All Gelled up!

Caleb's hair is getting a bit long in the front. To the point where it looks almost silly. But I don't want to cut it yet. So, I tried gel this morning.

 

...I had a hard time picking just one picture...so I chose 3...

Dirt.

After having around 2 fabulous weeks with Caleb, I decided to jump on a request for my help back at the greenhouse. I have missed the work and the time with my mom and the freedom Camia has while we are there. I love the hustle it brings for my week, breaking up my long days at home with less than 10 feet of space for a concrete yard to roam in. I enjoy being busy. I love having things to do, places to go and people to see. I love watching my kids play, discover and learn.

 

Today was no exception.

 

 

Caleb learned what dirt was.

 

And found it rather tasty.

 

With the help of his sister, he ate.

 

With the help of his sister, he got half-buried and dumped on - there was dirt all the way down his back and into his diaper.

 

And ate.

 

Got dumped on and showered.

 

And laughed at his sister.

 

And ate some more.

 

I laughed at him and took pictures.

 

And then gave him a rinse in the sink to clean it all up.

 

The not-so-innocent by-stander and her new friend.

 

The Park and The Ducks

We had a brief moment of nice weather this week and decided to take advantage of it.

Playtime at the Park

Camia has been so painfully bored for the past few weeks so we have been making every effort to go for walks and visit the parks so she can run and play in an environment other than home. Even though it is not enough for her, it is something to keep her occupied for the time we are there. It also gives her an opportunity to ride her bike, which she loves doing as well. While perusing online, I found a website that shows how to make chalk paint, and to use it to colour sand. I think for future I might add more cornstarch, since the colour didn't show up very well for us. You can kind of see a pink hue on the sand to the left of this photo. Another thought I had was that maybe it works better on dry sand? I've also read that adding more cornstarch will help the colour show more too.

We will have to try again at the beach this summer.

 

While Camia coloured everything except the sand, Caleb sat and happily watched her.

 

 

 

 I brought his blanket with me so he could lie down on it. After about 30 seconds of not watching him, I found an opportunity to grab my camera.

 

 

After clean up we had to spend some time swinging away.

 

While he was swinging away, Camia continued with her 'paint' (which is just simply water, cornstarch and food colouring) until it started doing a bit more than just drizzling, to which we responded by packing up and heading home.

 

Play Doh

...Remind me again why play doh is a good idea....

 

I suppose it is worth it when little hands mold it and fold it and look for just the right tool to do the job.

And treat it like hair so they can practice their hair-cutting skills. I do admit I would rather them cut play doh hair than their own...

 

6 Months

 

Mr. Magoo is six months old. I am going to be all cliché and say where has the time gone? It's crazy how fast it went and at the same time not going fast enough. I am quite eager for him to grow up, because the older he gets the happier he is. Happy baby = happy momma. He is definitely happier, most days I wonder where the old baby has gone since some days he is a brand new baby. He plays on his own, he can sit for some time in the exersaucer, he rarely screams anymore. He whines, but it's always for one of four things: he's tired, he's hungry, he needs a clean diaper - or a whole new outfit lately - or he just wants to be held. He's not an excellent sleeper at night, still doing between 3 and 5 hour stretches. I only nurse him at nights now since I don't have much milk anymore. I don't really think he wakes for food. I think it is more out of habit now and he likes that little bit of comfort.

 

I think some days - especially the last few - he is teething full tilt. He exhibits poor sleep habits, he soils his diaper up to 6 times a day and never fewer than 4. He had a full blown rash that leaves just as quickly as it comes.

 

When he is a happy baby, he is really a happy baby. Getting smiles or giggles out of him is the easiest thing in the world.

 

He is on solids now, getting a bit 3 times a day. He has tried applesauce, peaches, banana and carrots. He loves peaches and likes the rest.

 

He loves his baby cookies. We tried arrowroot cookies, but he chokes on them, so we switched to Mum Mum, which he loves. They are the rave for babies and the claim out there is they make less mess. It's a load. A slimy cookie is still a slimy cookie, no matter what the brand. They do dissolve better, though, and so far he has not choked on them once.

 

He had his 6 month check up last week and received his shots. He was weighed and measured and clocked in at 18 lbs and 29 inches. He is off the charts in both weight and height, though more so in height, which is where his weight is. He is more tall than he is heavy.

 

He handled his shots much better this time around. The last 2 times he reacted within half an hour and the following 10 days were miserable, particularly day 9. This time they didn't seem to phase him in the slightest. Tuesday was rough, but that could be chalked up to his teething or the shots, I can't be certain which was the culprit although it could have been a combination of both.

 

His milestone this time is that he can sit on his own for almost a minute. For which he is so proud of himself. I am proud of him too ;). He is so close to crawling too. He is constantly up on all 4's, and has moved about an inch forward. For the rest he is like Camia was and scoots backwards. Which is followed by frustration since he moves away from his toys and has not yet figured out how to go forwards to get them.

 

We are ever thankful for his constant improvement and try to treasure the moments we will never get back again. Like the late night cuddles - even if they are a drag sometimes. I love watching his firsts. First time sitting, first time trying a new food...and I can't wait for more.

Life-sized Doll

'nuf said. :)

 

A Girl?

While I was pregnant, Camia so badly wanted a girl and was occasionally emotionally distraught when we talked about the possibility of having a boy. Since it was a secret, we did not tell her that we were having a boy. Once Caleb was born, though, she was so in love with him that we thought having a brother would be alright. Sometimes, though, we get cues that a girl would have been better. Cues such as 'when can I have a sister mom?' and 'can we have another baby mom, this time a girl?' The other day we got the 'we can have a girl baby and bring Caleb to Auntie Joy's. We can give him to Teagen.'

 

And then there are these moments...

The Park

When the sun shines we try to take advantage of the beautiful weather. We go for walks, we go to the park and we play on the swings. Caleb loves the swings.

 

Sometimes Oma comes with us and we get to swing with her too.

 

Sherbert

A couple weeks ago Mr. Pickles met misfortune and died in his tank. What a funny fish he was, he was constantly knocking himself unconscious - there were several occasions where I thought he was dead only to have him start swimming around a few minutes later. He made several attempts to jump out of the tank - it's a good thing there was a lid on the tank, otherwise he would have met his fate sooner. He knocked himself out after hitting the glass and knocked himself out while swimming at crazy speeds and slamming into the rocks at the bottom of the tank. What a funny fish he was.

 

Upon his death, we went back to the pet store where they kindly gave Camia another fish for free to replace Mr. Pickles.

 

I tried to convince her to get a goldfish since she was complaining about Mr. Pickles being lonely and two bettas in the same tank would result in one death due to it being survival of the fittest. She did not want goldfish, it had to be a purple betta. Sherbert is actually kind of a neat fish to watch, he's got cool colours that change as his body moves. He is a much happier fish and much more calm fish than Mr. Pickles ever was. After talking to a different pet store employee, I learned that we could potentially have Sherbert for two years or more, given the right conditions.

A Quilt for Teagen

After I found out that my sister in law was expecting,  I decided I was going to make a quilt for her baby. I found fabric I liked and thought was suitable for a baby - I was hoping for a boy, can you tell? :) I procrastinated and waited until after Caleb was born (we knew we were having a boy - hence, wishing Joy would have a boy) to get started on it. I procrastinated some more. Caleb went from bad to worse with his colic. I got nothing done until one night when he was a few months old I didn't know what else to do other than sit him in his bouncy chair on the floor beside me and let him cry. And I quilted. I got the top done in 1 night while he screamed. And then I procrastinated some more. Finally right before Teagen was born, I got it quilted. And there it sat again. Finally, on the day he was born, I got the binding sewn on. Around 3 weeks after he was born, I got the hand sewing done and finally I was able to give it to Joy. It felt so good to have it done and another project off my table. Who knew it was so difficult to squeeze in some quilt time with a baby who cried all the time and never napped ;).

 

Pictures

One morning not that long ago, I came to Caleb's room to see this. Often in the mornings or after his naps. Camia will go visit him, which makes his day and makes him smile like there is no tomorrow.

 

We've started Caleb on solids, and so far he seems to be liking whatever gets served to him. He started out by refusing to let me get the spoon to his mouth, he wanted to do it himself.

 

 On his good days, getting him from a nap always has smiles attached to it. He goes to sleep with no issues and my favourite part of all, he has big smiles and sometimes even giggles to greet us.