Thirteen Things about Caleb 1…. He is one of the strongest babies I know and has been since before he was born! 2…. He started sleeping on his stomach at 6 months when he decided to roll over and won't roll back. Doesn't matter how many times we roll him onto his back, he will roll back over and fall asleep. 3…. The bald spot on the back of his head is almost invisible now. 4…. He likes every baby food we've offered him...even prunes and peas. 5…. He LOVES to take a bath. 6…. He HATES being dried off! :-) 7…. His laugh is infectious...we think it's the best sound in the world! 8…. His blue eyes are the first thing anyone comments on. 9…. The nurses at the pediatrician's office think he is SOOOOOO cute. 10…. He IS sooooooooo cute! :-) 11…. He has a different nickname from just about everyone in the family. Poppa calls him "Little Man." Daddy calls him "Buddy." Mommy calls him "Sweetheart." Uncle Kurt calls him "Lil' Homey." Mimi calls him "Sweet Caleb." Grandma calls him "Precious." 12…. He is incredibly loved by a very large family. 13…. He is a gift from God to his parents and they never forget to thank God for him. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Faith!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

Thank You, "Aunt" Lisa

"Aunt" Lisa,
Thank you so much for the package you sent to me from Alaska. You are so sweet! I love my moose and the little t-shirt. I can't wait until I'm big enough to read the book about Alaska all by myself; the pictures are so pretty. =) Mommy put the magnet on the fridge next to the calendar, so we can look at it often and think of you.

I love you, Aunt Lisa, and I miss you a lot.

Love,
Caleb

My New Game

This is Caleb's new game: Pulling the toys out of the basket one by one, putting them in his mouth to "test" them, and then dumping them on the floor!

Sleep Update

We made it to three hour stretches last night. *sigh* Hopefully little one will return to his regular sleep routine quickly. My friend, Amy, said, "Has he forgotten how old he is?" :-) Apparently so!

Playing Outside

We worked in the yard this weekend (mostly hubby, not me). The azaleas have bloomed and most of the blooms have already collected on the ground; their two weeks of the year are almost up. Caleb had fun watching all that was going on. Quite a curious little guy!





While Daddy was trimming the shrubs in the backyard, Caleb and the dogs played. The weather has been really nice lately. Everything is green, except for the grass which Mollie has slowly but surely destroyed. Only dirt is left in much of the back yard. *sigh*

Praying for Sleep...Again

Last night we were up with Caleb every 2 hours (taking turns actually getting out of the bed, but all of us were wide awake). His little tummy is not feeling well and neither is his mommy's...not sure if we have a little "bug" or if mommy is eating something that's affecting us both. So, once again, we are praying that Caleb will feel better and sleep well. DH and I reminisced this morning about when we (I) used to be up every 2 to 3 hours EVERY night feeding him. Thanks be to God that those days don't last...but they do occasionally return. Sleep deprivation is hard!

Lord, grant us all the rest our bodies so desperately need. We are leaning on You.

Adventures in Eating

Trying to feed Caleb is always interesting. It usually leaves me wondering, "how did you manage to get food there?!"






This is Caleb trying to let all of you know that he does NOT like it when his mommy wipes his face:




This is Caleb's dinosaur spoon. He loves to play with it, and it keeps him occupied while I'm getting his food ready. He has quite a temper, especially when it comes to his food. If I don't move fast enough and have a spoonful ready when he finishes swallowing the previous spoonful, he squeals up a storm! (My mom tells him she doesn't believe these things I say about him...he's too cute, she tells him, to ever act like that. Whatever.) =)



Momma's sweet boy! Oh how I cherish these times.

around the globe...

In about a month, hubby will be going on a business trip to the other side of the world. He'll be gone for two weeks. Caleb and I will be going to stay with my mom. I don't think staying home all day and night by ourselves for two weeks sounds like a load of fun at this age! Plus, Caleb's mommy is a BIG chicken when it comes to staying at home alone at night! Funny since that's what I did for a year while dh worked away from home. I don't like him being gone, but it seems in the oil industry, that's what you have to do. His company is considering moving us (all 3 this time) around the world at an unknown time for an unknown period of time. Would they just tell us already so I can prepare??? Moving a 1, 2 or 3-year-old around the world takes PLANNING!!! Don't they know that taking a small child on a plane for over 24 hours and moving around the world are HUGE maneuvers!!! I know it seems like I'm freaking out a little, and, I guess I am, a little. I know God will take care of us. I have no doubt about that. It's just my control issue coming out...I'm the mother hen, and I need to know what to do with my "chicks." I guess if we had any say in the matter and it was a decision we were making, I would feel differently. But, I'm waiting on some man in an office to decide when and where and for how long I have to move my family around the world. So, please pray for the people making those decisions for our family. The move won't be for a while, but the praying can begin now. And pray for us, that wherever God sends us, we will be used by Him. And pray, especially, for our families. I know these are things over which I have no control and I should not be worrying about them, but I feel better just getting it out. Thanks for letting me vent!

Doctor Check-Up

We just got back from the doctor, and he was so pleased with Caleb's progress so far. We made it through the winter without a single sick visit! Praise the Lord! The doctor asked me if we kept him away from other children most of the time because that is the key to keeping them healthy. It is a blessing for me to get to stay home with Caleb, and we are so thankful that God has provided us the means to do so.

Caleb weighs 16 lbs. 3 oz. and is 26" long. He is in the 25% in height, weight, and head circumference, so the doc said he's very proportionate! =)

God has blessed us with a very happy, healthy, giggly little guy!

Half a year

Our little boy is 6 months old!




He has started reaching for our cups every time we take a drink, so I gave him his own cup. He doesn't know how to use it yet, but he's practicing! He just chews on the top and bangs it around for now!



He looks more and more like his Daddy every day. Someone at church told them they could be twins if it weren't for the 25+ years separating them! (I'm not sure I would go that far, but they do favor a lot.) He's got my round face and chubby cheeks, though!

Be still my heart

Today as I was putting Caleb down for a nap, I was holding him and singing "I love you, Lord" (our favorite naptime song). He stopped and looked me straight in the face, smiled, and put both arms around my neck for the first time (at almost 6 months old, we're still working on that coordination thing...at least one arm is usually flailing about!). It was SO sweet!

He is finally settling back into his normal routine and sleeping much more. He actually slept all night last night! Now if only I could sleep through the night...

Caleb will be 6 months old on Sunday, so I'll try to post some more pictures then. Time is flying by.

"We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A caffeine drip, please

Question: What is it about going out of town for a weekend that throws off a baby's schedule?

We are all exhausted. Caleb is so exhausted he can't even play, but he won't sleep easily, either. He only slept about an hour and a half all day yesterday. Talk about exhausted (I mean me!). He did better last night, except that he woke up at 5:30am to eat and didn't go back to sleep. So, he took a morning nap at 7:30 instead of 9. When will it get back to normal? Soon, I pray.

So, where can I sign up for an intravenous caffeine line? :-)

My Favorite Aunt

This weekend I (Caleb) got to spend time with my favorite aunt, Aunt Kiki (my mom's sister). (Nevermind the fact that she's my only aunt!) I just love her so much! She told me that I could come and spend the night with her when I get older. Wouldn't that be fun?

I also love my Uncle Kurt, Aunt Kiki's husband. I think he is so funny, and I love when he makes silly faces at me.











Does anyone else think I need some cousins? That would be really nice.







I love you Uncle Kurt and Aunt Kiki! I had so much fun with you this weekend.

Those Eyes

Too cute for words.

Don't Bother Me

I went in to Caleb's room while he was sleeping and saw this:

Apparently he was trying to block out the world! We all wanted to block out the world today since, thanks to Mr. Caleb, we didn't get much sleep last night. :-)

When he woke up, he looked a little annoyed that I wanted to take his picture!

Play Date

Today Caleb went to visit his friend, Francesco. (Francesco's mommy, Dulce, and I were teachers together.) Aren't they sweet holding hands?




Then my son decided to beat up on his new friend. (Sorry, Dulce!)





Is it me, or does Frankie look a little scared? He's probably wondering why his mom let this bully into their house!!



Is it possible for a 5-month-old to be a flirt? Because I think mine is. He likes to "talk" to and smile at women wherever we go, like the lady who was making our Subway sandwiches on Sunday. Dulce said he knows just how cute he is! (Probably because we tell him all the time!!) What's a mommy to do? :-)

New Things

Caleb is doing lots of new things lately. He has started eating some solid foods--cereal first and now some fruits and vegetables with his cereal.



He is also starting to be interested in Baby Einstein videos. His attention span is getting longer, so he is intrigued by the shapes moving on TV.



He now can roll over both ways and likes to roll onto his stomach in his crib, move around, and then get stuck in the corner! He then gets frustrated (obviously) and starts screaming. Last night we had to get up 4 times to turn him back over. I thought these days of getting up so many times were long gone! He just likes to try out his new trick whenever possible.

My Spiritual Act of Worship

I found this quote on another blog today and it is profound. I have struggled with my role as a stay-at-home mom of an infant; even though I know it is a huge blessing for my family, it is difficult at times. Lately I feel like I have so many roles, many of them new, and I'm not doing any of them well. I hope you'll be blessed by this as well:

"Hey, I'm no apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher, but I do know this: Taking care of my kids is my spiritual worship. Writing well is my spiritual worship. Singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" in church is my spiritual worship. So is washing the laundry and walking on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. Whatever I do, if I do it well and with acknowledgement of the Creator, that is worship."

You can find the entire post here.

May you worship our God today in whatever place He has put you.