Hipster

Granddaddy and Whatshername left today (FINALLY!) after extending their stay by a day at least twice. They had a ball playing with Caleb a couple of extra days, but Caleb can handle only so many "last nights" with the grandparents before they leave. Well, now they are really gone. But they didn't get away without a little more goofing off. After we dressed Caleb, Whatshername had Caleb and found a hat lying around that we have been intending to return for quite some time. She put the hat on Caleb and the two of them proceeded to ham it up for the camera together. I suppose Caleb spent the rest of the day peddling newspapers on a street corner somewhere.

Balloons!

Caleb had his first experience playing with balloons today. At Mom's school, various classes host bake sales during lunch throughout the year to raise money for the class. For
today's bake sale, one of the moms brought balloons to decorate the bake sale table. Someone thought that it would be a good idea to tie one of the balloons to the stroller for
Caleb. He apparently seemed really fascinated with the balloon and enjoyed playing with the ribbon tied to the balloon. He had so much fun that Mom brought another one of the ballons home for him to have here and he continued to play with it throughout the afternooon and evening. The balloon was a double bonus because the cat has enjoyed playing with it once it was abandoned by Caleb. Of course, it is merely a coincidence that the two balloons happened to be UM colors.

Daytime

Since Caleb spends his days at school and I don't have the opportunity to visit him throughout the day, his days are really a mystery to me beyond the tidbits I get from Mom. Just in case
anyone else is worried that Caleb suffers due to our daycare arrangement, I wanted to share a couple of pictures with you to show that Caleb has an abundance of toys and he does not lack for attention or entertainment.

New Wheels

I am no longer surprised, but I am still amazed at the generosity shown to us both by people at church and parents at Mom's school. Today, out of the blue, a student's mother came into Mom's office to give us a very nice umbrella stroller. The family was saving the stroller in case they have another child, but they are moving out of state and do not think it is worth it to move it. So they decided to give it to us. It is a nice brand and it is in very good condition.

After dinner tonight, Granddaddy unfolded the stroller to take Caleb for a spin. He rolled all over the living room and Caleb seemed to really enjoy Granddaddy's maneuvering. However, I'm not sure Granddaddy didn't enjoy it more.

Granddaddy and Whatshername were determined to get a lot of play time in tonight and they disappeared with Caleb into their bedroom. Mom and I joined them after a while. They were laying on the bed with Caleb sitting in between them. We took this picture of Caleb and I couldn't resist using it because I think Caleb has a really cute expression on his face.

After play time in the bedroom, we were all sitting back in the living room winding down for the evening. Recently, the cook at Mom's school gave Caleb a pair of little booties with rattles attached. Caleb likes to kick his feet when he is excited which especially impresses Granddaddy, so we put the rattle booties on him. Granddaddy is also impressed with how well Caleb can get a pacifier in his mouth. Of course, right after saying this, Caleb promptly started chewing on the pacifier backwards. I hope this does not indicate a future pattern of contrarianism.

He'll Sleep Anywhere

Mom had the day off today because it was Columbus Day, so the big event of the day was for everyone to come have lunch with me. We went to a spot near my office and had nice meal together. Now that we are letting Caleb sit in high chairs at restaurants, we don't usually bring in the stroller or the car seat. This presents a problem when Caleb decides to sleep during our meal. While we waited for our food, Mom fed Caleb and nursed him and he fell asleep while nursing. In order to eat, the only option was to lay Caleb in the booth between us. Mom laid him at an angle next to me then she sat down on the other side of Caleb. We put his legs over ours and angled our knees toward each other to keep him from slipping out of the booth. He slept all the way through lunch until we left the restaurant. He was a good boy, but I bet he had one heck of a crick in the neck due to the the angle in which he slept.

I Should Be Charging Admission

We had a pretty big day today. As usual, we went to worship and Sunday School before heading out to lunch with some friends. We've been following a food progression for Caleb given to us by
the pediatrician. We started out with rice and then oatmeal. Now we have to move through colored vegetables starting with the orange vegetables. Today, we tried carrots for the first time at lunch and our friends got to enjoy the experience with us. Prior to today, Caleb's mealtime messes have not shown up very well in pictures because the color of the food does not stand out as well. Now that he is eating colored vegetables, the messes should be a lot more obvious.

During lunch, Caleb only had a few bites of carrot. He actually shivered a couple of times. He closed his eyes and his whole body shook. We're not sure if that means he doesn't like the carrots or if he's just not used to them. I think the carrots probably have a completely different flavor than his milk or the rice the oatmeal. I have a feeling (or a hope) that his shivering response is due to his pallet because he is not used to rich flavors yet. After eating, it was obvious that Caleb was ready for his nap. Granddaddy held Caleb while we finished our meals and Mom took this picture of Caleb, droopy eyes and all.

We did not have life group tonight, so other than an excursion to the grocery store, we were able to relax (as much as you can relax when the Cowboys lose) at home all afternoon. Caleb had actually fallen asleep during the Cowboys game and just as it was about to be dinner time, I took Caleb who was still sleeping. Mom was afraid to give him to me because she was afraid I would shake him in response to something that happened in the game. Despite the strange events at the end of the game, I am proud to report that Caleb was not awakened by me.

After he did wake up, it was time for Caleb's dinner which consisted of carrots again. For the second meal in a row, he did not seem very interested in eating the carrots. However, Mom put a drop of the carrots on the tray so Caleb could feel the texture on his hands. He was extremely interested in playing with the carrots and spreading them all over the tray. It turns out that carrots stain and the tray now has a slight orange tint to it.

After dinner, it was playtime. Mom and Whatshername took Caleb into the nursery and it wasn't long before we were all in the nursery watching Caleb. Caleb had been propped up into a sitting position and he continued to sit up on his own quite nicely. We all sat around him watching him play on the jungle gym.

I retreated back into the living room to watch the Dodgers game when I heard granddaddy calling me back into the nursery. As I was walking back to the nursery, I heard granddaddy say "it won't be long before this greets you in the morning." (I am the one that gets Caleb up these days.) When I walked into the nursery, I discovered Caleb standing in the crib, holding on to the rail and grinning at whoever would look at him. Granddaddy had put him there and with the support of the rail, he was able to stand for a long time, although he did lean to one side from time to time requiring an adjustment by Granddaddy.

We also pulled the drum back out and put it in front of Caleb. Again, the sticks were more appetizing to Caleb than the prospect of beating on the drum. We quickly realized it would not be good for Caleb if he tipped over with a drumstick in his mouth, so we took those away. Caleb then decided to try and eat the drum itself. This was quite amusing because each time he tried to pick the drum up, his equilibrium was disturbed and he would tip over to one side. However, he was determined and each time we righted him, it was right back to the drum he went.

Granddaddy and Whatshername spent quite a bit more time watching Caleb play before he ran out of gas and it was time for bath and bed. Needless to say, they were quite entertained.