Rejoicing Over Him With Singing

For all of you who don't know my husband, he's not a singing and dancing kind of guy.  He despises musicals ("It's so unrealistic that everyone just starts singing out of nowhere like that," he says), and he will usually avoid dancing at all costs (much to my disappointment).  He is also the most selfless person I know - often, if not always, putting others' wishes, desires, and needs before his own.
I first learned of his selfless nature and his aversion to dancing soon after our first date.  You see, our first date was when he came with me to the Barrister's Ball (aka, law school prom), where I of course wanted to dance the night away.  Without uttering so much as a single complaint, he proceeded to dance with me for HOURS.  Now we're not talking about slow, romantic dancing - I'm pretty sure there was not one slow song played the entire night.  We're talking upbeat, REAL dancing.  The next day I remember thinking, "Wow, Tony must really like to dance!"  It was only later that I learned the truth:  Tony really doesn't like dancing - he only did it because it made me happy and because he loved me.  Years later I still look back in amazement at just how much he loved me, even back then.

At the Barrister's Ball

Fast forward over eight years, and I still see my sweet husband treating others better than he himself even expects to be treated.  That's especially true with Caleb.  He takes care of him and plays with him when he gets home from his grueling job, and he even takes care of our boy his entire day off from work so that I can go into the office.  On bath days, Tony gives the baby his bath while I'm usually cooking dinner.  I've never once heard him complain.
The other day I was in the other room, and I heard a soft singing coming from Caleb's room.  My manly, non-musical husband was singing to our baby (probably Skillet or Pearl Jam or something like that, but singing nonetheless)!  I've never heard him really sing, aside from in church or in jest.  It made my heart overflow with love for them both.
It also made me think of the verse from Zephaniah:
"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."  (Zephaniah 3:17)
It was a beautiful picture of how Almighty God, the creator of the universe, takes great delight in us and rejoices over us in singing. 

Caleb, one day when you're older, I  hope you read this, and realize just how much your daddy loves you, even right from the beginning.  Even more importantly, I pray that you see your father's great love for you as only a mere drop in the bucket compared to your Heavenly Father's immense love for you.

Surprise Vacation

How often have you been so preoccupied with your busy schedule and responsibilities that you completely forgot that you had an upcoming vacation?  If you're like us, that's never happened to you.  Or at least never until we became parents.
Although we had planned early in the year to take a week of vacation at the beginning of October, with the whirlwind that has become our norm, we completely forgot about it until just the week before when Tony's work reminded him of his time off.  While we were certainly up for some rest and relaxation at the shore, the real questions was, "are we ready to take a baby to the beach?"  The conclusion we came to:  why not!
So we packed up our car with all the baby gear that we required (plus the baby) and headed down to Blue Mountain Beach, near Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.  Caleb handled the drive down like a champ - only fussing when it was time to eat (like his mom). 
The first stop once we arrived?  The beach, of course!

Caleb's first view of the beach (he did eventually open his eyes)

Daddy and Caleb at the beach

Mommy and Caleb enjoying the water

 It took us about 45 minutes to get all of our stuff (including all the baby stuff that we would need) ready to head to the beach each day and to walk there, and when we got there, we were lucky if we could stay an hour before Caleb indicated that he was ready to go home.  We pretty much kept him hidden underneath an umbrella to shield him from the sun and breeze, but he could handle only so much once it started getting hot out. 

"This sand is kind of comfy..."

 We also took a trip to Destin where we explored the docks.

Feeling nautical

 Mommy enjoyed a vacation from cooking each night.  We ate at a Mexican restaurant one night, and when we saw this, we couldn't resist...

"Stay thirsty, my friends."

 We went on sunrise walk/runs...

 Mostly, we just chilled and enjoyed our time together.

Overall, I would say the trip was a success.  Yes, it was a lot of work, and, yes, it was certainly different from our pre-baby vacations.  But it was a lot of fun, too, and we look forward to many more family trips with our boy in the future!

That Smile!

Parenting a newborn is perhaps one of the more thankless jobs in the world.  We've put in our hours (many of them at zero dark thirty) feeding and changing and feeding and playing and feeding. But until recently, we had received no sign that our boy appreciated all our efforts, no inkling that he even liked us.  Of course, he would stop crying when we picked him up or appeared with a full bottle, but his expression was always rather apathetic.  We could make funny faces and silly sounds all day long with no hint of a smile from him.  Until a few weeks ago.
We were eating dinner (Caleb in his rocker next to the table), when he decided that we had put in our penance and that we were worthy of his smile.  The big, gummy smile lit up his face and the whole room with it.  You would have thought that our baby had just jumped up and danced a jig by how ecstatic we were!  Tony and I both saw it and were in agreement that it in fact was a REAL smile directed towards us.  There was no time for picture taking, as the smile only lasted seconds and then disappeared as suddenly as it arrived.
Over the next few weeks, the smiles (and coos) increased so that now they are a regular occurrence.  We've finally received compensation for all our labors!  It was totally worth the wait.
Here are a few pictures that we managed to capture (not the best quality pictures, but we have to act fast when the smiles appear!):

Dream Smile

Being silly with RaRa

Eating time always brings a smile to his face!

"They might not need me; but they might.  I'll let my head be just in sight; a smile as small as mine might be precisely their necessity." - Emily Dickinson

Two Months Together

It's hard to believe it's already been two months since our precious son was placed in our care!  At times, it's been a sleepy and joyful whirlwind of feeding, burping, changing, and visiting with family and friends.  Then other times, the seconds seem to tick by slower than ever (usually at a 3 a.m. feeding when I'm doing all I can to keep my eyes open!). Either way, with each passing second, we've only grown to love Caleb more and more.
Here's a quick synopsis of what we've been up to over the past two months:
The law required that we remain in Alabama with Caleb until we were approved by both Alabama and Georgia to return home.  While we waited, a friend of a friend of a friend offered to let us (complete strangers) stay with her and her family.  She just so happened to live in the very same town in which the adoption agency was located, so our first car trip with Caleb was a short one.  We had a hard time getting him into the car seat, but we finally got it right!

So tiny!

From the moment we entered Ms. Jane's house, we felt as though we were in our home away from home.  It was like a mini-vacation, really (with a newborn baby, of course).  We had a comfortable room, a beautiful view of the lake in her backyard, and great company.  She also cooked some delicious meals for us while we were there.  Oh and did I mention that she just so happens to be a professor of nursing at a local college and that she used to be a NICU nurse?  Not many new moms get the luxury of a live-in NICU nurse for the first week of caring for their new baby!  She was great about answering my questions and checking out little things I was concerned about.  She also showed us how to properly give Caleb a bath.  I attribute our bath time success to her...

Ms. Jane and Caleb

Happy at Bath Time

From the moment we arrived back home, our family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances have showered us with love, meals, gifts, and prayers.  We have never felt so loved!

Praying for Us at Our Church Shower

My friend Ashley made this for us.

Sweet Friends

Rockmart Shower

Rockmart Shower

The Lovely Hostesses of One of Our Showers

Needless to say, because of everyone's generosity, I think we're set on diapers and baby clothes for a while!
We've also had SO many visitors!  I don't think I've ever been this popular...

Baby Staring Contest

One thing I know for sure: Caleb is loved by so many wonderful people!
Here are some other things that we've experienced in these first two months:

Baby's First Trip to the Pool

We just sat in the shade by the pool, but I have a feeling next summer it will be a different story.

 Checker finally got close enough to Caleb to check out what this little, noisy thing was.

I think he decided that he was ok.

Caleb got to cheer on the Bulldogs for the first time.  He may have slept through the game, but at least he was dressed appropriately.
Caleb has started giving us real smiles.  The first time that we both agreed it was a real smile (while he was awake) was on September 3, 2013.  There are no pictures of them at the moment because they are so fleeting, but we hope to get a shot of one very soon...

Caleb has drank lots of bottles and worn lots of bibs, including this one, my personal favorite.
Daddy and Caleb have taken a nap or two together:

My Babies

Aren't they precious?

Through all of that eating and sleeping, our little bitty baby that looked like this when we first saw his picture...

...now looks like this...

I'd say he's enjoyed his first two months with us!  As for Tony and me, there's no doubt that we've loved every moment with our sweet boy!