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.

 

 





Caleb is Crawling, Auntie Jen's Birthday, 3 Meals a Day & Veterans Day at Church

I am going to start this off by saying that Caleb is officially crawling now! He started off the week by starting to army crawl and dragging his stomach on the ground. However, the last couple of days he has actually been crawling on his hands and knees. He is not quite Speedy Gonzalez yet, but I am sure he will continue to gain speed as he becomes more comfortable with his new skill. Now I know that he should have been crawling awhile ago, but it's better late than never! His favorite thing to crawl to is the gate in our living room. We leave it open against the wall and he likes to slam it. He also does the same thing with the door to the dog crate. Caleb loves making noise, so he loves the banging.

 

Last Friday I didn't have to work because I had worked on Monday. It was odd to be off on a Friday, but very nice! Caleb had a good nap in the morning and then we went to lunch at Panera bread in Mashpee Commons with Jen and Tiffany. It was a nice day and we got there early and did a little shopping before lunch.

 

Checking out his shoes!

 





We had a nice lunch and then I could tell Caleb was getting tired, so we left. I didn't want him to fall asleep in the car on the way home, so I talked to him the whole way home. I thought he would have no trouble going to sleep at home, but for whatever reason, he didn't want to go to sleep, so after quite awhile, I finally gave up and nursed him to sleep for a nap. Not exactly how I wanted to spend that time, but oh well. Then I had to get ready for supper, because we were having my parents, Rad & Jen, and David & Yully over for supper for Jen's birthday, which was Sunday. Jen always asks me to make shepherd's pie for her every year, so it is a tradition. We had a very nice supper and visit with everyone and then when it was time for Caleb to get ready for bed, everyone left.

Caleb has been getting up around 5:30 ever since the time change, but he did sleep in until almost 6:00 on Sabbath morning! He took a good nap before we left for church. We were having a special Veterans Day service at church, so we were supposed to wear red, white, and blue. I tried to pick out a special outfit for Caleb!

 

I fed Caleb at the beginning of the church service and then we actually went into church for awhile. Caleb did very well and went up for the children's story and looked at a book quietly in the pew. He especially liked listening to the church choir sing.

 

Clapping for the choir

 

We went into the mother's room during the sermon because Caleb was getting a little antsy. Afterwards, we had a nice potluck and Caleb used the high chair at church for the first time. I haven't mentioned before but he is finally eating three meals a day! Those who know us well know that is a major milestone, because Caleb has had such struggles eating solid food! It is such a relief to have him eating so well now. I am still sticking to a lot of purees, but we do some finger foods and I need to continue to branch out more.

 

Notice the one shoe on, one shoe off

 



After potluck, we went home and put Caleb down for a nap shortly after that and it was a good one. Then I fed him and then I had to go over to the church to help my mom get supper ready for our church business meeting. Steve and Caleb came over a little later. Caleb and I only stayed for supper and then went home so Caleb could get ready for bed. Steve stayed for the business meeting because he actually had to present something from the building committee. I am sorry I missed it, because everyone told me he did such a great job!

 

On Sunday, it was Jen's birthday, so we went out to lunch at Alberto's with my parents, Rad & Jen, and David & Yully. Sadly, I did not get any pictures. We had a lovely lunch and Caleb was very well behaved. He just sat and played in the high chair and I had brought some food for him and he ate it very well. Jen opened her presents while we were there and got some nice things. I left at the end of lunch and took Caleb home for a nap. He had only taken a 40 minute nap in the morning, which is now short for him, so I was hoping he would take a good afternoon nap. He fell asleep almost immediately, which does not always happen, especially in the afternoon, and slept for an hour and 20 minutes! I was worried that I was going to have to wake him up because we had to leave to go to a play with Rad and Jen and my mom for Jen's birthday. Caleb woke up just in time, though, for me to feed him before we left. We went to the musical Clue, based on the board game. It was actually very well done and we enjoyed it very much. If you know how to play the game, the musical was just like that, where you had to guess who, where, and what weapon. The audience all had scorecards to make their guesses and at the end, they revealed the answers. I got everything right, which I was excited about. No one else with me got it right (Steve wasn't playing, because he was entertaining Caleb) and surprisingly, when they had people in the audience stand up who got it right, not too many people stood up! Caleb enjoyed the play very much and was enthralled with the dancing and singing. The play was an hour an 20 minutes long with no intermission and he sat through most of it quietly and Steve only had to get up for a few minutes with him.

 

 

So, all in all, it was a great show and I hope that Jen really enjoyed it and had a nice birthday!

 



Monday was Veterans Day, but it was just a normal day for us since I don't work on Mondays anyway and Steve didn't have the day off. Caleb had an hour and 20 minute nap in the morning and then we went out and did some shopping after that. We went to Babies R Us, the grocery store, and Old Navy. Then we went to visit my mom who was cooking all day for a cooking class she was having at her house that night. Then we went home and had lunch and then I put Caleb down for a nap around 2:00. I don't know what happened, but Caleb would not go to sleep. I probably went into his room 30 times to move his feet from out of the crib slats and to put the pacifier in his mouth. He was very fussy and of course did not like me moving his feet, so it was not a fun experience. Finally he fell asleep around 3:10, which is ridiculous, and only slept 25 minutes and then woke up grouchy, so I was not impressed. After a little while, the grouchiness went away and he was fine, but I put him to bed at 7:00 instead of 7:30 that night since he was tired.

 

Tuesday morning Caleb got up at 5:30 (like clockwork) and we were originally supposed to go to Plymouth Plantation with Jen and the school kids, but it was supposed to rain/snow, so Jen canceled the field trip early in the morning. When she canceled, it hadn't started yet, but it was definitely a good decision, because it ended up snowing pretty much all day and some even stuck on the ground! I am so glad we didn't have to be out in that weather and the good news is she was able to re-schedule for Thursday and it is supposed to be sunny and 50 degrees, so that will be much nicer!

 

So, instead of going on the field trip, we were able to go to our play group, which was fun, and then we took a quick trip to Trader Joe's. Caleb had another hour and 20 minute nap Tuesday morning, and I put him down for his afternoon nap around 2:15 and he struggled again and I have no idea why!! At 3:20, I finally gave up and nursed him and he fell asleep instantly, so it's not like he wasn't tired. He just couldn't go to sleep for some reason. It was another frustrating time, and I need to try to be more patient with him because clearly something is going on that is not normal.

 

Today I went to work and Caleb went to Grammy's. I warned her about his bad napping the last couple of days, but I knew she would be more patient with him than I was. It turns out that he only slept 45 minutes in the morning, so I thought that would work in her favor in the afternoon and he did fall asleep fine in the afternoon and slept another 45 minutes. I was just happy that he actually fell asleep, so I am not as worried that he is in some sort of bad pattern. He definitely seems to be getting his top teeth, because I can see the white spots. It doesn't make any sense that that would be affecting his afternoon naps, because his morning naps are fine and he is sleeping all night still. Whatever it is, I hope it is done now!

 

Here are some pictures from Grammy today. The report was that Caleb is very busy!!

 

It happens to the best of us after a good meal!

(These pants will be retired now)

 

I wanted to post a few pictures of Caleb's babysitter Dede and her girls, Josie and Rissa. Dede had taken these pictures and emailed them to me this week, so I wanted to include them because we are so happy that we have Dede and the girls to watch Caleb sometimes when Grammy or Auntie Jen aren't able to. They love him so much and take such good care of him and it is so nice to have someone we can trust with him besides family.

 



 

Well, that's about it. I will close with a few more pictures from this week!

 

He loves his doggies!! I think the feeling is mutual!

I couldn't resist this picture!