Caleb's Corner: Jul 7, 2010

July Pictures

Pushing Ginger cat around in his push-car

A new, very focused game: lining up the matchbox cars one by one on the garage and then hurling them down the ramp as fast as possible

Caleb sitting with Daddy in his new race car pants that I made (my first solo sewing project!)

Caleb found a slipper-sock in my closet that is identical to some that my Mom wears. He insisted on wearing it around the house saying 'Granny's shoes!' repeatedly.

Mr. Mischievous standing on his car box

Another new game: driving race cars on the blinds

Since we've been home from Houston, I've slowly conquered Mt. Laundry (only to have it pile up again!) and have enjoyed getting back into our routine. We've been spending time with friends, going to gymnastics & playdates and also taking Caleb on his first trip to McDonalds for a Happy Meal with his friend Parker. We also had our first trip to the local water park today which was a total bust. Caleb was terrified of a large bucket of water that spills every 2-3 minutes. When we got home he kept telling me, "bucket spill down! more water! more water! more water! scared!". Maybe we'll try again later this summer!

On July 1 Bryan officially became a second year resident -- he no longer has the label 'intern' anymore! With his new title comes new responsibility in the ER, including managing one pod (wing) of the ER, helping oversee medical students and interns, taking incoming calls from ambulances en route, as well as carrying a heavier patient load. I know he has felt overwhelmed at times but within a few weeks he will be adjusted, efficient and performing at his best. Unfortunately he's had to work many night (6pm-6am) or evening (2pm-2am) shifts since the beginning of second year. We have both missed him a lot, especially Caleb. When we got Caleb out of his crib at naptime yesterday he insisted that we both hold him while he patted us and gave us hugs. It is obvious to me that he is happiest when he is with his Mommy and his Daddy. Fortunately Bryan will have 8 days off in a row starting on Saturday - so there is one benefit of the ER shift work!

And lastly, I want to document several funny Caleb-isms that have come up lately so I won't forget them:
-Today I put on my swimsuit to take Caleb to the water park and he declared, "Cute Mommy!". What a sweet boy! He will be a great husband some day if he keeps handing out compliments like that!

-Tonight at dinner Caleb asked me for a bite of 'so skinny'. Translation: zucchini !

-At night I ask Caleb what he wants to thank Jesus for before we say his bedtime prayers. His first answer is always "Daddy, Mommy" followed by his grandparents, friends, and on one evening he felt especially grateful for "Pop Pop's pool".

-Caleb can now recognize the make and model of Gran Jan's car out on the roads! He also has started to point out "Uncah Keg's truck". He has reminded me several times that "Keg and Shell" let him go fast in his wagon! Ha!

-On Monday night Caleb went with me to the large group meeting for Medical Campus Outreach, the medical student ministry we are a part of. I told him we were going to 'bible study'. While we were there he got to play with older kids in the upstairs playroom, including playing with a race track and cars. He spent the next day asking me repeatedly to go to 'bible study' to 'play other people toys'.

Coming up next- funny pictures of Caleb playing around the house!

A Week in Houston for Bob Bob's Surgery

Well, things got a tad busy after our final days in Port Aransas... hence the lack of blog updates! Not too long after we got home we learned that Dad had some blocked arteries and would need a heart bypass operation. While we were all anxious about the surgery, we rejoiced that God protected Dad from any major heart attacks (or any heart attack at all!) before he had the operation. He was transferred to St. Lukes in the Houston Medical Center and had surgery on Tuesday, June 22.

It was definitely a trying week for our entire family, but one that truly brought us all together to cheer Dad on to a complete recovery. We were so blessed by how many family members and friends supported Dad through emails, prayers, cards, flowers, meals, etc during his hospital stay. Dad was out of ICU within about 24 hours and discharged one week after surgery. He's now recovering at home with no complications and doing fantastic! Although the full recovery can take up to 6 months, he makes great progress with each passing day.

I felt so fortunate to have Bryan with me in Houston before, during and after Dad's surgery. He was on his orthopedics rotation and when he told them of Dad's surgery, their response to his request for time off was to say "take whatever time you need, we'll be praying for your family." There are very few residency programs that would offer that kind of flexibility to an intern - let along promising to pray as well. We were so blessed by their response and thankful that Bryan could be there to give the entire family (especially me!) piece of mind. Bryan really loved and supported me well throughout Dad's surgery and I was so incredibly grateful for him as my husband.

We could not have made it through the 10+ days we spent in Houston without the help of Bryan's parents, siblings and their spouses. With little notice, they all rose to the occasion and took care of Caleb almost 24/7 while we were traveling back and forth to the hospital. Caleb had a fantastic time with Gran Jan and Pop Pop - he loved swimming in their pool, playing racetrack at their house and looking for their cat Princess, aka "Mincess". He truly settled in and enjoyed himself, often sleeping past 9am and eating huge amounts of food at each meal! Caleb was sure to let everyone know repeatedly throughout the day that the cars were outside and whether or not each fan or light was off or on. Gran Jan did the majority of the Caleb-watching and was so kind to rearrange her work schedule daily to fit what I needed as I spent time with Dad. We were so very grateful!

Here are some pictures from the week. Sadly all the pictures of Caleb with Gran Jan and Pop Pop are on their camera, which is with Pop Pop in Singapore!!

With Granny at the hospital before Bob Bob's surgery