Food is Fun!

Mom fed Caleb his dinner tonight. I am going to be feeding Caleb in the morning and will usually do so in the evening with Mom feeding Caleb in the middle of the day. I had to cut the grass after I came home work. It's hard to capture how messy Caleb is when he eats his rice cereal because the rice cereal is pale and does not stick out against his ski. I tried to blow up this pictures a little bit so you could see the rice cereal all over his chest. If you can see the rice cereal, you can see why we are feeding him in just a diaper right now. We should keep a hose nearby to spray him down at the end, but we don't have a spout in the house.

Mom took this picture while we were eating our dinner. She took the picture because she said I was teasing Caleb with a crescent roll. This picture is also a good example of what Caleb has looked like the last few meals we've had. He opens his mouth and strains toward whoever is eating as if he hopes something will just fall into his mouth. It's ironic that Mom acccused me of teasing Caleb with my bread because we had Drumsticks after dinner. Mom was holding Caleb and eating her cone at the same time. She was holdin her cone just out of his reach as he strained to get a swipe at it with his toungue. Mom was fully aware of Caleb's efforts and she seemed to egg him on by holding the cone in front of him. She justified it by saying that it made her laugh which, in turn, made Caleb laugh (at least partially true).

After dinner we all laid down on the bed together and spent some family time playing with Caleb. He was in a good mood after his dinner and was extremely playful. It was truly a pleasure spending time together as a family. I can't think of a place I would rather have been.

Solid!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

While Mom was getting ready for worship this morning, I was in the other room doing some last minute preparations for my Sunday School class. Mom had Caleb in the room with her on his quilt next to our dresser. He rolled over pretty quickly and was exploring an area he hasn't really been before. He noticed the handles on the dressers drawers and decided he need to investigate them further. He was able to grab one of the handles, but it frustrated him to no end that he could not get into his mouth. The complaint was so loud that I could hear him in the other end of the house and I had to go check it. When I got to the bedroom, I found Caleb on his stomach with his arm flailing around as he attemted to chew on the drawer handle.

After worship today, I was tasked with the responsibility of putting together Caleb's new high chair. We picked up the chair last week, but I had not had an opportunity to deal with it
until this weekend. Caleb sat in his bouncy seat supervising and Mom sat on the couch holding various bolts and screws while I put the thing together. All in all, we make a good team. After getting the chair put together, it was time for a test run. After obliging us with a photo, Caleb decided his focus was to taste the tray and let us know whether it met his approval. After a quick test drive, Mom and Caleb took a nap until it was time for the big adventure of the day.




















All along, our target was to start giving Caleb solid foods when he was six months old. Mom discussed solids with Dr. K. on Thursday and then we were ready to go, save for the highchair. Once the chair was ready, there was no holding Caleb back. Even though we were waiting six months, it had become obvious Caleb did not want to wait any longer. He has become very aware of when we are eating or drinking and he has show an extreme interesting in eating instruments such as utensils and cups. If we are eating or drinking, he leans toward us with his mouth open and has been reaching for our cups and forks for quite some time now.

Before heading to our life group, we gave Caleb his first taste of some rice cereal. There are a number of pictures from the big meal below. I fed him while Mom watched. I held the spoon toward him and he instinctively opened his mouth. I inserted the spoon, dumped some ceral on his tounge and pulled the spoon out. He just sat there kind of starting at me, not sure what to do next. I'm as clueless as he is at this point, never having fed a baby his first solid food before, so I reached over to his chin and pushed it closed and then tried to massage his jam in a chewing motion. He seemed to swallow what was in his mouth. (Aside: I learned this trick from a veternarian back when we first moved to Miami. The vet had given us some pills for the cat to calm her down during the move. He gave a us a syringe like devise to deposit the pill at the back of her mouth, then we were supposed to massage her throat to encourage her to swallow the pill. I figured if it works on a cat, it might work on a baby.)

I knew we were on the right track when I held out another spoonful and he did not refuse to open his mouth. From there, we proceeded to eat most of the rice cereal. Of course, I say "most" fully aware that probably half the stuff dribbled out of his mouth down his chin and onto Caleb's chest, tray, seat, the floor and any other object between Caleb's mouth and the floor.

Mom has read that we should let Caleb hold a spoon while he is eating so that he will learn how to use it more quickly. This is an interesing idea, in theory. Of course, anything in Caleb's hand goes in his mouth. So, of course this was true with the extra spoon. It was very difficult to get him to remove the extra spoon so that I could replace with a spoon full of food. Caleb also thought it would beneficial if he used his hands to help me guide the spoon into his mouth. Each time I raised the spoon, he wanted to reach for it and grab it. His hand ended up in the rice cereal more often than not. He would take the spoon from me. This was especially amusing because he was grasping the spoon so hard, I had to literally pry the spoon from his hand.

We had a good time feeding Caleb for the first time. We laughed alot and Caleb, sensing our enjoyment, was quite pleased with himself. Welcome to a fun life filled with good food Caleb.

On the other hand, there are some things we aren't ready to give Caleb yet. One of those is TV. This is hard on me during footbal season as I spend a tremendous amount of time on the weekend watching football. The Cowboys were on during feeding time and I know Caleb wouldn't want me to miss part of the game, so I brought the high chair into the living room so I could accomplish two things at once. I guess Caleb could tell I was looking at something over his shoulder, so he would lean as far to his left as he could and peer over his left should as much as posible to see what I was looking at. What can I say? Caleb is going to be a football fan too.

Below are some pictures from the big feeding. Enjoy!

More School Spirit

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Today was a soggy day. It was raining this morning when we all got up. We started our day at the church building for a meeting. The meeting pretty much lasted until it was time for a school picnic that was scheduled for today. I left the picnic for a haircut and by the time I returned to the picnic, someone had turned on the waterhose and their was a torrential downpour. All of the picnic goers (except for a few jouyous children, were crowded under the one pavillion on the school's campus. Caleb was tucked safely in his stroller doing his best to stay dry. I eventually left to go to the Miami/Florida State game and the rain must have followed me because it never really stopped raining during the game and the sun actually came out for a little while at the picnic.

We have pretty much stopped putting the carrier in the stroller and have been putting Caleb in the stroller seat. This is where he spent most of the picnic. Mom was able to catch this picture of Caleb pulling himself up into a sitting position so he could chew on the cupholder. It won't be long before he is able to sit up on his own.

The rain followed me up on the game and because the rain was so heavy, I got home pretty late in the evening. I met Mom and Caleb at a restaurant for dinner. One of our friends gave Caleb a tye dyed shirt and he wore it for the first time today. He is quite proud to show off his psychedellic style.

I'm throwing this picture in today because Caleb has such a great smile.

Panther Spirit

Once a month, Mom's school has Spirit Day where the students are allowed to dress out of uniform if they are wearing a school spirit shirt. The school mascot is the Panther and the Spirit Shirts are blue with gold paw prints across them. Earlier this week, Marissa's mom gave Caleb a Spirit Shirt. She had made shirts for Caleb and Marissa by dying plain, white onesies blue and using a stamp to put gold paw prints on the shirts. Today was Caleb's first chance to show his Panther Spirit and you can see how full of spirit he is.

In Retrospect

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Caleb had his six month doctor visit today. He now weighs 16 pounds, 4 ounces and is 26 inches long. Dr. K still thinks he is a healthy boy and is doing great. He hasn't really gained weight since the last visit, but he is taller. He got another round of shots today which upset him momentarily, but other than a couple of needle pricks, he's doing fine. He may have to back in a few weeks for a flu shot.

In honor of this milestone, I thought we'd take a look back and do some comparison pictures. You'll have to click on the links to see the original pictures.

This is probably one of my absolute most favorite pictures of Caleb. This picture is the centerpiece of a multi-picture frame Mom gave me for my first Father's Day which is now in my office. I have wanted to recreate this picture for quite some time now. I don't know how well you can see his face, but Caleb was a bit of a grump when took this picture and is not as peaceful as he was when the original picture was taken.

This is a picture of Caleb sitting in his car seat whe is just six days old.

And this is a picture of Caleb sitting in the bouncy seat when he was a week old.

I can't believe what I see when I look back at these original pictures versus today. Look how tiny he was. Look at those scrawnly little legs and arms. He's such a big boy now. When we first put him in the bouncy seat and the car seat, they just swallowed him up. Back when we first started using the bouncy seat, the piece that secures him came up to his shoulders and covered nearly his entire body. Now it sits at his waist. He's getting to be such a big boy now that he's almost too big for the bouncy seat and it won't be much longer before he graduates to his next car seat.

Six Months

Caleb turned six months old today. As Granddaddy would say, he is 1/2 now. I can't believe it has been half a year since Caleb was born. These past six months have been a blur. We are still adjusting to this change, but it has been one of the most incredible experiences that we have been able to enjoy. I go into his room at night and look at him just lying there in his crib asleep. I look at him and I am amazed that there is this little person living in my house now. This little person that I have to raise and help guide him along his journey in life. I am overwhelmed at both the awesome responsibility and privilege Caleb represents. I only hope that I can live up to all that Caleb needs from his Dad.

So many people have warned me about how fast this time goes by. I now understand how true it is. Even though I "knew" this, I realize that you can't really know the truth of that sentiment until you are experiencing it. It seems as though I blinked and half a year disappeared. And in that time, Caleb has changed so much. And there is so many more exciting changes on the horizon. I have to remind myself to stop and take a breath and be sure to savor each of these moments as the occur.

When the book of Luke says in Chapter 2, verse 19 that "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart", I think I have a sense of what that means. I now understand the eagerness to try and lock away all the good memories that come at you in a torrent. There are so many small moments that are enjoyable that, as wonderful as they are, will be impossible to recall with time. But I want to hold onto as many of them as possible.

That is what this blog is really about. The blog has become a great way for distant friends a family to keep tabs on Caleb. And I am grateful for that. I am grateful that I can see how much people love Caleb by their desire to view the blog. I am grateful for readers' impatience (Uncle S ;>) when there are no posts. I had no idea how well this project would be received.

But, this blog is really for me. I didn't realize it at first, but for me, this blog is a way to store these memories. This is a way for me to make note of things I want to remember. This is a way for me to be able to say to Caleb one day that you did this or you said that (assuming he does start talking at some point). This blog is my chest where I can store my Caleb treasures so that I can continue to ponder all these things in my heart.

On to the pictures

As you may recall, Mom is taking classes on Wednesday nights which means I am responsible for Caleb. Under his feeding schedule, he should be getting hungry while Mom is still in class which puts the burden on me to feed him. So Mom has been leaving me bottles each week. Back when we were still in the hospital trying to overcome Caleb's jaundice, we were under doctor's orders to supplement his feedings with formula. He had no problem taking from a bottle back then. But once the doctor gave us the clearance, Caleb nursed exclusively and did so until a few weeks ago when we started trying to give him a bottle. It hasn't gone very well. He has pretty much refused to take a bottle from me. We've tried different bottles with different nipples and nothing seemed to work. We figured that eventually, on one of these nights, he'll get hungry enough to drink from the bottle.

Tonight, after bible class, I went to get Caleb from his class. The teachers told me that he hadn't gotten cranky which surprised me and they hadn't given him the bottle. Once Mom arrived, I handed Caleb to her and went to find someone I need to talk to. When I returned to Mom, she had Caleb and he was taking from the bottle. I took Caleb and gave him the bottle and he took a pretty good amount from it. Hopefully, this was a learning experience and he will continue to take from the bottle in the future.

I mentioned a couple of days ago that Caleb has been grabbing at his socks. Really, he likes to grab his feet whether he has socks on or not. He pulls his knees toward his chest and
grabs his toes with his hands. If he has on socks, he clenches the material and as he lowers his feet, the socks stretch come off his feet. It's only been a matter of time before he completely pulls a sock off. Well, accomplished it tonight. He got a sock off his foot. Of course, just like everyhing else, the sock went straight to Caleb's mouth.

Back to Normal

Poppy and TuTu left the house this morning for their journey back to New Mexico. Before they left, however, many goodbyes were said and kisses exchanged as they bid farewell to Caleb unti the next time. Meanwhile we are now readjusting back to having the house to ourselves and getting back to a more normal routine. Normal, however, will only last so long as Granddaddy and Whatshername are planning a visit next week. Caleb is eager with anticipation as you can see from this shot in his school swing.

Wrapping Up

Monday, Septebmer 29, 2008

Unfortunately, time flies when you are having fun and our time with Poppy and TuTu has just about drawn to a close. Mom and Caleb came straight home from school so that Poppy and TuTu could get plenty of cuddle time in. During the afternoon, Caleb took a nap on Poppy's shoulder.

Once Dad left work, we all went to New York, New York Deli for dinner. Caleb sat in his seat while we had dinner. One of Caleb's latest games is to try to pull his socks off. I'm sure it won't be long before we lose a sock.

It is hard to believe it is already time for Poppy and TuTu to return to New Mexico. We have had a good time with them and we are already looking forward to our next visit with them.

Disappointment

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Caleb experienced a sad first today: his first Cowboys loss. Caleb didn't seem as broken up over the disaster as I would have hoped.

We have some good friends from Texas who gave Caleb a Tony Romo jersey onesie. Caleb has worn his jersey just about every game day so far. The jersey is kind of big on Caleb and Mom would prefer I not
put it on him, but the season is going on now and he'll have far outgrown the jersey by next year, so I put it on him as often as I can and he wears it a little big right now. Today, I wore my Emmitt Smith jersey, so we matched.

After worship tonight, we went out to Five Guys for hamburgers. One of us had a botttle of water and when it was empty, it was given to Caleb. Caleb really enjoyed playing with the bottle and kept it all the way home and continued to play with it for quite some time after we came home. He looked really cute when actually got the bottle up to his mouth as if he knew how to drink from it.

Day Out

Saturday, September 27, 2008

We occasionally still receive baby gifts. Earlier this week, Mom went into her office at school to discover a gift bag on her desk with these new western themed pajamas. Mom thinks these new pajamas are really cute. However, they are sized 6-9 months and Mom is worried they are already borderline small for Caleb and that he won't get to wear them enough. I have a feeling I'll be seeing a lot of these pajamas in the coming weeks.

TuTu, Mom, Caleb and I all went out to breakfast this morning. After breakfast, Dad headed out to the UM football game and Mom, Tutu and Caleb went to the mall to do some shopping. Though you can't really see them, Mom dressed Caleb in a UM outfit and an "I Love My Daddy" bib. After shopping, they apparently all came home and took naps. After I returned from the game, we all went out to dinner. I am really glad Caleb got to spend most of the day with his Poppy and TuTu.