Family Trip to Milwaukee & the Apple Holler

Yesterday we took off right after work and headed up to Milwaukee for a mini family getaway. Tim planned the entire escapade and couldn't have done better! We ate dinner at a hip and delicious restaurant called Hinterland last night. Caleb was a fantastic third wheel. He sat in his high chair laughing and playing before chowing down and polishing off a giant 1/3 lb. hot dog and hand full of fries (I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that he knows how to eat, right?) We then walked through the Milwaukee Public Market. If you haven't visited before, I highly recommend it! It's basically a large warehouse type room full of different bakeries, breweries, wine bars, etc. After sitting in the car for two hours and at dinner for another hour, Caleb loved running through the market and charming anyone in site.

We started this morning with a return trip/walk to the Market for breakfast and coffee before kicking off one of my very favorite days of the year. Apple picking was always an annual tradition in the Richardson family, and I love that it has passed down to our little family as well. For Tim and me, this was our fourth trip to the Apple Holler in WI, and a first for Caleb. It couldn't have been a better day for a trip to the orchard - 65 degrees and sunny! 

Loved this place!

It was packed at 8:30 last night... not so much at 8:30 this morning. 

Enjoying his blueberry muffin at the Market

Oh yeah, I forgot we can take pictures of us with this phone too. 

With a wave of thanks to Milwaukee, we headed down to the Apple Holler:

A very sweet (and unprompted) hug for pumpkin boy

A tractor pulling a train! Does it get any better??

We've hit the age where looking at the camera is so uncool

The boys sharing an apple

He isn't the daintiest of eaters

Had to document that baby March #2 also made his first trip to the Apple Holler

And the best part of the day? Definitely the apple cider donuts covered in cinnamon sugar!

Milestone Update: Months 12-18

Not only have I been seriously lacking in the frequency of blog posts, but I've also completely neglected any sort of milestone update recently. There is nothing like the rapid growth and changes of the 1st year, but that doesn't mean Caleb hasn't done some serious progressing these past six months. For those of you who haven't seen him in awhile (and for me when I look back in 14 months and wonder what baby boy #2 will soon be doing or in 16 years as I sit at home reminiscing and weeping when he goes away to college), here's what's up in the life of C. Saunders March:

• Caleb's vocabulary was limited to Dada for several months. In the past 6 months, we've picked up the following words (I can't remember the exact order but this is close): Dada, uh oh, bubble, baby, duck, up, bye bye, hot, "peeez" (aka please), bike, bus, "hup" (aka help). And finally, drum roll please......... Mama!! It took 17 months of repeating mama at an annoying rate to finally hear those two sweet syllables grace his lips. I tell myself that he struggles with his Ms since he never even really babbled "mamamamama". Who know if it's true!

• We started showing/teaching Caleb a few signs when he was 7 months old. Knowing that one of the biggest causes of frustrations for little ones is the inability to communicate their wants and needs, we hoped sign language might help bridge the communication gap until he was more vocal. He picked up the sign for "all done" around 12 months. Since then, he has learned the signs for more, please, help and thank you. The funniest thing is when he really wants something, he'll rapid-fire all five signs assuming one of them will get him what he wants.

• We dropped down to one nap at 13 months. I know this is on the younger side, but I am so glad we made the switch. I knew it was time when Caleb stopped falling asleep for his second nap. I discovered that if he slept for more than an hour in the morning, he wouldn't go back down later. Trying to make it from 10:30a.m. to 7:30p.m. without sleeping was wearing all of us down. This has also given us the much appreciated freedom to go out in the morning for play dates, bible study, trips to the gym and errand-running. 

• Like many children, Caleb has developed a love of books. Because he is such an active little guy (if you know Caleb, you know he goes from zero to sixty in two seconds and from sixty back to zero in two seconds... there is very little in between), we wondered if he would ever enjoy sitting long enough to read a book. We've always read to him at naptime and bedtime, but it was never by his choice. Around 14 months, it became clear that he loves reading books... he would grab a book from the shelf or bin (usually The Hungry Caterpillar or I Love You Through & Through), bring it us, turn around and plop himself in our laps. Now as soon as we're done with one book, he either runs to grab another or frantically does his sign for "more".

• Don't judge this next one... we just dropped the bottle at 17 months. From 12-17 months, he was still getting a bottle at naptime and bedtime. The reasons were twofold: this was the only way he would cuddle for the longest time, and he will only drink milk from a bottle. We finally decided that it would be better to wean off the bottle before the baby comes and figure out other ways for him to get his calcium.

• Speaking of babies... Caleb loves them! What an answer to prayer and an anxiety reducer. I've been so anxious about how he will handle having a little brother. I'm sure there will still be many bumps along the way, but it has brought both me and Tim such peace as we've watched Caleb stop in his tracks at the sight of a baby, or when he has run to a crying baby's car seat to gently rock him and give him his pacifier. I can't wait to see him hold his very own brother in just two months!! 

• This is a fun one... Caleb also loves to dance! Family dance parties have become a favorite in the March household. We turn on the music and his little body started groovin'. And by groovin' I mean bouncing and swinging... I didn't say he was all that talented, but he is soooo darn cute.

• Here are a few of his other loves right now:
• Trains
• Tractors
• Trucks (are you sensing a pattern yet? This boy seriously loves his large motor vehicles. You should hear him in the car... he will sit there for hours pointing and squealing in delight as another truck whizzes by)
• Airplanes
• Motorcycles
• Dogs
• Ducks
• Books (his current favorite is Where is Spot? which he preciously calls his "pot bu" - or "Spot Book")
• Dada (his obsession with Tim has grown stronger and stronger :))
• Making us laugh (he is such a goof ball!)
• Praying (he thinks it's so fun that we all hold hands and talk with our eyes closed. As soon as we say Amen and look at him, he cracks up and points at whoever was praying)

• And lastly, in the past few months, Caleb has really turned into my little buddy. Sure we've been connected at the hip for 18 months now, but he is a little person now... one that I genuinely love spending time with, one that makes me smile and laugh a hundred times a day, one that randomly stops playing to walk over and give me a hug and kiss, one that melts my heart as I rock and sing him to sleep at night. I will always cherish these 20 months when it was just the three of us and thank God that he gave us such a lovable, wonderful little dude!

That's the last six months in a nut shell. Sorry for the novel after a milestone hiatus... I just don't want to forget these precious "baby" years and all of the wondrous changes that take place!

And sorry there are no pictures... the cord to connect my phone to the computer is upstairs and I'm just too tired to run up, grab it, run back down and download the pictures before we have to leave in 15 minutes for my soccer practice (that's right, I'm coaching again! More on this later).

Love you all!!