Monday, October 24, 2011

Our view

I just have to add one more thing...
Last week the evening sun gave the field next to our apartments a green hue that was simply picture perfect. I love our view.
But this view, hands down, is still my favorite:

Crunching leaves


I love Fall! October is one of my favorite months, the weather turns brisk, the leaves turn beautiful colors then fall to the ground for another one of my favorite things...crunching leaves, and of course it marks the beginning of decorating season! Decorating my house that is... first Halloween decor, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines Day...etc. And I'm one of those weird people that really enjoys Halloween. Caleb's costume will soon be revealed, if I ever get the motivation to finish the hardest part of it lol.

Anyway, Justin and I decided to head down to BYU yesterday afternoon to enjoy the changing colors and beautiful weather. I LOVED Fall even more when I was a student at BYU. I remember walking up to campus and being surrounded by golden and red trees while the leaves crunched under my feet and the smell of dried leaves filled the air. Well BYU must water their trees too well because for the most part the leaves were still green, and BYU maintains their sidewalks too well because what leaves had fallen were neatly swept away to the side of the sidewalks. Nonetheless, it was an awesome visit.

They tore down my freshman dorms (Deseret Towers) and in their place built some gorgeous new dorms, hello? Can I be a freshman again! I would love to live in those beautiful buildings. Also Justin and I have very fond memories from when we lived just south of campus of walking to the duck pond that somehow attracted tons of ducks. So we parked at the Wilk and decided to head down to the duck pond. Along the south end of campus was also a brick trail that had such great potential when I was at BYU for being a great scenic walk. Well BYU has outdone themselves! We took that brick path and all along the path is now a gorgeous stonebed stream, complete with waterfalls! And the duckpond got an upgrade as well, with a new wooden walkway around it.

Might I add, Caleb loved the campus as well. I told Justin that Caleb was destined to be a BYU Cougar, but I don't think Justin was too fond of that idea. We'll see :-)

Anyway here are some of the gorgeous shots we got from our little walk:





Four month check-up, already?!

Our precious lil' guy is already four months! It's so hard to believe! And it is amazing to see how much he has changed since his last check-up. Caleb is no longer our tiny newborn, he is so long he doesn't fit in between the armrests on my rocking chair in his nursery any longer. He smiles constantly (just not for the camera) and just this last week he began to squeal when he gets really excited/happy. Justin and I can't imagine our lives without this sweet, amazing boy. We love him so much! I am so blessed to be able to stay home with him all day.

Here are a few other updates on Caleb:
- He doesn't get nearly as upset as he used to so going out during the day is much more pleasant. I try to get us out at least every other day to see the world :-)
- He is starting to take on more of a schedule during the day. He wakes up between 7-7:30, eats around then. Takes his first nap around 8:30-9, then his next nap is around 12:30-1. He is starting to go longer than two hours between feedings, and later in the afternoon/early evening he may take a 30 minute catnap before bed. His bedtime is around 7 or a little earlier and just within the last week he has started waking up between 12:30-1:30am for his first feeding then 5am for his next feeding. I figure he must be going through a growth spurt because he was going 9.5 hour stretches at night between feedings. Needless to say this has been a hard adjustment for mom! I am hoping he will go back to his long stretches soon.
-We are starting Caleb on rice cereal but he doesn't seem to be a big fan thus far, I don't think we will push too hard until he is 5 months then we'll really focus on him eating solids.
-Caleb is a fantastic toucher/grabber. He loves playing with the toys that hang from his play yard, his stuffed puppy and any blanket. He will touch your hands/arms when you change his diaper and buckle him in his carseat. He also loves faces, he constantly plays with my face (& Justin's too) when we are holding him craddle-style.
-Caleb still LOVES his fists. He wants to suck on them constantly and when he isn't sucking on them he is either trying to get them to his mouth or stares at them very intently. When he is going to sleep in his crib Justin and I will check on him, just to find him staring at his hands as they are clasped together. He gets side-tracked when nursing if he sees his fist in his peripheral. Silly guy.
-He prefers putting himself down for his naps (hallelujah!). I was fighting him to take naps a few weeks ago and he would just get more and more upset. The next day I decided to just put him down in his crib for his nap, within 10 minutes (of completely being silent/content) he had passed out. Mom loves this preference!

And his four month stats:
Height: 24" (18% percentile....I know can you believe how short he is considering his dad is 6'3"!)
Weight: 14 lbs (33% percentile)
Head circumference: 41 1/2 " (31% percentile)

Although his stats say he is on the smaller side, he seems so big to me and Justin!