Friday, April 30, 2010

Three Months!

Cale enjoying a seaside swing while mom picks some flowers

Wow, it is hard to believe that Caleb had his three month birthday yesterday! In some ways it feels like he's been part of the family forever and in other ways I can't believe he is no longer a newborn. I went in town for a girls night with Amy and Lydia last night and Alan stayed home with the boys. I called before coming home around 10 to see how things were going, and Alan said that Caleb had been peacefully sleeping for hours. They must have some sort of pact going because Alan seems to get the absolute easiest nights when he is on duty!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Don't worry about a thing

I noticed that Cale didn't look overly happy in the crib photo I posted last time, so I thought I'd put together a couple of clips of him smiling that I've collected over the past month. You'll see what I mean about him almost shooting out of the baby tub in the last clip! I hope this one makes Grandmama Linda as weepy as the last video did!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Bye-bye, Bassinet!


It has been another week full of firsts. First dinner party (with Harris and Amy), first cold (which he quickly recovered from), first night in a hotel (last night in Moncton before Alan played in Bouctouche), first time being babysat by his cousins Aly and Ava, first time in a swing, first bath in a big tub (he is now way too strong and after he almost shot himself right out of his baby tub, we decided it was time to move up to the big tub) and first time sleeping in his crib. As you can see, it will be quite awhile before he out grows the crib!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Happy (belated) Earth Day!


Caleb doing his part for the environment in cloth diapers

We have been having a great week in Fredericton. The show last night at the Playhouse was wonderful. David even gave a little shout out to Alan's new baby boy! But the real highlight of the week was the birth of Kathy and Roland's baby girl, Monica, born on April 20th. We were lucky enough to get to meet her on the day she was born. Caleb will have a life long friend in his new cousin.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Musical Festival


It's a busy week for Grandmama Linda with the music festival getting underway, but she still found time to give Cale his first lesson! We've been exposing him to lots of music and he seems to be taking it all in. He may not grow up to be a rock star (or a folk star for that matter), but I'm sure he'll at least have an appreciation for many different styles of music.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Family Photos

We are having a great time visiting in Fredericton this week. Alan has a big show on Thursday night with David Myles and the full band at the Playhouse. It is great that we have been able to come home so often. Everyone has noticed big changes in Caleb and I took lots of family photos to share.

Cousins Ava and Aly

A very pregnant Aunt Kathy and Uncle Roland
Aunt Angela

Greggy and Grandmama Linda

Grammy and Grampy J.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Adventures in Babysitting

Tonight Caleb was left in the loving hands of Lydia and Nick for his first ever babysitting experience while I enjoyed a wonderful night out watching David Myles play with Symphony Nova Scotia. Alan and Kyle joined David on stage for a few numbers and I think I am speaking for all 900+ people in attendance that it was an amazing show. The orchestral arrangements were truly beautiful and David kept everyone very entertained with his story-telling. I was able to enjoy the show even more when I got a text from Lydia saying 'Cale is as happy as a clam!'...I knew he wouldn't be too hard to handle but I was so happy to know that he also had a good night and I think Lydia and Nick would offer to watch him again anytime.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Getting to know Caleb



I've been playing around with the movie program on our new Mac and came up with this little clip of Caleb's first couple of days at home. Thanks, dad, for thinking of the perfect song....Enjoy!

Family comes to visit


We had a nice visit from Sarah and Godfrey last night. Caleb loved cuddling with Sarah at the end of the night. This is a somewhat rare pose for him as he is usually craning his neck out to make sure he doesn't miss anything going by. He is too tired for exercise in this pic. It is so nice to have family visit. We are looking forward to my folks coming tomorrow for the weekend, then we are headed to Fredericton for a week.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Look-alikes


While staring in amazement at our little boy this morning, as we sometimes do, I asked Alan which animal Caleb reminded him of. He immediately said the baby monkey we saw in South Africa's Kruger National Park pictured above. This monkey was probably the most adorable thing we'd ever seen before Caleb came along! Cale sometimes reminds me of a wide-eyed seal pup, especially when he is swaddled! I don't think he will need to be swaddled much longer, however. We have been keeping one arm unwrapped this past week so he can suck on his fingers and soothe himself to sleep, which means he is well on his way to becoming completely swaddle-free. This will make my dad very happy, since he would rather see Caleb flailing his arms around than being the least bit constrained!

All swaddled up for the night!

Seals hauled out on rocks in the Cove.

Monday, April 12, 2010

You are never too young to rock


Caleb learning some new licks from dad!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Growth spurts


Caleb is definitely getting bigger. He has outgrown all of his 0-3 month clothes and I don't think his cheeks could be any more round! He looks less like a baby and more like a little boy everyday. Especially when he wears his adorable alpaca sweater that Treva brought him from New Zealand!
Outside things are also growing quickly. The grass seems to have turned green over night and the buds on the trees are ready to burst. It was nice to hear so many birds singing during our afternoon hike through the forested area of the Duncans Cove Nature Reserve today.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Yoga Time!

Foot massage!

Caleb and I attended our first 'Mama and Baby Yoga Class' today and we both had a great time. The class is very relaxed and you are encouraged to nurse or change diapers whenever the need arises. The instructor also helps out by holding your baby if they get fussy so mom can keep exercising. There were 9 others in the class with babies ranging from 6 weeks to 6 months. Caleb just laid on his blanket beside me for most of the class, although some of the moves involved holding or lifting the babies. The class ended with a 10 minute baby massage. I think we'll definitely become regulars at the weekly class.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

My boys


It was another beautiful, sunny day in the Cove and a perfect evening for a BBQ. For those who haven't been to our place yet, this is the view from our backyard. It is such a special spot for Cale to call his first home.
Last night Alan offered to do the night feedings so I could get caught up on some sleep. Cale is usually up every 3 hours, but last night he decided to sleep for 8 hours straight, so Alan didn't have to wake up once! I couldn't believe it! I'm back on duty tonight, so we'll see if Caleb is as nice to me.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Red Sox Nation welcomes newest member

"Go Team!"

Caleb can hardly control his excitement as we get ready to watch game 3 of the Red Sox vs Yankees season opening series. It is a foggy, damp evening in the Cove, so we are looking forward to sitting by the fire and watching a big win tonight!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Scenes from a stroller

Today Caleb had his first adventure in his new stroller during our morning walk to the Chebucto Head lighthouse. He loved being able to look all around and take in the ocean sights and smells. I thought he looked exceptionally cute in his snowsuit (thanks Katrina and Donna!) so I took some shots of our sequence of events.
Getting ready to hit the road.
Enjoying the view.
The perfect ending!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Smile!


Caleb has become so much more alert and interactive in the past couple of weeks. Alan and I are having a blast trying to make him laugh and smile. He particularly loves it when we sing to him, as his dad was doing in this pic. There is nothing more adorable than a giant toothless grin! It certainly makes all the sleepless nights well worth it.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

The Mullet

I needed to capture Cale's classic baby mullet before it is gone and replaced by the inevitable afro that is sure to grow in!

First day at the beach!



Happy Easter, everyone! We had a wonderful day in the sun on Saturday at White Point Beach Resort on Nova Scotia's south shore. Our friends had rented a cabin for the night, so we brought the family out for a beautiful day at the beach. White Point is a great surf spot (see photo of Mitch), but is also known for the hundreds of rabbits that run free around the resort. This is great fun for families spending Easter weekend with kids, but not quite as much fun if your family includes a beagle!
To say Arlo was overstimulated would be putting it mildly, but he only managed to escape once and no rabbits were harmed in the process!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Fredericton friends visit on Good Friday



Caleb's first Easter weekend is shaping up to be a great one. We had a day full of visitors - Lydia and Nick in the morning, followed by 8 friends from Freddy in the afternoon (Rob, Amy, Butch, Courtney, John, Karina, Mitch and Jocelyn), then David in the evening. It was a beautiful, mild day so we did a nice hike along the coastal trail.
Arlo had the time of his life playing with Rob's lab, Oscar. We even had Arlo off leash for over an hour as they chased each other around our yard. Cale loved meeting all his new friends and I'm hoping he charmed them enough to want to have babies of their own!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Tales from a two month old


Time is going by so quickly with our growing little boy, I have decided to start documenting special moments in this blog as a way to share photos and stories of Caleb's first few months with family and friends.
This week Caleb had his 2 month birthday and doctor's check-up. He measured a healthy 23 inches long (75th percentile) and weighed in at 11 pounds 9 ounces (50th percentile). Alan and I celebrated his birthday with a Jimmy Buffett themed party - Hawaiian shirts, Jimmy records, a warm fire and a freshly roasted chicken. Good times were had by all!In other news, Cale enjoyed his first extended stint in his sling today. He loves to be up on your shoulder where he can stretch out his neck and look all around, and now with the sling we can keep him up there and still have our hands free!We are now off to take Arlo for a long walk in the fog with our friend Tara and her 8 month old daughter, Juniper. It will be my first chance to have some 'new mom time' to talk about all things baby related! I can't wait.
That's all for now. More to come after our Easter weekend adventures.
Ashley