Caleb's First Year of Life!!

It's been quite a year!   Enjoy the video of Caleb's first year of life!

http://youtu.be/tooiv_iu90Q

My baby girl goes to kindergarten!

 Brielle started Kindergarten on August 26th!  We are so proud of her and she is loving school!  Everyday she tells us her day was awesome!  Her favorite specialist is Art class and she also loves Spanish and Gym.  She was so excited to tell us that she took a test today! :)  Here are some pictures from the first day of school!

4 month stats...

Caleb is now 4 months old!  I am not really sure where the time has gone!  Everyone is back in school and getting into the new routine!  Caleb is being so loved at daycare three days per week.  Daddy has a day and Mimi has a day which they both LOVE! 
Here are some latest facts on Caleb Parker:
*He weighs 17.2 pounds (78th percentile) and is 26 inches long (79th percentile)
*The doctor said is a perfect weight for his length
*We got the okay to try cereal so the highchair will come out this weekend and Caleb will get to try some rice cereal!
*He is the happiest baby there is!
*He loves his Mama the most but it pretty comfortable with anyone holding him.
*He takes four 8 ounce bottles per day
*He sleeps through the night and gets up anywhere from 6-7 AM
*He loves to talk/yell and interact with others
*He is starting to grab and grasp objects and hold onto them
*He sucks on two fingers lately to sooth himself
*His eyes are still dark and his hair is getting lighter
*He has chubby arms, legs, and cheeks!!
*He just started using the exersaucer and loves it!
*He loves to go for car rides
*He LOVES his sister and she equally loves him back!

Caleb is such a blessing and we are so lucky to have him in our lives!

The newly designed living room!

For any of you who have ever been in my house, you know that a huge part of the house was painted yellow by the previous owners.  We lived with the yellow for five years...five years too long!  I have always hated it but it was just such a big undertaking!  Well, we finally bit the bullet and had it painted at the beginning of the summer.  I have been slowly redecorating and I just love it!  The only thing I have bought is the new entertainment center to hold the TV.  I've been selling things on facebook yard sale sites so I could purchase it. :)  I have hung pictures in different places and I really love it!  Enjoy the pictures I took of my progress so far!

 The living room

 My new wall upstairs!  There's lots of blank spaces to fill with pictures of Caleb! :)  I had a lot of these frames on my stairs and in my basement!

 My new collages at the top of the stairs

 My new place for new born pictures! Can you tell which one is Brielle and which one is Caleb? :)

 My mom bought me this canvas for Mother's Day.  It's from our maternity session.

 The wall of frames from downstairs

My new place for my framed art that I got from Al when we first moved into our first apartment in Bridgewater!

What do you think?!?

Happy 5th Birthday Brielle Catherine

To my darling Brielle Catherine,
Happy 5th birthday!  I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that you are five years old today!  You are the sweetest, funniest, smartest, kindest, most determined, most awesome little girl I know! I have so enjoyed watching every stage of your life from the moment the doctor announced that you were a girl.  I have watched you grow from a beautiful baby, to a curious toddler, to a determined preschooler, to a smart pre-k graduate and everything in between! Most recently, you have become the best big sister to your brother, Caleb. He thinks you are the best thing in the world! And you are!  You have inspired me to be the best mother I can be for both you and Caleb.  I hope you enjoy every minute of being five years old.  Especially doing one thing that you could not do when you were four:   go to kindergarten!  I hope your teacher loves the wonderful personality you have and is able to continue to instill that love for learning you have.  Any maybe whip you into a shape a bit too! :) Love you Monka!! xoxoxo

American Girl Store

Brielle always does something special with Mama, Aunie, and Mimi for her birthday.  This year, we decided to surprise her with a trip to the American Girl Store in Natick.  It was quite incredible!  We had a reservation for lunch at the Bistro and Aunie and Mimi bought her something in the store.  Mama let her take McKenna to the hair salon.  We all LOVE how much she loves her dolls as both Mama and Aunie LOVED their American Girl dolls growing up!  Brielle has my four dolls and she got McKenna for her birthday a few years ago from her Auntie Becky.  Mimi treated her to her second doll, Isabelle, today and Aunie bought her a makeup kit for Isabelle.  We heard multiple times today how "This is the best birthday ever!" and lots of hugs from her to us! (As well as a "this is the worst birthday ever!"when we told her no to buying any additional items.  We had a pout face for much of the ride home.  Hey, just keeping it real on the blog here!) Enjoy the pictures from the day!  I just put my 4 year old to bed and tomorrow she will wake up to be a five year old!

 Picking out an outfit for McKenna!

 Super excited!

 We arrived in style!

 There were hooks in the bathroom stall for the doll!

 Brielle at lunch with Isabelle!  The look on her face says it all! Thank you Mimi for Isabelle!

 Aunie bought her a make-up kit for her doll...perfect gift from Aunie!

The dolls had a special seat, a special cup and saucer, and special stickers to celebrate with Brielle!

 Caleb LOVES his big sister!

 After lunch we had a special cake and sang Happy Birthday!  She even got a gift! (a happy birthday outfit and balloon for her doll and a book!)

 This is how they served us dessert! (I didn't take any pictures of our lunch but it was really good!)

 She was on cloud nine!

 McKenna at the hair salon!

 Again, so excited!

 Ta-dah!  A birthday bun and crown!

 Signing out her doll from the hair salon.

Memories to last a life time!

Caleb is three months!

 

Caleb is three months old today!  I just read that once a baby hits the three month mark, they are not longer considered a newborn, but an infant. That sure did go fast!  I have to say Caleb is the happiest most easy going baby there is!  He sure is a doll!  Even when he was sick (he had a mild case of hand, foot, and mouth) he was still in a good mood!  We are truly blessed!  Here are some three month stats!

 *He is eating about 7 oz. four times per day.
*He sleeps about 11 hours a night! Go Caleb!
*His hair has stayed in place for the last month.  And it's still light brown.
*He loves to have his hands in his mouth.  He has grabbed his thumb a few times but it doesn't stay.
*He still loves to go for car rides and loves his swing.
*He has found his voice and loves to yell!

*He gives the best smiles! 
*His eyes seem to be changing.  They are mostly brown but some angles they appear to be green.
*He still loves to be held upwards and look over your shoulder.
*He barely uses his binky.  But it does seem to settle him down when he is upset or tired. He doesn't use it when he goes to bed though.  

*He is so funny to watch fall asleep at night!  He kicks and kicks his legs and smiles and giggles.  Then he will put his hands above his head and conk out!  He sometimes moves to the top of his crib before he does this!
*He is just starting to get into his 3-6 month clothes.  I will be packing away his 0-3 month clothes soon! :(
*His looks are changing every day.  We still see Brielle but at times he looks just like his daddy.  There are also times where he looks like mommy too!

*He is getting better at tummy time and can roll from front to back...usually because he is mad about tummy time! :)

*He has been to the beach, pools, and fairs this summer!  Pretty much where his sister goes he can go! 
*He is such a good little boy and we love him beyond words!

 

Two Months ago...

 Two months ago, at 10:16PM, I gave birth to a 10 pound baby boy.  It is amazing how quickly these past two months have gone by, but it also feels like Caleb has been a part of our family forever.  I really did not have a feeling as to whether I was carrying a boy or a girl.  My pregnancy was a bit different:  I was much sicker, I craved different things (olives for example), I had sciatica at the end of the pregnancy rather than in the middle, but overall I felt pretty much the same.  I chalked up the differences to the fact that was five years older, caring for a 4 year old, teaching, and getting my second masters degree in reading.  I did not picture myself having a boy, but I didn't picture having another girl either.  My life was Brielle and couldn't see beyond that.  I also did not think I was carrying a 10 pound baby either!  I knew I was big but I didn't think that I was THAT big!
But, it is simply amazing beyond words that I have a son.  It is amazing how well he just fits into our family.  It's hard to describe.  He is such a good baby.  Brielle really adores him so much.  My life is far from perfect, but I am certainly blessed with what God has given me.

Here are some things that Caleb is doing at two months:
*He is eating about 6 oz. every 4 hours during the day.
*He sleeps about 7 hours at night.
*He is losing almost all of his hair!
*He has found his fists and they are constantly in his mouth!
*He is starting to grab things, especially Mommy's hair!
*He loves to go for car rides and loves his swing.
*He adores his sister and she can always get the best smiles from him!
*He is definitely a Mama's boy!
*He loves the tub and hates to have his diaper changed.
*His eyes are on the darker side so we are still wondering if they will be brown or blue (or somewhere in between!)
*He loves to be held upwards and look over your shoulder.
*He has "Soothies" binkies but he really doesn't like them for any length of time.
*He is wearing 0-3 month clothes still but he is growing quickly! (12 lb 8 oz and 23 in)
*We think he looks a lot like his sister but he has such a "boy" look to him!
*He is the sweetest little boy and we just adore him so much!!
 

Pre-K Graduation

I cried from the moment the graduation song started and I saw Brielle until the ceremony was over.  Sometimes I was crying with laughter, but there were still tears.  I am so proud of my little girl and cannot believe that she is almost five and off to kindergarten.  She absolutely loves school.  She loves to write, loves to read, loves math, loves her friends, etc.  Although I have to admit I told Brielle that we needed to continue to practice her Bob Books and her reading since she has been out of school a week and we haven't even looked at them.  She did give me quite the attitude!  :)  She is more than prepared for kindergarten thanks to the staff at The Magical Years.  We debated on whether to send her or hold her out another year because she is an August birthday.  Even in February I was still thinking this, but I am so amazed at how far she has come in these past few months!  Enjoy the pictures from her pre-k graduation!!