clapping

I've been wondering, for a couple weeks now, when he might start clapping, and had several failed attempts to get him to try it out. It wasn't until we went to visit Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Chris that he even showed he might want to. We were told that Kayleigh (Caleb's 13-day younger cousin) has been for a while, so Grandma went right ahead and taught him how... in just a few hours!

I loved Cindy's version of the song: "Patty-cake, patty-cake, baker's man. Bake me a cake as fast as you can.... Rooolll 'em and rooolll 'em, and throw-'em-away!" Just slightly off, but she did with such enthusiasm that Caleb was having a ball. He was a pro at the patty cake game by the end of the second night, as shown here.

He's so casual about it, like he didn't just perfect the most complex skill known to 9-month-olds in a few days. Thank you Grandma for your tutelage.

Finger Food 101

You can tell when he's being spoon fed, that he wants to feed himself. He has some ceral puffs available, but they have wheat and oats in them and we think he might be allergic (at least to the oats - he can't stomach anything with oatmeal in it). So we'd better try something else. How 'bout steamed sweet potatoes?



Oh yeah, he likes those. Tomorrow we'll try bananas for breakfast, maybe some squash and carrots later? The possibilities are... exciting, but not endless I'm afraid. I'm very fortunate this baby is pretty easy to please.

while packing

I'm really starting to feel like a military wife with all this packing and moving and settling in, just to have to start over again because plans changed. Doing all this with a baby boy running around unchecked is even more of an experience, but it had it's entertaining moments...

I put out this empty diaper box with the idea that Caleb might want to play inside it (you know how kids are with boxes), but instead, our little explorer saw that it had potential for climbing. I snapped this picture right before the cardboard gave way and he went sliding down to the floor.



There was only so much room in the car for all the items that were going into storage, so I had to make several trips over the span of four days to get everything packed up to drive out there. Every time I went outside I closed the front door so Caleb wouldn't get out. He'd get mad that I left, come crawling to the door, then kneel beside it and try to open it (sometimes successfully if it was still open a crack), so I couldn't get back in the house without knocking him over. I decided it was best then to just leave the door open so he could keep an eye on me, and he loves being out where there's sunshine and birds and trees and so many unfamiliar things to look at.

At first he just sat there, looking around and taking in the scenery, being a good boy... Then he saw the grass and the mud, and like any other little boy, he wanted to get dirty. I could've said "yuck!" and made him stay inside and out of the mess, but I decided as long as he kept the filth out of his mouth, I didn't mind him having a little fun.





I'm glad he can keep himself entertained and stay out of trouble for the most part while I get us all packed up. Now I can only hope he can do the same on the car ride back to the homeland this weekend. We're leaving on the 2nd, hoping to be there by the 5th, so we'll be seeing some of you soon!

that's what you get

"Caleb, if you play with the socks while I'm trying to sort them, I'm gonna put them on your hands. That's right. What are you gonna do now?"

getting into everything

Note to self: don't leave box filled with mini bags of chips unattended while 7-month-old is on the loose. At least he's happy, and it was an easy clean-up.

Since he learned how to stand up two weeks ago, he's been testing his limits on everything he can get his hands and elbows on. The bed, the couch, the cupboards... mommy's jeans. He'll follow me into the kitchen when I'm doing dishes or cooking and use my legs to hoist himself into a standing or at least kneeling position and tug at my pants. He's lucky if I notice him creeping up on me before I accidentally knock him over. He can even open doors if they're left open a crack. We try to keep him out of the bathroom because it's "yuck," so of course that's where he wants to go more than anything. He's so inquisitive.

He's been tearing at all the books on the bottom shelf since he realized they were there, and now he can reach the second shelf. What's a mom to do? I know! Give him an old magazine he can go to town on and we'll both be happy. Seriously, he loves pages, and hearing them crinkle and rip. Thank goodness it's not one of my Twilight books!



Check out the do. And check out this face Michael's making! Right when I was pushing the button to take this picture, Caleb let out a rather gravely burp. The daddy gets easily grossed out by those kind of things - which means he hasn't changed a poopy diaper in about 7 months - but it also gave us this priceless photo.

congratulations Michael

Michael received a Good Conduct Medal at his three-year mark, which means he hasn't gotten in trouble for anything since he joined the Marine Corps on September 11th, 2006. He's been through all that intense training and stress and long hours without ever being late, or violent, or drunk, or even so much as getting pulled over by a cop. As easy as it would've been to sleep in fifteen minutes, or go 5 mph over the speed limit, or not do the extra two hours of work when he just got home from thirteen... he always did what he was supposed to. I know he didn't want to get punished for doing anything like that, but he also didn't want to let me and Caleb down, and for that I am very greatful. I've heard horror stories of guys that lost their pay and had to stay in the barracks for 45 days because of stupid decisions like underage drinking, and their wives had to suffer with them. I'm glad I never have to worry about ever being in that situation, because Michael is such a good, responsible, and disciplined man.

toy box

I used to put a couple small toys here and there around the livingroom for Caleb to find and hopefully keep him entertained. Now he's on to bigger and better things, like weaving through the furnature and kicking the oven because it makes a loud noise. But look, he's paying a visit to his toy box again, picking out one colorful hunk of plastic and fabric after another just for the pleasure of having the indipendence to do so. I guess I'll have to get used to an unnecessary number of toys on the ground from now on.

da-da

I've been working with Caleb for over a week, drilling him on his D's so he can learn the second most important name he'll ever say. He would watch my mouth so carefully, and mimmick what my tongue was doing in my mouth, then finally he put his voice behind it and out it came... "Da-Da!" It was so beautiful.

That was five days ago and he hasn't stopped saying it since. I'm a little jealous, but mostly happy that Michael can now feel the same pride that I've enjoyed the last month and a half, that Caleb seems to know who we are and what he wants from us. He still says ma-ma when he's sad or tired or hungry, and da-da's more of a playtime word... go figure. I think he really likes how it sounds, and so do I.

And man can that boy jump!

a couple late announcements

I just realized that I failed to make two very important announcements at the end of July. The first and happiest was the arrival of Caleb's newest cousin, Danielle Louise Gemmer, on July 29th. She's beautiful and lucky to be part of such a wonderful family. I so can't wait to meet her next month.



The next is that Michael found out he has to go to Afghanistan afterall, sometime at the end of October, so the three of us will be coming to Washington on his pre-deployment leave in a few weeks. Caleb and I will be sticking around while he's away, and then come next September our happy family will be together forever :).

climbing

It started off as something so small...

Then a few hours later...

Jeez Caleb, where did that come from? Pretty soon he'll be climbing onto the countertops to reach the cookie jar.

whisked away

I haven't published anything in a week because, well, it's been a rough week.

From mid-day Firday to Monday morning, Caleb had a nasty fever (it got to 105.1 Saturday night) so our weekend was full of holding a sick baby, letting him roll around wearing nothing but a diaper and a wet washcloth on his head (wish I would've gotten pictures!), trying to get him to eat or drink anything, letting him sleep on us or else not at all, being thrown up on a few times, and a couple cool baths - for me and him. It slowly burned off though. Then Tuesday brought a rash of some sort, spread over his whole body no less.

At least when he was sick or presumably itchy, I understood why he was constantly fussy, but since he got better... his crying has just gotten worse. He's gotten especially good at crawling towards me, tugging at my pant leg and saying "Ma-ma," which is so very pathetic, and adorable. He truly isn't happy unles I'm holding him, and even then he wants to be walked around, or squirming in my arms. I didn't think I could possible have any patience left, but luckily, it came to me anyway.

He's showing signs of improvement, and it gives me hope that this is just a phase... a state of spoiled rotten-ness. Thank goodness! Because I don't know that my shoulders, elbows, and wrists were made for a juggling act with a 21-pound baby.... So this last week has been pictureless because any shot I might've taken of him wouldd've captured him crying, or pouting at the least.

Then this evening when Michael said "Hey, look what he's doing," I had to whip out the camera. All three bags of fresh, local veggies from the farmer's market were still laying out on the floor, waiting to be peeled and pureed (I let him play with the plasting bags as long as he has his pacifier in, and is being supervised), and I guess he got a better hold of one than he bargained for. It was presently being dragged behind him while he made his way towards a "toy" when his daddy saw what was going on. I guess he got his arm through the hole, turned and scooted away, and the bag came with!

The reason behind the whisk is that he seems to be getting bored with his own toys, and is therefore getting into things he shouldn't. So I strategically place non-toy items - usally kitchen gadgets and tupperware - about the room and he's just fascinated with them. This one was an especially good find.

not so toothless grin

Will you look at those teeth!

And look at that belly. You can tell he's eating well, thanks to those little chompers.



And the scooting commences.

And the momma's not the only one feeding the baby anymore.

Michael: "Quick, take a picture of me feeding Caleb so your mom stops thinking I don't do anything."

Me: "I know, I was just about to."

*click*

Me: "Sheesh, don't look so serious."

Michael: "I'm concentrating!"



"Brush-a brush-a brush-a, brush your little teethers."

I think he likes how it feels. He smiles every time. Would you believe that little jumper he's wearing is a size 12 months. Better yet, the onesie is 18 months... Crazy.

just for laughs

Scarey Caleb!

"Hey, what's this weird barrier between me and mom?"





Silly Caleb.

not cooperating

He's usually a champ at eating (if I get the timing and the consistency just right in preparing his rice cereal) but today, not so much. I'm guessing his lack of interest in the food was a mixture between failure on my part, and Caleb's new favorite past-time... blowing raspberries. He's been doing it for about a week, pretty much since he started cutting teeth. It's usually pretty cute, but a little less so when you end up feeding the bib more than the baby.

I just love the tongue action here.

He's getting better at sitting, but everything else that goes with it is coming a little more slowly.

It was pretty silly when he couldn't figure out how to sit up straight again. Then right after this video was taken, his toy got too far away... He just kept reaching and reaching, but he could only go so far with his legs underneath him like that. I tried to sit there like a good mother and let him figure it out himself, but he got really frustrated and I had to help him out. Poor little guy.

And of course, what would floor travel be without a little discovery, mostly of things he shouldn't be getting into. I'm pleased with his apparent interest in books, but I don't think those books can say the same thing. "But mom, they're so tastey, and it sounds cool when I tear and crumple up the pages." Looks like it's time to invest in some cardboard decoys.

Mmhm, act all innocent too.

my boys

I love seeing these two together.

teeeeeth!

First I saw - and then I felt - two little baby teeth in Caleb's big ol' mouth this morning. I'm not gonna lie, that made me pretty happy. Every time I saw them I got so excited and said "Caleb, look! You have teeth!" He'd smile at me and I'd smile back, then he's smile even bigger, and so on. All was bliss. Then he bit me when he was nursing and my smile became a scowl. His surprised look slowly curved up into a mischeivous grin... *sigh*... and my face reluctantly mirrored it.

You can't really see them in any of the pictures I have of him. You can tell they're still bothering him, and it's hard to get him to smile for long enough to show them off, especially without blurage. They're both on the bottom, front and center. I'll try to get a good shot of them soon.

6 months

He's on the move!

I'm afraid I completely flaked out when it came to documenting Caleb's "rolling" phase. I would just like to clarify that a couple weeks ago, he could travel the entire length of the living room in about thirt seconds. Now that he's mastered "scooting" however, he doesn't roll as much. This new form of transprtation lets him keep his eyes on his target (sometimes toys, but more often shoes, wires, remotes, etc.), and he always uses the same technique - he bear-crawls with his elbows and shoves himself forward with his left leg, while his right leg trails along in the air behind him. This gives me the vague hunch that he might be a leftie. We'll see.

It's interesting to see him learning how to use his toys, and appreciate the fun in them, instead of merely banging on them or attempting to cover them in slobber. Michael commented on how cool it is that he's catching on to a lot of things. Yesterday, Caleb discovered our small kitchen (in his attempt to get around the pillow-barrier we set up around a laptop and it's corresponding wires), which abruptly leads to the bedroom. I guess the hope of keeping him manageable in the livingroom is gone. Perhaps my days of care-free motherhood are limited, and I should be preparing for the loss of my sanity. For now though, I think I'll just enjoy spending time with my curious companion

"Wait a sec... What's that cool shiney thing mommy's holding? I see that thing a lot. Not that she's so close, I think I'll take a better look."

The other day, I braved going within his reach to give him a kiss and pulled away smiling at his fuzzy figure, realizing too late that he had very sneakily removed my glasses from my face and was waving them proudly at me.

At 6 months, he now weighs 19 pounds 7 ounces, and measures 27 inches. He's a bit heavier than he is long (according to the baby percentile charts) but how else could he hang on to those glorious rolls? I make it my priority to spoil him rotten with attention and affection, and stare at him with loving eyes as often as I can. Luckily both of those goals are fulfilled fairly easily. I also try to feed him as much as he could possibly want, but I feel like he might be getting a little impatient with nursing. Or maybe I'm just getting impatient with his inability to concentrate.

He's so wonderful I can hardly stand it, much less get used to it. I think that's a good thing though, not to expect it, though it's always been the norm. That way I continue to be amazed and always appreciative, that this little boy is in my life, and that I have the pleasure of being his momma.

I wish I could say the same for that poor rubber duckie.