Just another week in the Miller household

Caleb seems extra big this week. He's officially in 9 month and 12 month clothes. His smile and cheery disposition seem to brighten everyone's day. Mondays we have ECFE class with about 7 other little ones. Mostly boys, but there are two girls. Most of the other kiddos are crawling or toddling. Caleb can sit with support so we are less mobile. We sit and play while other moms and dads are chasing their little crawlers around. I dread and look forward to the day Caleb crawls. It's a wonderful milestone but it starts a whole new phase of our lives that I'm not sure I can handle. Hopefully our house is as baby proof as I think it is.

Caleb said his accidental first words. Among his many vowels  he says there are starting to be some consonants. Thursday morning in bed Daddy heard "O.K." from Caleb. Not sure what he was agreeing to, but he is a very agreeable baby! So fun to think that soon he will start babbling with more meaning and then it will be words. But Daddy is guessing his first sentence will be "Feed Me!"

This week we had supper with Great Grandpa Melvin and friend Gladys at Old Main. Caleb showed off his smile and giggle once again. He charmed many of the residents.

My childhood friend, Beth, married a distant relative of mine, so we are now related. She had a baby girl on Thursday night, Brenna Anne. What a beautiful little girl! Caleb and Brenna are third cousins. We went to visit them Friday after school. Caleb was more interested in the big people than Brenna. I don't think he realized Brenna was actually there. She was so little and covered up. It will be fun to see what he thinks the next time he sees her.

I have known Beth my whole life and for some reason the birth of her daughter has got me giddy and choked up. I am so thrilled for Beth to become a mom! Now that I know the thrills and struggles, the birth of babies and women becoming mothers means so much more to me. Congratulations Beth! Brenna is beautiful!

Daddy's Buddy

Daddy loves Caleb and Caleb loves Daddy. They both love Woody and have lots of fun together. Here's some evidence. Also, we're borrowing a bumbo for Caleb to sit in. He likes it more at daycare because all the kids come and sit by him and read to him in it.

The PJs he's wearing are hand-me-downs from a friend...thank goodness! I was worried we'd be even more broke or he'd be naked! Ha! Another shirt we got was "Milk Built This Body." Can't wait to take a picture of him in it! Stay tuned!

Baby Food

Auntie Krista came over to visit and play while Mommy made baby food. I made Avocado and Sweet Potato.

I have the baby bullet so first I used the steamer and then pureed the food. It tasted great in my personal taste test.

Then you put them in a tray to freeze and once frozen, pop them out and just put them in a baggie in the freezer. Pretty slick!

I tried to be cool like my friend Amanda and take some fancy pictures of cooking, but none of them look even remotely cool, so I just gave you these two pictures. I'll try to get some tips and try again soon. Bottom line, Caleb is loving the food and I don't mind licking my fingers either.

Noah's Ark, Bathtime, and Love!

For Baptism Caleb received a handmade Noah's ark set from Uncle Garrett and Kayla. He enjoyed sucking on the giraffe today at play time!

Then it is bath time. Here's Oma helping:

Here's Auntie Krista helping another time:

Here's a nighttime bottle:

Sweet dreams Caleb!

Keeping up with the Millers

How is it I can't keep up with my life? I have a system of survival right now that will hopefully become a comfortable pace of life...eventually. Each day I awake and shower while Caleb is still sleeping or waking up with Josh in bed or crib. We aren't a family bed family except for when Caleb wakes at 4:30 or 5:00 to eat and I'm too tired to sit up and feed him. I take him to bed and nurse there.

After my shower, Josh wakes and showers while I dress and then get Caleb up and dressed. I pump or nurse Caleb one more time before I leave for work. Once Josh is dressed and ready to go, he takes Caleb's bag of clean diapers and Caleb to Amy's Daycare. But not without kisses first! It's easier for us to separate at home.

I then drink a breakfast shake, grab my pump, lunch, school bag, and head out the door. I am at school by 7:20am and teach 3rd and 4th grade. The days fly by and in my "free" time at school I'm pumping. It had been a source of stress since my supply was decreasing, but I've remedied that this week and things are getting better. During that time there's not much I can do, so I whisper sing praise songs. I figure it's a good time to sing some praises for Caleb and milk:)

I leave school at 3:50 and pick up Caleb from Amy's at 4:00. Amy keeps a journal of Caleb's day. It includes his feedings and naps, but also some highlight or story of the day. Today it said that Caleb learned all about tying shoes. She had been reading a book about shoe tying and showing the older two boys. One ran over and said he was going to teach Caleb to tie shoes! He couldn't really do it himself I guess, but he loved instructing Caleb and showing him the rabbit going around the tree! Melts my heart! They love Caleb!

Caleb often falls asleep on the way home for daycare. He's pooped from a full day of playing! If he doesn't, he takes one when I nurse him between 4:30 and 5:00. It's just a quick 20 minute nap.  It makes for a more pleasant evening with him. And often times it allows some time for me to unpack and eat/make supper. We play for a bit and then we have a little cereal/food. I clean up the kitchen while he plays with Daddy or in his highchair. He's usually showing us his giggle and talking to us about his day. Caleb has his bath at about 6:30 and then it's PJs and his final bottle/nursing. He's usually asleep at about 7:30. He's sleeping until 1:00 or 2:00. I feed him, pump, wash the parts, and go back to bed. Alarm is set for 6:11am, but Caleb is usually up for another feeding between 5:00 and 6:00.

Well it's after 10:00 pm and I need to get to bed.

Here are Caleb's 5 month pictures (only a week late!)

4 months

3 months

1 month - yes I skipped 2 month

Look how happy he's been for each picture! I love his smile! Makes me melt!

FOOD!

September 11th marks the day that Caleb first tried solids! He has been staring at us eat and chew for weeks so we gave in. You could tell he was so proud of himself and was enjoying the fact that he was acting like a Big Boy!

Very little of the rice cereal was pushed back out. The most came out when he smiled after a bite. Soo cute! He enjoyed his high chair too and wanted to stay and play in it.

We did rice cereal for three days and then slowed down due to some "stopping up". At daycare now he has oatmeal and that has been great! We're soo proud of our Big Boy!

Grandparents Day

Happy Grandparents Day: Sept 11, 2011! While today also marked the 10th anniversary of the tragic events in NYC, we focused on love for our family. In the morning we Skyped with Mutti and Papa in Germany. This time everything worked and we had a great time talking and seeing one another. Caleb showed off his "new" to him Jumperoo. He hasn't figured out the jumping yet, but likes the toys:)

Then we "signed" the Grandparents Day cards with a thumb print from Caleb.

We stopped shortly at Nana and Papas to give them their Grandparents Day card and then we went on to Butternut for Church. We had lunch and fun at my parents. Oma and Grandpa's place sure is fun for Caleb! And Mommy usually gets a little nap in too:) Oma and Grandpa Gene had fun give love to Caleb!

High Chair at Oma and Grandpa Gene's

Football season is here!

Daddy and Caleb had some friends over (Bill and Aaron) to watch the Buckeye game. Aaron and Caleb had some good times drooling and jumping in the jumperoo! The Buckeyes won, but it wasn't pretty. So hopefully we have some better wins in the future.

After the game we went to see Nana and Papa before they went to the Miranda Lambert concert. Nana was in her work/paint overalls. We showed them Caleb's cheer for the Buckeyes.

O-H-I-O

 Here's the Rouser

Kids are back in school!

September 6 & 7 (Tuesday and Wednesday) I had conferences with my homeroom students which are a mix of third and fourth grade students. I loved seeing some of the same students I had last year and meeting great new students and their families.

Thursday was the official first day of school. This would be the first day that Caleb is at daycare with just the 5 other boys since all the school age kids are back in school. To mark the special day we took a picture. I took it and I have to say I'm impressed with the skill:) And Caleb had the best smile!

To celebrate the first week back with kiddos, our staff had a patio party. Jenny brought her daughter, Lauren, who is two days younger than Caleb. They have grown so much! Both were pretty distracted by the trees in the wind and people all talking to them, but there they are!

Great Grandparents are wonderful!

Great Grandparents are all love and smiles. They are special people in families because they carry stories of the people they have loved and and remember, and of the people they have seen grow up and extend their family and love further. Caleb is blessed to have 7 Great Grandparents. He has three in the state and four out of state (Ohio and Florida). 

Caleb decided he needed a "fix" so we drove to Green Isle over Labor Day weekend. 

 

Great Grandpa Bill rubbed all his grandchildrens' hands over his cheeks.

He likes to wear his bib as a side cape:)

The next evening (Labor Day) we went to Pizza Ranch with some of the Monson Alms. Caleb was in great form and loved being out and about. He loves people! Zach had fun being a bit of a jungle gym. Caleb is crawling all over people. Next is the floor!

Aunt Krista, Great Grandpa Mel, Gladys, Caleb, Zach, Becky

They found Caleb's few long hairs amidst his fresh, thick hair

We look forward to seeing Ohio Great Grandparents in October! Thank goodness for Skype to tie us over until then!