The Growing Caldwell Family

After a three hour nap we headed to Nordstrom's to find a new pair of sandals.  The first pair we bought at Stride Rite just haven't worked out, so we decided to get a new pair.  SG learned the thrill of shopping in stores like Nordstrom's where they have a coloring station, an aquarium, and give you a balloon just for shopping!  One new pair of better fitting sandals later and we were on our way to the Georgia Aquarium. We have been before, but it has been a while and Sarah Graves is so much bigger now!  We saw some big fish like this guy. We walked in awe of all the fish around us. We saw the dolphins that are new to the aquarium.  We would like to see the show, but know that Sarah Graves just isn't ready for that.  We got super-excited and began swishing our head when we saw the penguins! I can't blame her because they are so cute. "Lellow" is the only color that she recognizes and anything and everything can be yellow, so she got lucky with all t

Dear Sarah Graves, We have had a fun and busy month.  We took a vacation to the beach, which you loved.  We have also gone to outdoor festivals, playgrounds, and parties.  All the time you have been learning so much and trying to express yourself more.  You are fun to listen to in the car as you jabber to yourself.  One of your favorite things to practice is saying, "ducka ducka ducka ducka!"  I think you are mimicking what we say when we tickle you, but it's hard to be sure.  You have started to be a little particular about what you eat.  You sometimes want to feed yourself, but you also get frustrated because it goes so slow.  We have had a difficult time enticing you to eat veggies and that's a bit of a concern.  Almond butter sandwiches and bananas are sure hits with you.  You still like other fruits, oatmeal, and yogurt, but veggies and meats are tough to get you to eat.  I am working on new ideas for how to make foods that suit your toddler needs.  We are tryi

Right before Easter Sarah Graves went to her first kid birthday party.  This party was for a friend, Evan, who was turning 3.  Evan really likes trains, so he had a train at his party.  SG wasn't feeling so hot that day, so everything was just okay to her, but we had a fun time at the party.  It was a beautiful day and the train was a big hit.  The driver let Evan drive the train and he took everyone on rides around their neighborhood.  Plus, birthday parties mean cake, and that excited Sarah Graves a lot! Last Sunday we went to another party for her friend, Allison.  This was Allison's first birthday and Sarah Graves had a ball.  We wanted a picture of Sarah Graves and Allison together playing, but toddlers don't really play together so much and they definitely don't take cues to pose together.  Allison had balloons and that was a thrill for Sarah Graves. Sarah Graves has met Greg at church before, but they really hit it off at the party.  He's just a few mon

We received a package from Grancy with some cute new outfits and fun books!  Doesn't she look cute in this purple shirt that has shorts that you can't see in the picture.  Aunt Nay gave SG this dress and it has the cutest embroidery on top.  Most of our clothes have a story, so I try to remind SG of what the story is on each thing she wears.  It's also a good way for us to talk about all the people that love her so much. 

My Mom turned us on to these marinades and we simply love them. I think the Baja Citrus flavor is my favorite, but we haven't tried one that I don't like. They are so easy because you just mix the seasoning with water, oil, and some flavors call for vinegar. You can leave it on all day or as little as 15 minutes. We usually leave ours all day and the meat is so tender and full of flavor! I am actually excited to have grilled chicken on the menu! They are at our local groceries in the section with the taco seasoning. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad!

Tonight we had an appointment with the chiropractor and Aaron had to work late, so Lovie came over to help me get SG to her appointment.  After her appointment we had a very fun impromptu dinner with Lovie and Aunt Nay at a great Greek place, Mykonos.  SG was really a delight and entertained us quite thoroughly while we ate.  We had a leisurely meal and stayed out until 8 o'clock on a school night  and everything!  What a fun time!  We only wish that Pops was in town to join us.

SG likes to live her weekend to the fullest, so she had us up and going by 5:30. I went for a long overdo haircut, then we met Lovie and Pops for lunch. She was so funny when she told us she was "all done" and our food had just arrived! After lunch we headed over to Northpoint Mall where they have a great indoor play area. -Waving to another shopper! Sometimes she seems so big, but then i see her with 5 year olds and realize she is just a little girl. Posted using BlogPress from my iPad Location: Paces Ferry Rd SE,Vinings,United States

I recently saw a piece that the American Academy of Pediatrics put out regarding toxins in our environment and their effects on babies.  The believed effects are increases in diseases such as childhood cancers, asthma, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorders.  It is believed that when a fetus or baby is exposed to chemicals it can impair their development and dramatically increase the likelihood of them developing one of these diseases.  It is also believed that chemical exposure in our daily lives is the likely cause of so many young women having difficulty conceiving and maintaining pregnancies as well as a significant increase in testicular cancer in men.    Here is what was posted on AAP's site: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is calling for an overhaul of the nation’s chemical management policy because the current system fails to protect children and pregnant women, who are most vulnerable to hazardous chemical exposures. Over the past few  decades, tens of thousands o

A leaky diaper at 2 am resulted in a cold and crying baby.  Lucky for her, Daddy heard her cries and was getting up before I knew what was happening.  He changed her diaper and pajamas and was working on soothing her back to sleep, but she wasn't having it.  I came in about 15 minutes later to try and soothe her.  She was content for me to rock her for a while, but wasn't going to sleep.  After a bit of that she decided it would be fun to get up and play.  I explained to her that she would have to go back in her crib.  I left her in her crib for about an hour, but she never went back to sleep.  She fussed off and on and finally at 3 I decided to try something different (I can't sleep when I am waiting for her to quit fussing and fall asleep).  I took her downstairs and got her a snack hoping that a full tummy would ease her back to sleep.  We then got her soft and warm blanket from her bed and snuggled into our rocker.  Again, she was content to rock and those eyes would g

Here she is sliding and oh so chatty!

I have been meaning to make a bow holder for Sarah Graves for a while now and this weekend I finally got around to doing it.  I wanted her to have something with both of her initials and we had a very narrow wall to put it on, so I decided that making one would be the way to go.  I bought the wooden letters and a small canvas, painted them all, glued on the ribbons, and there you have our bow holder.  I wish that I could paint better, but I just don't have that talent.   I didn't realize how many bows she has until I started putting them up!  She has some cute new ones that I should take a picture of up close. 

She received a package from Grancy last night and in it was a new swimsuit that Ms. Margaret Anne made for her.  It is so cute with polk-a-dots and her monogram on the top!  We had to try it on immediately despite the very cool temperatures that we are having!  There is also a darling cover up made to match, but she didn't want to model that.  Ha! She is showing off her moves on her slide.  She has surpassed just climbing up and sliding down and now has to stand on the top.  She makes me nervous, but it's the only way for her to try new things and figure out what she can do.  Plus, I would have to put her in a cage to stop her from climbing on EVERYTHING.

The weekend went by in a blur! We did some fun things, but there is just never enough time. Saturday morning we were all up early, so we decided to go out for pancakes at 7 am. On our way out, we saw a lady standing in the road looking upset so Aaron stopped to see what was wrong. She was filling in for a friend at a dentist office in the office park across from our neighborhood. She got out of her car to look at a sign and locked her keys in her car while it was running. Aaron called and the fire department came and opened her car. SG's eyes got big when the fire engine pulled up! We went on to have a yummy breakfast and run a few errands and made it back by 10 for a nap. In the afternoon we went to a Greek festival and enjoyed the cooler weather. We picked up some gyros and tasty pastries for lunch. We came back and had plenty of time for SG to play outside and took a walk around the neighborhood. I wish we could keep temperatures in the 70's! We went to church on

Lovie has been working to teach Sarah Graves how to make pretty eyes, but for the longest time she would only make them for Lovie.  She recently decided she would give us pretty eyes, too!  I love to watch her blow kisses.  She was in her high chair finishing what was an extremely fun meal for her, eating plain spaghetti pasta out of a bowl by herself and drinking water from a cup with a straw.  That should explain the mess on her tray that she is playing in!

Enjoying feeding herself!

SG wanted to get our mother's day celebration off to an early start so she woke up at midnight crying with a huge dirty diaper.  I rocked her back to sleep (that was pretty sweet) and got back to bed for her to wake up again at 2 and then again at 4.  Nothing like being reminded that you really are a mother!  I put her in bed with us to nurse at 4 and I could tell that her nose was stuffy.  We were up for the day soon after that and she wasn't feeling all that well.  I think she is teething and they are really bothering her.  Aaron made us pancakes for breakfast and by 7:30 she was acting sleepy and I was feeling very sleepy.  I put her in bed and went to bed myself.  I was asleep for about 10 minutes when I heard her crying.  She was very warm and grinding her teeth constantly.  I gave her Tylenol for the fever, but I don't think it helped the discomfort too much.  Our whole day was a series of trying to find things to soothe her and keep her from crying.  We made it out t

Here is a video of SG playing in the bounce house. 

We celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday with my Mom.  We started with brunch at my parents' house.  The food was super yummy and we had a good time hanging out.  After brunch we headed to the Dunwoody Arts Festival.  SG had a good time while we looked at the different booths. She really had a good time when we found the bounce houses!  I stuffed SG's dress in her panties so that she could really move.  I'm not going to let wearing a dress slow her down!

Dear Sarah Graves, At fifteen months old you are doing so many things and starting to become such a big girl!  You are working on feeding yourself, becoming interested in coloring, enjoying climbing and playing outside, and starting to talk.  You are becoming pretty good at feeding yourself finger foods.  You love to eat bread and bananas.  Those are two of your favorite foods that you never get enough of.  You also love pancakes.  We make some pancakes for you with oatmeal and blueberries in them that you just love!  You will run to your highchair and stand there waiting to be seated to eat some.  It doesn't matter if you finished eating five minutes before, if you see a banana or bread, you have to have some.  You are starting to drink water from your cup more, but you won't consider drinking any kind of milk out of your cup.  You do love the one bottle a day that you still get.  Lovie tells me how much you enjoy it and how excited you are when you see it.  You wake up ready