seeing double

caleb figured out that we own two copies of goodnight moon. i got them at baby showers and didn't realize i had two until caleb had already drooled on one and taken a bite out of the other. so, needless to say, we kept them both. but yesterday, it finally registered with caleb. what did this mean? i had to read them both, of course... at the same time. i would flip the page in both books and read the words. and heaven forbid i was ever on the wrong page in either book!

then, he decided to carry them around the house. both turned to the "goodnight little house and goodnight mouse" page. and again, it was as if the world had ended if something happened to make one of the books be on a different page.

getting ready for christmas

this past weekend, our date night was decorating for christmas. first, we went out and bought two new cds and then we came home and hung a wreath, put up the stockings, set up the nativity, etc. now i just need some stocking holders and a nativity for caleb. what i'm looking for is a nice, unbreakable nativity. maybe wood. something that caleb can play with now, but that is not just for a little kid. something he could even keep for a while. maybe something like this or this. since we don't get a tree yet (nowhere to put it and we travel during the holidays), i've got a bit of a christmas decoration budget that i can spend. i'll keep looking around.

one of the cds we bought this year was barlow girl. i really like it (except for song three, but no one's perfect). i was thinking back to the first time i heard barlow girl. i had heard OF them when i led a group of high school girls for youth group. i thought they were this teen-girl-punk sort of band. then, early on in our time over on this side of the state, troy was going to have a guys night with a good friend from college. they went to a hockey game. what was i going to do? not knowing anyone and not really having anything to do, i didn't want to be stuck at home alone.

i took myself to a concert. a rebecca st. james concert. and who was opening for her? barlow girl, of course. although i ended up leaving part way through rebecca's set, i did buy a barlow girl cd. and now i have three of them. and i'm hooked.

but that's not the best part. the best part is that now, if troy had a guys night somewhere... i would have a bunch of girls to call to have a girl's night. sure, there would be babies to figure out and probably a night home alone going to bed early would be nice... but the point is, i've come a long way from a concert all by myself. and that makes me really happy to remember.

poundin' it out

caleb learned a new trick over thanksgiving. his uncle scroll taught him to bump fists. and he got pretty good at it, too. every time he did it correctly, scroll would go nuts with excitement. so, caleb figured that pumping his fist in the air was just a part of the trick. adorable!

what i didn't figure in, however, was how well caleb would generalize this new idea. see, when i'm nursing him, caleb will often play with my hand. and often we end up giving each other five. only now, whenever that happens, his little fist starts pumping up and down in excitement. not exactly the way to calm down for bedtime! thanks, uncle scroll!

it has been so long

sometimes it just seems easier to not blog than to try and catch up on all the things going on. or to try and explain why i've been absent.

but, i'm not going to do either one. i'm just going to pick up as though i never left. how's that for taking the easy way out?

sneaky little sucker...

i hold caleb on my left hip... probably because that leaves my right hand free and i'm right handed so that makes sense. no matter, the point of saying that is to explain that how caleb is situated makes it very difficult to see his right hand. more specifically, makes it difficult for me to see if there's anything in his right hand.
and lately, there usually is. this is his new thing, just as i'm about to pick him up to go out to the car, he quickly grabs whatever toy he's obsessing over at the moment. and i don't notice. by now, i should know to just look, but i'm usually thinking about things like where i put my keys or how late i'm going to be.
so far he's snuck out of the house with a hanger, bottle of lotion, kitchen wisk, plastic bag, block, silverware, and countless stuffed animals. but the best one was his melissa and doug wooden duck. how did i miss that one!?

weaning?

apparently, i'm weaning some more. i didn't really plan on it, it just sort of happened. once, before putting caleb down for his afternoon nap, we danced together... as usual. but this time, he fell asleep. rather than wake the sleeping baby by trying to nurse, i just put him into his crib and let him nap. the next day, i did the same thing... even though he didn't fall asleep while dancing. we just danced and then he went to bed. again today. after so much disaster the last time i tried weaning him, i was so nervous... but so far so good (knock on wood).

Threes about me

amy did this little thing and i thought it was cute (and am currently trying to be quiet while caleb falls asleep) so thought i would do the same.

Three jobs I have had in my life: Mexican folk dancer, insurance specialist, kindergarten teacher
Three movies I would watch over and over: Ocean's 11, Lord of the Rings, Miracle
Three shows that I watch: Survivor, Amazing Race, The Office
Three places I have been: Illinois, Italy, Oregon
Three of my favorite foods: Italian, french toast, chai
Three places I'd rather be right now: with troy, near a waterfall, reading at a tea/coffee shop
Three things I am looking forward to this year: Caleb learning to talk, a night or two away with troy, meeting hanell's baby
Three jobs I would love to have: hard to know, never having done them... dog walker, speech therapist, professional mentor