Ethan's Mission

You must go read this post by our former youth minister, Brian Mashburn (who is now a pulpit minister in Amarillo).

Bring a tissue.

Mischief and a Tooth

What I found after stepping out of the room for a second...

(Click on the pictures to make them bigger)

Can you see it? I know this picture is very blurry, but he won't sit still or open his mouth long enough for me to get a good one of his tooth.

A Mother's Heart

“Feelings of frustration are not unique to mothers. People in any task or profession may feel under-challenged, over-challenged, unappreciated, bored, or misplaced in their occupation. But God wants to lift our eyes above our daily situation and give us a new vision for the assignment He has given us. ” ~A Mother’s Heart

Oh how I need this reminder today.




(This book was recommended by Ann over at Choosing Home. I haven't read it, but it's going on my wish list.)

Big boy--9 months old

He'll be running around the house before we know it!

9 month check-up

Caleb has his 9- month check-up today. The doctor said "he's perfect." (We already knew that!) :-) In his first 9 months of life, we have not had one sick visit to the doctor. Praise God! Every time we go, the doctor asks me if I take Caleb around other babies. I do a lot more now that he's a little older, but we were hermits when he was young, only going out to church and occasionally to the store. He said Caleb must have a really good immune system because some babies get sick if another sick child walks by. Our little guy must have his daddy's immune system! That's what we prayed for. :-)

He wants us to come back in one month just for a weight check because Caleb is only in the 10% on weight (17.6 lbs.), but 50% on height (28.25 in). He's not really concerned since Caleb is in the middle of cutting his first tooth and not eating well because of it, and is VERY active (which can cause them to lose weight). He just wants to make sure it's all of those things since his next visit won't be for another 3 months.

I'm waiting for my sweet, happy baby to return after this teething business. I'm afraid he's cutting more than one and we just don't see evidence of them yet. (His daddy cut his first 4 teeth in one week!) Caleb is NOT sleeping well at night, waking up 3-4 times, and we are all feeling the effects. The motherhood stuff is HARD. (but worth it!)

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Daddy,
I am so lucky to have a great dad like you. I can really tell how much you love me! From the first time we met in that really bright room, I knew I would be safe with you. And I am. I can't wait until you come home each day from work, and I get so excited when I see you. We have so much fun together! I know you love mommy so much, and that makes me really happy. (I think it's pretty funny when you give her a kiss!) Thank you for being such a good daddy. Happy 1st Father's Day!

Love,
Caleb

(See the tribute to my dad on my other blog)

Finally--A Tooth

Caleb is finally cutting a tooth (it has only taken almost 9 months, but who's counting?). I never knew this was such a long process. It broke through the skin on Monday but hasn't moved since. Exactly how long will it be before the tooth is in place?

Whenever it appears big enough to show up in a picture, I'll be sure to post one.

(For all the new readers to this blog...this has become the "Caleb update" blog if you haven't noticed. My family is much more interested in learning the latest Caleb "news" than anything else :-), so I created "my" blog to share my thoughts on more general things. If you're interested, click here)

A Cousin for Caleb

Yippppppeeeeee! Caleb's going to have a cousin to play with very soon! :-) My sister and her husband are expecting a baby, due next February 14. What a blessing!

Here's how long until the baby comes...

(247 days left)

Baby in the Mirror

Caleb has discovered the baby in the mirror. He thinks that baby is SOOOOO cute! That baby smiles and laughs at everything Caleb does. :-)

Caleb also thinks he can walk. He can't. He pulls himself up on anything in the house (pant legs, end tables, chairs, toys, etc.) and then thinks he can go somewhere else if he lets go. I want to go around the neighborhood telling everyone that I really am not abusing my child; those bruises are because he is too brave for his own good. He has fallen so many times already that he winces when he reaches out and realizes the thing he's trying to get to is too far away. When I catch him, I'll be sure to snap some pictures of his latest attempt to send his mother into a frenzy. I try to tell him that he's not able to walk yet, but he doesn't listen. 

Standing

I turned away for a second this morning to put a bowl in the sink and Caleb was standing next to the couch. He had pulled up all by himself. I'm going kicking and screaming into this next stage of development. Can you hear me yelling, "I'M NOT READY!!!" Caleb obviously can't because all he wants to do is get near anything that looks remotely sturdy (or not) and use it to pull himself up to standing. I know that I was walking at 9 months, but I was sort of counting on the fact that boys are usually a little slower developmentally and I wouldn't have to deal with this until months later. Shouldn't I know by now not to have expectations? Oh well. Here we go...

(And as I write this, he's sitting in his bed, his back resting against the front of the crib, talking to himself. Makes me laugh.) :-)