Stroller Makeover

For the last few months, Brian and I have been watching Craigslist for our dream stroller.  There are tons of strollers on the market, but we knew exactly what we wanted: a BOB Sport Utility Dualie.  This thing is perfect for Ukarumpa, with our dirt roads and hills and mud.  It's built for off-road.  It has knobby, fat tires, a great suspension for bumpy roads, and a hand brake on the handle bar (something that I love when going down steep hills, like we have in Ukarumpa).  It's the Land Rover of strollers.   (It also costs about $500 brand new, which is why were were shopping on Craigslist!)

A few weeks ago, we finally found a good deal.  Here she is:

And the boys just happened to be wearing blue shirts that match the stroller too...

The "new" stroller is actually a 2001 model, but it was in great condition.  It came with a rain cover, which had probably never been used in Colorado, but which I'm sure we will use in Papua New Guinea.  There was just one problem.  The 2001 model comes with a pretty wimpy sun shade.  In 2002 BOB started making strollers with a much bigger sun shade.  (Is it sad that I know this much about these strollers?)

In Ukarumpa, walking is our main form of transportation.  The single stroller that we have in Ukarumpa is actually a well-used BOB stroller of the same vintage, with the same style of sun shade.  I knew from using it for the last two years in PNG that I really wanted something with more coverage.  So... I sewed a new cover!

 

Voila!

  

I am super proud of this little sewing project.  When we decided to buy the stroller, Brian told me "Well, you can just make a new sun shade for it, if that's the only thing you don't like about it."  I was a bit skeptical that my sewing skills would be up to the task, but it turned out really well.  We had to make it black because we couldn't match the blue fabric.

 Another feature of the newer models is that there is a clear window in the top of  the shade so that you can catch older brother in the act of pinching little brother...umm... I mean... so that you can peek in on your little darlings and make sure they are enjoying  the outing as much as you.

I was able to put in a nice clear vinyl window thanks to this good YouTube video that I found.  (It's amazing what you can find on YouTube these days.)

Can't wait to take the boys for a ride and try it out!

Funny end to the story... although we had already bought a stroller, we still kept getting alert emails whenever someone posted a new one on Craigslist.  Yesterday someone posted another stroller that looks exactly like ours, for quite a bit less than what we paid.  It was such a good deal that we bought it, and now we have two!  Brian is out in the garage right now tuning and tightening it up so that it works like new.  We'll give it a bath and then hopefully sell it for a bit of a profit, to recoup some of the cost of our own stroller.  Maybe we'll become professional stroller-flippers...

Caleb: 6 Months!

Didn't I just do one of these Caleb update posts?  Has it been another month already?

6 months old... look out toys!  Here he comes!

 

This one is a little blurry, but I love that smile...

We had a little scare with Caleb this week.  We decided to buy some formula and try it out so that we would have a backup if we left him with grandma and grandpa overnight and they ran out of milk to feed him.  Well, within minutes of eating, he developed a skin rash wherever the formula had touched his skin.  (The marks on his back are just from me touching him with unwashed hands).  Before long he was vomiting and pretty much his entire body had broken out in a rash like the one below.

Even though there were no breathing problems, his face was getting a bit swollen and so I took him to an urgent care clinic.  They wouldn't treat him because they said they didn't have the ability to help him if the reaction got worse, so they sent us to the local emergency room.  

So now we are suspecting a milk allergy.  I shouldn't be surprised, because I had lots of allergy problems (including milk) when I was a child.  

I never thought I'd be a person who would voluntarily go on a dairy-free diet... I love cheese and butter too much.  But it's funny how I vowed to forgo the enchiladas in an instant when I was watching my miserable little boy go through this.  Although I haven't noticed Caleb having any problems related to my diet, I've decided to eliminate dairy for the time being.  

In short, I'll just say that I have a new respect for my mother, who used to stay awake at night by my bed to make sure I was still breathing when I was having troubles with asthma.  She used to drive to the emergency room in the middle of the night and wait with me in the parking lot so that she could whisk me inside if my reaction got any worse.  She was vigilant over every snack I consumed at parties to make sure there were no nuts.  Thanks mom!

But on a lighter note, here are a few photos of Greg, just to share the limelight:

 For some reason, Greg persists in believing that head-butting is an appropriate way of showing affection.  I think these two are going to be best friends half of the time, and worst enemies the other half!

 

I know Greg looks utterly bored in this photo, but he is actually enjoying watching us play Just Dance on the Wii.  He will very occasionally join us, but prefers to stay in his chair and dictate which songs we choose.  "No, not that one.  Do the one with the two mans,"  or "Do the lady who goes like this (demonstrating a hand motion)"

Let it Snow!

We have been enjoying the Colorado snow these last few months.  I just came in from shoveling about 8 inches of snow from our latest snowstorm.  These photos, however, are from the snow we had a few weeks ago.  (I haven't yet convinced Greg to leave the comfort of the warm house today to play in the fresh stuff.)

Showing Greg all the wonderful things about his mom's "asples."

Don't you remember when you were a kid and mom bundled you up so that you could hardly move?  Yep, I am that mom.

 Here is a lovely, snowy photo of the house we are living in now.  Brian is learning all about shoveling snow, as we live on a corner lot and have a lot of sidewalk to clear.

 Caleb stays bundled up just inside the garage while the rest of us play in the front yard.