Multi-tasking

So who doesn't love to multi-task?  Get two things done at the same time?  Yes please.  I like to do this with my exercise.  I've loved using my jogging stroller to go jogging with.  Entertain baby and exercise at the same time.  Wonderful.

Well, I have wanted to find some sort of baby and mommy exercise video or something like that.  I was looking on YouTube and found THIS baby and dad (Mom can do it too!) ab workout.  The clip is quite funny but I think the exercises are legit.  I did them with Caleb yesterday and he cracked up.  A great way to pass the time between when he wakes up from his nap and the next feeding which sometimes can be fussy time for us.  I'm holding him, he's having fun, and I'm getting in a little workout.  Everybody wins!

Meal Planning Monday

So obviously you're not going to see my meal plan every week, just here and there.  If its here, then I've gotten really organized this week enough to even blob about it!  This past weekend, I was at my in-law's house in Arlington, Texas.  On Friday the boys were golfing and the girls (except for me) were at work.   So Caleb took his morning nap and I was in someone else's house off duty...meaning I could do no house work (yay!).  So decided to get ahead for the week and meal plan.  Here ya go folks.  Our coming week of food.

DINNER

Monday: This crockpot chicken (subbing agave nectar or honey for the brown sugar) from pinterest stir fried with veggies, rice

Tuesday: Clean Eating Meatloaf from the Gracious Pantry, sugar snap peas, sweet potatoes

Wednesday: PW Beef Fajitas (Frozen leftovers from a party) - makes a great steak salad too which is probably what I will have to save the 4 WW points for the tortilla

Thursday: Blueprints Girl's Night (dinner included), Ben will probably eat Chick-Fil-A, where the drive-through lady knows him

Friday: Eating on the road...we're going to Dallas for the weekend

Saturday: In Dallas...Sister's birthday dinner with family

Sunday: French toast or other easy breakfast food with fruit and scrambled eggs


LUNCH
Lynn - Leftovers, PB and Honey with fruit if nothing else available
Ben - PB&H, double fruit, almonds, homemade cookies

SNACKS
Fruit, Fruit, and more Fruit, Clean Eating Chocolate Chip Cookies, raw cookie dough bites (they look healthy...)

BREAKFAST
Lynn - oatmeal, agave nectar, frozen blueberries
Ben - Clean Eating Chocolate Chip Muffins

And for Caleb - that boy's just eating one thing these days and he loves it - nursing all day everyday :) (but eventually he'll be on here too!)

Lately in other news...(in pictures)

Lately in other news unbaby related...

...I have found some time to do some crafts.  Mostly for gifts but either way its just so relaxing to me and engages the creative part of my brain.  I made this wreath x2 for gifts.  I used book pages glued onto cardstock and folded for the leaves...I'm loving it.

...Carlos (huge, grey) and Polly (average, thumbs, orange) have become bester friends than ever given their world (me) has found a new love (Caleb).  I often find them snuggling in the middle of the day somewhere else together.  Makes me a little sad but I'm glad they're comforting each other.  (If you're not a cat person, I'm sure you think I'm crazy right now).

...Have figured out how to applique onsies.  I made 2 others for a friend and want to make some for Caleb too.  

...Ben Cooper turned 30 years old.  30.  Years.  Old.  

...Also this Benjamin Cooper shot a 71 and tied for first in the Houston City Amateur Qualifier Event.  FIRST.  He'll play the actual tournament on October 5-7.  I get to go watch him and stand on the green and cheer.  We're so excited!

...we get a little exhausted sometimes.

....Have had time to clean out basically every area of my house during naps and as Caleb plays.  This is my craft room.  I love having a 4th bedroom right now to use as my craft and projects room.  We have talked about downsizing to a smaller house but I would really miss the playroom area upstairs and having this 4th bedroom.  I love having this open floor area to spread out and do crafts.  It's just right down the hall from Caleb and is great for afternoon crafts while he naps.  The cats love the huge window also.  

I'm loving the time at home to be with Caleb but its also healthy for us stay-at-home-moms to have other interests and hobbies outside of these precious babes.  Its hard sometimes to pull away but I think its good for Dad to have some time with baby and makes for a happier, more engaged mama when she returns.  

Happy 4 months Caleb!

Last week, Caleb turned 4 months old.  

This month, Caleb has continued to smile more and laugh.  We no longer swaddle him anymore for sleeping.  As my mom said, he is now old enough to handle his own arms.  Maybe it was the 3 months of swaddling and restricted arms, but he sleeps just like that - arms wide open.  

He rolls over now pretty well and loves to reach for toys and put them directly into his mouth.

We think his eyes are changing.  I have brown and Ben has blue.  His eyes were a dark blue when he was born and now they have a hint of brown to them.  So handsome.

One eyebrow up! 

I can't believe we're to the 4 month mark.  It feels like a lifetime ago that I was pregnant.

I couldn't get a good smile out of him this time - only this.  He does this baby talk that sounds like he's doing a car sound and he wouldn't stop!  There's a lot of spitting involved, but its adorable nonetheless.

We were close to nap time...look at those tired eyes. 

Oh I wanted to tell you...

He has the most expressive eyebrows.  

At 4 months Caleb is...

Size: Wearing 3-6 month and 6 months clothes.  Most of the 3 months or 0-3 m size clothes are too short in the torso so they have been put away.  It's sad to put away some of my favorite outfits.  A couple of them I'm still hanging onto and I've even considered cutting some of them and making them into t-shirts but I won't because I want to keep them for Future Baby.  We went to the doctor this week and he is 16 1/2 pounds and 26 inches long.  That is 77th percentile for weight and 84th for height.  Big boy, but not the biggest.

Likes: Sweet boy likes to play in his jumper and has actually discovered how to make it jump.  Hopefully the exercise will help him nap better (more on that below).  Something new for this month is that he loves to grab toys and put them in his mouth.  He used to just stare at things but now he actually has the hand-eye coordination to grab.  It's still pretty shaky but getting more and more intentional and accurate.  Actually anything that brushes by his face - a cat tail, a burp cloth, a hand - he opens his mouth to put it in.  Fortunately we've had no cat tails in the mouth.

Dislikes:  Up until this point, he hasn't cried for much other than hunger and tiredness.  Well, that's changing.  He does not like to be put in his carseat to go somewhere if he is the least bit tired or hungry.  He gets frustrated in some spots and wants to be taken out or held or just moved to something new.

Working on/Milestones: In the last month, Caleb has learned to roll both back to front and front to back.  He mastered front to back one night at 11:30pm in his crib.  We watched him on the monitor cheering!  And then he cried because he couldn't figure out how to get back.

We're also working on sticking to a schedule.  And I say we because its as much me making myself stick to it as it is Caleb fitting into it.  I still look to him for cues and adapt to him but I'm trying to always have the schedule in mind and plan my day accordingly.

Caleb started going to the church nursery on Sundays and does fabulous.  They say he is just the best little baby.  That makes Mama's heart happy!

Eating: Big boy eats 5-6 times during the day and once or twice at night.  He continues to be a great nurser and is down to about 15-20 minutes each time we nurse unless he's tired and then he lingers a little longer.  I've been researching solid foods and rice cereal because the pediatrician said we could start rice cereal now if we wanted to but I'm leaning towards just starting with pureed fruits and veggies at 6 months.  Thoughts?

Sleeping: Caleb is such a big boy and has moved up into his own room.  It was fun to read last month's sleeping post because my wishes came true!  He used to wake up at midnight and once more before morning.  Now he goes down around 7:15pm - 7:30pm, skips that midnight feeding and usually just wakes up once sometime between 2am and 5am and sometime between 7am and 8am for good.

His naps are going much better now that I'm trying to stay on schedule.  His awake time is usually about an hour and a half before he's ready for a nap.  We read some stories and then he goes down pretty well now with not much fuss or crying and will sleep anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half three times a day.  If he hasn't had the greatest naps at home or if we were out for one of his naps, he'll usually take a short one around 5 to get him through the home stretch.

Also, we are done with swaddling thank goodness.  I had stopped swaddling for naps around 2 months because I just got tired of it.  And once it seemed he was waking himself trying to get out of the swaddle, we tried it one night without it and he did awesome.  Now we are in footed PJ's.  I had to stop myself from buying too many.  I'm really the only one that sees them but I just think they are precious.