Caleb is 4 Months

Caleb David is 4 months old! 

19lbs 14oz

25inches

Caleb is registering off the charts! We know he's a big guy, but we get lots of surprised comments from strangers and even the doctors and nurses in the pediatricians office and it makes us laugh. We've started to lovingly refer to him as Moose. :) Caleb is a smiley, happy kid and he loves to coo and "talk" to people. He's loves his big brother and if we can sit Caleb next to Levi as he plays then Caleb will be content for a very long time. Caleb is rolling both ways but chooses not to do it very often. He is getting pretty good at holding himself upright in your arms and he likes his jumper and the bumbo seat because he can sit/stand up straight. He's interacting with us more and more and even Levi has noticed and enjoys making Caleb smile and laugh. Caleb is still eating every 3 hours during the day and we're thinking its about time to start some solid food soon. He's a pretty good napper and is still sleeping well but the last few weeks he's been up more at night. I feel like I can't really complain when he's still giving us 8-9 hour stretches (that would have been heavenly with Levi at 4 months!) but after weeks of 10-12 hour stretches I'm feeling a little greedy. Last night was another 12 hour night so hopefully we're back to the long night sleeps. Fingers crossed! There's not much more to say than Caleb is just an easy going, good natured, go anywhere with us sort of kid. He's been such a great addition to our family and I already cannot imagine life without him!

He is getting more active on his play mat and recently "found" himself in the hanging mirror.
What a good looking kid he must have seen!

One easy way for us to keep track of Caleb's size? Comparing the clothes he's wearing to when Levi wore them. Case in point: Levi wore this shirt/vest combo at his church dedication on Jan 16th at 5 1/2 months. Caleb is going to be able to wear it this one time because the shirt is too short. He was 3 3/4 months. And just in case you forgot, Levi was a really big kid too. :)

Smiley guy!

Watching big brother play and learning about his new toys.

And to close, kisses from big brother.
These boys are very affectionate with each other and it melts my mommy heart!

Proud Week in Lockridge Land

Levi has gone a whole week without a pacifier and I think we've kicked the habit for good. He hasn't asked for it or whined about it or stolen his brother's. I'm a little shocked that it was really this easy. Not that the whole week has been a breeze, it hasn't, we had our share of fussy afternoons and moments when Dave or I would usually plug him up but we refrained and redirected and we're all feeling very proud of ourselves over here. Yay Levi!

We got to see lots more of this handsome face this week.
Here we are watching for the garbage truck to drive by--
Levi LOVES trucks!

 Two weekends ago we headed up to the family cabin to visit with the cousins. Usually the car ride is a fussy time for Levi but he didn't make a peep the entire drive up there. We were also apprehensive about the boys sleeping in pack 'n plays in a strange place but both slept through the night and woke up happy. We were feeling pretty good about the trip and our stellar parenting skills. :) Sunday was a different story though. Levi was not in a good place. Who knows if it was the lack of pacifier, the remnants of his cold, tiredness, or what; but he was cranky. We took a trip with all 5 kiddos to Big Trees State Park, something that Levi would normally love, but he mostly fussed the entire walk. Oh well. Sometimes that's just life with kids, right? Thank goodness the cousins love him anyways and tried hard to distract him with sticks and trees and snow!

Jack and Levi trying to catch up with Ashley!

Climbing in the trees and carrying big sticks.
What's not to love?

We had a moment when we broke down and were about to pull out the back up, hidden pacifier but Dave held strong and we made it through the trip without it. Way to be strong Dave!


We've had another accomplishment going on in our house this week too. Levi has been telling us when he's gone potty or when he needs to go potty for a couple of weeks now. I was sort of not paying too much attention because I thought he was way too young, but with some encouragement from Grammy and Auntie Alison we've been putting him on the potty. He was very interested in it but not too keen on sitting on it. So we bought him his own little one. This is one of those parenting moments where I had to eat my words. I swore I would never be that parent that had little potties in the house; that kids needed to learn how to use the big potty only. Haha! I'm sure this is one of many times that my children will teach me not to speak when I have no experience! We haven't pushed it too hard; only sitting on it when he asks to or tells us he needs to go potty. We were kind of warming up to the idea of potty training. Until last night when he decided it was time and flew up the stairs, grabbed his book, sat down and actually went in his potty. You would have thought he cured cancer with the amount of whooping and hollering and dancing that went on in that bathroom! And here's another moment where I'm eating my words: I swore I'd never talk about my child's bathroom habits in public. But the pride is overwhelming and here I am. :)

Silly boys!

And Caleb has had the chance to be in on some excitement the last few months too: wedding planning! At 3 weeks old he went wedding dress shopping with the girls, he's helped pick out bridesmaid dresses and this last week he got to meet the florist. I'm sure he'll be so proud of being included someday (NOT) but he's such an easy going little guy that it's been easy to bring him along. What sweet memories!

Caleb getting cuddles with Auntie Claire at the florist shop!

Thanks for letting this proud mommy brag on her boys a little. It's been a fun and proud week in Lockridge land!

Day Without a Pacifier

Day One:
Enough is enough. Too many pictures with that silly pacifier, too many words mumbled in his mouth, too many nights of running up and down the stairs to plug him back up. Levi is officially 18 months old and we've been complaining about it since month 5. It's totally our bad and become a parenting crutch. He's whiny? Give him the pacifier. He's tired of being in the car? Give him the pacifier. It's Friday? Give him the pacifier. (Ok, maybe not the last one, but you get the point.) He has started hiding them away like a little squirrel and has been known to carry around three at a time and switch them in and out. We officially have a problem!

Last night was it. We took out the pacifier at 7pm and it's now 1pm the following day. 18 hours without the thing which will no longer be mentioned in this house. He slept through the night, made it without too much crankiness this morning, and is down for his nap all without a fuss. We were sure he couldn't live without it, but guess he proved us wrong! It just goes to show you that it was as much, if not more, our problem as it was his.

Now, I know we're not out of the woods yet {one day does not a habit break!!} but it looks like we're headed in the right direction. Fingers crossed that I found them all! :)