Drool Fuel?

I'm coming the the end of the long journey called graduate school, and I'm learning that it isn't really the end but the beginning. Just when I thought that my life was about to get easier, I now have to find a job. Since having Caleb I've been enjoying a nice part time schedule, and I've really been enjoying the time off with him. Unfortunately, a crappy economy is forcing me into working at least for a while. Ideally, I won't have to take a job in a lab, but if I absolutely have to do more research I've discovered my next project. Drool fuel! That's right, Caleb is producing so much drool these days, that I started thinking about how nice it would be if my car could run on the stuff. I'm sure there are plenty of other mom's of teething infants who feel the same way. Think of how much money we could save if I could just wring out his clothes and put it straight into the car. Caleb even does a nice job of pulling his shirt into his mouth to catch the extra drippings. So, I'm going to get straight to work developing an engine that runs on baby drool. Anyone want to fund my research?

I'm gonna regret this in the morning

Yep, 10:45pm and I'm still up. For a while I was working on my dissertation which is now just one chapter and a lot of revisions away from being complete (WAH HOO!). However, for the past 45 minutes, I've just been surfing the internet. And now what am I doing...oh, updating my blog! I'm definitely going to be kicking myself when Andrew's alarm goes off at 5:00 and I have to get ready for a meeting with my dissertation advisor. Off to sleep finally. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Mommy Group Meetup

So, Caleb and I have joined a mommy group so that we'll have places to go and people to see on our days together. I had been going stir crazy and feeling like we do the same things day after day on my days off. There are only so many times that you can bat toys around on the floor and go for walks around the block before you start to go nuts! So, I was referred to a great website, and there I found the most perfect mommy group just for babies (and mommies) born in Fall 2008. So far there are 17 moms in the group. Today I met up with 5 other moms at the zoo. We walked around and hung out outside for nearly three hours. It was great for me to meet some new people in the area, especially moms who I can bounce ideas off of and share my own experiences. It is great for Caleb because he doesn't get any baby interaction since he's not in daycare. So it works out for us all. I had a blast today, and I'm incredibly excited for our future meetup events. I hope this is the start of some great new friendships for myself and Caleb!

6 Hours

Apparently this is the amount of time that Caleb will sleep before his flailling arms wake him up. 8:30 to 2:30 the past two nights. Fortunately, he falls back to sleep quickly with the comfort of his pacifier. After going back to bed at 2:30, I fully expected to be awoken at least two more times before having to get up for the day; however, I was pleasantly awoken to the sound of Andrew turning off the alarm at 5:00. Of course, all that did is cause me to get out of bed and start to worry about why Caleb hadn't peeped in the last 2.5 hours. As of 5:30...still sleeping. The good news for mom, he made some noise a little bit ago and went right back to sleep!

Go DEVILS!

For the third year in a row, we are season ticket holders to ASU baseball games. Andrew and I have thoroughly enjoyed the past two seasons, and were incredibly excited to introduce Caleb to the tradition. Friday night, we had a date night for the season opener, but today we broght Caleb to his first game outside of the womb. After a nap and lunch, we got decked out in our Sun Devil gear, and Caleb and I met daddy at the game about an inning and a half late. Caleb made it through the entire game without a complaint, and was somehow able to take a short nap before Daddy woke him celebrating a grand slam.

All the "regulars" (other season ticket holders) were excited to meet him as they had learned of my pregnancy last year. And, Caleb did not disappoint. He was such a ham flirting with Phyllis, the older, widowed woman who sits in our section. He also became acquainted with a Cubs scout who was sitting in the row behind us. Unfortunately, the scout didn't notice his amazing arm and skillz at the plate, but rather was very taken by Caleb's beautiful eyes. Ah, well, we'll keep working toward that big baseball contract and signing bonus. If that doesn't work out, maybe those big eyes will get him a modeling contract.

Even though we lost about 90% of our team to last year's draft, the team looks great so far this year thanks to Coach Murphy's uncanny ability to pick up the best junior college transfers year after year. So what if they'll be draft eligible at the end of the season! Next year we'll have another new crop of 'em coming in. Looks like we may be in for another run at the College World Series. Other things I'm looking forward to this season:

1. Not being pregnant! As much as I enjoyed pregnancy, sitting out in 100 degree heat is never enjoyable, especially when you're growing another human being.


2. Related to #1...eating HOT DOGS and drinking soda. I cut these out while I was pregnant, and it was torturous having to watch a baseball game without these staples, not to mention I still had to smell grilled hot dogs as I sat there.


3. More great pictures like these:

Operation Free My Arms - A Partial Success

Last night was a bit strange for Caleb but for more reasons than just having his arms free. Andrew and I had only our second date night since he was born, and Cal spent the evening at GranB and Pop Pop's house. He missed his usual evening nap, and went down for bed for them around 7...an hour earlier than usual. When we arrived to pick him up at 9, we had to wake him up. At home we continued his normal bedtime routine with a bath, lotion, and feeding before putting him down for the night a little after 10. I was hoping that he'd end up sleeping in this morning as a result of the later bed time, but around 4 this morning he was up as usual. A few trips across the hall to give him his paci and settle him back down allowed him to sleep in until 6 for us, but this is pretty typical when he goes down at 8. So at this point, I don't know whether to think that his funny night with GranB and Pop Pop is to blame or if having his arms free is what caused him to wake up early. Guess I can't complain that he was able to go 6 hours arms free without waking himself. We'll have to see how tonight goes.

Operation Free My Arms

Earlier this week we decided that it was finally time to break Caleb of his swaddle addiction. Ever since he started STTN (sleeping through the night) nearly two months ago, I've told myself that soon we'd wean from the swaddle. But, I was so afraid of experiencing sleepless nights again. We started on Thursday with removing the swaddle for naps, and tonight we put him down sans swaddle for the night. Keep your fingers crossed that it turns out well for us!

5 Months!

I can't believe our baby is 5 months old today. The months are whizzing past, and he's growing changing so much every day. Right now his favorite thing to do is stand up. If he's laying on his back and not sleeping, Caleb is not a happy camper. The other day I took his hands in mine to pull him to a sitting position, and as soon as he's sitting, he puts his feet right underneath of himself and pushes up to stand. He's such a strong baby and is able to support himself. Mommy and Daddy just have to hang on for balance. I think we may need to start thinking about baby proofing the house sooner than later. I'm betting that as soon as he's able to stand on his own, walking won't be far behind. Though, I'm sure both of those events are months away! He did however, roll over from back to belly for the first time last night. Mommy missed it while cooking dinner, but Daddy swears he finally got all the way over.

Eating carrots

"Solid" Food

Caleb first started "solid" food a few weeks ago, and I'm only now getting a chance to get the pictures off the camera. Here are some shots of his first bites of food. Yeah, 1 Tbsp of rice cereal mixed with 4 Tbsp of breast milk = something about the same consistency as breastmilk...loads of fun trying to feed that off of a spoon to a 4.5 month old.

I'd rather eat the bib, Mom!

And, his first veggie...carrots!

Tasty Giraffe Feet

Last night, Caleb gave some Valentine's Day lovin' to his giraffe friend. Apparently the giraffe's feet are VERY tasty.

Three months later...

Wow! It is amazing how much of your time can be taken up between taking care of a baby and writing a dissertation. I didn't realize it had been so long since I had written on here. Seeing the November date of our last entry was a pretty big surprise. Where has the time gone?

We spent two weeks in Pennsylvania for Christmas and New Years. Caleb got to meet Aunt Dani and Uncle Matt, see his first snow, be baptized in the church where mommy and daddy were married, and just hang out with lots of people who love him. Oh yeah, and while we were there, he decided that he was ready to start sleeping through the night, taking a pacifier, and falling asleep on his own (without being rocked or 'shuffled' around the room by mommy and daddy). Let's just say, we're much happier parents now that we're getting sleep!

Since we've been back in Arizona, Caleb had his four month well visit with his pediatrician where we found out that he's in the 95th percentile for height at 26 1/2 inches and the 75th percentile for weight at 15lbs 11oz. Much like his mom's side of the family, he LOVES to eat. We started him on rice cereal a few weeks ago (videos to come), and he chows down on it. When he sees mommy and daddy eat, he usually freaks out and acts like its time for him to eat too. Tonight he had his first taste of oatmeal, and liked that even better. Hopefully these are signs that he won't be a picky eater like daddy. The veggies will be next starting this weekend, followed by fruits so stay tuned for what are sure to be some hilarious videos.

That's about it for now. Hopefully it won't be another two and a half months before I write again. For now, enjoy the new pics and check back for videos soon.