I survived

Well I survived my first day back at work (with no tears) and Cale was great at the babysitters. I was so busy and overwhelmed at work it helped me to not focus on the fact I had to leave him. Katie was so sweet and emailed me a couple of times today to let me know how things were going. She even sent me the following pictures :)

The babysitter....

Bryan and I have been truely blessed to find a wonderful friend who is going to keep Cale for us as I start back to work on Monday. I think Katie is as excited that she gets to keep him as we are. So I am sitting here trying to make a list of all the things that will be helpful for Katie to know about Cale and his schedule. For those of you who know me well, I am very organized! I am trying (as I make my list) to not be so anal about the little stuff. I am not a fussy person, just like things done a certain way (that is the OCD in me). So I am asking for your help. Please pray for me (and Katie) that I dont turn into a psyco mom who feels like she has to be in control of every little thing. I trust Katie and her judgement (or else I wouldnt let her keep my baby boy). I just pray that I will let her use her motherly instincts and only give her general things that Cale likes and doesnt. Say a little prayer for me in the morning as I go back to work....I am sure that it will be a very long day for me!

Smile :)

I truly feel blessed because I have been given this award by not 1, but 2 friends! A huge thank you to Kerri and Jobeth for my smile award. Both are co-workers (present and former) at Hilliard Elementary and are super sweet people!

I love keeping my blog, but I cant promise how up-to-date it will stay with me starting back to work on Monday!

Characteristics for the Smile Award:
1. Must display a cheerful attitude.
2. Must love one another.
3. Must make mistakes.
4. Must learn from others.
5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world.
6. Must love life.
7. Must love kids.

These are the rules for The Smile Award:
1. The recipient must link back the the award’s creator
2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.
3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.
4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere
5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.
6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.
7. You must thank your giver.

Okay....I am going to try and nominate some great people that I know who have not been nominated yet!

1. Ashlee - We went to High school and some college together at JU. Then we lost touch until I discovered that my husband and her husband were childhood friends. Now we try to get together every so often to catch up. Ashlee is a very sweet spirited lady and a wonderful mother of 2 beautiful children!

2. Kari - Kari and I also went to high school together. We recently met up to take photos of my BIG preggo belly (and will soon be meeting again for 3 month pictures with Cale). Kari is an awesome photographer! We went to downtown Fernandina and she made beautiful pictures!

3. Holly - I initially met Holly through my husband. She is a wonderful teacher with a great personality. I LOVE to read her blog. She always makes me laugh. Holly also got us in touch with my next nominee....

4. Chris and Rosalind are the owners of "In His Image Photos". We were set up with them through Holly. They have taken some beautiful pictures of me before and after pregnancy. I love their work!

5. Kristen - Kristen is a fellow teacher at HES. We have really started to get to know each other since we both were pregnant together. She is now the mother of a beautiful baby girl. We often share baby stories with one another....we are always up for a laugh! See you monday!!!

Our first football game

Cale and I along with my friend Carrie, ventured out for Cale's first Yulee football game last night. For those of you that don't know, my husband is a football coach (along with many other sports) at Yulee High School. Last night was Cale's first experience with high school football. I was really not sure how he would do with all the noise and people, but he did great.

We were a little late arriving and there were a TON of people there! We finally found some where to sit and it took him a few minutes to take it all in. Around half time he got hungry, so I fed him a bottle and after that he was very content. He sat in my lap just looking around. Towards the middle to end of the 3rd quarter he went to Carrie. She was somehow able to get him to sleep amidst all the commotion. Since he was sleeping, we tried to put him in his carrier.

Well, he woke up! But even though he woke up, he sat in his seat, very content, just looking around for the rest of the game....overtime included! I was so glad that he did well because with Daddy being a coach, this is only the first of many, many, many sporting events to come!

Oh yeah....Yulee ended up winning in over time! Yulee 12 - West Nassau 6

Here are some pics of little man all bundled up. It was cool but nice.

The end is here....

I can't believe that I have officially reached the end of my maternity leave. I return to work on monday :(

Before going back, I promised that I would take Cale up to the school to meet my class. So we loaded up and went this afternoon. The kids were all very excited to see him!

My sub has been wonderful in preparing for my return. Everything is up to date and ready for me to come back. So Monday it is...I will let you know how it goes.

How am I going to be able to leave this sweet boy?

The swing

Cale loves his swing! It has a mirror on it that he loves to look up into and stare at himself. It is also a great way to get him to sleep when he is tired but is fighting it. We have had the swing up and going for a couple of weeks, but I kept forgetting to snap some pictures. They arent all centered because he was swinging at the time....I did the best I could :)

Nursery Time and new kicks!

Cale had his first visit in the nursery at church today. They said he did great. He had a bottle not long after he arrived and then it was nap time.


We had been taking him into church with us, but I feel like a nervous wreck with him in there. I am just afraid that he will get fussy or make too much noise. So today we decided to try him in the nursery. I thought about him throughout the whole service, but I knew he was in good hands, and I was able to relax and enjoy the service. It is hard to pay attention when you have a beautiful little man to look at....


Cale was sporting the latest addition to his shoe collection this morning too. Thanks to Uncle Brett, Cale now has his very first pair of Nike Air Jordan high tops! He is stylin' and profilin' now! They are adorable!!!

Happy faces

I was able to capture a few of Cale's smiles this week. He had just woken up from his nap and I rolled him over on his back because he wasn't fussy, he was happy. He laid there looking at his mobile and smiling and talking. I got just a couple good shots. I missed the first really good smiles because I didn't have my camera in hand...but here is what I was able to get.

Shop til you drop

Today Jenny and I took Brody and Cale down to St Augustine to the outlet mall for a day of shopping. It was a very productive day for us both. I was on a hunt for clothes to start back to work in. I didn't want to buy a whole lot (or spend a whole lot) because these are not permanent additions to the wardrobe. These are simply a transitional phase of clothes until I loose all of my baby weight and fit back into my real clothes.



So the outlets was the ideal place to go. Every store had great sales. Gap and Banana Republic are always my 2 go-to store there for clothes. And I must say, they did not disappoint. I also scored two great pairs of shoes from Aerosoles (buy one get one 1/2 off...plus and extra 15% off just for educating the youth of America!)

You know I couldn't go to the outlets and not stop in the Carter's store for my little man. They had a huge sale. Almost every rack in the whole store was 40-50% off, with 1-60% and 1-70% off rack. I got Cale several outfits....plus the cutest little Halloween costume. He is going to be a little pumpkin! I am excited about the costume, but I am pretty sure that we wont be doing any trick-or-treating. Bryan has a game that night, so it will just be me and little man. So I am sure that the costume will be only to take pictures in. He will still be cute so it doesn't really matter!

Not only did we get a lot of great deals, it was nice just spending time with Jenny and Brody. Brody is quite a character. For those of you who don't know Brody, he is my nephew who is just a few months shy of 2. He has a great personality and it is really starting to shine. He was really excited to spend the day with "At-tuh" (Aunt Tara) and "Baby Tale" (Baby Cale)...not sure where my name came from, but that is what I am called....Bryan is known as "Nuh". He loves Bryan for some reason and asked several times today where Nuh was.

So anyway....back to Brody. He is hilarious. Here are just a few things that made me laugh today. On the drive down, Cale got the hiccups. Brody was trying to imitate Cale by pretending to have the hiccups too :) Once we were there, if Jenny and I separated in a store you could hear Brody yelling "At-tuh" throughout the whole store looking for me....doesn't that just make you smile! And the best part was that he was our tour guide for the entire car ride. He pointed out every big truck, tractor, bus, boat, pond, and more. He even kept us up to date on Cale. He would tell us that Cale was blowing bubbles or that he was sleeping (he was night-night in Brody's words).

Jenny has been around since I was in 6th grade, so she has always been like a sister to me. She and I just click. We can often just look at each other during group conversations or situations and know what the other one is thinking. It is really kind of scary. So it was really nice just to spend the day together and catch up. Since I have had Cale, we have not had a day to just hang out. Today was that day.

Thank you Jenny and Brody for a great trip. Even though Cale slept most of the day, he had fun too!

He did it!

Cale slept through the whole night last night!!!!

OK, I promise that I wont post about his sleeping habits everyday :) But this is very exciting!

We stretched out his last bottle until 10 last night. Put him down afterwards and he went right to sleep. He wasnt really awake this morning (just swirmming a little), but Bryan went ahead and got him up at 7 and fed him before he went to work.

He stayed up after that feeding until 8 and then napped until 10:45. Let's just say that my little man likes his sleep...he definately gets that from his Momma!

I hope that this trend continues!

At last!

Last night started off like any other night. Cale got his bath around 9 and his bedtime bottle at 9:30. After his bottle he laid with Daddy for a bit until he started getting sleepy and Bryan went and put him in his crib. That didnt last long. From then until about 11:30 he laid in his bed, occassional dozing off, only to wake himself up by either loosing his pacifer or jumping and startling himself.

Around 11:30 I finally decided to get him out and rock him. I was ready for bed and couldnt go to sleep until I knew he was asleep. I finally got him down, only for him to wake up again at 12:30. So I got up and rocked him again. But this time I laid him on his belly because I knew he would be getting up in an hour or 2 to eat. So far we only put him on his belly for naps...I know we arent really suposed to do that, but he sleeps so much better that way. Well let me just say this...he didnt wake up to eat until 4:30...that is 7 hours since his last bottle!!!! I was so excited.

I fed him then and put him back down (on his belly again). I am very pleases to say that he is still sleeping right now at 8:30 :) It is very nice to wake up and not have to rush to take care of a crying baby! I definately feel great about last night and maybe tonight will be even better!

Date Night

In all the attention and demands surrounding having a new baby, dates definitely get put on the back burner. Last night, Bryan and I went on our first "date" in months. Even before Cale was born I was so uncomfortable that going out just wasnt really something that we did. I think the last time that just the two of us went out was the week Daddy died (mid-June). We just needed a break from life and went to the movies. I was so uncomfortable that sitting through the movie was like torture to me.

So last night Bryan said to pick out a movie (any movie I wanted...which never happens) and we were going out. I got online to find a movie, but nothing really sparked my interest. Since there was nothing playing I wanted to see, I just decided we would stay home. Well, that didnt go over well with Bryan. He insisted that I needed a break and some time away from the house (and I didnt realize how bad I needed it until he made me go). We decided that we would at least go to dinner.

Granny and Papa were more than happy to watch little man for us while we went out. We went to the Millhouse (by the airport). The food was great and plus we had a buy one dinner get one free coupon from the "Money Pages" magazine! So not only did we have great food....we got it at half the cost!!!!

After dinner we headed to Target. I needed something to wear to church, since I still cant fit into any of my clothes!!!!! I was able to find 1 dress (and only 1) on the clearance rack that fit. After all that searching, we didn't even make it to church this morning!

Today Bryan and I caught up on some MUCH NEEDED SLEEP!!!!! He got up with Cale around 7 and then came back to bed after he got Cale back down for a nap. Then I got up with him after his nap and went back to bed once I put him down for his next nap. It was really nice having Bryan here to help. So now we are ready to face another week of very little sleep...woo hoo!!!

We made it!

It was a long night, but we survived. Cale slept all night in his crib last night....wow he is growing up too fast! He was still up every 3-4 hours like had had been doing. I was hoping that 5 1/2 hour stretch would happen again. Wishful thinking I guess. I am exhausted today because I didn't sleep well. I actually stayed most of the night in the office on the futon, so that I could be right next to his room. I know I would have heard him on the monitor, but there is just something about being physically closer to him that made me feel better. I can assure you that I will sleep in my bed tonight....my body aches from the futon! Hopefully as he gets used to being in his bed at night, he will start sleeping longer :)

Sleeping Beauty (or can I call him that?)

I am very excited to say that my little man slept 5 1/2 hours straight last night!!! We fed him at 11 and put him down and he didnt wake up until 4:45 this morning!!! I was so excited. Tonight comes the real test though. I am going to try and put him in his crib to sleep for the first time. He has been taking his naps in his crib, but at night he is in the cradle in our room. Well, he is really starting to get to big for the cradle, so tonight we are going to try and let him sleep in his crib. I am sure that I will be a nervous wreck and will be up checking on him, but I have to do it...for him and for me! I go back to work in 2 weeks and I want him settled into his room and his bed by then. So wish me luck. I will let you know how it goes.....

Love from Tennessee

This was a gift from Uncle Chad and Aunt Heather in Tennessee. They knew that we would never put him in anything that was UT...so this was their best effort to get him in anything that said Tennessee on it. Here you go.....but we still say "GO GATORS!"

Birthday Dinner

Last night we went out with my family for mine, Bryan's, and Wendi's (my cousin) birthdays. We ate at Maggiano's.....it was delicious! We had reservations at 6, which happened to be when Cale was ready to eat. Nana fed him his bottle and he was satisfied for a little while. But then he got real fussy. So we took turns (me, Bryan, and my Mom) going outside and sitting with Cale. I think it was just too loud and busy in the restaurant for him. Outside he was fine, but as soon as he came in, he would start fussing again. So maybe he is still just a little to young to go out to a big restaurant on a busy Saturday night. After dinner we came home and watch the rest of the gator game! Here are some pics.....


Brody...he was ready to eat!


Poppy, Nana, and Cale

Nana getting all of Cale's sugars

Daddy and Cale
Uncle Jason and Cale
Momma and Cale watching the game
Go Gators! (Yes, I am as tired as I look....it was a long evening)

Bryan's Birthday

Yesterday was Bryan's birthday. We normally dont do gifts for each other because our birthdays are only 3 days apart. So we usually just go out to eat at a nice place. Well this year I decided to do something special from Cale, since it was Bryan's first birthday as a daddy. We (Cale and I) decided that we would send him a cookie bouquet (since flowers are for girls). I was really excited about seeing it, but....Bryan didnt bring it home! He left it at school on his desk for "decorations and a snack" he said. So here is an example picture from the website that I ordered it from. I can only hope that it looked this good!

P.S. It wasnt quite this many cookies because this one was way too expensive! So we opted for one with less cookies so that we didnt break the bank :)

Oh what a night!

Last night started out like any other night. We gave Cale a bath and bottle and then it was bed time. Although we had a little harder time putting him down for bed, he eventually was asleep. He woke up like normal around 12 for a bottle and went right back to sleep. The next feeding came around 3:30, right on schedule. So I got up and fixed his bottle. I fed him the first 2 oz, burped him and changed his diaper, just like always. Here is where it gets good. I brought him back to the bedroom to finish feeding him. Well he wasnt really wanting the bottle, so I pulled it out for a minute. That is when he passed a huge gas bubble! I figured that was his problem and he would be better now. So I tried giving him the bottle again and got the same fussy response. This time it wasnt just gas! He had a major blow out! It was so loud....I was surprised that it didnt wake up Bryan....well I shouldnt really be surprised because he could (and does) sleep through anything! Well I decided to give him a few minutes to finish his business before I went and changed him yet again. On the changing table I found a little more than I bargained for. Poor guy must of had a pretty upset tummy because it was just green water that came out of him (gross I know). But because it was so watery, it was everywhere. All I could do was laugh because the whole time I was cleaning him up and changing his clothes and changing pad, he was just laying there smiling away at me. Here it is almost 4 am by now and he is happy as can be. Me on the other hand, I am a walking zombie! Oh the joys of motherhood :) Needless to say, after I got him all cleaned up, he finished his bottle and was right back to bed. I guess you have to have a sense of humor to be a mom! As aggrevated as I could have been, I just had to smile at my sweet baby boy who felt so much better!

Super Savings!

Last night was my first trip to the grocery store with my Grocery Game List and coupons in hand. I must add that shopping after 9pm is nice because there is no one in the store. On the other hand, they only have one lane open, and all 5 people that were shopping last night decided to check out at the same time! Most of them only had a few things, but my cart was FULL!

So back to the good part. After joining the grocery game and printing my list and gathering my coupons, I am very proud to say that I saved $90.42!!!! Yes you read it right....$90.42! I handed my winn-dixie card to the cashier and then a whole stack of coupons. His comment was "you came prepared". ABSOLUTELY!!!! Now I just have to hit CVS for some more money saving deals! I feel so accomplished saving that much money! Now if I can just keep it up (especially when I go back to work).

Cale's Room

Several of you have asked to see pictures of Cale's room. As most of you know, my huband is a huge nascar fan. So of course since we had a boy, the room had to be a race car theme. We actually found a nascar bedding set for the crib. That has been our inspiration for the room. We have it painted, but we are not finished with all of the decorating. We have a guy that is going to come and paint a mural over his crib. And I plan on getting some other race car decor to go in the room. But here is what we have done so far!

The funny thing about these cars (on the shelves - there are about 10 of them) is that his Daddy will never let him touch them! They are collectables not toys. I dont know how he is going to explain that to him when he is about 2 years old and wants to play with them!

Weekend and My Little Man Update

Cale has ended up with with the nickname "Little Man" because he looks so much like a little man. All that hair really makes him look older.... Well, anyway, I thought I would give an update on him and our weekend while he naps.

Friday was a good day. It was one of the first times that Cale woke up from a nap and was not screaming (he is usually about to starve to death....or so he thinks). But he woke up and was so happy. I just stood there talking to him and he was smiling and trying to talk back. He has started making noises, but he still in not quite sure exactly how to do it....we are working on it though!

After nap time we went on our first shopping trip! We had to go to Babies R Us to get him some more clothes. Because we didnt find out what we were having, we did not get a lot of clothes. And what we did get after he was born, was mostly newborn stuff. Well my little man is growing like a weed, so he is a newborn no more! I knew that Babies R Us was having a big sale, so we went and met my mom and get him lots of clothes (on sale I might add).

Saturday was of course the Florida game. Cale and Daddy chilled on the couch for the game. Cale even tried to get in on some remote action :) We were very excited that the Gators won!

Because Cale is now starting to focus on things, I decided to get out one of his little activty mats for him to lay under. He seems to like looking at the side of it more than the actual toys that are hanging from it :)

Saturday night we went to Jason and Jenny's for the annual fantasy football draft party. This was Cale's first experience of a crazy get together. There are 10 guys in the league and all of them are married and have at least 1 kid. Almost everyone was at the draft and there were 4 kids under the age of 3 running around just being kids. On top of the kids, most of the guys are loud mouths anyways.....So needless to say it was LOUD!!! The funny thing is that Cale slept through most of it. He fell asleep on the way over and slept until he was ready to eat. Then he ate and was only up about an hour and he was asleep again. At least now we know that the loud noise doesnt really affect him!

Sunday started out as a lazy day. Bryan was actually home during the morning time when Cale is most alert and happy. So it was nice that Bryan was able to spend that time with him. That afternoon Papa and Granny came over to watch Cale for us. Bryan and I went to JCP to get him some clothes for work. We also picked up 2 Gator onesies for Cale. I cant wait for him to get to wear them! I love JCP because they are forever having a sale. We saved $133 yesterday!!!! It was a little depressing though because I didnt get anything for myself :( I am still working on losing baby weight. Although I mostly gained weight in my belly while I was prego, my thighs and butt put on few few pounds too! I cant get any of my pants on....which is very depressing. I only have a few more weeks until I go back to work. I hope by then I can wear my clothes again. If not, we will be making another shopping trip!