This pic was taken when he was 7 days old.
This pic was taken when he was 119 days old. :)
The faces haven't changed much!! ha!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
How much he's grown...
This pic was taken when he was 7 days old.
This pic was taken when he was 119 days old. :)
The faces haven't changed much!! ha!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Poolside
So some of you people have those "fancy" pools that are built into the ground....but do you have a pool with backrests and cup holders??? NO!?? Well, we do!! Yes, we are exploring our White trash (and Asian trash if there is such a thing!) roots and we got us a blow up pool!!
Hey-anything to keep us cool in 117 degree heat and to entertain the monkey. Here are a few shots of him poolside:
Hey-anything to keep us cool in 117 degree heat and to entertain the monkey. Here are a few shots of him poolside:
Father's Day
We had a great 1st Father's Day...we went to church and then to eat at Abuelo's. Alf and Kaleb were looking cute!
Hmmm, I wonder where Alf wants Kaleb to go to college??? Can you spell S-C-H-O-L-A-R-S-H-I-P??
Hmmm, I wonder where Alf wants Kaleb to go to college??? Can you spell S-C-H-O-L-A-R-S-H-I-P??
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Latest pics
This face is classic, this was after about 10 pictures! He's like, enough already!!!
Kaleb lookin' like such a big boy in his carseat!
Alf and Kaleb taking a snooze.
Mom, are you seriously taking my picture that close?
Always so suprised by the flash! ha!
Me, Julie and Ashley at Ashley's shower.
Kaleb and I before my friend Ashley's shower.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Our CIO story
Most people see the letters CIO and they think of the Chief Investment Officer of a major corporation. But in the Land of Babies, that is the acronym for a hotly debated sleep training method referred to as "crying it out." For those of you that have never heard of this method, it pretty much consists of letting your baby cry at night without immediately going in to soothe them but rather responding to them in timed increments in order for them to learn to put themselves back to sleep. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, if getting a root canal with no novacaine is your idea of "easy" then I'll have two, thank you. This method, my friends, is not for the faint of heart. Here is our story...
Now, if your baby is like my friend Deb's kids, who both slept through the night at 12 weeks as if they got a memo on the way out instructing them to do so, this does not apply to you. Kaleb, on the other hand, started this nasty little habit of waking up about every hour a few days after we returned from our trip to Texas and I was becoming one tired little Momma. It got to the point where I felt like not only was he not getting the sleep he needed to help him develop, but I wasn't getting the sleep I needed to be a good Mom to him. I decided to start the CIO method on Thursday night so if it worked out as I hoped, we would all be sleeping soundly in our beds by Saturday night (usually takes 3 nights).
I put Kaleb down in his crib at his usual bed time on Thurs and he fell fast asleep. I thought, "Sweet! This won't be as bad as I thought." After all, it was his first time sleeping in his crib and he acted like it was old hat. At about 1am Friday morning, I embarked on a journey of emotion that really can only be explained by having gone through it yourself, but I'll do my best.
Kaleb began crying at 1 am and it really wasn't a loud cry to start out, more of like a wimper. My baby monitor was on lights only b/c I knew I would hear him cry. Why? B/c like Alf likes to call me, I'm "Wolf Girl, Hearer of all things needed to be Heard." Or maybe he calls me that b/c I don't shave as much as I used to...hmmmm?? Anyway, I promptly got up and set my timer for 10 minutes. Since I knew it would be torture to listen to him cry, I slept with my trusty IPod shuffle. That shuffle became one of my very best friends that night. After 10 minutes, his cry had escalated and I promptly went to rub his belly and tell him I loved him. Then as quick as I entered, I left. On the way back to my room, he started to wail as if I just gone in and ripped all his tiny toenails off. I thought, ok...here goes. Put back on my shuffle, set my timer for 15 minutes and prayed for God to intervene. 15 minutes later, I removed my headphones to hear him still crying and I went back in once again. This time was by far the hardest. When I went in and rubbed his belly, he looked up at me with those little brown slanted eyes and grabbed my hand! AHH! I get teary eyed thinking about it now...it was heartbreaking. But as my friend Ashley so eloquently put it, "Amy, you've just gotta pull out those iron balls and do it!" And she would know, she has two girls and a boy on the way. So that's exactly what I did! And boy did I need em', b/c Kaleb cried for the next 3 1/2 hours!
Without going into each agonizing timed increment, I will tell you that each time I left his room throughout the night I felt something like a cross between Mommie Dearest and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I cried, I peed, I cried some more. It was torture. Finally, at 5am I went into his room and scooped him up in my arms and held him tighter than I ever had before. After his 5am feeding, he fell back asleep until about 9:30.
The next night my wonderful husband offered to stay in the guest room and take care of him while I slept in our room. Seeing as how I only had about 2 hours sleep the night before, of course I said yes! After getting almost 7 straight hours of sleep, I woke up and ran into Kaleb's room to find him sleeping, well, like a baby. I woke up Alf and asked him how the night went. He said he woke up once about 3 am, Alf changed his diaper and he fell back asleep. I snuggled up next to Alf and we slept for another 20 minutes before Kaleb woke up.
The next night was just as great! He woke up twice and cried for about 3 minutes each time and put himself back to sleep.
The next 3 nights he not only slept through the night but he slept for an hour longer AND he woke up very happy!! Usually talking to himself in his crib and laughing at his mobile.
I have to say that although this was one of the hardest things I have ever done, it has done wonders for our family. Kaleb is much happier and so are his Mommy and Daddy...we finally have a well-rested baby and Alf and I have our nights back to spend some time together. That to me is worth a few tears...Ok, A LOT of tears. ;)
Now, if your baby is like my friend Deb's kids, who both slept through the night at 12 weeks as if they got a memo on the way out instructing them to do so, this does not apply to you. Kaleb, on the other hand, started this nasty little habit of waking up about every hour a few days after we returned from our trip to Texas and I was becoming one tired little Momma. It got to the point where I felt like not only was he not getting the sleep he needed to help him develop, but I wasn't getting the sleep I needed to be a good Mom to him. I decided to start the CIO method on Thursday night so if it worked out as I hoped, we would all be sleeping soundly in our beds by Saturday night (usually takes 3 nights).
I put Kaleb down in his crib at his usual bed time on Thurs and he fell fast asleep. I thought, "Sweet! This won't be as bad as I thought." After all, it was his first time sleeping in his crib and he acted like it was old hat. At about 1am Friday morning, I embarked on a journey of emotion that really can only be explained by having gone through it yourself, but I'll do my best.
Kaleb began crying at 1 am and it really wasn't a loud cry to start out, more of like a wimper. My baby monitor was on lights only b/c I knew I would hear him cry. Why? B/c like Alf likes to call me, I'm "Wolf Girl, Hearer of all things needed to be Heard." Or maybe he calls me that b/c I don't shave as much as I used to...hmmmm?? Anyway, I promptly got up and set my timer for 10 minutes. Since I knew it would be torture to listen to him cry, I slept with my trusty IPod shuffle. That shuffle became one of my very best friends that night. After 10 minutes, his cry had escalated and I promptly went to rub his belly and tell him I loved him. Then as quick as I entered, I left. On the way back to my room, he started to wail as if I just gone in and ripped all his tiny toenails off. I thought, ok...here goes. Put back on my shuffle, set my timer for 15 minutes and prayed for God to intervene. 15 minutes later, I removed my headphones to hear him still crying and I went back in once again. This time was by far the hardest. When I went in and rubbed his belly, he looked up at me with those little brown slanted eyes and grabbed my hand! AHH! I get teary eyed thinking about it now...it was heartbreaking. But as my friend Ashley so eloquently put it, "Amy, you've just gotta pull out those iron balls and do it!" And she would know, she has two girls and a boy on the way. So that's exactly what I did! And boy did I need em', b/c Kaleb cried for the next 3 1/2 hours!
Without going into each agonizing timed increment, I will tell you that each time I left his room throughout the night I felt something like a cross between Mommie Dearest and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I cried, I peed, I cried some more. It was torture. Finally, at 5am I went into his room and scooped him up in my arms and held him tighter than I ever had before. After his 5am feeding, he fell back asleep until about 9:30.
The next night my wonderful husband offered to stay in the guest room and take care of him while I slept in our room. Seeing as how I only had about 2 hours sleep the night before, of course I said yes! After getting almost 7 straight hours of sleep, I woke up and ran into Kaleb's room to find him sleeping, well, like a baby. I woke up Alf and asked him how the night went. He said he woke up once about 3 am, Alf changed his diaper and he fell back asleep. I snuggled up next to Alf and we slept for another 20 minutes before Kaleb woke up.
The next night was just as great! He woke up twice and cried for about 3 minutes each time and put himself back to sleep.
The next 3 nights he not only slept through the night but he slept for an hour longer AND he woke up very happy!! Usually talking to himself in his crib and laughing at his mobile.
I have to say that although this was one of the hardest things I have ever done, it has done wonders for our family. Kaleb is much happier and so are his Mommy and Daddy...we finally have a well-rested baby and Alf and I have our nights back to spend some time together. That to me is worth a few tears...Ok, A LOT of tears. ;)
Friday, June 6, 2008
TX Trip!!
Kaleb did so well on our trip to TX to see my family. Not only did he LOVE the turbulence, but he LOVED the flight attendants (he's a sucker for the blondes!)
We got to see so many people and do so many things that we both felt like we needed a vacation from our vacation. Here are a few people Kaleb got to see...
Kaleb's Great Grandpa was very excited to meet him!! After Kaleb got a little fussy, my Papa said "I really like babies when they're about 6 months old." ha!
He finally got to meet his Grandpa! Kaleb got fussy when my Dad was holding him, probably b/c he saw what his hair will look like in 50 years! (Love you, Dad!;)
My Mom loved rocking Kaleb in her new comfy rocking chair and I think he kinda liked it, too! ;)
He also loved hanging with his Uncle Ross (who he is named after), he has a special bond with my bro. It's very sweet!
We got to see so many people and do so many things that we both felt like we needed a vacation from our vacation. Here are a few people Kaleb got to see...
Kaleb's Great Grandpa was very excited to meet him!! After Kaleb got a little fussy, my Papa said "I really like babies when they're about 6 months old." ha!
He finally got to meet his Grandpa! Kaleb got fussy when my Dad was holding him, probably b/c he saw what his hair will look like in 50 years! (Love you, Dad!;)
My Mom loved rocking Kaleb in her new comfy rocking chair and I think he kinda liked it, too! ;)
He also loved hanging with his Uncle Ross (who he is named after), he has a special bond with my bro. It's very sweet!
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