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

Caleb Ford

As many of you now know, Caleb was born on December 22 at 11:44 pm. He was 8 pounds, 4 ounces and 21 inches long. Pete likes to say that the labor and delivery went well, but then again, it's labor--I'm not sure "well" is the proper adjective. We were able to come home on Christmas Eve, and despite the fact that there wasn't anything in our stockings and neither one of us had finished our shopping, we had the best Christmas with our little one. Pete's parents came and made Christmas dinner for us. James and Martha came and ate with us. It was great.

We've managed to survive our first week as parents without traumatizing our child too much. He's not so much a fan of diaper changes, (which, by the way, happen every four minutes it seems) but he's a very happy boy and loves to make some pretty intense facial expressions. Once I figure out how to post pictures on here... He's going to be so embarrassed when he grows up.

Grandma Knickerbocker came to visit and stayed with us for a few days this week. She was a great help! Pete hasn't eaten that well since, well in a long time :) Shayla comes out to Philly this week to take part of her boards, so we are looking forward to spending some time with her.

For now we are enjoying our time together, ignoring the fact that Pete has to start school again. Hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday/break.

Amanda

Home Alone

So I am sitting here alone (Pete is at school studying...) watching Monday Night Football and I thought that I should start this since I know people will want to keep in touch-- don't worry, I am well aware of the fact that it's because of the baby!

I thought I would give an update on our little family, just to keep some people up to date since the last year has been a whirlwind.

We moved to an apartment close to (actually, right around the block) Shayla and Sean (my sister and her husband) in March 2007. In April, Pete received a scholarship through the Navy for medical school and we found out we were pregnant! Pete graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Spanish in May and then left to go to Officer Indoctrination School in June... phew. Throughout this time period, I was working full time for UPMC's Internal Medicine Department and going to school full time as well. Six weeks later Pete came home and packed up our house and we moved so he could start school. I finished working for UPMC in August and have cut back to only going to school full time.

Peter and I are now in living in Philadelphia, PA as Pete is attending medical school at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). I am attending Drexel University, hoping to finish (someday...) with a masters in secondary education. I'll start school again in April, after taking some time off to spend with the baby.

So far I am just waiting for the little guy to come, but I'm hoping it happens sometime soon! The official due date is December 23, but who knows :) Pete has been busy busy busy with school, but he is doing well and trying his hardest to keep up. I am amazed at how much information he is learning, but I'm glad it's him and not me! He recently finished his first term with anatomy and is currently studying Bio-Chem. His class takes their second test for the term on Thursday, so we are hoping the baby waits until after the test to come!

We love our apartment here in Philadelphia, and we have been so lucky meeting some wonderful people. Pete has become good friends with some of the guys in his class, Bobby Doran and James Aston, and luckily for me, they have great wives (Amanda and Martha)! Bobby and Amanda have a 5 month old, Lillian, who is absolutely adorable. Amanda and I have become good friends as well, and we all have dinner together a lot! I am excited to be able to spend time with Amanda and Lillian once the baby comes-- Lillian will be able to show him all the ropes!! Martha flies back and forth between here and Salt Lake City, UT each week, where she is attending school to get her masters in piano performance. It's so great to have her here on the weekends, and we're excited for the Christmas break when she'll be here in Philly the whole time! She plans to finish next year, so it'll be nice for her to be done and have some time to play with us!

We also have a great ward and have really enjoyed getting to know all the people at church. There are a few other couples who are going through medical school right now too, so it is nice that they know what we're going through and how to handle it. There are also a lot of Wharton Business School students in our ward and then of course, all the Philadelphia locals. Everyone adds a little something different, and we have really had a great time here.


Well this is getting long so I'll wrap it up. I'll try to keep this up to date, but we'll see...

Hopefully everyone is enjoying the holiday season-- we wish you all the best!