The Growing Caldwell Family

Ever have the best of intentions, but it seems it all goes off course? That was most of our weekend. Nothing tragic, just not as planned. Saturday morning I manned a table in our church's community garage sale while Aaron took SG to music. We had to setup at 6 am, so it was also SG's first time to sleepover at Lovie and Pops'. I don't think she noticed, but Aaron and I felt how empty the house was without her, even after her usual bedtime. We had beautiful weather on Saturday, but hardly anyone bought anything. Fortunately, I already had a group scheduled to pick up the donations this week. At least the pile of unnecessary items won't be sitting for too long. The other plan for the day was to put SG's big girl bed together. Aaron went to pick up the furniture parts we needed and we went to buy a mattress. We were later than expected getting home, so the race was on to disassemble the crib and put up the bed. All was well until we realized we had slats for a fu

Saturday night was Sarah Graves' first night in a big girl bed.  This bed and the furniture to go with it has been a work in progress for several weeks and I will post about that later.  She has been so excited about having a big girl bed!  The headboard and footboard were sitting in the hallway waiting for a while and everyday she would remind me it was her bed! We got it all made up for her and she excitedly hopped right in.  We weren't sure how it would go, but she didn't try to get out.  She did take a little while to settle down and called for me a couple of times for a drink of water and to use the potty.  Once she fell asleep, we only heard from her once during the night when she woke up crying that she needed to go potty.  A quick trip to the potty and she was back in bed and asleep within seconds.  She slept until about 7, which was good because she was very late going to bed! She napped in it well yesterday and slept well last night, so I am hoping that this is

Today was the board cutting ceremony for Little Aprons Academy and Lovie and Sarah Graves came for the celebration! There were lots of fun activities like face painting and tattoos. As you can see, SG was not overly affectionate for Homer or Deepo, but I was excited for her! She was loving running around the playgrounds, checking out her classroom, and meeting some of the teachers. The carts with snacks and ice creams were also a hit! Overall, it was a really fun way to introduce her to a new school and see some of the fun parts of it.

It had been quite a while since SG last had a haircut, so I decided her hair could use some neatening up.  She was so excited about it!  The ladies all fawned over her and she felt so good about herself.  She was even proud to let me take her picture after!

We go to a local Greek restaurant and they simply adore Sarah Graves there.  She is treated like royalty and the entire staff dotes on her.  They love to give her special treats and I had been successful at intercepting the candy, but she knew what the lollipop was before I could grab it!  She loved it!  She was the happiest thing with it!

Here is a comparison of belly shots taken with Chubby on the left and SG's on the right.  Here's the update on Chubby: Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long ( picture an ear of corn ), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.  

We had a nice weekend, but Sunday seemed like a great day.  We were out late Saturday night, so I had the chance to sleep until I woke up on Sunday morning and actually got a shower before Sarah Graves was awake.  Because we slept later, we decided to go to the later service at church, which gave us time to make breakfast at home.  The later service is the one that most people go to, so it was nice to see some of our friends, this service has music and it was lovely, and Sarah Graves was delighted to be in the nursery with the other kids.  After church we headed to Costco where Sarah Graves thought she might want to eat a hotdog until she realized it was meat!  She was very pleasant to shop with and scarfed down all of her samples.  By the time we were home, it was time for a nap and she told me that Kate was sleepy and she was sleepy!  Her naptime meant I went to the grocery store to get a few other things alone.  Going to the grocery store alone can be a bit of a treat when you'

I can't believe how fast the time is going!  The second trimester is rolling right along and Chubby is rocking and rolling the whole time.  I really feel pretty good.  He does seem to kick the most when I'm hungry, but the kicks are still pretty gentle.  Chubby seems to have a preference for spicy food, particularly Mexican food with lots of cheese!  Fortunately, I don't have heartburn.  I am so thankful that I seem to be sleeping well.  I had such terrible insomnia with Sarah Graves, but this time I don't seem to have that issue.  I'm not sure I could make it if I were only getting a few hours sleep each night.  Then again, I was able to get a lot done in preparation for Sarah Graves because I was up so much! The other night I asked Sarah Graves to give Chubby in my tummy a kiss and she looked at me kind of funny and thought a minute, then she took off.  She ran to her room and grabbed a stuffed animal and had the stuffed giraffe give Chubby a kiss!  I guess she

Update on Chubby: Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that he's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound ( about as much as a large mango ), you may be able to see him squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

When Home Depot announced last summer that they were building an onsite childcare facility, I was really excited.  When I heard there would be a lottery to get a spot, I figured we probably wouldn't get in.  When the time came to sign up for mother's day out for next year, we signed up for the three-day a week program and then a few weeks later when the time came, I threw our name in the hat for a spot at the onsite childcare center.  I honestly didn't think much more about it until I got an email several weeks ago that we had a spot.  There was a narrow window in which to give them our response and the pressure was on to make a choice.  Aaron and I debated the pros and cons of leaving SG with mom and sending her a few mornings a week to her little school where she was this year.  Ultimately, we decided to take the spot at Little Aprons Academy (named for the aprons that associates wear).  We love that she has been so well cared for and feel like she is so safe with mom, b

We continue to work on learning to use the potty.  It feels like we take two steps forward and one step back, but we are sticking with it.  We have had a few poop successes with the potty, but that is still a challenge.  Our newest challenge with the pee pee is that she goes a tiny bit on the potty, then stands up and finishes in her panties!  She seems to do very well when we go out, so I am wondering if the accidents at home are part of a boredom or control thing.  Either way, I'm glad that we can go run errands and not have accidents galore.  We are also struggling with wanting to go around bare bottom after we sit on the potty!  All the fun of having a toddler! 

Yesterday we had a tough evening at our house.  Wednesday evenings are always tiring for me because Aaron goes to his class at church and I have Sarah Graves on my own.  Our evening got off to a rough start when Sarah Graves threw up in the car on the ride home.  We think she gets car sick sometimes and looked so pitiful.  Aaron felt so bad for her, but they made it home.  After a bath and clean pjs she felt as good as new.  She didn't stay interested in her dinner for long and wanted to get up and play while I finished.  While swinging her jacket around she knocked over a glass of water that went everywhere!  While I cleaned up the water, she decided she would help herself to one of her Easter cookies.  She couldn't really get it so she pulled the whole container off the counter.  By the time I got to her she was trying to rip the package open! She enjoyed eating her cookie for a while until she decided her hands were sticky and needed to be washed.  That brought us into the

Sarah Graves is so fortunate to have a family that loves her more than the world.  Her grandparents all sent Easter prizes to her and she loved every one.   Grancy and Ger Ger sent her this kitty umbrella and she was so thrilled to go outside and twirl it around.  She also received a neat puzzle where you match colors and textures; they all make pairs.  Lovie and Pops gave her some things for the beach.  Lovie embroidered a cover-up and she got a swimsuit and Elmo shoes for the beach.  There was also a purse, a Fancy Nancy book, and soft, soft bunny.   Grandaddy and MeMe sent her a real treat, a cookie bouquet!  She has been thrilled to eat these cookies!  The other day she had one and walked into the den with it when Lucy jumped up and snatched it out of her hand!  She was so surprised that Lucy did that.  We are going to have to work with Lucy on that (and it might encourage SG to stay at the table)! I didn't do a good job of getting pictures of SG with each of her new thing

After church we headed out for the Easter egg hunt.  I think it was a little overwhelming with so much excitement and so many kids, but she had fun.  She had to stop and take a break to play on the monkey bars before she went back to hunting eggs! We could not have had a more beautiful day to celebrate Easter!  The weather was perfect for an egg hunt! After the egg hunt we headed to Copeland's for a delicious brunch with Lovie and Pops!  Copeland's was super-crowded, but they did a fantastic job getting everyone in and out and providing great food and service.   This little monkey had a great time and enjoyed taking a bite of all sorts of yummy foods on our plate! She was so happy to be with two of her favorite people in this world.  What a lovely way to spend Easter!

At 11 inches ( the length of a spaghetti squash ) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

The Easter bunny brought a seat for her baby and a basket full of goodies.  The eggs each had a few treats that included animal crackers, almonds, goldfish, fruit snacks, and the special golden egg had M&Ms.  Surprisingly, her favorite was to find the goldfish!  She was so anxious to see her Easter basket that she just couldn't wait to look at it after she went potty.  She was using her Potty Power and enjoying her basket at the same time! She has been thrilled with the seat for her baby!  So much so that it is driving us crazy.  she insists on taking it everywhere she goes and has an all out tantrum when we explain that we are going somewhere and can't take the seat with us like school.  Before we headed off to church, I had to get a couple of pictures of her all dolled up in her Easter dress! 

My big girl went pee pee on the potty 5 times today!  She doesn't have the poop part yet, but I think she is making progress.  She is the sweetest thing when she sits on the potty.  She sits with her little hands folded and looks so patient while she waits for something to happen.  I feel so bad for her when she has an accident because she says sorry and then tells us thank you for putting dry panties on her.  She wants this so badly and I so hope that it clicks soon.  I don't know if this has made a huge difference or not, but on Monday a co-worker told me about this DVD called, Potty Power that really helped her toddlers.  You can easily find it on Amazon, but of course I didn't want to wait for it to be shipped, so I called around Monday to local stores and finally found it at Babies R Us.  She has asked to watch it several times and sits in complete focus while she watches.  I usually have her sit on the potty while watching as a way to encourage her to try to potty.

I can't believe how quick this pregnancy is going by!  I am 21 weeks and definitely enjoying the second trimester.  Knowing that we are expecting a little boy is making it seem a lot more real.  Now that Sarah Graves nicknamed him Chubby it's a lot easier to make reference to him.  We'll see if that name sticks! Chubby is a mover!  I swear he is practicing flip turns, but maybe it's really his field goal kick that he is working on.  Whatever it is, it is strong enough that Aaron can feel some of them.  The other day I woke up around 5 to use the restroom and then Chubby thought he would put on a performance for me.  I couldn't go back to sleep because I was waiting to see where he would go next!  When we decided to have a second child I figured that the next one couldn't be as active as Sarah Graves has been, and now I am starting to wonder.  The good Lord is probably having a nice laugh right now! My appetite has been pretty normal until today.  Today I have

Baby's Growth This Week: Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot . You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

We have been sticking with our panties.  So far she has had one success each day.  We have figured out that she does not have to go that often.  About once every hour or two, but then sometimes she throws us a curve ball and goes a little more frequent!  Catching her on the potty is tricky!  She definitely sits on it the best when watching Elmo or reading books.  The cloth trainers with an additional microfiver insert from her diapers does the trick to keep her dry overnight.  I am thankful for that because overnight dryness may take us a while.  That's where we are today on day four.  We are hopeful that it will start to click soon!

After visiting for two weeks, Maw Maw Yvonne had to go home.  Sarah Graves is really missing her and talks to her on the phone.  She took Maw Maw to the airport and told her bye, so she remembers that Maw Maw went on an airplane. 

When I presented Sarah Graves with the wrapped present of big girl panties, I told her we were done with diapers and she was wearing big girl panties from now on.  I purchased an assortment of options and I thought I would mention my thoughts on each.   I purchased the Gerber cotton underpants and the plastic backed ones from Target and Wal-Mart.  These were definitely the least expensive.  The cotton ones are thicker or lined more than just a plain pair of panties, but they are not absorbent.  The plastic backed ones do hold a pee so that there isn't a puddle on the floor.  With both of these she immediately knows that she is wet.  The plastic backed ones definitely cut down on my frustration because there are fewer messes to clean up.  We bought some more of these today at Babies R Us.  The Gerber ones run really big and would be really awkward looking under clothing.  We have stuck with T-shirts while practicing at home, so it doesn't matter.  The Babies R Us brand fits mor