Spreading Smiles Throughout Normal

Prepare to smile! At the request of a very good friend, I am posting today to tell you (and show you) all about the newest addition to our bike-riding family. This summer, Gabe and I were determined to use the Constitution Trail more than we have in the past. It is literally about 50 feet from our front door, paved, shaded and goes right to campus and wherever a Normalite might want to go. However, our dilemma came to light when we realized that we had no way of transporting our little munchkin. And so we began our search. Bike trailers were too expensive, we hit all the major B/N garage sales with no luck, and checked out Craigslist.com but found nothing. Then we went to visit our friends in Naperville one weekend. Our friend Scott is an avid Craigslister, so he was on the case. Gabe and Scott searched all the postings and finally found one from a woman who lived about 20 minutes away. It was worth a shot - so they went. Yes, that's right, we are the proud owners of a WeeRide. I could explain it, but it's easier to show you.

Caleb absolutely loves this thing. He makes noises and opens his mouth when Gabe goes really fast down the trail. He also has a tendency to keep his left foot propped up, with his right foot down in the carrier. Although, yesterday, he propped his foot up on the handlebars and had a good grip on Gabe's gearshift. Should be interesting! But the best part is when we're riding down the trail and we pass people. As soon as they spot Caleb with his cute little floppy hat in between Gabe's legs, they just get the biggest grins on their face and point and say "did you see that? isn't that adorable?" I think we got at least 10-20 smiles yesterday. Who knew a baby and a bike carrier could bring so much joy!

Kickin' It Poolside

We had a very exciting weekend, as we traveled down to Highland to visit my parents this past weekend. Prior to going down I had asked my mom if she thought my aunt Connie would mind if we came over to use her pool. Connie gave us the go, so we were off to St. Louis on Saturday afternoon to enjoy the cold water and get out of the heat (it was 95 degrees that day). This was to be a momentous day, as Caleb had never been in a big boy pool. He's only ventured into the kiddie pool, but loved every minute, so we didn't think this was going to be a problem. Amy and Andy came with their kids too, so we had some playmates to enjoy the day. So what was the verdict? I think we have a little fish on our hands. Caleb loved it! The water felt pretty cold at first, so he kept lifting his feet back out of the water, but eventually got used to it. He was kicking and splashing and even kept leaning his head down as if to put his mouth and face into the water. We went under the water one time - which led to a lot of blinking and spattering out mouthfuls of water. :) But all in all, couldn't get enough! Here's some shots of our little Nemo:

Come on, Ryan, let's go! (well, maybe next time for Ryan)

All that swimming and they still have energy to play!

Caleb Update: Still no crawling or teeth, but as you can see in the last picture, he is getting up on all fours very well now. I think it's only a matter of time. We had a big day last Tuesday, however, when I found him sitting up in his crib after his afternoon nap. Not sure how he did it, but I was such a proud mommy. Then later, I sat him in his crib while I went to hang something up and as I turned around he had pulled himself up to a standing position. He had the biggest grin on his face as if to say "look mama, look how big I am!" Thankfully, he has not put these two things together!!

RIP Walker Hall

As many of you who live in B/N know, ISU has decided to tear down Walker and Dunn/Barton residence halls. Once complete, their plan is to construct a huge recreation center in its place. I understand the need for it, but it just breaks my heart to see what has become of my beloved Walker Hall. Okay, so it was only a dorm and frankly, a really old dorm. In fact, old enough not to have a/c (whoa!), but it was still close to my heart. I had a lot of good memories all rolled up in that little 10x10' Walker 158South. Actually, I think it was bigger than 10x10', but sometimes it seemed like it. No matter how much you like your roommates, that's close living!

Anyway, for those of you who once dwelled in the halls of Walker Hall, here are a few pics of what it has become. I'm actually sorry I didn't get to it before they started construction, but I procrastinated. On the plus side, the windows to my room are still there! But surely not for long!

Looks like a future alum!

One Great Clip

Just an update on the munchkin...still no teeth, still not crawling. It's a race for which comes first, but I'm rooting for the tooth. I was hoping that he would get it before Gabe heads back to work - I still have 2 more days to keep that dream alive. So today I ran a few errands to prepare for the weekend, etc. I wanted to get my haircut while Gabe was still at home so I could go without Caleb and the carseat. Being the ever-money-conscious woman that I am, I decided to run to the Great Clips down the street, because I, of course, had a coupon (and I really only needed a trim). They told me it was going to be about 10 minutes, which worked for me and I promptly sat down to read one of the magazines laying around all about the fashion world that I have no idea about. As one of the ladies was leaving she said, "hey, I have this coupon and it expires today, do you want it?" SCORE! It was a dollar more off than the coupon in my pocket (I know, Great Clips wasn't going to drain my pocketbook to begin with, but I'm cheap). I hear my name called and happily bounce off towards the salon seat. Hmmm, should I be worried that the lady who is about to cut my hair has dreds? We have some pleasant conversation and then she proceeds to tell me that she does her hair in dreds because it's so low maintenance and she just doesn't like doing her hair. Wait, what? Hold the phone, I hope you care more about my hair than your own! Okay, I didn't say that, because as you know, I'm totally nonconfrontational, but you know I was thinking it. I laughed politely, stuck my tip in the jar and quickly paid for my Great Clip clip. I still am not sure that she did a good job as she only used the blow dryer on about half of my actual hair, leaving it going all over the place and partially wavy. This was after I asked her if she would blow dry it because it gets "weird and wavy" if I don't. Then after she finished, she said "yeah, you weren't kidding, your hair really does get funky". This is where you can imagine me smiling politely again. :) Anyway, stay tuned until tomorrow - my hair should be flatter and straighter.

Oh yeah, lookin' good!

Goodbye to Summer

We've been keeping busy, as I'm sure you gathered since there has been a lack of posts all week. Summer is coming to an end and Gabe will be heading back to school in less than a week. I'm really going to miss having him around all day. It's like we've been on vacation all summer and now we have to come back. Oh well, I suppose that's how it works. I know that Caleb will certainly miss getting to see his daddy all day long too - those two are always having fun, laughing and playing.

Overall, I think we've had a great summer. We went on vacation to WI, took a lot of bike rides and walks, Gabe and I played a little golf (which we love), picnics, concerts and we were able to see a lot of good friends during our free time. In fact, we were on a cycle there for awhile where we had guests over for dinner like every 3 days. It's kind of nice to fix a dinner for 2 again (well, 2 and a half). I know that both Gabe and I will not forget this summer that we shared as a family, with both of us home - hopefully we will have many more to come!

Playing is exhausting!

Teething

Caleb is teething. I've read in many books that some kids go through teething without much consequence...one day they just show up and you wouldn't have even known that your kid was pushing bones through his sensitive little gums. This is not the case for Caleb. My poor little guy is working so hard to get his first tooth right now and is making sure the world knows that it hurts and he's uncomfortable. The drool coming out of his mouth is phenomenal and he will put anything, and I mean anything, in his mouth just for a bit of relief. We've been keeping the cold teething rings on a circuit from the fridge to his mouth. He's also been extra clingy, but in a weird sort of way. He wants me to hold him, but not too close. If I hug him, he pushes me away. But if I sit next to him on the floor to play, that's not close enough. I figured out yesterday that if I sit him on my lap, but face him towards his toys, he's fine. I'm looking forward to seeing that first pearly white make its appearance. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open to them!

Our Social Butterfly

I've come to the realization that my little boy is about as social as an 8 month old can get. I don't think we go anywhere that he doesn't make a new friend. On Wednesday, we were at the park and a little boy came over and wanted to play with him. I would say the boy was maybe 3 years old. After about 5 minutes of playing with Caleb, he turned to Gabe and I and asked "Where did you get this baby?" Uhhhh....I think you're going to have to ask you parents about that one. :) Don't kids say the funniest things?! Then we took a detour over to Meijer for a few small items and Caleb was playing peek-a-boo with the lady at the checkout counter. She was super-tickled by how much fun he was having checking her out. I think she talked more to him than she did to us! He is certainly keeping us entertained! And just for giggles, here's a pic from his bath this morning - see he's getting more hair (slowly, but surely!).