It's A Girl!!

Of course anyone who is reading this blog already knows that we found out we are having a girl, but that is by far the most exciting thing that has happened in the last 2 weeks since I have written. We went last Thursday night at 8:00 and my parents babysat Caleb so we could go out to dinner before that. We enjoyed a very nice dinner at Di Parma in Yarmouth, which was literally 3 minutes from the hospital. I wanted to have some dessert to make sure the baby was moving around for the ultrasound, but we were too full, so I just ended up having a piece of chocolate. Well, turns out we didn't need to worry because she was moving so much the ultrasound tech told us we should invest in a pair of running shoes! Looks like we will definitely have our hands full with her! It took a long time for her to get to the part where we could tell the gender, but we were a little surprised when she told us she thought it was a girl (they say they are only 85% sure whenever they tell people a girl), because most everyone thought we would have another boy. We are both very happy to be having a girl and to be able to experience one of each, but we honestly would have been thrilled to have another little boy.

Anyway, back to everything else. We haven't had a very exciting couple of weeks, just because the weather has still been snowy and cold and it is harder to get out. We have been staying sane by having play dates with our friends. Last Monday we went to Gymport with Heidi and Grace, and that was fun. We had another snowstorm on that Sunday and were cooped up in the house all day, so we really needed to get out. The problem was that it was bitterly cold on Monday. Before going to Gymport, we went to get some groceries and Caleb was literally crying when we were walking outside because it was so cold and windy. I felt pretty bad.

Last Tuesday we had a playdate at Beth and Charlie's house and were there for almost 3 hours. And it was snowing again that day.

Caleb and Charlie

Wednesday I worked and my mom and Caleb had a pretty quiet day at home, but they did venture out to the library.  

At the library

Last Thursday which was the ultrasound day, we had a not so great start to our day. Steve ended up going to work with both car seats in his car, so Caleb and I couldn't go anywhere. One of the problems with that is that I had a dentist appointment so I was going to drop Caleb off at my mom's house and having no car seat meant she had to come to my house, which I felt bad about, because she wasn't able to get anything done at my house like she would have done at her house. I felt bad, but she was gracious about it. 

On Friday, Dede and the girls babysat Caleb all day since it was school vacation week, so that was a nice break for my mom. 

Last weekend, Steve's parents and Caroline and Corey came for the weekend. They arrived around suppertime on Friday and were able to see Caleb for a few minutes before he had to go to bed. Friday was Steve's mom's birthday so Caroline had made a cake, which was nice. 

Sabbath was a nice day. We stayed for potluck after church since Caleb's naps are hit or miss these days. Then we just went home and visited for awhile and then Rad and Jen and Levi and my parents came over to visit as well. It is just nice to all be together. 

On Sunday, we didn't have anything special planned, so I just worked like normal and everyone else took care of breakfast and taking care of Caleb. 

Helping Grandpa make some waffles

On Monday, we went to Miss Lori's class and then did some errands on the way home. Monday afternoon was mostly spent doing laundry and going through the next size of Caleb's clothes. He is now wearing a lot of 3T shirts and they don't seem big on him at all. 

The flash made him blink, but I was having him try on a Patriots coat from the 3T bin and he also put on some Mickey crocs that were way too big and he wanted to wear his hard hat. 

We have also started watching one episode of Mickey Mouse clubhouse pretty much every afternoon that I am home with Caleb. This is especially helpful on the days when he doesn't nap because those afternoons get so long and it is nice to just have him sit still for a few minutes. At first he couldn't sit through a whole episode without getting antsy, but he is enjoying it more now and can usually sit pretty still on the couch. 

On the days that he hasn't napped, I let him have his pacifier while we watch

On Tuesday, we had a playdate at Heidi and Grace's house, which was fun. All 3 of our friends were there, including the new baby that was just born 2 weeks ago. I have to say my friend Joanna made it look pretty easy with 2 kids, so I hope I can follow suit when I have 2! 

Caleb did nap on Tuesday, but it wasn't a super long one, so we were able to make it to story time at the Osterville library. Heidi and Grace were there too, which was nice. We also checked out some new books, mostly Thomas books. 

Caleb and Grace playing with the dollhouse at the library

My mom is on vacation this week, so it is always a little challenging to find a replacement for her (let's be honest - no one can replace her!!) to watch Caleb. This week wasn't so bad. Dede watched Caleb both mornings and Steve came home Wednesday afternoon to watch Caleb. I have to admit, I secretly hoped that Caleb wouldn't nap on Wednesday so Steve would see what I have to deal with on a daily basis, but of course, even though he had napped on Tuesday, he ended up taking a 2 hour nap for Steve on Wednesday. Go figure. I mean, I am happy in general that he napped, but it's just not fair! 

This picture is not from Wednesday, but it seemed like an appropriate time to put it in. 

Steve bought this ant to put together with Caleb - of course Caleb just watched, but he seemed impressed with it. 

Yesterday we did a lot of errands in the morning and met up with some people who we were buying and selling from on Facebook. I have already found some good deals on some girls' clothes (since I basically am starting from scratch), a changing table, and some things that match the theme I am doing in Kaitlyn's room. I am also trying to sell a few things to just get them out of the way and to make a few bucks! In the late afternoon, Jen and Levi came over for a short visit, which was nice! Then when Steve came home we went out to meet another couple of people from Facebook and we went to supper at Panera Bread because that's where one of the people wanted to meet up. 

Earlier this week I gave Caleb a couple of "babies" for him to play with and take care of. The idea was to get him used to having a baby around. I wanted to find a boyish baby, but most of them are so girly. I ended up finding twins, one boy and one girl, so I just bought them. Caleb has really enjoyed the babies and yesterday I went up into the attic and found some toys that we had bought several years ago at a yard sale in our neighborhood. It is a set of a crib, high chair, stroller, and swing for a doll, so I brought those out and Caleb has really enjoyed playing with them yesterday and today. Yesterday for breakfast, he wanted one of the babies to sit in the high chair right next to Caleb's high chair. 

Of course, I know there is no preparing Caleb for what is actually going to happen when there is a real live baby in our house, but I think it is a good idea to at least get him used to the idea. 

He said the baby wanted to play the guitar and he was trying to get his hand to do it

Burping the baby

He'll be a great big brother!

A funny story from this week - for the last week or so Caleb has been singing a song that sounds like "Oh, it's a bitsa bear". I asked my mom and the girls if either of them taught him a song about bears and they all said no. We couldn't figure out what song it was. Well, one day this week we were listening to our songs in the car, and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" came on, and Caleb's eyes lit up and he said "Oh, it's a bitsa bear." Turns out he was singing the part "All our sins and griefs to bear," which I thought was pretty cute. I'm still not sure why he latched onto that because it is not a song that we or my mom sing with him, but it is pretty funny. 

Another funny story - Caleb likes to drag his stool around to anything that he can't reach. He especially likes to bring it into the pantry and climb up to get things off the shelves. One day this week I was making supper and Caleb had brought his stool into the pantry. All of a sudden he comes into the kitchen eating something and he says "What am I eating?" I was a little concerned as to what he had found, but turns out he was eating a prune and he loved it! He then said "I need some more," which I think is probably pretty unusual for a 2 year old. In fact, he asked for prunes for supper tonight. I only gave him 2 because I didn't want to have any undesired effects! 

And one more cute thing - yesterday when Jen was here, Caleb went into the bathroom and was quiet for a little bit and then he yelled out, "I'm wiping the sink." Well, this time he had brought in his drum stool from his room and was standing at the sink. There was a washcloth sitting there, so he was pretending to put soap on the wash cloth and he was wiping out the bowl of the sink with the washcloth. I am sad to say that he has not observed that happening too much, but I did clean the bathroom last week in anticipation of our company, so he might have had it fresh in his mind. It was really cute, though, to see him "cleaning" the sink. 

Well, I think that's about it. Here are a few more pictures from the last couple of weeks. 

One of our Valentine's balloons still going strong

Caleb was "helping" with the barbecued tofu

Snuggling with Daddy on a no nap day

On Sunday, I actually had to wake him up from his nap because he slept so long!

The infamous stool

I bought this tunnel for $1 at a yard sale but had never pulled it out. I figured we needed something new to play with since we are cooped up inside so much these days. 

Another Snowy Week!

I am finally posting 2 weeks in a row! That hasn't happened in awhile! It all depends on what is going on with us. I don't have time during the week to write a blog so I try to do it on Sabbath and if we are gone or have people over, etc., it just doesn't happen. 

Unfortunately, I don't have a ton of pictures this week. And the ones that I do have aren't real great. Caleb broke my camera while we were in Florida and Steve has been so busy that he hasn't had a chance to look at it yet. So, I have been taking pictures with my phone, and I am not real excited about the quality of the pictures. Outside pictures come out ok, but inside pictures don't. Hopefully Steve can look at my camera soon. I think I will dig out my old camera too, just in case. 

Anyway, last Sunday while Steve was watching Caleb while I worked, they went outside and played in the snow for awhile. This was the first time Caleb had really gone sledding. Last winter we had one big storm that I remember and the streets were so covered with snow, that we just put him in a sled and pulled him around the street. But that wasn't real sledding. Not that what they did was hard core sledding. They just went down the driveway and then down a hill in our front yard. Caleb had fun until they fell off the sled and he got his face covered with snow. Then he was all done! 

On Monday, we were getting more snow, but it wasn't real bad, so we went to Miss Lori's class which we hadn't been to in a couple of weeks because we were in Florida. There wasn't as big a group there as normal because of the weather and I was disappointed because Miss Lori didn't do any organized games like she usually does. She just let the kids run around and Caleb didn't enjoy that as much. After that, we stopped at Trader Joe's to get some groceries. 

The nap update is that almost like clockwork, Caleb is napping every other day. I still put him down every day for at least an hour, but he only actually sleeps every other day. So, it is better than nothing, but still a little disappointing since it is so early! So, Monday was not a nap day which made for a long afternoon. I took Caleb out in the snow and we made a tiny snowman. It was still snowing while we were out there, so we didn't stay out too long. 

I can't remember if it was Sunday or Monday night, but I was making something for supper and I was using garlic, but I was going to put it in the blender, so I didn't need to cut it up or anything. Caleb looks at me and says "Where's the garlic press?" I laughed out loud at that one. I know he learned that from all the cooking he does with Grammy. 

Actually, I just remembered that it couldn't have been Monday night, because on Monday Jen invited us over for supper, which was a nice treat. My parents went too. She had made soup, homemade bread, and salad, and it was very nice! 

On Tuesday morning we had a quiet morning and stayed inside all morning. Tuesday Caleb did take a nap and I put him down a little earlier than normal because later that afternoon I had to go to the eye doctor and I wanted him to still be able to sleep for awhile even if it took him a long time to go to sleep. Well, he went to sleep almost right away and I still had to wake him up after about 2 hours and 15 minutes, so that we could go to the eye doctor. Actually, I dropped him off at the office while I went so I didn't have to have him with me. 

On Wednesday, Caleb and Grammy had a long day inside. Grammy had a little cold and didn't feel like going out, especially with the weather the way it was. Caleb didn't nap, so that made for an even longer day. They still had fun, though! 

I told my mother I thought this looked dangerous. She said he was closely monitored, but it only takes a second for something to go very wrong! 

On Thursday, we had a playdate over at Beth and Charlie's house. We were the only ones that went because one of our other friends had plans and our other friend just had a baby on Tuesday! Caleb and Charlie had fun playing and Beth and I had fun talking (she is pregnant too and due in September, so it is fun to talk about things together). It was nice to get out of the house. Caleb did nap on Thursday, but it was only for about an hour and 20 minutes. I guess at this point, I will take whatever I can get! After Caleb's nap, we headed out on many errands. First, we went to the library and got some new books for Caleb. Then we went to the dollar store mostly so I could get some helium balloons for Caleb for Valentine's Day since he loves balloons so much and they were only $1 each. We also went to Toys R Us to look for a baby doll for Caleb so he can get used to having a "baby" around. I also found a couple of other toys on clearance to buy for him, which is always fun. Lastly, we went to Trader Joe's for a couple of items we needed for the weekend. Then we were supposed to meet Steve and Rad and Jen at the Thai restaurant for supper, but I pulled up and it was closed, which is really strange. So, we changed our plans and went to Olive Garden instead. 

Yesterday I worked again and Caleb was with my mom all day. The two girls that babysit for us, the older girl has just changed schools so she no longer gets out of school at 12:30 on Fridays. So, it is just the 11 year old that is available to babysit early now. We are a little torn about it, but have decided that we trust her to babysit Caleb by herself, but we are paying for her to take the Red Cross babysitting class which conveniently is next week since it is school vacation. So, she babysat at my mom's house this week and we will wait to have her do it by herself until after she takes the class. And she will only be doing this until the summer, because when I have the new baby, obviously we won't be having an 11 year old take care of him/her. We will have to figure out a new plan starting in October when I go back to work. 

I thought this was another dangerous situation that Grammy let happen, but it's her call if she wants to deal with the mess! Isn't he so cute in his apron, though? 

We had supper at my parents' house last night. My mom made pancakes for us. It was nice to all be together and we got some cute pictures. 

Caleb wanted to hold baby Levi

Well, I guess that's about it. Next week (or the next time I write) I will know whether I am having a boy or a girl!! So excited to find out!! 

Here are a few more pictures from the week!

Steve and I went to a church social last Saturday night while Grampy babysat and we brought home these balloons for Caleb. He loved them and we thought they would last a long time since they were helium, but they lost their air after a day or two. Strange. 

Our friend from church, Gerard, gave us this electrical kit with lights and sounds and things. It is for a much older kid, but Steve and Caleb have been playing with it and Caleb loves it. And it will hold his attention for quite awhile, which is unusual. 

Love this kid! 

A little blurry, but he was wearing his Mr. Potato Head glasses

Worship time - he doesn't usually snuggle like that, so it was picture worthy