Lancaster

This past week a group of my friends and I went out to Bird in Hand and Intercourse, PA. They are two quaint Amish run towns which draw tourists in from all over. We figured that while we were in the Philly area, we should take advantage of the day trips and head on over.

The nice part for me is that Pete's parents live about 20 minutes away from these Amish towns. Unfortunately, we weren't able to go to visit Grandma and Grandpa Knickerbocker on this trip, but I'm sure we will take advantage of it in the future.

Amber, Heather, Amanda and I headed out with babies in tow for a day of quilting materials and 50 pound bags of wheat. Everyone stared a bit when we entered with four babies ranging in ages from 2 to 18 months, but we had a great day and enjoyed our time in the great outdoors (complete with fresh air and manure).

Amber has inspired us all to quilt and she has promised to help get us all started. We plan to make our outing a monthly event. I think the people in Bird in Hand, PA might object to our plans, but we are having a great time and it gives us a chance to get out of the house with the kids!

Trips and Travels

So much has been going on in our little family of late. Well, really, not THAT much has been going on, but I feel like it has! I made it back from Pittsburgh without any huge disasters and Caleb was an angel. He slept the entire flight (all 38 minutes of it). I'm excited to get my pictures back from the trip so we can scrapbook! (Pete is laughing at my good intentions... he knows that scrapbooking is talked about more than done). The flight attendants all loved him. And we were able to get a picture with one of him for his theoretical scrapbook.

Caleb was able to meet so many people during his trip to Pittsburgh. On Monday, we were able to meet up with two of his cousins, Makayla and Sam, and Aunt Christen. We went to the Carnegie Science Center, which was way over Caleb's head, but completely entertained Sam and Makayla. I loved this Science Center when we lived in Pittsburgh, so it was great to go back and see the displays again. My dream job would be working as one of the demonstrators at the Science Center. How cool would it be to do science experiments for little kids all day long? Anyway, Sam was able to see the trains and Makayla and I made a fish and dinosaur out of Kinex. We had a great day!


Most importantly, he met two of his great-grandmothers and one great-grandfather on our trip.

While in the Pittsburgh area, we were able to celebrate my Bala Reddy's 91st (yeah, that's right) birthday. She looks fabulous and is doing well. She'll tell you that no one sees her on her bad days, but I tell her that no one sees me on my bad days either. The whole family was able to get together and celebrate the life of this amazing woman. It was great to see everyone and take some time to catch up!

He loved being held by so many people who love him and wanted to spoil him. They, however, did not have to deal with him for the week after we came home. He threw a fit every time I put him down. He's starting to get back to normal, but normal for a two month old still requires a lot of mommy time.

Another exciting part of the trip was getting to meet his cousin, Dean Matthew Cammarata. Shayla and Sean had their baby while we were visiting, which I thought was very nice of them. Caleb slightly over-shadows Dean, considering he is about 5 pounds bigger, but I think they have the potential to get in a lot of trouble together. Shayla and Sean are falling into the parent role well and I'm so excited that they are going through this at the same time we are! Caleb was able to try out all of Dean's toys and swings and crib before Dean joined us, so everything got a trial run! Even Norm (the dog--who was, by the way, an excellent dog with all the babies) was able to try out having a baby at home. It worked out well.

Tracy and Hanna are expecting at the end of March, so it'll be great once everyone can get together again. I can imagine the face of the hostess when all of us walk into a restaurant with our babies... We'll bring a sympathy card with us.

Phew... that's not even all we got to do while in the 'burgh! Last, but not least, I was able to catch up with two great friends, Bethany and Gina while in town. Beth is working as an assistant manager at Pearl Vision and is thinking about becoming an eye doctor. She is doing really well and is pretty dang brave to have a real job! Gina is finishing her degree at Duquesne University in May and then starts a Doctorate in Physical Therapy program this summer. Their big plans make having a baby seem easy! We were able to go out to eat before I left town and they had a chance to meet the kid.

Caleb and I had a great time on our trip and we can't wait to go back to visit all our friends and family again.

Wow, this post was long... sorry about that! We love you all and hope you are enjoying our stories.
-Amanda

Surprise!

Drumroll please.... He's here! Yup, that's right. Shayla and Sean got to meet their little surprise on Wednesday. And even though everyone (including me) swore up and down that they were going to have a girl, Dean Matthew Cammarata was born on Wednesday, February 6 at 4:14 pm a whopping 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 20.5 inches long.

He's a whole pound lighter than Caleb was at birth! Mom, Dad and baby are looking fabulous (a little too fabulous if you ask me) and come home from the hospital today. Caleb looks huge next to his new playmate, but I think they have some good times ahead. I'm imagining Christmas with the two of them running around everywhere... I need some anti-anxiety medication.

Tribute to Gordon B. Hinckley

Tomorrow is the funeral for President Gordon B. Hinckley. As many of you may know, he was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and he passed away this week. Whether or not you are a member of this church, or believe him to be a prophet or not, Gordon B. Hinckley, was a good person who inspired many to better their lives. With his death, the world has lost a fabulous, humble man who wanted only to help enrich the lives of others.

Glenn Beck had a short commentary on his show regarding President Hinckley this week. And whether or not you like Glenn Beck as a person or not, his words capture some of the emotion many felt when they learned of the death of this great man. The video can be seen by clicking here.

I add my respect and admiration of this man to that of millions of others. Not just because I believe him to be a prophet of God, but because he lived his life as I wish to live mine. It's really as simple as that.

One month!

My mother is currently trying to console a sleepy, yet crying, little Caleb. And she is happy. I wonder if it is just built into grandparents not to ever get frustrated with crying. In fact, I think she thinks its cute. Too bad she is leaving after this week.

Caleb went to the doctor for his one month check up this week. He weighed in at 11 pounds 5 ounces and measured 22.5 inches. He's pretty huge. He also made the switch to size one diapers today (which was slightly traumatic for me-- he's growing up so fast!). It's incredible to watch him grow. He's catching up to Lillian (the Doran's little girl, she's six months old and absolutely adorable) and wearing 3 month clothing.

My mother and I head to Pittsburgh this weekend. Hopefully my sister Shayla will go into labor soon (not too soon... we want to be there for it!) and I can meet my new niece or nephew while I am there. I don't envy her though... the last few weeks were the worst. But it's all worth it in the end.

Well, it has been so far at least.

Visits!

My parents and little sister came into town for the Martin Luther King Day long weekend. I like to think that even if we didn't have Caleb they would still have come to visit, but I'm not going to fool myself :) Shayla was able to come and stay with us when she came into Philly for her boards. Here are a few of the pictures we were able to capture.

Caleb and Grandpa Farr. He doesn't sleep that well for me...


Katie napping with Caleb.


Shayla and Caleb. Caleb is bonding with his cousin... via the womb.


Visits are so much fun. Can't wait to go visit Shayla and Tracy's new little ones soon!

Week Three

So its been three weeks that we have managed to keep Caleb (and ourselves) alive and well. Despite the fever I endured last week, we have all managed to stay happy and relatively well rested. Pete started back to school this week and is trying hard to get right back into the swing of things. It's hard for him to leave Caleb everyday, but considering the alternative (dropping out of medical school and living on the street), Caleb and I are glad that he's off being studious.

Our ward has been great bringing us dinners-- which is amazing, since Caleb has decided that being held is a must, which in turn makes cooking difficult. My mom comes to stay with us this weekend, so it will be great to have Nana here. Caleb will undoubtedly be the most spoiled three week old around.

I am adjusting to life as a mother pretty well. I have not left the house in days, can't remember if I showered recently and have no idea what today's date is-- let alone what day of the week it is. Mostly I stare at Caleb all day, change diapers and feed him CONSTANTLY. But I love it. This whole staying at home thing is fabulous. We'll see how long this lasts. He's started to focus on things and he loves to stare at lights. It's pretty incredible to watch him figure things out. He's pretty much a genius.

I also have never watched so much TV in all my life. I can now, however, solve any crime, thanks to my training from "Law and Order" which must have been on since the beginning of TV. I haven't seen the same episode yet and I swear, TNT runs about 5 shows a day.

Someday I will have something to write about other than Caleb... I'll work on getting a life of my own :) The library here lets you download audio books, so Caleb and I are going to become well "read". At this point, anything has to be better than "Law and Order" and "ER".

Well, the kid wants to be fed. Hope everyone is doing well. Take care!
Amanda