Sarge the Sledding Bulldog

There are no limits to what this dog can do......

24 weeks!

Baby #2 is at 24 weeks old and over the half-way point.  Mommy is feeling well and the baby is getting big!  We haven't found out if we're having a boy or girl yet, and not sure if we will.  The one thing we definitely need help with is names.  We can't seem to agree on anything, so any suggestions are welcome!

From www.babycenter.com on 24 weeks:  "Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon."

Weekend Get Away

This past weekend we packed up the car, boarded the dog, and headed on a road trip to Minneapolis!  Our 6th anniversary was Sunday and we took Caleb with us to the Twin Cities for some new scenery and a little shopping.

 

 

Caleb wasn't so sure he wanted to leave Friday morning, as he was really into his cartoons!

 

Our first stop was the Mall of America & the Sea Life Aquarium inside.  The aquarium boasted a large fish tunnel and we couldn't let Caleb miss two of his favorite things....fish and tunnels!

 

 

We got back to the hotel that first night and Caleb thought he'd hide in the end table!

 

The next day we got up early (not by choice) and went to IKEA!  IKEA is Trish's absolute favorite store.  If you've never been there, it's kind of like a maze that you walk through.  We thought it'd be best to put Caleb in the baby back pack so he couldn't reak havoc on foot in the store!  It worked out pretty well.

 

He was passed out by the end of the store!
 

 By chance we found out that our friend Katie was in Minneapolis the same weekend. She's a coach on the South Dakota State women's basketball team.  They were playing in the Best Buy Classic on the University of Minnesota campus.  We watched their first round game versus Villanova, but unfortunately they lost.  They did pick up the consolation game victory the next day though against Washington State!

On the way to the basketball game we passed the Gopher's football stadium and showed them what we really thought! (Although it was a pretty awesome stadium!)

At the game....Go Jacks!

Caleb was on the go all day Saturday and trying to keep him seated at the game was a challenge.  One trick is to give him Mommy's phone.  Here you can see the tuckered out little man fell asleep holding the phone and we took it out of his hands!  He literally fell asleep with 3 minutes left in the game!

Another highlight for Caleb was the hotel pool.  We had to swim both nights we were there and it was like pulling teeth to get him out of the water!

 



Trick or Treat!!

Awesome Weekend

Andy finally switched to his "winter" work schedule and this past weekend was his first weekend off.  We planned a mountain of fun and it all played out according to plan.  It all started Saturday.  We decided to go to Deal's Orchard near Jefferson.  They touted pumpkins, petting zoo, pony rides, a corn box, and a giant jumping pillow!  It sounded like Caleb's idea of paradise.

 

 

Caleb's got his new bibs on & he's ready to go!

Caleb & Momma on a hay rack ride at the orchard.

Feeding the goats.

The sign says it all!

The giant jumping pillow.  We had a hard time getting Caleb off this thing!

Checking out the donkey

Corn box.  Another hard thing to pull him out of.

Caleb had a little trouble picking out what pumpkin he wanted to bring home.

Of course there was time for a tractor ride too!

We finally found the perfect pumpkins.  Caleb had to help push the cart too.

 

After the orchard we went to our farm.  Caleb fell asleep on the way, so when we got there Mommy & Daddy put in a couple gate posts and trimmed a few trees.  Then we headed home to relax.

 

Andy went out hunting Saturday night with a friend, but wasn't able to get anything.  Saturday night we'd like to forget.  We were all excited to watch the Hawkeyes play, but they managed to lay a giant egg on the field and we went to bed glad for the day, but disappointed at the game.

 

Sunday's plan was to wake up and find a pair of boots for Caleb.  We went to Theisens in Ames.  Upon walking into Theisens, Andy was floored.  They had expanded their store and it was HUGE.  It is now a Super Theisens.  Andy could have stayed there all day.

 

After a stop at The Western Edge, we finally found Caleb's boots.  We came home and relaxed for the afternoon.  The evening wrapped up with a hunting trip for the whole family.  Andy was able to shoot a deer with Trish & Caleb there to help.  That is a whole other story in itself and you can read about it here.

 

Overall it was an AMAZING weekend and if it's any indication of those to come for our family this fall/winter, we'll have many more stories to follow.  

New Shirt

Family Time

Caleb's birthday was a great chance for all our family to get together and spend some quality time.  Below is the proof!

 

Caleb & Aunt Tami



Sisters!

The Lon Lesher Family

Seth, Joanna & their "little stinker" Jeremiah

Andy & Caleb.  Seth & Jeremiah.

Gammie Mary & Gampie Bob

Mommy, Daddy, Caleb.

 

 



2 Years Old



Caleb celebrated his 2nd birthday last Saturday & we threw him a big Pooh party.  Winnie the Pooh that is. 

 

 

Winnie the Pooh cake with all his friends in the 100 acre woods.

We had Pooh balloons, table cloths, and party favors.

Caleb even blew out his own candles (with a little help from Momma)

Opening presents.

His friends Joel & Molly were there!

I guess it's kind of a tradition now to get a Gammie kiss sandwich on his birthday!

Stop taking pictures of me!

It was a very fun party and thank you to all our friends and family that made the trip to our house to help Caleb celebrate.  On with the Terrible Two's......

Entertainer of the Year

You all saw Caleb's prior moves to the Eric Church song "Creepin".  And if not, just scroll down a little to see the post.  Well, after getting a 1 dollar microphone at Target today, he's trying for entertainer of the year.  Here's his cover of the Dierks Bentley song "5-1-5-0"!!!

Blowin' Up!

Want a guaranteed way to make your phone "blow up"??  List a decent table & 5 mismatched chairs on Craigslist for FREE and sit back!  The first text, and winner of the prize, came a mere 21 minutes after I posted the ad.  Then within 1 hour I had 4 texts, 2 calls, and 1 email.  Once the set left my possession, I immediately deleted the ad!

Makes me think though, should I have charged for it?!?!?!  Oh well, the family that got it said they had a really small house and it would be perfect for them.  Either that or the lady was feeding me a line of crap and will turn around and make a profit off it!!!!  All I know is that I needed the space and it's out of my life forever!!!!

Farm Progress Show

Caleb & Daddy went to the Farm Progress Show on Tuesday in Boone.  It's a HUGE event that comes to Boone every other year.  Tuesday was the opening day and there was a LOT of people.  We also got lots of comments on the backpack Caleb was riding in.  People said "that looks like the best ride here" or something along those lines.  It was great for Caleb, but Daddy's shirt was soaked through with sweat at the end!  Every time we stopped to talk to someone, Caleb would first tell them about all the tractors, then he'd make sure they knew he was riding in a backpack, and finally he'd tell them we came in the Jeep!  He had a blast!

The traffic leading in was unbelievable.

Tractors! Tractors! Tractors!  Probably Caleb's favorite part.  Good thing there was a lot of 'em!

Another one of the highlights for Caleb....a giant Longhorn!

He even got a tattoo to remember the whole thing!  The lady tried to put it on his cheek, but he wanted none of that!

Viral

About 8 months ago I stuck a video of Caleb on YouTube.  It was him dancing in his crib to the Eric Church song "Creepin".  At that time, the song had not been released to radio.  Recently, the song has hit the airwaves across the nation and as people search for the video on YouTube, they are finding Caleb's video instead!!!!!!  One viewer even left a comment that they heard on XM Radio Channel "The Highway" that the DJ told the listeners to search for Caleb's video before they played the song on their station!!!  Here's the video in case you haven't seen it yet.

Big Day

Sunday was a HUGE day at the Bartlett house.  Caleb went pee-pee in the potty for the FIRST TIME!!!!!  Of course the long road to potty trainingville is just starting, but this was a huge milestone!

Airplane

Before we became parents, we never in a million years thought the "airplane" trick would work to get kids to eat their food.  Boy were we wrong.  It's a staple at our house now!

He even does it himself now!!