Amanda Fashbaugh's Blog

Child Labor Laws be DARNED!

2007-03-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

This morning, Jonathan was sick as sick could be. He's had a cold coming on for a couple of days, but it finally kicked in down last night - when he was out insanely late for a Nuggets game. So while he slept in, Caleb Zakai and I had a great morning together.

Weeknights have gotten ridiculously lazy around here. I get home with Caleb, make dinner - most of the time - and after Jonathan gets home and we eat, we have "baby time." It consists mainly of Jonathan and I sitting on the ground and hassling Caleb. He loves it! Anyway, by the time he goes to bed, we're usually either ready for bed ourselves, or not up for anything more than watching a little television. So the house gets pretty stinking messy for those five days. Saturday morning is my day to catch up.

This morning, Caleb and I got up a little before six, and once I popped a Zofran, I was raring to go. I got us some breakfast, then we got dressed and started our workin' morning. Don't get me wrong, there was a healthy dose of pushing him around on his Kawasaki motorcycle that Miss Teri bought him, and pushing around the big firetruck Auntie Meg got him - but we did it between bouts of cleaning up toys and shoes, and sweeping. The one thing that I don't do well with Caleb around is the dishes. Because I throw everything in the dishwasher, and Caleb gets a power trip out of closing the dishwasher, I generally try to do it while he's in the high chair or otherwise occupied. However, he would not be distracted this morning, and I just kept looking at that pile of dishes and feeling it loom over my entire day.

Until we got our next load of laundry going, and Caleb decided that it was his job to load the washing machine. We have a front loader that is right at his height, and he's expressed interest in loading it before, but generally just when it's his toys or something. So I let him put the next load in, while I ran over and unloaded the dishwasher, re-loaded it, and folded half a basket of laundry! I tell you what, good parenting advice would be to get your kid excited about chores REALLY early! (Let's see how quickly we can get him vacuuming now!)

He kicked the soccer ball today for the first time I've seen him! He's really loved throwing balls around, but I was having trouble getting him to figure out how to kick them. So today, with the help of positive reinforcement, I think we've guaranteed that he'll be kicking everything he sees until the end of time. Seriously, we were clapping and cheering like he'd scored the winning goal at the World Cup.

And you know as well as I do that he won't play in the World Cup until 2021. Let's not rush things.

We've tried to make a big deal out of the fact that his baby brother or sister is in my tummy, and so I'll pat it once a day and say, "Hi, baby!" He's started patting his tummy, which is adorable, but he also likes to smack mine! I'm starting to think we'll wait on this one until the baby is a little bigger, because I'm getting tired of being beaten on by my exuberant sixteen month old!

There's a lot of people that are going to have babies this year! I can think of four people that I love that are having babies! But since I don't know that everyone is telling everyone yet, I'll keep my monumentally large mouth closed.

In similar news, Josiah Van Ryn is new to the world! And if y'all want to hear an amazing labor and delivery story, you should talk to Josiah's proud Mama, Wendy. (And if you've had babies, when you do hear the story, be prepared to bite your tongue to keep from calling her names. I didn't bite quick enough. Dang it.) If all deliveries could be like that, the medical establishment would lose a lot of money.

And if mine could be like that, I'd really be grateful. Lord? Did you catch that prayer cloaked as a comment?

I'm off! Caleb Zakai is flying around like an airplane - but his wings seem to be coming out of his back. I'd better do some flight checks!

Update on a Monday!

2007-02-26T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have the cutest little boy in the whole world! This morning, he made up a new game where he’ll hand me his cup, then back up a few steps, then reeeeeeach out to get it back from me, straining and making a big dramatic effort. It’s HILARIOUS! When he finally reaches it, after mom makes a good stretch too, he’ll hold onto it, laugh, then hand it to me again and back up. Good night, does that kid make me happy!

Miss Angela loaded us up with some Smith hand-me-downs when we saw her last, and because of one situation or another, I didn’t get to sort through them until this weekend. There are several pairs of absolutely ADORABLE shoes, and he’s too big for them all! I was just about sick. So he keeps bringing me different shoes, holding them up, and saying “Shoes?” He already has a pair on his feet, mind you, but he’s very adamant that there should be more.

“Shoes” is really his first REAL word. “Mama” means mom, more, I want it, and I need something. He’s also pretty good with “puppy,” “baby” and “fish,” but sometimes uses them interchangeably with something else, so they’re not definites yet. And “uh-oh” doesn’t count as a word with me, since he uses it correctly, but then also uses it to get attention and to let me know that he’s about to do something naughty.

Anyway, it’s so fun to have more clothes for him! It’s especially fun to see him wearing clothes that I’ve seen Collin and Cooper wear! Today he’s wearing this adorable blue camo shirt that Cooper wore in some of the pictures I have of him, and it’s SO fun to have that come to mind when I see Caleb!

It was a pretty good weekend here for the Fashbaughs! Saturday morning saw us running errands – Home Depot and Sam’s. Caleb was having a cranky morning, but then he took a little nap in the car, and then we put him in the basket part of the cart and let him have full access to the animal crackers. His attitude improved exponentially! Letting him walk around is getting more and more dangerous these days, since one of his favorite games is to squeal and run away from mom and dad!

I’m seriously considering a kid-leash to hook onto his clothes at the very least.

Anyway, the rest of Saturday went well. Sunday morning found us becoming members at our new church! Pastor called up anyone who wanted to dedicate their life to Christ or become new members. Usually, there are a couple dozen people who go up to applause, and then Pastor separates out the two groups. Well this time, we were the ONLY people who went up at ALL! It was really hard (and FUN!) to stand there facing the congregation while everybody was clapping and staring. After church, we probably had a couple dozen people grab us into bear hugs and welcome us. We’re really, really excited about this phase of our lives. Can’t wait to get involved with small groups!

Tummy Baby – aka “Tater” – continues to grow and thrive. We got our first pictures of him or her a couple weeks ago. It was so fun to be with Jonathan on Valentine’s Day and get to see our baby, and hear the heartbeat. The first time I heard Caleb’s heartbeat, I was all alone. So sad!

Anyway, we went through a whole drama with anti-emetics. We changed insurance – and we’re broke! – so I tried to make do with a much cheaper one. No dice. Not only did it NOT help, it actually made things worse! So we’re relying on the kindness of this new baby’s grandparents to help us afford the Zofran again. Ugh. I hate spending this much money on medication! (But I praise God that it’s available, and that Tater has grandparents who can help us with a LOAN to pay for it!)

It's February!

2007-02-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

Here we go again! It's been a really long time since I posted because I couldn't figure out the new Blogger. Would you believe that I'm considered a little of a techno-geek at work? At home, though, I have the TRUE geek, so I get to be helpless...

I am hearing a huge uproar about the website not being updated! I agree with you all! What kind of craziness allows a gorgeous little boy like Caleb Zakai to go undocumented in picture for two full months?

We haven’t quit taking pictures, really, it’s just been tough getting them up on the website! First of all is Jonathan’s new position at work – he has transitioned into sales, and suddenly he’s away from the house for more than twelve hours a day, needs to work more weekends, and has just been away all of this weekend on a business trip. So he hasn’t had a whole lot of time to get new pics up.

Also, there lies the issue of our fourth Fashbaugh, who has made my life a little tougher to lead. When Caleb was just a kidney bean in my tummy and making me this sick, I could sleep in, haul myself to the office, do my job, go home and collapse. Jonathan understood and was very supportive.

Caleb DOESN’T understand, doesn’t let me sleep in, and doesn’t allow for anything less than a fun-as-ever Mommy at night. So I have to maintain my attitude for him, but everything else has gone to heck in a handbasket. My dishes don’t get done for days, my laundry is clean, but sits in a basket for a week, and before yesterday, I couldn’t have told you the last time I swept the kitchen floor.

Which brings us to the point of how much I miss the dogs. Not just for their cuddle-ability, but because they helped me get away with not sweeping or vacuuming every week if I didn’t have time. But now, if I go even a couple of days without those things, it’s pretty obvious. Oy.

Let me think of the coolest Caleb things going on. Hmm. He’s gotten fiercely adamant about WALKING up stairs like a big boy as opposed to crawling up them. I try not to baby him, but he sure seems to fall down a lot more than I would like now! He fell down a few of Angela’s stairs on Saturday – hard wooden ones, too! It’s a good thing that he was already battered from his day on Friday so that the new marks weren’t noticeable.

Tomorrow is the Teddy Bear Parade at Caleb’s school. I’ll be taking some time off in the morning to go check it out – I’m taking cut up fruit! What a fun mom-like thing to take to a school! With his peanut allergy, I’m becoming more sensitive to the nutritional limitations that others might have. Now just cross your fingers for me that a lot of fruit will be on sale tonight!

Wednesday is our first doc appointment for the fourth Fashbaugh. For those of you who know my Dad, it will come as no shock to hear that his nickname for this baby is “Tater.” Niiice. My sister took it one step further to bring about “Gator Tater.” My mom called her Petunia, but I countered that if it is indeed another little boy, he might be scarred. Besides, everyone knows that if it’s a girl, we’ll call her Lola Monet!

So Tater seems the easiest and least offensive nickname at this point. I tried to use my own nickname of Jellybean with Caleb, but everyone ended up calling him Punkin because that’s what Grandpa called him. Oy. Overruled on the name of the fruit of my own loins!

Ew. Loins.

Everything that he does is so perfect that I’m having trouble even thinking of something fun to put here! He’s started greet everyone he sees with “HI!” and a big wave. He points out birds in the sky. He loves black olives. His spoon work is getting a little better, and his meals more varied. He’s running a lot rather than just walking. He will say “Nigh-nigh” when it’s time for bed. He thinks he’s awfully clever for figuring out how to climb up on absolutely everything.

Oh, and his new trick is throwing everything into the trash. Joy! We’ve lost toys and hats to the Big White Can, but it’s getting worse. Yesterday, since Jonathan is in Miami, I had to distract him while I spent some quality time hanging over a toilet, suffering a bout of afternoon-morning-sickness. So I handed him my phone, which is always good for five minutes without interrupt. Unfortunately, when I finished my business, he had “lost” the phone. It took me to the end of the evening to find that stupid thing. I had thrown macaroni and graham crackers onto it. Gross.

The longest year EVER!

2007-01-23T12:10:00.000-08:00

Happy HOLY COW 2007! It’s been a super-duper long year already, and I’ve really wanted to write about some of the things that have been going on. But every time I go to start, I realize how much ground I need to cover!

We got called to pick up a sick baby on 1/3. Caleb had a pretty good fever, which gives him a direct ticket out of school. So I made arrangements to take Thursday off work so I could take him to the doc. At said doc, not only were his ears infected and he had pinkeye, but his pulse/ox levels were dangerously low, and his chest was all congested. So he was put on a nebulizer ~ and guess who got to be the bad guy?! ME!

He screamed, wailed, kicked, punched, and basically fought in any way a fifteen month old can to get that mask off of his face. It took thirty minutes for the steroid to be fully nebulized, and by the end of that time, both of us looked like we’d been in a sauna for about six days.

Do you know what they said to me? “Oh, his color is certainly getting better!”

Anyway, since the doc said we needed to come back the next morning for another nebulizer treatment, we knew he wasn’t going back to school. So Grandma Becky offered to come to stay with him so I didn’t miss any more work. However, the fourth big blizzard hit, and she was only able to make it about halfway before it became evident that she needed to just go home for safety’s sake.

At that appointment, not only did we do another nebulizer treatment, but they sent me home with one and told me to do it every three hours. Around the clock. And more importantly, they suggested that it was RSV that had caused the bronchitis/bronchialitis. So he wasn’t allowed to be around kids or crowds for ten days.

At this point, we had two antibiotics, eye drops, two oral steroids, and a nebulized steroid. We used that combination for three days, going to the doctor each day, until they were concerned that his oxygen levels were dropping off too quickly after the nebulization, so they put him on oxygen as well. Seriously – we have a tank the size of a giant missile just sitting in our living room.

Finally, his levels seemed to come into line, but after everything we went through, I had to bring up allergies again. So we were referred to a pediatric specialist, where they did the scratch tests on my little bug. He was such a CHAMP! I held him facing me while they did all the pokes, and he just played with my hair and never made a peep! Then they told me that he could run around the office while they waited for the results. So here’s my little angel running around shirtless with a grid and bumps on his back, talking to the people in the waiting room, the nurses, everyone. It was an absolute riot!

What was NOT a riot was the results of the tests. In addition to everything that had been wrong with him, the doctor diagnosed him with severe asthma and allergies to peanuts, cats and dogs.

For those of you who are gasping that a peanut allergy is a huge thing, please go back and read that sentence more clearly. Peanuts, cats and DOGS. The kid can live without a Snickers bar. But his mom’s heart broke to realize that our sweetest Auggie and Nonny were part of the problem, and had to be removed from the home.

Jonathan took the day off work to take the puppies away, because I had a little bit of a breakdown. Seriously. I left a message on my phone that I couldn’t talk to anyone, then holed up in my house for several days. I didn’t shower ~ ewww! ~ and basically didn’t do anything but snuggle Caleb and cry.

And he HATES it when I cry! He tries to comfort me, but then when I keep going, he starts to cry, too. He is such a precious. He really is my greatest gift.

Anyway, the puppies ended up being adopted by two people that we know will love and care for them well. (Nonny went with Alisa’s sweet Mr. Chris, so we’ll probably see her again. Which I don’t know how I feel about.) Anyway, I’m still grieving, but Jonathan is pretty much on cloud nine that Caleb will get to be a “reptile” kid!

Every day we find new ways that not having puppies is better for us. So I have a feeling that when my grief subsides, I’ll be able to completely acknowledge that our life is much better. Even though right now my heart is denying that fact.

At the allergist, they gave us more stuff to nebulize, nose spray, and more steroids. And the next day, we had to take him to get an x-ray of his sinuses, where it was revealed that he had an infection there as well! Criminy grits! The kid took in more medication than food for a week!

When it was all said and done, I missed a week and a half of work, countless hours of sleep, and my puppies. But life is FINALLY getting back to normal. Caleb is mostly healthy, the oxygen tank should be leaving shortly, and we’re getting used to having no little furry friends around.

And now Caleb’s molars are growing in. Guess how fun that is?!

Forgotten stuff!

2007-01-02T14:02:00.000-08:00

Ohmigoodness, I can't believe all the milestones I left out! I guess when you don't write for almost a month when he's this age, I'm bound to have a lot of ground to cover!

First of all, he’s completely off the bottle, even for milk, even for dinner. Also, he’s doing a super job of drinking out of a REAL cup! No sippy lid or anything. I’m limiting it to water right now, because when he gets distracted, he’ll turn his head without turning the cup.

He got his first kids meal at a restaurant yesterday! Chik Fil A! And he drank his milk from a straw, but made a bit of a mess. He kept drinking in too much to swallow, then when he took the straw out, it would all come out.

He got amazing toys for Christmas, plus socks and shoes, books, clothes and moolah for college! (Mommy got dozens o’ books, a few movies and a butt-kicking electric toothbrush, Daddy got cologne, luggage and a video iPod. All were overjoyed.) But my favorite toy he got for Christmas is the one we gave him – the busy ball popper! Angela, you got one for Cooper last year, and I’ve been looking for an excuse ever since. We’ll all just sit around on the floor for ages and play with it. Then he’ll try to eat a ball, and when he can’t get it in his own mouth, he finds a mouth that fits.

That’s right. It’s mine. Shocker.

We’ve had so many Christmas celebrations this year that it’s hard to believe that it was only one year! This was the first year I really wasn’t ready for Christmas in my whole life. So this year I’ll have to start even EARLIER to be ready!

Like NEXT WEEK!

I was pretty proud of myself that I put a bunch of pictures in his album. But I've got a lot of commentary to write still, but at least they're not laying around the house anymore!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

My post right before this one has caused me no short amount of guilt. I was overjoyed that my son was finally getting some sleep ~ only to realize that his sleep was coming from the fact that he became desperately ill. For seven days, his fever was between 101 and 104.4, keeping mom and dad out of work for a total of five days between them. Talk about pressure! And I dragged him to the doc twice before finally getting some antibiotics. I figured that with a fever that high and his breathing so bad, something more drastic than “an upper respiratory” infection – AGAIN – had to be wrong.

To be fair, though, the antibiotics didn’t seem to do much. He was sick for five days after he got them. So maybe my mom freak out wasn’t necessary.

Anyway, he was pukey, poopy and snotty for considerably longer than his mom and dad wanted him to be, trust me. But he’s such a little angel! Even in the worst of sickies, he is pleasant to be around. Most of the time.

Grandma Fashbaugh came for the week prior to Christmas. Grandpa didn’t make it until almost ten on Christmas Eve Eve, but at least he made it in! His first flight got cancelled because of the crazy blizzard. (The FIRST crazy blizzard!) Caleb had SUCH a great time with Grandma and Auntie Alisa! He’s always the center of Mom’s attention, but now he had three girls hanging on his every babble! He was a little hoot!

When he went to Auntie Alisa’s, he spent some quality time with Lucy, the kitty. And would you believe that the cat was better with Caleb than our dogs? What the heck?! He pushed her down to the ground so he could really pet her, and she just took it, and never even tried to leave or anything. I stood at the ready to make sure he didn’t really hurt her, but she just lounged around so he could love on her. It was adorable!

Then about halfway through the week, I got the same crap that Caleb had! I was able to push through it until Saturday, when I was nearly felled by the sick. I missed church on Christmas Eve, it STUNK! Then while everybody was watching the football game, I took another three hour nap. DayQuil and NightQuil where my best buddies. Christmas Day was pretty rough on me. I was just so weak. The first day back to work (after a ten day absence) was horrible. But I kept going to bed at 6:30 and 7:00 that week and made it through!)

It was incredible to watch Caleb and how he interacted with both sets of grandparents at once! If he was a bigger kid and I had tried to explain to him that he needed to spend time equally with each grandparent he couldn’t have done a better job! He would run from Grandparent to Grandparent, arms up, looking for hugs. Plus, the kid was an equal opportunity moocher – no one was left out from his begging. Especially for Chex mix.

The Fashbaugh grandparents left the day after Christmas, and Auntie Alisa and Mister Chris played babysitter to the bug. They got some AWESOME pictures of him in a santa hat. I can’t wait to get them online!

But that may have to wait awhile, because then JONNY got the sicko stuff! He’s STILL trying to recover. But it will happen eventually.

We took Caleb to his Garmane grandparents on Saturday so that they could take care of him for a couple days while Jonathan and I celebrated our six year anniversary! It was wonderful to have time not to worry about Caleb all the time! With our place as small as it is, even if Caleb is napping, we can’t be too loud without him waking up.

So we stayed out late, played loud music, and had a wonderful time! New Year’s Eve was better this year than last because we didn’t have to have a Caleb wrangler! So MANY THANKS to said grandparents, who allowed us to get out to the movies and have almost two whole days as a couple!

He’s getting cuter every day. He got new shoes yesterday, so I’m hoping that he won’t be able to get them off at whim. They light up, too, so I hope he stays interested. Today he’s wearing the new shoes – boots, really – with tractors on the sides, plus his Construction outfit from the Smiths, so he is just the cutest thing in the universe! You wouldn’t believe the total strangers that stop us just to tell us how precious he is. (I really do try to be gracious about it, but it’s tough not to get caught up in bragging on him! He IS totally adorable!)

He’s got another couple of teeth coming through, so the attitude is always just under the surface. It’s interesting to see how we react as parents. He’s a kid who will always push the envelope, I think. Yesterday, I caught him pushing his fire truck next to his high chair, and climbing on top of the fire truck using the high chair for balance! This is a fourteen month old BABY! I didn’t think I’d have to deal with that until he was a little older, anyway. Guess I’d better do even MORE child proofing!

Oh, and a final note – I smacked his hand yesterday for the first time! He of course crumpled onto the floor and did his brand new big fat fake cry. (He purses his lips and lowers his eyebrows and does a perfect imitation of crying – except it’s too perfect and is easily stopped by tickling.) Anyway, lest anyone think that I smacked him just to see the super cute fake cry, it was really for a reason! He was getting into Nonny’s food bowl during dinner, and she doesn’t have the tolerance that Auggie has. She’s never growled or snapped or anything, but I don’t want her to ever feel the need.

The dogs get fed twice a day, and if Caleb is anywhere near, he likes to get involved. His idea of involvement is trying to eat their food. We generally just tell him no, pick him up, and move him somewhere else for the duration. But since that hasn’t been working, and he definitely knows the difference between right and wrong in this circumstance, I finally decided that a more drastic approach was necessary. Hence, the smackdown. This morning he was in his highchair when I fed them, but we’ll see how he does tonight!

In with the big kids!

2006-12-06T05:07:00.000-08:00

On Monday, Caleb got promoted to the honest-to-goodness toddler room. They would have sent him a little earlier, but they have to be able to promote someone out of that room before he can come in. There are two things that are delicious about this for me - first of all, he is tuckered when he comes home! Which means that he sleeps through the night! (Although it does mean that I'm consistently waking up to an alarm clock again for the first time in over a year, which is kind of sad.) But the other thing is that all the bigger kids congregate in the gym first thing in the morning, so he LOVES to leave me!

Don't get me wrong, it was devastating at first, but it's nice not to have to feel like a traitor for dropping him off every morning.

Oh, I thought of another upside! His tuition got five dollars a week cheaper! It would have been twenty a week, but they just raised rates for everybody. Which means it's a good thing that he got out of the nursery, or we would have been paying $220/week. And that's just silly.

The one downside for him is that in this new classroom, they are really more stringent about rules and whatnot than his earlier teachers. For instance, he HAS to wear shoes now! He still takes them off, but they shove them back on about twenty times before they give him an hour without them. Also, he's down to ONE serving of milk while at school. And they try to give him a cup before they pour it in the bottle. He's drinks all his other drinks out of sippy cups, but hasn't been as successful with the milk. I don't know why. But we've been working on it, and with them now making a daily effort to do the same, he'll be cupping it in no time!

Zerbets, Sleep Smiles and Body Slams...

2006-12-05T05:04:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I took Caleb to get his pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids, which for me, is the creme de la creme of child photographers. (Please don't introduce me to anyone more creme - Wal-Mart photography is already ruined for me. Don't take these guys away, too!)

We got there right when they opened at 9:30, and there were already ten people ahead of us. So we signed up for the first available time, which was two hours and fifteen minutes later. So after doing a little shopping ~ we were at Babies 'r' Us, after all! ~ we went for a ride to try to put Caleb to sleep, and once he was out, I went back to the parking lot and just sat to wait. It gave me the unique opportunity to just watch him in broad daylight while he slept. I'm not sure that anything I've experienced to this point as a parent could really compare with that time. To be able to watch him at rest was amazing and beautiful. And he smiles all the time! Which tells me that his sleep must be pleasant, which warms his mom's heart!

When we finally had the pictures taken, he was still sleepy from his nap, and a little cranky. But they did an amazing job ~ not only was he cute for the pics, he was SUPERCUTE! The photographer actually entered his last picture in a contest. (I think it's just for the people that work there, but it's still good for a proud mom to hear.) It was a great experience, and the shots turned out amazing.

That afternoon, Jonny was working and at his Christmas party, so Caleb Z and I had a whole afternoon at home alone. I think I mentioned about the jungle gym I become when he needs a climbing toy, but has has this one other adorable habit. While Jonathan or I are laying on the floor, he'll yank up our shirt and do zerbets on our tummies! I'll just start howling with laughter, so he'll do it a few more times, and then just when you're in the middle of a giant belly laugh, he'll launch his whole body on top of said belly and do a full body slam. I suppose we'd better stop it before he gets big enough to REALLY hurt us, but right now it's so sweet how he'll zerbet, zerbet, zerbet, BODY SLAM, zerbet, zerbet, BODY SLAM, zerbet...

By the way, now that I've used the word zerbet about a trillion times, let me say that it's the raspberry that he blows on your skin. I could be spelling it wrong, but it's not the kind of thing that's in my dictionary.

On Sunday, we went to see Kevin and Christina - but more importantly, their KITTIES! Caleb chased them around obsessively, and Kevin really tried to get Pico to stand still so Caleb could pet him. But when the kitty was still, Caleb got shy. It's like he was only interested in the chase! It made me giggle. Miss Christina looks like she's ready to have her little girl at any moment! But that little missy better hold off for a bit, since Kevin and Christina haven't decided on a name yet! We think they'll know when they see her.

Oh, and we got to see Auntie Alisa at church on Sunday! We just walked in, and there she was! We had expected to miss her since she goes to a later service usually, so it was a lovely surprise. I adore surprises like that! They make me ever so happy!

Happy Friday!

2006-12-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

Last night, Caleb learned to walk backwards! Okay, actually, I don’t know that he LEARNED it last night, but it was sure the first time I’d seen it ~ and he loved it! We were doing a “dinner on the fly,” meaning that I didn’t have him in his highchair while he was eating. He would walk toward me with his little baby bird mouth open, then as soon as he got a bite, he’d walk backward while he ate it. Then walk forward for another bite, then walk backward and eat. He was totally cracking up! I don’t know why I never thought of walking backwards as a form of entertainment!

He’s so much fun! I know I put that in every post, but it just keeps getting to be more fun! He’s developing the “knowledge of good and evil,” meaning that when he does something he knows he’s not supposed to do, he’ll keep an eye on mom and dad’s reaction. It’s hilarious! So when he’s crawling to the place where we keep the Xbox plugged in, knowing it’s off limits, he turns around every few seconds to see what our reaction will be. It’s adorable!

The other fun thing is that he LOVES to use us as a jungle gym! If you lay on the ground with him, he’ll be crawling all over you for so long that your body will ache from his joyful body slams and knees in the throat and whatnot. I’ve never been so happy to be abused…

Post-Thanksgiving!

2006-11-27T13:27:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to post that last bit last Wednesday! I didn’t even realize it hadn’t gone! Sheesh! Anyway, Thanksgiving has come and gone ~ and BOY did we have fun!

First of all, Caleb had an AMAZING second Thanksgiving! (It’s so sad that I almost called it his first Thanksgiving – last year he was kind of boring!) He enjoyed Grandma’s frozen fruit salad and Grandpa’s smoked turkey, but most of all, he liked… DESSERT! Hey, whose kid is this?! Anyway, he sat in his highchair for dinner, but when we were eating pie, he just walked from person to person with his little mouth open. And of course, when a kid is that cute, how can you resist offering him a teeny forkful of pie? All those bites add up, though, and I think that little boy ate more pie than I did!

The most fun thing about Thanksgiving Day, other than being thankful and spending time with family, was FEEDING THE DUCKS! Whoo-hoo! I’ve been wanting to do that for as long as I can remember – but wanted to wait until he could walk so that he could appreciate it! And it was SO worth waiting for!

At first, Caleb didn’t really understand the concept. He was so happy to get a bunch of bread, because he LIKES bread! But then he started throwing it, and soon the ducks and geese surrounded him trying to get at it. He’s so brave! He just dropped it for them, and held it out a couple of times.

Okay, to be honest, as a bad mom I have to admit that I didn’t really watch him the whole time because feeding the ducks is one of my favorite things to do, and I was a little absorbed with my own bread distribution! But he had grandparents and a daddy watching his every move. We actually got GREAT photos – I hope! – that Jonny will get uploaded shortly. I also took some film pics that I need to get developed.

Speaking of pictures, his little picture album is only half full, and I need to address that. I put in all the Thanksgiving and Christmas pictures from last year, then wrote little comments in the areas next to it. I wrote the commentary directly to him, as if he’ll be reading it when he’s sixteen or something. Anyway, the beautiful thing is that he looks at that photo album almost every day! I hate to be all mushy about it, but it’s so fun to think about being able to tell him that!

On Friday, I had a mom day! Basically, Jonny took care of the bug while I went shopping, read a book and went to a movie. It was delicious, and MUCH needed. This served several purposes: I got time to re-energize, Jonathan got bonding time with the boy, AND it showed both Jonathan and I that if I get to stay home with our kids someday, he DEFINITELY won’t be jealous. The poor daddy felt frazzled! So I did the same thing for him on Saturday. He played video games with his boys.

Then on Sunday, we decorated the house for CHRISTMAS! This is the first year with a mobile baby, so our tree is safely ensconced behind a baby gate! And we had to adjust all of our knick-knack decorations to all be above arm-level. It’s tough to make a change, but it’s worth it for this little man!

More funny things that he’s doing: he’ll stand up and plop down during his bath, just to make big waves, then he’ll laugh his little head off. Also, I took him for a walk at the park in his big red car that Saleh and Marie gave him, and he decided halfway around the path that he wanted to push. So he just got out and started pushing. He probably walked a quarter mile pushing his car!

And ohmigoodness, I am getting into so much trouble because I can’t keep a straight face when he does something he shouldn’t! Not naughty, really, but like this: he’s taken to shoving fingers up both nostrils – at the same time! I had to turn around because I was laughing my bottom off! And when he lectures us about something and we have no idea what he’s talking about, I can’t keep myself from giggling, so I just pretend he’s telling a funny story. Oh, and EVERYTHING is a telephone! He’ll use his hairbrush, MY hairbrush, Jonathan’s razor, the dog toys, books, anything he can find. He actually held the toaster up to his ear the other day! It’s a RIOT!

I love, love, love being this kid’s mom! Every day he brings me new laughs and deeper understanding of love. Not just for him, either. To see Jonathan interact with him, and to see the way Jonathan looks at me when I’m with him, I think God knows what he’s doing when he set up this little family!

Pre-Thanksgiving...

2006-11-27T12:27:00.000-08:00

Sooo much going on! I can’t believe what an incredibly long week it’s been! I had mentioned my neighbors flooding our place last Sunday. Then our p-trap pipe under the sink had a leak in it, which we knew about, so we weren’t using the sink. HOWEVER! What we didn’t know was that the dishwasher used the same pipe, so I ran it several times before I noticed that my hardwood floor was buckling. Hmm…

THEN! On Thursday, I got up super early to make chili for our chili cookoff at work ~ which I tied for first place! ~ and before I could finish, our power blew. So we went to flip the breaker like we always do, and I’ll be darned if it wouldn’t come back on. So we had to have an emergency electrician visit to replace our breaker box. Dang.

Needless to say, Amanda’s head started spinning about all the money we were spending and how absolutely everything in my life was going wrong. Then guess what? I realized that if I viewed it properly, there was quite a simple explanation. Our STUFF was being attacked! We were being tested with our pocketbooks. Seriously, nothing that happened caused anyone any harm. Everything was fixable with time and money.

Money that we didn’t have, really, but whatever.

God got through to me in a very big way that day. It was really beautiful to realize that I’m growing up a little bit and learning to trust him with everything that goes on in our lives. And as soon as I looked at it through those eyes, I was able to laugh! I was filled with a tremendous joy, and Thursday actually ended up being one of my favorite days of the year.

In Caleb news, we’ve got a TOTALLY mobile kiddo who loves to run around and act crazy! He’s taking more and more spills, though. I’m trying not to be neurotic, but when my baby has a big scab on his nose and his lip is split in three places, it’s tough to be stoic. I just want to grab him and say, “Sweetie! Don’t walk ever! It’s okay to crawl forever!”

Tells me how tough God’s job is!

Teething Tuesday...

2006-11-14T06:02:00.000-08:00

This poor baby is having some serious pain issues. I honestly just believe it's teething, but he has a tndency to throw a temper these days like I've never seen. The mom in me calls it "willful and spirited behavior." The teensy third party in me says, 'MAN, is he being difficult!'

But my little heart just breaks to see him be so upset. You can literally see the minute that the tylenol kicks in. His features relax and he becomes my perfect little guy again! He's been waking me up a lot at night again. I don't feed him until four or four-thirty at the earliest, but sometimes I have to spend time trying to calm him down. My math is a little fuzzy in the middle of the night - NO comments about my abilities during other times of the day! - so I have to be careful that it's been four hours since his last bit of tylenol. I had sworn that if it went through last night that I was going to take him to the doc, but the kid is just a tough teether.

Our weekend was great! Saturday morning, Jonathan went to work while I just played with Caleb Z. It was so wonderful to just spend time with him without worrying about getting to work! Of course, he was a little crankbait, but I didn't care! I just loved being with him! Then Jonny came home and we traded spots so that I could go to high tea at the Brown Palace! Such an adventure.

And Sunday found us driving to Loveland to see Grandpa Gene! He'd been out of the country for a little over a month, and was JONESING to see that little punk! Plus, we celebrated his birthday. I got to go with Caleb's Grandma and GG to the Emergency Room, where GG had follow-up done on some problems she had last week. After amazing steaks cooked by the birthday boy, we just sat and chatted for a while. When the presents were opened and the cake eaten, we Fashbaughs headed home.

To be met by a frantic neighbor who flooded our house. Not kidding. Our upstairs neighbors, a fabulous couple, have been refurbishing their condo. When they removed the shower fixture for the hot water, the pipe broke and sprayed boiling hot water all over the place. (Shane has first degree burns all over his hands. It's not pretty.) Since the pipe was broken, they couldn't do anything to stop the water without turning it off at the water main. Which is under our condo. So the poor guy went down without at flashlight, soaking wet in shorts and bare feet, and just started turning valves. It took a while to find the right one.

So during that time, the water is seeping from their bathroom down through the walls into ours. Not kidding, our bathroom floor - which is carpeted, gross - was a SWAMP! And the ceiling of Caleb's bedroom, which adjoins the bathroom, has some water damage. We'll see how bad it is later, but for right now, it's just crazy.

Anyway, they lent us their bissel wet vac thing, but even after using it obsessively, our bathroom floor is disgusting. And it took a couple hours to get OUR water situation cleared back up - first all of it was off, then just the hot, then when they got the hot on, the pipe upstairs started gushing again, so they had to turn it off, etc.

Whilst this is happening, Shane says from under our floor, "Do you hear where I'm tapping?" Yes. "There's a leak here." HERE turned out to be under OUR sink, where the u-bend pipe was also broken/corroded, and probably had been for a while. Criminy grits - it turns out it was a good thing everything went crazy, or who knows how bad that leak might have gotten! Yay for crazy Sundays!

Monday was downright LOVELY compared to all that!

Weekend craziness!

2006-11-07T05:04:00.000-08:00

I feel like I didn't get nearly enough time with my baby bug this weekend! With everything going on, I spent the equivalent of one full day away from him. As a mom who thinks every minute should be spent with him, it made it a little rough!

But there were so many one-time events that couldn't be missed! 50th Birthdays for gorgeous women in sexy red dresses, a baby shower for an as-yet-unnamed little girl, and the fanciest wedding and reception I've ever been to! I'll make up for it this next weekend...

He's such a little angel! Even when he's mad or sad he's perfect. Last night Jonathan and I had London broil for dinner, and I got Caleb some banana and cottage cheese ready since he usually doesn't like red meat. However, he proved me wrong once again, as he started scarfing little pieces of meat with an intensity that would scare the hungriest of carnivores. As a matter of fact, he made pretty dinosaur-like faces and sounds as he munched! Jonathan and I were talking through our day, and kept stopping to laugh at the munchkin's antics.

I've got London broil with peas and corn for his lunch! Plus, I finally wised up and cooked some chicken breast and cut it up so that he'd always have something quick for lunch rather than me having to process it through. The problem is that he doesn't always like the things that he likes sometimes. Case in point, even though he loved it last night, ten bucks says he won't eat his lunch today! (Which is such a waste! WE could have eaten that meat!)

Congratulations to Hilarie, who is bringing another little one into this world! Girl, get ready for the worst time of your life ~ pregnancy ~ followed by the absolute BEST anyone could ever imagine! I love you, and can't wait to share this excitement with you!

So many steps!

2006-11-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

This little man is running around like crazy already! Jonny was watching him last night, and said, "Holy cow! He'll really be walking by the end of December!" I said, "You silly-oh! He'll be really walking by the end of next week!"

And he's so cute! We made the mistake of trying to encourage him by clapping and saying yay after he fell down ~ and then he immediately fell down the next three times and looked to us for the same reaction. Oops! We're still learning parents, dontcha know?!

He has to go to the doc this morning, both for his ear infection re-check and his one year visit. I'm so excited to talk to the doctor about what he should be eating/drinking. Mostly I'm excited to be done with formula, because the gals at school WAY over feed him. I don't know what the difference is, but on weekends, he can survive with only three bottles a day, whereas on a weekday, he gets five most of the time. No wonder he's roughly the size of a baby killer whale! Anyway, he's been eating pretty much everything we do lately, but I don't know how much to give him. I feel like getting the doc's opinion will be really helpful for me.

We gotta get going! Busy, busy weekend!

Walkabout!

2006-11-03T05:39:00.000-08:00

We have an honest to goodness walker on our hands! Although I think he still prefers crawling, he's taken up to four steps at a time. For a long time, he's been taking one teensy step, but his other foot is firmly planted. Finally, he's figured out that his other foot can go, and he can ambulate in that manner.

It's so much fun to see him developing - more - but this has been the hardest step for me yet. Eating solids? No worries. Crawling? So cute! Cutting teeth? Terrifyingly adorable! But walking. Walking is a big boy thing. He's still my baby, and always will be, but this isn't a real baby anymore. He's a gorgeous and still unbelievably precious little boy.

One of his teachers at school said on Wednesday, "I can tell he got some new clothes for his birthday." And he did - he got many lovely outfits. But the truth is that he really only had four winter outfits and one pair of pajamas that fit him by his birthday. So I was basically just rotating them and doing laundry twice a week so that he was covered.

Crossing my fingers like CRAZY that we'll get some pics uploaded this weekend. WE need to see more updated pictures of him!

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

2006-10-31T05:04:00.000-08:00

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?!

2006-10-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-10-26T05:18:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-10-25T06:06:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-10-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

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...

2006-10-19T05:44:00.000-07:00

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...

2006-10-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

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!

100th Post!

2006-09-26T05:05:00.000-07:00

In one hundred posts, we've sure gone through a lot of changes! From Caleb in the tummy to Caleb pounding on tummies, from dog-proofing to child-proofing, from late nights playing games and watching movies to feeling like we're staying up late if we aren't in bed by nine. It's been an amazing time, and I wouldn't change a minute of it.

Caleb's doc appointment went very well yesterday - he wanted to make sure his ear infections had cleared up. And not only was Caleb given a completely clean bill of health, but he was given a Snoopy sticker for being such a good boy! He didn't even cry when Doctor Lewis had to use puffs of air to move his ear drums. Yay, Caleb! (He would have clapped along with me, but he's eating right now and can't spare the hands...)

After the appointment, I took him to school, and popped him in the middle of the kids while I unloaded his stuff. He immediately folded himself in half and started wailing. (That's a new trick I wish he hadn't learned.) Olivia scootched over to him, and he was holding out his hands to her. She took one, and he immediately calmed down and started playing with everyone. It's really amazing to see a connection like that. I always thought it was irritating when people said their kids had "boyfriends" or "girlfriends." It's like, why force a term like that onto an infant? You'll have to forgive me for taking us back to elementary school, but she's a girl and she's his friend, but not his GIRLFRIEND! That being said, however, Olivia IS Caleb's special friend, with whom he shares an attachment that Jonathan and I can't give him.

Last night he refused kiwi for the first time. He was having yogurt and kiwi, and I finally got to see him work his magic. He would take the spoonful, suck the yogurt all off, then spit the kiwi out. I tell you what, that kid will be tying cherry stems into knots in NO time! But I hope he doesn't decide to stop liking too many things. Oy!

Gotta go, my baby is trying to charm me, and I have to go succumb...

Monday morning...

2006-09-25T05:38:00.000-07:00

This morning, Caleb woke up very early. I suspect he knows he has to go to the doctor. He's being very much clingy and overly cute, as if to persuade me to take him for ice cream instead.

He got to spend a good chunk of the weekend just with daddy! Friday night and Saturday morning, I went to the Women of Faith conference at the Pepsi Center before I was felled with a migraine the likes of which the world has never seen. So between the Excedrin I'd taken for the pain and the NyQuil to knock me out, five hours after I got home, I could open my eyes without hoping to die. Mister Bob came over to play with the boys while I was dead to the world. Caleb enjoyed "guys only" time, I think. There certainly seemed to be a lot of coordinated belching.

I think next weekend might be the time to do another cultural event. Mayhaps the zoo, mayhaps the butterfly pavilion or something. Caleb is just drinking in the world, and I want him to be exposed to as much of it as possible. It's a good thing he's still not too walk-y. I would tremble for the peacocks...

New use for Laundry baskets...

2006-09-22T05:58:00.000-07:00

I shopped for groceries last night and Jonathan picked up the big boy. When I got home, he was holding the upper edge of the laundry basket, and using it to stabilize himself as he walked all over the kitchen! He would just slide it in front of him. It made me realize that we probably need to get him one of those "lawnmower" toys that help a baby walk, then convert into a little bike or something. (And wouldn't you know it, the camera was at Jonathan's work!) But it was so cute! The only concern came when I watched him push it right out the back door and fall down when it toppled. Poor bubba!

This morning, in what I perceived as payback for letting him fall, he grabbed the giant rock that used to sit in the fish tank and let it tumble gently onto my right foot, having already head-butted me and bitten my cheek. He's a rambunctious one, that's for sure! But he's slept through the night for the last week, so I'm sure he's just really feeling a lot better.

He's such a little peach! He's just looking at me know, blowing raspberries, talking to the puppies and grinning SO happily! It's a blessing to have such a pleasant and precious son!