Happy 9 Month Birthday, Caleb!

**This was supposed to be automatically posted on Saturday, but yippee it didn't work... Oh well, it's a day late! Enjoy!

Today is Caleb's 9 month birthday and yesterday marked the 3 month anniversary of our "Gotcha Day". We have been blessed with a joyful, healthy, beautiful baby boy. Having Caleb join our family has shown us first hand what a perfect plan God has for us and the incredible love that He has for our son - a love even greater than the love we feel for him.

We have made so many happy memories together as a new family and notice new things about Caleb's blossoming personality every day. We have been blessed to have 3 months to be together as a family. My time off from work and the break from my back and forth commuting to Houston has given us the opportunity to focus on Caleb and Caleb only. That time has been so valuable and I wouldn't trade it for any amount of money in the world.

As Caleb turns 9 months old we are going to have some big changes. Gone are the days of staying home all day with my sweet baby boy... the wife of a Med Student has gotta pay the bills! I'll return to work on Monday in Houston and then work from home 3 weeks per month. Caleb will have lots of quality time with his grandparents while he's in Houston and hopefully will have a wonderful experience with our new nanny on the weeks we are at home. I'm so thankful that I feel confident about who will be caring for him when I can't, and thrilled beyond belief that Caleb will be able to be in a familiar environment with the toys he loves and a crib he recognizes.

If you're the praying type, I'd be so grateful for prayers for our family next week as we make a big transition. I'm prepared to put on my brave face at work and Bryan realizes that this is a necessary step for our family and is offering me tons of emotional support.

Most of all, I just want prayers for Caleb. Bryan and I are adults who will understand what is happening and why things are changing, but for Caleb this will be very hard to understand. Please pray that he would feel happy, safe and secure and that he would feel confident & comforted by our return to him each day.

Now on to the good stuff - some wonderful pictures of our sweet boy.

Caleb & Daddy on New Year's Eve

2009 is going to be a big year for him:

walking, talking, finally being able to grab Sophie's tail...

On New Year's Day we spent the afternoon at the park! Caleb took his first ride in the swings.

He was having fun at first...

But after a few minutes decided he had enough!

Caleb has a great appetite and loves to sit in his high chair. Here he is with his favorite high chair toy, which has also proved to be a valuable item anytime we want to go to a restaurant!

We've now progressed to the 'meat' baby food which grosses me out big time. Apparently this particular meat baby food grossed Caleb out too. We've discovered he'll eat any meat baby food as long as sweet potatoes are involved.

Caleb also likes to do gymnastic rolls in his crib. I often find him wedged like this (always at the end where Mommy & Daddy's picture is!).

Caleb also loves bath time now! What a contrast to 3 months ago when he'd scream bloody murder the second his scrawny little body hit the water!! Lately he thinks it is pretty hilarious when Daddy makes the little frog squirt water on him.

Bryan handles bath time and bed time most nights so that they can have some dedicated time together. It is not unusual for me to hear squeals of laughter and tons of splashing coming from the tiny 1950's bathroom in our little rent house!

Speaking of bathtime, lately Bryan has been letting Caleb stand next to the bathtub and watch the water fill up his little infant tub. Caleb gets so excited and makes a ton of noise as he watches the water! Here's a little video showing our cute baby boy - I apologize for my poor camera skills. Keep in mind I'm hanging over the edge of the tub, because hey, I'll do anything to get cute footage of my Caleb. :)