Helmet-Free and Lovin' Life

This past Tuesday we were given the all clear to remove the big blue helmet from our baby's noggin once and for all.  It was not very cuddly, it sure did hurt when it was banged up against my chin, and the smell was quite repulsive...But it did its job:
Before the helmet, there was a definite flat spot and uneven growth.

 Now, his head is as round as the blueberries he likes to eat for breakfast!

Anyone in the market for a used helmet?

Swing Into Spring

Spring is in full bloom (finally!), and after such a long and frigid winter, we're spending as much time as we can outside.  Our new favorite outdoors pastime:  swinging!  We've made it to the neighborhood playground...

Caleb thoroughly enjoyed his ride on the bucket swings.

Don't you just love how his mouth is wide open whenever he's having fun?
We also tried a trip down the slide (in Mommy's lap).

He wasn't quite so sure about the slide yet.
We also have a swing in our very backyard that we make use of on a daily basis lately...

Whenever we approach the door to go outside, Caleb's little legs start kicking up and down, and his little face lights up.  I'm not sure who loves Spring more...Caleb or his mom.
Here are some other cute pictures from this Spring:

"What is this thing on my head?"

"I do look really cool with this on!  Now how do I grow a beard like that?"

"More sweet potatoes, please!"

"Do I have something on my face?"

Sleeping like a baby.

Still sleepy.

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! 

Tales from the Crib

We have one of those fancy monitors where not only can you hear what's going on
inside baby's room but you can also see what shenanigans baby is up to.  It's nice being able to check in on him without having to open his door and risk waking him, but many times, we also get a laugh at what we see. Here are a few of my favorites:
The "Roller Coaster Ride":

 The "Walk Like an Egyptian":

The "Bear Head" (my personal favorite):

Our baby has morphed into a bear baby!

I know how ridiculous it sounds, but I have come to believe that this monitor not only transmits information for us to see but it somehow also sends sights and sounds from our end back to Caleb's room.  All too often, this is what I see:
The "Mom Stop Taking Pictures of the Monitor and Come Get Me":

Needless to say, I am always now very careful not to be too loud around the  monitor and not to shake it or move it a lot, and I never, never look at it for more than three seconds at a time.  Trust me on this one.  For some reason which I can't explain, doing any of those things always results in waking the baby.  Am I just crazy or has anyone else had this experience, too?

Shop Til You Drop

I've heard all the horror stories.  Other moms have relayed to me the screaming, the tantrums, the meltdowns, the hissy fits.  I've listened with rapt attention as moms have told their harrowing experiences at the grocery store with their little ones.  Most stories involved leaving your full grocery cart in the middle of the frozen foods section while you ran from the store, hoping that the store employees will forgive you both for disturbing their peaceful work environment and for leaving a cart full of groceries for them to put back.  After these stories, I would always resolve NEVER to bring my child to the grocery store.  At least not until he can behave appropriately in public.  Actually seeing such episodes while shopping myself only strengthened my resolve.
That is until last Thursday morning.  Don't ask me why.  It just seemed like a good idea.  Caleb awoke from his morning nap, and I needed to make my weekly run to Publix.  Why not?  So I broke out the never-been-used shopping cart cover and headed to the store, baby in tow. 
As soon as I slid Caleb's legs into the two holes in the cart and the sliding glass doors invited us in, all of the stories came rushing back to me, and I almost turned back around.  But Caleb was in a good mood, and we needed some more bananas.  So off we went. 
I can proudly report that not once did Caleb fuss or whine or cry while at the store.  In fact, he was all smiles because his mom was smiling and talking to him the whole time. 

So it looks like we'll be making more trips to the store together...that is until I test fate one too many times, and I become the mom running from the store in tears.  If you see me then, please tell the nice Publix workers sorry for me. 

My Snow Angel

The snow arrived today!  So we found the warmest thing Caleb owned (which just so happened to make him look like a cute little snow monster), and we headed out for some fun in the snow.

Caleb wasn't quite sure what to make of it all.  He just quietly observed everything while periodically sticking his tongue out to catch some falling snow flakes.

 And we had to make snow angels, of course!

Meanwhile, Tony found a fallen tree in the backyard.  What do you do with a fallen tree in your backyard?  Engage in a Rocky-style workout, naturally!

 Lunges across the yard!  Caleb, I hope you're taking notes on how this is done...

 

Mommy's got it, too!  All those times I make Caleb fly overhead are paying off.  (Seriously, the tree was long dead and probably weighed no more than 20 pounds - light weight in comparison to our big boy!)

By the time we were ready to go inside, Caleb's cheeks were all rosy and he had snow flakes resting on his sweet eye lashes. 

One more family photo with the backyard gnome before we went inside to get warm by the fire...