Why Hello Papaw

My dad stopped by for a quick visit today, and we had such a good morning with him.  He took us all out to breakfast at First Watch, and then we headed to Target to get Caleb a toy.  Papaws have to spoil their grand babies. Caleb ended up picking out 3 trains (surprise surprise). The child is obsessed with trains, and I think they are the new highlight of his life.  We also found some adorable summer clothes for Mckinlee for next year that were crazy on sale.  We went in for a toy and papaw ended up treating us to diapers, wipes, trains, socks, and clothes. Thanks Dad :).

Once we arrived home we tried to take some family pictures.  Bella was somewhere hiding while this was going on so she did not join in, and Nick was at work.  I think we got a few cute ones though.

It was great seeing you dad, Caleb keeps asking "Pa? Go?".  Come back soon. We love you!

Wednesday Wisdom

So far this week has been a lot of fun.  We were not able to truly focus a lot of days last week on learning due to outings, so this week I decided to focus once again on the same concepts. 

Theme: Apple

Color: Red

Numbers: 1 and 2

Letters: A and B

Shape: Circle

Caleb has still not shown that he fully understands these concepts as of yet, and therefore I did not want to move on to quickly. He can generally identify an A by pointing and vocalizing, but a B is still voiced as an O. Every color is still blue, and the numbers 1 and 2 are way over his head so far.  I am fine with taking it slowly and introducing each of these ideas in different ways until he really understands.  He can however, identify and say Apple, but he still thinks the apple is blue. :)

Monday we started our morning with circle time. Caleb loves it. He now runs in, tries to turn around his easel himself, and plops down on the ground in anticipation of a story.  We reviewed our board, and red a book about Elmo going to the potty.  The book is great for matching, identifying, colors, counting etc, and it was a steal for 4.99 at Ollies.  Throughout the book we talked about how Elmo was red, and Caleb fell in love with a page with different balls on it. We talked about that page for a good 10 minutes. After the book we decided to let Clifford (I could not find my Elmo), the big RED dog sit on the potty. We pretended like he went pee, and cheered for him.Caleb then had to sit on the potty while holding Clifford and said "I pee potty YAY" :). 

After circle time we played with our red cars on the the car ramp.  We practiced with the concept of up and down, counted cars, and talked about the color red. 

I had a bunch of morning activities planned for that day, but Caleb seems to be getting bored quickly. I thought I would spice things up a bit to keep him interested longer so I built a fort in our living room. He LOVED it  While in the fort we colored a sheet that showed pictures of how an apple grows.  I talked to him about it while he was coloring.  I then let him practice once again with the scissors on that sheet.  He loves cutting, and he is really starting to get the hang of it.  He also spent a of time putting the colored pencils back into the box. It was amazing to watch him put so much effort into a simple task. I love seeing the world through the eyes of a child. 

We then laced cheerios (circles).  He enjoyed this activity but I think he enjoyed eating the cheerios more, so did miss Mckinlee.



After the cheerios we examined a real apple.  We talked about what it felt life, what color it was, and that it is shaped circular.  Mckinlee tried to eat it. 

Large motor play that day was spent in the garage since it was so ugly out.  We had fun kicking the red soccer ball into the goal, and jumping up and down.  Ring around the Rosey is now a huge hit as well. 

I also allowed Caleb to work on some fine motor skills while nursing Mckinlee later that day. I gave him red poker chips (circles), and hi piggy bank, and a saltines box.  I cut a slit in the saltines box, and also a square opening at the bottom.  He was able to practice placing the chips in both the piggy bank and the box.  Huge cheap hit. 

Faces

The face of 7 months

The face of 2

Fun times :)

PS: My son was only crying because he did not want to take pictures nor did he want me to take pictures of Mckinlee. He kept saying "ma no cheese, no cheese".  :)

Planes Trains and Automobiles

Saturday the babies and I headed to celebrate Jame's 2nd birthday party with him. His mama threw a planes, trains, and automobile themed bash, and it was adorable.  We had a great time soaking in one of the last warm days of summer, and playing outside. 

James has a train table, and to say Caleb was obsessed would be an understatement.  He has fallen in love with train tables at the children's museum, otterville and at this party. I think we know what Santa will be bringing this year....I just don't know where we will put it....hmmm...

How grown up did he look in his big boy jeans.  My little baby really is growing up :(

Little miss looked oh so precious in her first pillowcase dress. I scored this little beauty brand new at a children's consignment sale last week for 12 dollars. I am in love.  She loved to un tie it and try to eat the ribbon, but she still looked precious.  Oh speaking of little miss...she officially started crawling today!! Oh wow....life is really going to get interesting now!

Adventures in Baby Wearing

I never "wore" Caleb.  Before he was born I had registered for a sling, didn't receive it as a gift, and that was that.  I just went through his infancy carrying him in his pumpkin seat, placing him in the stroller, or breaking my arm carrying his 24 lb body around.  However, when I was pregnant with Mckinlee I knew that I needed some sort of "helper" to make it through my outings as a new mom with 2.  I decided against a double stroller, because they are big, heavy, and big.  I'm not really a fan.  Instead I started researching the world of baby wearing and I was amazed at what I discovered. 

Since the birth of Mckinlee I have baby wore constantly. While out in public I sometimes will be seen baby wearing Mckinlee, and carrying Caleb on my hip. It is also a life saver when your toddler decides to throw them self on the ground in protest over something. Trust me you need both hands to lift them and get them calmed down.

Before Mckinlee arrived I was gifted a Moby Wrap at my baby shower.  I was so excited, and we immediately went home, and practiced wrapping me and a Elmo doll.  It was a little intimidating at first. However, once Mckinlee arrived I started to really grasp the main wrap, and I started to get the hang of it.  However, there were a few times when she would fight me on the newborn snuggle hold, and I would be left out in public confused, frustrated, wrapped, and still have my arms full.  It really wasn't until Mckinlee was big enough for the kangaroo hold, that I became a huge fan of the Moby.

Pros:

• Comfortable
• Tight hold
• Lots of different holds (youtube has tons of videos)

Cons:

• A lot of fabric. It is not easy to take with you, and generally I would have to wrap myself before I left the house, or leave it in the car.
• Hot in the summer
• Pulls your shirt in weird ways
• Frustrating at times

Once I realized that the Moby was not always working for me I started looking into other forms of baby wearing. I was introduced to the ring sling through baby center, and it has been my lifesaver!! I ordered a purple ring sling from kaleababy.com, and it is my all time favorite baby item.  Mckinlee likes to be held a lot, so it gives me hands free access while at home, is small enough to fit in diaper bag, very simple to put on, and also has various different holds. It also has a long piece of cloth that will cover you and baby while in public if you have to nurse.  Mckinlee basically lives in this sling when we are out of the house, and she even takes full naps in it if we are out of the house.

Pros:

• lightweight
• simple
• various holds
• small enough to fit in bag
• does not mess with clothes
• coverage for nursing
• comfortable

Cons:

• not as secure as the moby if you have to bend over

Baby wearing has been an amazing adventure with Mckinlee's infancy. It has provided bonding, simplicity, and safety to our family, and I am so glad the options are out there. I strongly recommend it to any mama out there (especially those who are soon going to have 2). 

All Aboard

We took a little break this morning from learning about apples, and instead headed out to celebrate a little mans birthday. Caleb's friend James turned 2 today, and we joined up with him for a morning of fun.  We headed to story time first thing this morning, and it was great as always.  My little lady is growing up so fast. It seems like only yesterday she was sleeping in the sling during story time, and now she is moving all over the floor, laughing at the songs, and enjoying the shaky eggs.  Oh time...you are so bittersweet.

After story time we headed to the mall for lunch, and then Jame's mama treated the kids to a choo choo ride.  Our mall has a choo choo that drives all around, and Caleb has been wanting to ride it for forever. However, we had never taken the time.  You would have thought their little hearts were going to burst with happiness when they realized that they were going to ride. They all climbed aboard, got their tickets, and waited with anticipation for the train to start.  Caleb was so in love with his train ticket afterward, and he held on to it for quite a while. 

 Have I mentioned their in love?  Caleb gave her a full on kiss the other day. Hand on cheek, other hand rubbing her back, side tilted head and everything. Oh Lord held us :)

After the train we went to let them play on the playground, but that was cut short. A child peed his pants in the airplane (every ones favorite), and their was a puddle of pee in the seat. The mother nor grandmother even offered to clean it up. Instead they just left.  To our horror we watched a little girl climb in and start splashing in it.  Ughh. Caleb sat on a wet spot of it before I could grab him, and he had some other kids pee on his pants. I am in no way or shape a germaphob, but that drew the line. We immediately scooped up the kids and headed out.  I had to strip Caleb in the parking lot, and allow him to ride pants less home.  I sanitized that child up and down before his nap.  I mean seriously? I am no mother of the year, but I assure you I would have cleaned up my child's puddle of pee.  Grrrrr.

All in all it was a fabulous morning (despite the pee)! Happy Birthday Sweet James!