.

 

I worked as usual on Sunday morning but then around noon, I met Steve and Caleb in Hyannis because they had gone to Home Depot and I picked up Caleb and we went to the mall for a little bit. Then we came home and Caleb napped and I worked some more. I fed him when he woke up and then we had to head to the Thanksgiving dinner. It is always a nice time and we have a good turn-out. Caleb ate quite a bit of mashed potatoes mixed with sweet potatoes. He is definitely starting to get better at eating real food, although we are still sticking with a lot of soft/pureed foods.

 

 

Monday morning after Caleb's nap and breakfast and everything, we went out shopping, mostly for supplies for Caleb's birthday party!! I can't believe his birthday is next week. We are going to have a party on Sunday with just family. My grandparents from Tennessee are coming up for his birthday and Thanksgiving, so that will be nice. They haven't seen Caleb since July, so I think they will notice a big difference! They had a Mickey Mouse-theme for the first birthday at the party store, so we bought a lot of things. We should get a lot of nice pictures.

 

Caleb took 2 50-minute naps on Monday, so that wasn't great, but not too bad either. Usually one nap is longer than the other, but not this time. I can't remember anything else exciting from Monday.

 

Buying wrapping paper at the dollar store

Getting into everything now!

 

Tuesday was a pretty normal day. Our excitement for the day was going to our play group at the library. There were a couple of babies that weren't there that day, so it was a small group, but still fun! Caleb showed off his crawling skills and they were all impressed. We also saw Uncle Kevin for a few minutes on Tuesday, which was nice. Other than that, nothing too much happened on Tuesday either! I think Caleb took an hour nap in the morning and 40 minutes in the afternoon.

 

Yesterday I had to work, of course, but my parents are in Vermont for a few days, so I had Dede come babysit Caleb all day. I left work at 2:30 to get home so she could get her girls from school. Caleb woke up around 5:10 yesterday morning instead of 5:30, although he did go back to sleep for a few minutes I think. Anyway, Dede put him down for his nap in the morning and he went right to sleep and slept almost 2 hours! I think she was pretty surprised and so was I! He does that every once in awhile and it is so nice, but it is a pretty rare occurrence. His afternoon nap was then only 30 minutes, but that's fine with me! Dede and Caleb had a good day and she was very happy to be able to babysit him. She and her girls are also going to babysit on Friday afternoon, so that will be nice. Because I got home from work early yesterday, I used my extra time to make some baby food for Caleb. I am not one of those moms that does everything all natural, but it is much cheaper to make my own food, so I do it for the vegetables and still use the fruits from a jar (except for the homemade applesauce we use). I made peas, spinach, green beans, and sweet potatoes last night and I have a few more things to make today. We haven't tried spinach or green beans yet, so we will see how it goes. I will definitely mix them with something that he does like at first.

 

Well, I guess that's about it. Not a very exciting blog this week. Next week's will be more interesting because of Caleb's birthday, but I'm not sure when I will write it because of Thanksgiving. We'll see.