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! :)

January's Over! (almost)

Don't let my title fool you... January has been a perfectly fine month. Both my boys were happy and healthy and we were able to get out of the house and do lots of fun things. Win! But Dave traveled a lot for work this month. Like three weeks in a row. Yuck. I'm doing great, feeling great, and getting really good at doing both boys at once; however, I way prefer to have my wonderful hubby here to help out and deflect some of Levi's awesome toddler-ness and energy and give me some needed adult conversation. But, thankfully, January is (almost) over and with it goes the long weeks of semi-single-parenthood. Woo hoo!

Here's how we've been keeping busy...

We took the short drive to Atwater to visit with Grandma & Grandpa Lockridge and check out the animals at the Merced Zoo. Definitely worth the $3 entrance fee and a perfect quick afternoon excursion for Levi's attention span.

We celebrated Grammy Harden's b'day with a homemade turkey dinner and strawberry cake. I even broke out my china (possibly for the 1st time!).

I got to meet my bestie's brand new baby girl. I loved snuggling with her already and I told her she can have her pick of either of my boys!

We met up with the cousins at the Library for Story Time.
I tried to bring Levi all sorts of books about trains and cars and planes but he preferred this one.  :)

Goofball decided it was a good idea to take his nap in my tub.
It made me laugh and on those long daddy-less days that was important!

We took some good, long walks.
And I'm thinking I should get some bonus points for getting both boys looking at the camera. (Now if only Levi didn't have that silly pacifier!)

We blew bubbles!

Honorable mention to my sleepy baby. Seriously the most precious thing ever. And I totally do not take him or his amazing sleeping ability for granted. Last night he slept 11 hours. No joke. Love him!

Visited Grandpa and Uncle B's store. Levi loves the treadmill and can even walk for a couple minutes (ok, seconds?). We decided Caleb probably needed some exercise too so we stuck him up there.

And lots of cuddle time with Mommy!

Daddy's home!
Both boys were excited that Daddy came home on Sunday. Levi has barely left Dave's side since he walked in the door. Good thing Daddy missed him just as much!

So the Lockridges are all back under one roof and enjoying some much needed family time. Yay! Dave's job includes travel and we'll get used to it. This was just the first round of extended time away while I'm home with two boys. It all went swimmingly and made me so grateful to be here in our house with family and friends close by. Now we can look forward to February and some more fun family time!

3 Months

 Caleb David is 3 Months Old!

Weighing in on our home scale at 18.5 lbs. 

(Seriously. I'm curious to see how accurate this is when we go in to the Doctor next month.)

Caleb is a super happy, easy going baby. He is an awesome sleeper, a quick and efficient eater, and all around mellow guy. He is wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes and is transitioning into his 6-9 month stuff. He's definitely a BIG boy! He loves any smiles and attention you give him and coos and "talks" to anyone who will listen. He has a higher pitch voice then Levi did and I'll be interested to see if he keeps it or if it lowers to sound similar to Levi. He rolled over (from his front to his back) twice on Christmas Eve and has done it a handful of times since but he doesn't seems too interested in moving. He still likes his swaddle to sleep and he likes the pacifier too. We put him in the front pack facing out and loves getting to smile at people and see where he's going. He gets super excited when his big brother comes around and doesn't seem too fragile even when he gets pushed and poked a little more than gently. Caleb has been an awesome addition to our family and I can't wait to see in which ways he will follow in his big brother's footsteps and in which ways he'll be different. One thing is for sure: 3 months have flown by!

Enjoying his jumper!
He still mostly just sits and looks at the toys around him but he smiles a lot.

My happy boy!

Blue eyes :)

Plan for 2012

Hey friends! So I know I'm not original in picking the beginning of January to start some new things in my life, but it's such a perfect starting point so I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Here goes it:

Megan's New Years Resolutions:

ORGANIZE: When we moved into our house in June I was 5 months pregnant. On one hand I couldn't paint, lift, pack or do anything. On the other hand I couldn't paint, lift, pack or do anything! I felt so useless and so there were some things that just got put where they got put. Now 7 months later and there are still boxes in my guest room closet and my laundry room is a catchall for every random thing that comes in the house. It's time for things to have a place of their own and for those boxes to find a place in the trash!

GET OUT OF THE HOUSE: In the Southbay we were super involved in church. Over the years we did married couples Bible studies, women's/men's Bible studies, a Sunday school class and lots of activities with those people outside of church time. We've chosen a church here in town, attended a smattering of Sunday school classes (just enough to be blessed with some great meals after Caleb was born) but we haven't attended enough to really connect with anyone. It's past time. We need to get ourselves up a little earlier, out the door with two boys (hey both of our parents did it with 3 kids so we should be able to do, right?) and in the class with regularity. It's also time for me to really join a women's Bible study. I need that time in the Word, I need that time with other women and I think it's good for the boys to spend some time with other kids their age. And church is only one aspect of ways I need to get out of the house, I also need to find ways to learn and explore our area with my boys. There's free story time at the library, lots of parks to visit and lots of other mommies who are probably looking for things to do too... I have no excuses. 

READ MY BIBLE: This should be self explanatory, I just need to do it. Dave and I signed up for the You Version Bible chronological Bible plan and we're holding each other accountable. If I have time to read my emails and check my Facebook a thousand times a day then I definitely have time to read a few chapters. One added bonus is that it's already given Dave and me some great talking points about passages we've already read but obviously breezed through in the past.

GET IN SHAPE: I'm not alone in the weight-gain-after-marriage conundrum, but then add on two babies in two years and I'm not feeling great about the way I look. No more procrastinating, no more excuses (even though mine are doozies!), and no more getting down on myself. I'm a pretty smart girl, I've taken biology classes, I know how it works: I need to eat healthier and I need to exercise. I've technically lost my baby weight and the scale says I weight less than I have in a long time, but numbers aren't everything and the jiggly bits prove to be more convincing than the scale. Beyond getting healthier (and dare I hope skinnier?!) I have the perfect motivation in my brother's upcoming June wedding. I have a bridesmaid dress to fit in and lots of family pictures. I'd rather my adorable boys be the reason that people know I have two kids and not the pooch sticking out around my middle! So I found a great article in Women's Health about working myself up to running. It's a fairly straightforward plan involving run-a-minute/walk-a-minute exercise to loose weight and teach my body how to run. I can sheepishly admit that I don't think I've ever run a full mile. Growing up with childhood asthma (oooh hear the excuses inching back in?) I was never forced to and probably couldn't have complete one. I've obviously walked my fair share, but that is different then running. I'm ready to run. Anyone with me? One week in and I'm feeling good, albeit sore, but I'm sure my motivation will dip as Dave travels for work and the rainy season starts. I'd love some accountability with some other Modesto mommies. Anyone??? :)

So that's it folks. A couple weeks in and I've already checked off a few organizational projects, joined "Lose It!" on my phone, kept up to date with my Bible reading and exercised intentionally. Ask me how I'm doing, keep me accountable and, if you're up for it, JOIN ME! 

Little Boy Haircuts

One way to save money is when Daddy gives haircuts! Dave has done a couple of great ones and one so-so one (remember Levi's buzz cut this summer?) but our motto is: it's just hair and it always grows back. So this past Sunday we stripped the boys down to their diapers, sat them in the bumbo seat and cut some hairs!

We were surprised Levi still fit in the bumbo but it worked perfectly to have him a little contained. That and the lollipop!

Little guy's first official hair cut!
Daddy trimmed his sideburns and neck at 5 weeks but this was the first all over haircut.

Levi's After

Caleb's After
But he still has hair that just can't be tamed! 

I thought they were pretty cute boys before but I LOVE my boys with sweet little boy haircuts.