April . . . Month in Review

With our lack of a yard to play in, I have been trying to get to the park at least once a week (especially while the weather is nice). He loves to swing!

We went strawberry-picking with a bunch of friends from church. What you can't tell from this picture is how messy he is - strawberry juice and dirt all over him. I even caught him eating a handful of sand at one point. Well worth it though - I am going to make strawberry cake this afternoon.

I found this awesome tent at Ikea the other day - super fun!

His newly-found climbing skills scare the heck out of me . . . I guess that's part of having a boy!

Parental Supervision Required

Last night during the 30 seconds I was looking away to send a text, Caleb somehow managed to put one of Cameron's t-shirts over his head. I looked up just as he ran smack into the front door with the t-shirt covering his face. Hilarious . . . except for all of the tears on his part! :) Just a typical Tuesday at our place, I guess.

15 months

Caleb is 15 months today. We just got back from his well-baby visit. He wasn't very cooperative with the nurse today! We had to do the method where I stood on the scale holding him, etc. to determine his weight (on the upside . . . their scale seemed very forgiving, I weighed less than I thought I did - when does that ever happen? ha!).
The Stats:
22 lbs.
29 1/2 in.
3 shots
seasonal allergies (he is taking Zyrtec - which creates awesomely long naps!)

Easter Weekend

Easter service at Crossbridge

Caleb got a kite, pajamas, eggs filled with Cheerios, and a ball (he loved the ball!) in his basket

We had lots of fun having dinner with the Wallaces, this is the bunny cake we brought for dessert. It turned out pretty cute. :)

Crossbridge helped sponsor an Easter egg hunt at an assisted living center down the street from church. Here are Caleb, Hazel, and Evelyn before the big event. Caleb was more interested in shaking the eggs (they made a fun sound) than putting them in the basket.

March . . . Month in Review

Here are some of the highlights of the month of March:
-a much-needed break from school (for both Cameron and I) allowed us to travel to see Rachel and Amanda in Dallas and then up to Nashville to meet up with Cameron's parents for a couple of days. It was a fun and refreshing break, but we were exhausted after our 15+ hour trip home! Low point of the trip -- discovering that we have a CD stuck in the CD player in our car and no idea how to get it out (but, on the positive side, we listened to lots of NPR!).

-making a decision about housing . . . we have been going back and forth for several months and not feeling a lot of direction about what do for our living situation. We met with a realtor to look at some rental houses last weekend (she was great!), but we were kind of bummed out by the type of house we could afford. So, we decided to sign a six-month lease at our apt. complex and we will see what happens from there. We felt a lot of peace by just being able to make one decision about our lives right now! :)

-Caleb has hit a lot of developmental mile stones all of a sudden! He has gone from crawling to mostly walking (kind of looks like Frankenstein), has several words that he uses consistently ('da da', 'baby', and 'see'), and points at things to let us know what he sees or needs. He continues to use the sign for 'more' to let us know what he wants. I feel like he is developing a sense of humor as certain things seem to completely crack him up.

-we all survived Caleb's first ear infection and fever -- we made it to 14 mo. with only doing one round of antibiotics - awesome!

-Caleb is sporting a new haircut -- he screamed and screamed as he was getting it cut, but I am loving the results! In the picture below, he was pointing at the babies in the book and saying 'baby'! So smart! :) (also -- I am loving his cutie-patootie pajamas -- organic cotton and only $5.00 at Walmart!)

What?!!

A couple of random things from the last two days, which are making me smile on a dreary Monday morning:
1. Yesterday we put Caleb down for a short "nap" before church . . . I think he really just played the whole time. When Cameron went in to get him, he yelled to me, "Get in here, quick!" I ran around the corner of his room to find Cameron laughing and Caleb standing in his crib wearing only his shirt and diaper. He had somehow managed to take his pants off. What?!! My immediate thought was, 'wow, I am really glad he hasn't figured out how to take off his diaper!'
2. This morning I was really excited about wearing this new oh-so-soft grey t-shirt that I just got a couple of weeks ago. When I put it on and looked in the mirror the center of the lotus flower fell in a very conspicuous place on my chest. Cameron also confirmed what I was thinking. :) It was very akin to Charlize Theron's Oscar dress last night. Needless to say, my $5.00 t-shirt went into the Goodwill donation pile we started over the weekend!

Happy Monday!

Early Literacy

I just read a great article in Parenting magazine last night about childhood literacy. It contained some pretty crazy statistics that encouraged me in the reading that we do with Caleb. Even though Caleb would rather eat the books or tear the pages right now rather than listen to the story or look at the pictures, I am hopefully taking a few (albeit small) steps in the right direction.
Check this out:
-"many children who enter kindergarten without pre-reading skills in place will never catch up . . . by second grade we can predict who will go on to higher education and who will not based on their literacy skills." (Parenting, pg. 111, March 2010)
This piece of information was down-right depressing:
-"having reading difficulties also increases the odds that a child will drop out of school and have a criminal record. States like California and Indiana have even factored in the number of third-graders who are not reading at grade level when planning future jail construction." (Parenting, pg. 112, March 2010)
The article goes on to mention the hugely disparate numbers of books and reading opportunities available to kids from lower income homes and middle income homes (1 book per 300 kids vs. access to at least 13 books at any time) and several volunteer-based free programs that are out to change that.
We have access to a great library system here in Sugar Land and an awesome weekly Toddler Time . . . though Caleb has no idea what is going on yet, I think he likes watching the other kids dance and sing. Yay for free stuff!
What are some favorite books currently at your house? Do you have any good recommendations?

More

After months of practicing several signs with Caleb (food, please, more, all done, drink), he is finally catching on! Caleb now signs 'more' very excitedly when he wants something. I am one proud mama! :)
Which got me thinking this morning . . . we (our little family of 3) feel like we are in a stage of transition. We like our little life here in TX, but know that we can't sustain it forever if we want to move on to future plans/goals.
So, it feels like I am always asking God for more - which I know he is pleased to give his children, but what if His version of 'more' looks different than my version of 'more'. What if he is asking me to be content for the long-term with what we have? What if my visions of financial security, a growing family, etc., etc. look different to Him? What if 'more' simply means that instead of all of those things (which in themselves aren't bad things) more means 'more' of Him . . . .desiring more of him, leaving all areas of life to him, etc. I am reading through Luke right now and ironically I opened to Luke 12: 22-34 today where I am told that the time I spend worrying could be better used in other ways. :)
So, I'm pondering that question right now. What does more mean? And I have Caleb here to remind me . . . "more, mom".

First Birthday - 1/7/10

Dear Caleb,
It is hard to believe that you have been here for one whole year. We spent so much time praying and anticipating what you would be like and it has been so much fun watching your personality develop. We are constantly amazed at the things you are learning and how independent you are becoming each day.
You are pushing me to become more patient and less selfish all the time . . . slowly but surely, I am learning. You cause me to slow down and enjoy the moments of your babyhood instead of worrying about all the things that I need to get accomplished.
We laugh a lot at all the things you do and are becoming more aware all the time that you are becoming a toddler (temper tantrums!!) and we will have to learn more about how to lovingly discipline you.
We are excited to see what this next year holds for you! Happy Birthday!

Caleb's First Christmas

Caroline and Caleb got to know each other (it was fun to watch them 'communicate').

Caleb taking a ride on the rocking horse that Grandpa built just for him (he is also demonstrating that he has learned how to point at things).

Yup, that's a lot of snow . . . and it is still snowing there.

Caleb had a White Christmas and got to go on his first sleigh ride (he looks cold, huh?).

Cameron received the best gift ever . . . a giant container full of different kinds of tea. :)

Lankford Grocery

After two days of traveling, we are back in TX . . . Caleb did much better than I assumed he would (definitely had his bouts of screaming, but wouldn't you if you were stuck in a car seat for hours and hours?). I will post Christmas pics in a couple of days.
While in NE we watched a couple episodes of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network and they talked about Lankford Grocery here in Houston the Montrose area, I remember driving by it and wondering what it was (the building is a really old red and white house with picnic tables out front) when we were going to Ecclesia, but we never stopped by there until today. After eating way too much red meat while in NE, I wanted to give that a rest for a while . . . but this bacon cheeseburger (and accompanying onion rings) was HEAVENLY. I can't wait to go back and try their breakfast menu.

I'm Looking Forward To . . .

We leave on Friday night for our big road trip . . . we are both really excited, but very nervous about how Caleb is going to do in the car for so many hours.
Cameron reminded me of some of our past Christmas adventures the other day -- here are a few highlights:
-taking Amtrak from Sacramento to Nebraska (we both had romanticized ideas of what train travel would be like . . . we were both WAY off!).
-getting stuck overnight in Washington D.C. when our plane to CA was grounded for repairs (guess who had everything they needed for an unexpected stay in their carry-on? guess who didn't even have a toothbrush?!)
-the two-day road trip that turned into three when we got stuck in a blizzard with the Hinckleys . . . getting stuck in a blizzard was actually lots of fun! :)

I am looking forward to . . .
-road-tripping with the Hinckley family and meeting sweet little Caroline for the first time!
-seeing my family's house decorated for Christmas
-eating way too much of my dad's homemade bread (mmm . . .carbs!)
-meeting Lena
-watching the grandparents be thoroughly entertained by Caleb
-observing Caleb 'take in' Christmas -- I'm guessing I will have lots of 'help' unwrapping my gifts!
-Christmas eve service at my family's church
-"real" winter weather and a chance to wear my winter clothes
-beginning to develop some traditions for our little family
-watching Caleb eat his first piece of birthday cake (early celebration)
-trying out the portable DVD player we bought yesterday

Christmas, here we come!

Lotion Head!

Caleb got to hang out with the Wallaces tonight while we went to see a movie (The Blind Side - awesome - go see it!) . . . anyway, Jonathon and Caleb had lots of fun together with a bottle of lotion! Caleb came home in new jammies and smelling lovely after Erin gave him a bath. Too funny!

You never know what you're gonna get . . .

As one of my sweet little students turned in her homework this afternoon, I noticed there was letter with my name on it attached to her homework. I asked her if it was from her mom, she said 'no', and offered no further explanation. Cameron and I were cracking up when I opened the letter tonight and read this:
(In case you can't read his letter, here is the translation: Dear Mrs. Cox, I am sorry for cutting my sister's homework. That was not nice of me. Please accept her homework. He signed his name and let me know that he is 5.) Her homework had a big slice down the middle of it, so this must have been mom's creative consequence for his action. How cute is that? :)

Sometimes It Is Cold in Texas

So, it's "cold" here . . . relatively speaking.
Caleb's room seems several degrees colder than the rest of our apartment, so we have taken some drastic measures!
-we tried to turn on the heat last night, which set off the smoke detector and it smelled like something was burning (and of course, made our child scream - he does NOT like loud noises)
-we rolled up beach towels and put them along each of the windowsills in his room
-he is wearing a onesie, footie pajamas, a furry blanket sleeper, and MITTENS to bed! :)

I am looking forward to the small chance that it might snow on Friday afternoon! yay!

Uncle Nolan and Caleb

Caleb is now standing up like a 'big boy' . . . yes, I promptly took the pen out of his hand that he happened to find.

Notice the awesome new sweater that Uncle Nolan brought him.

For Karen :)

We had lots of fun 'sprinkling' Karen and Baby Boy Merritt this morning and enjoying lots of yummy food! As evidenced in this picture, Evelyn is ready to be a big sister! :)

1st Haircut

Proof that not all of the tissues in our house are being used on stuffy noses! :)

This is the "Before" shot. It was hard to part with his lovely curls, but he had kind of a mini-mullet in the back.

He is enjoying the experience! We went to a place called 'Snip-Its' . . . not sure we can afford this all the time, but they were so great with him! Extremely quick and kid-friendly. She even put his little curls in a bag for me to put in his baby book.

The "After" shot. We realized it looks kind of like Jeff Daniels in 'Dumb and Dumber' if we don't style it a little bit. :)

Cold Remedies for Baby?

Caleb came home with a runny nose yesterday . . . I am recovering from a cold, so I guess it was only a matter of time.
Poor little guy looks so pathetic with his watery eyes and runny nose, but he seems to be playing fine and eating normally (he is snoring a little!).
Today I read online that it helps to rub Vick's Vapor Rub on a baby's feet before putting on footie pajamas and to put a little salt in the water of your cool mist humidifier.
Does anyone else have any suggestions of things I should be trying? :)

Our Little Pumpkin

We had fun at the Merritt's house tonight handing out candy to their neighbors and eating hot dogs off the grill. Here are a few pictures of Caleb's first Halloween (he didn't have any candy, but he ate part of a hot dog bun and he had no idea why he was wearing this crazy costume):
Too much Halloween fun . . . all tuckered out. :)