The Outlaw Jones Family

Shower Power

2009-08-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

Its finally warming up in the Northeast and we have been making the rounds at the sprinkler parks. Its a little tricky for us to swim at the beach (Lizard eats rocks!) or the pool (I only have two arms!), so these little gems are great for us and the kids love them.

You probably can't tell from these pictures, but Caleb is wearing no DIAPER!!!! We still have an accident every so often (mostly when he's having too much fun) but, its going pretty well this time. (the third try I think) So, my advice to all of you mommies...wait until they are ready it goes a lot easier.

This is Onyx the police dog. We had a special field trip to visit him and his partner, Tex. My camera ran out of batteries, so this is the only shot we got. It was very cool to see what they can do!

2009-07-31T12:28:00.000-07:00

Questions for Caleb.....

What's your favorite thing for dinner?

cheerios and chips

What's you favorite color?

red

Who's your best friend?

Shauna

What's your favorite game?

Zingo! I mean, banno binna bock (?)

If you're naughty what does Santa bring you?

A spider, a robot spider with a remote control. Wait, that's what you get if you're good.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A drummer

What does mommy do for a job?

I don't know...plays with us?

What does daddy do?

work, lots and lots of work

I love you sideways

2009-07-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

Lizzy got her first cheeto the other day at our pizza party. Clearly, I wasn't looking when this happened, but it was so cute I had to take a picture. She has been a little cranky lately and I just figured out its because she is getting her two top teeth. poor baby!

She can pull herself up to stand, but has trouble sitting back down. Here, she has had enough of the water table, but seems to be stuck! Check out the hairbow, I am so tired of losing them and buying new ones, that I bought a hot glue gun and some ribbon, watched a few youtube videos and can now craft my own.

On Sunday we had friends and neighbors over to eat pizza and cupcakes to raise money for my Avon walk, (www.tinyurl.com/francesoutlaw ) I am only $199 away from my minimum goal, with three months to go!!

I let Caleb decorate the deck and back yard and front yard and the side yard all by himself. He basically ran around everything until he was out of crepe paper.

Here is Caleb "pacing" on the wall waiting for Nate to get to the zoo. (Before the security guard came and told him to get down.) There was a little mix up with the mommies....I rode the train into the city with my children and went to the Central park zoo. My s-i-l drove her two kiddos to the Bronx zoo....oops! It wasn't until we were both inside our respective zoos that we realized the mix up. Because neither of the boys wanted to look at any animals without the other, she graciously turned around and came into the city. Thankfully, they refunded her money, or it would have been a pricey mistake!

Baby Longhorns

2009-07-22T05:56:00.001-07:00

Everyone always goes on and on about how much alike my children look. I thought the same thing, until these pictures. Caleb is in the above shot at about 9 months old. I remembered this shot and set Lizzy up in the same pose last night when she was wearing the same outfit. I don't think they look anything alike! Maybe his mature face is what they are comparing her to!

How to make my husband crazy in 3 easy steps

2009-07-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

Even though the number of children that we have has only doubled in the last year, it seems as though the number of toys has quadrupled. Despite the fact that we have a room dedicated to toys, they are everywhere. In the living room, our bedroom, the bathroom, there is even an exersaucer in the kitchen.

A couple of months ago, Brandon said enough is enough....I am going to break my neck. Thus began the "basement project." This involved semi-finishing (cleaning, painting, adding rugs and furniture-maybe a treadmill?) and most importantly moving the toys down!! It was supposed to be a three day project, but as with most things, didn't end up that way. That was a couple of months ago, and the project still isn't complete. (In his defense, we have been really busy- vacation, Father's Day, a tag sale) And that's not the point of this story!

In my excitement for a basement playroom, I promptly located a train table on Freecycle. com (yahoo groups- you should check it out) drove an hour to pick it up and planted it smack in the middle of our current, already filled to capacity playroom. My enthusiasm for a free toy and that it was something we really needed, was only a fraction greater than the irritation Brandon had for bringing in another toy. A huge room engulfing one at that.

So the other day the kids and I were dropping off leftover items at the local Goodwill. When I pulled into the donation site, what did I see? A perfect! Step 2 kitchen just right for our soon? to be completed basement.

I rushed to the attendant, "Can I buy this please?"

She lifted her head from the bin she was working on, "you'll have to wait for me to price it."

"okay, I'll wait."

Begrudgingly, she got her price gun and stamped my kitchen $10!!! (they retail for over $100)

In hindsight, I probably could have gotten it for less if I hadn't been so excited, but its for a good cause.

So, we bring it home and clean it up and Caleb wants to bring it right inside. Oh no I say, Daddy's head will explode if one more toy comes into this house. So, we "hid' it in the freshly cleaned garage.

When Brandon came home, it didn't take long for him to discover the toy.

"Did you buy this because you finished the basement, while I was at work?" ha ha

"No, I found it today and couldn't pass it up."

He shook his head a muttered something I couldn't quite make out- thankfully, Goodwill has a no return policy, or it might have gone back.

PS. Want to know how my husband can make his wife crazy? move the clothes hamper from his side of the bedroom because its too crowded over there, and then continue to leave dirty clothes in a pile on the floor where the hamper used to be.

xoxo honey!

For those of you who missed it on FB, here's my Caleb bear picking raspberries yesterday at Lyman's orchards. Jamberry is one of our favorite books, and if you've never read it, its great by Bruce Degan.

Sparklers aren't for toddlers

2009-07-09T18:24:00.001-07:00

For whatever reason, our town does a fire works display on the 3rd of July every year. We can see them shoot them off from our backyard, which is nice, because who wants to take babies to the beach in that crowd and then have to sit in traffic?

So, we had some friends over and grilled fajitas and ate guacamole. Happy Birthday America! I bought a variety pack of sparklers for the kids and Brandon looked at me like I was crazy. I guess three is a little young to play with something that is on fire. You live and learn. Here Caleb is helping his dad with them.

I love pictures like this, especially when I think about these two about eight years from now. They are going to be so over us trying to talk them into being boyfriend and girlfriend. Still, I cross my fingers for a Will and Grace finale repeat.

The lounging lizard princess, pictured at left, is now pulling herself up. It won't be long before she is climbing the stairs. I haven't quite figured out how to solve that problem.

I have only 83 days left until my 39 mile walk. I took a look at the training schedule. You're supposed to walk like 12 miles at a time...who has time for that? I can get out of my house for about an hour alone, and that's at 9:30. If I walked for 12 miles, I wouldn't get home until midnight. Guess I better walk faster!

I have commanded you, be strong and courageous

2009-07-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a great shot of Caleb and Adrien in Myrtle Beach. We were so lucky to be able to share a week at the beach with our good friends. The kids had a great time. Caleb loved the ocean and would stay out in the waves for as long as he could convince someone to take him. He even got knocked down a few times, but got right back up for more!

We stayed over night in Washington D. C. and got to look around a little bit. We'll probably have to do this again when the kids are a little older because Caleb wasn't as impressed with the Washington monument as he was with the fireflies he caught and the sprinkler we let him run through.

Caleb is 3 and can finally ride the tricycle Brandon got him for his 1st birthday. Here is a picture of his birthday party, where he would not take off his Superman pj's. We had it on a Monday morning and served KK donuts and chocolate milk! yummy!

Here is Lizzy being bossy to her baby cousin Talia! and another shot of her first time in the pool! She loved it.

Eliza is 9 months old! She is pulling herself up and yesterday she tried to scoot around the ottoman to get to her daddy! I just had a tagsale to get rid of all baby stuff (sniff, sniff!) and all single strollers- there were 3!

Its been kind of a crummy summer so far, with only a few sunny days sprinkled in, all of my TX friends are probably a little jealous of the "blazing" 85 degree weather we're experiencing.

We just finished an amazing week of Vacation Bible School! I had the privilege to teach 1st and 2nd grades. Being with them was such a great experience and made me so excited about loving Jesus and sharing the words of the bible with such eager, bright, enthusiastic little minds. I have really come to love our church, although I wasn't sure it was the place for us, I am sure of it now. I am so thankful that we are there and Caleb and Eliza are going to grow up in such an amazing church family.

I will begin my days with renewed gratitude and joy for all that I have!

She's not as sweet as she looks

2009-03-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

So, I just wanted to post this beautiful picture of my little angel.....When looking at that sweet face its hard to remember that she has been torturing us for the last week. I know this little peanut is sick, but she will not sleep in her bed. All of the progress we made has been lost and we are back to a family bed. I know she will get better and all will go back to "normal", but its hard to see the light at this point.

I love you baby girl!

Good thing this isn't a paying gig

2009-03-03T15:19:00.000-08:00

Blogging has been in the back of my mind for a while....I am falling down on the resolution to keep up with it, but honestly, its the only one I can remember making. I told myself, that I would at least post something once a month, but that tricky February came and went so I find myself three days into March and a whole list of things to report. I'll just bullet point them for quick reference. Here's what's been happening with our clan..... (and a promise to blog at least once a week.)

In my last blog, I totally forgot about Caleb's first Broadway experience. Steph, Jay, Caleb, Nate, Lizzy and I all went to the New Victory Theatre to see Dan Zanes Holiday House Party. It was a lot of fun, and a great way to try out a live show at a kid friendly place, I hope that my children will have my love for live theatre. The only downside was that they made me purchase a ticket for the then 12 week old Lizzy....seriously, she couldn't even hold up her head.Both the kiddos continue to grow like crazy and to that cause Eliza began eating (sort of) cereal two weeks ago, and celebrate celebrate, we got the previously vegetarian (actually bread, cheese, and yogurt) eating Caleb to eat chicken last night. It took 20 minutes to swallow three bites, but its a step.

I think Eliza is going to start crawling any day, she flips over one her tummy and lifts up her head and kicks her legs.

I have really become concerned about our diets lately. Honestly, I was feeling pressure from the other moms. So, in an effort to live longer, and do what the mommies do, I threw out all of our bottles and sippy cups, replacing them with new BPA free ones. I have also begun shopping organic, much to the disdain of my hubby. To keep him happy, I still but white wonder bread, but whole grain everything else. Then I decided that all of that good was being cancelled out by my McDonald's and soda habit, so I kicked them both. I am six days Coke free, and only surviving because of iced tea.

We began regoing? to a church in Fairfield that we had attended for awhile before Eliza's birth. We're back and trying to find our place. Its big, and we haven't made a connection yet, but we love the children's programs and the sermons each week are exactly what we've been looking for. I began volunteering in the nursery last month and we are seeking out a class to join, I have faith that this is the church for us and even among the 2,000 members, we will fit in.

We enjoyed an amazingly fun visit from Aly and Adrien this month. Despite an almost two year age differece, the boys played well together. We took them to a fun playland and to NYC on Friday for a lot of excitement. It was Adrien's first trip there and we tried to cram in as much as possible. We hit the Museum of Natural History, a train ride, subway, taxi ride, Central Park, Times Square and a Ferris wheel ride at Toys-r-us!

Cabuz its been a little hectic around here

2009-01-08T20:04:00.001-08:00

A lot has happened since our last post. First of all, I turned 31. It was a little scary, not as fun as 30 and kind of traumatic-something about being in your 30's, I guess... yikes!!! Anyway, we had a nice family night of pizza and a fudgy the whale cake. YUmmO! I got beautiful earrings and cozy jammies from my hubby and kiddos.

We wanted to host Thanksgiving at our house this year and we were very excited that Nana Cheryl made it all the way to Connecticut to celebrate with us. Thank goodness she was there, because I can only make apps and mashed potatoes. She was responsible for a beautiful turkey with all of the fixings. Again I say Yummo!

We then braved Toys-r-us for black Friday. My friend Trish (who came up with this idea in the first place) totally ditched us and we were on our own. Cheryl, Lizzy and I were in the parking lot at 5:05 and there were no parking spots. I had a list prepared, sneakers on, and I was totally ready to push and shove to get everything I needed. It was busy, but they were very organized and we were in and out in 45 minutes, with eight gifts purchased! Feeling pretty pleased with ourselves, we decided to try our luck at the mall. Target at 6am? no problem- in and out. Still excited, we hit Borders and Express....by 8 am we were back at home on the couch watching the Today show and eating pumpkin pie. Tricia was no where to be found!

On her last day in town we went to brunch at this cute little restaurant. I'm not sure how good the food was because I treated my self to a/ couple/ few mimosas. Thank goodness Lizzy likes bottles.

Despite my efforts on Black Friday we still had a lot of shopping to do. Ikea became one of our fave shopping spots. They have really cool stuff and its fun to hang out there. We had a take a few trips to New Haven for Eliza's baby study so it was an easy stop on the way home.

Thanks to a friend of ours who also has a new baby, Eliza is enrolled in an Autism study at Yale. She is in the control group, meaning she is a younger sibling of a normally developing (non-autistic) child. The study's purpose is to find ways to diagnose autism at an earlier age. Presently, children can only be identified at two years of age. The study is pretty neat, when she is awake or not crying. She'll go every month until she's two. I had to sign a release saying they could use her picture in a textbook. I hope she makes it in!

We celebrated an early Christmas with the Gromeks in Brooklyn because they were going to Florida for vacation. Despite a little cold from Caleb we had a great time. Jay is an amazing cook and exchanged some pretty cool gifts. The highlights of which were definitely Caleb's robot and digital camera (for a two-year-old!) neat : )

The kids and I (and Tricia and Baby John and our friend Shauna) made our annual trip to The Westchester for Santa pictures. Neither of my kids cried while sitting with Santa, but they also wouldn't speak smile or even blink. Despite my antics they were completely stone faced. It wasn't until we were about to walk away that Caleb got concerned and said,

"Mom, what about my scooter and helmut?"

I said, "Well, you better go ask him."

Bravely, he turned around and whispered, "Can I have a scooter and helmut?"

Precious

The Westchester is my favorite mall, even though I can't shop in any of the stores. It does have some good ones like PB kids and Crate and Barrel. I was almost almost done.

Can you believe how big she is????? That mirror is her Santa Claus present and is sings a charming and catchy little tune. Call me anytime and Caleb and I will sing you a duet.

Here is Lizzy loving on her Aunt Shellie. Shellie, Leo and Jackie came to visit us for Christmas. It was a nice visit. We made cookies for Santa and ate pizza on Christmas eve. Hmmm, sounds like a good low key tradition.

I was so excited about Christmas morning this year. I thought Caleb would be bouncing off the walls and running down the stairs to tear into presents. No such luck.

7:30 I am awake staring at the baby. Try to wake Caleb

7:45 Brandon is awake. Try to wake Caleb

8:00 House is awake. Try to wake Caleb

8:30 Make Breakfast and eat it and clean up. Try to wake Caleb

9:00 Brandon, Lizzy and I open our stockings. Try to wake Caleb

9:15 Finally convince Caleb to open his little eyes and see what Santa brought. Bring on the fun!!!

I know there will be years to come when I will be awoken in the wee hours of the morning by my children and I will groan and complain, but 9:15? come on!

Caleb got a train set from Santa and we love playing with it. It comes out every day and hopefully, we finish the basement soon and have room for a train table.

The day after Christmas we of course hit the malls for sales and to do a little exchanging. It was crazy there, and Brandon was thankful that Leo didn't want to go and he was forced to stay home and watch television while the girls and kids faced the crowds.

Because we're just gluttin for punishment, we decided to go to NYC the Saturday after Christmas. And we thought it would be a good idea to go to Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center. Gee, I hope no one else had the same idea!!

You can't tell from this picture, but Jackie has lost over 50 pounds and looks amazing. She was a little grumpier than usual, so I think she should eat a little more : ) lol

Grammy got Caleb a scooter, which he thoroughly enjoyed riding around the house. Poor Shellie, mailed her presents to us and they didn't get to us until the 27th. Here is Caleb showing off his Diego helmut and knee pads. (PS- it took three adults to figure out the front vs. back) She also got Lizzy a Cabbage Patch, which is bigger than she is. Guess we'll save that for next year.

2009, has been pretty good so far. I have two new obsessions. First, the Twilight books. I got all four from Brandon for Christmas and have finished them all already. It only took me this long because I hid the third book from my self for a week. I really like the books, but it makes me mad inside that I didn't think to write them myself first. Dang!

My second obsession is Chelsea Handler. The girl is funny. So between, reading, Chelsea Lately and a new baby. I am getting no sleep.

There is more to tell, but I have no more energy. I guess I will save the rest. It will make it easier to keep my resolution to keep my blog up to date.

Peace and love to all!

Eliza in action

2008-11-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Eliza still isn't sleeping by herself. We tricked her last night and left her in the car seat, where she stayed until 2am. Which is pretty good, but then she was awake, wanted to eat, cried, couldn't breathe, wanted to be held, didn't want to eat......until 8 am when Caleb woke up. Its torture, but I feel so bad for her because she is so miserable. Thankfully, I have the best husband, who sent me back to bed and fed, entertained and dressed the kids and I got to sleep until 11! what bliss.

I posted two pretty funny videos of the kids. We went to a new museum yesterday and they had a whole room on musical instruments. So Caleb got to bang on this old piano to his heart's content. Thankfully, it wasn't that busy, because he also sang (and made me sing) at the top of his lungs.

Lizzy has started smiling a bit and I was trying to capture it- here are the results.

catch up

2008-11-05T07:03:00.001-08:00

So, it has been a very busy last few weeks. Not only do we have a new baby, but we had plenty of Halloween fun and a visit from Grammy. We're getting a long pretty well. Most nights we have dinner, our clothes are clean and we make the bed almost every day. We are missing a little sleep, but its getting better. In her short six weeks Eliza has been very active.

She has been to the Dinosaur museum and the Recycling museum.

She got to see a tiger at the zoo, and rode the carousel with Caleb.

She has been to two Halloween carnivals. At the second, her brother caught a goldfish, named goldfish, who lived on our counter for three days before he took a "nap" and mom flushed him while Caleb wasn't looking.

She took a train to NYC, rode the subway and saw Times Square. While there, Caleb and Brandon rode the ferris wheel inside Toy-r-us.

She went to a Halloween party and watched her brother go Trick-or-treating with his friends.

She watched a Black Hawk helicopter land at the playground and Caleb got to sit in it.

So far, life with a baby sister has been pretty good. We had some worries in the beginning because the peanut only weighed 5lb 15oz when we brought her home and she wasn't gaining weight. After giving her a few bottles, she was back up to almost 7lbs and she hasn't stopped eating since. Caleb did not take a bottle at all, so its nice to share the feeding with Brandon.

She is starting to smile a little and we can actually put her down for more than two minutes without her screaming. yeah! The swing and ergo carrier are worth every single penny we paid for them!

Caleb is doing well in school, painting, playing, reading books. He is even eating his lunch with his class at the table.

Grammy left this morning and we are sad, but tired. Its 10am and we still have on our pj's- she wore us out!

Eliza's first week

2008-10-06T17:09:00.001-07:00

Baby Lizzy

2008-09-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

Well, Lizzy made her debut on Monday morning. 21 days early, boy were we surprised!

Here's how it happened!

Sunday night. 2:15- I wake up with dreams about contractions. Realize this is not a dream, check the clock. Every four minutes, but not too harsh.

2:26 am- decide to call dr. he advises that four minutes not too intense, wait and hour and call back. I go downstairs to plug in video camera, as this is the most important item I will be needing.

3 am- Tell Brandon he needs to get up. He decides to shower. Seems like a long time, I am sure he is trying to remove the paint from his body and hair (Did I mention all kitchen cabinets are empty and wet? Counter tops are papered and taped over and all dirty dishes from weekend are on top of my table because we can't use out sink) and I am growing increasingly miserable and impatient.

3:10- After calling neighbors to tell them we would be dropping off Caleb, water breaks while in the linen closet trying to wrestle an overnight bag out of storage. (We were going to be induced, so of course no bags were packed.)

3:12- Become hysterical, yelling at Brandon to get in the car, forget the luggage, forget the car seat, but get the cameras :)

3:20- Finally in the car with Caleb, drop him off, exchange pleasantries with the neighbors (I honestly wanted to scream get out of my face, but we love them and they were doing us a huge favor!) and race to the hospital.

3:23- Have a heated discussion with husband about which hospital to go to. Ours is 25 minutes away, and there is another that is a lot closer. We end up at our hospital.

3:50- pull into parking lot after a 90mph car ride during which I was certain I was going to give birth in the back of the car.

3:55- Nurses ask stupid questions like my name, birth date, blood type- None of which I have the answers to, except yes! to the epidural.

4:00am- in bed, strapped to monitors, checked by Dr. get grave news there will be no drugs, we are pushing her out NOW!

4:18am - Eliza Michael Jones is born. 6lb 11 oz

4:20- Brandon runs to the car to get the camera!

Super Bunny!

2008-09-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes Caleb wears clothes, other times just a cape!

Fun with our cousin

2008-09-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

So I finally figured out how to post a video (or jsut took the five minutes to think about it) , and you get this little jewel. Nate came to spend the night on Saturday and we had a great time. Lots of dancing and playing and Sunday morning we had bagels at the deli and threw rocks at the beach. We got a lot of great pictures.

labor, trauma, school and cupcakes

2008-09-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

Such a crazy weekend! It was really Laborious, painting, painting and cleaning. And we managed to sneak in a visit to the playground and the beach.

Monday was a little traumatic with a trip to the ER. Caleb was upstairs settling in for his nap, when we heard a scream. I went upstairs to find him in a pool of blood. Of course, I freaked out and Brandon freaked out and we rushed to the hospital with a baby covered in a bloody towel and a crying mom covered in blood, only to realized that he had just bitten his tongue. The doctor sent us home with a bill and a pat on the head. Better safe than sorry, though!

Tuesday was Caleb's first day of school. (Just two mornings from 9am-12:30pm) We packed a lunch and carried his backpack and he went in with out any problems at all. When I went to pick him up the teachers all started cracking up because he had fallen asleep at the lunch table, with his little head slumped into his pasta. He had a great time and didn't miss mom at all.

In preparation for the new baby, we have moved Caleb out of the crib. I know we have a little while to go (27 days to be exact), but everything I have read says that the crib should be neutral territory for at least a month before a baby arrives, so here we are. We got new sheets and pillows and cupcakes to celebrate the milestone. Yummy! The first night he was so tired, he fell asleep during books, but the second night was a little tougher. He did not want to sleep there! So I ended up laying down with him until he fell asleep. Then at about 3am I woke up because I was so hot, well that's what happens when I little boy climbs into bed with you and snuggles up. I was able to put hims back in his bed without any problems. I sure we haven't seen the last of our great sleeper!

This will make you laugh.....Caleb obviously goes to the OB with me for my appointments. Because I don't trust him in the exam room alone, he goes into the bathroom with me. All of you moms know you have to give a urine sample every time. We were there yesterday and Caleb says, "here you go Mom, you need a cup" and hands me the specimen cup.

I really hope I'm not scarring him.

two-year-olds can't ride on the plane alone?

2008-08-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

Caleb and I just returned from a great trip to Texas. We spent the weekend in Corpus Christi with Cheryl, Aly and Adrien. The weather was a little iffy, but we ended up having a great time. We played video games and rode go-carts (Cheryl and the boys did anyway) and Saturday at the beach and the aquarium.

Sunday we made a pit stop at the outlets-yippee! and headed back to Austin. We did not eat lunch on the way home, which I was a little disappointed about, but with good reason. The girls surprised me with a lovely baby shower for the newest Jones baby (pics to be posted soon!) It was a great time, I just wish I had known so I could have showered. oh well : )

Monday we did some Austin stuff....Chipoltle, pappasito's and grabbing some UT garb. We also hit the Sno-cone stand where the boys and the moms enjoyed a cool treat because it was a scorcher!

Getting home was a little stressful because there was a computer glitch in Atlanta that delayed planes all over the place. We were able to kill time, but I was really surprised at the airlines reaction when I pointed out that Caleb and I were not sitting together on the last leg of our trip. The reps response was to go to our assigned seats and then ask other passengers to switch around because the flight was oversold. So picture me 8 months pregnant, with a 2 1/2 year old a car seat and two carry-ons. I say, you want me to go to row 11 and send my son to row 15 and hope someone will switch? are you kidding? Some people are crazy,,,,anyway long story short I did not have to leave him unsupervised on the plane and we eventually made it home.

my only belly shot

2008-08-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

I took this last week, so I a m sure I have grown since then. Seriously, every ounce I have gained has got right to the belly. I look pretty silly! And we are getting anxious about the newbie's arrival...only eight more weeks.

My hiney made a noise and other funny things

2008-08-18T14:39:00.001-07:00

Busy Busy Busy! We have been going like crazy lately, trying to get the house projects begun and wrapped up before baby. Last Friday, Caleb and I drove to Rhode Island to spend the day at the beach with Shauna and her family. My camera finally went kaput, so I have no photos....too bad-it was a lot of fun. We're actually thinking of renting a house there ourselves next summer. Saturday was a whirlwind, the boy and I went to a gymnastics birthday party and then headed to Brooklyn for Caleb's first sleepover with Nate. I am told he had a great time playing, going to the park and especially out to breakfast where he ate six pancakes and asked for more! Meanwhile, back in CT we began the bathroom project. Here are the befores and I should post some what it looks like nows, although I have no afters. But we did manage to remove all gold fixtures, rip out the shower door, paint the trim, buy wall color, buy new fixtures, and order a new shower curtain. I should mention that all of this is in my hallway. Just waiting to be installed.

I wasn't able to capture the floor to ceiling mirrored doors that are opposite the commode- not a fun view. They will be replaced with beautiful clean white non-mirrored doors. The plan is to get the rest of the work done while Caleb and I are in TX....we'll see : )

Caleb continues to crack me up with the things he has been saying. Here is a sampling:

The other morning we sat down to breakfast, he said, "Mom, this milk sure is tasty."

While in the bath, he was splashing around, had a little gas and said, "oops, my hiney made a noise."

He has a toy Thomas the train and Percy the train. While in the store the other day he put the Percy train in my bag and then decided he wanted it back. Caleb has a little trouble with his r's, so you can imagine what, "I want my Percy," might sound like.

Brandon, Caleb and I were curled up in bed ready to read books last night. I had brought in a pile of our books, as well as our library books. Brandon asked him what he would like to read and he went the stack... "well, we have a cow book, we have an Elmo book, we have a frog book, we have a chicken book..." He sounded like a little grown up!

I haven't cut Caleb's hair since Jen and Austin's wedding. Its shaggy and pretty cute. Sometimes, I'll ask him if he wants dad to take him to get a haircut, and he says, "No, he wants to be a hipster." (okay, I coached him on that one, but its pretty funny!)

I got a new camera today, and here are a couple of shots of me tormenting my son with it. Apparently, he doesn't like to be photographed while eating.

This one was taken a couple of weeks ago. As you can see we have upgraded from finger paints to watercolors. While mom is supervising the colors stayed clean and unmixed. One painting session with Dad and now they are all brown.....What am I going to do with them?

Teal was my favorite color in 1994

2008-08-05T08:08:00.001-07:00

So its been a busy couple of weeks around here. Caleb started talking like a real person. Sort of....He is in the mammma, mammma, mmma, mmmamma, mmma, mmmama phase- its a little exhausting. Sometimes he actually has something to say. The conversation goes like this:

"Mamma, mammma, mammma. ( or Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, daddy, daddy....) "
"Yes, Caleb?"
"Mamma, I need to tell you something."
"ok, what do you need to tell me?"
"Um, blah blah blah. ice cream. blah blah, wow wow wubbzy. blah blah monster- roar sounds. blah blah. (singing now) Hello to Shauna. blah blah blah."

Note that blah blah= unintelligible baby babble

Other new phrases include: "No, I fine" this is most often the response to....did you do poop? are you hungry? would you like some milk?
"I don't sink so" and my personal favorite..."I help mommy" oh goody!

Caleb also officially master climbing out of the crib. So we are giving the toddler bed another shot. He hasn't been a great napper anyway, and last night was the first time and he didn't make an appearance in our room, so hopefully, this will go smoothly.

We have been in our house for exactly a year and slowly we have been making improvements. painting, new fixtures, etc. We are taking on the first of two major projects this week. The first being new kitchen counters. These are the pictures I had to send into the showroom for templating. Aren't they lovely? Thankfully, they are being replaced with beautiful charcoal solid quartz. I can't wait. and cross your fingers they will be done before the new baby. New floors will come over the Christmas break...

We are also embarking on another big/small project. I hate the downstairs bath. So while the boy is having a sleepover in Brooklyn. We are painting, pulling out the lovely shower door, and replacing all of the gold fixtures. I don't think we'll get to the floor to ceiling mirrored doors this weekend, but it will be a huge improvement. I will post before and afters this weekend, if we survive!

Crocodile Birthday Party

2008-07-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Dennis the Croc's 1st birthday. Dennis is an add water and watch him grow crocodile that we purchased. He has happily been living in tupperware on the counter for the last week. He likes to be petted and given water. He also has had the pleasure of playing in the sandtable and getting baths in the hose.

Sydney sings Happy Birthday, all the time. Every day, no matter if its someone's b-day or not. Somehow it was decided that it was actually Dennis's birthday and we should have a party. On Tuesday we made crowns as a project and we decided that we should definitely wear these to the party.

The kids wore their crowns as well as special birthday smocks to decorate and eat their cupcakes. Yummy! Everyone had a great time, even though Dennis didn't get any cake.

Caleb is a parrot. We often walk to the playground in our neighborhood or play in Shauna's front yard which is at the end of our street. Between her house and the playground is a rather busy street that people drive entirely too fast down. The speed limit is 25 (a school zone) but there are no stop signs. I have taken to yelling out, "too fast" when I encounter these drivers. We were playing in the yard yesterday when four cars flew down the street. I of course yelled at them. The very next car that passed, an elderly man driving 10 mph, Caleb screamed, "too fast, too fast!" made me laugh

On a more disgusting, I don't know where he learned it note. Caleb was lying in my bed the other day as I was getting ready to go somewhere. He looked up at me and said, "I picka my nose and eat a boogie." I almost gagged as I ran to get a tissue to clean out his mouth and we had a long talk about germs and dirt. Still funny, though.

While Brandon was away

2008-07-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

So, Brandon had his big weekend in Wyoming and Caleb and I spent the weekend having fun and trying to keep cool. Saturday we went to music class and then to the art store for some supplies. You can see the projects we worked on below. A visor with Caleb's name (he calls it a puppy hat?) and a hand painted, glittered and jeweled picture frame to send to his great-grandmother. He's really getting funny about the things he says. All through the store, we were talking about doing art projects and making the frame for Mama, and he kept saying, "I can't wait mama, I can't wait!" When it was all done he said, "Oh, its so beautiful!" man I love that kid!

On Sunday we went to Bounce U- A huge warehouse of bouncy toys and slides. He loved it. I was worn out, and the next time we go it will have to be with Dad. Caleb was very brave, there were some pretty steep slides and he was all about it. I did not try them out- Caleb has mastered the phrase, "oh mommy, your belly too big." thanks buddy!

After bouncing away, we headed to the beach. Caleb was content to water the sand while I cooled my feet in the waves. A nice way to spend the afternoon. Then we had pizza for lunch and the world's longest (or what felt like) tea party.

Caleb has rebelled against naps in the last few days. He has also mastered climbing from his crib. Its been really hot, so I moved his pack and play into our bedroom where its cooler, amazingly, he can climb from that, too. Go figure! I am attributing it to the heat and missing Dad, but I am ready for a break!

So, I worry about how much I do with Caleb. Is he having fun, being stimulated, am I teaching him something every day? Because while he is supposed to be napping, we just lie there and watch tv. Its the only way I can keep my sanity, but I still feel a little guilty. I guess as a parent, you do as much as you can and hope that its enough. He seems happy, he passed out at 8:00 while I was cleaning up the dinner dishes.

catching up

2008-07-17T20:15:00.001-07:00

Fun weekend at the camp, after a lot of drama getting everyone there. The guys did a lot of clearing and the girls did a lot of swimming and sunning. Caleb and Jenet made friends with a duck family, and enjoyed feeding them until they were attacked by a giant fish. (Really a little fish nibbled at their toes)

We got a chance to visit Mamma, she seems to be doing well and will hopefully, be making her way home in a few weeks. Caleb especially enjoyed using her grabber, I am thinking of getting one for the house, as I have never seen him clean up anything so happily before.

Caleb and I are spending the weekend alone. Brandon is meeting his friends from Colorado in Wyoming for a camping trip at Yellowstone. It was supposed to be a family trip, but everyone started having babies, so we're staying home. We have a lot of fun planned. Swimming at Shayna's, music class, and a playdate at Bounce U- a bouncy house place we've been wanting to check out. Pictures to be taken and posted.

Super Bunny rules....Caleb put a dishtowel around his neck the other night and asked for tape. He wanted to make a cape- so we made it and them we had to film it and then we had to watch it again and again. Caleb movies are a big deal in this house. Grammy Jackie heard about it and thought it was sad he had a taped cape, so she's making him a real Super B cape. Can't wait!

He's also really smart. We were in bed today getting ready for nap, and Caleb was talking to Pappa on the phone. Baby Elmo was there with us, and I asked if Elmo wanted to talk to Pappa, too. He looked at me seriously and said, "No, mamma, baby Elmo doesn't have ears." HA!

The 3rd of July

2008-07-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

Good news! You can see the beach fireworks from our back deck. So we decided (or Trisha) decided we should have a little cookout. We make some hamburgers and hotdogs, blew up the bouncy house and had a great time, minus the bugs.

I completed my first successful Craig's list transaction on Sunday. The double stroller I had been researching showed up 1/2 price last week- exact model and color. yippee! We picked it up in the parking lot of Babies-r-us. I wonder if the staff knows what kind of deals are going down out there.

This week's funny kid story....

Caleb loves to talk to pappa on the phone, pretend he is going to pappa's.....so the other day he was running around the house screaming pappawhistle pappawhistle pappawhistle....I could not figure out what he was talking about. We didn't have a whistle from pappa and I couldn't recall a whistle story. Anyway, it took me a while to figure out he was asking for "Pop goes the weasel!"

Instant Journal vol. 1

2008-07-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

John Caleb Jones age 2 years and 2 months
( from Wondertime)

Ask your child what he wants to be when he grows up, and why.

He wants to be a monster ball clean up. This answer came because he was playing monster bowling with his dad and had to clean it up before they could have a tea party.

What are you learning from your child these days.

M&M's are a cure all and bribe all, kisses do make it all better, sometimes it takes longer to set up the craft than it actually does to make it, little boys are just as good at playing mommies as little girls, snuggling in mom and dad's bed watching cartoons is second only to reading his favorite book and him knowing all the words.

Likes

Pancakes for breakfast, the color blue, Apple juice, doing it (everything) himself , plugging things in, having tea parties, his bouncy house, cheese pizza, digging in the sand, Shauna, Shayna, Taylor and Sydney, talking to Papa on the phone, Mickey Mouse, washing his feet in the sink, sitting on the potty and making a pee sound, and Llama llama red pajama

Dislikes

fruit (except bananas), all vegetables, mom's new rule about keeping the milk cups in the dining room, bug bites, and getting his hair washed

well we got a lot done

2008-07-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

It was another busy weekend here. I woke up Friday morning thinking, oh we should really think of something fun to do with the baby this weekend. Then I remembered how last weekend was all about him and decided he had probably had enough fun, so we could do some things around the house! (I think I am getting nervous about his adjustment to the new baby and am overcompensating a bit.)

Friday night was date night! We had one of our favorite babysitters (the other fave is her twin sister!) come over and we went to the movies. Here is a picture...clearly I do not get out of the house enough if I am putting on make up and heels for the movies. We did get wings first, so there was the excuse, and I just cut my hair off, so I wanted to see it all done up : ) BTW we saw Ironman, very very good. Totally worth the $100 is cost us to go see it. I think.

I spent the last week painting Caleb's room. Everything in our house is the same pale yellow, which is fine except when its every single wall. I had been wanting to paint for awhile and finally settled on this nice green. He is also getting a frog mural on the blank wall...when I get a chance and he will be upgrading to a big boy bed in the next few months.

Our other project for the weekend was new light fixtures. Brandon found this one, as well as a matching pendant light for our kitchen. (Its not hung, because it got late and you have to cut the power to attach and he couldn't see in the dark!) Its an amber tiffany dome with green trim- so perfect! You can see the floor lamp from our Pottery Barn escapade from a few weeks ago on the right, and there is a bench on the front side of the table in stead of chairs. So, little by little we are putting this place together. ps- disregard the yucko blinds, they are next on the list to go! We also spent a lot of time looking at floor and counter sample so that we can redo our kitchen soon. I can't wait!

Funny kid alert: Caleb calls shoes his shoeson...its especially funny when he says he wants he shoeson off!

Sesame Place

2008-06-25T19:21:00.001-07:00

We went on our exciting trip to Sesame Place this weekend and had a blast. The park is half dry rides and half waterpark. First, we had breakfast with Cookie monster. Caleb was a little nervous about all of the characters, but he was also really excited and couldn't eat, so I just smuggled some cereal and a bagel out in my bag. We spent Friday morning doing the rides (well, Brandon and Caleb rode the rides-I took a video) I think there should be a pregnant mommy discount, I couldn't ride anything.

Caleb had a lot of fun riding the rides, but my favorite part was the water park. We just pulled up chairs and let the kiddo splash. He crashed out on the way back to the hotel, slept on the bed for about 20 minutes, slept in the car on the way to the restaurant (I wanted a salad, but Brandon made me go to on the Border- mmm queso!) The baby woke up long enough to eat his nachos and fell back asleep in my arms.

Day two was just as fun, but we ran out of steam a little quicker. After lunch Caleb fell asleep, he even slept through the parade. Don't worry I got it all on video, and we have watched it about 10 times since coming home.

We were a little disappointed with Sesame Street. I guess I thought it was going to look more like Brooklyn. Really, it was Brooklyn painted on a mural.

Here we are enjoying Elmo's world, well Caleb was enjoying it!

The lazy river is supposed to be a leisurely ride, but it was a struggle for Brandon because Caleb just wanted to swim, which I guess in SSP you're not allowed to do. Who ever heard of that?

This is how they get you to buy their pricey photo packages.....they take away the background, so it looks like you're floating!

Our first character encounter, no tears, but no hugs either. He warmed up by the end of the weekend.

Big Bird had to have a chair, I guess that neck is cumbersome- I also noticed he wasn't in any of the shows. Guess you have to have seniority to be him, less physical activity!

Zoe used to be my favorite girl character, but now I am liking Abby. I think its the dress, or maybe the wand...maybe the wings. hmmm, I think I have found my Halloween costume. Here's a snap of the Treasure Hunt show- just minutes before our kid passed out!

Funny things Caleb does:

His favorite game is diner or concession stand. He stands at my feet and asks, "apple juice?" "apple juice?" Sometimes it takes me a minute to catch on, they I say, "yes, please" and he runs off and brings me pretend juice, then I ask for milk, ice cream, pasta, eggs, pizza, the game continues until I can't think of anything else to ask for. But, its pretty funny.

This evening, I was upstairs putting away some laundry when Caleb started yelling, "pee pee, pee pee" I should mention that he was only wearing a diaper because we were watering the flowers earlier and of course that turned into splashing into Caleb being completely soaked. So I skipped tubby time and just stripped him in the yard and dried him off. Anyway, I came downstairs to find him totally naked on my floor, because he recently become fascinated with trying to take off his diaper. Today he succeeded. I asked him if he did pee pees on the floor and he told me yes. So I was really stressing out about pee on my carpet. Thankfully, he was joking because he loves to joke about pee and poop. little boy! So, we sat on the toilet and had a discussion about peeing on mommy's beautiful carpet. Hope he was listening.

Sunny Days

2008-06-13T12:11:00.001-07:00

The last few days have been really beautiful. The news is full of stories of terrible weather conditions and I am very thankful for where we live. We had a pool party on Thursday, which was a lot of fun and Friday we were able to enjoy our neighborhood beach for the first time. Pretty crazy that we live so close. Its not Mexico, but still a lot of fun

Caleb and I have the next two weeks off, because the girls are going on vacation. I have a huge list of things I would like to get done.....paint his room, finish varnishing my dining room chairs, shop for dryer (its still broken) But will probably and very happily spend our days playing outside and enjoying the beach as much as possible.

A super Bunny update: Caleb has finally figured out that 5 comes after 6 and we've been successfully counting to 12 for the last few days now. We are gearing up for our trip to Sesame Place and can't wait for our breakfast with Cookie Monster.

A Raccoon Family update: They are still living happily in our tree. I called Animal control to report them and I was sure that they would show up with nets and sirens. But, they didn't, just cautioned me to keep the kiddos away from the babies! Hope they move on soon, cute as they are they give me the creeps.

99 degrees and climbing

2008-06-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

So, much excitement around here today. We were outside this morning doing the trash, when our neighbor stopped up to let us know that there is a family of raccoons living in a tree in our front yard. I called the town to come look at them- awake during the day is not a good sign. Thankfully, they are in a tree we wanted to take down anyway, so maybe they will chop it down for this.

It was almost 100 degrees today, so we turned on the sprinklers and had popsicles for snacktime. Aren't baby girl bikinis adorable? I have definitely been out of TX for a while because I couldn't take it and we were back inside by noon.

On Sunday, We went to Westport for a garden tour. It was really nice, but blazing hot. Here's one of the homes. They were beautiful, as expected, but we didn't make it to all of them. We hit the Pottery Barn instead. air conditioning!

Here's a sonogram, just a foot for all of you professional ultrasound readers! (sorry for the glare)

On the belly front, I wanted to punch a lady in the face at the park last week- Her daughter was having a baby due in July, I'm due in Oct and she was surprised, and told me as much, about how big I was. Really keep it to yourself lady...then today at the GYM! one of the babysitters told me that I had really blown up. What is wrong with people?

Caleb continues counting- He gets stuck on the number 5, so that's what we're working on. And on Saturday we schlepped him to 1/2 a dozen stores looking for home decorating ideas. He was a trooper, but would only respond to the name Super Bunny! Whatever works- but I think we've found a Halloween costume : )

14 inches and 14 onces

2008-06-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

We had our 20 week appointment today. Actually, 21 weeks, but whose counting? Anyway, everything looks good and healthy. Two of what there should be two and one of parts you only want one of. We're keeping the gender a secret, so you'll have to wait and see!

baa baa black sheep

2008-06-01T16:31:00.001-07:00

Caleb got some really fun Elmo overalls for his birthday..they were waiting in a package for him from cousin Carla when we returned home after our Memorial Day trip. Of course he loved them, and insisted on wearing them the next day. I snapped this picture in our garage, because it was a rainy day and that's where we play now! All was good, until Caleb discovered he couldn't get to his belly button. I had to show him how to reach inside. The belly button is very important, and we must have access at all times.

I got Brandon tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld for his birthday last month. Jill and Brian came down from Albany to go with us and we went to dinner in Mystic, CT before the show. Brandon had a requested a restaurant with a deck where he could eat oysters. I did some research and found the perfect place. They even had lobster bisque, yum! We were running late and rushing to make our 6:00 reservation. (I'm not sure why, because its not a retirement community) We finally got there at 6:30 only to find that the restaurant as well as half of the town were experiencing a power outage. We ended up at delicious Italian place across the street. The best calamari ever and lobster ravioli....yummy!

The show was a lot of fun, and afterward Brian and Brandon did some gambling. Us girls were going to go shopping, but the closed the shops up and midnight, so we ate some pie instead.

We had a quiet day on Saturday. Had the usual pancake breakfast and said good-bye to our friends. Caleb did not/ would not take a nap and we made plans to have dinner with our friends Sam and Patty (Taylor and Sydney's mom and dad) He was pretty good until it was time to leave and then meltdown! We came home where I gave in and let him watch cartoons until he passed out.

Sunday was beautiful and we went to the park. This particular park has chicken and sheep as well as a great playgrounds. When we started talking about the animals Caleb started singing what I am sure was Baa Baa black sheep. What a smartie!

He also went poops on the potty today for the first time and on Thursday he counted all the way 14 by himself (he missed 5, but oh well!) I have decided not to look at child development books to see if he is progressing as he should. I will just carry on thinking he is the smartest kid ever.

We worked in the yard for the afternoon and then had the Lynches over to grill burgers. Here's a shot of Shauna and Caleb tossing rocks at the beach after we walked to Marnicks for ice cream.

After the park, pulling the weeds, scrubbing the decks and a long walk- boy was I feeling pregnant. Speaking of, we have our anatomy scan for the baby tomorrow, to make sure everything is where its supposed to be. Wish us luck!

Memorial Day 2008

2008-05-28T10:45:00.001-07:00

We had a very fun/exciting Memorial Day weekend. Our plan was to leave for the Adirondacks at 7am- but Brandon was still in bed at that hour, so we finally got on the road about 9. Brandon's grandmother gave him a camp (what they call it up here- I thought he was inheriting a summer camp!) Really, its a cabinish like building in the woods that is about a 5 minute walk from a lake that his grandfather built. There are a lot of families that hang out there in the summer time and B has very fond memories of being there as a kid with his grandparents. Unfortunately, no one has been there in about 20 years, so the place is a little run down. Brandon wanted to do some work, but all he had was a rake, a pregnant wife and a two-year-old, so we made a list instead! It was fun to look around and make plans, it'll be fun place to take the kiddos and have friends when its up and running again!

After the camp, we went to our friends Sean and Amy's who were having a little gathering. Anywhere with chips and dips is a great place to be, so after a snack, we left Dad and Caleb and I went to Jill and Brian's to hang out. Sunday, we attended the La Rose's annual cookout, where Caleb made a new friend- Jill's 11 year old niece Taylor. With Taylor around he didn't want anything to do with mom and dad. She's pretty cute, so I don't really blame him.

That evening, we got a call that Brandon's grandmother was in the hospital again, and wasn't doing too well. We packed up sleeping baby and headed to the hospital. She was fine, thankfully, just dehydrated and 95 years old! We went back on Monday to visit her, and got the bonus on seeing Nate, Steph and Mimi. So it wasn't too boring for him. Esther is still in the hospital, and we are hoping that she will be sent home soon!

On a happier note, Caleb said his entire alphabet in the car on Saturday!

Help

2008-05-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Heather has been kind enough to offer some advice on this, but I just can't make it work. I am trying to add a friends list. You can see my results- not so good. Anyone who can help me out, that would be great.

Hooray for the Sun!

2008-05-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

After a yucko day yesterday, we were blessed with a day of sunshine. I put away the painting project we had planned and we headed for the playground and beach. Two in a stroller and one walking makes for quite an adventure. This particular locale usually takes about 15 minutes with one kiddo in a jogstroller- we got there in about 45. oh well! It was fun.

I get tons of magazines, and typically retain about 1% of the info, the new Parents had tips on taking great pics of your kids. I tried to apply what I had learned. Here are the results!

Here's what I took away:

1. let kids be kids and take a lot of pictures

2. never say look this way

3. crop creatively

4. photograph the in-between moments

5. zoom in

6. catch your child when he's ignoring the camera

7. convert to black and white

(the little one was asleep a lot of the trip, so I didn't get as many shots of her!)

Another thing I am excited about investigating is something called milkscreen- it tests breast milk for dangerous levels of alcohol if you're nursing. I love wine, so I'll be ordering them at UpSpringBaby.com..

new arrivals

2008-05-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

So here is the newest addition to our flock of birds. The robin's eggs hatched and there are three little birdies in the nest. They are really gross looking and I wonder if birds think that human babies are yucky, too? Anyway, they survived the chaos of the yard, and I hope they move out soon.

In the meantime, we had to stop feeding them corn chips. In addition to the crazy birds, the wiley squirrels have returned. (Some of you may recall the trials we had with our Halloween pumpkins being eaten) They rummaged through our garbage yesterday until it looked like a birthday party exploded on our lawn, and this morning there was soil all over our deck, where they had gotten into my flower pots. arrggghh!

Caleb's Birthday Bash

2008-05-19T12:03:00.001-07:00

We had a great birthday party on Saturday. Caleb and I spent all of Friday afternoon baking 45 cupcakes for the party. Nana Cheryl flew in on Friday night, yippee! Saturday morning was a blur, Caleb and Brandon went to swim class, home depot and two trips to BJ's!

(I had too much to do, so Caleb had to help out!)

The rain suit from Caleb's dress up box-he's been wearing it for three days!

After much stress over the weather forecast, we had a beautiful day-sunny and breezy! And we were able to get it all together just as our guests were arriving. We had 16 toddlers, 3 babies, all of their moms and dads, 2 grandmas, and 1 cousin. It was full house! Everyone had a great time playing and eating with one exception. Poor Nicholas fell off the see saw and broke his arm. Ouch!

No one told me I was flashing the camera, so here's some creative editing.

I got some great pictures, but I spent a lot of the time eating all of the delish food we had, so I don't have shots of all of the kids. (Anyone who has
more shots, please forward them to me!)

I wasn't sure if Caleb knew it was his birthday, but we have a great video of him singing "Happy Birthday to me" into his cupcake, so I'm pretty sure he got it! Presents were great, but the kiddos got into them before I could stop them and I'm not sure who gave us what- so if you get a thank you with the wrong gift. So so sorry!

On Sunday, I broke the stove so we had to walk to Marnick's for breakfast. As long as Caleb got his pancakes, everything was ok! and we finally gave him our present- a sand and water table that he loves! It will be hours of fun.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

So much excitement

2008-05-14T19:11:00.001-07:00

Well there's nothing like a crane and a mulcher to keep four toddlers entertained! After having snacktime at the beach Caleb, Taylor, Sydney and our neighbor Shauna came home to the tree guys removing our front tree (a yucky black walnut that dropped walnuts in our yard that hurt our feet) and don't worry we'll plant something to replace it! and trimming the trees in our side and back yards. It was pretty cool to watch them climb up and the limbs fall, but the kids liked the mulcher the best.

We have an annoying herron problem in the trees in our side yard. They lay eggs and poop all over everything. Well they came back this year and were building nests like crazy. The tree guys trimmed the trees and removed the nests. Thank goodness! I just knew that one day one of those crazy birds was going to peck out my baby's eyes. Anyway, I thought we were in the clear when wouldn't you know it, those pesky birds were back up there nesting away. Do you think anyone would notice a pregnant woman on the roof with a paintball gun?

Just to prove I'm not totally heartless, we've also been feeding a mommy Robin who laid eggs in a bush in front of our house. Even though the crazy bird flies out at me every time we walk through the front yard, I resist the urge to knock the nest out so it won't make me almost pee my pants when I am watering the lawn.

He's not a baby anymore!

2008-05-14T15:19:00.001-07:00

Caleb turned 2 on Monday! What an exciting day, we ate blue pancakes with M&M's for breakfast. Then we went to Jungle Jim's for a playdate and had sprinkle cupcakes, then he took a four hour nap after crashing from the sugar high!

Thank goodness Auntie Aly sent a box of presents, because mom and dad didn't have their act together, and Caleb wouldn't have anything to open. (we're telling ourselves we wanted to wait for the big party on Sat. but really we're just neglectful parents!)

For dinner, we all went to Chuck E. Cheese's which is the classiest joint in town. There were panhandler children and a child brazen enough to actually steal tokens from our cup. Its moments like those that make me feel like a superior mother : ) then I remember he had no gifts, oh well nobody's perfect!

Caleb isn't acting any older, but he has adopted the delightful habit of throwing himself on the floor and screaming for no apparent reason. Hooray for 2!

day three is the toughest

2008-05-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

I am babysitting this summer for our friends Taylor and Sydney who are 3 and 19 months old. They will be with us 3 1/2 days a week until September when spots open up at their daycare. We had a lot of fun the first two days because it was beautiful outside, so we played, went for walks, hung out at the beach... The kids were so tired, that after lunch they basicly slept until their mom came to pick them up.

Caleb is handling it pretty well, he likes to lay on them so we're exploring the lesson of personal space right now. But, taking turns and sharing hasn't been as big an issue as I had expected.

Well, that was days one and two....Now its day three and its raining, something I wasn't fully prepared for. Its 11:30 and so far we have taken every single toy out of its been (OmG I Hate sorting toys!) made mother's day cards from construction paper and glue, had two snacks and made blue play-dough. Right now they are parked in front of Elmo. I hate to stick them in front of the tv, but I needed a break : ) The playdough was an experience, but lots of fun! Its interesting to watch how differently they react to it, I don't know if its girls vs. boy or just our households, but the girls were a little stressed that their hands were dirty and while I was reassuring them that it was ok to get a little messy, I look over and Caleb is not only covered he has a big glob in his mouth! It has over a cup of salt in it, so he is sure going to be thirsty later! I wish my camera had been charged because it sure was funny!

If anyone has any rainy day activities please let me know because we are getting more of this tomorrow!

Baby Picasso

2008-05-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

Caleb got an easel for Christmas, but I just got around to buying any paints for him. Caleb and Brandon were painting the other night while was making dinner, it went well at first and then Brandon started explaining about color balance and abstract images.

That's when Caleb decided to go have a tea party. : )

(I don't know if you can tell, but according to my designer husband, those blobs represent Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar- and he's in the process of working on Elmo)

Maybe Brandon needs an easel!

What a busy weekend

2008-05-05T12:09:00.001-07:00

We had a very exciting weekend. After swim class, Caleb and I headed to Brooklyn for his first sleepover with cousin Nate. I was meeting Brandon in the city for dinner and fun. I got a chance to see some friends from Bloomies and then we ate way too much Italian food. I had to call in a night at around 12, but they were all up for more fun!

The next morning we had breakfast with Stephanie's family and then Caleb and I rode the subway (or the choo choo train if you're 2!) to meet Dad. It was beautiful and we had a nice walk through Battery park. (You can see the Statue of Liberty in the pic if you look closely!)

We we back to Brooklyn for burritos on the sidewalk- yummo! and today we are getting ready for Sydney and Taylor to come over tomorrow.

guppy class

2008-05-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

Caleb takes a swim class on Saturday mornings. We signed up thinking Brandon would take him, but he is away with work this weekend so it was mom and baby. We hit a milestone today ( all that swimming in Mexico paid off!) Caleb used the bubble- a stack of foam float with a belt (Caleb likes it because he calls it a seatbelt) to swim all on his own and jump from the wall. He was so excited and I was so proud of him. Next week I'll take pictures : )

a little nervous

2008-05-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

So some of you know that we are having a second baby in Oct. And the second time a round is a lot different. First of all, I am getting bigger much quicker- I have only gained five pounds but its making a huge difference. I am trying really hard not to hit the 60+ mark like last time. we'll see.

With Caleb I didn't have a clue what was going on, so I just worried about everything. This time around I know what to expect, but my main concern is balancing a new baby and a little boy who is with me 24/7- he's a little clingy. Hopefully, starting preschool in September will ease the transition. cross your fingers....

I am off to search for ab exercises that are safe for baby bellies!

pictures from the beach

2008-05-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from Mexcio, coaxing the boy into the pool the first day- making a sand castle. Happy family at the wedding (I didn't eat too many burritos- we're having baby #2 in Oct.) and Brandon and Caleb at the Mayan ruins- but you can't see the ruins in this shot!

one day back

2008-05-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at blogging. It seems that everyone is doing it, and I have four suitcases of sand filled laundry to wash, but I would like to avoid. So here I blog. I just let Caleb who will be two in 11 days! wind down for a nap- I knew it was time because he first threw a shoe box at me and then bit my arm. He really is a sweet kid, but we're going through a phase right now. Maybe I'll look into moving up nap time! We just spent seven amazing days in Tulum, Mexico to attend the wedding of our dear friends Jen and Austin. We had a great time and Caleb is a little fish ( who only eats French fries- any moms who have advice on getting your kids to eat anything besides carbs and dairy?) and I can't wait to plan the next vacation.