10 Posts in 20 Days?

So, I really fell off the wagon with my 10 posts in 10 days. While I'm at it, I should mention that I never ordered any containers from the packaging and container website, I have not used more than one week's worth of meal's from the Kraft website, I have not put together the "household notebook" using tools from http://www.organizedhome.com/, .......this list could go on for while.

That said, I thought I would post some pics and updates. I was finally able to get a pic of Caleb's teeth. And I think he's working on some more. He's been a little cranky during the day, but he's been sleeping through the night again, which is nice. We also tried prunes for the first time, which, surprisingly, I think he liked.

Gabe had fun in the snow last weekend and helped with some holiday baking over the weekend when Oma came out. He was loving making his own little "recipe" out of the cookie sprinkles.

So, five days 'til Christmas and not a present wrapped, still about half my shopping left to do! I did a fair amount online. I definitely loved the convenience, but it does have a price.....shipping! I'm guessing that I spent maybe $50 or so on shipping for things that came by mail. Definitely something to factor into the ol' holiday budget for future years. Also, if you catch shipping specials, that helps, too.

Post #9 - Gingerbread Men

I am trying to make the carmels as we speak and realize that I may be up until midnight for fear of cooking them too fast...so far so good.

The last couple times I've been to the grocery store I've been tempted to buy one of those gingerbread house kits, but I'm not sure how complicated they are or if Gabe would have the patience to try and build one (has anyone else tried one?). Yesterday at the store Dan found a gingerbread man "kit," and picked it up. It came with four big cookies, white frosting, red gel frosting and little candies for eyes, etc. Gabe and I had fun decorating (and eating) them this afternoon. He was loving eating the little candies, but was weird about the frosting and kept wanting me to wipe it off, so he ended up eating his cookie plain. Deep down I felt like I was "cheating" by not actually making the cookies to decorate, but it was easy and it was fun!

Post #8 - Way Behind

OK, so even thought I'm way behind on my 10 posts, I'm still trying to finish. Here are a few pics of the boys that I promised to post....a couple of Gabe and Henry together and a couple of my adorable nephews.

I can't remember if I posted this or not, but Gabe was sick over the weekend while we were there; he threw up a couple of random times and was definitely not in the mood for pictures, neither these nor Portrait Innovations! I'm just glad no one else got it!

Post #7 - Teeth and Food

Yesterday was a big day for Caleb! BOTH of his bottom front teeth came in and, coincidentally, he has been in a much better mood yesterday and today. Also, we gave him cereal for the first time yesterday. He didn't super love it, but I think he mostly just didn't know what to do. We started with oatmeal based on our dr.'s recommendation since he's not a real regular "pooper" and rice is a little more "binding" (sorry if that's too much information). Maybe we'll move to some fruits or veggies this week.

In other news, we saw the Vances briefly this weekend; it was great to see them and see all the boys together. Henry and Gabe are starting to interact a lot more, so that's fun, and William is just a little doll. I'll post some pics of that for my post tomorrow. :-)

Post #6: Gabe's Christmas List & Happy 5 Month Birthday, Caleb!

So today as a "craft" Gabe and I painted the letters for Caleb's room (I bought them bare and no, they are still not up after 5 months). I was casually talking to him about Christmas while we painted and it went a little something like this:

Me: What do you want for Christmas?
Gabe: Ummm, toys.
Me: What kind of toys?
Gabe: Ummm, an Elmo toy.
Me: What do you think Caleb wants for Christmas?
Gabe: Toys....little ones.
Me: What do you think Daddy wants for Christmas?
Gabe: Big clothes.
Me: What do you think Mammow wants for Christmas?
Gabe: A car.
Me: What do you think Henry wants for Christmas?
Gabe: Toys.
Me: What kind of toys?
Gabe: TRACTORS!
Me: Henry likes tractors, doesn't he!
Gabe: (looking contemplative) Henry has plenty of tractors. (nodding affirmatively as if to say he did not need more tractors for Christmas :-))

I swear he came up with all of that on his own...he said different things for different people as the day went on; it's been fun to quiz him on Christmas because I still don't think he gets the concept. I think this Christmas will be really fun watching him open things.

In other news, Caleb is five months today! I need to download some pics; I have a cute one of him with his ice sock from today. He was a little better today, but still a little cranky. He really is not wanting to eat much at all; I think the sucking causes his gums to hurt even worse. He's been sleeping again until about 4:30 or 5, but his three naps today were no more than 20 minutes each! Yikes....I obviously jinxed myself last Friday. He still hasn't rolled over again, though he's starting to get on his side again. Something I don't think I've documented yet is that he LOVES being naked. Whenever I change his clothes or get him ready for a bath he just smiles and especially loves when I blow raspberries on his tummy. He seems to like his bath - he's really never cried for them and he kicks like crazy and soaks everything around us!

Anyway, the time on my Garnier Nutrisse hair color is just about up, so I'm off to rinse this grey right out of my hair!

Post #5, I think...

I think this is post #5, a little late, if I count re-posting the video as post #4. :-)

Caleb is having a really tough week. After such an easy day on Friday, he started getting really cranky and fussy on Saturday; not wanting to go to sleep, not sleeping that great, etc. He starting having a little bit of a dry cough, too. By yesterday, it was more of a hacking cough and a runny nose, AND crankier than ever because of the teeth. The bottom two are so close you can almost see them, and I can definitely feel the little edges just beneath his gums. I just wish they would come through already and him not feeling well definitely does not help the situation. Poor guy. The funny thing about him is that sometimes when he's sad he still tries to smile....so sweet. He slept better last night and I have given him Tylenol a couple of times.

Which leads me to a question: what do you other moms do for your babies to help alleviate teething pain? My mom put an ice cube in a sock today and let him suck on that, which he loved. Our doctors office doesn't really recommend Orajel, etc. because they say it numbs their gag reflex? I feel like Gabe got through teething fairly easily with some Tylenol and teethers here and there. Just curious for other suggestions.

In other news, my best laid plans to get a jump start on Christmas are falling by the wayside. I really need to get my plan together and start shopping and baking!

Trying this video again....

Post #3 - Gabe's New Friends

You'll have to excuse the first few second of this video; I was trying to sneak up on Gabe to get some footage. He had a blast playing with the ornaments yesterday, especially Curious George, Elmo and the "cracker guy" (nutcracker). I love the little conversation he is having about the presents on Curious George's head. You'll also get a little flavor for his attitude lately..."don't do that, mommy....don't tell me that, mommy...don't say no to me, mommy....." After he hijacked the camera at the end of this video, he took a ton of shots; I might put them in a flickr album and post the link if I get really ambitious....here are a few of decorating the tree, though...

Post #2 - Christmas Tree

We finally decorated our tree today after picking it up last weekend. We put the lights on last night, and Gabe kept referring to the needles as "scratchy bites" and that he wanted to take all the "bites" off the tree. Too funny.

He had a blast decorating today and playing with all the little ornaments. He hung most of his on the same low-hanging branch and now that branch is touching the floor. I'll put some pics up as soon as I get them downloaded.

On another note, I need a new Christmas journal. I had one that had 5 years worth of sections (gift lists, baking lists, card lists, memory pages, etc.) and that ran out last year. In the meantime, I'm using the printouts from the Organized Chrismas site. Maybe I'll just start using those every year. I just like to have record of things and we also record all of our gifts in there, too. Anyone else have a holiday organizer they like?

One more thing...

(Holly, if I do 3 in one day, does that count for 3 days?)

I tried putting Gabe in underpants this morning to kick-off some concentrated potty training efforts. He put them on, no problem (Shreck boxer briefs). After about half an hour, he was like "look what I'm doing!" and was peeing through them. So, on to the second pair of Shrek underwear. About an hour later, "I'm peeing!" So, then we were out of underwear and back to diapers for the day.

I guess we really need to stockpile the underpants if we are going to do this method!

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving!

We spent Thanksgiving in Rockford with my parents, sister, cousin Lee and Tim, Sandi and Cory. I love Thanksgiving because it's a holiday where we stay put for the day vs. running around everywhere (although, I like that in moderation, too). We always spent Thanksgiving with my Grandma Mickie (my dad's mom) and when she pass away about 10 years ago we tried to keep some of her traditions alive. We still use her table, dishes, glasses, candle holders and silverware, and we try to make things just the way she did (the stuffing was always our favorite and involves a pound of butter and a dozen eggs). It's nice to remember her on that day.

It was a great day, but Gabe was still sick that day, running a fever and congested. However, he felt well enough to wear his "cool dude" shades at the dinner table (for the couple of minutes that he actually sat there)!

It was nice to spend the holiday with Tim and Sandi and Cory, too, and we even incorporated a Hodges tradition - Rook!

10 Posts in 10 Days

OK, so I'm taking the Holly challege to post something new for each of the next 10 days, just for fun (and because it only seems fair because I will be stalking the blogs of the othera taking this challenge). Here's my obligatory post of the day, and then I'm going to try and do a couple bonus posts with some pics I've been meaning to post.

In the process of trying to decide what to do for Christmas, I started searching online for some cheap, but cute, containers. I came across this site, which seems like it might be geared a little more for commercial applications, but you can order any quantity you want and they have just about anything you could think of. I like the frosted apothecary jars, among other, and thought they'd be cute filled with something and decorated for Christmas (spoiler alert: some readers may get something like this for Christmas). Two drawbacks: shipping seems a little steep and there is a $10 "small order fee" if you order less than $50. But, most of the containers average out to around $1 or less, so it may be worth it to stockpile some for other occasions or next year. Not sure if I'll do it yet or not, but just thought I'd share.