Other Adventures: Stone Mountain & Amicalola Falls

So last weekend Paul and I decided we needed to get outdoors and enjoy the cooler weather and fall foilage! We visited Stone Mountain first. For those who haven't heard of it, Stone Mountain (http://www.stonemountainpark.com/) is sort of an outdoor-naturey theme park. The center attraction is a huge "mountain" of granite, one of hte highest points in the area. You can hike to the top or take a gondola up. On the steeper granite face there is a carving, a Confederate version of Mt. Rushmore with individuals like General Lee. The grounds are gorgeous with camping, a hotel, lakes, nature trails, picnic areas, rides on amphibious vehicles, and a little old-fashioned "town" whose theme changes with the season. Here are some pictures:

This is a pumpkin tree. Don't ask. Part of the "Hallween them"...

Next we went to Amicalola Falls. Amicalola Falls has a campground and also a hotel set higher up the mountain. There are several trails around the 700+ ft falls, including the start of the Appalachian Trail! It was a gorgeous time of year with the leaves changing colors, some enjoyable crisp air. We did a great hike with Caedmon, who mostly enjoyed sucking on the baby carrier. Actually he really likes the outdoors and is very calm outside....

Halloween Party!

Caedmon is four months old now, and tons of fun. He is belly laughing, babbling, and giving big grins all the time. We are enjoying him so much! This weekend we had a pumpkin carving party with friends Erica, Joe, Erin, and Mike. Photos courtesy of them!

SO the "pumpkin sequence" happened when Paul and our friends decided to see what would happen when they allowed Caedmon to stick his hand in the pumpkin. He came up with a big ol pile of pumpkin guts, though he obviously seemed a little perplexed by the laughter and camera flashes!

Pictures of Stone Mountain and the Appalachian Trail to come...

New Developments

Baby is getting too big for his bath!

Sweet boy!
Puppy robe!
Caedmon in a kimono!
Thumb sucking and favorite elephant

Caedmon "reads" his book
Little builder
Pretend drink from daddy
Getting stronger! (And chubbier)

Caedmon is growing like a weed! I can't believe its been nearly four months since he was born!

The last two or three weeks he has changed so much. About a week and a half ago, we realized he has half a tooth sticking out! Poor baby, we didn't realize that's why he was so fussy....we just were not expecting a tooth in his little mouth. It's a strange tooth too. Instead of an incisor, his first tooth is one of hte first molars. Weirdddd. There seem to be some waiting in the wings, but who knows if this was a fluke tooth or if he is on the road to teeth? Silly baby.

He is also starting to "talk" like crazy. He makes purposeful and loud sounds, and is so delighted when you talk back to him. The past three days all day long its "AAAAOohhhh. AAAAH! Ohhhh. Woaaoowww"! He is laughing more and more now too, especially cracking up when daddy tickles him or blows on his belly.

Also, he is exploring objects now with his mouth. Anything he can get his hands on....straight to the mouth. Objects promptly become drenched in drool (Poor thing even has a little rash or sore under his bottom lip from all the drool plus pacifier).

Finally, he is nearing rolling over. Usually he gets himself on to his side and then becomes distracted by his delicious fingers.

Paul and I are quite smitten with him and are enjoying all his new, fun stages.

Hope you enjoy all the pictures! I just couldn't help myself.

Too Cool for the Pool

It is very important to Paul that Caedmon is a water baby, and subsequently a surfer. Therefore it was about time to introduce Caedmon to the fun that is the pool!

Ok so he may not have been that impressed by the cold, icky looking water. However, based on the fact he loves baths and even loved a warm shower after the pool experience, I think he will be a happy play-in-the-pool baby...eventually.

First Week of School & Georgia Aquarium

This week was really hard. I started back to school, and while I have fewer units than I ever have and my classes seem to be not too much work, it was super stressful. I am strugglig with whether this was the right decision. Its only 8 hours a week I leave him for, but it makes me sad and since I am not used to it I worry a great deal about him when we are separated. Will he cry hysterically? WIll he get hungry but refuse the bottle? Will the person never want to watch him again? Will they know the best way to bounce him depending on his baby moods? Caedmon was of course fine. I was the one traumatized by the week. At least I have a few classes I know I could bring him if need be (one is a Lactation management class....babies are of course welcome!)

Also I am still getting the whole babysitter situation figured out. Paul will have him for most classes, but I have one class that I don't have a set person for during Thursday mornings. Although my instructor did say I could take him to class, this is not an ideal option as I am distracted half the time trying to either A. get him to sleep, B. Keep him asleep, C. Feed him, or D. Keep him occupied and quiet. While most weeks it would probably be fine, I have a feeling I won't learn as much and its a very important class. I am praying I find someone. If not, baby is going to learn an awful lot about conducting evaluations!

On top of that stress and leaving Caedmon for some of the first times, he also had his 2 month (he is actually 2 and a half months) checkup on Tuesday. He is 14lbs 11oz and 25 1/4 inches. Yay for a growing baby! He got all his shots and was slightly feverish Weds and has been extra fussy the past few days.

The week ended on a good note though! Paul got off of work early and we decided to go to the Georgia Aquarium. I have been dying to go, as it is really new and supposedly spectacular and one of the largest. It was really awesome- they have it set up kind of like a theme park. The highlights of the aquarium are the Beluga whales and another HUGGEE tank filled with sharks, rays, and some gigantic whale sharks. It has a huge tunnel you can walk through underneath it and look up. They also had great exhibits on river fish and the aquatic life of the Georgia coast. I think Caedmon liked the Beluga whale (he actually followed it with his head) and the pretty light coming through the water. Ok so he wasn't that entertained, but Paul and I had a great time and afterwards took a stroll around the Centennial Olympic Park. Funny that it took us a whole year to go visit these places.

Caedmon goes diving in his car seat:

Observing the sea lions

I pop in to visit a penguin

Mostly trying to calm a fussy baby:

Bet you didn't know I could be a mom AND the captain of a fishing boat did you?

One of the Beluga whales

California Dreamin

Our two week trip to California was wonderful! We spent lots of family time, enjoyed the wonderful warm (b ut not hot or humid) weather, hit the beach, and looked forward to returning. Baby met cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, grandparents and even great-grandparents!

Here are a few pictures...more to come!

Four generations... (my goodness the women in my family look so similar!)
Aunt Sandra has Caed...

Caed & his Great-Gramma hang out on the porch, matching nicely in orange.

Caedmon was fascinated by the moving fans and the mirrors at the Elephant Bar in Santa Barbara.
Caedmon hangs out with Papa Chuck before falling asleep on his cast...


Bear hugs from cousin Laura! You better be ready little Ayrton!

Gramma and baby.
Since B & Paul are pretty much brothers, this is his lovely Aunt Lisa
Grammy Margie's makeshift kitchen-crib.
And finally, Caedmon's first trip to the beach at Jalama!

(dreaming of the day when he can catch a wave with daddy)

Play time!

So I just have to say this next picture I have entitled "say no to crack". Apparently I don't know how to put on a disposable diaper correctly.

Caedmon is getting bigger and bigger and smiling more and more!

He is starting to enjoy playing in his play gym that Uncle Joe, Aunt Candace, Uncle James, Aunt Kelli & cousins got him. He especially enjoys the little hanging birds that "squeak"

I promised my mom some pictures of playtime today...so here you go mom!

The Dirty South*...Revisited

*Title courtesy of Audrey

So just to top it off, the day after I wrote that blog we went to help my friend move from her apartment. I soothed the fussy baby inside while Paul and Beth moved furniture. Meanwhile the open door let in mosquitoes and I discovered about 10 minutes later that I had 10+ bites covering my feet and ankles. Needless to say, bugs like me, no one else got any bites. Thankfully my baby didn't either.

Then I pulled a Christy and slapped my hands together , killing a mosquito buzzing near my baby. Eww. As soon as the stuff was moved, I covered the car seat with a blanket and made a beeline for the car. Sooo many bug bites.

If I spike a fever soon, please consider West Nile Virus.

Annddd obligatory cute baby picture to pacify people anxious to meet little Caedmon. He is a happy boy after taking his bath! Kind of looks like he is throwing punches though.

Wife, Mom, Student....Exterminator?

So its cliche to say a mom takes on many roles, whether it be chef, house cleaner, chauffer or accountant. Exterminator, however, was one role I did not count on. I didn't realize how "bug-free" my Santa Maria home was until I lived in Georgia. Every week we are fighting a new bug I've never seen before! Apartments are never free from pests, but I didn't expect to deal with ginormous silverfish, ants, roaches, mosquitoes and spiders day in and day out. Yes the apartment complex comes if you ask them the help, but a once a week treatment really doesn't do that much. Right now the problem is millipedes. These tiny wormlike creatures currently are taking over our house. It probably doesn't help living right next to a mini-forest. Despite spraying bug poison around our kitchen, windows, door jamb, bathroom and other corners of the home, it is completely normal to find 15-20 millipedes crawling over our kitchen floor and living room in the morning, not to mention the dead ones. So I kill, I vaccuum and I search and destroy. Yuck!



So right now when people ask me what I'm up to everyday, my answer now is: I feed the baby, play with the baby, hopefully get dressed and decent, and I kill bugs.



And a cute picture for good measure. I am trying to catch him smiling, but I have been unsuccessful so far!