We are finally starting to crawl our way out of what seems like the longest winter ever! We have seen snow fall every month since October. I'm hoping May stays snow free! I am still hopeful that we will have a nice summer. I am really looking forward to spending a lot more time outdoors.

We have settled nicely into our new routine with me home more often. I have a long list of oragnizational type stuff to try and get done around the house and I have been able to get some more "domestic duties" accomplished with my time. Andy has appreciated more home cooked meals and I have even taken a stab at making Caleb his baby food.

We stayed in Rochester to celebrate Easter this year with my family...here is Caleb, yet again in another holiday outfit!

The following weekend we gathered with Andy's family in Madison, WI to participate in "Crazy Legs" race. Some of us ran an 8K portion while some of us opted for a 2 mile walk. Here is grandma with her grandkids in front of Wisconsins Capitol building before the race started.

Both the walk and run ended in Camp Randall (the University of Wisconsin's stadium). This was Andy's first ever race (and Calebs for that matter)-both guys did really well!
That same weekend we went to a zoo!

In other Caleb related news: he has been getting teeth in. This picture shows his bottom two popping through. Now he also has his top two teeth in as well.

Just this past weekend I found myself my mothers day present (and Andy's fathers day present and my birthday present). I had been looking for a bike trailer for Caleb for some time and finally found a great deal on a Chariot Cougar from Craigslist. It also functions as a jogging stroller so maybe Andy can keep up his running and take Caleb with him.
Just today we took him on a walk/jog with it. He seemed to really like it!

I know, I know, I skipped a month of blogging. But hopefully with this post, I'll make up for lost time. Like always, time seems to be slipping through our fingers these days, especially as we realize that yesterday Caleb turned 6 months old....already a half-year has gone by since he was born!

A lot has been going on since the last posting in February. Most momentous to me is that my half time status was approved at work and has gone into effect! I now work every Thursday and Friday and every other Wednesday. I am already loving this new schedule and the extra time I have at home with Caleb.

Andy and I have been wanting to start a vegetable garden the last few springs, but this year we are making it happen. Andy just built us a raised garden bed last week and I (the over-organized one) made our garden plan with exel spreadsheet so we are ready for the temperatures to get just a little warmer so we can get planting!

I'll let the pictures from the last 2 months illustrate what else has been happening in our neck of the woods....

On a warmer weekend in February we were able to get out for a nice long walk...

...complete with Calebs first ever snomobile ride!

Andy's family all got together for a weekend in February too. We got to do some bowling...here is Gavin and Evan showing their muscles!

Caleb has been working on sitting up by himself. Here he is celebrating his 6.25% Irish streak on St. Patricks Day.

In March, I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in the Wisconsin Dells with 12 of my girlfriends from college. Meanwhile Andy was at home alone with the baby and he did great-no emergency phone calls were made! Caleb hung out at Grandma and Grandpas house for a little while too. Grandpa has an indoor swing that Alexa used when she was little and now Caleb gets to use it-or sleep in it.

Caleb has also been introduced to solid foods. We started a little early, around his 5 month birthday, but we could tell he was ready to eat. Here he is on one of his first attempts with rice cereal.

He loves sweet potatos too! Really the only thing he hasn't eaten well is peas.

Now that its April and its getting up in to the 50's and 60's we are able to get outside so much more! On a recent trip over to my parents Caleb got to ride on Grandpa's ATV (in a box that usually houses Grandpa's chain saw).

Caleb soon fell asleep and took a nap while we burned our Christmas tree.

Just out for a walk and enjoying the weather...Rocco gave up...so he had to ride in the basket of the stroller.

Caleb has gotten noticably better at playing, reaching, and grabbing at his toys. Lately when he is done napping I hear him "talking" with his monkey toy.

More playing and sitting...

No more infant tubs for Caleb...he loves bath time!

Hopefully the next post won't take me two months to get together. But I'm thinking with the extra time I have at home now, I should be able to keep on top of things better! We hope all of you are enjoying your spring season!

4 months!

Tomorrow marks Caleb's 4 month birthday! I'm pretty sure he thinks this is his best birthday yet since the Packers just won the superbowl! Andy invited some of our friends over for the game and Caleb got to play with some of his friends too!

We just had his 4 month check up today. His stats are:
height: 25.5 inches (75th percentile)
weight:17 lbs 3 oz (90th percentile)

He is getting so much more active. He loves standing and sitting (with our help of course). He has also started to reach out to grab things and is obsessed with sticking his hands in his mouth. Caleb gets so excited to see Andy when he gets home from work. It is so fun to see him recognize us!

I asked Andy what else we have been up to the last month and he quickly responded "the Packers won the Superbowl" So other than that we haven't really been up to much. We have settled into a nice routine with work, daycare and my mom watching Caleb. Grandma Alice spoils us and cooks us dinner too!

With Caleb being so active these days I try to take advantage of his snuggly moments

Here is Caleb playing with his friend Micah!

10 of Calebs friends came over to watch the Superbowl. We tried to get the best picture we could-this one is missing Nathan :(

We bought Caleb a highchair a few weeks ago so we are prepared for when he will start eating solids in the next month or two. For now its a good place for him to sit while we are in the kitchen!

I keep trying to catch Caleb having fun in his exersaucer. This isn't the best video of that, but it shows how much Caleb likes Rocco-they often have staring contests.

3 months old (a little late)

I know, I know...it has been a little too long since the last posting, but I'm going to blame that on the busy Christmas season and returning to work! We have stayed busy the last month or so traveling to visit familiy, having multiple Christmas celebrations, New Years festivities, watching lots of football and getting situated with me going back to work. My 12 weeks of maternity leave went by way too fast and I was bummed to go back to work, but it has been a lot easier since my mom has been watching Caleb 3 days a week so he only has to go to daycare the other 2 days. I'm still hoping reduce to half-time at work by the end of March.

Caleb just keeps on growing and growing-we don't have an official weight on him this month, but we estimate that he is about 16 pounds! He is getting so much stronger by the day and loves to be upright looking around at his world. He is also more interactive with more smiling and talking. The daycare ladies say he "loves playing with his new friends" and that he "does lots of tummy time with his friends"

Here are some of our photos from the last few weeks...

Andy and his brother Steve along with Caleb and his cousin Charlie were all ready to cheer on the Packers!

Caleb was ready for Christmas in his santa suit!

Caleb's cousins Evan and Gavin had loads of fun playing in the Escalade at Grandma and Grandpa Hoffmans hosue

Here are the Hoffman cousins! All in their matching shirts from Auntie Kelly!

Caleb and Charlie

We spent Christmas Eve with my family! (Christmas-eve-eve we went to the local bingo hall which may have to be a new family tradition)

Grandma and Grandpa Zerbe with Caleb

And of course Andy and Caleb wore their matching Rodgers jerseys for the latest game!

Last week Caleb had his 2 month check up. He weighed in at 13 pounds 11 ounces placing him in the 90th percentile for weight. He is 24 inches long (75th percentile). Just today I started packing away the 3 month clothing that he has outgrown and got out his 3-6 month clothing. I can not believe how fast he is growing. In the last few days he has "found" his hands...

Otherwise, things in our neck of the woods have been fairly uneventful. We did just have a large blizzard come through last weekend dumping 16 inches of snow which blew into some pretty high drifts.

I was able to capture some of his smiles a little better today...here a few pictures from the day

8 Weeks

Just yesterday Caleb turned a whopping 8 weeks old. He has been growing so quickly-it is especially noticeable in how he can see and look around. We have so much fun talking with him and trying to get him to smile (his newest trick).

We were able to make it down to the Chicago area to celebrate Thanksgiving with my moms family. It was fun being able to introduce Caleb to more of his family members and he did great on the 6 hour car drive. That same weekend Caleb got to meet his new cousin Charlie. Now Caleb has 3 cousins to grow up with (and all boys)-what a lucky guy!

In Chicago, grandma Alice did a little shopping and found this hat for baby...

Here is a shout out to all my relatives that live in Canada (mom found this outfit on a recent vacation to Vancouver)...

Tummy time-getting better and better at lifting that head up...

And an attempt at capturing a smile on camera-it's trickier than I thought getting a picture of his smiles!

1 month

Yesterday was Caleb's one month birthday! Just like every other small milestone, it reminds me how fast time is passing. He seems to be getting so much bigger lately. He is staying awake for longer periods of time and is more interactive-and by interactive I mean he can stare at your face :) He has managed to roll from his stomach to his back 3 times this last week; I'm thinking this feat is just a fluke, but I have to keep a closer eye on him regardless! We also introduced Caleb to the bottle which is excellent now that Andy can help with evening feedings.

The last week has been busy for us. Last weekend Andy's family came for a visit, which I sadly have no pictures from. Just this past weekend we had Caleb dedicated at church-My sister and parents as well Andy's parents and sister came to help us celebrate. And yesterday we had our first family photo shoot-we'll have those pictures in about 4 weeks. Here are some photos of the past week...

Here is Caleb playing with daddy.

Nap time-I can hardly resist picking him up and snuggling

Auntie Alexa came home over the weekend to visit.
Dedication service at church.

Getting ready to watch the Packer game!

Getting ready for our family photos!