Up Home

My childhood is filled with many memories of trips "Up Home" - that is to say Ellijay, the place where both my maternal grandparents were born and raised.  I fondly recall family reunions at Fort Mountain, homecoming at the small church down the road from the house where my grandmother grew up, rides on the four wheeler down dirt roads and across the creek, and playing on the tire swing behind my Great Grandma Sales' house.  The drive up was always filled with Papaw singing along with the old gospel songs playing in the old station wagon, and the highlight of the trip home was always the stop at the local Dairy Queen for some ice cream (but only after Papaw received his payment: one kiss on the cheek).  I remember being scared to go to the bathroom at my Aunt Mary Ruth and Uncle Don's house because of the stuffed hawk I had to pass on the way.  I remember exploring old dirt roads for no other purpose than to see what was at the other end and to find some of those beautiful orange lilies that grow so well on the side of the road to dig up and bring home to plant.  And the food.  Oh, the food.  It was always some of the best food I had ever put into my mouth.  Maybe it was that it was all freshly grown in the garden or maybe it was that it was always so lovingly prepared and offered, but either way, I would always fall asleep on the way home with a full belly and a happy heart.  But as good as the food was, it was always outdone by the people who prepared it.  Hard-working, humble, unpretentious, kindhearted, salt-of-the-earth people.  The type of people who squeezed you like they meant it when they hugged you.  The kind of people who would give you the shirt off their back - without you asking and with a smile.  Needless to say, I'm proud to say that this place and these people are where I come from.
Caleb was able to finally make his first trip to Ellijay just a few weeks ago to see the place that holds such a prominent place in my heart.  Here he is playing with his cousin Logan.  These pictures pretty well show Logan's personality:  non-stop energy.

And here are four generations:  Mamaw, my mom, me, and Caleb.

I hope and pray that Caleb will come to appreciate what a special place "Up Home" is and will strive to be like the people who make it so special. 

9 Months Already!

This past week Caleb turned nine months old!  And it seems like in just a short amount of time, he went from being a baby who didn't really do much to a baby who wants to get into everything...and I mean EVERYTHING.  Any trinket within sight, he gets his heart set on holding (and chewing on).  He'll lunge with his entire body until it's in his grasp, and once he has it, he holds on for dear life with his grip of steel.  He's slammed his hand into my bowl of soup, sending soup and my spoon flying.  He's knocked more than one bowl of baby food from my hand.  I've had to pry his little hands from the mailbox door and flag and then pull the mail away from his mouth.  Frankly, all of this sudden burst of activity has me a little nervous.  I have a feeling he's going to hit the ground running when he starts crawling and walking.
Speaking of crawling, we're still working on that.  He can sit up without support now, and he will occasionally go from sitting to his belly in order to grab a toy.  He'll hold himself up on all fours for a few moments, and, when being helped, he'll push off one leg at a time while in tummy time to sort of scoot forward a little.  But no official crawling yet, which I am fine with.

He's still generally very happy and loves to smile and laugh.  He's really started playing with his toys, and he can stay busy for a while figuring out how a toy works.  He knows how to hit the button to open and close the garage door and gets more joy from doing so than I ever even thought possible. When I ask, "Where's Mommy's nose?", he'll reach his hand out and grab my nose. 

And of course, his favorite time is bath time.  He and Daddy have a good time splashing and playing and squealing (as far as I know, it's only Caleb who squeals, not Tony).  Since there is not much that's cuter than a baby in a bath, here are some recent pictures from bath time:

Lather, rinse, repeat.

"You're gonna do what with these pictures?"

All clean and dry.

 At our 9 month check-up at the doctor last week, the doctor told us that Caleb was 80th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height.  And that's compared to other nine month old babies who were full term.  Considering that he was so early and so tiny, I'd say that he's catching up!