Friday, May 28, 2010

Elvis lives!



There is only one word to describe this new outfit that Uncle Adam and Aunt Angela bought Cale in Vegas - amazing! And it turns out we have several other Elvis themed toys to compliment the outfit, including a 'shake, rattle and roll' that we bought for Alyssa 7 years ago when Alan and I visited Graceland on our roadtrip through the States, and, of course, our legendary rearview mirror Elvis.

Rocking out

Caleb had his 4 month doctor's appointment today and it turns out the growth spurts did their trick. He has grown 4 inches in the past 2 months which puts him in the 90th percentile for height, and gained 4 pounds (15.2 lbs, 75th percentile). His head also grew 3 centimeters! The changes over the past few months are incredible. His fine motor skills are developing quickly. He now reaches for toys and seems to prefer a few items over others, but basically anything that fits in his mouth is a hit. His personality is also starting to come through. I would describe him as a very content, strong, active and determined little boy. He will spend literally hours on the floor working out his ab muscles trying to roll or sit up. More than anything, he has become a real charmer. This may be true of all small babies, but he smiles at every new face he sees and is a serious magnet for little old ladies in the grocery store!

Having a munch on Elvis

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Long weekend in Fredericton


We had another great weekend at home, one that was once again filled with many firsts including Caleb's first ride on Grampie's Harley! He was very happy to get some quality time with all his grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, but he only showed off his new rolling over move to Grammie Jeffries and Greg. Even Alan has yet to see this new trick, but at least now he believes that Cale can in fact pull it off! With the weather being so hot, Caleb also had his first swim in a pool, which he absolutely loved. Maybe I'll be able to get him in scuba gear even sooner than I thought!

Poolside fun

Celebrating Uncle Adam's birthday

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Aunt Mary comes to town!


We have been having a great long weekend in Fredericton. Caleb has really enjoyed being passed around between family members and friends, looking at all the new faces and sharing smiles with everyone. I'm going to write a long post about all of our adventures once we are back in Halifax, but I wanted to share this photo of Caleb's aunt Mary who he got to meet for the first time this weekend and instantly fell in love with!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Crying baby saves the day


Tomorrow Alan is heading to Toronto for a few days, so we decided to make today an adventure day and take a drive out to the Eastern Shore. We stopped for lunch at Wharf Wraps in Eastern Passage, home of amazingly delicious fish and chips. On the way back, while we continued our leisurely drive daydreaming about buying nice properties, we saw the flashing lights. We had been caught in a speed trap, going slightly over the limit. After being in a great mood all day, Caleb conveniently started crying about one minute before we were pulled over. The cop was nice enough to sympathize with our situation and let us off with a warning. We gave Caleb high fives as we drove away and right on cue, he cheered up again!
Yesterday, Alan and I found a new path that lead us directly across the cove from our place. Here are a few of the photos we took.

Home sweet homeSome of the one of a kind homes hand built by Tom Grove,
who still lives in the Cove.

Our community

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Roly Poly

Caleb can now officially roll over. He decided to first complete this task in the middle of the night. It was a bit scary finding him laying face down in his crib, but he seemed quite pleased with himself. Caleb is sleeping much better again, so we've both been feeling great this week. During our daily hikes we have been on the lookout for migratory birds. I've been keeping a species list since moving to the Cove and was able to add 2 new birds this week - a Boreal Chickadee and a Bobolink, which brings my total up to 60. We also have a family of Starlings nesting in our roof, so even when it is just Caleb and I at home it feels like a full house with all the constant chirping.

Getting ready...

Here we go...

Let's do that again!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Mothers Day


The celebrations for my first Mothers Day began last night with a nice dinner and a relaxing glass of wine. I had enough milk stored up to allow me to be 'off duty' for part of the night. To complete the mood, the power went out so we spent part of the evening by candlelight. Alan's offer to let me sleep in the studio while he looked after the night feedings was the best gift I could have asked for.

We are just getting through a serious 3 month growth spurt where Caleb wanted to eat every 2 hours, day and night for the past 5 days. It was physically and mentally hard on me because I felt like he was reverting back to a newborn and the lack of sleep was getting really difficult. Thankfully, I decided to call the public health breastfeeding help line which is an amazing service for new moms, and I was reassured that this was very normal behaviour and that it would soon be over. Of course, it took Alan offering to look after him for a night for him to decide to sleep 6 hours straight, so I guess the growth spurt is over! I did have an amazing sleep in the studio and after a nice bath this morning while the house was being cleaned, I now feel like a brand new woman!

My first three months of being a mom have been such an incredible experience, especially with such a great and supportive partner. Raising Caleb has really been a tag-team effort for us. I'm so excited to watch Caleb develop into a little boy and to cheer him on during every small step of the way. Caleb has become such an essential part of our happiness and I feel so fortunate to get to spend the rest of my life as his mom, through the growth spurts and all.

PS. Happy Mothers Day to Grammie Jeffries and Grandmama Linda!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Bigs and Littles


Today we had a great visit with my Little Brother, Tyvonn, and his grandmother, Beverley. I haven't been able to see too much of Tyvonn lately because my hands have been so full (literally) with Caleb, so it was really nice to have them out to the house today. I can't wait for us all to spend the night at dad's fishing camp this summer and to take Cale to see Ty's hockey games next year. I can see us having lots of fun together in the future.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Sunrise


For some reason, Caleb decided to wake up at 4:50 this morning. Completely awake and smiling. I was not quite as alert or smiley, but I did get to see this amazing sunrise. It is now 11:30 and he has already had two naps, the first being at 7. I was thinking that there are probably very few of my friends who laid down for their first nap of the day at 7 am! All in all, Caleb is sleeping quite well in the night, though I wouldn't say his sleep patterns are consistent yet. I asked my doctor about this and she reassured me that as long as he is happy, healthy and growing there is no need to worry about a routine at this young age and that kids usually just fall into a routine on their own in a couple of months time. That sounds great to me as long as his routine doesn't include waking up before 5!
Here is a photo for Grampy Jeffries. Lydia and I went to Frenchy's last week and found some amazing new duds for Cale, including this great biker hoodie!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Sunny Sunday Afternoon


We are enjoying a relaxing afternoon in the Cove after a great weekend. Cale was a hit at a baby shower we went to in town yesterday. He was so happy to let everyone hold him and show off his super strong leg muscles as he would much rather be standing lately than sitting. He is still worn out from seeing so many new faces.
Lobster fishing season is back on so I thought I'd share a picture of the 'Old Pal' from Sambro fishing in the Cove.