harvest 2011

Lately I've been planning our vegetable garden for this spring/summer and I am oh-so-excited to get started! Various seeds were ordered the other day from this recommended seed store; strawberry transplants were purchased last week from the nursery; and the next couple of weekends we'll be busy constructing our raised bed gardens and trellises for all those tomatoes, cucumbers, and other pole veggies.

Here is a current list of vegetables we'll be harvesting (if all goes well) this year:

arugula

romaine type lettuce called forellenschluss

gentilina lettuce

red onions

yellow onions

zucchini

summer squash

green beans

lima beans

4 types of tomatoes (you just can never have enough)

green peppers

jalapeno peppers

cucumbers

strawberries

and then of course a few herbs including: various types of basil, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, lemongrass and chives

4 months

Caleb,

You are one happy baby. This past month has been a really fun one for your dad and I to see how much you're changing. You've hit several big developmental milestones this month, which I must admit I'm so proud of you! I now understand the feeling of being proud of your child.

One big milestone is that you rolled over for the first time a couple weeks ago! Yes, you continue to dislike tummy time, but I've made you do it regardless and it's starting to pay off! You've rolled over 2 more times since then and are starting to hold yourself up by your forearms when on your tummy. You also now grab toys and any other object in your reach pretty much and try to put them in your mouth. Note that I say 'try' because often times I hear you get frustrated and I find you trying to put Scout's entire paw in your mouth. You'll learn eventually I guess! The whole taking interest in toys though has been so helpful for momma because now you're beginning to entertain yourself, which means more time for me to do chores and other things!

You've discovered your voice recently and have been testing out those vocal chords ever since. You squeal at just about everything now, which makes us laugh a lot. It's even endearing to hear you squeal at 4:30 in the morning (hey, it's better than crying!). Our hearts melt when we hear you coo and laugh when you wake up in the mornings. Please continue to do this - it's so much more charming than your 5 minutes of grunting and thrashing of arms that you used to do.

This past month you got to meet your great grandaddy, great grandma, and the rest of the Krieger clan in Pittsburgh. Once again you were a trooper in the car - rode a whole 9 hours without that much fussing! We got a picture of the 4 generations of Krieger men - you, your dad, your grandaddy and your great grandaddy.

Things you love right now are: sitting up in your bumbo seat, your stuffed dog, daddy playing Superman with you, putting weight on your legs and standing up, watching momma cook from your doorway bouncer, going for walks, and of course you still love Scout.

Thanks for sleeping better recently. We had a week this month where you were horrible, but you're beginning to get a lot better. You now sleep at least 6 consecutive hours at night and wake up around 7:30 every morning. Your napping is getting better too, which makes me a happy momma.

You continue to amaze us with how big you are. You are in the 90th percentile for weight - weighing in at 16 pounds 8 ounces! I hate to admit it, but I'm already having to put away some 6 month size clothes and looking for what we have in the 9 month size! You're still losing hair, but it looks as though you'll be a blondie soon enough. Your eyes have somehow gotten even more blue so I'm thinking they are going to stay that color (yay!).

Caleb your dad and I love you so much. You bring so much joy to our lives. We continue to pray for you and thank God every day for such a blessing you are to us!

a little too top heavy

I had fun introducing Caleb to the doorway bouncer the other day. Lately he's discovered that he can put weight on his legs and he's loved to look around from that perspective (instead of laying down or sitting in his bumbo). He's got pretty good head control, but he's not able to sit up straight (I blame the extra weight from his cheeks) so he kinda leans to one side instead. Maybe one day he'll be able to straighten up and discover that he can make himself bounce up and down!

Hokie linebacker in the making

Must I say any more??!!

what.a.day

Today was one of those days where you just can't wait for it to be over. My stinkin' cute baby was not so cute when he refused to cooperate with naps ALL DAY. And because he fought every single nap today, he was fussy. Not just fussy when I was trying to put him down, but also fussy in between naps and every other moment of the day it seemed. *sigh* Needless to say, this momma is exhausted and I just cannot wait until I can crawl into my comfy bed with my oh-so-warm flannel sheets and get some much needed shut-eye.

In the midst of Caleb's unpleasantness though, there were a few highlights that make days like today endurable: I got to hang out with fellow mommas from church, I received this book in the mail that I've been wanting to read all day, and I got to finally try out the famous frozen yogurt at Sweet Frog with some women from our community group, which I'd have to say is surprisingly delicious!

Hoping tomorrow is a better day!

happy valentine's day!

What I love about this Valentine's Day:

*Breakfast in bed

*Cuddling with my babe who I am happy to say is feeling much better

*Sunshine and a break from the cold weather

*A quick chocolate fix from a local favorite - For the Love of Chocolate

*Date night with the hubby which will consist of dinner and a movie at the Byrd

Happy Valentine's everyone!

so stinkin' cute.

Now that I have a camera charger again, I got a little carried away yesterday with taking pictures of Caleb....

so proud.

not your ordinary hand-me-downs

Recently I received a few special hand-me-down clothes for Caleb. They aren't from a friend or from a second-hand clothing store. They're actually from Steve's mom who kept a few of her favorite outfits of Steve's when he was a baby (great idea, I know).

I wish summer would get here already so that Caleb can wear them before he outgrows them.I can't wait to put him in the train outfit (my favorite) - it will be so special knowing that his daddy wore the same thing 26 years ago.

I've already picked out a couple of my favorite outfits of Caleb's to add to the stash of Krieger family hand-me-downs for any future grandchildren as well (whoa, scary thought...). But how special and endearing would it be for a baby to wear his grandaddys' clothes and perhaps eventually great-grandaddys' clothes?!

bald-headed

The poor kid looks like he's got a natural mohawk from the front

Rabbi Caleb??

a sneak peek

I visited a nursery today to get some strawberry plants, but failed. Apparently I have to wait a couple more weeks for them to come in. Bummer.

In midst of my disappointment, I did not leave the nursery empty handed. Instead of strawberries, I stocked up on various flower seeds for our front and back yard. I got a mixture of perennials and annuals of all different colors and shapes and sizes. I'm super excited to get outside and plant these babies. But I have to wait another couple of months probably until the danger of frost is gone. Until then I'll just keep looking at the pretty pictures on the seed packets and imagine what they'll do for our oh-so-drabby lookin' yard!

Here's a sneak peek of a few flowers that will be filling our yard this spring and summer:

lavender to go along our front porch

beautiful sunflowers along our high wooden fence in back

cosmos in our front flower bed to go along with a wildflower look

clemantis along our back fence to give us a bit more privacy

zinnias were already planted in the front when we moved in...

but a couple more wouldn't hurt

north of the mason-dixon.

This past weekend all the Kriegers (us, Tom/Amanda and Steve's parents) crammed in a rental minivan and drove 8 hours to Pittsburgh. Yep, 8 hours in one car with 6 adults and a 3-month old. It actually was a fun and enjoyable ride there. Caleb was a trooper and according to Rich only cried 5 minutes the entire way up (I believe it was a bit more).

Steve's grandparents were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary and so the entire Krieger clan (there's a lot) got together Saturday and threw them a little celebration. It was super fun to see all the aunts/uncles/cousins again. And of course everyone was smitten by Caleb's huge toothless grin and big blue eyes. I'm beginning to realize how blessed I am to have such a laid back baby. Tons of different people were passing him around all day and it didn't seem to bother him one bit. Oh how I love that boy.

We got a picture of the 4 generations of the Krieger men - hopefully my bro-in-law will post the pics that he took all weekend sometime soon so I can share them. When all of them were together posing for the picture, it was crazy to see the resemblance of Pap, Rich and Steve. It'll be interesting to see whether Caleb continues to look more like a Krieger or more like a Lowder as he grows older.

Although the road trip was fun and definitely worth every hour of travel, Steve and I are looking forward to the next couple of weekends at home with nothing to do! Perhaps I can finally get crackin' on the crocheting of all the cute little baby booties I'd mentioned earlier...