Disney-Brain

I've been searching around the web for Disneyworld vacations and they look so affordable? What's the catch? Is it really this inexpensive to get a trip to Disneyworld for the family or am I buying into staying at a roach motel or getting a bait and switch?! I'm a little nervous!

IDEA!

I've been thinking non stop about Caleb's upcoming birthday, just like I promised. A fabulous deal popped into my head, although I'm pretty sure I have thought of it before. Wouldn't it be cool to have Caleb's birthday party at Medieval Times!!! I'm going to put that on the list!

Disneyworld

It occurs to me that Caleb is almost 5. It might seem far off, but we have been looking forward to caleb turning 5 since the day he was born. It's not that I haven't enjoyed the time between 1 day old and 5 years old, but it's because I have had something planned this entire time.

I'm not sure if I have blogged about it before, but it seems likely since I talk about it all the time. I am planning on taking Caleb to either Disneyland or Disneyworld for his 5th birthday! 5 just seems like such a great age to take a little guy to a theme park like Disney.

Caleb doesn't even know such a place exists. I haven't even told him about the plans. They aren't set in stone yet, but barring any weird events, it should be easy enough for me to take him. We are planning to go in December of this year and things, so far, are lining up perfectly. I have a job that isn't in retail so I will be able to get the time off. I should have enough money saved by then to be able to take Caleb and myself. I would like to use part of my tax return, but I haven't even filed yet, so I don't know how much I will be getting back if anything at all.

The outlook is good. I can't wait to start officially planning!

Thanksgiving

I just wanted to take a moment and reflect on what I am thankful for in my life. Number one, hands down, no question, I am most thankful for my son. Everyone says things like that and unless you are a parent you can't really understand, and even if you are a parent it still doesn't necessarily mean that you understand.

My son is my entire world. He is everything to me. I consider him in all things that I do. I can't bring myself to make a selfish decision. There is no way that I could put him aside for anything or anyone, ever. Period.

I would do anything to keep him safe, happy, and healthy. The love that we have for one another is pure and sweet and untainted by anything in this world. He might like to play with his cousins, or read with his Auntie, but when he wants safety, who does he come to? Mama; that's who. When he wants comfort - Mama. When he wants tender hugs and kisses - Mama. When he wants to feel loved - Mama. I'm so thankful that my son and I have a good strong bond, and I know we always will.

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

We rented "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" for Caleb's Halloween party about 3 weeks ago. Since then, he has watched it every single day. My Netflix program is an old, 1 at a time, two per month for 4.99 that isn't offered anymore. I keep wanting to upgrade it, but never have. Now may be the time, or I will never get another movie. Caleb just can't get enough of the Peanuts gang in It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

It's so cute because he has started reciting lines from the movie. Yesterday he was playing with his trains and I heard him murmur, "I wouldn't want to be accused... of taking part in a rumble." Which is Sally's line from the movie when she asks if trick or treating is legal. He has also been saying some classic Charlie Brown lines such as, "good grief" and "I can't stand it".

There is an extra short on the disc called, "It's Magic, Charlie Brown". One show plays seamlessly into the next and I am pretty sure that he thinks they are the same show. In this episode, Snoopy turns Charlie Brown invisible. Caleb thinks this is hilarious. Especially when Snoopy tries to make him visible again. He covers Charlie brown with a sheet, ties a neck tie on him and gives him boots. Charlie Brown ends up looking like an executive ghost. It scares his sister, which always makes Caleb howl with laughter.

There is just something about these Peanuts movies that enchant children. I remember adoring "A Charlie Brown Christmas" when I was a little kid, and I'm sure that Caleb will love it this year as well. I really enjoy being able to relive these movies and holiday memories with Caleb. When you have a little one, it's as if everything is new again.

Saving Up For Braces

Caleb had is routine cleaning and check up at the dentist yesterday. His teeth look great, very clean and "shiny" which is Caleb's new favortie word, so he was excited to hear the dentist say it. Dr. Lewis says I didn't do any irreparable damage by waiting so long to take away his pacifier.

Caleb has a gap in his front teeth and as adorable as I think it is, we are going to get it taken care of. Dr. Lewis thinks we can do it without braces after he loses his 2 from teeth - super cute, but very far away, or so it seems. I'm sure it will sneak up on me before I know it.

We did learn that Caleb has a crossbite. He will probably need a retainer or braces in the future to take care of it. Dr. Lewis says that he will probably refer him to an orthodontist when he is about 7. That gives me 4 years to save for braces. I should probably start on that right away!

Caleb's Day

Caleb had so much fun today! While I was at work, he spent the day with my sister. Caleb calls my sister E-E. It's the ends of the words "Auntie Cindy".

So, Caleb and E-E went to the library today. There is a play time for little kids with toys in the afternoon. The place was apparently full of kids Caleb's age. When he saw them, he said he wanted to go play with his "friends". How cute! E-E let Caleb pick out books to check out and then they played with the other kids for over an hour. They didn't leave until Caleb started piling cushions on the floor saying he was going to take a nap.

After he took at nap at her house, they went to the grocery store. Caleb made friends with the man in front of them in line. He was taking an inventory of everything the guy was putting on the belt. I am told that it was very impressive. At the store the bought, Chocolate cake mix; obviously.

I was sent a picture of the Chocolate Cake excitement. It looks like Caleb had a fantastic day with E-E. When I arrived to pick him up, he didn't want to leave. Of course, that is typical of anytime he hangs out with E-E!

Cindy's Birthday

Today is my sister's birthday, so I would like to start this post off by saying Happy Birthday to Cindy!

Last weekend we went to Battle Ground Lake to go camping to celebrate. It was cold, but a lot of fun. We had one short burst of rain, but it was nice and sunny after that. I took Caleb with me, and it was a big adventure.

I wanted to prepare him for camping so I set up our small tent in the back yard and we put a fire in the fire pit. We stayed out in the tent until it got dark and then he went inside to go to bed.

The day before we left, Word World aired a camping episode. As we were watching it, I talked to Caleb about the camping trip that we were going on the next day. In the morning I started packing up everything we were taking with us. Every time I pulled something out of the garage, Caleb would ask, "What are you doing, Mama? What's that, Mama?"

I answered him about each thing individually, telling him what it was, what it did, and why we would need it. He asked where we were going. I told him we were going to the park to sleep in the tent. It was really exciting to him. When Shawn woke up Caleb said, "Dada! We are going to Nana's house to sleep in the tent!" I reminded him that we were going to the park and he got excited all over again exclaiming, "oh yeah!"

I noticed this weekend that Caleb is talking a lot more. He is more clear as well, and so I don't have to translate for him as much anymore. He's just growing up way too fast. Next year, camping will be even more fun!

My Mom is My Biggest Fan

I've been playing the guitar again lately. I can always tell if I have been slacking by how long my fingernails are. Also, if my fingertips get smooth and soft then I'm reminded to play more. Mikey has been playing the guitar as well and so I like to show him whenever I learn a new song.

I brought my guitar to my parents' house today to play a song for Mikey. Afterwards I played it for my mom as well. She was doing something in the kitchen and I didn't think she was paying much attention. After I finished she exclaimed, "You should be on American Idol!" I just blinked at her.

I am definitely not American Idol material. My mind immediately rewound to my preschool days when my mother would ooh and ahh over any scribbled piece of construction paper that I would hand over to her. I was a little annoyed. I was wishing that she would have given me a more realistic bit of feedback.

After I put Caleb to bed tonight, I paused in the hallway to look at the bathroom door. It's white, with a 2 1/2 foot tall blue person drawn on it in crayon. Caleb got a spank for drawing it, but I haven't washed it off yet. Shawn walked into the hall and stood next to me with his arms crossed looking at the door.



"That's a cute little guy he drew there," Shawn said.

"I know," I replied, "I haven't washed it off because I can't get a good picture of it with the camera."

"Its got hands and a face," he admired

"Its got eyes!" came an enthusiastic coo from behind us.

Caleb was standing there watching us adore him through his art work. It helped me understand a little bit better where my mom was coming from.

Brace Yourself for Adorable

Get ready for the cutest thing ever...

Very Quickly

I don't have a lot of time, so please excuse any typos or run on sentences and the like. I wanted to write a quick blog and say that last weekend, Shawn and i took Caleb to the newport aquarium. It was so much fun! caleb saw the ocean for the first time and he absolutely loved watching the animals in the aquarium. he ran from tank to tank saying, "fish, fish fish" and he even got to pet a shark and a sting ray.

Today at work i got my business cards, name badge and photo ID badge
I'll post a picture of the photo because its funny.

Gotta go!

Taking Care of Business

So far, I have had a pretty productive day. I am still in training for my new job, and on my break I made a doctor appointment, and a dentist appointment for Caleb. He is NOT going to be very happy about the dentist appointment. It doesn't have anything to do with the actual dentist visit itself, but the time of the visit. We are going to miss the garbage truck (or garbage car, as he calls it)! Oh well, he will just have to wait until the next week to see the garbage car.

I am so happy to have a schedule with set days off. It was so easy to make those appointments because I knew that I would be available all day on every Monday. So far this company has really treated me right, and I haven't even done anything to desrve it yet!

Ten Long Years

aleb is walking. He doesn't know that I see him. If he knew, he wouldn't be walking. He really doesn't like it very much. Crawling is much faster, and that is how the dogs walk, so it's okay by him. I noticed that he was walking on his own a little bit more yesterday. Normally, he will crawl everywhere, even if it is just a foot or two away. More recently, he has been "driving" his car where ever he wants to go. Any day now he is going to stop crawling. I better get some more video while I have the chance.

The Slim fast diet is going great so far today. I do miss eating food and we are only a two days in. I am going to try to skip my snacks and just drink flavored water to curb my appetite until tonight because....... It's my anniversary!

Some people might think it's silly that Shawn and I still acknowledge our first date anniversary, but I don't. We dated for like almost 5 years before we got married, so you really don't see the whole scope of things if I say, "Shawn and I have been married for almost 5 years." Today is our 10 year anniversary! As Shawn and I have been saying to one another today, "Ten loooooooong years!" Hehehe

Shawn wants to go out to dinner with family either tonight or tomorrow, or both! I'll have to exercise a lot of restraint and also make some healthy choices while we are out. Eating out is just a part of life, and it is going to have to be a part of my diet plan as well. I guess I will just have to see my personal trainer, Jillian Michaels, today. I saw her yesterday and she made me do all kinds of horrible things, like jumping jacks and push ups. I can't wait to see what she has in store for me today.

Caleb's Birthday

I'm not even sure how to put all of this into words.

Caleb turned 1 this week. Monday was his first birthday and we mostly spent it at home alone as a little family. We only left home for a little while, and when we got home we spent the rest of the afternoon and night inside. It wasn't very eventful as far as birthdays go. Maybe that is why I didn't feel as if a lot had changed when the day was over.

Shawn had the day off of work and we needed to bring the car back to the dealership for some warranty work. While we were waiting for the work to be done, we walked to a nearby Mexican restaurant for lunch. Caleb managed to charm the few other people in the place with his new found love of waving and saying "hi!" Shawn and I took turns feeding him and, surprisingly, he stayed awake the whole way home from Sandy, Or.

When we got home that afternoon, we let him open some presents and play with them for a while. I let him feed himself dinner, which I don't normally do. He really enjoyed feeding himself and now he wants to do it all the time. He had popcorn chicken that I made and he did a great job of eating it all up. He kept cramming as many as he could into his mouth all at once. Of course, I got it on video! =]

He played after dinner for a bit and then we gave him a little cupcake for dessert. Again, I let him feed himself, and again, he crammed as much into his mouth at one time as possible. He ate almost every little bit of his cake and didn't make a very big mess, either.

Even though we did all kinds of birthday things, it still didn't seem real until I was going to bed. Shawn and I went into Caleb's room to check on him and tuck him in before we went to bed. There was my little baby toddler. He looked like such a big boy lying there in his crib. I gazed at him in amazement and then thought to myself, "it's time to lower the mattress the rest of the way."

Tonight we celebrated his birthday with family and friends. We went to another Mexican restaurant; Caleb's favorite. We have been going there since before he was born, and everyone there loves him to pieces. He is pretty much allowed to do whatever he wants and they always treat us like family.

We had a pretty big turn out, 20 people, and a banquet room all to ourselves (gratis, of course). We passed Caleb around, had a great time talking and laughing, and a fabulous meal. After dinner, Caleb opened his toys and was playing with them when some of the restaurant staff came in to sing him Happy Birthday. They put a little sombrero on his head and they were very careful to take a really cute Polaroid for us. They usually bring a cinnamon & sugar tostada thing with berry syrup for birthdays, but since Caleb is such a favorite, they brought him a huge scoop of fried ice cream!

We cut the cake and fed Caleb his big honkin' corner piece first. He ate it in huge bites and dazzled everyone with how much he could fit into his mouth at once. Then he tug o' warred with Uncey Monkey over a paper plate of frosting, laughing and shrieking with happiness the whole time. After cake, most everyone left, but the other parents stayed to visit and let the kids play. Grandma and Grandpa stuck around to visit and watch the kids.

When we finally got home, we let Cal stay up extra late playing with his new toys. I went upstairs and lowered his mattress all the way. I was remaking his bed when it all became real to me. He is so big. I was picking up some toys in his room listening to him make truck noises downstairs, when I realized, he is too big for most of the toys in his toy basket now. His rattles and dangley car seat toys are no longer interesting to him. He really is growing up.

I lifted the railing of the crib and took comfort in that, it is still a crib. I folded some of his pajamas and put them away... size 18 months ... but they are still measured in months. I refilled the diaper hanger, size 3 diapers; they get much bigger you know, he'll still be in diapers for a while longer.

I went downstairs and watched him push around his new trucks. He plays with them just like a big boy. He puts a hand on top of each of them and pushes them around on his knees, almost using the trucks as roller skates for his hands. He crashes them together and makes car noises as they go. He even makes a screeching tire noise when he turns them.

The whole time I was watching him, it felt so bittersweet. Is he my baby, or my big boy? He plays with trucks and toy computers... big boy... Just before 10:30 he crawled over to my feet on the couch and climbed up my leg. He sat down next to me on the couch and watched a few minutes of a Christmas movie on TV. I remember when he first sat up and how excited I was, now he sits on the couch and watches TV... big boy... After about 5 or so minutes he climbed into my lap and snuggled in my arms. Well, he just goes where he wants to go and does what he wants to do... big boy... Another 2 or 3 minutes and he turned around in my lap, wrapped his arms around my neck, laid his head on my chest, closed his eyes and fell asleep... my baby.

Love,

Child Training: The Begining of the Begining

ecently, a friend of mine lent me the book, "To Train up a Child" by Michael & Debi Pearl. I'd heard a lot about this book and several of my friends are reading it. I was so excited to get my hands on a copy that I went straight home and read it. It works great! This book changed my whole outlook on discipline. I had an idea evolving in my head about how discipline worked and this book nipped it in the bud before I developed any bad habbits. This is part of the update I wrote to the friend that lent the me book.

Caleb and I used to watch sesame street on the laptop everyday, but he started banging the keys so hard that I had to stop. Eventually, his desire for the computer was so great, I had to keep it out of the room or he would cry if it was not in his reach.

I read To Train up a Child during his naptime and when he woke up I used the computer in his first training session. After about 10 or 15 corrections he would reach for the computer and when I told him, "No, no. Don't touch that" he would withdraw his hand and cry.

We went out to dinner and when we came home, I was able to hold him and use the computer at the same time without him reaching for it... until he decided to try to sneak and touch it with his toes. Can you believe it?! He would sneak just one little toe out and touch it. All I had to do was tell him "No, no" and he would withdraw his foot. This turned into our second training session.

Today, we were able to watch Sesame Street again. Caleb reached out for the computer, but withdrew his hand when I said, "No, no." He tried a new alternative, touching the computer with his stuffed animals, but was not upset or discouraged when he discovered this also was not allowed. The reason I felt compelled to write this blog is because now when I tell Caleb, "No, no. Don't touch that" He doesn't cry, he doesn't rebel, he turns around and KISSES ME!

This is a great start. I am so thankful for this book. I am going to have such a happy time raising and training my child!

Love,

Teeth and Cookies

y poor little son is having such a hard time with his second tooth! The first tooth came in so easily that I didn't even notice it until he bit me with it. This tooth is causing him so much pain and grief that its hard for me to bear. He was awake all night crying in pain. I kept getting up and rocking him back to sleep, but he would only stay asleep for an hour or two before waking up again. Neither one of us got very much sleep.

Shawn used his lunch break to run to the store and get some teething tablets. I gave Caleb 2 of them and he quickly fell asleep, something he had been unable to do while he was in so much pain. When he woke up, he ate lunch fine and to help him with his hard day, I gave him his frist chocolate chip cookie. As you can see, that went over very well.

After I cleaned him up from lunch, he didn't last much longer. He played in his exersaucer for about 10 or 15 minutes before he got tired again. It seems like whenever he is sleepy, the pain really starts to get to him. I gave him some teething tablets, and they didn't help very much. I gave him a juice bottle and that only calmed him for about 5 minutes. Finally, I broke down and gave him some tylenol. He finally fell asleep 40 minutes after his normal nap time.

I can't stand how much pain he is in. His face is so helpless and needy. He looks at me and cries and I can tell he is wondering why I can't make it better. I wish I could explain to him that everything will be better soon, or that he will really like his new teeth when they come in all the way. I wish this second tooth would be as simple as the first tooth. Most of all I wish that I could take the pain away.

Well this housebear has got to catch up on sleep for now. There is no telling just how many sleepless nights he will have, so I don't know when my next chance to rest will be.

Love,

Chompers

aleb was having such a hard time going to sleep tonight. He just kept crying and crying. For over an hour he would cry and then sleep for 5 or 10 minutes and then wake up crying again. I changed him, I gave him juice, I swaddled him, but nothing seemed to work. The last time that I went in to check on him he was crying louder than ever and when I peered over the edge of the crib I saw he had two fistfulls of blanket in his mouth. I checked his lower gums and lo and behold, he had cut another tooth!

No wonder my little guy was being so fussy. He now has two bottom teeth above the gums. His first tooth, the one on his right, came in quite a bit more today, and his new one is pretty far a long too. Since it took so long for his teeth to break the gums, I thought it would take them a long time to finish coming in. It seems that I may have been mistaken, but with Caleb you never really can tell. His teeth could hang out exactly where they are for several weeks, or they could shoot up over night.

I was really surprised to see the second tooth come up. I had been waiting for the first one for so long. I could see it under the gum, I could feel it under the gum, and was waiting for it several days before it appeared. This second tooth just sprung forth in a matter of hours. When I picked him up at my parents house around 8:30 he was happy as a lark. He was playing and giving kisses and being completely normal. By 9:30 he was fussy and by 10:30 he had a new tooth. They are pretty easy to see now, which means that if I can get past the drool, I should be able to take a decent picture to post. I'll try to keep everyone informed.

Love,

Standing Firm

aleb just pulled himself up. I was just about to try to find something to blog about when he did it. It isn't the first time. The first time was 2 weeks ago in the middle of church. He pulled himself up holding onto my jeans. I told Shawn, but I don't think he believed me.

Shawn is lying on the floor watching the news and Caleb is crawling around in front of him. Caleb crawled up to Shawn's shoulders, grabbed a hold of them and pulled himself up. Maybe it was because he thought it was the first time, or maybe it was because of the exictement of witnessing it first hand that caused Shawn to exclaim, "HE JUST PULLED HIMSELF UP!"


The look on Shawn's face was just as priceless as witnessing Caleb first pull himself up. He had his hands in the air with his fingers spread and a look of amazement on his face. I imagine its the expression he had the first time he rode his bike with no hands or the first time he hit the ball in little league.

I think that must be one of the ways that our children bring out "the kid in us", by making the whole world new again.

Love,

My Name is Mama

was sitting here on the couch with the cell phone trying to remember what I was going to talk about. It takes so long for the pages to load on this thing that I often forget what I was aiming to do upon getting online. So there I was on one end of the couch with Shawn on the other and Caleb in between us. I have me leg extended the length of the couch so that Caleb won't accidentally roll off or purposefully try to climb off. I'm staring at the screen when I feel five tiny little monkey toes wrap around my second toe.

I looked down and saw Caleb flopping around with his foot wrapped around my toe. He was flailing, but his little toes stayed in place. He brought over his other foot and started wiggling his other five toes around mine. My cute little guy was playing footsie with me!

Maybe you understand how adorable that is, maybe you don't. I just had my heart stolen AGAIN and I had to document it.

Love,

Hot Days, Cool Times, and Broken Gums

h My Gosh, it is too freaking hot outside. It is supposed to get up to 99 degrees today and tomorrow its supposed to get up to 104! That is just too dang hot! Yesterday was 85 and I thought I was going to melt away just from that!

My mom bought Caleb a little tiny baby pool. It is just big enough for him to sit in and have a couple of toys float around to play with. He just loves splashing around in it. I brought him to my parents' house yesterday to enjoy it, and he loved it so much, we came back today. He is taking a nap right now, but after he wakes up and has lunch we are going to go splish splash.

Speaking of my darling Caleb... He has his first tooth! He was fussy all day yesterday. I kept checking his gums, but didn't feel anything. Today in the car he grabbed my finger and bit me (a normal occurrence), and there was a TOOTH! I don't have my camera with me, but I will be taking pictures as soon as we get home and will post them as soon as I can.

And speaking of posting pictures... That might be a little difficult considering that my computer cord broke! The cable that charges our computers already shot battery finally succumbed to the wear and tear of what I thought was normal usage. My brother thinks he might be able to fix it, if he can get his hands on the right tools. If not, I will have to drop 60 bucks on a new one. If I had 60 bucks, I'd pay my phone bill, so I doubt that is going to happen. Until then, I will just have to blog from either my mom's house or a cell phone.

Shawn's 30th birthday was on Monday. The day before, we had a surprise party for him at Lewisville park. I finally surprised him! Even though he almost figured it out when he saw his mom's car and his sister's van in the parking lot... and then we ran into his aunt, uncle, and cousin who were trying to find our picnic spot! He still didn't know how big of a party it was. I was really glad to FINALLY be able to pull something off and surprise him, but best of all, he said he had a wonderful time.

Well, it's time to feed Caleb his lunch. I will do my best to keep in touch.
Love,