Fun boy at 5 months!

Caleb, here are your 5 month milestones:
- 16 1/2 "ish" lbs.
- 26 inches long
- Rolling BIG time! You now roll both ways and roll all over the floor!
- Love watching Dylan! You smile, laugh, and babble back at him. You love him to sing to you especially in the car! Mommy loves to hear my boys interact already!
- Sleeping better! You are not real consistent, but you usually sleep 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 hours a night! That means you nurse between 5 and 5:30am. Then you fall back asleep and are up at 7:00 for the day.
- Take 3 naps a day. Around 45min to 1 hr each. That's an estimate. Sometimes it's more, sometimes less!
-Nurse 5 times a day, have done 4 times once or twice.
- Are soooo happy! Love Mommy to play peek-a-boo! You smile those sweet dimples at anyone!
- Still quite the bubble blower :)
- Ticklish little boy!
- Hold your head up SO good while on your belly!
- Started rice cereal on Mommy's birthday. You were NOT a fan. You seemed to like it for the first time (3-22-12) after Mommy warmed it up more! You are getting the hang of the spoon!
- Mommy started trying to sit you up in the Boppy. You do pretty good. You lean forward and balance some on your belly :)
-Give kisses! It's so sweet when we put out cheek next to yours. You open that little mouth and smack us! We call them the sweetest kisses ever! Dylan thinks it is SO fun!
- You love the sit up game and strain your neck for us to pull you into that sitting position!
- You just want someone to talk to you!!!
- You are reaching and holding toys! You love them! Especially your singing/mirror/light up snail!
- Got your first bottom tooth! 3-26-12 and the one next to it is so close!!

One of Mommy's favorite things is to see you smiling up at me when you wake up in the morning for the day. It is so precious! I cherish those moments!

We are blessed with a great baby boy! It is so fun to watch his personality really begin to shine!! He is just SO happy! We love you Caleb William!!

Potty Time!

Last Thursday was our first "complete" day of potty training! Here is our process:
1. Aunt Carole found this book at the library. Dylan absolutely loved it! It sparked interest in all things potty. So that brings me to...

2. The Soccer ball potty! All the kiddos in the book had their own "big" potties as Dylan called them. He told me he wanted one. So, the whole family went to Toys R Us and he picked this one! Yes, I ate my words on this one. Before kids, I swore I wouldn't buy a kid potty because they were SO gross! Oh how I love that thing today! It took a while to get used to it, but now he uses it every time we are home!

3. Mommy bought plenty of underwear! I chose the Gerber training pants to start with because they are a little thicker cotton. They are awesome!

4. I have a stock pile of treats. We started with Reese's PB cups, which were a big hit, but a little messy and melt fast!  Today I moved on to M and M's in his gumball machine.  I bought the gumball machine last Christmas for potty training treats and totally forgot about it.  He is currently having a meltdown because he wants the treats out of them!  Guess I failed on consistency with this one.  I will START with the M and M's in the gumball machine with Caleb!

5. I also downloaded this free app on my iPhone. It has sticker charts, books, and videos!

All of my family and friends told me to be patient and not push him to be potty trained. "He won't go to Kindergarten in diapers!" they all said. I listened to their advice and didn't push. He showed interest at 18 months but that fizzled. Then until a week ago, he refused to try the potty, proclaiming "I will just go in my diaper." So, we waited. Then it just clicked (even #2!)  Maybe it was the soccer ball potty, or just he was ready. We started wearing the training underwear and I took him every 30 minutes or so. Yes, we have had at least one or two accidents a day, but that's part of it! He then started telling me he had to go or that he did go (which means I have to go). When we are out, he wears pull-ups, and he wears his overnight diapers at night. We talk A LOT about it! We cheer, dance, and shout when we have success!  Oh the things you talk about as a parent! We are on our way! Wish us continued success! I'm very proud of this BIG boy!!!

Arghh! 

Diego underwear today!

Sweet Daffodils!

We took the boys to Wye Mountain to attempt pictures in the daffodils.  Several fits, bribes, screams, and pleas later, we got a few good pictures.  It was I guess your typcial photo shoot with a two and a half year old.  Caleb did great, after I hit him in the head with my gigantic camera, giving him a huge pop knot on the side of his head.  Mom.  Of.  The. Year.  But, he is just fine, and Dylan is getting a big afternoon nap!  It was nearing the end of the daffodils so I am so glad that we decided to go!  Thanks a million times over to my mom, who took one for the team, and came to help me out.  Mom, I NEVER would have gotten any pictures without you there!  Here are my precious boys.  I love them dearly and love making memories with them! March 14, 2012

Bye Bye....

dear pacifier. You served Dylan very well for two and a half years! Yesterday, we "mailed" the papis to a baby that needed them. Dylan received a big boy toy in the return mail. :) It took 45 minutes to go down for nap yesterday. Bedtime was easier. Today's nap, over an hour, and not as pleasant. He added a chimpanzee and jaguar beanie baby to the sleeping crew which includes his blankie, and his boy doll Rusty. We know it is not an easy process on anyone. We are hoping it gets easier! Those papis were such a comfort to our sweet Dylan. Mommy knew it had to happen eventually! Getting rid of them took a little piece of my heart, too. Wish us luck!