Swimming

We had a really fun and adventurous day. We drove around the area and went to an art gallery in Chesnee, a strawberry farm, a park on Lake Bowen, a fresh fish market, and ended the day swimming.

Caleb did not enjoy swimming as much as we thought he would. He is a very cautious boy, and did not feel comfortable. His unhappiness may have been due to the fact that the water was freezing, but my bet is he sensed danger.

Park Day

Today was a busy day. Graysen got his 4 month vaccinations this morning, and then we met Alisha and Katelin at the park. Both kids love the park. We tried to leave without feeding the ducks, but Caleb insisted. Thankfully Alisha brought bread for them. Caleb would not ride the train. There is something about that train that he does not like. Katelin rode it and had a good time. I think that it will be a long time before he warms up to that train.

Graysen's Well Visit and First Meal

Graysen had his four month well visit today. He is doing great! He weighs 14 lb 6 oz (37th percentile) and is 24.5 inches long (25th percentile). The doctor said that we could start feeding him solid foods. He had his first meal this evening. It was rice cereal mixed with formula. He seemed to eat it okay, and didn't mind having the texture in his mouth.

Rainy Day

We were supposed to have a picnic at the park today, but it turned out to be a very rainy day. We spent the day at Lisa and Emily's house instead. Caleb and Emily enjoyed pushing each other in the stroller. Graysen is always relaxed at their house, and enjoys the extra attention.

Back to the Usual

We are back to our usual routine today. Katelin came over and played with Caleb while her mom ran some errands. Then, Lee brought sushi home for lunch, and we ended the day grocery shopping. It has been a nice and relaxing day.

Tennessee

We are back from our trip to visit Lee's family in Tennessee. We had a good trip. Caleb and Graysen got to meet their new cousin, Sarah Grace. Caleb calls her "Grace," but still refers to Graysen as "Hands." I guess he will always be "Hands" to Caleb. It was nice to visit with family and we had a fun time.

We are now back at home and are busy unpacking. The good news is that Poseidon survived our trip! I was scared to look at him when we got home, but Lee reported that he was happily swimming away! He seems to be a pretty tough fish.

Getting Ready for Tennessee

Caleb got a haircut in preparation for our trip to Tennessee tomorrow. He said, "haircut, jelly beans" when he sat down. Lucky for him, I bought a bag of his favorite ones just for this occasion.

We are going to Gallatin, TN tomorrow to visit Lee's family. Caleb is excited and knows that he is going to go see his Papa. He even helped me pack. I came over to my suitcase, and he had put a bunch of shoes in it for me. All of us are looking forward to the trip.

Busy Busy

We have been very busy these past days. I keep forgetting my camera, so today's picture is from this weekend.

Caleb went to his first play today. He saw a performance of "Three Little Pigs" at the local library. He was mesmerized. Katelin went also. All three kids enjoyed the play. Even Graysen watched part of it. It was amazing to see how much the kids paid attention to the play. We were expecting to have to leave halfway through. Instead, all three sat quietly and watched the entire play. I think that they all really enjoyed it.

Both boys are napping right now, so I am going to take advantage of this time and get some work done!

Outdoor Fun

We spent the day in Gastonia with Lisa and Emily. All three kids had a lot of fun together. Caleb and Emily played together very nicely, and Graysen enjoyed receiving attention from Lisa and Emily. Emily held Graysen and was very loving towards him. Graysen is turning out to be a very social baby and isn't happy if he doesn't get to participate in the fun.

Caleb and Graysen

Caleb loves his little brother, Graysen. Today we went for a walk in Hatcher Gardens. It was a nice and relaxing area to visit. Caleb's nose is better. We think that he had allergies yesterday since he didn't show any other symptoms. He is very caring towards his brother.

Sick Caleb

Poor Caleb is sick and has a runny nose. However, this does not stop him from playing with cars and trucks. It will take more than a runny nose to separate him from his cars and trucks. Thankfully Graysen is still healthy, but we will continue to keep a close eye on him.

Chuck E Cheese

We went to Chuck E Cheese today in Gastonia with Lisa, Emily, and Emily's grandparents. Everyone had a fun time. Caleb loved the pizza and ate three pieces! (I think that he holds out and only eats when he likes the food that is offered to him. He probably will not eat anything else for the rest of the day.) Caleb and Emily had fun playing together. Caleb especially enjoyed driving the arcade car game, even though I had to push the gas pedal for him. Graysen was able to participate in Chuck E Cheese's sketch book stand, and he was spoiled by Emily's grandma the rest of the time.

Caleb's New Seat

Caleb enjoys sitting in Graysen's Bumbo seat. Amazingly he fits perfectly!

Graysen's New Seat

Graysen received a Bumbo seat yesterday. He seems to like it. He sits in it and watches Caleb and me just like a big boy.

The Zoo

We made it to the zoo today! It was a perfect day. All of the kids had fun. Graysen stayed awake; however, he was more interested in the other children instead of the animals. Caleb brought his book of animals and matched up the zoo animals with the ones in his book. He was also back to his normal self. He fed the goats and he played on the playground, even going down a very tall slide by himself. Katelin had fun. She enjoyed seeing the animals and playing with Caleb.

Melt Down

We were supposed to go to the zoo today. Both boys were ready, and we were about to step out the door, when I noticed that it was very windy outside. I looked at the weather, and there was a high wind advisory for today. I postponed our zoo trip to tomorrow when the weather will be nicer. Of course, Caleb had a meltdown. He gets very disappointed when he thinks that we are going somewhere and plans change. I think that Graysen was upset also. He fussed when I took him out of his car seat after not going anywhere. I was able to console Caleb with a piece of cookie cake, and we will try the zoo again tomorrow.

Mother's Day

I have had a great Mother's Day today. The boys made a special card for me, and Lee has been really sweet all day. He is making dinner right now. We picked up fresh scallops from a fish market, so it will be a nice dinner. I am thankful to be a mom of two very special boys!

5K

Lee and I did a 5K this morning. It was a lot of fun. Lee had his best time ever and I was happy with my time considering that I was pushing a stroller with two boys. The boys and I were the first stroller (out of two) to cross the finish line. Ronald McDonald was at the event. I tried to get Caleb to take a picture with him. He did not want anything to do with Ronald. I can't really blame him. Ronald is a little scary. Overall it was a fun morning and great exercise.

Fun Friday

We had a fun Friday. We had our Friday lunch at the playarea at the Gaffney McDonald's. We thought that this would be fun for Caleb and Katelin. However, Mr. Caleb is still going through his stage where he is scared of everything. Katelin was more adventurous and rode the airplane. Hopefully Caleb will outgrow this stage soon. The upside is that he is cautious and does not do suicidal tricks like running into traffic or jumping off the couch.

Later that evening, the Taylors came over for dinner and dominos. We had a lot of fun with them. Caleb loves Aunt Kim (Aunt King). Uncle Allen had the lowest score and won the game.

Play Date

Today we went to Story Time with Alisha and Katelin. Caleb was afraid of Story Time. He is going through a phase right now where he is scared of everything, even things that he used to enjoy. I could not get him to go into Story Time without crying. We left after a few minutes because he was making a scene. Once Katelin arrived, he went back in tentatively and sat in my lap for the story. He eventually warmed up and enjoyed the rest of the event.

Afterwards, Alisha and Katelin came over to play. Caleb had a blast with Katelin. They were really cute together. Katelin and Caleb gave lots of hugs and chased each other around the apartment. Caleb was also very loving towards Alisha. He gave her lots of hugs and sat in her lap a while. It was a fun day.

Tuesday

Graysen can hear! Not that there was any concern on our part. He had his appointment today with an ENT specialist to have his hearing evaluated. He is at risk for delayed or progressive hearing loss because he was on the heart-lung bypass machine which is a form of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). So, his hearing had to be tested three months post surgery. His hearing is fine and did not show any signs of damage.



This is a picture of Caleb waiting for Kaydee tonight. She is coming at 6 PM to babysit while Lee and I go see Iron Man. Caleb is very excited. He keeps saying "Kaydee" and can't wait to play with her.