Sunday, September 30, 2007

Week 43


We recovered from the cold and congestion in just enough time to prepare for a stomach virus this week. Lovely! Caleb woke up around midnight Tuesday night puking and kept it up until the morning. Poor little fella was just miserable. He was feeling much better even by mid-morning but he didn't have much of an appetite and was having "loose" poops. He has kept that up pretty consistently the rest of the week- we've gone through like a pack of diapers and MANY clothes and pj changes. You can just hear his little tummy gurgling then know you need to get him to the changing table ASAP. With multiple diaper changes in the middle of the night, we just gave in and kept him with us in bed (I know, I know, we're starting bad habits...but he is in his own bed as I write).


Then I woke up Thursday feeling a little iffy but went on to work (making up time from the day before when I was home with a puny Caleb) and proceeded to throw up multiple times, including once on the side of the Creek Turnpike. I headed to my mom's house around noon to pick up Caleb but was so sick I just stayed over there and took a nap. I was rounding the bend that evening but didn't feel great until Saturday.

In the midst of all this fun, Caleb learned a great new trick or two this week. The first is too funny, though he wasn't able to use it near enough during the OU game yesterday. Yep, he's learned how to signal "touchdown" and tries to say it too. Here's a picture and a video:




The second entertaining thing is something he picked up on his own while playing in the dog toys. We bought this toy several years ago for Sam, who promptly bit the nose off and never really played with it again.

And here's what Caleb figured out to do with it. It doesn't have a squeaker in it; he just taught himself how to make music with it.


I think there's a time in parenthood when you shake your head because you spend $$ on all sorts of fancy new toys and yet your child prefers to play with something that's not even really a toy...ie a doorstop. About a month ago, I took Caleb into the laundry room with me as I folded clothes and he found the magical doorstop. Now he makes a beeline for it whenever he spies it, as was the case on Friday. And later, as quick-moving Caleb snuck past me in the bathroom and pulled up on the toilet, I heard a "plop" and, sure enough, there was the doorstop in the bottom of the bowl. Thankfully I had cleaned it recently.


Now that he's getting more and more mobile, we got out Caleb's little arm chair for him to play with. He really just wallers around in it unless you sit him in it, like I did for this picture. (As you can see, we spent a lot of time in our pjs this week). Doesn't he look so grown up?


My parents and sister came over Saturday night to have early cake and ice cream for my dad's birthday (which is really Tuesday- happy birthday, Artie Fartie!). Morgan was on her way back to OKC so her dogs hung out in the backyard. Caleb was very interested in these big doggies.


As I mentioned above, Caleb still is having trouble with the "big D" (and I don't mean Dallas) and we were worried about him getting dehydrated so we took him to the after hours clinic this afternoon. The doctor said we should try switching to a lactose free formula since diarrhea over 24 hours can give a baby temporary lactose intolerance. He also said that Caleb had an ear infection, which probably doesn't have anything to do with his tummy troubles but is obviously a problem. I thought we were going to make it to birthday #1 without taking antibiotics but oh well. He is cleared to go back to school tomorrow which is fun because it is Spirit Week and tomorrow is PJ Day. We have some cute ones picked out but given his diaper issues, I'll have to pack a few extra sets too.
Well, we just couldn't believe that the Sooners lost but at least so many others in the Top 10 did too. AND...my Chiefs pulled off a huge upset against the Chargers today which was awesome!! Makes me very very excited that we are going to the KC vs. Jacksonville game next Sunday, my first live NFL experience!

OK, way too long and I've got to get ready to head to school/work tomorrow.
Have a great one!!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Week 42- Yucky Cold Continues and Vocabulary Expands



Colds are gross and nasty things. I can't tell you how many snotty-sleeved shirts (Caleb's and mine) were in the wash this weekend. He spent much of Monday coughing then we were up for 3 hours in the middle of the night with what I guess you call "the croup". Caleb and I spent quality time in a bathroom full of steam at about 2am. It didn't do anything for his cough but did get his hair and my hair really curly :)


Because of the rough night and still feeling crummy, he stayed home from school on Tuesday, with me in the morning and with my mom in the afternoon. With his cough and constant running nose, we let him sleep with us some this week. Here's the poor sicky in the big bed. (Think it's time for those pjs to hit the outgrown clothes bin??)


Caleb has been adding more words to his vocabulary this week. So far he's mastered "ball", "duck", and "turtle". He also sometimes likes to repeat "this", like when you say, "Caleb, what's this?" to try to get him to identify what you're holding. Instead of saying "ball" (or whatever you're holding), he says, "this". Already a smart alec! Here's some video of his expanding vocab:


Now that Caleb is pulling up and cruising from one piece of furniture to another, he's renewed his interest in the piano. Because it's digital, it's not usually on and therefore doesn't play when he holds on to the keys, but when I switch it on and he gets to make "music" he thinks its too funny. I put him up on the bench but instead of sitting and playing, he immediately pulled up to stand over the keyboard. Watch out Liberace!


Last week I posted a picture of Caleb playing with his new doorway toy. We got a bag of other toys from the same people and I went through it on Thursday. There were some great puzzles and a bag of Bristle Blocks (oh the memories!) but by far the biggest hit is this crazy souped-up Subaru car. This video is hilarious. I bet I've watched it 20+ times and laugh every time.

Here's a cute shot of Caleb in one of Aaron's hats. He usually doesn't cooperate when you put anything on his head (which is why we've been doing trial runs around the house with the head covering part of his Halloween costume) but he kept this one on for several minutes.


Aaron and I went to the OU/TU game on Friday night with some friends. It was nerve wracking in the beginning but eventually the Sooners pulled away for the big victory that landed them back at #3 in the AP Poll. Caleb stayed with the family that used to watch him during the day (before he went to Riverfield) and everyone had a blast. Their 3 girls really missed him and thought he had grown so much. They were very amused by the tricks he had learned in the last month.

Saturday morning was Caleb's third haircut. Though he was more squirmy this time than he had been before, he was still well behaved, especially after Michelle gave him two combs to play with. I got my eyebrows waxed while we were there; it's amazing what a difference little things like that can make! Here's a shot of Caleb with the new big boy haircut. Michelle showed me how to give him a little faux-hock for his school pictures on Tuesday.


Of course I've been agonizing over what he will wear for the photos. It's still pretty warm to wear some of the cute longsleeved stuff he has, plus you don't want to try too hard and dress him up too much so that he looks out of place in the class picture. I've got it narrowed down to three things, so we'll see.

In excellent news, my Chiefs WON today over the Vikings. Yippee! It wasn't glorious or a landslide but it was a win :)

Think that's about it for now. Have a great week!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Week 41 - a yucky cold and a fun new toy


What started as a little runny nose at the beginning of the week has blossomed into a full blown grody (spelling?) cold. Poor Caleb snorts, sneezes, and coughs his way through the day and has a hard time staying asleep. We did take him to the doctor on Friday to make sure it wasn't a sinus infection, since several kids in his class have had one, and he said it was just a regular old cold. Nothing really gives him any relief so we are just waiting it out and going through Kleenex like crazy. He's gotten to the point where he sees a tissue coming and buries his head in your shoulder, thereby depositing the snot that was on his nose onto your shirt. It's loads of fun :)

Despite not feeling great, he had a fun week. It started with a friend giving us some toys their family had outgrown. He is loving this new doorway thing, especially the doorbell and the light switch.


Tuesday evening was pre-school parent orientation at Riverfield. On the way out, we put Caleb in one of the prop planes displayed in the school. He wasn't sure what to think about it but did his best to smile for the pictures. What a good sport!


Caleb continues to hone his crawling and pulling up skills. What we've really noticed is that he is starting to "stride out" when he's really trying to get to something. Don't worry if you're not familiar with that terminology. I wasn't until I married Aaron who's legs are much longer than mine. We would be walking somewhere he kept getting way ahead of me. When I'd call out "wait up", he'd turn back and say "stride out" which means to lengthen the steps you take. Anywho, if Caleb spots something he wants to get to, he really stretches out to get as much distance covered as possible. And he is experimenting with the various levels found in our house, like the end table, for example.


Thursday we met our playgroup from Sunday School at Whiteside Park. It will be a really fun place to go once he can walk. It was still fun to see our friends but when I set Caleb down he really just tried to eat the mulch and couldn't care less about the toys.


Grandma and GDad (my parents) were able to spend some fun time with Caleb on Friday and last night too. Caleb discovered that the downstairs of their house is just a big circle and had fun going round and round and round. He also got to know Disnie, our 17-year-old-can't-believe-she's-still-alive cat. This interaction was done through the screen door, which is plenty close for me as an overprotective mom.


We had a blast at our Sunday School game night last night. There was a great turnout with lots of pizza, laughter, and competition. Our favorite game was Catchphrase. The girls won the first round and the boys won the second. We decided to end in a draw and move on to another game, not playing boys vs. girls.

I purchased a food mill over the weekend. Aaron has a co-worker who used it as their child grew into real food and they really liked it. So I tried it out tonight as we ate spaghetti. Here's before and after photos of the spaghetti. It's just a hand cranked mill that cost around $12 so hopefully it holds up. It could end up saving us a small fortune on baby food. Yippee!!




Our week looks to be much less eventful than has become our pace lately. Aaron and I took a great marriage class at church called Dynamic Marriage. It was 8 weeks long and very very worthwhile but included about 5 hours of homework each week. Our final class was last Wednesday and it is very nice not to have homework hanging over us. I am starting a women's study with the girls in my class, studying Joyce Meyers' Battlefield of the Mind. Have heard good things about it too.



Have a good one!

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Week 40 and a "Camping" Trip



OK, before you freak out thinking, "What??? Emily actually went camping?!?", let me clarify. We spent the weekend in a cabin (with air conditioning, running water, a fridge, etc.) at Western Hills Guest Ranch at Sequoyah State Park. We went with my cousin Tiffany, her husband, and their daughter Julia who is a month older than Caleb. It was a fun weekend: the guys golfed in the rain on Saturday, we ate at the self-proclaimed "Best Mexican Food Restaurant" in Wagoner, played Catch Phrase and Scattegories, enjoyed a Perfect Ron (my uncle's signature drink), and did lots of baby-watching as Caleb and Julia played together and explored the cabin. For the record, we did stroll down to the fishing dock and saw some deer, so that definitely counts as communing with nature, right? Here are some fun pictures of the kiddos playing together. Aaron was quite concerned when Caleb picked up Julia's baby doll but decided it was OK when Caleb immediately started chewing on her toes (guess we know why he's doing that to his friends in class now!).









To backtrack to the beginning of the week, Caleb did not have a stellar week at school. I think part of it was the tooth that's still coming in and part of it stemmed from being home 5 days straight with us because of the long weekend. He was having trouble napping (welcome to my world) but his teachers and other co-workers of mine that would peek in kept saying, "He's surprisingly happy for as little sleep as he's had". I can't decide if I am over analyzing everything that I'm told or if he really is the problem child. Probably the former but I still can't help worrying about it. Hopefully this week will go more smoothly, though he has perfected his tantrum-throwing over the last week. It's now complete with arching back, throwing head backward, screeching/screaming. We've heard that we should just ignore it, so we're trying that. He still loves to snuggle and cuddle up with you; those times are even more special now that he's on the move and has these 'outbursts' when he doesn't get his way. Oh, growing pains!

Caleb had a blast on Thursday morning when I made muffins for the trip. They are made of a spice cake mix, a can of pumpkin, and water so there's no raw egg or anything in it. I let Caleb lick the beater and he loved it! He actually didn't make too much of a mess and it kept him busy for quite awhile.


I'll keep it short (short for me, at least) since I have laundry and more unpacking to do. You might notice that Caleb was wearing his Chiefs outfit in his 40 week picture. After the game they played today, maybe that's why Caleb was a bit moody. Think it's going to be a long year for my NFL team. But on the bright side, OU is kickin' booty!! Aaron just showed me that they're ranked 3rd in the AP poll. BOOMER SOONER!!

Have a great week!



Monday, September 3, 2007

Week 39/Nine Months




Happy 9 month birthday to Caleb!! Time flies when you're having fun, cleaning bottles, doing laundry, picking up toys, and chasing down a mobile baby! :)

Fun week with Caleb getting more and more comfortable crawling and more curious about all the nooks and crannies of the house. His very favorite new place: the basket of dog toys. I try to make myself feel better by knowing that I did clean them all and that the dogs rarely play with then anyway, but Aaron says it's still gross. The basket is in the office so whenever I'm checking email or writing blogs, Caleb now immediately crawls over to the basket. I even put it up on the chair and he still tried to crawl up the chair to get it. I am sure his explorations will get much more gross/hairy/germy from here on out.






Thursday was Caleb's 9 month check up. I was thinking there were shots but apparently not (so we unnecessarily pre-drugged Caleb with some Tylenol but oh well). Caleb weighed in at 22 pounds, 10 ounces (82nd percentile) and 31.5 inches long (97th percentile). His noggin is in the 100th percentile! The pediatrician said he is right on as far as developmental milestones and we just need to come in sometime in November for his flu shot and then his 1 year appointment. I had the camera in my purse but forgot to take a picture (I'm a horrible mother and blogger, I know!!).

Friday night was Caleb's first live football game as we traveled to Owasso to watch Riverfield play Rejoice Christian. It's 8 man football and Riverfield's first year to play. Unfortunately, both our Middle School and Varsity teams got pounded. We had fun and left at halftime of the later game. Caleb got a great souvenir. Aaron says he has a natural football grip in this picture. I was so sure he was going to be right handed and he still does most things with his right but has started using his left more and more, like with this football or when he's waving.




Saturday morning my parents and sister came over for brunch. We were rushing around to give Caleb a bath since he fell asleep on the way home from the game the night before and we didn't wake him up to bathe him. Well, I took the diaper off and was waiting for the tub to fill up. I look over and Caleb has crawled over to the potty and is pulling himself up. The funny thing you can't really see in the picture is that he stood up and then proceeded to "go potty" (tinkle, as my mom would say) on the rug. Of course, we are taking this as a sign that our son is brilliant and is already eager to potty in the big boy potty. OK, not really but it was funny.


Caleb has really gotten back in to waving at any and every thing. There's been evenings where I'm feeding Caleb his night time bottle and he's in the semi-dark with me, just waving at nothing. This video captures perfectly how silly and fun he is getting. Sorry it imported so darkly, but you get the general idea.

(By the way, so excited that Blogger finally added an "add video" feature so I don't have to upload it somewhere else then try to import it in here).

I am adding a link to a totally hilarious blog that someone sent me this week. I don't know if you heard about the woman with 6 kids that was selling a pack of Pokemon cards on Ebay because her children snuck them into the grocery cart when she wasn't looking and she didn't want to 'reward' them by letting them keep the cards. Well, she's getting lots of press because of the write-up that accompanied her Ebay listing. It is sooo funny. Click here to see the Ebay listing. The person that sent me the listing also sent me a link to her blog, which is funny insight into her life with six children.

OK, one more picture of my adventurous baby. I set him up in the chair to take a picture and he immediately flipped over and pulled himself up the back of the chair. As Aaron commented last night, Caleb is definitely turning more "boy"- being more boisterous and less inhibited.

One more thing, we did find a perfect Halloween costume for Caleb (thanks to my mom's searching). We have some hilarious video and pictures of him trying it on but I don't want to ruin the surprise so you'll just have to check back closer to October 31 :)

Have a great week and a happy Labor Day!