June & Most of July

Once again I slipped into a non-blogging rut, but here I am ready to jump back at it. We have been so busy so far this summer (the main reason I haven't made more frequent updates). We have been enjoying the warm summer weather by being outdoors as much as possible. When we get a chance we go swimming at my parents house...

...or enjoy the baby pool at our house.Here is Grandpa and Caleb with their matching hats!

Early in June we headed to Andy's home town to do some camping. Unfortunately it was too rainy to camp but we did get some hiking in!
Later in June we traveled to Canada for a family reunion. Caleb got to meet many family members he had not met yet including his great-grandpa Ben! Here is the 4 generation photo!
Most of the cousins! (plus Caleb)
In the month of July we made it to 3 baseball games! #1 was Milwaukee Brewers vs. Minnesota Twins game (in MN)This was Calebs first ever MLB game.
During this month we have also been working on installing a french drain to help with drainage issues in our back yard. Dad drove his tractor over to help us with the trench digging.


Baseball game #2 was a Brewers game in Milwaukee (vs. the Reds) with Andy's family. Here are some of the boys tailgating before the game.
Here are the 4 Hoffman cousins-such a cute bunch of boys!
And the last baseball game was a Rochester Honkers game with my family!That is most of the major stuff we have been up to in the last month and a half! We hope you are enjoying your summer!

Memorial Day Weekend

Since we had an action packed Memorial Day Weekend, I decided to dedicate a whole post to it!

Friday evening we had dinner with some friends. Saturday morning we planted our veggie garden (hopefully it survives!) Later in the day Caleb's cousin Charlie came for a visit!

Here are the two boys hanging out in the swing together... ...and just playing


Then on Sunday we had a Partridge Drive softball game and cookout! Caleb got to swing again this time with his buddy Garrett...

...and share a wagon ride!
Caleb wishing he could eat Austin's dinner rather than play with an empty cup

I have no picture evidence of Mondays festivites, but we took a nice long 9 mile bike ride around town...and then hit up yet another barbeque!

We had such a fun weekend! We hope you did too!

Life in May so far...

Well I don't have a whole lot to write about but I wanted to post a few pictures from the last few weeks so here they are...

Caleb's new interest is standing...it is a guaranteed smile when he can stand!

Playing out on the deck
Working on using a sippy cup and eating puffs
Here are Caleb's top two teeth!
At the park
Out for a bike ride...we love the Chariot!

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!