Highlights of our last two months!

So we can catch up to the present here are the highlights of our last couple months:

Caleb started walking!! He took his first steps on August 27th and it is amazing how quickly he went from taking a couple steps at a time to walking around everywhere like he has been doing it forever!

We got a new van! We traded in both of our cars for a Honda Odyssey. We are now a one car family. We love the van and having one car works fine since Todd works right down the street. Most days he walks to work and if the weather is not nice it is just a quick drive for me to drop him off.

We went to the zoo! We have a great zoo here where you can see a lot of the animals really up close. You can even feed the giraffes some crackers that you buy there. Caleb enjoyed watching the animals, although when we went a lot of them were hiding or sleeping. We will have to go another time and hope more of them are out!

Todd bought a smoker! We have been having wonderfully smoked meat these past couple months! This smoker is amazing and Todd does a great job with it all. He has done ribs, chicken, and pulled pork so far! Yummy!!

It's college football season! Go dawgs!! Although Georgia is not having a great year so far we are enjoying watching the games and it is a great time to hang out with friends too!

We put our house on the market! We really want to be able to move back east, closer to family, so we decided to put our house on the market and see what happens. We are not going anywhere until our house sells. Which may be quite a while. It has been on the market for almost seven weeks and we have only had two people look at it so far. It is really slow right now.

Caleb got his first haircut! His hair was getting long and shaggy in the back so we decided to try to cut it. Caleb did great. We probably need a little more practice! We only had one injury, a little cut on his ear, but Caleb didn't even notice!

My (Heather's) parents were able to visit again this past weekend. We went to a pumpkin patch on Friday, the Navy/Air Force game on Saturday, and Todd and I got to go out for a little date on Sunday. It was a lot of fun.

Caleb is at such a fun age right now! He is walking all over the place. He is starting to communicate a lot more with us. He uses his sign language a lot and also points and makes different sounds and facial expressions to let us know what he wants. He call Todd "dada" now which is a lot of fun! He loves to be outside, going for walks or just playing. He plays with the little toy cars that he has (thanks Uncle Drew!) and loves pushing them around making car and truck sounds. He is really starting to enjoy reading books. He likes to pick one out and then come and sit in our lap so we can read it to him. He likes to walk and crawl backwards (which is quite funny), he also will spin himself around and make himself dizzy (he learned this from daddy!), he always wants to close a door when he sees it open, and he is big into carrying things around with him right now. Just the other day we found him carrying his big empty diaper box around the room! He loves to blow kisses to everyone, including strangers when he sees them walking by! We have taught him to raise his hands over his head when we say "touchdown". Great for football season! Caleb got his first pair of shoes a couple weeks ago. He looks like such a big boy wearing them! He is a very happy little boy and very fun to be around, although he does have his moments where he throws himself on the floor and throws a fit, when he doesn't get something he wants right away. He is also wanting to be more independent and now that he is walking he wants to be down walking all the time! It seems like he is learning new things all the time. We are having a great time being Caleb's parents!!

Summer Visitors!

We had some of our family come and visit us this summer. Nana (Todd's mom) came out in July for a long weekend. It was great to spend time with her and for her to get to see Caleb. Grandma and Grandpa (Heather's parents), Aunt Bethany, and Uncle Drew came out in August. It is always fun to see family and wish we could see everyone more often. Here are a few pictures of their visit! (Bethany, I didn't get any pictures of you. We will have to make sure we do next time!)

Nana and Caleb hanging out!

Caleb with Grandpa and Grandma

Uncle Drew and Caleb checking out what's outside!

Caleb checking out Grandpa!

One Year Old!

I know we are extremely late with this post. I do not know what happened, but here it is! I am going to try to remember some highlights of Caleb's first birthday, which I cannot believe was already two months ago! At his 12 month checkup, Caleb weighed 19 lbs. 1 oz. (6 percentile) and was 29 1/2 inches long (43 percentile). He was not walking yet, although he was starting to stand by himself a lot and was walking along furniture. He crawls up the stairs whenever he can. He enjoys being around people and going places, just as long as mommy and daddy are close by. Anytime he hears music he starts dancing along, bouncing up and down and rocking back and forth. He loves it when we build towers and he comes over quickly to knock them down. He loves dogs! He get so excited when he sees one. He still takes two naps a day and sleeps well at night (around 11 hours or so). He is a good eater. He loves chicken, ground beef, broccoli, yogurt, cheerios, peaches, bananas, mac and cheese, and goldfish among other things. We had started him on cow's milk a couple weeks before his first birthday and he was not a fan at that time. He uses sign language to sign: "please", "more", and "all done". He signs "please" all the time when he wants something.

We celebrated Caleb's first birthday pretty low key. He opened some presents we played with him a lot and went to the playground so he could swing (one of his favorite things to do). We made cupcakes for him and it was fun to watch him eat it/play with it. He pretty much just smashed his cupcake up and didn't really want to eat it. It was fun to watch though! We cannot believe Caleb is already a year old. This year has gone by so fast, but at the same time it is hard to imagine life without him! We love him so much and are so thankful for God bringing him into our lives!

One Year Old!!

Caleb loves daddy's hats!

He's drinking out of a sippy cup now.




Enjoying the cake!!

11 Months Old!

We realized we still had not posted Caleb's eleven month pictures, so I thought I would write a quick post to give an update. Caleb is walking along furniture and easily transitioning from one piece of furniture to another. He also likes to walk around holding onto our hands. He walks on his tiptoes a lot right now when we are walking him around. It won't be long before he is walking all over the place! He can get places really quickly on his hands and knees. We have to watch him so closely now because he can be in the next room and into something before we know it! He is crawling up and down the steps. We don't have any gates set up yet, but we have found that he is terrified of the vacuum cleaner, so if we just leave it at the top or bottom of the steps he will not go near them! He loves to look out the window at the cars going by, the deer and birds outside, and he really gets excited when he sees a dog! He understands a lot of what we say and is very interactive with us when we talk to him. He babbles a lot but has not really said any words. We think we have heard him say "hi" and "uh oh" a few times and every once in a while we might here "mamama" or "dadada". He knows sign language for "more", "all done", and he is learning "please". He is getting better about obeying us with some things. He knows what he is not allowed to touch and a lot of times I will see him go near something he can't touch, look at it and shake his head "no" before going on to something else. It is neat to see how he is learning to obey. There are still many other areas where he is learning to obey us though! He is still very much a mommy's boy, but he definitely loves his daddy a lot too! When Todd is home and doing things around the house Caleb always wants to know exactly where he is and tries to follow him everywhere! He enjoys playing with his toys a lot and is spending more time playing independently right now. He has gotten a few more teeth this past month, so now he has a grand total of six! He is starting to not eat as much baby food and is eating more table food. His favorites are probably chicken, peaches, bananas, yogurt, goldfish, and cheerios. He has started to drink out of a sippy cup more, although a lot of the time his drink ends up all over his clothes. It is a good thing it is just water! I am still nursing him, but hopefully next month we will start getting him to drink milk out of a cup. Well, that's the highlights for this month. There is so much more that Caleb is doing that I am sure I forgot to mention. We love watching him develop and learn new things. It is so much fun! Here are a couple pictures. We didn't take too many this month.

Eleven months old!

He's too fast climbing up the stairs!

Caleb loves watching the washing machine as it spins!

10 months old - seriously!?

Time. It's fast. It's elusive. It will pass whether you want it to or not. If you don't watch for it, it will pass you by; and, when it does, it doesn't do a rerun. So it is with children, we are finding out. I often joke with Heather that every night I come home from work, Caleb seems bigger. But is it really a joke?

Today, Caleb reached a milestone. He's reached double-digits - at least in months. And it seems since our last post, only weeks ago, that as we were writing it, everything we said was becoming outdated. Our little guy has quickly graduated to crawling. The commando crawl, which was his only mode of transporation in our last post, is now a tool in his arsenal to sneak through tight spaces. Not only does he crawl, but he does it well. He does it fast. So fast, I'm beginning to think a scholarship to play division 1 football - in the SEC, of course - is a definite possibility. How is it that a child goes from rocking on all fours (like testing the stability of the equipment) to breaking speed records in a matter of 1-2 weeks? With this mobility, of course, comes the need to explore and the will to test Mommy and Daddy's resolve. I find myself using phrases like, "Don't touch (insert object off limits here)," "Caleb, come back here." I'm also finding out that 10 month-olds do know when they disobey their parents. With increased mobility comes the amplification of sin! Now sin can further it's boundaries! Not without guidance and restraint from Mom and Dad, of course. And Heather and I are quickly learning about our own sin, i.e. lack of patience, and how quick we can exasperate our dear son. Parenting is a lot like sanctification. Your growth comes by doing (and sometimes or many times you don't do it very well) and, most importantly, by understanding that your doing means nothing without God's sovereign grace and mercy. How patient has God been with me?

So much for mobility and sin. Caleb also is very good about pulling himself up to standing. It's amazing how effortless it now seems. I'm constantly amazed how quickly these little guys build muscle strength to get to the next levels so quickly.

As for food, he likes the usual orange foods. Heather posted last month how he really likes Goldfish (again, orange food). Well, now when we walk through a grocery store, he recognizes them and gets excited. A new treat we added to his regimen is Cheerios. The kid can't get enough Cheerios. Loves them. I mean, he digs Cheerios. Almost as much as Goldfish. In fact if we fed him Cheerios and Goldfish, he'd be fine with that. That makes me think.... someone should develop Cheerios with the flavor of Goldfish. Hmmm. We also found out that Caleb likes steak. As a Father, that makes me happy. Enough said.

One thing we love is that Caleb is taking a bigger interest in books. Caleb also enjoys playing with bubbles. He's quickly learned that he has to swat at them fast or they'll disappear! Heather and I started teaching Caleb sign language about a month ago. As of now, he can sign "more." Caleb loves to show everyone how big he is by raising both hands in the air, and he also likes to clap his hands. Heather recently taught Caleb how to blow kisses. Every night before he goes to bed, I try to get him to blow ol' Dad a good night kiss. While it's not a traditional kiss, Caleb does it in his own unique way...

Aren't children just the best? Well, enough blabbering on my part and on to pictures!

The Little Man (aka Zagnut)


I think it took longer to take this picture than it did for him to stand. Seriously.


Irresistible


Proud Mom


Proud Dad

These next 2 pictures bring tears to Daddy's eyes. My little guy is growing up to be a man. Can I hear a big AMEN, gentlemen!?

Makes me want to bypass the whole toy tool chest. (Kidding, Heather)


Do I really need to say anything here? Excuse me while I go wipe my eyes...

9 Months Old!

Well, we are a little slow posting Caleb's nine month pictures! He turned nine months old on May 13th. He learning so many new things right now! It seems like every day he is doing something new! At his nine month appointment he weighed 16 lbs. 14 oz. (6th percentile) and he was 28 inches long (49th percentile). He is right where he is supposed to be developmentally. The doctor gives a handout with what nine month olds might be doing at this stage and Caleb is doing everything. He can go from laying down to sitting up and back again. He commando crawls (on his stomach) all over the house and he is curious about everything. Especially everything that he is not supposed to touch! He gets on his hands and knees and rocks and the last couple days he has been trying to crawl on his hands and knees more and more. He is starting to pull himself up to standing. He can pull himself up to his knees easily and usually if he is holding onto Todd or myself he pops right up to his feet. He claps his hands, can sign "more" when he wants more food, and will put his arms up in the air when we ask him how big he is. He shakes his head "no" when he doesn't want anymore food or doesn't want to do something. He is a big time thumb sucker. That is something we will have to work on. His thumb goes in his mouth quite often, especially when he is upset or tired. He is starting to babble and will say bababa or dadada sometimes. Whenever he is excited or curious he will purse his lips together and say "ohh". It is really cute! He loves dogs and gets excited whenever he sees one! He is sleeping around 10 hours a night and then two 1 to 2 hour naps during the day. He has been trying some different foods this past month. We gave him meat for the first time last week. He is not a big fan of it by itself but will eat it if I mix it with other food that he likes. We are trying to give him some finger foods but he is not a big fan. We tried to give him a cut up banana and he gagged until he threw up. It was pretty dramatic. He does like goldfish though! I was eating some one day so I gave him a piece and he just wanted to eat more and more of them! We will keep trying different foods and see what we can get him to eat. I am sure there are many more things he is doing, but that is all I can think of right now! We are enjoying beautiful weather here and are spending a lot of time outside. Hopefully the pretty weather will continue!

Nine month pose!

He loves to crawl under his exersaucer and play!

Caleb's first time in an outside swing. He loved it!

Caleb enjoys making music with his wooden spoon and bowl.

He loves standing up to play with his toys!

8 Months Old!

We are a little late posting Caleb's eight month pics. It has been a crazy couple of weeks. Todd had a veterinary conference in Baltimore so we all went together and while Todd was at his conference Caleb and I were able to visit friends and family in Annapolis. It worked out really well! After the conference we went to Virginia for a couple days to spend with family. It was a very busy trip, but we had a great time! The night after we got home Caleb came down with a fever, which lasted around four days and after the fever broke he got a rash. Diagnosis: Roseola. The rash is just now starting to disappear and we are hoping he will return back to his happy self very soon. It has been a hard week for him. He felt pretty miserable.

Caleb has continued to grow and learn so many new things this past month. When I took him to the doctor this week when he was sick he weighed 16 lbs. 3 oz. He is getting very close to crawling. He can get himself up onto his hands and knees and rock back and forth. He also is starting to pull himself up to his knees on furniture and people. He rolls to get to the toys that he wants. We no longer have a baby that will stay where we put him! He still likes to play with his ball and he loves to play with his blocks, especially when we build towers for him to knock down! He still enjoys playing in his exersaucer, although not for long periods of time. He loves being outside. I am very excited about the warmer weather (although it did snow yesterday!) so that we will be able to spend more time outside. He takes a while to warm up to anyone but mommy and daddy. I usually find that he does better if I just hand him over and leave the room, so he does not see me. He has been fussier and whinier this month compared to usual, but that also could be because we have been traveling and he is off his normal routine and he has not been feeling well. Hopefully that will change. Although he has also started to throw some fits (throwing his head back and arching his back) recently when he is upset and does not get what he wants right away. We will see what happens with that! He has not tried many new foods since last month since we have been away and he has been sick. Hopefully we will be starting some more new ones soon. He has tried some sweet potato puffs which he loves and which were a life saver on the airplane! He is babbling a lot and loves it when we copy him. He is also trying to copy some things that we do. Todd makes a lot of silly noises and Caleb tries to copy him by doing the same thing. It is just amazing to us how quickly Caleb is growing up. We are enjoying it and are pretty sure our lives are going to start to get much crazier now that he is becoming mobile!