It's Official

Caleb has sprouted his first tooth. I've felt it under the surface the last week or so, but today...it sees the light of day. From here on out, nursing will be a whole new ballgame. If Adam taught me anything, I'm in for some pain. And Caleb shows many more tendencies to be a problem biter. We'll see. I also have to comment on his hair, or lack there of. He's always had this peach fuzz covered head. But, lately, he's had a few sprouts kick into gear (literally, only a few). I'm telling you he has real potential to be a baby-version of Donald Trump. If the other sprouts don't catch up soon, these long strays randomly coming out of the top of his head may qualify for his first haircut. You can't tell in the picture, but check out those cute cheeks!! This is a picture of what I see multiple times a day. It cracks me up every time. When I change Caleb's outfits and the shirt goes over his head, his face comes out the other side with the biggest grin. It's like he got lost in T-Shirt world and all of a sudden, peek-a-boo, it's MOMMY! Love it. This last short video is of Caleb snoring...something he does regularly. You may have to turn the volume way up.

Around the House

Here's what's happening right now at the Holeman House.
1. Adam and I started a "garden". I have managed to keep these few plants alive for 2 weeks now! We have Habanero Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers (both for Chris), Basil, Rosemary, and Dill. We might be losing the Rosemary and Dill b/c an ant bed started in that container and so I doused the plants with ant killer. They haven't been the same since. Prior to using the ant killer, we did actually use some of the fresh herbs in our cooking. We also planted some hanging strawberries, but we started them from seeds and they're just sprouting...nothing exciting yet about them.
2. Adam shooting hoops. He can actually make it from the ground, but he has a pattern he must complete before he works up to that fancy shot. First, he makes one of us get out the step ladder. Then, he dribbles 2 times till the ball dies on the ground. He picks the ball up, climbs the 3 step ladder, decides which arm to throw with, and finally shoots. After he is comfortable making it from the top step, he moves down to the middle step and repeats the process. Finally he makes it to the ground level, we remove the step ladder and he attempts to play real basketball.
3. My roses look great! I don't know how many of you know, but when we moved here there were 32 rose bushes planted around the house. I have managed to only kill 2 of them. After cutting them back in February, they are finally filling out and looking beautiful. I cut a bunch of the blooming roses today b/c we have a storm coming in and if there are any roses in bloom, they just get pelted. So, voila, a nice bouquet of fresh roses just for me!

Camping in Natchez

We broke out the camper again this weekend and headed to meet some friends in Natchez, MS. We had perfect weather, great food, but ticks up the wazoo!! (Literally). They were falling out of the trees and crawling up legs. Chris was the only one that actually had one attach, but he found it quickly.
Hiking Around the Lake. Try and guess how long he actually wore his backpack...and who had to carry it the rest of the way!
Caleb loved the hike!

We found the tip of a squirrel tail! Yuck!

Adam's version of throwing sticks in the water. I think this log was about 3X taller than me! But, he did it.


Chris cooking delicious steaks over an open fire! So good!!

Swimming Again!

We are so lucky to have Chris' grandparents nearby. We spent Saturday afternoon with them and were able to get both boys in their heated pool. I was wondering how Adam would do after swimming so well at the end of last summer. After staying on the steps at the beginning, he was getting rings off the bottom, jumping in, and flutter kicking by the time we pulled him out.
Caleb also got to try the pool for the first time. I think, in his little brain, he was thinking, "Who put me in this giant bathtub? Why did my diaper triple in size? I'm cold. I think I'll whine about it." Caleb actually did pretty well. Can't wait to turn him into a swimmer too!
One reason we got together was to BBQ. Chris and his uncle spent the afternoon rotisseriing a chicken and a goat leg!! Yes, we ate goat! Me for the first time! We eat lamb a lot and this was not much different. Yum!

We found a nest of brand new baby birds in the garage!

Chris vs. Dentist

So the back story is that Chris hasn't gone to the dentist since high school...roughly 12+ years. He's carried insurance the whole time, but I guess never made that adult jump to make his own appointment. So, after I took Adam to the dentist for the first time, Chris tells me to just make him an appointment and he'll go. So, last Wed. he was noticeably nervous about the date. He came home with a look of, how should I say, complete pride and an hint of smugness. I'm downplaying. He roared from the gut, "NO CAVITIES!!!" My jaw dropped. He hurriedly told me the story of having perfect teeth and loving the dental experience with all the "new" technology. Then, he jumped on the phone and called about 6 people to relay the story and his accomplishment to them. No joke. Then he realizes he must be a vampire and wants to bite things with the capable canines. As I'm hearing all this phone chatter, I begin to get a little perturbed. I, contrastingly, do not have the blessing of super-teeth and have a flat-out phobia of the dentist. I'm so jealous.

All You Bloggers Out There...

I recently found this site that will turn your blog or part of your blog into book form. The reasons I wanted to do this are 3 fold: Because I have a fear of the site going down and losing all my past posts; I wanted to put the blog into a diary type book for the boys to look back at later in life; This is the closest to a photo album I have. With digital pics now, it's too much to put in an album. They stay on the computer. I plan to compile one book per year. Check out Blog2Print.com.

Hippity, Hoppity

We spent Easter weekend visiting Chris' Mimi in Shreveport. This was our first opportunity to introduce Caleb to his great-grandmother and Chris and I both loved seeing them together. Caleb also got to meet a great-aunt and uncle and many cousins. While Caleb was socializing, Adam got to prepare for Easter properly. He dyed eggs, ate the eggs, and put out his basket for the Easter Bunny. He was very excited about this and kept peeking out of the blinds and saying, "I want to see the rabbit."

Adam and Gigi dying eggs.

Caleb with his Easter Basket

Adam checking out his Easter Basket

Hunting Eggs
On a side note, I'm glad Adam got to celebrate Easter feeling fairly well. The last blog entry was at the beginning of a monster cold and cough he caught that turned into an ear infection. Then, he had a spell of the big D and also made himself throw-up b/c he was coughing so hard. It was a LONG week of movies, rest, and vitamin C and antibiotics. Then, as we got to Shreveport as he was getting better, he started having a reaction to the antibiotics. Poor kid started complaining that his tummy hurt and would double over in pain and just want to lay down and cry. It would come and go in waves. I felt so bad for him. Once we connected it to the antibiotics, we stopped them and he started doing much better. His appetite is finally creeping back up but is still probably only 50 percent of what he can normal put down.