happy baby

TOES

 About 3 weeks ago Caleb discovered that holding his toes was pretty fun...but getting them into his mouth was even better!  You can imagine what he's thinking as he gives all his effort to reach his goal...

 almost, but the sock doesn't count

 GOT IT!

5 Months

As usual, here's the "in the chair" picture to show Caleb's size...

...but as can be expected by now, the rest turned out the best.

Here's the winner!  Matt thought I posed him, but every month when I take these, I basically just sit him down and take pictures as quickly as possible to try to capture at least a couple good ones.  This time he sat nicely for about 10 seconds, and then.....

...since he loves to roll over now, he figured it should work in a chair as well!

So we tried again...I think his facial expression matches the bear in this one.  OH, the bear!  It's from his Great Grandma and Grandpa Boersma!

a little cheesy smile, and then...

"Hmm, what's this on my bear's neck..."

"Can I eat him?"

"Ok, I'll just hold him."

Another try...

"Oh look, my TOES!"

"Yes, this pose is much more to my liking!"

"I'm done. No more pictures..no more cameras!"

one more...gotta love him!

Grandma Came to Visit

A couple weekends ago mom/grandma came to visit us!  

We were all super excited to see her and for her to get to see and spend time with Caleb.  

 She brought a gift for Caleb, who was MUCH more excited than ever to find out not only what was IN the bag but also about the bag itself!  SO MUCH to discover these days!

 While she was here, Caleb discovered his voice at a new level.  He decided it was pretty fun to express himself by "yell-talking."  He even tried it one morning in his crib when he woke up early.  I'm glad it only lasted a couple of days. :)

 Happy boy and grandma!

 When mom was about to leave Monday morning, I realized that I had hardly taken any pictures, so got a few at the last minute. (I guess it proves just how much I'm thinking of YOU, mom, when I post on the blog.  Since you were here and seeing everything, I didn't feel like I needed to get pictures of it all.)

We love you and had SUCH a good time with you!  Hopefully you can come again soon...and bring Grandpa next time! :)

my hummingbird :)

yes, i call him mine, along with all of the other birds that gather at my bird feeders :)  

 when i put up this feeder last year i was sad to find out that hummingbirds are territorial...mainly because the bird that found it first was a female.  don't get me wrong, i fully enjoyed her visits, but i REALLY wanted a male to come, simply because they are SO pretty!

you can imagine my excitement when i finally re-filled the feeder this season and saw that a male had found it first!!! I was able to get a couple decent pictures, even though the i hadn't cleaned the window yet.  It's actually pretty funny that the females will come right up to the feeder even when we are sitting and talking next to it, but won't sit down.  this guy will immediately sit, but as soon as he sees us move, even inside, flies off as though scared.  anyway, i've enjoyed his visits and will miss them when we move.  pretty little guy!

just cuteness!

we can't wait for mom/grandma to get here this weekend!!!

January

Here's a few more pictures of life in our little family...

 The hat from Uncle Craig and Aunt Paulette is perfect for a walk out in the cold.

 I absolutely love that Caleb likes to relax and cuddle now.  Sweet little boy.  I could hold him all day long.

 Here's where he likes to spend "wind-down time" before nap and bed.  We've washed lots of dishes, prepped food for meals, baked, cleaned the house, gathered laundry, and all kinds of things together in the last few weeks.  Walking around the house and just relaxing in the sling gets him ready for sleep.  The last couple weeks have been long and tiring as we've been focusing on a new method to help Caleb sleep better and get on more of a routine for days, nights, eating, sleeping and activity times.  It's been rough at times but already paying off, and we're confident it will be worth the time and effort in the long run for all of us.

 Daddy decided to try the sling out one afternoon as well!  I'm so thankful for a husband who is so involved in his son's life....Also, that when I'm at work, that I can rest in the fact that Caleb gets to be with his dad at home.  I wish I could be there all the time, but since I can't, this is how I'd want it.

 Poor buddy.  Some things in life aren't so easy and fun...like pooping.  This is taken after a very difficult and extremely tiring time for him.....but he DID have victory!!! Lots of it! :)  (maybe someday we'll get a picture of how red his face turns while holding his breath and pushing).

 Once again, I'm hopeless. I just couldn't decide which one to post, so you get them all.

 The fun thing about the new schedule is that when we go out to do things now, Caleb doesn't just fall asleep in the car right away. Instead, he talks, smiles and interacts the whole time....well, until the end when it's time for a nap.

 He fully entertained me the whole shopping trip.  

 Fingers are great for soothing gums that are starting to feel sore. 

I think he's starting to really like purposefully getting our attention and making us smile.  

He's quite accomplished at it already!