Memories

Whatshername went home this morning. While we were all sad to see her go, things didn't get back to normal just yet. Mom is a a scrapbooker and has been dying to get started on Caleb's scrapbook for a while. She got her big
opportunity today. Mom's Creative Memories consultant (I've done plenty of advertising for other products, I might as well add a link for this one)hosts a semi-annual scrapbook day for her customers who spend their day working scrapbooks in the midst of an extended sales pitch. Pretty ingenius marketing if you ask me.

Of course Mom was going to attend the workshop. Since she was going to be there all day, she took Caleb with her. Mom spread out Caleb's quilt on the floor next to her workstation and laid Caleb on the quilt while she worked. Mom said that Caleb did really well most of the day. As you can see from the first picture, Caleb was pretty content to hang out. He also slept part of the time as you can see in the second picture. Caleb was a big hit and apparently distracted quite a few people from their own scrapbooking. He received quite a few compliments on how good he was. Of course, it's in his best interest to behave so that he will have a scrapbook someday.

Lots of Love

When I said yesterday that Whatshername has been keeping Caleb while Mom goes back to work, I didn't metion that Whatshername has been keeping Caleb at Mom's work. We are lucky that Mom's school shares the church building so that Whatshername has been able to keep Caleb in the church nursery. (We hope to hire a nanny that will come keep Caleb in the nursery when school starts again in the Fall.) This has allowed Mom to spend time with Caleb during the day.

Mom snapped this first picture of Caleb in the nursery. Notice how strong Caleb's neck is getting and how high he is holding up his head. When I got home from work today, Mom was really excited for to tell me about this and for me to see the picture. Caleb continues to amaze me with how quickly he is developing. It is hard to realize how much he has changed since we brought him home, but he changes so quickly.

This is a neat moment to capture, but that is not why I am posting this picture. I've been looking for the right opportunity to write this post for a while now. I am posting this picture because of what is under Caleb. Caleb is laying on a precious quilt that was made for him by his Grandmama (Mom's paternal grandmother). Quilting is a tradition that goes back to Mom's Munner (paternal great-grandmother). Mom tells stories about being at her Munner's house while Munner and her daughters, including Grandmama, would quilt. It is a very special memory for Mom. And now, Grandmama has made this quilt for Caleb who is her first great-grandchild. This quilt is something that we will always treasure because of the love and memories it represents and it will be a great way for Mom to tell Caleb about his ancestors and hopefully he will come to treasure it the way we do. Grandmama is a special person to us and I am glad that Caleb will always have a tangible reminder of her.

This is a picture, taken by Whatshername, of Caleb laying on a beanbag in the nursery. There's nothing special about the beanbag. It's just a cute picture of Caleb in his red onesie.

School Days

Mom has gone back to work this week to help wrap up the school year and attend graduations, awards assemblies and other events. Whatshername has been here to take care of Caleb while Mom gets back into the flow at work. There have also been a few additional gifts for Caleb as a result of Mom's reappearance at work. One family gave Caleb a pack of onesies and Caleb wore one of them to school today. The mom of the family who gave the outfit to Caleb saw him wearing it and was very excited to see him in it. Of course, Caleb was also wearing Mom's beloved sandals. (You can't seem them in this picture, but trust me, he's wearing them.)

Tonight, we had planned on going to Cafe TuTu Tango for dinner. This is the third restaurant we ate at in Miami and has been one of our favorites the entire time we have lived here. That is why we were so disappointed when I read earlier in the month that it is closing because their lease was not renewed. So we had decided to go for one last hurrah. Well, we missed it because they closed Monday. So we went to Outback instead. Caleb's Uncle Bob joined us and we all had a very nice time. Caleb slept through most of dinner right up until the very end.

When we got home from dinner, Mom was ready to get Caleb into his pajamas and hopefully get him ready to go to bed. Caleb was in a very good mood and Whatshername was able to get a really good picture of Caleb in his Mom's arms.

All About Da U

We took Caleb to church tonight in his University of Miami outfit. Caleb was a big hit and received many compliments on his choice of attire. I am glad he got to wear it tonight. We had planned on taking Caleb to a University of Miami baseball game during the NCAA tournament, but all of the games this weekend will be at either 12:00 or 4:00 and it will probably be too hot at those times to take him outside for three hours. So unless Miami advances to the next round next weekend and plays night games, this will be one of the few opportunities Caleb has to show his colors.

Just Like Dad

From the night Caleb was born, we have thought he strongly favors his Mom's side of the family. As he gets a little bigger, we start to see some of my characteristics. Mom says Caleb has my eyes and my toes. But most of his features are maternal.

However, we have noticed he has one habit that he must have picked up from me. When I was growing up, I was a very restless sleeper. I would wake up in strange positions or I would wake up to find my sheets completely rearranged. We have started to notice Caleb has the same tendency. We first started noticing on his Jungle Gym. We would lay him down straight, but it wouldn't be long before his head would be toward one side of the mat and his feet toward the other. We have also noticed the same tendency when he sleeps. Mom snapped this picture of Caleb in his bassinet this morning. Not only has Caleb gone diagonal, he has somehow scooted himself down toward the footend of the bassinet. It is good to know that Caleb has picked up a few things from me.

Summer is Here

Happy Memorial Day! Mom, Dad, Caleb and Whatshername spent the day together. In honor of the day, Mom dressed Caleb in a onesie with an American flag on it (though we did not get a picture where the flag can be seen) and the sandals that Mom loves so much.

Caleb spent part of the morning in his new swing. After figuring out how to work, we put Caleb in it so he could swing. It really is a great swing. The seat turns so that he can swing from side to side or back and forth. It also has six speed settings. In addition to the swinging, it has a sound machine that has music, waves, rain or the sound of a brook. Finally, the ball in the middle above Caleb's head has lights in it and the mobile can rotate around the ball. As you can see, I am quite excited about this swing. I have come to learn that having an infant in the house changes the things about which one can get excited. Of course, the most exciting discovery is that the swing soothes Caleb.

If you look carefully, you can see that there is a white piece of plastic at the edge of the seat that is designed to go between the legs. We kept putting Caleb's right foot on the other side of the divider and he would almost immediately move it back to the same side as his left foot. We hope to get lots of good use out of the swing and are grateful to Mrs. B for giving it to us.

We went out for lunch to Five Guys because, as Whatshername said, you have to have hamburgers on Memorial Day. After lunch, we went over to Publix for a few items for dinner and lunch this week. Since it was a quick trip, Caleb did not ride in his sling. Instead, Dad and Whatshername took turns
carrying Caleb through the store. We had a relaxing afternoon and Dad grilled out for our dinner. Caleb spent much of the afternoon with Whatshername including a good bit of time on the back porch. It is nice for Mom and Dad to have some time where one of us does not have to deal with Caleb, yet we know he is getting lots of attention.

We had a nice day together. It was a good day because Mom is going back to work for the first time tomorrow. This is going to present a whole new set of challenges as we attempt to adapt to a new routine. Stay tuned.

I Love My Mommy

Caleb had an exciting day today. After church and lunch with Mom and Dad's friends, Mom whisked Caleb up to Fort Lauderdale to pick up Whatshername who is coming to visit for a week. After picking up Whatshername, we were back at church, out to dinner and finally back home.

I understand that Whatshername still has not decided what to be called. She is waiting for Caleb to decided what to call her. I guess she is going to be called whatever word Caleb comes up with to express "Whatshername" as he starts developing the ability to talk.

Caleb is a delight, but of course, he is a Momma's Boy right now and can rarely be found very far from Mom. This is Caleb at church tonight. After a little initial fussiness, Mom was able to rock Caleb to sleep. This is how Caleb looked on Mom's lap by the end of church.