Nola @ 5 months

Nola turned FIVE months old on June 27th! Here's what she's up to these days...

• She hasn't been to the doctor lately, so I'm not sure exactly how much she weighs.  I would guess somewhere around 18 pounds.  She is getting to be quite a chunky monkey! 
• She now takes an 8 oz bottle every 3-3 1/2 hours (sometimes longer) and eats a vegetable every night.  She likes peas and sweet potatoes the best, but isn't so crazy about squash or carrots.  We'll start her on some fruits soon.
• She wears size 2 diapers, but they are getting pretty small on her.  We'll buy size 3's next time.  She wears 3-6 month clothes, but they are getting small too.  We're trying to get one more wear in on everything before we move her up to the next size.  She has so much cute summer stuff in 3-6 mos that I hate to put it all away!
• We have an appointment on July 6th to get tubes put in her ears. 
• On 6/22/10, Nola laughed out loud and it was the sweetest thing I've heard in a long time.  Rudy and Caleb were playing in the front yard and Caleb hit Rudy in the leg with a balloon.  Something about it cracked Nola up because she laughed out loud.  I ran in to get the video camera, but she didn't do it again.  We've heard her do it 2 other times since then, but usually she just smiles from ear-to-ear instead of really laughing. 
• Nola rolls from her back to her belly, but hasn't yet figured out how to go the other direction. 
• Now that school is out, we are really getting a good idea of what a sleeper this girl is.  I can put her down to bed at 8:30 or 9:00 and not hear a peep out of her until 9:30 or 10:00 the next morning.  Then she's up for a couple of hours and takes about an hour nap.  She usually stays up for another couple of hours, then she takes a longer nap.  Sometimes she'll even take one more nap before going down for the night.  It's amazing how much she sleeps.  (She gets it from me and I don't deny it one bit!)
• Just recently, Nola has discovered that she can make some fun sounds with her mouth.  She used to blow long raspberries, but now she prefers to blow lots of short ones.  She pppbt - pppbt - pppbt's all the time...especially when eating.  I have learned to put on an old t-shirt when I feed her, because I'm going to end up with veggies on me!

One Month:

Two Months:

Three Months:

Four Months:

Five Months:

Old Videos of Caleb

I found these and just could not resist posting them. They are too funny.

This one is Caleb and my mom having a little conversation in July 2006:

This one is from 8/21/06:

August 21, 2006 ~ Laughter!

January 31, 2007 ~ No, No, No, No, No!

My favorite! He crawled like this forever...

Memmie & Poppie's House on Father's Day

We left Hot Springs on Father's Day and met Memmie and Poppie at their house for the afternoon.  Memmie broke her solemn rule of not cooking on Sunday so that we could have a delicious meal at their house.  Actually, she prepared most of the food on Saturday, so we'll give her a pass on breaking her rule.  :)  Regardless of when it was cooked, we were glad to have the meal.  Nothing could ever be better than Memmie's homemade cornbread. 

They, of course, were thrilled to have the afternoon with their great-grandchildren. 

After lunch, Caleb watched Lady & the Tramp and played a couple of PBSkids games on their computer while we continued our longstanding "marbles" competition.  Poppie and I beat Memmie and Rudy in 2 close games!

Here's Caleb playing a SuperWhy game:

The victorious marbles team:

And the not-so-victorious team:

We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon in Sherwood and we were sad to have to leave so quickly, but Caleb had Vacation Bible School starting on Monday morning and we'd already been away from home for a week.

It struck me this year how Fathers' Day has changed for me over the past couple of years.  I realized that a day that used to be very sad for me has become a happy and joyous day.  While I'll never forget my Daddy and I'll miss him until I see him in Heaven, I no longer mourn on Fathers' Day.  I now celebrate the father that Rudy has become.  I also see the day as one to be grateful for the father figures that God has blessed me with:  an awesome "second Dad" - Mr. L, my grandfathers - Poppie & Pepapa and my uncles - Jimmy, Brad & Ron.  I join Rudy in celebrating and recognizing the impact that his father figures have had on him and I thank them for showing him how to be a father in his own right.  He has an awesome cast of uncles - Jerry, Terry, Jimmy, Ken, Doug & Dennis.  And this year, Jan's marriage to Bill adds one more to the list of those we honor.  We will always think of my Daddy, Jess and Lloyd on Fathers' Day, just as we do every day, but we are glad to recognize lots of reasons to celebrate the day now.

Magic Springs

I posted on Facebook that I was in Hot Springs and was so excited to find out that Libby and her son, Tanner, were going to be in town on Friday. (Quick recap: Libby's dad and my mom used to be married. She and I lived as sisters from the time that I was 4 until I was 10 or 11. We don't see each other often anymore, but I love it when we do.) She asked if I wanted to bring Caleb and meet them and Ann (who I played with when I was little and is now married to Libby's cousin) and her son at Magic Springs. I jumped at the chance!


We were supposed to meet at 11:00, but the rest of the crew was running late, so Caleb and I rode a few rides by ourselves while we waited. It was so HOT, but we had a good time. We rode cars and hot air balloons and airplanes and I squeezed into all of the kiddie rides with my knees under my chin because Caleb was one inch too short to ride by himself. We laughed together and had a blast! We met up with Libby, Ann and the boys about noon and spent the next 3 hours riding rides and catching up. Ann paid for the boys to play a game and Caleb won. He picked a stuffed blue fish as his prize, so we carried it around with us the rest of the day. (ugh...) There was a live Bob the Builder stage show that gave us a chance to sit in the shade for a little bit.

Tanner and Caleb (and the fish) with "Bob's helpers."

Mr. L. picked us up at 3:00 to go to Caleb's swim lessons. (It had been about 20 years since I'd been dropped off and picked up at Magic Springs - quite a deja vu!)

It was so good to see Libby and Ann and meet their boys. I wish I had gotten a picture of us!

Swimming Lessons

Legend has it that I took swimming lessons for 5 summers in a row and still can't go under water without holding my nose. (The legend is true, by the way. I also took piano for several years and can't find middle C with a flashlight.) Well, now it's Caleb's turn and he's about as excited about it as I was. Mom has a friend in Hot Springs who teaches swimming lessons, so we signed Caleb up for the week that we would be there. Let me first say that it was excruciatingly HOT from 4-5 every afternoon last week. Now, on with the story...

Day one...Caleb grudgingly put his head in the water after some instruction about blowing bubbles, etc. He came up gasping for air and wiping at his face. Mrs. Amanda didn't give up on him, though. A couple of times, she had to push him under, but he toughed it out. After the lesson, he said his very least favorite part of the lesson was getting his face wet. His favorite parts were getting a piece of bubble gum at the end and getting to squirt a water shooter. BUT - at least he wasn't the one who cried the whole time.

By day three, he was getting a little better about putting his head in. On day five, I saw him putting his whole head under when he didn't think anyone was watching, which tells me his confidence and interest are growing. He's certainly not going to win any gold medals anytime soon, but he is doing much better. He can float with some encouragement and he can actually swim several feet, though he really would prefer not to.

We're planning to take another week of lessons next summer with Mrs. Amanda. She has a lot of kids who have been with her for 4 or 5 years, with the skills that she teaches getting harder every year. I'm hoping that Caleb doesn't live up to the legend.

Baby Blues

We were sitting on the back porch at Mom's house one night and I realized that the light was filtered just perfectly for a little photo shoot. Caleb was too busy playing to sit still, but Ms. Nola was a willing participant. Pardon the drool on her shirt. It's an occupational hazard of being 4 months old.

Would you get a look at those baby blues?

The smile that melts away a day's troubles in an instant...

I love that she looks at her Pops this way. Every time she sees him, she smiles from head to toe.

Hot Springs

We went to Hot Springs on Sunday (6/13). This is how Nola traveled until about 45 minutes before we got there...Mom and Mr.L. had plans that night, so they took Caleb over to Pepapa and Anna Joyce's house and we met him there. It was so good to see our little buddy after being away from him for a whole week. Anna Joyce made us an amazing dinner (of course!) and we spent a couple of hours at their house before going on to Mom's house.

The best part about our week in Hot Springs was that we had no plans. It was fabulously relaxing. What's not to love about this?Rudy still wasn't feeling very good from his surgery, so he had to be pretty careful about what he ate and did. He ended up having to leave to come home on Thursday so that he could go see his doctor. He didn't have dry sockets, but had some complications because of the difficulty of the surgery. Apparently, his wisdom teeth were waaaay impacted.

Caleb took swimming lessons while we were in town, so we had to be there from 4-5 every day. I was pleasantly surprised on the first day to find one of my best friends from junior high there with her little boy. I enjoyed catching up with Jennifer and meeting her kids. (more on swimming lessons in a separate post)

In trying to keep with my plan to be healthier, I was determined to exercise while we were there. Mom & I went to the Y one day and I worked out on the elliptical machine. I also went to Zumba with Aunt Harolyn a couple of times. I was proud of myself for sticking to my plan. I also watched what I ate and only splurged for one meal like I had planned. Yay, me!

We took a couple of boat rides and Caleb fascinated and amazed us all by being able to tell us where we were on the lake. He knew when we were getting close to Pepapa's house and pointed out Jimmy and Kim's condo. How in the world does he do that?!? Here's Nola getting ready to go for a ride. What a bathing beauty!Nola wasn't so sure about the boat at first, but once she got settled, the hum of the motor put her right to sleep. That life jacket is just so uncomfortable! (You can see a picture here of Caleb in the same one at 6 weeks!)We even boated over to Aunt Harolyn's for a swim.

One evening, Caleb set up a "construction site" in the yard with his trucks and tractors. I snapped this picture of him that just defines what it means to be a 4 year old boy in the summer.

He got so dirty that we decided the only thing to do was to "hose him off." He thought that was really funny and loved getting sprayed down with the water hose. LaLa & Pops got a pretty good kick out of it too!

On Saturday night, we had the whole family over for a fish fry. Besides eating until we were all sick, we laughed and talked and everyone enjoyed getting to be together.

Caleb with his Auntie HWith Anna Joyce & Pepapa
With Jimmy & Kim

We pretty much spent the rest of the week just relaxing. Mom and I did a little shopping, Caleb followed his Pops around like a shadow, I took Caleb to Magic Springs (another post) and Rudy and Mr.L. played golf one day. Nola was a trooper being away from home. She slept a ton! I think she was sleeping just to keep from having to be out in the heat.

Thanks, LaLa & Pops for a GREAT week on the lake! We love you!!!

Caleb's Great Adventure

Caleb spent a whole week in Hot Springs with LaLa and Pops. They left our house on Monday (6/7). Mom sent me text messages with pictures all week:

Swimming in "Lake Hantelman" with Pops

Having a little ice cream treat on the back porch

"Taking a haircut"
Watching TV in the big bed with Pops

Washing the boat

Lake cruising...

Regardless of the situation, he does whatever Pops does. This last one is just too perfect. He had to put his shoes with Pops' shoes so they'd be ready to go the next morning...

Baby Food

After much urging from a friend of mine, I decided to try making baby food for Nola. I hate to cook. I hate to clean up the kitchen. I am not one that anyone would ever think would make baby food. But, I have to admit, this was ridiculously easy.

I bought some frozen veggies (peas, carrots, squash & green beans) and a couple of sweet potatoes. I microwaved each one (individually, not mixed together), added a little water, put it in the blender and pureed it to baby food consistency. That's honestly all there is to it. I put the purees into ice trays, put some press & seal on it and stuck it in the freezer. Each cube is 1 oz (I measured out of curiosity). Here's what I made on day one:
When it's time for Nola to eat, I pop out a couple of cubes, microwave to thaw and warm and voila - dinner.

I'm amazed at how easy it was to do. I figured there would be more to it. Plus, there are a few other benefits that won me over:

1. Cost. Packaged baby food is 50 cents to a dollar per container. I bought a whole bag of peas for less than a dollar and it makes at least 10 servings.
2. Preservatives. Have you ever read the ingredients on a container of baby food? Lots of stuff I can't pronounce. The ingredients on the back of the bag of peas? "Peas" I figure she'll eat enough preservatives and chemicals in her life...why add to it if it's not necessary?
3. Waste. It just feels better not to throw those containers away after every meal. Like I'm doing a little bit for Nola and the planet at the same time.

Now...I'm not planning to put Gerber out of business with this venture. We'll still buy a few containers here and there. We'll take packaged food when we are away from home, but when we're here, she can have what I make.

We all know I'm no great chef. I'd probably get fired from McDonald's for messing up hamburgers. But, what does Nola think? So far, so good. She wasn't crazy about the carrots (6/10/10)......but she really likes peas, sweet potatoes and green beans. She did not like the squash, though. I can't say that I blame her. I don't like it either.

Taxing My Memory

I can't believe I haven't posted a "real" update since Memorial Day. Since this blog serves as my calendar when I'm scrapbooking (a rare occurrence lately), I'm going to do my best to remember what's been going on...

The week beginning with Memorial Day was the longest short week of work ever. I really think it was a mind game, because if it hadn't been for the snow days, we would've been out for summer. Alas, those snow days were glorious, so we did the time to make them up. The week itself was pretty normal around here with work and daycare. I did spend my days at work doing a ton of computer work and conferences instead of seeing kids, which made the time go by much slower than usual.

Our weekend was pretty relaxed. Rudy had a band commitment on Saturday morning, but Saturday afternoon, we had absolutely no plans! It was wonderful. We went to Sam's and WalMart and stocked the pantry and cabinets. Saturday night, Rudy and Caleb camped out in the backyard. It was so awesome to watch them get it all set up, then bid me farewell to sleep outside. They were living in luxury, despite their outdoor locale. They set up Rudy's new tent (which wouldn't fit in our living room), complete with a radio to listen the Hogs baseball game, a fan, 2 blow up mattresses, a camping lamp and a whole bunch of books for Caleb. At one point, Rudy even had his laptop out there. They were really roughing it!

On Sunday, Mom and Mr. L. came up to our house. Nola's last day of daycare was Friday, so we needed someone to watch her while Rudy and I finished up work. Monday was Rudy's last day, so they kept her at our house. Caleb went to daycare, but Mom picked him up a little early. I had an after school end-of-the-year gathering at my principal's house. By the time I got home, Mom, Mr.L. and Caleb had left for Hot Springs. He got to spend the whole week with them and he was SO happy.

My last day of school was Tuesday and I had a retirement party to attend after school. On Wednesday, I had to put in 6 hours for "work day." Rudy brought Nola to school and he loaded my personal belongings into my car to move them to my new school. At the end of the day, I walked out the door and into summer!

Actually...I walked into a gym. Yes, a gym. I decided that I need to focus more on my health this summer and I am most successful when I attend exercise classes. Therefore, I joined Fuse Family Wellness and I'm going to classes to workout. I even worked out on Wednesday afternoon. The "burn & firm" class was so hard, but I finished all 45 minutes of it, which was a giant accomplishment. I spent the next 3 days hobbling around like I'd been beaten...but I returned to the gym on Friday for a few miles on a bike and some weights. Since then, I've been to a yoga class and I'm now finding my groove in a Zumba class, which I love!

On Thursday (6/10) morning, Nola and I took Rudy to Fayetteville to have his bottom wisdom teeth cut out. On the way home from Fayetteville, he texted our parents: "Surgery is over. Drugs are gooood. I feel groovy." He also sent them a picture of himself similar to this one, but he doesn't remember doing it. He kept talking over and over about his "bonnet." He wanted to know why he had to wear a bonnet, telling me his bonnet felt funny, asking if I liked his bonnet, etc, etc. He doesn't remember that either.

Once I got him home, started him on his medication and put him to bed, I had just enough time to eat some lunch and then take Nola to the ENT. Dr. Lee took a look at her medical history (all 4 months of it) and her family history (he also did Caleb and Rudy's tubes) and decided that Nola will be getting tubes in her ears on July 6th. HALLELUJAH AND AMEN! The day was quite a start to the summer.

Besides the short time I was gone to the gym, I stayed home all day on Friday to make sure that Rudy was following the orders to "take it easy." He has a very hard time doing that. I caught him emptying the trash cans and loading the dishwasher and begged him to please just lay down, but he can't handle being still. When I finally got him to take some pain medicine and go to sleep, I decided to try another new adventure: making baby food. (more on that in another post)

On Friday night, we went over to Grandma Voise's house because people were starting to gather there for her birthday party on Saturday. We visited with the family for a little while and then came home. Rudy took a box of mac & cheese so that he'd have something soft to eat. :)

Saturday was pretty laid back. I went to the gym and Rudy insisted on mowing the yard despite my protests. Saturday night, we went back over to Grandma's house for her 80th birthday party. Several of her friends from the neighborhood came, in addition to our family.

Whew - so that gets me to Sunday, when we went to Hot Springs. I think I'll save that for another post...

Summer Happiness

Have you ever seen anything so happy in all of your life??? This was last Saturday night while the boys were setting up their tent for their 2nd backyard campout. Nola was in the exersaucer and grinning ear-to-ear. She is such a happy baby girl!

I know there haven't been a whole lot of pictures of Caleb here lately. He has decided that he doesn't like to have his picture taken. But, I managed to get him to take one because he was in such a great mood about camping out. This picture is also for all of those people who suggested that we put him on a diet when he was an infant...(picture here). Look at those ribs showing!

And, finally, here's Sister Britches "hanging out" in the Jumparoo. She loves this crazy thing! It is huge and stays folded up behind our couch most of the time, but when we get it out, she loves to sit in it and bounce.