Happy 7 Month Birthday to Caleb!

Caleb is 7 months old today, and yesterday marked 1 month since Gotcha Day. In many ways the time has flown by, but at the same time Gotcha Day seems so long ago. We are still so grateful to Caleb's birth mother and the country of Kyrgyzstan for the amazing gift of this precious baby boy. We are also so grateful to be home where we can enjoy him and let bonding be our complete focus.

I have to admit that I've been feeling kind of crummy today so my brain is not real slick at coming up with a cohesive way to post all the changes we've seen in Caleb over the past month. Sorry for the lack of creativity, but for lack of a better method I'm going to make a quick list so I can always remember the strides he made in the first month.

• Caleb's leg strength and head control are drastically improved. They were in many ways nonexistent 1 month ago!

• He now reaches out for toys and takes interest in what he is holding on to. Before we would have to place things in his hands and then he would just kind of zone out - not knowing how to even play.

• Caleb has gained 1 pound 11 ounces and grown 1 inch as of last Friday! He can now wear pants instead of just one-piece outfits because he now has a little tummy and enough junk in the trunk to hold up baby pants!

• Caleb is smiling and giggling all the time. To our surprise, he thinks Mom & Dad are pretty funny. He blesses us with his toothy grin constantly.

• Speaking of teeth, Caleb now has 3 teeth and another on the way. Teething is such a joy ;

• Caleb clearly finds comfort in us - he wants us to hold him, wants to be near us and will even snuggle on my shoulder when he's sleepy. It takes a little bit of coaxing to get him to lay his head down on my shoulder, but once he's convinced it's okay to rest he is happy to be held close by his Mommy.

• Caleb has now tried rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas and sweet potatoes! I think sweet potatoes are by far his favorite.

• Caleb has had many new experiences - meeting so many new people, going to church, going to the grocery store for the first time... not to mention flying for 21 hours around the world! He has taken it all in stride and we are so proud of how he has handled everything that has become part of his new life.

• Caleb now likes to sleep on his side or his back rather than his tummy. He typically falls asleep while drinking his bottle. I love these times as it gives me a chance to just hold an angelic sleeping baby boy on my lap. I realize that sooner than I expect he will be too big to sit in my lap. Often when I'm holding him I think about how he will someday go to kindergarten, someday start high school, someday be a groom. We are both doing everything we can to cherish these times with our Caleb while he is little.
  

We are so in love with our sweet baby boy and look forward to celebrating many more milestones with him!

And now for a few pictures from today - his 7 month birthday :)