Holy cow, another month has gone zooming past and every day my baby gets bigger and does more stuff. He is not my little lump anymore. He smiles and giggles and scoots himself around and yesterday he even rolled over! Phil and I marvel all the time at his sweet disposition and his calm demeanor. He is truly a joy to be around and brings such a sweetness into our home. 
It has been a while since I have posted a new chapter in the messy boy saga. Not because there have been no new incidences, just that there were no cameras handy during said incidences. Not true in the following story. I went out to dinner with some friends leaving Phil in charge of not only our children, but four kids belonging to one of the ladies with whom I was having dinner. Eight kids is a handful, so it is not terribly surprising that one of them got away from him and trashed my bathroom. Which one you say? Do you even have to guess? No I didn't think so, of course it was Caleb. He dumped out about a half a bottle of Ajax as well as an almost brand new bottle of my Clinique clarifying lotion. Add the fact that he just eaten a couple of chocolate chip cookies and you get this.
Caleb has been watching "Finding Nemo" a lot these days. It has entered into the family psyche and led us to start calling Chase squishy. He is so little and chubby and yes squishy that it fits him rather well. Here are some pictures to illustrate my point. . .
Phil got promoted to lieutenant a couple of weeks ago. It was very cool because I got to go down to his new command and attend the pinning ceremony. I also got to participate and pin the lieutenant bars on the right side of his uniform while the CO pinned the left side. I am very proud of Phil and the work that he does to keep us all fed and clothed and to allow me to stay at home with the kids. Congratulations honey! I love you!
I saw this survey on a friend's blog and I thought that it was super cute and fun so I copied it and asked Nathan and Joslyn these questions. Here are their answers.
1. What is something mom always says to you?
N: Make good decisions.
J: Clean my room.
2. What makes mom happy?
N: When I do the right thing.
J: cleaning? (she said it like a question)
3. What makes mom sad?
N: Making bad decisions and not obeying. (he knows me so well.)
J: Throwing a fit. (so does she)
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
N: When she tells me jokes or tickles me.
J: tickling
5. What was mommy like as a little girl?
N: Cute (good one)
J: being kind
6. How old is your mom?
N: 32
J: 50 (?!!!)
7. How tall is your mom?
N: 96 inches tall
J: 27
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
N: Have fun with me.
J: hiking
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
N: Plays with Caleb and Chase.
J: cleans (again with the cleaning)
10. If your mom becomes famous, it will be for what?
N: Being a good sport. (we certainly need more of those!)
J: 'cause your a mom.
11. What is your mom really good at?
N: Loving your children.
J: cooking
12. What is your mom not very good at?
N: playing with four children. (apparently I need to work on that!)
J: climbing trees (that must be daddy's job)
13. What does your mom do for a job?
N: Being a mom and taking care of us.
J: taking care of her children
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
N: The casserole I don't like. (Uncle Erve's casserole)
J: umm...salad? tater-tot casserole?
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
N: When you are always there for me.
J: cooking dinner
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
N: Queen Amidala (high praise indeed)
J: The main character (nice)
17. What do you and your mom do together?
N: have fun
J: cook dinner together
18. How are you and your mom the same?
N: We are always looking out for each other.
J: Our toenails are both painted the same color. (that would be chocolate brown)
19. How are you and your mom different?
N: I am a boy and you are a girl. (duh!)
J: Our hair is long.
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
N: Because she gives me hugs and kisses and tells me so.
J: She helps me do my homework.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
N: Because he is handsome like me.
J: He brings flowers.
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
N: To the boat to eat dinner with dad.
J: To the boat to see daddy.
Some people give their babies binkies. They say that binkies are better because you can take them away. I have personally never been a fan of the bink. I'm not sure why, maybe because I saw a lot of eight and nine year old binky suckers in Brazil. Also, when I was pregnant with my first child I read that you should not give a newborn a binky because it can cause nipple confusion. NIPPLE CONFUSION? That sounded bad to me so when they asked me in the hospital if I wanted Nathan to have a binky, I said no. After a couple of months, each one of my children has found the thumb, and it has been glorious! They all started sleeping through the night, at three months old and, in the case of my boys, stopped sucking the thumb voluntarily at about ten months. Joslyn has been my one hold out. She is five and still sucks her thumb at night, but we are working on that and all in all I am a fan of the thumb. Chase found his thumb a couple of weeks ago and started sleeping through the night at just over two months old. This is so nice because I do not function well when sleep deprived. If his thumb falls out of his mouth, he knows exactly where it is and doesn't have to make me search around in his crib for a missing bink. I say, hurray for the thumb!
Nathan
Joslyn
Caleb
Chase
Oh how the time flies! My baby boy is three months old already! He is really such a sweet little thing. He is sleeping through the night, rarely fusses and has a great smile. He melts my heart when he looks at me with such love, trust and joy. He has really added something special to our family dynamic and I know that he and Caleb are going to be great friends.
