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!

Better Late Than Never, Right?

Here's a quick week in review (partly because it wasn't a very exciting week and partly because I have lots to do):

Caleb had a great week at school. Their class now has class pet, a dwarf hamster. Caleb's teachers tell me that he is absolutely IN LOVE with this hamster. In the mornings, we go in and he just walks over to the hamster and blows me kisses like "bye, mom". They also experienced clay for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised when they told me that Caleb was very eager and inquisitive with the clay. Usually he is Mr. Cautious and would wait awhile to see what his friends thought of it before he tried it.

We had a fun time at home Thursday and Friday though it was so cold that all I wanted to do was stay bundled up under the covers but Caleb wasn't on board with that. It was very tough because we are still on this lemonade master cleanse, which is not too bad when you're out of the house and busy but is really not fun when you're hanging out with a 13 month old that keeps asking for food. Who knew your mouth could water over string cheese and Ritz crackers?!?

To attempt to distract Caleb, I opened up a fun present from his Aunt Elyse. He crawled back and forth and back and forth in that tunnel forever.


Then dad came home and had some fun in the tunnel too!


You'll be relieved to know that all Christmas decorations are put away and up in the attic. As part of that process, I unpacked a box that had been shipped with some after-Christmas sale items for next year. Caleb was eating lunch and was totally taken aback by the bubble wrap. Once I was finished unpacking and he was finished eating, I let him see what bubble wrap was about firsthand. The funniest part was when I started jumping on it and he tried to do the same.


Caleb is still loving books (no complaining here!) though I think sometimes he uses them as an excuse to not do something else. "Caleb, let's go to sleep"..."Book, book, book" or "Caleb, time to pick up our toys"..."Book, book, book". What? Am I not supposed to read to the kiddo?

And in a moment of bragging (so rare from parents, I know), let me say that Caleb's sign language vocabulary is coming along wonderfully. He now does "more", "please", "thank you", and "help" and is working on "apple", "water", and "hamster". I need to find out the sign for "banana" because I bet I hear that one no less than 30 times a day.


Saturday night was Miss America. I was not thrilled with the new format, mainly because I thought it was demeaning to the contestants. Not to get on a soapbox but the organization's leadership needs to figure out if a few more TV viewers and being an "It" girl are worth throwing years of tradition, poise, and elegance out the door. It is a tough call because you can't survive on TV with out people watching, but at what cost? Unfortunately, Miss OK did not make it to the Top 16 (for the first time in at least 5 years). I was pleased with the winner, though I would have preferred Miss CA or IN. The new winner has been on several TV shows and did a nice job on Regis and Kelly today. I can see how she was warm and well-spoken in interview, even though she's only 19. What the Miss America pageant really means to me is that it is time to get it in gear for the Miss OK Teen pageant in June. I love it but it is a lot of work and I have definitely enjoyed my "off season". If you want to help find scholarship donors, restaurants to contribute judges and contestants meals, make copies, etc. , let me know and I can put you to work, for sure!

It was finally going to be nice enough on Sunday that we were going to head to the zoo after church. However, plans changed when Caleb woke up with Round 2 of his pink eye. So we went to the after hours clinic yet again and, sure enough, he has pink eye and his ear infection was already back after being off antibiotics for two days. Oh, that reminds me that we visited the ENT Thursday he said Caleb needs tubes in his ears so we are doing that next week. It is a really easy and fast procedure that will hopefully keep those nasty infections away.

Big plans for the Super Bowl, anyone? We will head to a Sunday School friend's house to watch. I am rooting for the Pats because I think a perfect season would be awesome (and maybe a little because Tom Brady is hot, uh... I mean somewhat decent looking).

Have a great week!

1 year and 7 weeks- curious and personality plus

Well, after being sick the first half of the week (ear infection, cold, cough, pink eye, etc.) we are all on the mend. Aaron returned home late Wednesday night so things are feeling almost back to normal (except for the Christmas decorations that are still all piled on the kitchen table waiting to be put up).

Caleb and I spent some quality time at home together as we felt lousy this week. But once his antibiotic kicked in, he was into everything and very personable. Here are some funny pictures of him investigating an oversized gift bag and the dog food bag.

He has also been spending some time on his head. No, he hasn't been falling over but doing some sort of odd peek-a-boo yoga pose where he pushes his legs up while keeping his hands and feet on the ground. I think it's one of those things that he did once maybe on accident but it got such a good reaction from me that now he does it a lot. Or, who knows, maybe they are teaching yoga in his class.

Caleb is also gaining confidence in his walking and in his independence. Last night, we went to Wal-Mart for three or four things so we didn't get a cart to put Caleb in. Aaron carried Caleb for awhile but then set him down to see what he did. Well, off he went up and down the aisles and eventually out the front door (all supervised, I assure you). The same thing happened today at church when we let him have the run of the spacious building. He was so excited that I was afraid he was going to get too much speed and fall over. It is so fun to watch him grow physically and socially.

Speaking of growing up, it really blows my mind when I come across something in Caleb's closet that was given to him when he was a little baby for him to wear down the road. This week, it was an adorable sports-theme denim outfit from our friend Jan. She gave it to Caleb at one of his baby showers last February. I remember thinking at the time that it would take forever for him to grow into it... or 11 months. He really is feeling well in this picture, he just doesn't look like it.

Though he has always liked books, Caleb has taken a real shine to them this week. I can't count the number of times in a day that Caleb says "boo.." (for book), picks one up, and brings it to you to read. One book that we rediscovered this week (b/c I was getting a little tired of the ones we always have out) was a book about rabbits. On one page, it says something about "sniffly noses", so I made a sniff-sniff noise and wiggled my nose...once. From then on, Caleb picks up the book and immediately starts the sniff sniff. It is too funny and I was actually able to catch him mid-sniff today.

When Aaron got in the attic to get down the empty Christmas decoration boxes (see, we are at least heading in the right direction), we took the time to deconstruct and put away some of Caleb's outgrown things like his swing and bouncy seat. The biggest challenge was trying to protect the Exersaucer, it look parts of five trash bags. Of course, my little helpy helperton did not make matters any easier- ha!

This week is Miss America in Las Vegas. Make sure to tune in to Miss America: Reality Check on TLC on Friday and the Miss America Finals on TLC on Saturday. Very excited to see what happens!!

Aaron and I started this Master Cleanse diet/system cleaner today. My friend Heidi and her husband just finished it and both lost a lot of weight and feel healthier and reinvigorated. After Day 1 of 10, I do have to say that it is not the best-tasting stuff and that, even though I am not physically hungry, Caleb's little minced carrots and mac-n-cheese never looked so tasty!! I don't quit things easily but this is really no fun so I thought posting about it on here would give me some accountability. Keep your fingers crossed for us!!

Beyond not eating and (hopefully) finally getting the Christmas decorations put away, this week looks fairly calm...knock on wood.

Have a great one!!

1 year 6 weeks aka "don't you just love school germs?"

Caleb has been back at Riverfield for 3 whole days and he has a respiratory virus and another ear infection. He was perfectly healthy for 3 weeks over Christmas break. I am not really blaming Riverfield because it would be like this at any facility that is the daytime home to lots of young germ-infested children. (I did not include a picture b/c it's too yucky and too pathetic to see him all stuffed up).

Thankfully, Caleb's illness held off until Aaron returned Wednesday evening from Vegas. Caleb sure did miss his "dada", as he would call out for him when he woke up in the morning or in the evening around dinnertime. We tried letting them talk on the phone but Caleb was more interested in pushing the buttons that kept disconnecting them.


Last week was Basketball Homecoming at school, which means "Spirit Week". Tuesday was Twinkie Day so Caleb and his friend, Katy, dressed the same. Here's a cute picture of the two of them:

Caleb grows more and more confident in his walking so I let him walk himself out of the classroom at school. He ended up taking a wrong turn (or at least not the turn I was anticipating) so we could travel down the hallway to see the chinchillas and the snake. He was thrilled with the freedom then quickly aggravated when I picked him up to head to the car. He looks like such a big boy walking down the school's main hallway. sniff sniff

He also continues to be more and more curious. I moved his music table to my closet to keep him busy while I got ready last week. He had fun with that for awhile then soon realized he could use the table to push himself up onto the container of wrapping paper and gift sacks that's tucked away under a row of clothes. He was pretty proud of himself once he got up there.

Friday evening we headed to Dallas to spend a belated Christmas weekend with my mom's side of the family. It was such fun to see Caleb and Julia (just a month older than he) play together. OK, well not play "together" so much as "coexist in the same space". Caleb's cold really came on Friday afternoon and progressed to a feverish cough and matted eyes throughout the weekend. We tried our best to make sure things that Caleb touched were not used by Julia but sorry in advance if she ends up under the weather :( Here's a few shots of the cousins hanging out.

Saturday was Aaron's and my 6th anniversary. Hard to believe it has been that long. It wasn't exactly super romantic chasing Caleb around with a Kleenex and getting snotted on, but it was together time. Plus we counted our Vegas weekend as our celebration.

Aaron is out of town again this week. Mom is going to come to the rescue for part of the day tomorrow as Caleb won't be going to school but Mondays are always crazy for me so I have to be there. I can't imagine how people do it without relatives in the same town!!

Oh, several of my blogging friends have posted that they turned in pics of their kiddos for Regis and Kelly's beautiful baby contest. We submitted a photo too, though of course we waited until the last day and the site was so busy it took 2 hours of hitting refresh and resubmit before it finally went through. Seeing as though they've received thousands and thousands of entries, we obviously aren't expecting anything but, hey you never know.

Have a great week, and prayers for my cousin Cortney who is about 33 weeks along and has started having some contractions. She was hospitalized over the weekend (we kidded her that she was trying to get out of hanging out with the family but we brought the party to her rather small hospital room). She is on medication to stop the contractions for another week and then the Dr. said he'd probably let things run their course if the contractions come back after she gets off the meds.