Memories to last a lifetime

Last weekend we made it up to Jersey so Caleb could meet his Great Grandma Mitchell, or Granny as we all call her. She's 90 now, has suffered multiple strokes, but was still able to come all the way out from California to meet the little guy. I really never thought the day would come, but the trip was just one blessing after another. Caleb did so well considering the schedule changes, constant stimulation, and strange people holding him. He's just at such a great age right now-- funny and active, yet still small enough that he was able to sit on her lap. Great, all this blogging about my Granny has me teary-eyed. I think this calls for a slideshow:

Happy birthday to ME!

I know it's been about 3 weeks since I've updated... and people are getting antsy (as they should be). Nothing much is going on in my brain at the moment other than the sheer excitement of getting Chic-fil-a for my birthday tonight. The timing works out perfectly too, as I promised myself fast food after I had lost 20lbs... and yes, I reached that mark just this morning. I'm incredible.

An update on my little guy. He's getting so big... 8 1/2 months already! Time really does just fly by. His bottom two pearly whites are shining with glory, and sharp as can be. He's crawling to the top of the stairs, and just started standing for limited amounts of time on his own. Everyday Brian and I make comments on how blessed we are to have him a part of our lives. I can't really remember life before him... but I doubt it was much fun :-)

Coming up next is Jersey for 4 days over Memorial Day. After that I'm sure I'll have something more exciting to report. Hope that satisifies you all enough for the time being.

Fun day in Ocean City

We spent the afternoon at the beach today. My friend Christie, whom I met in childbirth class, has a daughter, Mackenzie, who's less than 3 weeks younger than Caleb. They get along really well, so with the nice weather we ventured down the boarwalk today. Though more time was spent gobbing on the sunscreen, and on sporadic feedings, it was such a lovely afternoon.
We even made it over to the Osh Kosh outlet! So much fun, & so many cute clothes... but I restrained my buying compulsion. Needless to say, Brian was impressed. My restraints rewarded me when I got home though... UPS has come two days in a row to bring my Baby Gap orders... obsessed much? Possibly... but come this summer, we'll have some cute beach pictures of Caleb in his new swim trunks, and it'll all be justified :-)
On a sad note... poor Brian is sick, and we're trying desperately to keep the house de-germed. Tonight Caleb was wearing his "Little Guy" shirt from my brother & family. Brian has a matching "Big Guy" one, so he was sporty and put it on for a few pictures. Doesn't get much cuter than this!

...I think I'm going to enjoy summer!

No title could explain my love for life...

Before Caleb was born, the obsessive-compulsive part of me worried that I wouldn't be able to deal with the simple "everyday messes" well. Dirtyness tends to stress me out in an extreme way, but I didn't want to be one of those parents whos kid had to look "perfect" at all times. To my surprise, this has now become pure perfection in my eyes. Thanks to God for bringing my neuroticisms under control :-)
Though the past week has been quite sleep deprived, I'm learning to relish every moment of it. The little guy's recently been waking up 3-5x a night... but I'd be uncomfortable too if I had two little teeth poking through my gums. One has finally cut through... the other just moments away. I've tried to get pictures of this momentous event, but it's proven hard considering he's now constantly crawling everywhere. Shoes seem to be his preferred destination, and no matter where I put them... he finds them. I absolutely love watching Caleb discover new things. There's no greater feeling than seeing the smile he gives me as he accomplishes something new.

In summation: I absolutely adore my son, I love my husband to the fullest, and though I'm undeserving, God blesses my life in miraculous ways.

It's official.... he's mobile.

As promised, I got the crawling footage.... complete with my pitiful shaky camera skills:

Spring has arrived!!

What a beautiful day it was! Everyone's grass is freshly mowed (...or needs to be), and trees are starting to bud! Caleb had his first swing ride at Grandma & Grandad's after Josiah's dedication today. Of course, he had his "outdoor face" on the entire time. A mix of confusion, wonder, and the sun in his eyes. It never changes, and it's adorable.
Tonight another landmark event occured. Yes, we achieved crawling status! Of course, my goal the rest of the evening was to get it on camera, which definitely wasn't in the cards. Soon I'll proudly have a video of it to post on here though.
This weekend I also got to have a girls night with Savannah! It's quite rare that I don't have my hip attachment along, and I missed him so terribly... but Brian did a marvelous job with him all evening. Even got him to take a nap-- needless to say I was quite impressed.
Now it's time to get back to watching the democratic presidential Compassion Forum on CNN. My good old Messiah College is hosting it... so I suppose I'll hear them out. But I'm still voting for my man McCain!! While we're on the subject, is it odd that I'm starting to feel withdrawal symptoms from the lack of primaries in the past month? Gosh I'm such a politics nerd...

My week in review

We spent last weekend up in Jersey with my family. As we all know, I always come home sad... longing to live up there, but know financially that may never happen. We were kinda worried it would be a rough car wide with Caleb & Belle in the backseat (of my 2 door Honda), but for the most part the trip was a success. I just adore my family. Being around my niece & nephews (minus Tanja who's in Cali for college) really made me realize how fast childhood goes by though. They're all still such little kids to me, but in reality, are now 19, 12, 10, 9, 8, 6, & 5....geez. Soon they'll be teenagers... and I know that means Caleb will be someday as well. Lets not think about that quite yet though.

Caleb went through a major "look what I can do now" spurt last week. New tricks include: pulling himself up to a standing position, pulling himself from laying to sitting, and we finally started hearing the "Dadada, Mamama, Bababa's". He's constantly trying to stand, ends up playing on his knees half the time, and seems just days away from crawling. *Sigh...* I love it, but it does just come and go so quickly. Wasn't it just a few months ago that he did nothing but lay there like a blob?

Oh, and an update on his follow-up with the surgeon... the culture came back. *Drumroll...* bacteria being: MRSA. I just kinda shook it off, as I had expected those results. Anywho, all is healing perfectly. The incision is basically closed up already, and we were able to stop the oral antibiotics. Now both of us are just taking the nasal one, and that should be the end of it! Unless it happens again, which no one could tell us. Seems there's a lot the doctors still don't know about it. But we're getting Brian tested too to make sure he isn't a carrier. SO, I hope this is the last time I need to mention "MRSA" for a long, long time.

Last bit of news for today... I reached the 15 pound mark in my diet yesterday! It's been 6 weeks and I'm still goin' strong. I'm finally now back to my pre-pregnancy weight (which wasn't much to be proud of in the first place), and only have 10 more 'til I reach my final goal (wedding day weight). It's the first time I've ever dieted "healthily". Sometimes I actually enjoy working out... and after the soda withdrawal had passed, it hasn't been as difficult as I had imagined. For this reason, I'm declaring myself AWESOME. The end.