Puppy Love

Happy birthday BELLA GARDELLA!! It is hard to believe that my little tiny puppy pictured above turned two today.  She has been such a huge part of our lives the past two years, and I am so in love with her.  We celebrated today!! Yes, I am one of those people who would love love love to throw my puppy a birthday party, but my hubby just laughs at me.  She is my little princess girl, and I have to make her feel special on her birthday.  So today her and Caleb cuddled, I sang Happy Birthday about 10 times, gave her extra hugs and kisses, and tonight she got a small bowl of icecream, and a birthday bath! Happy happy birthday my baby girl!!

Girls and their Doll

This weekend we travled to my hometown for a visit.  We had a great time seeing friends and family, and everyone kept commenting on how much Caleb had grown :(.  My baby truly is growin up. It was a great time because my brothers family and my mom finally got to meet Caleb.  They had a family illness and death around the time Caleb was born. Due to that they had not met him yet.  My nieces loved to hold him and I can not get over how grown up they are looking, especially the baby Gracie. They love the play with their baby dolls and Caleb was a real life one.  My oldest niece told me that this was the first real boy baby she had ever held.  She kept hugging him and kissing his head.  So sweet.  I was so happy to see them and for them to finally meet Caleb. 

19 lb newborn

I just came across this story about an Indonisian woman who gave birth to a 19 lb 2 foot long newborn. No joke.  The doctors believed it was due to her gestational diabetes.  Could you all imagine? How is that possible to carry a baby that big full term? God bless that momma! And I thought my little man was getting big. 

Some Fall Finds

This past weekend Caleb's Papaw decided to go on a shopping spree for his little man.  We ventured into the Carters store in Lexington because I really wanted to go there, and we found a few outfits for him for the colder months.  We bought everything in size 3 months since he is still wearing newborn sizes.  I can't wait until he can fit into them.  Thanks Dad!

Kreativ Blogger Award

Lea Liz at http://rolandbaby.blogspot.com/ nominated me for a Kreativ Blogger award! Thanks girl.  This is my first award so I am excited. 

So here are the rules:

1-Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2-Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3-Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4-Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.

5-Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6-Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7-Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they've been nominated

7 Things you may not know about me....

1.  My maiden name is White and my mother's maiden name is Little.  When my parents had me they were not married and on my hospital bed it said Little White Girl.

2. In highschool I was really into Theatre.  I still miss acting, and I would love to find a community theatre to be a part of.

3. I wanna move to the beach, and I plan to one day!

4.  I love mission work.  I have traveled to Haiti, the Bahamas, Jamaica, NYC, and Daytona, Florida for mission work.

5. I want to and plan to adopt a baby one day.

6.  I am the only child that my parents had together.  Therefore I have no full siblings (only half and step).

7.  I lived with my grandmother growing up (out of choice and location). I do not really enjoy the town my dad lives in.  Very small and boring!

My 7 Creative Bloggers

1.  Erin at The Williamson Family

2. The Lutz Family

3. Meant to be a Mom at IVF Infertility

4. Katie at Keepin Up with the Jones'es

5. Ashlee at McCrary Memories

6. Marisa at Baby Ty Cherry

7. Abby at  Babbling Abby 

Curly Dude

What happens when you take this......

Mixed with this.......

I am talking about our hair.  My entire life I have struggled with the blessing curse of curly hair.  People are always walking up to me and telling me that they love my curls, and that they wish they could have hair like mine! HAAA.  When you have curly hair you understand how hard it is to control, style etc etc etc. I have always been envious of people with silky straight hair who can jump out of the shower, fall asleep, and wake up the next morning with perfect locks.  Anyway...my hubby too has been blessed with curly hair. However, on his part it really is a blessing.  As you can see from the pic above when I first met my man he had shaggy, curly, beautiful locks! I loved loved loved his hair. In fact, I almost cried when he cut it.  Since we both have curly hair we had said that it would take a miracle for our child to have straight hair, and Caleb did not experience that miracle.  When he was first born his hair was straight but not anymore.  His hair is beginning to get that curly out of control texture, and it does some hilarious things at times. When he wakes up or rubs his head against you his hair goes crazy and curls curls curls.  Oh well, I am kind of excited to have a little curly, shaggy haired toddler one day. 

Baby Must Haves

I have read various blogs in which mommas list their baby must haves. I always found this very helpful during my pregnancy when I was trying to decide what items I absolutely needed.  I thought I would take the time to include my baby must haves :). 

1.  Graco Snugride Carseat.  I orginally had registered for the Graco travel system with carseat and stroller. However, we ended up just getting the carseat, which I have found to be a blessing now.  Caleb loves his carseat!

2. I was happy we did not get our Graco stroller because it is actually heavier than I had realized, and I think it could have been to much to handle.  However, one of our good friends got us a Combi stroller, and I love love love it!! It is so lightweight and easy to handle! Caleb loves it as well.  I can grab it with one hand out of the trunk, and it takes literally three seconds to unfold and fold back (once you figure out how to do it to bein with. I had trouble at first :)).

3. Kiddopotamus Swaddle Blanket.  Caleb has slept wrapped in a swaddle blanket since we brought him home from the hospital.  He does not like his arms swaddled but loves the rest of his body wrapped up. Perfect way to keep their feet warm during the night if you have gown on them. Caleb is just now fitting into socks and starting to keep them on so socks were not an option when we first brought him home.

4. Gracco Angel Care Movement Monitor.  I do not know about you mommas out there but I am TERRIFIED by the thought of SIDS.  I would be one of those mommas sitting and staring at their babies bellies while they slept if it were not for this monitor.  It is placed under the mattress of the babies bed, and when you turn it on it begins monitoring their breathing movement.  If movement does not occur for 20 seconds then an alarm is sent off.  It gives me so much peace of mind, and it is definitely worth the money.

5. Bassinet.  This is not a picture of the bassinet that we have, but I love having a bed for him in our room.  It is so easy in the first months to have your baby right beside you for nighttime feedings, and to soothe them when they wake up upset.

6.  Similac advanced formula.  Since mommy milk no longer works I have searched and searched formulas to find the perfect one for Caleb.  After various test runs with other formulas Similac advanced seems to work best with his little belly.

7. Swing and bouncy seat. AMAZING.  Our neighbor let us borrow her baby swing, and Caleb absolutely loves it.  He will sit in it for as long as I let him while I am cleaning or getting ready.  I also love our Gracco Bouncy Seat.  It is so convinient to move from room to room with you when you are cleaning and the baby wants to be able to see you.  Also when I am home alone I always put Caleb in it and take it into the bathroom with me while I shower.

8.  Pampers Swaddle Diapers. My favorite by far! We have tried a couple of other brands but these are our favorite! I also love love love the smell of them when you first open the package. However, I am interested in trying the Target diapers because I have heard good things.

9.  Mam binkys! Only binky Caleb will take so far!

10. Target has a travel bed that I believe is a must have. I could not find a picture of it, but we keep it in our trunk and take it with us when we stay over night at places.  Smaller than a pack n play and perfect for young infants. It literally looks like a small bag and is so lightweight.  It unfolds into a bed that you can place on the floor.

11. I Love You Forever book. This book puts Caleb to sleep or at least calms him down when he is fussy automatically.  Also you need a rocking chair or glider to rock babies in.

12. Medela bottles.  I breastfed a month and these bottles came with my pump.  I love love love them.  Caleb took to them and their nipples instantly, and he hardly ever gets an upset stomach from gas bubbles. 

13.  Footed sleepers and bibs.  You can honestly never have enough.

14. Mirror for the backseat of the car. It is great to be able to look in your rearview mirror and see your little one. Gives you peace of mind when you are traveling alone.

Hope this helped.  If any of you mommas out there have any more must haves that you think I should know about I would love to hear.

Let's Give You Something to Smile About!!!

Okay, so if that face doesn't make you smile then I do not know what will! I know that Caleb, Nick and I along with many fans in the Big Blue Nation were smiling from ear to ear after KY beat Louisville for the third year in a row on Saturday!! It was a great time!! Nick and I had big plans to take Caleb to tailgate at Commonwealth Stadium, and we had planned to meet up with one of my former Merrick customers at his tailgate that morning.  However, due to the early tailgate time and the cold weather and traffic we missed tailgating pre game. Instead we got Caleb ready, and took lots of pictures and then headed to a restauraunt with a bunch of friends to watch the game. After the game we spent time we hung out at one of our friends house, and then we went and saw some more friends that were having people over after the game. Basically we got to show Caleb off to lots and lots of friends we hadn't seen in a while.  However, I was a little paranoid about flu season and wiped Caleb off repeatedly throughout the day :).  Sunday we spent time hanging out with my dad and little sis, and my dad went on a shopping spree for Caleb at the Carters store in Lex.  Thanks dad.  Also, my dad and sister are hardcore Louisville fans (I know crazy right)? Anyway, my dad surprised us when he came in with a baby wildcat bib, UK binkys, and then later on in the day he bought Caleb two UK bottles.  He said he would respect our decision to raise him as a Wildcat fan until he is old enough to know better haha. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. 

C-A-T-S CATS CATS CATS!!

We are off to LexVegas to cheer on the CATS!! The Louisville Kentucky game is always one of the most exciting football games of the season!! We are taking Caleb to his first tailgate, and I will be sure to have a gallery of pictures for your enjoyment Monday!! HAPPY WEEKEND ALL AND DON'T FORGET TO CHEER ON THE CATS!!

The World is Sooo Exciting!!

Let me tell you a story about a little guy named Caleb. Caleb was born August 4th 2009 and is now 6 weeks old.  Up until this six week mark Caleb has loved loved loved to sleep. In fact there were various days when his mommy would have to wake him up to eat, and would maybe see his beautiful blue eyes for two hours total in a day.  However, times have now changed. Caleb is soo interested in the world now that he has nothing to do with this thing called sleep.  Despite all of his mommy and daddy's "tricks" to try to get him to nap, he always finds some way to stay awake.  If he is laying on Daddy's chest then he....

...holds his head up and looks around so not to be put to sleep by the sound of daddy's beating heart.  If you put him in his swing he now keeps his eyes open and watches the bird and frog hanging above.

  In fact Caleb was so fascinated by this world yesterday that after he awoke at 11 am...he did not sleep more than an hour until he went to bed at 11 pm.  1 hour people!!! Yesterday was actually the first cranky day that Caleb has had in his 6 weeks on Earth.  He broke down at mommy's doctors appointment, he broke down while getting flea medicine, and he broke down while in the insurance office (where we are still trying to get Caleb's card!) ughh.  Anyway, once Caleb and his mommy arrived home his momma put him straight to bed, but he had a binky in his mouth! BIG MISTAKE! Every time he would dose off he would loose his binky and begin SCREAMING! His momma refused to give it back and he cried and cried and screamed and screamed and no napping occured!! His momma then decided to go ahead and feed him in the hopes that it would help him sleep! NOPE he just ate and looked around and decided it was time to play!! You see the thing is Caleb knows that he is cute and he has his momma wrapped.  His mommy tried to cuddle him and get him to sleep!! NOPE! After daddy arrived home we went to the grocery store which is a VERY BORING place.  No sleeping for little Caleb though through the trips up and down various aisles.  NOPE he just looked around at the different sites.  No sleeping while mommy and daddy ate dinner.  No sleeping while cuddling on the couch with daddy.  Mommy ran some bath water and put Caleb in the bath with her.  No sleeping while cuddled on mommy's chest in the warm bath. Nope Caleb just kicked and smiled, and pooped (Yes pooped in the tub with him and mommy both in it!! hilarious!).  Finally after the bath when it was time to eat his biggest meal of the day (well usually)....all swaddled up.....in his pj's....all clean....Caleb slept!!! In fact he was sleeping so good that this was the result (only 2 ounces ate).  Mommy kept waking him until he finished and then he was out!!!! This world is just to exciting to sleep :). 

I love my little man and I love to see those big blue eyes :)

Also Caleb's Autie Randi came to visit the other day.  We took their first picture together since I had forgotten the other times!! Caleb loves his Autie Randi!!

Mighty Monday with a Challenge

Happy Monday all.  I hope you had an amazing weekend. 

I might have had an amazing weekend with my little family.  Saturday we might of had visitors and then spent some time with a couple of friends.

Sunday we might have attended a great church service, and then traveled to the park for a picnic and family photo shoot.  I might have been soo happy sitting on a blanket with my hubby and baby boy and enjoying the beautiful weather while we ate.  Taking pictures might have been so much fun as well. 

We might plan to take more pictures at the park throughout Caleb's infancy. 

Caleb might have slept through the entire photo shoot until the very end.  Despite our efforts to wake him. He might just be a little sleeping beauty in the pictures though.

After the photo shoot Caleb and I might have attended his very first baby shower.  The shower is in honor of his soon to be girlfriend Isabel and her momma Taylor.  Caleb might have slept through the entire thing, and did not even wake up to let me know it was time to eat.  (I might have realized it was time to feed him and hour and a half late) oops...

Caleb might have SELF SOOTHED himself to sleep last night and tonight both.  Last night with a little less crying than tonight, but it seems to be working.  YAY!

I might have gone back to work for the first time tonight.  It might have been okay, but hard to leave my little one.  I might be planning on only going back to work 2-3 nights a week. 

Working tonight might have proved to me that I am super dee dooper out of shape.  My thighs are killing me from walking. It's a good thing though. I need to tone up that floppy baby belly leftovers I have going on. 

I might have been reading Kelly's blog the other day and been inspired.  For her 1000th post she had everyone who reads her blog leave a comment.  I am soo curious to see who all reads my blog.  Soo...I would like to challenge you to leave me a comment as well.  You can comment on whatever you want.  I am soo excited to see the response so please don't let me down! :)

I might hope that you all have an amazing week!!