Sign Language and Spoon Video

Caleb is catching on to his signs fast now, below is a video of a few of the signs he can do without thinking too hard :)  I am reminded everyday how different my children are!!  Addison would sign please or more when you asked her to before giving her more of something....if you do that with Caleb he just gets mad at you and loses patience.  HA!

His vocabulary includes: more, milk, all done, dog, hands, please, bath, please, thank you, your welcome, book, music and sometimes play.  He uses approximations of course!!  His sign language vocabulary is three times larger than his spoken...HA!!

We have not given Caleb utensils much yet because he is just a wild and mischievous little thing and messes would be almost too large to handle for me!!!!  Until he demonstrates enough self control to use utencils, he will not get them regularly.  Below is a video of his first time trying a spoon---Bananas and Lentils, power food!

Caleb Asher Grant is ONE!

Happy First Birthday to our snuggle bear, Caleb!!!

**First Birthday Party Post to Come**

Weight, Height and Head:  Official stats to be posted next week after his well visit

Diaper Size: 4 during the day and 5 at night, although the fives are leaking...I need to try a new brand I suppose.

Clothing:  18-24 month.

Disposition:  Never in my life have I ever seen a baby want to hug and snuggle people and stuffed animals so much!  He may LOVE to hug but he is also very vocal when he is unhappy, frustrated, discontent, hurt, etc. hence his nick name snuggle BEAR :)  It is so hard to discipline him because he flashes those big eyes and reaches for a hug!

Mobility:  He is a speed crawler, but will NOT walk or cruise; he does pull up on everything.  I will be surprised if he is walking by 13 months

Teeth:  He has four teeth completely in but six more breaking/broken through.  He does not handle teething well...At.  All.

Eating:  Caleb is still balking at foods that require chewing off an on.  Since he went from only wanting finger foods and eating anything in site to only wanting purees literally overnight, we chalk it up to teething.  In fact just in the past few days he has eaten nearly any finger food in front of him.  He still gets about 6-8 oz of breast milk a day---YAY!

Liquid Feedings:  We were on track to have all except the bedtime feeding dropped until he got the stomach bug and then I got scared.  He takes a breakfast and bedtime feeding and the breakfast one will be dropped before November is over.  Bedtime will likely hang around until 14 to 15 months...he loves it.

Talking:  Not surprisingly, there is little to report here.  He has only added A (for Addy) and Du (for duck) to his vocabulary this month.  I understand boys are generally much slower to develop verbally and poor Caleb cannot get a word in with Addison constantly talking.  He understands most of what we say, which is amazing   He understands what we say, but cannot repeat it.  So different than Addison.

Sign Language:  He learns pretty quickly and knows a lot of signs but I am not as diligent as I was with Addison.  I need to step up my game because he NEEDS sign language more than Addison ever did!

Schedule:

• 8:00-8:30 am:  Wake up, liquid feeding, get dressed
• 8:30-9:00 am:  Breakfast (takes a while to get him and Addison up and dressed and ready for breakfast)
• 9:00-10:00 am: Mon & Wed Sibling time; Tuesdays Baby Play at the library (Aj at school) ; Thursday Mommy time (AJ at school)
• 10:00-11:30/12:00 pm: Nap
• 12:15-1:00 pm:  Lunch
• 1:00-1:30 pm: Independent Play time
• 1:30-2:10 pm:  Structured Play time with Mommy
• 2:10-4:30 pm:  Nap
• 5:00-5:30: Daddy Time
• 5:30-6:00 pm:  Dinner
• 6:00-7:15 pm:  Family time (play ground, errands, walk, etc)
• 7:15-7:50 pm:  Bath, Bible time, prayers
• 7:50-8:00 pm:  Bedtime liquid feeding

Dairy:  Caleb still has NO dairy or dairy derivatives   The plan now is to introduce dairy slowly around 15-18 months, however we will confirm this with the new Pediatrician next week at his well visit.

Misc:

• Caleb was diagnosed with keratosis pilaris, basically little bumps on his skin that are really just unsightly and do not bother him.
• Caleb got a stomach bug this last month; it was THE saddest thing EVER.
• He learned how to sit himself down from standing FINALLY

My dearest Little Asher:  Words will never describe how much joy fills my heart every morning I am privileged to start my day with you.  When your Daddy and I learned we would have a second baby so soon, I wondered how I would ever find a way to divide my love---but I didn't have to divide it, God grew my capacity to love.  Caleb, I am so thankful for the things you teach me everyday, most notably how to just simply and purely love.  You love to love and you love to show that love, so thank you.  Our (Daddy and I) favorite thing to do is watch you and your big sister giggle together, there is no sweeter sound.  I adore your goober giggle, little jig whenever you hear music, hugs, mischievous ways, beautiful big eyes, big ole chubby cheeks and so much more.  The first seven months were so challenging before we knew you were in so much pain, but each day since then has been sweeter than the one before. I look forward to watching you grow and learn and love; you remind me so much of your Daddy and that is probably the biggest compliment  because you my love have the most wonderful Daddy out there.  We love you and thank the Lord every day he gave us the HONOR to parent you.  Happy First Birthday, son!

What a difference a year makes....

One day old.

One week old.

More fun Pics this month.....

Halloween 2012--Mable Rose Estates

We "share" our backyard with an assisted living home, Mable Rose Estates, and they host a trick or treating event.  This was Addison's first trick or treating experience (last year we had just come home from the hospital with Caleb the day before Halloween).  Addison had a BLAST with her sweet friend Alexis (dressed as Clifford) and Caleb greeting the old people and getting candy.  

Cars lined up for the trick or treating on the next block.  It was crazy!

Cars lined up for the trick or treating on the next block.  It was crazy!

Cinderella Addison

She cannot keep still when saying "CHEESE"

Sweetest monkey I ever did see!

Oh how I ADORE these babies!

Here friend was pulling up in the driveway...can you see the excitement??

Even Caleb was waving HI

Alexis as Clifford and Addison as Cinderella

Oh my, I love these sweet little girls and  especially every smile!!!!

Caleb is stealing Alexis' candy already!

How old are you??

I COULD KISS THOSE CHEEKS ALL DAY LONG!!!

Every peice of candy that went in the bucket was smelled....every single one!!! HA!

All he can have is a sucker :)

HE LOVED IT!!

Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom: Exhausted

Since April 1, 2010 I have felt like I have been in a constant state of exhaustion. I used to think I was a whimp but I haven't, until recently, really understood (or maybe believed) why I live feeling exhausted day in and day out.
Very few of you know that I got a little part time job, 15 hours a week or so (only 1/3 of the hours are when my kids are actually awake too!!!). Why? to FORCE me out of the house. leaving the house strictly for social reasons made me feel guilty and I frequently find excuses not to go since i "don't do anything all day long". I thought surely I would not be able to function the days after I work because I play wife and mommy all day then work until 10 pm. I found the very opposite to be true. I am LESS tired the days I work at the part time job. The days I am ONLY a SAHM are far more tiring. No comparison. I realized it is because my real job is far more emotional than any "real world" part time job. It's simply draining to care for your own children each day because you know what? The job of a SAHM never truly ends, we are always on. Always. I never knew how exhausting the emotional aspect of my job was until I had something to compare to.
I think the majority of the exhaustion is rooted in knowing the decisions I make (big and small) impact so many generations to come. Not only do I effect Addison and Caleb---I effect their children and their children etc. I don't consciously think that all day long but because I/we strive to raise our children to be loving, responsible, independent, god fearing, productive people it takes a lot of work each day. Easy street beckons me each day---be a friend not a parent, cater to them, no boundaries, relinquish my parenting to others, neglect their natural abilities, avoid teaching them, avoid disciplining lalalala!
This realization actually brought me relief---I am not just a tired whimp!!!! My SAHM job IS exhausting. Not to mention i do more than babysit all day long...pay bills, clean, grocery shop, cook, be a wife, laundry, etc. I wouldn't change it for anything but I am thankful things are finally all starting to make sense.
And I might also be tired because its 1139 pm and I am still awake!!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nebraska Home Tour: Kitchen and Breakfast Area

The kitchen and breakfast area and nothing special except for our AMAZING wall of cabinets!!!!!  I love cooking so we have it filled with all my cooking supplies (food and gear) for quick access.  DC did not afford us much storage space so this is QUITE a welcomed change.

Expresso bar

Kitchen

Breakfast area which we will eventually use to put a computer in.

The Lorax "Reading"

I couldn't finish recording her "reading" because my battery died; this video was about half the book. I tried to record the pages so you could see she wasn't making up the story and because she can be hard to understand when she is stopped up. It's about 5 minutes long, but you get the idea after the first few seconds. I am astounded at her memory!!!!!

Pumpkin Decorating Fun!

Pumpkin Decorating with my lil artist!

She was determined to use the water color paints which did not work well in combination with the tempra paint :)  BUT, I am learning that there is not a right/wrong way to do things.  She needs to discover things and make mistakes and make messes rather than me ALWAYS showing her how to do things.

She wanted a picture of her hand with paint on it.

Done with the pumpkin, on to paper.

For the record, in her name on the paper--she did one of the D's, the I, O and N on her own :)

We Are In Trouble

The second day that Caleb started pulling up to stand and here is a glimpse of our morning....

He figured out how to pull up well yesterday and then this is ALL he does now!  Once this mischievous little boy can walk...watch out world!  And I don't think walking is more than three months off!  YIKES!