Lotion Bottles of Fun

Why it's so, I'm not sure, but Caleb's favorite toy is an empty bottle of lotion.  By sheer coincidence, we discovered that it kept him relatively still while in the process of dressing him after his nightly bath, when normally he'd be rolling around uncontrollably.  It's like cat nip for him.  Who would have guessed that among all his various bath toys, the empty lotion bottle is his favorite.  Go figure.

Caleb in the Hood

Jae gets a kick out of dressing Caleb in new outfits, and while I'm not as enthusiastic as she is, I have to admit the little guy looked awfully cute in his teddy bear hoodie.  And check out this smile with those two little teeth hanging out over his bottom lip.  Like two stray bits of rice left un-swallowed. :)

Here's a few more shots of the little fella.

Caleb - 8 Months

Caleb's just over 8 months old now and has developed quite the little laugh.  He woke-up hungry tonight at 11 and as I was just about to lift him up from his crib, he rolled over and saw me, stopped crying immediately and let out a cheery little giggle.  Normally he'd continue crying until he was in my arms, but for some reason he's been laughing it up at the most unexpected times . . . and I love it.  There's no better feeling than seeing him smile and hearing him laugh.  It's right up there with watching him dose-off in my arms when I rock him to sleep.  :)


Here are a couple of recent photos of Caleb taken one Sunday afternoon at the Sidewalk Cafe in Addison Circle.  We though we'd put a ball cap on him for a little protection from the sun and was surprised to find that he looks much older, almost like a little toddler.  Mommy was quick to say that she doesn't want her little baby to grow up too fast though and would prefer that he remains small for a long, long time.  


And here's Caleb scanning the table top for goodies to put into his mouth.  We let him sample the humus and he loved it.  I suppose its texture isn't too far from that of baby food, but that garlic and olive oil sure does give it a lot more zing.  The little guy couldn't get enough.  :)

Boot, scoot, and boogie.

Caleb finally began crawling this past Sunday.  Well, he hasn't managed to lift his tummy off of the ground while moving, but he's moving nonetheless.  More like scooting, this little guy has really begun to pick up the pace.  He sets his sight on something clear across the room and heads for it.  Vroom . . . I can't wait until he really begins booking it.  It's just so amazing how much he's grown.

Family Portraits

We finally received our first family photos taken by a professional photographer . . . a little something to remember Caleb's first few months of birth and the moments prior to the start of Jae's chemotherapy treatments.  Will definitely have to return for more once Jae's won her fight against breast cancer and her hair grows back in.  Caleb might be about a year and a half old by then, a perfect age for portraits.  I love the little guy, but he wasn't in the happiest of moods during the photo shoot.  I think the flash was bothering him, making it difficult to take many photos of him smiling.  Fortunately, those few photos taken of him smiling or some what smiling turned out great.  Just look at that little guy.  :)  At any rate, here's more for your viewing pleasure and more to come later.  Enjoy.

Hot Wheels!

Caleb's discovered the joys of walking . . . well, kind of. We bought him a walker and now he's all over the place. He's still stuck in first gear though, and hasn't figured found reverse just yet. He doesn't mind though. He'll park it into a wall and just play with the funny little controls on the front of the walker until mommy and daddy straighten him back out.

He's really beginning to grow up. Seeing him ride in his walker has been a little preview of him walking on his own. It's crazy, to think 6 months have already gone by so quickly. The little blue faced new born shivering in the delivery room is now riding along in his walker like a big boy. I can't believe it sometimes. But when I squat while clapping to encourage him to walk to me, and he smiles and comes zooming at me in excitement, there's no denying it's real.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

In preparation of Jae's eventual loss of hair due to the chemotherapy, she had it cut short. Here's her new cool and refreshing hair do. What do you think? I've always told Jae she looks great with short hair, but she likes it because it gives Caleb a little less to grab on to. Mommy's hair is not a jungle gym, Caleb.

Oh, and Caleb's reached another milestone in his short 6 month life -- he's dropped his 11pm feeding! Mommy and daddy can finally go to bed at a decent hour and stay asleep until the sun rises. What a joy.

And lastly, one more photo of the two most special people in my life.

Orange ya glad to see me?

Caleb's been having a field day tasting new foods: avacados, carrots, peas, squash. His favorite of late, though, has been oranges. We feed it to him in this nifty little net container that allows him to suck out the juices while preventing any accidental choking . . . and he loves it. Sometimes I'll take it from him momentarily to adjust his grip on it and he'll get so upset. Yeesh, and I thought animals were protective of their food. That little guy.

Monday, Tooths-day, Wednesday . . .

In true Caleb fashion, the little fella's been rolling around every where, even on towels during bath time. It makes for a really interesting time when trying to put his diaper on, but mommy and daddy's combined four arms manage to get the job done. Boy he's a handful.

Also in the news, Caleb's grown his first tooth . . . well, just barely. It's not yet visible, but definitely there as Jae found out first hand today when Caleb pulled her finger into his mouth and took a nice big bite out of mommy (ouch). Now mommy's all excited, so much so that she added a little bit more banana into his meal today as a little sweet treat for the little saber tooth tiger. Grrr . . .

Rockin 'n Rollin

Caleb's just about 6 months old now and picking up some new tricks. He began rolling over onto his tummy about two weeks ago and has finally begun to roll back onto his back from his tummy . . . and now he's all over the place. Just the other day, Jae placed him down on his mat and stepped away for a minute. She then returned to find Caleb on the other side of the living room. That little guys really bookin it. Just look at that grin on his face. It's got, "I'm gettin into everything once I learn how to crawl." written all over it.

Besides his new found mobility, Caleb's grown to a size that fits his first pair of overalls. Poor fella, he's entirely at this mommy's mercy as he acts as mommy's dress-up doll. Mommy's latest obsession . . . overalls. I'm a bit bias, of course, but I have to say, Caleb look very dapper in his new pair of denims. Check out the latest photos.

Caleb hoppin around with mommy. Love it!


More giggles with mommy.


Testing out his sea legs. Woah . . . wobbly.


Ah, much better.

There's that silly little grin. :/


And my favorite. "Heads-up!"


"Hip-hip, horray!!!"


And finally, Caleb's oh-so longing eyes. I think acting school may be in his future.

Sweet Dreams

Doug and I have taken to feeding our Calebi together for his late night 11pm feeding. As I sat burping him, I couldn't resist snuggling him as he fell asleep again in my arms. Caleb is so sweet when he sleeps.

I've been begging Doug to take a picture of Caleb as he sleep because he is just so precious. I love it when he is spread eagle in his crib and he put both hand behind his heads and makes each of his chubby arms look just like two sausage links stuck together. We haven't been able to get that shot because of course, when he sleeps the low light condition means bad condition for pics. Well, we really kinda tortured him while he slept for these pictures -- opening blinds and turning on lights as he slept peacefully in my arms. Poor kiddo! But at least God knows what we needed this weekend. I will remember these pics forever.

Caleb-oo's ten little piggys!

Give Me My Rice Cereal!!

Ok this past weekend was the first time Caleb tried rice cereal and he ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! Give me, give me, GIVE ME!! Actually it looks like Mama wanted to eat some too . . . No, Mama, its all MINE!

July 4th - Picking Tomatoes at RicRock Farm

We celebrated blazing July 4th day by packing up the car with Caleb, Joshie and Lydia and heading for Farmersville, TX to pick some fresh grown tomatoes and a gigantic watermelon at RicRock Farms. Boy, it was hot day! We ended up with 10lbs of tomatoes . . . hey, that's a lot of spagetthi sauce! Calebi did ok - but he is out growing that Baby Bjorn . . . lots of grunts as Mama carried him around with his chubby legs sticking out.

"Hi Uncle Douga!"












"Look what I caught in the melon patch!"



















"Calebi wants to lift the watermelon, too!"



















"Look, Calebi! Tomatoes, ooooh!"



















"Mama, I wuv you!" "I love you too, gomdori-guy."

5 1/2 Month and the Adventure of the Jumperoo

I can't believe this little guy is already 5 1/2 months! Time has gone by so quickly. He so loves his Jumperoo Activity Center and jumps around exuberantly -- compared to the first time we tried it and he just stood on his tip-toes like a ballet dancer with a confused look on his face, "Now, what do you want me to do?" Caleb-oo is always the thinker and he finally figured it out.

"Hmm, I think I got it!"

Happy First Father's Day

Caleb got his Daddy such a great gift for Father's Day! Doug wanted a BBQ smoker and have been often dreaming about BBQ ribs, brisket, sausage, salmon, bok choy . . . what else can be smoked? Well on Father's Day, Doug got this present from Caleboo . . ."HAPPY FIRST FATHER'S DAY, SUPER DAD!" His card sang a little song:

"Oh, oobee doo
I wanna be like you, hoop dee do be do
I wanna walk like you
Talk like you, too
You'll see it's true"

Wild Flowers!

The city of Richardson plants a large field of wild flowers in front of the public library every Spring, so we thought we'd take Caleb out for a little family photo shoot.

Here's some pics from that beautiful Sunday afternoon.