Life as a Walton

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Week 35- lots of "mama" (well, sort of)

So you can judge from the video posted separately whether or not Caleb is saying "mama". Similar to the "dada" thing a few weeks ago, he says it all the time, regardless of where I am but there are definitely times that I walk in the room and he says "mama", clear as day. I LOVE IT!! He's also getting really good at waving hello and bye-bye, though more with an excited flap of the arm than with his hands and fingers (but it still counts, right??)

Though Caleb is not officially crawling, he is managing to get around a room quite well. He was once content to play with some toys on a blanket while I was on the computer. Now he is trying to pull up on my chair, chewing on the dog bowls, pulling out my USB cords, or (a newly discovered fave) playing with the doorstop. He has pretty much pulled this one out of the wall already.

He has had some diaper "issues" since we've been back from NC- some days lots of #2 and some days none, but always with much grunting and groaning. This has led to a bit of diaper rash so I was letting him air out awhile after bath the other night. He really enjoyed the freedom, needless to say. And we were, thankfully, without accident.

Pulling up on things is getting more and more fun and adventurous. I took Caleb to the laundry room with me as I was moving things from the washer to the dryer and the next thing I know he has his head in the dryer. Aaron came quickly with the camera to catch the moment.

We had a blast this Thursday hanging out with the "blog girls" and their offspring- Kim and Adalie, Marilyn and Elijah, Faith and Gavin, Heather and Ellee and Preslee, and Betsy minus Sam due to illness :(. We enjoyed playtime and a GREAT lunch at Kim's parents' house in BA. Betsy got some great pictures so I am sure she will post them on her blog or distribute them and let us post them.

Today was a baby shower for a friend and former co-worker and neighbor. It was fun to catch up with the girls that I knew from my banking days. Caleb had fun interacting and playing. Here's a shot with him and Jett, who is about 2 weeks older than Caleb. Jett has his own blog too. Jett is about average for 8 month olds, which just shows me how HUGE Caleb is. Jett was trying to show Caleb how to crawl but Caleb was more interested in eating O's and chewing on Miss Mendy's toys.

This week we head to Orlando for the Miss America's Outstanding Teen pageant. Jamie, our Miss Oklahoma's Outstanding Teen, has been there since the 1st but Caleb and I head out Thursday morning and Aaron will join us late that night. We are so excited to see Jamie rock the house and hopefully it will be another uneventful flight for Mr. Caleb.

Also this week, my mom heads to Estonia for yet another mission trip. Here's a picture of Caleb playing with a giraffe that she brought back from Tanzania. It's his reminder to Grandma to have a safe trip and bring him (and his mom) back something fun :)

Have a great one!

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Explaining the Videos

OK, for the life of me I cannot get the videos to load unless I completely leave them alone. If I go in to edit and type a caption, the video disappears and all I have is a black box that says "Oops, No Video". Same thing when I tried to cut and paste the html code to at least put them in one bigger post instead of separate ones. Oh well.

The one of Caleb walking with Aaron is from Asheville last week. Also from last week is the one with Caleb and his cousin Ada (whose 2 months younger than he is). The third one, with Caleb saying "dada" is from several weeks ago.

Thanks for your patience!

Working on Walking

Caleb and Cousin Ada in Asheville

Trying to say "dada"

A Very Delayed Week 34 Update

OK, so here's Week 34's recap. The big event was our trip to Asheville. Caleb gets the "Super Baby" award for his airport and plane behavior. He really enjoyed the rides- playing peekaboo with the people sitting behind or in front of our seats, charming the flight attendants, and occasionally yelling out in excitement.

We had no trouble getting on the flights to DFW or Charlotte then drove 2 hours to Asheville. Aunt Elyse and Uncle John's house is beautifully decorated and a very fun floor plan with eating/living/dining areas and some bedrooms upstairs and two bedrooms, a full bath, and living area downstairs. There were 23, of us, including 3 babies, and it was a great time. About 1/2 stayed at their house and the other half was at a rent house a few minutes away. And, just like at home, Caleb was able to enjoy his Praise Baby videos.

We definitely enjoyed our trip to the Biltmore. It is the largest privately owned residence in the US, built by the Vanderbilts in the 1890s. Visit their website for more info. Aunt Elyse treated us to the audio headsets as we toured, which made the experience much more interesting. And again, Caleb was a very well behaved baby, not counting the blowout diaper and the quick, hidden changing out on the veranda since the mansion's bathrooms were not open to the public. HA! Here's a photo of part of the estate's gardens. Caleb was more interested in chewing on his toy, but you get the idea.

There was also a big music festival going on in Asheville called Bele Chere. We only went for awhile one afternoon but it was fun to hear the music and enjoy more of the city. At the festival, we were able to spend some time with my cousin Allyson and her family. Quinn, who is 3 and lives in Mississippi, said at the end of the trip, "I love Caleb so much!" And of course it was even more adorable with his accent because he says "Caaay-lub".

We took a big group picture but not with our camera so hopefully when one of the cousins sends it out, I'll be able to post it.

The flight home was not as successful. Let's just say that my parents and sister drove home and beat us by about 4 hours. Oh well. Caleb was such a trooper. My hope is that he'll continue the streak when we head to Orlando next week!!