Sick Kiddo

Caleb's been battling a stomach bug since Sunday. He hasn't eaten a real meal since Monday evening. The poor guy is pretty well spent!

This morning we woke up at 4:30 to an extremely nasty diaper, then I got puked on, but the rest of the day went very well. I fed him little bits at a time--nursed him a little, a few bites of green bean, some chicken bits, a couple crackers--and tried to keep fluids in him. We made it through the whole day!

Jon came home and offered to watch Caleb while I took an hour to get out of the house. What a great guy! I wanted to try to nurse Caleb just a little bit before I left--his lack of wet diapers had me a little concerned. So I did...and he puked all over me. Everything he had kept down all day came back up. Caleb was pretty upset and I was pretty nasty. Jon took Caleb and I went to clean up. So much for my hour break...but it was nice to take my time in the shower!

When I got out Caleb was clean and sound asleep on Jon's chest. However, the transfer from Daddy to the crib woke him up, so I rocked him for a little bit. Jon went to the kitchen to work on making a pizza for us. I thought about how cool it was that Jon could so easily do whatever needed to be done, whether it was giving me an hour off, cleaning Caleb up, or picking up where I'd left off in the dinner prep.

We eventually switched, because despite his awesomeness, I do have the best knack for rolling out the pizza dough. :) When I was done rolling and the dough was toasting in the oven, we switched again. Caleb had by this time decided that he was not going to sleep until someone fed him something, so I gave him a couple crackers. Finally he settled enough for me to lay him down. The pizza is finished and Caleb's cries are diminishing over the monitor.

I feel so bad for our little boy! The doctor said yesterday that there's nothing to be done; viruses just have to be waited out, and all we could do was make sure Caleb was getting enough fluids. We're doing our best with that, but I hate seeing him sick. :(

Eleven Months

Caleb is eleven months old today! To celebrate, he's had his first bout of pukey-ness. Woohoo. I figure he just ate something weird, because the other kids he's been around haven't had anything. He's sleeping it off now with a nice long nap!

He is walking with assistance very well. He likes to have someone holding onto both of his hands when he's walking, but has let go with one hand more often lately. He's also starting standing more on his own. Sunday we counted to 10 before he finally grabbed something!

He's moved into 12-month clothes..and could probably stand to move up to 18-month in pants because his legs are so long! I bought him a pair of size 2 soft-soled shoes for walking, but I don't think he'll be in them for long.

I think we finally have our first word besides Mama and Dada! We think Caleb is saying "ball." It's more like "ba" but he says it a lot when he has a ball in his hand. However, he really likes Bs, and he often has a ball in his hand, so it could just be a coincidence. I think he's saying ball, though.

Caleb has tried pretty much every food we've eaten--except for ice cream and pizza and things like that. He did try an orange a bit back. Wasn't his favorite, but he ate it. His favorite food seems to be cheese. Mmm...yummy...my child indeed! It's neat to see him progress in his eating. Used to I would break up a piece of bread for him into bite-sized pieces, but now I can hand him the bread and he'll tear it himself or even bite it off himself. I can't do that with cheese; he just stuffs the entire piece in his mouth and will eventually spit it out because he can't chew it all. Spit-out cheese is not very appetizing.

Caleb loves to play peekaboo, loves to chase me around the house, loves to open and close doors (and drawers), loves ANYthing in the bathroom--toilet paper, toilet lid, trash can, tub--it's all fun! So we keep the bathroom doors closed. When we open them, I can hear him trucking it from wherever he is in the house to get into the bathroom. He does the same with the fridge and freezer. Silly boy!

This month Caleb has started developing his own opinion about things. He whines and cries when he doesn't get his way or I take something from him. I've had to give him a firm, "No sir, we do not whine." a few times. He has even started refusing food we feed him with a spoon, preferring to eat it himself, even if that means a very messy meal. Thankfully he doesn't do that every meal, but I see it coming soon.

All in all, we have a very cool little boy. We love his laughter, his chattiness, his determination, his tears. I miss my baby, and as I'm starting to wean, I'm missing the cuddling times. I guess that's why many siblings are about two years apart. Their mamas missed those things, too!

Lemonade

Trying lemonade for the first time. Not sure if it was the lemonade or just the novelty of drinking from a cup, but Caleb was a fan! Taken 10/9.

Walking with walker

I think I could watch this video over and over again. Taken Oct. 12.

Recent firsts

Every day there are new firsts in Caleb's life. I guess that comes with the territory for a child his age. Some are not really the ones you want in the baby book, like the other day when Caleb farted and it was the first time I actually smelled it. Others are sweeter, like my first kiss from Caleb (Sept. 29). Some are subtle, like the repetition that Caleb has begun: I drop something, he picks it up and puts it back in my hand, and we repeat. Tonight I might have even heard his version of "uh oh!" when the ball dropped, but I'm not really sure about that.

It's so neat to watch Caleb; people ask me what I do all day, and I really do stare at Caleb for quite a bit of the day. He's so fascinating! He's trying to figure out the way the world works, and that's really fun to watch. He has a toy that has a ball he drops into the top and it rolls down the spiral and out the spout at the bottom. He loves it, and recently I have found many toys in the spout--other balls, a telephone, and even his baby pumpkin have made their way into it.

Here is a first, walking holding on to my hands. It actually happened Sept. 28--I know, a bit back, but I'm hoping to catch up on a few videos and I have to start somewhere!

Farmer's Market Fun

I distinctly remember the Saturday before Caleb was born. Jon and I slept in, and I thought to myself, "This is the last time in a long time that we will be able to do this." And finally--ten months later--we got to sleep in on Saturday! The night before, Caleb was at the babysitter's house while I was at a church function. I went to pick him up around 9:30pm; he was fast asleep and I ended up staying and chatting for quite awhile. I finally got him home and to bed by 11:30. The trip home had started to wake him up, so for expediency I went ahead and nursed him to get him back to sleep. I guess that late-night feeding did the trick, because Caleb didn't wake up until 9:00 the next morning!!

Sure, I was awake by 8:00, but that didn't keep me from staying put in bed until I heard a peep from the monitor. And sure, by 8:25 I had the monitor turned as high as it would go and pressed to my ear, because even ten months into it I sometimes still fear the worst, and I was listening for rustling, breathing, anything.... So I might not have been sleeping for that last hour, but it was still pretty great. I know it won't happen again for awhile, and I'm so glad we had an open day to enjoy it.

When we did all finally get up, it was a cool grey day, perfect for watching football and going to the farmer's market! We managed to fit both in, though the Baylor game was more than disappointing. So...the farmers market:

"I've got the keys, mom! Let's go!"

"Hm...nice pumpkins...but not as big as the one I have at home!"


"Please mom? Can I have this one?"

Testing for ripeness....

"What?? 25 bucks?! That's outrageous."

"Well, this one is more my size anyway, and the market lady said I could have it for free!"

"The stem is perfect for chewing."

Daddy and me.

"My new pumpkin..."

"...and my sweet new ride!"

Ten Months

I love ten months! We've had so much happen! Let's see if I can think of it all....

Caleb has his sixth tooth now! So four on top and two on bottom. He's tried corn and cheerios. He did really well with the cheerios, so we're not going to be buying the Gerber Puffs any more--just too expensive! He's also had mac-n-cheese with tuna, and got a sip of my pink lemonade yesterday! I thought it would be too sour for him, but he didn't seem to mind!

He talks ALL the time. Really. ALL. the time. It's still just jibberish, but there are a few things I know. He definitely says "Dada" and means it. When he hears Jon unlocking the door or when he comes in the room, Caleb will say it. He's said "Mama" before, too, but definitely not as consistently. He says "Nanananana" when things aren't going so well. It's a sign that it's time for a change--usually a nap!

Caleb has started waking up pretty consistently at 7:30am, which I am loving! I have been doing much better getting to bed at a normal hour, so it's been easier for me to get up by 6:30 and be showered and ready for the day when Caleb gets up. So the schedule has been nice, and has really helped me feel more on top of things during the day. It also gives me a chance to do stuff on the computer, because Caleb loves to "help" when he's awake, usually by pressing any button he can reach. He's managed to changed settings on my computer that took me awhile to figure out how to fix!

Caleb is walking! Not by himself, of course, but is doing really well with us holding on to him. It's fun to see where he takes us. Holly had him walking just holding on to one hand at the garage sale last week, though he's definitely more stable when he's got a hold of two hands.


We have such a happy baby. Usually it take him awhile to warm up to situations. At places like Wal-Mart, he closes up because there are so many new things to take in. (People often tell me he looks like he's ready for a nap, but it's because he shuts down a little.) Well, on Monday he was all smiles during our Wal-Mart trip. Quite the flirt was he! So maybe we're slowly moving beyond this stage...and maybe his separation anxiety will lessen soon, as well!


We've brought out lots of new toys for Caleb to play with--toys that encourage lots of crawling and standing. It's been fun to see him play with them! It also makes our living room seem pretty messy most of the time! Oh, well. It all gets put away most evenings.

And he loves to read. His fascination with turning pages is becoming a fascination with what is actually on the page. He likes the "touch-n-feel" books with textures, and he'll put his thumb on eyes and mouths. It's neat to see his playtime progressing as he learns new things.


As I say every month, Caleb is not our little baby any more. Many people have noticed that he looks more like a little boy--a little Norvell boy, to be precise! We are so blessed!

Caleb at our garage sale: "I see a customer!"

Sophie and Caleb. Sophie and her mama just moved away, and we will miss them!!


Sophie, Caleb and Sophie's cousin