midnight feedings

Three reasons why I really don't mind waking up in the middle of the night to feed Caleb:

1. He's such a great kid, and he's always been a really good sleeper. We can put him down at 8pm and I won't have to wake up until 2am, when the monitor picks up a few grunts and whines from him. He's still asleep when I go into his room, just stirring. So I unwrap him from his swaddle, he wiggles out any gas or stiff muscles, and then he's awake and ready to eat. It sure beats that first week or two when we were both getting used to each other and trying to figure out the feeding process, before I realized that when he's hungry but won't eat, it means he's gassy, or if he starts to doze off I should change his diaper to wake him up enough to stay interested... and so on. I used to wait for him, then I'd fight with him, and after all that, I'd make sure he was asleep before I went back to bed. This usually meant walking the livingroom and humming in his ear, or laying on the couch with him on my chest until I thought it was safe to move him to his crib. So it was a two hour ordeal just to get him fed and changed, but luckily for me it's dropped down to 45 minutes to an hour. I'll just leave him in his room with the soother on and after a bit of whining, he falls right back into dream world, and I'm off the hook for another 3-4 hours.

2. This is what I find under his quilt when I come into his room: a little baby borrito.



3. Then, he squirms, and no matter how tired I am, I can't help but smile. He's usually more active than this, and a lot noisier.

naked baby!

I don't have much to say about these pictures really, I just put them up for your viewing pleasure. He's such a handsome naked baby.

Also, there's nothing special about the following video. I just thought some movement on the screen might be more interesting than a picture, show a little more personality, and give you some fun noises to listen to.

cousin Kayleigh

Michael's younger sister Jessica and her husband Ryan, after only three days of waiting, had their baby girl this afternoon - Kayleigh Rae Hutchison. We went in to see them a few hours after she was born, and the little cousins were able to meet for the first time. Seriously, how cute is this picture?


That'll be a fun one to keep for when they're a little older. They're only thirteen days apart in age, but Caleb looks huge compared to Kaleigh. It's so great to have them in the same room together. I just love these babies!

A lot of people ask if we planned for their names to be so similar, and the answer is definitely not. Jess actually had her girl name decided on before either of us even knew what we were having, then once we got the ultrasound results, Michael and I collaborated to pick out a boy name. It wasn't until a week or two later when we revealed our choice that anyone made the connection, and by then we were already set on our respective names. They'll probably hate us for it when they grow up, or maybe it won't be a big deal, but for now it's just an amusing coincedence.

I really hope these two get to see a lot of each other.

Ladies and gentlemen...

We have a belly button!

a day at the beach

We were tired of being cooped up in the house, and my mom needed to experience a Carolina beach while she was on the East Coast. We'd been planning the trip (of about 15 miles) for a few days, but by the time we got a cheance to leave, we were almost out of daylight. It's a good thing we waited until today to go though. It hasn't been this nice all week. What a gorgeous day to be outside, enjoy the sunshine, and get a little fresh air in the form of a sea breeze.

Just another perk of my mom being here is that we have a third (or fourth, in this case) party to take pictures of our little family. That way we don't have to resort to shots like this one:

"Okay, now one of just Caleb."

I believe a good time was had by all. I got to stretch my legs and hold hands with my hubby while we pushed the little one in his stroller for the first time. Gran was practically glowing she was enjoying the scene so much. And what would a day at the beach be without collecting a few worthless rocks and shells? I found it amusing to watch my mom gush over all the agates that were strewn over the sand, because we used to make trips down to the Oregon coast specifically to "hunt" and collect these very same rocks, during a certain time of the year when they were known to be most abundant... and there they were.

one week old

Our little man is growing up so fast...

Now, I know I'm not going to remember to take a picture of him every week, but at least I got us off to a good start by getting him on the first week with his prop of choice. This way, even if you can't feel how heavy he's getting like we can, you can at least watch him grow.

I'm really loving this stage. He's just so very precious.

home from the hospital

Well, we finally got to take our little guy back to the house. It was pretty chilly outside, so we wrapped him up in this little snuggly suit for his first car ride.

Once we got to the house, he had to try out his swing, and break in his crib.

Then his daddy changed his diaper, and made him mad...

Then they made up.

It was a rather eventful day, especially for a little boy who's only been alive for 48 hours. It's so good to finally have him home.