Icebergs With the Cousins, Another Children's Museum, Gymport & Potato Chip Factory

We have had a pretty fun last couple of weeks. We have been able to get out of the house a little more since the weather is a little better, which is good. 2 Sabbaths ago my mom was sick with the stomach bug, so we had Sabbath lunch at our house with my dad, Rad & Jen & Levi and Silvino & Marley. We had a nice lunch and a nice visit. Here are some pictures from Sabbath School and Sabbath afternoon.

On Sunday I worked most of the day. In the afternoon, we went to the school Social Studies fair and then we went to the mall so I could get my hair cut and Steve took Caleb on the carousel. Then we went to Olive Garden. Originally we were supposed to meet our old neighbors there but they canceled on us, so we still went by ourselves. 

On Monday, we went to the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory with Heidi and Grace. Heidi has lived on the Cape for several years and has never been there and we thought the kids would like the free chips (and so did I). It is a very quick self-guided tour through the factory and you can't take pictures of what they are doing, so we just got a picture at the beginning and the end. 

After the potato chip factory, we headed over to Gymport so the kids could burn off some energy. They had fun jumping on the trampolines and playing in the ball pit. 

I don't really remember what we did on Tuesday, except for swimming lessons that night. Caleb is still enjoying it, and I think he is getting more comfortable, so that is good. 

On Wednesday, Caleb was with Grammy and I don't remember what they did either. But I know this picture is from that day. 

On Thursday we went to the local Children's Museum in Mashpee for the first time (you would have thought we would have gone there before venturing to the Boston one, but no). It was a lot of fun, and Caleb had a great time. We went with Heidi and Grace and Heidi's husband Tony came with us because it was Heidi's birthday. It is one big room, but there are a lot of different stations and activities and it was a lot of fun. We will definitely be going back again soon! 

Driving the boat

Shopping at the grocery store

This was a really cool thing. There were big fans blowing that would keep the beach balls up in the air and Caleb and Grace both loved it!

Of course we couldn't pass up the music room!

Mailing a letter

On Friday, Caleb was with Grammy in the morning and with Rissa and Josie in the afternoon. Now that he is napping again, Rissa doesn't even really have to be alone with him much because Josie gets there about 3:15, so it is good. Friday night we had supper at my parents' house because Aunt Toni and Uncle Terry had just gotten there for the weekend. So that was nice to spend some time with them. Caleb got a haircut from Wendy on Friday, which he desperately needed, so I was very happy about that!

Last Sabbath was a fun day, because some of our cousins came down for the weekend. Alison, Heath, Tyson & Westin, Shannon, Sean, Finley & Griffin were all down in time for church and lunch. We all had lunch at my parents' house, except my parents and Rad had to leave to go to a memorial service for the mother of one of their employees. After lunch, it started to get a little rowdy in the house, we we decided to take a trip down to Orleans to see the icebergs that everyone had been talking about for a few weeks. We weren't sure if they would still be big, but we thought we would give it a try. And we weren't disappointed. We went to Skaket Beach in Orleans, and it was really awesome. The Edwards family and Sean and Finley came with us and the kids really enjoyed themselves (Finley not as much as the boys). The kids were in boots, but not snow pants or anything, so they ended up getting soaked because they were falling in the snow and tramping through puddles. But, it was really cool to see the big chunks of ice. 

Then we headed home to get dry clothes on and then back to my parents house for supper with the group. By then Aunt Sherrie & Uncle Kevin, Devin, Leigh, Mia, & Bode, and Aunt Melanie had arrived, so it was quite a crew! After supper we brought Caleb home for bed and the Edwards were coming to sleep at our house as well. Devin and Leigh and the kids and Rad came over for awhile to visit with us and then after they left, Steve, Alison, and I stayed up talking until after midnight. 

On Sunday morning, we went out to breakfast at 10:00 at the Gourmet Brunch. Before that the boys just played in the playroom all together. 

We had a nice breakfast, but since there were so many of us, it took forever! The kids were getting very restless, although Caleb did pretty good. After breakfast, we went back home for a little while and then the ladies headed to the big consignment sale at the Greek church. That was one of the main reasons for Alison and Shannon coming down, although it was just a good excuse to all get together. 

We all did very well at the sale. Everyone got a lot of things and were happy with their purchases. I spent $88 and got 55 items (including books and puzzles), so I felt good about that. I got a lot of good things, mostly for Kaitlyn, because there were not as many clothes in Caleb's size. And of course I need a lot more for her. 

While they were here, I gave Alison a cross stitch that I had just finished for Westin. I had said that I was retired, but I had really wanted to do one for Westin since Alison made Caleb a quilt, and he was the next one in line. I had a lot of fun doing the one for Levi, so I continued with one for Westin (and now I am working on one for Kaitlyn). Here is a picture of the finished product, although I should have gotten a picture of Alison and I holding it. 

On Monday, we pretty much just did grocery shopping and laundry. Not a very fun day, but a productive one. 

On Tuesday, we went to the library and then to Gymport again with Heidi and Grace. 

Caleb was using this black knob as a microphone and then Grace imitated him, so it was pretty funny

Tuesday afternoon I was supposed to go get a prenatal massage that Steve had gotten me for Christmas at a 50% discount, but they called and canceled at the last minute because the therapist's son had a fever. So, we rescheduled for next week (on my birthday, which is nice). Because I was supposed to be at my massage, Steve was going to take Caleb to swimming lessons by himself, so I still stayed home even though I wasn't at my massage. It was nice to have the house to myself for a little while. Usually that only happens on Sundays when I am working, so this time I just relaxed and worked on my cross stitch for a little while. 

On Wednesday Caleb was with Grammy and I have no idea what they did. All I know is Caleb said he had a donut with Grammy (a munchkin, I am pretty sure), so they must have been out doing errands and that was his reward. My mom was getting a new phone, so she didn't send me any pictures all day. 

On Thursday, we did some shopping at Shaws, the Dollar Store, and Toys R Us, We got several new puzzles at the Dollar Store, because Caleb is really liking puzzles lately. I mean, of course I am the one doing them, but he likes to watch. 

I actually paid the $0.50 to let him ride in this car at Toys R Us. Usually I just let him sit in it without paying, but I decided this time he needed to actually ride. 

Thursday afternoon Jen and Levi came over for a little while and we had fun playing in the playroom. Caleb had a new music set and there were some things Levi could play with, so it was cute to see him get a little more involved. 

Yesterday my mom had Caleb all day because Rissa was at music clinic and couldn't babysit. Then my mom had us all over for supper for waffles, so that was nice. 

Here is one cute story before I close. We were singing Jesus Loves the Little Children and of course sang "Red and yellow, black and white" and then Caleb said "And green!" 

Well, I guess that's about it. Here are a couple more pictures. 

One of our new puzzles from the consignment sale - it is reversible so it is pretty cool

Caleb was hugging Steve's legs here, which was pretty funny

Going outside in the snow with Daddy

This is not a normal occurrence in our house - I don't even remember why he had no clothes on

All dressed up at Sabbath School

Stomach Bug, Children's Museum & Swimming Lessons

Last week we were all feeling pretty lousy with a stomach bug, so I didn't get a chance to write, but more on that later. 

Two weeks ago we had a couple of fun things happen. The Frosts were around on Sabbath because they were visiting Aunt Sherrie and Uncle Kevin for the weekend and we all had a lovely lunch at David & Yully's house. 

Playing in the mother's room during church with Griffin

On Sunday Caleb helped Steve put together a wagon that Steve had bought at Harbor Freight for a good deal (I had said that I wanted a wagon sometime and he saw this one on sale so he bought it). I think both of the boys had fun with their little project. 

Tuesday was a very eventful day for us. We had made plans to go to the Boston Children's Museum with Heidi and Grace. We thought it would be fun to get out of the house for the day. We left around 9:00 from our house, in our van. 

Anxiously awaiting their arrival

Unfortunately we hit a little bit of traffic so the kids were a little stir-crazy by the time we got there. We kept saying "We're almost there" and then when we got there, we couldn't find a parking spot anywhere because all the parking garages were full because of the snow. We drove around for about half an hour and the kids were very whiny, understandably so. Finally we pulled into a garage that said it was full and Heidi got out and pleaded our case with the guy who worked there and he let us come in, so that was a relief. Once we got in, we had a great time. We spent close to 3 hours there and both of the kids had a lot of fun. I think their favorite things were the room with all the balls in it and the bubbles. 

They both really liked doing this mannequin's hair too

This was a green screen and they could see themselves on TV

Checking out the turtles

Love this picture!

So we left around 2:15 to hopefully avoid traffic. Grace crashed as soon as we left the parking garage but of course Caleb stayed awake the whole way home. I was really hoping he would take a nap because we had his first swimming lesson that evening and I didn't want him to be supertired for it. I have been wanting to do swimming lessons for awhile and a new session just started at the YMCA so we signed up for an evening lesson so Steve could be there to go in the water with him. He had a great time and did very well. Steve only got in at the end when they had a few minutes of play time. The rest of the time he was with the teacher and the other kids. He seemed very old all by himself with the teacher. They practiced kicking and blowing bubbles and jumping off into a hoop. The teacher was pretty nice but not warm and fuzzy. She is quite matter of fact, but it's all right. As long as he is learning and having fun, which he is, that is what matters. 

On Wednesday Caleb was at Grammy's house for the first time in awhile since they had been on vacation the week before. They had a good day and got to ride the horsies at the carousel at the mall, which is one of Caleb's favorite things to do. 

On Thursday Caleb and I both had runny noses and it was snowing all day, so we decided to stay inside all day. At breakfast time, Caleb told me that his belly hurt and he didn't really want any breakfast, so I didn't push it in case he wasn't feeling great. Well, he took a nap and when I was giving him his milk after his nap, he threw up all over the place in his room. It was everywhere and was quite a process to clean it all up. After that I just stuck him in the tub so he could get clean and because tubs always make me feel better when I am sick! The rest of the day he seemed ok, but not 100%. He didn't want much supper, so we didn't push it and we didn't give him milk before bed. He slept all night Thursday night but then woke up at 5:45 Friday morning crying, which is unusual. We decided that he shouldn't go to my mom's that day, so Steve stayed home with him in the morning and then I came home in the afternoon. He was extremely lethargic in the morning and he and Steve had a very low-key morning. He threw up a couple more times, which was a bummer. Then he was able to keep some crackers and applesauce down before Steve put him down for a nap. Steve put him down around 11:30 so he could leave for work (and my mom came over until I got home), and Caleb didn't get up until around 3:30, so obviously he was wiped out and needed that sleep. I wasn't feeling super great because of my runny nose, so I laid down after getting home from work until Caleb got up, so that was nice. 

Seems like he is feeling better

Maybe not...

Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with Daddy

After he got up in the afternoon, he seemed pretty normal, so we were hopeful that he was feeling better. We all went to bed early Friday night. Unfortunately, I woke up with the stomach bug on Sabbath. I am still throwing up every morning from my pregnancy, but it is just one time and then I feel better after that. I knew something was not right when I didn't feel better after throwing up and then had to throw up again a few minutes later. So, we all stayed home from church and had kind of a long day at home. I deteriorated as the day went on and spent quite a lot of time in bed. I was starving, though, so I kept eating and then throwing up. It was not fun. Steve started feeling sick in the late afternoon, which wasn't good. He was ok enough to go out to the grocery store after sundown to get popsicles, ginger ale, oyster crackers, etc. But as soon as he got home, he went up to bed for the night. I put Caleb to bed and then I was able to finally keep some gingerale down, so I felt like I was finally turning a corner since I hadn't been able to keep anything down all day. 

Unfortunately, Caleb woke up at 11:00 crying and ended up throwing up again. Luckily it was just in his crib and not all over his room like last time. I was able to clean it up and change his sheet and get him back to bed without too much incident and luckily I was feeling mostly better at that point. Sunday morning Steve and I were both feeling better but not 100%. Caleb was again very lethargic and just wanted to be held in the rocking chair or on the couch. We were watching some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the couch and he had had a few oyster crackers and then he threw up again all over the living room. Luckily Steve was here to help clean it up this time, so I took care of Caleb and Steve took care of cleaning everything up. We actually bought a Rug Doctor several months ago to take care of our carpets when the dogs have an accident, so that came in handy to clean up Caleb's room and then the living room. 

Needless to say, we had a pretty quiet Sunday. I was able to get a few hours of work in, but that was not my priority since my family was sick! Caleb took a good nap and appeared much more upbeat after that. So much so that he was able to take a trip to Home Depot with Steve. My mom was nice enough to make us chicken noodle soup, so we had that for both lunch and supper. By Sunday night, we were all basically better, and thankful that at least for Steve and I, it hadn't lasted very long. 

"Helping" Daddy take off the wallpaper in baby Kaitlyn's room

Monday we had a pretty normal day, although we chose not to go to Miss Lori's because we didn't want to give anyone our leftover germs. We did go out grocery shopping and got caught up on laundry. Caleb is kind of back in the swing of napping. I think being sick might have helped with that. As of today, he has now napped 11 days in a row, so I am hoping he keeps that up! 

This week I have gone through a lot of Caleb's baby things and am trying to sell a few things that we don't need anymore. I also went through all of his clothes up to 12 months and pulled out anything that I can use for Kaitlyn and then I got the rest ready to pass on to Levi. Jen is actually going to buy the clothes from me so she can keep them when she is done with them and can either use them if she has another boy or she can sell them when she is done. I just don't have enough room to keep 2 sets of clothes in my attic, one for boys and one for girls. I also pulled out a few favorite outfits that Caleb wore a lot and I found someone on Facebook who will make a quilt out of those clothes, as a keepsake. So I am excited to have that done. I am very sentimental, so it will be nice to have that. And it will be more special than just holding onto the outfits. 

On Tuesday we didn't do too much, but I did have an OB appointment in the morning and then we stopped at the library to drop off some books and get some new ones. Caleb likes playing there because they have a big table covered with butcher paper and you can color with markers or crayons. Tuesday evening we had swimming lessons again and Caleb had a great time. Steve didn't even get in the water with him at all this time. 

Wednesday Caleb was at Grammy's house and they had a good day. They went to see one of my parents' employees, Sharon, because her mother had just died. Caleb took a long nap, so they didn't do much in the afternoon. 

On Thursday, we had Beth and Charlie come over for a little while in the morning. It was good for Caleb to have a friend to play with since we hadn't done much of that this week. Then my mom and Jen and Levi came over as well. My mom had some baby girl clothes to give me and I had a ton of clothes to give to Jen. It was nice to visit. In the afternoon we took a quick trip to BJ's and then met up with someone so I could sell them a baby blanket I had. 

Yesterday Caleb was with Grammy in the morning and Rissa and Josie in the afternoon. He seems to be pretty much back to normal, which is good. Every once in awhile he still says his belly hurts, but then he says that he needs his pacifier to make his belly feel better, so I think it is just a ploy! I would say his appetite is not quite back to normal and he is whinier than normal, but that might just be a phase too! 

One thing I have noticed recently is Caleb has gotten to the question-asking phase. He asks so many questions, especially when I am reading him a book. He points to everything and says "What's that? Who's that?" 

Steve and I had similar stories happen this week with Caleb. I had said to Caleb, "You're a silly goose." And he said "No, Baby Levi's a silly goose. Auntie Jen's a silly goose. Uncle Rad's a silly goose." Steve had pretty much the same conversation with him at a different point. It was cute. 

Well, I think that's about it. Here are a few more pictures from the last couple of weeks. I didn't take a whole lot since we were sick a lot, but there are some. 

We had to get pictures taken at church for a brochure, so our friend took a few extra for us