What a Week (glad it's over)

Caleb is finally feeling better!! Thanks to all that posted, emailed, or called to check on him. He still has a bit of cough and runny nose and his fever flared up for awhile this afternoon but he is pretty much back to his old self. And GOOD THING because I think we were both about to go stir-crazy being stuck inside together for days on end.

Recently I posted a video clip of Caleb successfully using his spoon on the pudding. Let's just say we regressed a bit this week. Thankfully it was vanilla and not chocolate or I would have been bleaching and scrubbing for days!

It is so fun to watch Caleb begin to put more and more concepts together in his little brain. Not only does he know that his shoes go on his feet but whenever he sees Aaron's or my shoes around, he now tries to put them on.

Other than running a handful of errands on Thursday and going by the church to see my mom at work on Friday, we really did stay home this week so Caleb could mend. After a baby shower for our friend Kristin (see the link to her blog on my list), we headed to OKC Saturday to celebrate my sister's birthday. That's right my little sister turned 25(!!!) on Thursday. We ate at a fun restaurant called Cheeseburger in Paradise with my parents and Morgan's friend Lindsay (I think I'm spelling it wrong, sorry). Then we went back to Mo's house for cake, ice cream, and presents. Caleb was very excited to see her dogs. They are very sweet but I am always amazed that Caleb is not phased by these very big and very loud dogs; he doesn't even flinch when they bark. As soon as he saw them, he started asking for the ball because he remembered playing ball with them two weekends ago. Yes, I know our child is a prodigy :)

Once he moved on from playing catch with the dogs, he assumed his position on Morgan's fireplace to give us a little dance show. He first learned this trick and Grandma and G-Dad's, but their step is considerably lower than Aunt Mo's, hence the nervous mom keeping a close eye and a steady hand nearby.

We headed home last night then I turned right around this morning and traveled with my friend Heidi to OKC for a pageant winter meeting. We had a great turnout of our teen contestants and these girls are sharp and super cute. It is going to be a great pageant! It is hard to believe that it's already time to gear up for all this again. If you would be interested in helping in some way (zip zippers back stage, make copies, find meal and scholarship donors, etc.), please don't hesitate to let me know. The dates of the pageant are June 2-7.

Going to take some more Zicam (yes, I am fighting whatever lovely germs Caleb has passed along) and get ready for a week back at work.

Have a good one!

To the Clinic Again

I've about decided to buy a laptop and just do my Sunday blogging from the St. Francis After Hours clinic with as much time as we've spent there lately. We made yet another trek there Sunday afternoon and after a strep culture, a flu test, and a chest x-ray, we came home with no answer other than a probably viral infection. We didn't have school yesterday because of Presidents' Day so Caleb and I hung out around the house. Still not any better so we went back to our pediatrician today, who did not one but three more chest x-rays (evidently a squirmy 14 month old is not the best x-ray patient) and we went home with diagnosis of RSV and/or flu. There's no medicine for either virus but we did get an Rx for tylenol with codeine to help him (and us) sleep better.

Caleb had a very fun Valentine's Day, starting with some new books and heart-shaped pancakes.

He received some "love money" from both sets of grandparents and is learning how to put the bills into his piggy bank...what a little saver. Note the milky drool that was already happening...I chalked it up to teething but apparently it's also a sign of a sore throat.

Caleb continues to be more adventurous and curious. His friend Owen came over a few weeks ago and pulled down the top of the ball pit so he could reach the hole in the top. You could tell that Caleb had never thought about that as a way to get balls in the hole. So he started doing Owen's little trick then took it one step further as he realized his head also fit nicely in the top of the ball pit.

He has also added quite a few words to his vocabulary lately. We wonder if some of this growth is just "normal" with his age or if he is really hearing and vocalizing better since his tubes are in. He now says "duck", "quack quack", "apple", "outside", "sit" (as in telling the dogs to sit), "up", "dance", and a few others in addition to his already-mastered words. His teachers tell us he is very verbal- as in yelling "nana" or "cracker" at the top of his lungs during snack and lunch time. A boy after his mama's heart- talking and food!!

Though much of the time he doesn't use them, we often give Caleb utensils with his meals. He is getting pretty good at using his spoon, as this video shows:

I can't think of the last time I put a bib on Caleb in a non-eating setting but he was drooling so badly last week that I was getting sick of his wet neckline all the time and the laundry was piling up. So one day I took off his shirt and put on a bib. Looks pretty cute, huh?

Which brings us to Sunday, when he was really feeling his worst at the after hours clinic. Just breaks your heart!!

We hit the jackpot this week when my friend Jenn gave us a huge trashbag full of her son's outgrown clothes in just Caleb's size. We're talking multiple pairs of cargo pants, cordoroys, shorts, button-downs, longsleeve t's, polos, etc. YIPPEE!!

On a more serious note, please be praying for my friend Heather's dad. They found out last week that he has agressive colon cancer. They've already done the surgery to take out the mass and are now waiting for him to gain enough strength to be released from the hospital so he can recover at home and prepare to start chemo. Sending lots of love your way, friends!

One more thing: Congrats to my cousin, Cortney, and her hubby on the birth of their baby Addison last week. Welcome to the family, Addison. Can't wait to meet you! Here's a sweet picture:

OK, Caleb is actually asleep and not coughing (knock on wood) so I am going to tackle the kitchen and take out the trash before he inevitably wakes up with a coughing fit. Oh, motherhood!!

Have a great week!

Scrapes and Tubes...What Fun to be 14 Months Old!!

First things first, thanks for the thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes during Caleb's tubes surgery on Thursday. Everything went very smoothly and he was back to his usual self by the afternoon. By far the funniest part of the morning's events was Caleb's response to the "goofy juice", the mild sedative they gave him to ease the separation anxiety. He was quite mellow, as shown in the pic below.

Rewind to the beginning of the week. Caleb's teacher came by my office Monday afternoon to let me know that Caleb had been introduced to the concrete back porch of the classroom. Apparently the concrete had the upperhand because Caleb's nose and forehead were scraped up as he fell. Oddly enough, I didn't really freak out, probably because I knew he was OK. In fact, I thought he looked very grown-up with his big boy injury. And maybe it gave him a little "street cred" with the other kids in his class :)

One great thing about Caleb getting older is the experimentation with new foods. More and more, we try to give him at least a little of what Aaron and I eat for dinner. Sure, there are lots of times that it isn't a huge hit and we end up heating up chicken nuggets or giving him a double helping of veggies (which he loves, seriously!), but he is usually willing to at least give new foods a try. I made taco salad earlier in the week and heated up some black beans to add to mine (on a side note, maybe I should start working on expanding Aaron's palette since he won't touch beans, peas, onions, mushrooms, olives, etc. etc. etc. with a 10 foot pole). I gave Caleb a small portion just to see what he would do. He was a little hesitant about the texture at first so I mushed them up a bit and he started downing them. It was hilarious. Here's a happy bean-eating face:

On Saturday night, my parents and sister (she was in town for the weekend) got to babysit Caleb while Aaron and I attend our Sunday School class Valentine dinner. Morgan's two dogs were at the house also and Caleb had a blast playing catch with them. Apparently it lasted for over an hour last night and we got an encore this afternoon when we went over for lunch.

This picture isn't too clear but it is a group shot of our V-Day party last night at Forest Ridge. We had a wondeful turnout of 20+ couples. We even played a "clean" version of the Newlywed Game. Our class is really growing right now and is lots of fun. If you are looking for a great group of friends and believers to be there for you in good times and not-so-good times, Covenant is where its at.

I can't remember if I walked down memory lane last year during this time regarding Aaron's and my first Valentine's Day. We had really just started talking and this was going to be our first real date out that wasn't just meeting up at a party or walking out from class together. Aaron went all out with emails and quasi-mystery plans. Being the total silly girl that I am, I was worried that I wouldn't be dressed appropriately for whatever plans he had (this will not surprise any of my friends, since even now I constantly text to see what everyone's wearing to various events). We went to a movie then to his apartment where he cooked a lovely dinner. He gave me Godiva chocolates, a teddy bear, and some really pretty flowers. It is funny how it seems like so long ago; I guess seven years is quite awhile!

OK, enough for this week. Have a great week and a Happy Hearts Day!!

PS-I can't get spell check to work so I am sure there are mistakes through all of this...sorry!

14 Months, Chuck E. Cheese, and NO MORE LEMONADE!

Caleb is usually the topic of this blog but I think I'll take this time to say HOORAY that Aaron and I survived the Master Cleanse. It was really strange, albeit wonderful, to go back to eating again. Aaron lost 16 pounds and I lost just over 10. Now the trick will be to eat healthfully and exercise so that it doesn't come back (something we didn't do too well at tonight while watching the Superbowl). In retrospect, it was really not all that horrible. Not that I'll sign up to do it again next week or anything...

OK, onto the reason I we created the blog: Caleb. Can you believe our little man is 14 months old today?!? Hard to imagine.


We enjoyed a fairly "normal" week, though he did miss school last Monday since his pink eye made a reappearance. He's all fixed up now and ready for his tubes on Thursday morning. I am hoping this solves all the ear infection issues so wish us luck.

Caleb is in desperate need of a haircut. Never is this more obvious than when he wakes up from a nap. This particular day he woke up looking like a rooster. Getting a trim is on this week's to-do list.


Here are a few funny pictures. 1) Caleb asleep in the high chair watching PBS Sprout TV 2) Caleb enjoying these smily-shaped mashed potatoes and nuggets I found at Super Walmart last week 3) Caleb stuck in his Bumbo seat which we lent to our friends that had us over for the Super Bowl tonight. It was pretty entertaining to see him try to wiggle free of it.





We were finally well enough to attend our Thursday afternoon playgroup this week. It was a big adventure: our first trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Not surprisingly, it has changed quite a bit since it was Show Biz Pizza back in the mid-80s. Caleb and his friends were a little too young to get into all the games but had a good time and really liked the giant animated Chuck E. serenading us while we ate pizza (which was always the part I hated). He was a little out of sorts when we first got there, so our trip to the "sketch me" booth was not super successful, as you can see below.


He also wasn't sure about sitting in a car that rocked back and forth and didn't really get the concept of the whack-a-mole. Oh well, give him a few years and I will have to drag him out kicking and screaming.


In other news, we are beginning to consider moving. So, we spent a good portion of the weekend looking at houses all over town. Today we went to several houses that were in the same neighborhood so instead of getting Caleb in and out of his carseat over and over, I just let him sit in the back with me. He thought this was a huge deal and really enjoyed the freedom.


So the Super Bowl was not very exciting and definitely didn't turn out the way I would have hoped. And Caleb was active enough that I didn't really get to watch any commercials either. I am sure the top ones will be all over the internet tomorrow so I didn't really miss out on much.

OK, off to bed. Well, off to finish up some laundry, put the dogs' new pillows in their crates, get Caleb's bag ready for the morning, start the dishwasher, brush my teeth, and then go to bed.

Have a great week!