The Party's Over...and it was AWESOME!

First of all, I hadn't gotten everything ready, so it was not nearly as decorated as I would have liked. But to be honest, I'm not sure anyone but me really cared.

I spent too much time that morning cleaning my house, and not enough getting ready for the party. Plus, you know, we had the trauma of Caleb's crib fall. And we had a lady from the new church come over to bring us cookies and welcome us! (EPJ says it's creepy, but I think it harkens to an age when community was more important. When our needs for fellowship outweighed our needs for privacy. Okay, it's not my cup of tea either, but I'm trying to change!) She ended up dropping by the party as well. I thought that was nice.

Anyway, we had probably sixty people, and not nearly enough chairs! So there were a bunch of people sitting in the floor in a circle, with kids going crazy in the center! Caleb was a pretty good egg - he started off the party in a great mood, got pretty mellow in the middle, and then spiced back up into our favorite little ham by the end! I hate to call it a disappointment, so let's just say I was surprised by the fact that he was so neat when he ate his cake. Auntie Megan made him a little cake all for himself, so we stripped him (thanks, Angela!) and put him in his high chair with a whole tablecloth under him so that he could be as messy as he needed to be. Wrong-o! The kid used two fingers to scrape some frosting off, and he licked them off delicately before he went in for some more. Finally, toward the end he got a little messy, but I was hoping for some face pounding into cake action!

Speaking of cake, Auntie Megan made the most beautiful cake in the whole WORLD! (It was probably lovelier than my wedding cake - in a different way.) One of Caleb's favorite books is called Quackers' Crackers, so she made a 3-D shape cake of a duck, then frosted it to look like Quackers. Then she put that cake on top of a giant round sheet cake frosted with blue fondant, with an edible giant Lilly on top. It was so exquisite! I actually had people still talking to me about it yesterday! Methinks Auntie Meg needs to go into business for herself as a birthday cake maker! I'll never have to bake again! (I'll just have to keep her from charging astronomical rates so that I can afford her!)

And speaking of Auntie Meg, she drove all the way to Loveland on Saturday so that Caleb's Grandma could come to the party. Momma had knee surgery on Monday, and wasn't recovering NEARLY as well as she would have liked. So I went to see her on Friday, and she pretty much said that she wouldn't make it to Caleb's party. I called on my baby sis to comfort me, and she took it upon herself to surprise me by bringing her so she wouldn't have to drive herself. So she brought the cake and the Grandma. I can't tell you what a wonderful surprise both of them were!

Everyone who came was so amazing! Carie came early to help me set up - ha! I was so brain dead that I couldn't even tell her how to help! I had friends drive from Greeley, Loveland, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs and all the regions of the metro area. Caleb had four teachers from his school come, but none of the kids from his class could. (Except one, who belongs to one of his teachers.) There actually weren't any people who had never seen him, like I'd sort of hoped, but there were definitely those who didn't get to see him enough. We need to get pictures up so that the people who missed it can at least see the birthday boy and the cake!

He'll never have another party like that, so it's a shame that he won't remember it. I meant to have a big, giant card for everyone to sign so I could show him when he could appreciate it. Oh well. I'm really glad it's over, mostly because I was spending so much time planning it that I didn't get enough other stuff done. Only about half of my big plans came to be anyway!

Thanks to all of you who came, and to all of you who couldn't. Caleb's is a life full of love and joy, and he deserves every bit of it. I want him to know how blessed he is, and to remember to thank the Author of every good and perfect gift. (Who I thank hourly for giving him to me!)

You couldn't wait ONE DAY?!

So this morning, we were awakened as usual by a little boy hollering that he was ready to get out of bed. Jonathan and I agreed that he would stay with the boy while I got party stuff ready so that we could get a jump start on our day.

There was a thud. Silence. Then screams.

That munchkin had pushed his blanket and his big bear into the corner of his crib and used it to crawl over the edge. His fall was broken by the diaper genie that sits next to his crib. So now he's got a big giant lump on his forehead whose edge is a pretty good gash. Talk about a way to start party day ~ everyone is coming over to see my bashed-in baby!

Again, his wonderfully mellow nature asserted itself. He cried for about thirty to forty-five seconds with Jonny and I just squeezing him between us, and then he seemed to take offense that we kept trying to keep him still with a bag of frozen peas on his forehead. He was ready to play!

Needless to say, Jonathan and I are a little on edge now. Amanda more so. I just feel awful because I'm the one who put the stupid bear in there. But he looks so cute sleeping with his head on one of the legs. So we're going to drop the mattress in the crib and leave the bear. I'll make sure that he can't do this again, but if it looks like he can still get over the edge, the bear will be relegated to the nursery floor.

When I told my dad, he said that the kid obviously took after me. I was quite the escape artist as well, apparently. But I had it a little worse - I bit through my tongue at some point. When I told that to Jonathan, he freaked a little and said we should check Caleb's mouth. But surely he's not THAT well-adjusted, right? Anyway, I figure we would have seen evidence of that long before now.

Jonathan sent me in here to blog because it's therapeutic. He's right. I do feel a lot better. So now I gotta get moving! Party stuff to do! Punchballs to blow up, iced tea to brew, and I still haven't showered...

Postscript - at his harvest festival, I didn't get to do the pumpkin bean-bag toss. But I was the station after bobbing for apples. They'd bring their apple to me, I'd do the slicer on it, and put it in a bag with a little caramel dip. It was sticky, but a ton of fun! I tried to convince the boys it was magic, and the girls thought the flowered apple was so pretty. Gotta tell you, I think I could be a preschool teacher!

1st B-day!

It was fairly uneventful, really. He had to go to the doctor for another dual ear infection, but since he wasn't running a fever, he got to go to school anyway! (Thank goodness - Mommy would have absolutely loved spending the day with him, but it would have risked her sanity with her job!) He took cookies to school since it was a major holiday, and they loved them. He was acting so silly last night that I kept asking how many cookies he'd eaten.

Last night, Jonny got stuck in traffic so that his drive home was more than two hours. There wasn't even any snow yet! (This morning will be ugly ~ two inches at five o'clock with blowing snow coming down like it's determined to hit a foot.) But we had a wonderful dinner of rotisserie chicken, french bread and broccoli that Caleb ate a TON of! Then we had caramel apple chunks for desert, and he wasn't crazy about the granny smith, but the caramel was delish!

I'm getting so psyched for his party! Two days and counting! I made twenty-three gift bags for the kids that are coming ~ and they ROCK! I found myself wishing that I'd made one for Caleb because they're so cool, but I figure he's bound to get a couple of presents that day, so I'm not going to fret. Anyway, my problem is that I've got entertainment for the kids his age and younger ~ boxes and balls ~ but there are about eight bigger kids coming, and I don't know what to do with them! I bought "pin the tail on the donkey" and a pinata, but how long can that be fun? Luckily, I also have snacks that will take up some time!

My mom had surgery on Monday for her knee. Tomorrow after Caleb's Harvest Festival - I hope I get to man the pumpkin bean-bag toss! - we're going to go up and visit her. My only concern is that Caleb likes to pound on people he's sitting with.

Ohmigoodness, I wish I had a video camera right now. We're all sitting around the computer dancing to the Proclaimers "500 Miles." Caleb's swinging his arms, Momma's swinging her head, and Daddy's swinging his pants. Good times!

Happy Birthday, Caleb Z!

What a beautiful year it's been! One year ago this minute, they were starting to threaten me with a C-section if my baby didn't make a timely appearance. And in an hour and fifteen minutes, he made it without needing an extra hole.

We're feeling nostalgic, euphoric and dead tired this morning. I think the boy might not have gotten rid of his ear infection again. Last night, his ear was really red and he was pulling on it, and then he woke us up screaming like crazy at two o'clock. It took a warm bottle, a healthy dose of baby motrin and a lot of prayer to get him back to sleep after what seemed like a very long time. So I'm getting him into the doc this morning, and hope that something can be done to make him more comfortable.

And hope like heck that he gets WAY better WAY fast! Of course, other than the whole bloodcurdling screams, he hasn't really let us know that he's not feeling well.

Lot going on - we got him on the grocerystore horsey ride for the first time two weeks ago, and a real horsey on Saturday! It was too cold for him to really appreciate - he hates things covering his ears, and I forced Miss Claire's earmuffs over his head - but it was fun nonetheless.

I gotta get going ~ he's being too precious for words right now, and I really want to have a leisurely breakfast with him. I actually used hairspray this morning to try to hold down his cowlick, but all it did was make it more resistant to being pushed down. He's so stinking adorable!

Welcome!

Jada Belle was born last night at 10:25 to the ever-blessed John and Sharon! Keep them in your prayers! These first few weeks will be the most joyful and sleep deprived of their lives...thus far anyway!

It makes me smooch on my baby all the more. Don't you think he needs a little brother or sister?!?

Brevity...

There's something to be said for brevity.

Of course, if I end up saying it, I'll just babble on and on about it's virtues!

I've been meaning to write for absolutely decades, but there's so much that I don't have time ~ then the longer I wait, the more there is to write about, and the vicious cycle continues like that. So this morning, I said to myself, "Take five minutes to write about what's going on, and anything that doesn't get said will just have to wait!"

So! We've been through our first infectious disease - hand foot and mouth - our first trip to the Emergency Room - for said disease's symptoms - and watch the imminent arrival of the dreaded stage of walking.

Aside: I was laughing because Terra was hesitant to feed Dean solid foods because she didn't want him to take that big-boy step. The only detriment in my joy of Caleb's development is that everything he does seems like the absolute MOST FUN thing he could ever do, and I just keep thinking that someday he'll do something that ISN'T more fun than the previous level. And if anyone understands that, they'll know why I used to kill myself with worry. Why worry about something that incredibly intangible? It's been a year of getting better all the time ~ why shouldn't it continue?!

Let's see, the emergency room visit was due to the fact that the sores in his mouth that came along with the hand foot and mouth virus got so bad that his lip swelled back so much that it forced its way between his teeny top two teeth. It really looked awful, but the biggest problem was that it kept him from drinking from a bottle, or even a sippy cup. So we ended up syringe and straw feeding him most of his liquids for about three days.

Plus, his Grandpa Fashbaugh had been here that weekend, so it was a little disappointing to have Caleb not at top form. He was still pretty perfect, though. I don't think Grandpa was unimpressed...

As for the almost walking thing, he'll stand up on his own from a seated position, and then waver around a little bit. If he's holding onto something and lets go, we've got him clocked at standing on his own for 39 seconds. It's so wonderful!

Jonathan just commented that this certainly isn't looking brief. Why do you think I wanted to wait until I had more time?!?

Birthday party coming up! Counting kids, I'm looking at about 40 people that have RSVPd! I spent so much just on gift bag and pinata fillings that I might not be able to afford any FOOD for this party, but we'll certainly have some fun!

The Zoo, a Shoe and Mommy's boo-boo...

Caleb Z has new shoes! They’re really cute little brown ones that came from a real shoe store and were fitted by a shoe salesperson and everything! He’s not as impressed as I am, but he thinks the Velcro is pretty cool. Of course, he thinks they make better toys than feet coverings. They haven’t stayed on his feet as much as I would have liked for what we spent on them.

But they were an absolutely perfect addition to his wardrobe when we went to the zoo! He walked around a little bit – holding onto us still – and kept them on the whole time we were there. The zoo was so much fun! I’ve always loved going and visiting them, but with a baby, you have a fresh set of eyes! Suddenly, the bird house, which doesn’t ordinarily thrill me, became the most amazing place in the known universe. The birds roam free, nip at pants and shoelaces and squawk wonderful noises right in front of you!

Arctic foxes were another big hit. They play just like Caleb Z’s puppies! And even though he didn’t seem particularly impressed by the giraffe babies, the elephant throwing dirt on herself really seems to appeal to him. But it was the thousands of babies and pregnant ladies that got the bulk of his attention. Apparently the greatest thing about the zoo is that there are a lot of people.

We’ve got the birthday coming up. Terribly exciting. And he cut his fifth tooth last night, which I pray was the cause for his habit of throwing temper tantrums at an astronomical rate. He just crumples and screams at the least provocation. It’s kind of funny, but at the same time, I have no desire for it to continue.

I don’t know if it’s a phase or just a taste of what is to come, but Caleb has started biting people. He bit one of his teachers on Monday, and I asked how they dealt with it. They said that they just put him down and said ouch. (“Ouch” is how we’re trying to teach Caleb not to do destructive things like yank Mommy’s hair out in clumps, or grab the puppies’ eyeballs.) By golly if he didn’t bite me this morning! I was drying him off after his shower, and he was in his playful morning mood that I love so much. He kept rubbing his face on my shirt, and then those five tiny teeth sunk into my shoulder. I admit that I shouted “Ouch” a little more forcefully than I ever had. Then I put him on the floor while he threw his tantrum, but had to cut it short because he was still naked…

He’s started drumming on the oven door with one of the dog bones. It cracks us up. He does it every morning as we get ready to go to work. We’re also finding bits of Caleb toys in the most random places – like our bathroom drawers. Better childproofing is necessary, methinks!

We’re just continually praising God for this wonderful – if strong-willed – little man. He loves so big that he infects everyone around him. It’s impossible to be in a bad mood for too long around him. He simply radiates joy. It’s a daily attitude check for me!