Caleb at One Year

Caleb is such a sweet little boy. He gives hugs! This is a huge thing for us, as the parents of a son who was/is quite averse to snuggling in general and hugs in particular. Scott just does NOT like to be tied down or held still, tell you what.

But Caleb is a hugger, and we love it. He's also an organizer--loves to get all the items out of the cabinets, "mocycle" bin (as Scott calls the recycling), and garbage can and rearrange them. If given a chance, he will also conduct experiments in the flotation properties of toys and books in the toilet.

Caleb loves the tub, and often tries to bathe fully clothed. This is discouraged by his mother.

Caleb is a talker. He says "Mama" really well, and has been for a couple months. Recently, he's added "Dah" for Scott and I just heard him ask for his "Bah-ba" (ball) this morning. No approximation of Brandon's name yet.  But where Caleb really shines is in his babbling. Anything (including an empty soda can from the "mocycling") can be a phone, and I'll see Caleb holding it up to his ear saying, "Ai!" for "hi", and then proceeding to have a lengthy babble with the party on the other line. He's particularly adept at the tones used in speaking, whether it's raised at the end for a question, or down to indicate a statement.

Look at that concentration

Caleb, like his brother, loves the outdoors. He plays happily as long as Scott is there with him. We've been blessed with gifts of some great outdoor toys from friends and family, so our yard is a veritable playground, and the boys have a wonderful time out there. Caleb's favorite thing is to climb up the slide or up on top of the child-sized picnic table (another activity discouraged by his mother). Nana can nearly lull Caleb to sleep in the swing. When he gets the opportunity, Caleb loves to jump on Grandma's trampoline.

Caleb's personality is generally happy.  He's a smiley guy as well as a cuddly one. He's more prone to concentrate on a task until he completes it. Scott isn't like that--he craves constant change and movement. It's interesting to see the brothers interact (they sure love to wrestle). Long after Scott has moved on to another activity, Caleb will still be there, stacking the blocks, putting together the puzzle, or pressing the button to pop up the jack-in-the-box.

Caleb isn't interested in books yet (other than testing their flotation properties as mentioned above), but I hope he will be soon. Scott sure loves them, and it would be nice to read to both boys without one of them trying to climb up my face or eat the book.

Caleb is a great eater--he nurses well (except for getting distracted, which is on par for his developmental stage) and eats just about everything I put in front of him. He's grown out of his nightly colic (thank goodness!) but when it's time for sleeping, he only wants Mom. And that's ok with me. They're only little for so long.

Caleb, we love you. We're so happy you're in our family, Sweet Boy!

Our crazy life

Here's what's coming up for our little family:

I am in White Christmas with Playmill at the Colonial Theatre in Idaho Falls, teaching 12 hours a week at BYU-I, and teaching a growing number of private voice students at home.

Brandon has huge deadlines coming up for both magazines, a brand new mag to write for (Diesel Tech), doing freelance on the side with Demand Media, and watching the boys whenever I'm not home.

Scott is saying funny things every day, running around and screaming a lot, "reading" himself to sleep at night, and is excited to move to a house near Micah and Jonathan and to have a sandbox in the backyard.

Caleb is working on his second tooth, eating bananas, nursing great, sleeping SO wonderfully, rolling/scooting all around, and being an angel baby when he comes with me to work/rehearsal.

I have three callings at Church right now: Beehive advisor (I teach nearly every Sunday), YW music, and Ward Choir Director. Our ward is providing the music for Stake Conference next week, and the YW are singing for New Beginnings and the ward Christmas party.

We are packing to move to North Salt Lake in the middle of December. I am working on building a voice studio down there, and Brandon is looking for a different, higher-paying/additional job.

Brandon's brother, Matt, is marrying Cindy in the Draper UT Temple on Dec. 21. My brother, Daniel, is marrying Adele in the Rexburg ID Temple on Dec. 29.

I might have missed something in there--oh yeah, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Nothing big.

Yeah, it's going to be a busy time. :) What are you all up to?

Caleb's Birth Story-Short n' Sweet version

This is the short and sweet version. If you'd like to know all the details, read here.

On the evening of Friday, July 2, we met up with an old friend of Brandon's to walk around the Greenbelt and see the temple. I was feeling some contractions, but was in denial that I might be in *real* labor. When we got home, Brandon blew up the birth tub and tried to fill it with water, but we didn't have the right hose connection, so we decided to figure it all out the next day. I asked Brandon to time my contractions, and they were pretty long and close together, but they didn't feel strong enough to be *real* labor, so I decided that I would try to go to sleep, and if I could, then I wouldn't worry about it. If the contractions kept me awake, then I'd call the midwife.

We went to bed and slept very well. It was probably the best night's sleep I'd had in a long time. :) So we got up and got ready for ward breakfast and the parade, my parent's BBQ, and the fireworks that night. It was going to be a fun day! But my contractions came right back as soon as I got up. Went to the parade anyway, because I'm stubborn like that and was still in denial about being in labor. :)

After about an hour of being at the parade, it was 11AM and my contractions were starting to get strong enough that I couldn't talk through them. I still didn't think I was in labor, but I thought "I'd really like to go home and get in the tub so I can relax and get these contractions to go away". :) We left Scott with my parents at the parade and walking back to the car I had to stop and lean on Brandon everytime I had a contraction. I called the midwife when we got to the car, but I was still in denial and told her I didn't think it was real labor yet. She told us to go home and time the contractions for another half hour and let her know.

Driving home the 7 minutes it took, I started to need to vocalize to get through the contractions. At that time, Brandon started to realize it was the real thing because he remembered me vocalizing like that from Scott's birth when things started to get serious. :) We got home and told the midwife it was definitely go time.

Brandon hurriedly tried to figure out a way to fill up the birth tub, but couldn't make it happen. So a water birth was out, but that's ok. We'll try it next time around. :) I ended up laboring and giving birth on our bed (don't worry, everything gets covered in plastic and waterproof stuff).

We got home at about 11:30AM. Valerie, the midwife's assistant, got there at 12:05PM, and Kathy (the midwife) arrived at about 12:15PM. I felt like pushing at about 12:39PM and Caleb James Barrus was born at 12:44PM. It was fast and exciting, to say the least! Remember, if you'd like to read more detail, follow this link.

He is beautiful and healthy, I am healthy, and we are so glad we got to give birth at home!

The Great Cloth-diapering Experiment

As I mentioned in this post, I've been using Gerber pre-folds, Gerber plastic pants, Snappis, and recycled wool soakers for diapering these past couple of months. Here is my report:

The Diapers Themselves

I've learned that getting a tight fit around the leg is key to preventing leaks. It took a little time for Brandon and I to figure the best way, but now we don't have any leaking issues unless we've left the diaper on too long.

You need to change cloth more often than disposables, but not that much more often. We do probably 4-5 dipes a day now, instead of the 2-3 before, but it's not a huge deal.

The Snappis had a bit of a learning curve, but I've been happy with them after I learned how to use them. I also tried pins and prefer the Snappi. It's had the happy side effect of keeping Scott's hands out of his diaper, too, so he's not playing with himself constantly.

I'm really most pleased with the way my recycled wool soakers have performed. When I put Scott in the first pair of longies, they leaked right through and I was quite frustrated. Then I learned about lanolizing wool and how important it is to maintain the wool's waterproof properties. Ever since I washed the wool in a lanolin solution, I haven't had any problems. In fact, I'm constantly amazed to check Scott after I've left him in a wet diaper for longer than I meant to and find that the wool has still kept him dry. I much prefer wool to the vinyl or plastic pants, and I'm glad I've been able to make so many pairs of soakers for Scott with the free XL sweaters I picked up at a swap meet in my parents' ward.

Wearing cloth diapers, especially with a wool soaker over the top, does add bulk to Scott's bum and makes his pants fit more snugly, but he's always been a thin kid and so it's just made them stay up better. :)

Cleaning and Laundering

I'm still dealing with some ammonia stinkies in my diapers (happens when the urine mixes with detergent buildup in the diapers). I've tried adding vinegar, baking soda, and Borax, and switched to Original Tide powder (the highest recommended and most easily available detergent in my area), but can't quite kick the smell. I may have to strip the diapers and see if that helps.

Cloth diapering has not added that much time to my household duties. I actually enjoy hanging them out on the line and getting out in the sunshine and wind for a little while. I wash my diapers twice a week, because we don't do cloth at my mom's house, and she watches Scott 2.5 days a week. If I were cloth diapering full-time, I'd probably need to wash them every other day, or 3-4 times a week. But if I were doing that, I wouldn't be working, so I'd have the time. Now, that's only for one child, not two, so we'll just have to see how it goes when this new baby comes.

Elimination Training

Scott has a much increased knowledge of when he is wet or stinky. This is a huge break-through, because even as an infant, a dirty diaper never fazed him. He just didn't seem to even notice. But now that he's been in cloth, he tells me all the time, and has even become more interested in sitting on his potty and eventually wearing big kid underwear. Hooray!

Scott has also had no diaper rashes since we started cloth. He was prone to them (a combination of him never complaining about being stinky, and the chemicals in disposable diapers), so this has been wonderful for him (and for me--I always feel so bad for him when he has a sore bottom!).

The Last Word

So that about sums it up. I've been pleased with the results we've had. It's not as hard or intimidating or time-consuming as I once feared. Yes, it does take longer than disposables, but I feel the trade-offs are worth it. Plus I feel like doing things this way (breastfeeding, co-sleeping, attachment parenting, cloth diapering) make me take the time with my children that I otherwise would be too busy or preoccupied to do. It helps me to slow the pace of my life and remember that people are more important than things.

What I've been up to...

• Baking Scott's birthday cake
• Turning 25 (tomorrow)
• Growing Scott's little brother (who is still measuring over a week large, I might add :)
• Doing laundry for Brandon's upcoming business trip (he leaves in 2 days)
• Rehearsing for South Pacific, which opens this Friday and Saturday
• Preparing the house in anticipation of a much awaited visit from "a boys", Seff, Josh, Betah, Mamy, Nana, and Bumpah (we can't convince him otherwise, Amy and Seth--in his book, YOU ARE COMING.)
• Discussing LOST theories
• Riding the emotion roller-coaster (thanks, pregnancy hormones)
• Preparing Young Women lessons
• Trying to find a lovely Easter song for Ward Choir with only one mens part that's mostly unison (having a rough time of it)
• Reading "a-sewf" and "tamp stowy" at least once a day (thanks for the Little Critter books, Amy :)
• Wishing that my director for South Pacific would just let me be a pregnant woman playing Nellie, already, instead of stressing me out by saying we have to search all around town down to the wire to find the perfect ensemble that will hide my belly.

That's what I've been up to. What's new in your life?

Blue or pink?

Which will it be? That's the question on my brain lately. I'd love to have a girl, because we don't have one, and girls come with so much cute, girly stuff. I'd also love to have another boy, because Scott is so much fun and I feel like I kind of have an idea of what to expect.

I've been feeling like it's a boy for a little while now. I can only think of boy names. Physically, I feel really similar to how I felt when I was pregnant with Scott. I've had several dreams in which the baby was a boy.

BUT, I think I'm carrying more like a girl-shaped football, rather than a boy-shaped basketball (Scott was SO a basketball :). Then there's the fact that Scott is obsessed with having a "sistah". And the color pink.

So, we'll just have to see. My first prenatal appointment with my new midwives is today; they'll refer to me to an ultrasound place and we'll have that done in a couple of weeks, most likely. I have a sneaking suspicion the baby may just keep his/her little modest legs together and not let us see. In the mean time, feel free to vote in the poll up at the top of the blog on the right, or comment below. Which do YOU think we're having?

Another day, another singing competition

So, as a slight update to my last post, I sang in another competition last weekend in Pocatello. The prize was money and the opportunity to perform with the Idaho State Civic Symphony. I sang in the beautiful new facility at ISU, and it was a joy to sing there. I got to pick the arias I presented, so I sang a lovely 20th Century one and my favorite coloratura, show-off aria from the Barber of Seville. This time, I sang up to my full potential. :) I just love singing those pieces, and I sang them well (not to mention that my coloratura is darn good, if I do say so myself), so I felt good about my performance, and also felt that I redeemed myself a little after my poor showing at the Met Competition. :)

I wasn't too worried about whether I won or placed or not. I mean, it would have been nice (especially the money), but the concert with the orchestra falls on my birthday (March 4), which also happens to be dress rehearsal for South Pacific, so that would be more than a little stressful if I had won. :)

As it happened, my good friend and fellow mezzo, Audrey Lambert, took home first place. My other friend, Lizzy, who also sang exceptionally well in the competition, and I were talking about how our pieces would be a little boring for the ISCS to play (they mostly showcase our voices while the orchestra just plays supporting chords), while Audrey's pieces (some Strauss, for one thing) would be really interesting for them to play. Not to downplay Audrey's performance at all (she really commanded their respect and has an amazing voice), but we all felt like we were neck-and-neck, without the repertoire consideration, and her more interesting rep gave her that extra edge. So all in all, I feel redeemed and like I got back on my game for at least one more competition before I take a slight break to prepare for baby #2.

That is, after I'm done with my Faculty Opera recital at BYU-I and singing the lead in South Pacific.

And teaching a couple more semesters of voice.

And possibly directing Idaho Falls Youth Arts Center's production of Seussical the Musical, Jr. this summer.

Yeah, I'm busy. :)

Projects

First of all, hooray for the end of the first trimester and starting to get some energy and motivation back! I am lucky and never throw up when I'm pregnant, but I do spend most of those first few months on the couch, exhausted, hungry, and nauseated (and in a very bad mood, if you can imagine :). Poor Scott! But now things are starting to look up, and thanks to all your cold-weather ideas and great Christmas presents, Scott and I have some fun activities ahead of us.

But I think I'll tackle this little project first: updating these used brass candlesticks that Brandon gave me for Christmas (lest you think he's a poor present-giver, I asked for them :) with some black spray paint. Here's the "before":

Some other things I have planned:

Decorating Scott's room with Backyardigans bedding, wall art, and curtains

Setting up the basement as a play area for Scott

Organizing all the clothes Scott's grown out of recently

Deep cleaning my fridge and bathrooms

OK, so I don't know that any of these are really all that exciting to anyone but me, but I'm just so happy to actually feel well enough to do some of these things that I had to share. :)

Scott's best Christmas present

It wasn't the basketball and hoop, although he loves them...

Not even all the new toys to could compare to this present...

...a new sibling, due July 14th, 2010!

Merry Christmas, everyone. We love you all and hope you have a wonderful holiday spent with family.

Midnight: the "Witching Hour"--or "A Tree Falling Through Your Window Hour"

Yes, last night at midnight there were 60-mile-an-hour winds in Idaho Falls. Our next-door neighbors were also in trouble with the police, as we learned from the lady across the street. So when we were awakened by what sounded like someone trying to break down our front door/falling down our stairs, we thought our erstwhile neighbors were trying to find asylum from the police by breaking and entering. Brandon checked downstairs, and finding nothing amiss, made sure all the doors were locked and checked on Scott. He was sleeping soundly, and soon, so were we.

The next morning, I awoke to find this:

A dead tree near our rented condo had fallen onto our deck and broken the window in Scott's room on the way down. Scott's crib is mercifully on the other side of the room, and the glass didn't make it that far (the blinds were closed, and that helped keep some of the damage down).

Glass was everywhere, and, as we all know, glass and toddlers don't mix. Well, I suppose they do, but the result is a bloody, tear-stained mess. Luckily, Brandon and I both had to work early this morning so Scott stayed safe at Nana's house.

Here's the branches on our deck. We think the tree missed our grill and landed right on the deck railing, cracking it in two places.

The view from our kitchen window.

The outside view. You can see Scott's broken window and the huge limbs on our deck.

This incident, along with recent heating and plumbing issues and replacing the water heater, remind me why I'm grateful we're still renting. We want a house badly, but it's not the right time for us. If we got into a house and we could barely make the mortgage payment, we'd be in real trouble right now if we had to replace a heater, water heater, window, pay to have the rest of the tree removed, and possibly fix the deck. No, I think I'll just stick to being grateful that I have a steady rent payment every month and that Scott came out unscathed (and didn't even wake up!).

Family Update

Looking over some old posts, I realized we haven't completely updated all of you on our lives and current situation. Here we go:

Brandon

• enjoys his job at Harris Publishing, including perks like Boating Day and having his own office
• just got a small raise at his 6-month employment evaluation
• teaches the 14-year-old Sunday School class every other Sunday
• plays basketball with a bunch of guys from the ward twice a week
• does the dishes every night (I love this guy!)
• enjoys the hot Idaho summer while it lasts

Mandi

• was forbidden by BYU-I to quit her teaching job due to the Church-wide hiring freeze, so taught 1 day a week in Rexburg April-July (I honestly could quit if I really wanted to, but the Music Dept. would have to turn away a lot of interested and talented students and we need the money, so it's a win-win, I guess)
• is FREE now that the Spring semester is over, but will teach again in the Fall
• teaches a handful of private voice lessons out of her home studio
• is hoping to join Sounds Choir in January (or as soon as there's an opening)
• serves as Ward Choir Director, and is getting fed up with begging people to come to practice. Any suggestions?
• Accompanies the Sister Missionaries while teaching investigators
• Has an audition with the Idaho Falls Opera Theatre later this month

Scott

• knows how to say: Mama, Dada, NayNay (Grandma), ball, book, broom, baby, shoe, that, want it, banana, bath, dog, yeah, no, teeth, cheese, Jesus, maymee (his made-up word for nursing), nap, George (Curious George, his favorite dolly), walk, rock, stick, wheee!
• can find his: ears, hair, eyes, mouth, nose, hands, feet, and belly button
• thinks Nursery is heaven on earth and can't wait to go full time in only 4 more Sundays (Halelujah!)
• would live outside as a feral child, if we let him
• loves visiting his grandparents and aunts & uncles on both sides (and let's not forget his favorite cousin!)
• has all his teeth
• runs everywhere possible
• will never say "no" to an episode of "Backyardigans"

Our future plans include:

• becoming debt-free
• Mandi grad school in 2012 (still TBD exactly where)
• Brandon getting a sportswriting job or working remotely for Harris Publishing while Mandi goes to school
• having lots of fun and wonderful family time!

Finally--the Official Condo Tour

So I've been procrastinating this post because my kitchen and laundry room never look "picture-worthy", but it's time to just post this already. I'll do pictures of the kitchen/laundry, front porch, and deck later.

View from the front door. Yes, our computer is in the closet. It's so much easier to keep it from Scott that way.

Living room, another angle.

Living, from the dining room.

Dining room.

Another angle of dining room. Right behind me is the door down to the garage.

Our beautiful, magazine-worthy bed--hooray! I had fun updating our bedding and lamps.

I need to update those pictures, heh heh.

My craft/sewing area--I need to get some shelves for the wall to store everything.

Upstairs bathroom. Scott thinks it's his personal water playland.

Scott's room.

He loves the animals on his closet doors.

We have enjoyed the larger bedrooms and all the storage afforded in the mudroom on the basement level, and the garage has been a life-saver, especially in the winter. All in all, we like living at 530 Vassar Way.

The Latest and Greatest at the Barrus Apartment

So nothing all that exciting is going on at the moment, but here is an update on the small happenings of the Barrus family:  

I am flying to Phoenix for my first graduate audition this weekend.  I can't wait to get on the ASU campus and see if it's the right place for us.  I am also nervous because this will be the first time in my 23 years that I have flown and navigated a large city on my own.  It will be exciting!  

Teaching is going well this semester--my students are all so sweet and talented. It's very rewarding teaching them.  I was also cast as Cherubino in a scene from Marriage of Figaro that Opera Scenes will be staging in March, so that's going to keep me busy.  

Brandon is working 30 hours a week at Western Wats, a phone survey place here in Rexburg.  He works "day shop" calling businesses that want to participate in surveys, so it's not as bad a job as it might sound. :) He is very good at it and can make decent money (for an hourly job in a tiny town).  Bran is also stringing for the Post Register and just had another story published yesterday.  We are job searching and would appreciate your prayers as he tries to get hired in this chancy economy. 

Scott is nearly walking--as soon as he figures out that he can stand on his own, I'm sure walking won't be far behind.  Right now we hold him up to stand but he has a hard time balancing because he only wants to jump, jump, jump!  He is an energetic and talkative baby, and we sure love him.  It's hard to believe he's already 10 months old--his 1st birthday keeps getting closer and closer!

We finally made some decisions about our future here in the Frozen Wasteland:  April 15, 2009 will be our last day.  Our apartment contract is up, the semester will be over, and we will have decided by then what graduate program I'll be attending, so we'll fly the coop.  We could stay in Rexburg until August when I start school, but we'd rather not move twice this year, if we can help it. We are excited and nervous to move to a new state and to have new jobs, new friends, and a new, warmer climate--hooray!