One Year Ago

I rocked baby Caleb to sleep tonight and realized that we met and held him for the first time exactly one year ago. We are so incredibly blessed.

Houston Trip

Last weekend Caleb and I made a trip to Houston to see both sets of grandparents and Caleb's aunts & uncles on Bryan's side of the family. We had a great trip! We were there from Friday afternoon until Tuesday afternoon, so we had the opportunity to see both family and friends.

Here are some highlights from our trip. I figured pictures are much more interesting than me rambling on and on!

Getting some upside down reading in while we put gas in the car

This is what Caleb does when you ask him a question. In this picture I'm asking him where all his grandparents are!

On Saturday we played at GranJan & Grandpa's. We made 2 attempts at the pool. Caleb was not so sure...

Splashing on the edge with Grandpa

A very serious face

Caleb's classic pout - he can go from a smile to this pout in a matter of seconds!!

Exploring with Grandpa

Showing off his favorite trick... "How big is Caleb?" SO BIG!

Enjoying the applause after demonstrating "SO BIG!"

Cuddling with GranJan after a quick dip in the pool

On Sunday we went to the baptism of Landen Allen, the new son of my parents' goddaughter Lindsey & her husband Chris!

Caleb was kind of good during the baptism service... we are still working on "inside voice"

After the baptism we headed to church with both sides of the family... but made sure to let Caleb kick off his shoes and play a bit while en route.

At my parents' house Caleb loved watching Super Why from his high chair in the kitchen. One morning he ate a scrambled egg, a piece of toast, a NutriGrain bar and 1/2 a yogurt for breakfast. That boy can EAT!

Sitting like a big boy in the game room at Granny & Daddy Bob's. He is starting to look so much older! :(

Reading books with Daddy Bob. Caleb's favorite part was squeaking the mouse's tummy.

Doing some laps around the downstairs in his little car

Cuddling with Mommy at bedtime. Caleb was holding my hand and it just made melt! He is so sweet & cuddly when he's sleepy.

Saying goodbye to Granny before we hit the road. Sophie was already strapped in & ready to go!

Wiped out from a busy & fun visit to Houston. Caleb slept almost the entire way home!

Some other highlights from the trip that did not get captured in pictures: Caleb playing with all his Aunts & Uncles, a big family dinner after church at Willie's Ice House, a special lunch date with my friend Stephanie from my old job, and a fun girl's dinner for fajitas and margaritas with my two wonderful sister-in-laws!

Thank you to every one who set aside time to see us during our visit and for everything you did to make it so special & fun!

Vaccines are Crummy

Yesterday after getting his 15 month vaccines Caleb didn't feel so great. He ate a so-so lunch and went down for his nap... only to wake up 30 minutes later completely out of sorts. He was a crying mess and didn't want a bottle, to be held, to go back to sleep... he was so sad. We knew he didn't feel good and was likely feeling achy and wiped out from those shots. Luckily we could give him more Tylenol by then. Dr. Daddy came up with the best solution for a sick little one: cartoons in bed with Dad and your blankie.

Today turned out to be another somewhat rough afternoon. Caleb gagged somehow during lunch and ended up puking everything all over himself. I was so thankful to have Bryan home with me today! We got him cleaned up and then he went down for his nap without much fuss... only to wake up 15 minutes later. He wouldn't go back to sleep and didn't really want to eat much this afternoon and was kind of whiny. By late afternoon he was doing much better and managed to enjoy the highlight of the day: watching the trash truck.

Tomorrow night Bryan will work 4 night shifts in a row, so little Caleb and I are hitting the road and heading to Houston. We are looking forward to a fun visit with all the grandparents, aunts, uncles & friends in Houston!

15 Month Check Up

Today Bryan and I took Caleb in for his 15 month check up. I specifically scheduled it today since Bryan has the day off and I knew he'd be able to help me when Caleb got his shots. We are still kind of in catch-up mode for Caleb's vaccines since he missed the first 6 months of the typical vaccine schedule, so luckily he only had to get 2 shots today. He was a real trooper!

Here are Caleb's stats from today. All of the percentiles are based on the regular child growth chart, not the preemie chart.

Weight 23 lbs 1 ounce (25th percentile)
Height 32 inches (75th percentile)
Head 18.5 inches (75th percentile)

Here are a couple of pictures from our doctor's visit today.

Dazed & confused on the way to the pediatrician, not knowing he's about to get shots. Of course Caleb brought a ball from the playroom with him.

Waiting for Dr. Riser with Daddy

Waiting for Dr. Riser with Mommy

Checking out the elephant exam table... yes we were those parents who let our child walk around barefoot in the dr's office. His flip flops were hurting his feet :(

Monster Voice

Caleb has recently developed what we call his "monster voice". He started doing it while watching Cookie Monster on Sesame Street one morning. We've called it his monster voice enough times that now he'll do it on command. This is not the best example because he gets a little distracted in the middle but it does give a small sample of the Caleb Monster!

Wiped Out

Caleb asleep in his high chair at lunch today. Being 15 months old is a tiring job!

15 Months Old!

Caleb is 15 months old today! He is really growing up and looking older to me. A lady at the grocery store this morning said he looked like "a little man", especially with his little polo shirt on and big boy shoes.

Caleb has been practicing his walking by pushing around his little car! I have never seen him want to push it this much, and he is really catching on to how to turn it and try to back up (something we have been working on!). While he pushes it around he says "car car car" over and over again.

The physical therapist agrees with us that he is perfectly capable of walking but is just hesitant. We are trying to do lots of activities with him to build confidence in standing on his own and walking - but right now he's only comfortable walking holding both of our hands, or both hands on a push toy. It will be exciting to watch him make progress towards his first steps!

Nine Months Ago

It is hard to believe that 9 months have passed since Caleb's "Gotcha Day". So much has changed in our lives and in Caleb's life since that day. Time has flown by and Caleb has filled our lives with so much joy and happiness.

As I watched Caleb play this morning and smiling at me over breakfast, it was so special to be able to reflect back on how far he has come in the past 9 months. We are so proud of the progress he has made in his emotional and physical development. He is a brave, resilient, and happy baby boy. We are so blessed to have him as our son!

Here are a few pictures to reflect back on "Gotcha Day", the day that God blessed us with the opportunity to be three instead of just two.

Outside of Belovodsk Children's Home, Caleb's orphanage

Signing the official documents to make Caleb our son

Posing with our coordinator, Saule and the orphanage director, Anna before we go to get Caleb

Watching as one of the caregivers brings Caleb out to us

A special moment with Daddy after we have changed Caleb into his special Gotcha Day outfit

Caleb in his new outfit. At 6 months old, he was about 11 lbs and 25 inches long. The clothes were all 3-6 months and huge on him, especially the pants!

With the orphanage doctor, Clara

Saying goodbye to the caregivers who took care of Caleb at the orphanage. Although nothing can substitute for the love of a family in a home, these women loved our Caleb very much. We are so grateful for them.

Posing with the caregivers and other babies at the orphanage -- some who are still waiting to come home 9 months later. Please pray for the Kyrgyz government to act quickly and allow their cases to be processed.

After a stressful drive back to Bishkek that involved tortuous screaming, Daddy tries to comfort Caleb in the Baby Bjorn back at the hotel. Caleb's legs are so skinny!

Caleb only liked to be fed if he was lying independently -- not being held. This was most similar to how he ate in the orphanage, in his crib alone with the bottle propped up next to him.

And now 9 months later - our beautiful son who is happy, growing, learning and teaching us new things every day! Caleb we love you dearly!!

Just a few pictures

Here are a couple of pictures of our sweet boy over the past couple of days.

Caleb loves to eat! His new favorite is Nutri Grain bars.

Practicing with a spoon
Caleb immediately started to smile and be a ham when I got the camera out.