Proud mother alert

Ok, I know all parents think their kid is a genius.  I think it comes from watching them learn new things, which is so fascinating.  It really is remarkable that after being on this planet for just a year, they pick up so much.  And having no other frame of reference for other children's learning abilities, I think, "Wow, he is so smart!" (although, I'm sure he is just an average kid, but don't burst my bubble.  hehe).

His newest thing that amazes me is when he is playing with his books on his bookshelf.  I'll say, "Can you find the book that says..." and then I'll start reciting the book.  (I'm sure I have at least 20 children's books completely memorized by now.  That happens from reading them every day for a year.)  Well, this smart kiddo will hear me reciting the book, and he'll search the bookshelf and find the right one!  Seriously!  Do they have scholarships for this stuff?  Because I'm amazed.

It's also fun to hear him say new words.  I don't think I can count mama and dada as his first words.  He's been babbling those for a long time, and it's hard to know when he actually started understanding the meaning of them.
But as of right now, his vocabulary consists of:
ball - "bah"
car - "kah"  He makes a car noise whenever he sees one or plays with one.  It sounds like growling.  :)
puppy - "puh-puh" or "buh-buh"
baby - actually sounds like baby
hi/hey - makes his voice go from high to low like we do

I think he tries to say other words as he point to objects, but it usually ends up sounding like one of the words above.

And because every post is better with a picture:

Caleb's birthday

Caleb is one!  On February 7, 2009, Caleb came into the world…and our lives haven’t been the same since!  He is a wonderful joy and blessing.  Caleb means “whole-hearted”, and we truly think that meaning is fitting for him.  He has huge smiles, big belly laughs, loves people, and loves life.  It’s our prayer that he would be whole-hearted in his love for God as he grows, and that God would use this boy for a wonderful purpose.

Here is a little recap of Caleb's 1st birthday celebration.  I posted pictures on Facebook, but I'll add them on here as well for those who only check the blog.

We just threw a humble party with our little family unit, Caleb's grandparents, aunts and uncle.  I made barbecue for lunch, which included pulled pork, brisket, potato casserole, baked beans, and all the other fixins.  It was yummy!  For the brisket, I just bought HEB's pre-cooked and seasoned brisket.  All you have to do in warm it up in the oven.  I was pleasantly surprised with how good it was.  And it was much more economical than buying from a restaurant.  Anyway...

Caleb had a blast being the center of attention.  He loves when lots of people are around.  He's one lucky kiddo to have so many people who love him.

opening presents

playing on his new trike

playing with his new learning toy, while wearing his new hat

wrestling Aunt Susie

the cake

blowing out the candle with Daddy's help

trying to figure out what it is

"are you sure I'm allowed to eat this deliciousness?"

"whoa, that's sweet."

"ahhh!  I don't like the icing in between my fingers!"

He kept trying go fling it on the floor.

Clean hands!  Happy again!

Doctor's Orders

We had Caleb's 1-year check-up this week.  We're proud our little guy gained and grew...but the doc still wants him to do more.  He's still below the 3rd% for weight and height.  But he's 50th% for his head, so she's not worried about his brain growing!  He's our little bobble-head.  :) 

Weight: 16 lbs 12 oz
Height: 27 1/2 inches
Head: 18 inches

Basically, everything David and I have been trying not to eat in order to lose weight, we have to give to Caleb.  We're going to try to add calories and fat in where we can.  The problem is, Caleb is already eating three good meals a day, an afternoon snack, nursing three times a day, and getting pediasure at night.  So it's going to be challenging to figure out how to do this.  His doctor said to add cheese on stuff, give him whole milk, even ice cream!  Really, we're not too worried about him because David and I were small babies, and Caleb is happy and doing fine developmentally.  We're just hoping he gets on the charts soon, otherwise his doctor might want to run some tests to make sure nothing is wrong. 

We think he's just perfect though!  :)

Oh, and an update on David and I - David has lost 19 lbs since Thanksgiving, and I've lost 7 lbs!  Still no exercise, just a healthy diet.  We're almost where we were when we got married!  We haven't seen those numbers in a lonnng time.  Hopefully with the spring weather around the corner, we'll be taking more walks and bike rides to get some exercise into our day.

Birthday pictures coming soon!

Recent stuff

I know, riveting blog title, huh?  I could probably try to come up with a cutsie and creative title to lure in my readers (if I have any).  But I'll just go for "recent stuff" at the moment, because this is just a little update about stuff Caleb has been doing lately that I want to document before I forget...

- How Caleb is like David- He inspects everything.  He'll turn something around a hundred times to see it from every angle.  He loves people!  He lights up when he meets new people and he's so friendly.  He makes all kinds of friends when we go to the grocery store or run errands.  Just like his dad.

David as a baby:

 

- How Caleb is like me- He loves to be entertained and he's always up for a good laugh.  Just about anything will make him laugh.  You can just randomly start laughing, and he'll join along because it looks like fun.  And this little boy loves to shake his booty!  You put some music on, and that knee starts a-poppin' and that rump starts a-shakin'!  I have no idea where he gets that from!  ;)

Me as a baby:

- He LOVES his soft blue blankie!  I think we have a little Linus on our hand.  Whenever he crawls over to it and crashes his head into it, we know it's sleepy time!

- He's still a pretty good sleeper.  He usually sleeps 11 hours at night, and two 1.5-2 hour naps during the day.  He goes down so easily.  I love it.  I feel very blessed because I know lots of babies have sleep issues.  I just hope he continues this way!

- I am still amazed that since birth, he has always laid perfectly still for me while I cut his finger nails.  It's so weird.  This wiggly boy will be so silent and patient while I clip each one. 

- He's still not cooperating with eating solid foods.  He looks at them sceptically.  He turns his head defiantly.  He shutters and scrunches his face.  I did get him to eat a raisin and a saltine cracker the other day, so I considered that a success.  :)

- He loves opening and closing things.  He loves putting things in containers and taking them out.

- He doesn't sit still.  He's a mover.

- He loves reading and playing with his books.  He spends a lot of time thumbing through pages by himself...and 90% of the time the book is upside-down.  So cute!

- If he's really in a hurry, to go faster, he'll crawl with his left knee and use his right foot for extra momentum.  Kind of a half bear crawl.

- He's definitely getting an opinion, and he's not afraid to share it.  He also will pick up my hand and try to move it if he wants me to do something.

- He remembers things now.  Gone are the days where I can take something away from him and he'll get distracted with something else and forget about it.

- He'll hand me things sometimes.  But he wants them back pretty quickly.

- I absolutely love this kid!!!

I think that's it for now.  :)

Caleb's first haircut

Well, we decided it was time to give Caleb his first haircut.  He has been mistaken for a girl, one too many times...ok, make that every time we go out...even if he's wearing all blue.  It's time for him to reclaim his masculinity!  Plus he had long strands of hair hanging in his eyes.

Here is kind of a "before" picture taken at the beginning of December.  

I am by no means an expert at cutting hair.  I used to cut David's hair with clippers, but scissors on an 11-month-old is a different story.  So this is how we started out...

Yes, we hung him upside down. We thought, he likes to hang upside down, so it'll be more fun for him.  And it'll help me gather the long strands of hair together to make an even cut.  Isn't that how they teach it in cosmetology school???  :)

After I got all the really long stuff on top cut off, David held him while I snipped the bangs, around the ears and the back of the neck.  I was a little nervous to have scissors that close to his wiggly body and twisting head.  There are a couple of choppy spots, but his hair was never even to begin with.  And now I think he looks more boy-like. 

...maybe too boy-like.  Like, "Where did my baby go?  And who is the grown-up kiddo?"