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...

Lovey and Sarah Graves have lots of giggles together.  Notice that when I ask her where her nose is, she points to her mouth.  I have no idea how these two body parts have been confused, but she consistently touches her mouth when you ask about her nose!  Just part of her charm.

Sarah Graves has started to try more sounds when she babbles.  She is trying to speak more, but it is still hard to understand.  Here is some of our dinner conversation.

I can't believe that I didn't get a picture of her in this dress posted before now.  It is so, so cute!  It has hearts on the fabric and was really cute for Valentine's day.  She looks so grown up sitting in this chair! Lovey made her these panties with her name and hearts to match her dress.  The sweetest Valentine I know!

We hope your day was sweet!

Grancy made a video for Sarah Graves to wish her a Happy Valentine's day!  You can watch it here .  It's fun to see all the pictures put together, and amazing to realize that they were all taken in just about a year!

I took this video a couple of weeks ago when our house was full of balloons from SG's party.  She had a great time playing with them!

Monday Sarah Graves went for her 12-month check-up. We were a little later going because Dr. Long recommended that we wait 6 weeks between polio vaccines. So here are her stats: weight is 22.3 pounds (43rd percentile), height is 31.25 inches (90th percentile), and head circumference is 17.75 inches (16th percentile). So she is on the tall side, falls toward the middle on weight, and has a smaller head. She has lost a few ounces since we were at the pediatrician just over a month ago, but Dr. Long said he isn't concerned because she is walking so well and stays so busy. I asked him about whether we should wean her off the bottle even though she doesn't drink much from the cup. He said no that she should stay on the bottle until 18 months. I thought that they were supposed to be off the bottle by 12 mos., but I guess I was wrong. So, she will continue to get a bottle during the day and Mom is mixing in some milk with the breast milk. On the other hand, he felt we should get rid...

In the morning we have a ritual where I walk Sarah Graves out to Aaron's car, put her in the car seat, ask her for a kiss, wave bye bye to her, and then I blow kisses to her.  I never want her to think that I snuck off and left her, so I try to be very active about the fact that I am saying goodbye.  Aaron is out of town for a couple of days so my mom came to the house to look after Sarah Graves and when I was ready to leave, I gave Sarah Graves a kiss, told her bye bye, and then blew her a kiss.  When I blew her the kiss, much to my surprise, she put her hand to her mouth and then threw her arm out!  I fell completely in love with her all over again in that moment.  She doesn't get the kissing sound, but she has the motion.  We were so excited that we kept doing it over and over and she did it some more.  I have fond memories of being in the car leaving my grandmother's house and she would walk to the curb and blow kiss...

Yep, she is mastering the stairs.  We held her off as long as we could, but she has definitely found the stairs and she knows what to do with them.  This morning I was getting my pump stuff together and she was walking around playing and all of a sudden I realized that I could still hear her, but the noise was from above.  I looked up and sure enough, there she was grinning so big looking down from the upstairs landing.  I quickly realized what a poor multi-tasker I am and just how quick she is.  She can climb up the stairs really quickly and she knows how to come down on her tummy like she has been taught, but it takes her a while to get it straight.  She tends to get to the bottom step and wants to turn around and come down like an adult.  The only probably is that she is just a baby and can't step down like that.  That's why she needs a spotter to remind her to come down the right way.  She has no fear of heights and has an adventurous sp...

Dear Sarah Graves, You might notice that this letter is a little late; I have been busy with your party and all sorts of other things.  Anyway, I'm finally writing it now.  I can't believe that you're already a year old!  I spent the week leading up to your birthday remembering how I felt the same time a year before.  What a difference a year makes!  Who would believe that the little baby in my arms would grow into a big baby who runs, giggles, and has so much joy!  We celebrated your first Christmas and your first New Year.  You were a little stunned on Christmas morning trying to take in so many new toys, but you have since learned to enjoy many of them.  You like your pal Violet a lot and you really enjoy these sorting bags with fabric foods.  You grab a bag and carry it around with you!  We sometimes find little pieces of "food" scattered around the house.  Although you weren't awake to ring in the new year, you did go to a N...

Today is my birthday and what a good day I had!  I have received so many wishes from friends and families.  My boss took me out to lunch and the rest of my team joined us.  Then, Sarah Graves and Aaron took me out to dinner and to Yoforia for a treat.  Sarah Graves was in a good mood and we had a great time.  Yoforia was playing some good music and she enjoyed rock'n out!  What a good birthday! Tomorrow night Jeanne' is going to babysit and Aaron and I are going out for an adult dinner.  We went out for dinner just the two of us for our anniversary and I am looking forward to a relaxing meal just for grownups.  On Sunday Mom is cooking for us and having us over to their house.  What a wonderful birthday weekend!  

Since Sarah graves has been mobile, we have had many bumps and falls.  She usually gets over them pretty quickly.  Today she gave quite a scare when 15 minutes into her nap, Lovey heard a loud bump followed by a cry.  She fell in the crib somehow and it knocked the wind out of her and caused quite a bit of bleeding.  There is nothing to tell us what she hurt.  Her lip, mouth, teeth, and nose all appear fine.  After she calmed down, she is fine.  It is quite strange.  What would bleed, but then have no redness or swelling to indicate the source? Having a toddler is fun and maybe a little scary!  She is so adventurous and has no idea about the dangers in the world.  I'm just glad she isn't seriously injured!

Lovey and Pops went on a trip and brought these shoes back for Sarah Graves.  They are mary jane style keds and they are pink, sparkly shoes.  In case you are wondering, yes, that is glitter on the shoes!  What little girl wouldn't be in love with them?

We love our cozy coupe!  Sometimes she tries to exit Dukes of Hazard style, out the window!