Our New Family Pet

Is some sort of strange cross between a termite, a woodchuck and a beaver. It's a Terchuckver (ter-chuck-ver). He's made a home in Caleb's crib. I present to you Exhibits A and B.


Well, I couldn't have that beautiful *allegedly* Lifetime crib (the crib that I had planned to use for not only Caleb but also his future brothers and sisters and eventually as a headboard and footboard for a full size bed) being turned into firewood after only 9 months of use! So, I went searching online for something to save the crib rails. I first came across this number, but I just couldn't see spending over $40 for something that I could probably make on my own. Then I came across this, but decided that I wasn't really ready to pull out my sewing machine and find out if the noise is enough to wake Caleb during his naps. So I continued searching for a no-sew option. And I came across this. PERFECT! Well, sort of. I ended up adapting it to my own needs and skill level and came up with this.


I bought 2 yards of some fleece fabric on sale for 50% off and some fusible batting at JoAnn Fabric. If you had a crib bumper that you were no longer using, I could definitely see scavenging that for the necessary fabric (and possibly batting) for this project. I measured my crib rails, ironed on the fusible batting to the middle of the fabric and then cut strips on the portion of the fabric that did not have the batting.


If you look closely at the picture below, you can see the batting in the middle.


Then I tied the pieces around the crib rail using the fringed pieces.


I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and it was about 1/4 of the price I would have paid purchasing a pre-made version that really wouldn't have worked with our crib. I was even able to squeeze the fish tank thing back on over the rail.


Now, talk to me in a few weeks/months after my little durability inspector has had a chance to test it out.

Proving Me Wrong Again

This is what happened not more than 5 milliseconds after I said, "There's no way he can get up the steps with the technique that he uses."



We're in trouble now!

Y3W

and for those who may have missed it, the Dadada video now works.

Happy Father's Day Da-da-da-da-da-da

Well, I don't think that Andrew could have asked for a better Father's Day. It started out EARLY with our 5am wake up call. My parents had arrived in town the day before and as planned, we headed to the zoo on Sunday morning once we were all put together. This time at the zoo we took a different route and visited the children's walk portion. It was a much better experience for Caleb as he was able to see so many more animals up close. They have farm area where we got to see horses, chickens, sheep, cows, roosters, turkeys, peacocks, rabbits, and a whole bunch of other farm type animals. They also have a petting zoo, which I'm sure we'll enjoy visiting when C is a bit older. Unfortunately, no pictures of the zoo because my camera ate them (errr...I accidentally deleted them before saving to the computer).

After the zoo, we spent a relaxing afternoon at home. Just after Caleb ate his dinner, Andrew came walking back into the room and into Caleb's view. Out of nowhere he starts saying "dadadadada." Never before had he made the "da" sound. I'd been claiming for weeks that he's been saying "mama" but no one would admit it until after he said "dada." So now it seems as though Caleb has his first two words down.

Here's the video of Caleb's dada. Andrew is the one with the camera. You can see that when Caleb turns to look at him is when he starts saying the famous words.

Excited for Bathtime

Recently Caleb has started getting VERY excited when bathtime rolls around. Daddy goes upstairs to turn on the bath water, and as soon as Caleb hears the running water (all the way downstairs) he freaks out.. I carry him up the stairs as he kicks his legs with great force. When we reach the top of the stairs I set him down and this is what happens (sorry, another cell phone video)...



This video definitely does not begin to show the speed with which he takes off down the hall toward the bathroom. We had to squeeze around Daddy when we got to the bathroom door, but normally Caleb runs all the way into the bathroom and turns the corner to the tub before making an attempt to climb in. The whole thing is absolutely adorable. I must remember to cherish these days so I can look back fondly on them in the not too distant future when we're putting him in the bathtub kicking and screaming.