The Growing Caldwell Family

I have been reading a blog titled All About Cloth Diapers  for a while now and she does posts reviewing new lines of diapers, funny stories about cloth diapering, and tips on washing and caring for diapers.  She doesn't post daily and I am somewhat fascinated by anybody who has six kids and has been cloth diapering for so long.  I really liked a recent post of hers about why people should cloth diaper.  I liked it so much that I wanted to mention it here  in case it might better explain the reasons to use cloth.  I figured that many people don't follow the link to articles, and I feel pretty strongly about this, so I copied her post here.  I feel so strongly about this subject because the more I learn, the more I know using disposable diapers has a negative impact on the world that my baby lives in.  I want the best for her, so I am trying to convince others to take care of this world for her sake. Are Disposable Diapers Really That Ba...

I had a long day at work.  The kind of day that became long about 4:30 when I quickly realized there was no chance of leaving on time and there would be work to do over the weekend.  I finally came home to my sweet girl and a pretty sweet husband about 6:30.  We went out for a quick bite for dinner and I suggested a pizza place that we don't frequent, but we have been to before.  When we arrived, I knew we made the right choice!  There were a couple of guys singing some hits by people like Jimmy Buffett, the Doobie Brothers, and Neil Diamond; the great thing was that kids had left their tables to go up front and shake tambourines and the like while the guys performed.  Sarah Graves was drawn in immediately and the situation was made even better when we were seated at a table right up front in the action.  One of the guys handed Sarah Graves a shaker and she was joining in!  She danced and made her music in her high chair while we ate an...

Too busy to stop and give a smile this week... - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I just finished reading Black Heels to Tractor Wheels - A Love Story by Pioneer Woman (a.k.a. Ree Drummond) and just loved it.  I have mentioned her site here and how much I like her writing.  The book is like a huge extension of her blog posts.  She is witty and real when she writes and I felt like I was right there along with her as she met and fell in love with Marlboro Man.  Sometimes when I read a good book, I am completely wrapped up in the lives of the characters and I am a bit sad when the book ends and I don't get to see how her life goes on.  In this case, I do get to see how her life worked out and how it will go from here - I love that!  This was a quick read, but very enjoyable.  She also includes a few recipes for meals that she describes making in the book.  Yummy! 

Saturday was a beautiful day here!  It was our first taste of spring and we headed to the zoo to enjoy it.  This was our first trip to the zoo.  We saw lots of birds.  Sarah Graves loves to watch birds.  We saw a momma, baby, and daddy giraffe. The weather was so gorgeous! We checked out lots of bird exhibits. Sarah Graves was a happy rider in her stroller. This little guy put on a show for us. What a cuddly cub! We talked about Aunt Nay being a zeta when we watched the zebras. This is the daddy panda.  He was getting settled in for a nap.  Here is the momma panda.  We learned that she will nurse her cub for a year and a half.  Kind of like us! We took a few rides on the carousel.  This was a huge hit!  She loved when the animal went up and down.  She held on to the pole with both hands and would lean forward to try to make it go.      She fell asleep in the stroller as we left the zoo and continue...

Dear Sarah Graves, Last night I gave you a bath and noticed how where there once were so many rolls on your neck that I needed to wash between each one, you now have a long neck more like mine and Daddy's.  I noticed in that moment how much you are changing from my little baby into my little girl.  It makes me smile to watch you learn to do so much.  Now that you have just about perfected walking, you have moved on to many new things.  One of those is working on speech.  I'm not sure that you have added lots of actual words, but you have added many new sounds to your repertoire.  Some of them sound more like Chinese.  This makes Daddy laugh and tease Mommy about the fact that when she was little, she would play by herself and speak in made up sounds similar to yours.  You say them with such conviction that I believe they mean something to you.  You are trying to say lots of real words, too.  Daddy and I agree that you have tried to say ...

Sarah Graves has received several more gifts lately.  For Valentine's day she got a Hello Kitty doll from Lovey and Pops.  She likes to carry it around at their house.  Aunt Ardie and Uncle Joe sent her this inchworm that is really cute.  You press down on the middle section and it flattens out and goes forward as it comes back together.  SG usually pushes it along, but it can move on its own.  This music cube is a favorite right now.  This was a gift from friends, Burt and Carolyn.  It has different instruments on each side and it lights up when you press it.  She loves it, especially, in the car.  This storybook came from our friends Michael and Melissa and it is so cute.   I have loved Mary Engelbreit's style for a long time and this is a cute book.  It has classic stories like the 3 little pigs and the 3 little bears.  It has nice big pictures that are great for a little one.  We have a good time enjoying...