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

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.