cousins

Caleb and his cousins already love spending time together!

At Zoe's birthday party, Joshua told him all about his trains, telling him the names of each of them. Caleb has recently started to experiment with his voice, so it sounded like they were having quite the conversation back and forth! Joshua was even certain that at one point Caleb said "Hi" to him!

I'm pretty sure that if she was allowed to, Zoe would spend hours with her baby cousins- she has 3 others besides Caleb! I think she'd already make a great babysitter, but I think for age-sake we'll have to wait a few more years. It's been fun to watch Caleb start to focus in on specific people and things around him instead of just randomly looking everywhere. He's also starting to respond to what he sees and hears. With all that he's taking in now, his favorite things to stare at still haven't changed- the blinds and pictures on the wall! I think he broke a record the other night by staring at one picture for almost an hour while I watched TV waiting for him to get tired.

During the noise and excitement of the party, Caleb fell asleep sitting almost straight up- his hand gesture seeming to say,"YES DADDY!!!! I will sleep ANYWHERE!!!!"

Great Grandpa!

Caleb got to meet his Great Grandpa for the first time last week!

Of course I was super excited since Grandpa is very special to me. He's always made a point to be involved in all of his grandkids' lives, so it wasn't a surprise to find out that he and his wife chose to go out of their way to come see their GREAT grandkid, Caleb! I just wish we lived closer so that they would continue to get to spend time together.

We love you both!!!

baby names

We've found it interesting that so many boys around us lately have Old Testament names...

Joshua

Caleb

Jacob

Asher

Malachi

Elijah

Noah

Ezra....

We're wondering if in a few years some of the less common ones will start becoming popular....

Belshazzar

Og

Habakkuk

Balaam

Mephibosheth

and my personal favorite- Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz!

Me and Daddy!

I love my Daddy...and he loves me! We really like spending time together!

When he comes home from work he really likes to hold me for a long time. I try to talk to him, he helps me sit up and even try to stand, which makes me smile, and after I get tired out he lets me sleep on him...then he sometimes watches "I Love Lucy" with Mommy.

Last week was the first time I ate with Daddy. He gave me a bottle and I think I did pretty good, even though I didn't eat as much as when I eat with Mommy. I'm getting better at it every night, which I think makes mommy really happy since she always kisses me over and over in the morning and tells me what a great job I did. She was so happy that she was able to sleep for 7 hours in a row for the first time since I was born! She said Daddy and I are her heroes! She hasn't felt so good for over a month! Not only is she happy that Daddy can help feed me once a night but also that I've been sleeping for 6 to 7 hours in a row for the last few nights! The remaining challenge for her is sleeping through my grunting and noises through the night.

The other day Daddy's friend, Mr. Diehl (Greg), stopped by. There's a lot of people from our church that get really excited to see and hold me. He was really nice and even made me smile a lot.

He and daddy decided to measure me since everyone says how LONG I look! I am now about 23 inches...almost TWO FEET!!! :) I'm already wearing all of my 3-month-old clothes and might get too tall for them if I keep growing so fast.
Daddy likes taking care of me as much as mommy...and even helps change my diapers. I get upset from indigestion a lot and one of the things that helps the most is when he holds me in his arms and bounces up and down. He also bicycles my legs to help me get all the gas out. When he kisses me his whiskers tickle and it makes me smile. I also love hearing his voice and looking around til I find him. He's such a good Daddy!!!

Family Day

Although I feel horribly behind on sleep, I decided it was worth sacrificing some more of it to have some good family time. (I hear it's pretty impossible to catch up anyway, at least for a while.) So last Friday we headed up to Apple Hill, an area nearby with several orchards and all kinds of fall fun for kids and families.

After looking through craft booths and little shops, we went to find some fresh apples and came across this one as big as Caleb's head!

He slept most of the time but gave us some good smiles while he woke up to eat!

Ok, so of course, being his mom, I think every picture of Caleb is worth showing...even when they are very similar, since he is just SO handsome and I am in awe of every look and new thing he does. BUT, I'll resist and just give you a few....although it's hard to choose! :)

Our favorite....sweet mommy/son moments!

He loves to lift up his head and use his neck muscles...but then he often slams it back down on my shoulder or against my face without control. It doesn't seem to bother him though. :)

First pumpkin picture with Daddy and Caleb!

...and i think this is our first family self portrait! Turned out pretty good considering we took it super quick before Caleb broke into tears from being tired out. It was a great day and hopefully we'll get to go again before the season passes. Now...i need some more sleep...:)

One Month Old!

Happy One Month Old Caleb!!!

Our friends, Matt and Sharon, had a great idea that I decided to steal. They took pictures of their daughter next to a giant teddy bear as she grew to show how she changed. We don't have a giant teddy bear so we figured we'll just use the concept and take pictures in the same chair every month.

Since I completely forgot to take the picture until tonight, right before fussiness started, we didn't have time to plan an outfit, get the lighting right or take several shots until it was perfect, but I think these will do anyway. Thanks to Aunt Cindy for the cute pjs! :) Maybe we'll give him a different stuffed animal each time too.

Bonus pictures! :) Just can't help myself!

We tried the teddy bear idea out with my bear, but it wasn't working out too well. Plus, he's pretty dusty and not too much bigger than Caleb already. He looks like a good friend though :)

SMILES!!!

Last week Caleb SMILED for the first time, and more than once...and NOT from gas! :) I think it has given me more energy despite lack of sleep more than anything since he's been born.

It's still hard to catch on camera but Matt managed to get a couple decent pictures. Next time we'll try to get a video to post!

SUPER CUTIE!!!

Cindy and I got Caleb some black and white books, which he already loves looking at.

I found a way for him to enjoy them on his own...maybe he'll start reading soon too! :)

Caleb loves his daddy! More smiles!

Please pray for me. Caleb is already a month old tomorrow, which means that time is quickly passing. Only a few more weeks until my maternity leave is over. We have many decisions to make about work, finances, moving (not out of Cali, just to a less expensive/larger place), etc. There is still the possibility that I might not have to work full time, but if I do, I honestly don't know how I will handle it. I can't even think about it without falling to pieces emotionally right now. I want to trust God and be at peace but I'm finding it more challenging than ever. Please pray that God will not only provide, but that I will be able to trust Him and find rest in whatever happens. Thanks so much!