16 Months

Caleb you are 16 months!  Mommy and Daddy are so thankful that you are theirs, and in their lives!  We cannot imagine life without you...or even what life was really like before you were in our lives! :)  Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

At 16 months you are really growing and changing...and moving!  You now walk everywhere, never crawling, ever.  You even look like your are running sometimes, you walk so quickly!  You have not fallen hardly at all, you are so very cautious and each step you take is very steady.  We are thankful for this!

Oh Caleb, you are so silly :)  You make us laugh each day with your funny little sense of humor.  You have always had such a great sense of humor, and it continues to grow as you grow.  You are also so animated, and have an expression and sound for every occasion.

You have many words now, you are saying more and more all the time!  Your words have so much meaning now, rather than just repeating a sound.  You say...

"hot" to food when it is warm

"bubble" to bubbles in the bathtub

"uh oh" when you drop something

"oh no" when we say "oh no"

"boom boom" when you drop something or fall on your bottom

"ni ni" to go night night

"nuh nuh" to nurse

and many more, those are some favorites

You love to read and will often bring books to use to read to you, we read many times each day.  Your favorite book right now is The Three Little Kittens.  You love to play, and never sit still.  You get into every cupboard possible, and love to play with pots and pans.

You are now playing pretend with things.  You pretend to stir with a spoon in a bowl and then to eat what you have just stirred.  You also pretend to talk on the phone.  So adorable!

You are really fighting sleep at night, you want to keep playing and have a hard time letting go of the day. 

You are still a great eater and will eat anything!  Well, except for meat, you prefer beans to meat for some reason.  But anything else is great!  You especially love melons, zucchini and broccoli.  A new found favorite is, of course, macaroni and cheese.

You love to dance, and will dance to any music playing.  You have always loved to dance...so I guess the real update is that you have been learning some new dance moves :)  You also still love to sing, as always.  You sing "la dee da dee da la dee da la dee da" it's so precious.  You also still love to strum the guitar.

So many things to update!  You are just so cute, and we love you so much and can't get enough of you...our Boose Bear.  Each day we love spending with you and soak in as we know they are going to go so quickly.  We are thankful for today and thankful that we have been blessed by the gift of you as our little boy!  

Love you Caleb!

13 Months

Your newest face...Mommy says "cheeeessseee" ...

you close your eyes really tight and smile real big. :)

Could it be?  You are 13 months!  It really feels like we just were celebrating your 12 month birthday!  How time flies!  This has been quite the month too, baby boy!  This month you have grown and changed by leaps and bounds! 


You are sleeping right now, Mommy is watching you...as usual :)  Your eyelashes are twice as long as your Daddy's, and his are quite long.  I think you may just have the longest eyelashes known to man.  They are beautiful!  We do think you will have lots of hair one of these days , both Mommy and Daddy have thick, dark hair.  We love your sweet little head, eyelashes, cute button nose, dark soft whisps of hair, smooth kissable cheeks, just perfect, we love you!

You love to say "go-go-go" while crawling around the house, you are "going"! :)  You have also been saying "no-no-no" a lot more to things that you do not like. Such as...getting your face wiped.  You are happy 95% of the day, only a little fussy when tired.  You don't really cry anymore, you just fuss and say "ni-ni" telling us you want to go night night.  We think you are experiencing separation anxiety, we know that the age 12-18 months is a time when most babies do experience this more.  But, we have only seen a little bit of it, then again you are always with Mommy so you haven't had to be stretched in that way.  We anticipated this stage, so we are trying our best to stay near to you.  You do follow Mommy extra close these days and look for her when she may be in another room while you are playing with Daddy.  You also love to pull on her pant legs until she scoops you up.  At times you do not like to be put down and might get your feelings hurt a little if Mommy puts you down when you desire to be snuggled.  So, she just picks you right back up and snuggles you extra close :) 

Likes...
-Pickles,pickles and more pickles...when we are out as a family for dinner, we order you some pickles and you are entertained for the entire meal :)
-Reading books
-Feeding Mommy and Daddy food, we have yet to leave a meal without being offered several bites from you and we have learned our lesson, if we do not take what you offer to us...you throw it on the floor in frustration almost as to say "how could you not eat this!?!" waaaa  and lots of food on the floor.
-Bedtime, you LOVE going to bed and snuggling. 
-Luxuriating on pillows and blankets. 
-Other babies and kiddos
-Music, dancing, and anyone who can beat box or even attempt to beat box. 


 Dislikes...
-Having your face wiped, you'd rather be messy.
-Having your teeth brushed
-Being tired and not asleep.
-Being told "no" or moved in the opposite direction of the thing you were after.

We love our Boose!

12 Months

Caleb...

You are one year old.  A year ago we looked into your eyes for the very first time.  Those eyes that are so bright, so wide, and filled with such love and wonder.  You looked up at us, right after being born, and we knew a love that we had never known before.  You know what else?  That love has only grown and grown with each day you have been in our lives.  We did not know our hearts could expand to the sizes they have, but our hearts are giant for you. 

What are you up to, little guy?  Well...you are starting to cruise around the furniture and crawling like a champion.  Not yet walking, you are a cautious one.  We think when you do walk, you will be a careful walker as you are a careful crawler and a careful pull-to-stander.  You are a very content boy, and  strong-willed. We would say you are pretty easy going, just like your Daddy...and you also have some stubbornness like your Mommy. You are easily cheered up...as always, if we can just tickle you, cuddle you or tell you a funny joke.  Your sense of humor has always been so fun, you really seem to understand your Mommy and Daddy when they are being funny with you.  You like to tell us jokes as well, you will purposefully make a funny noise and look at us in expectation...expecting us to laugh, and then you laugh at yourself.  It's adorable, and you truly are funny.  If we only had one word to describe you, we would say...sweet.  You are SO sweet.  You love to play.  You play peek-a-boo and hide-and-go-seek.  You have two favorite hiding places which are a little cubby type spot behind the couch and behind Mommy and Daddy's bedroom door.  You love to go back behind those places and hide, waiting for us to come find you, and then peek around the corner giggling at us.  You love to explore and be adventurous by crawling in new territories in our house.  You especially love your newly expanded territory exploration area of Mommy and Daddy's room, it's the coolest spot in the house according to you, other than the place where the toilet paper is stored that is.  It's fun to watch you explore and decide where you want to go next, we just follow you around and let you find your way.  It is so much fun...and a lot of exercise!  It gets pretty exhausting at times (for us, you seem to be well energized), but it's well worth it!

What are you eating, you little chowhound? Your favorite food is winter squash.  That is so strange to us, we think it's really not all that great, but you love it!  You love all baby food, and you are still practicing the art of eating finger foods.  You will try anything that we give you to eat, and you seem to love all foods.  You are still getting the hang of chewing, but you try very hard to eat everything we give you these days.  Even though most of it ends up in the high chair or on the floor, you are learning more and more each day of how to eat!  Mommy plans on breastfeeding you through this next year as well and is looking very forward to the continued amazing experience of breastfeeding.

What are you saying these days?  Lately you have been saying "mama" even more, and your favorite word is "dada" as always.  You might be trying to say "flower", Mommy points to a flower and says "flower" and you say "fffff".  You also say "buuuhhhh" or "boooo" when pointing to a book, so we think that might be your way of saying "book".  You make tons of noises and hum little song like diddies throughout the day.  You love to play, but when you are ready to nurse or go to sleep you will go to Mommy, asking to cuddle or nurse.

 

What are your dislikes?  Well, you really do not like to have the sun in your eyes, you close your eyes as tight as you possibly can when the sun hits them, and shake your head as to say "no sun".  You also dislike having your diaper changed, when we lay you down to change your diaper you immediately start up a fuss and try to escape.  We've had to become rodeo fast at changing your diaper.  You dislike having your face wiped clean after eating lunch or dinner, typical boy we suppose! :)  You also don't like being told "no", the other day you decided to lick the TV and Mommy gently said "no no, Caleb" and you turned to Mommy, stood up on your tip-toes,  strained every muscle in your body and face, turned red in the face, got all big eyed, looked straight at her and then... let out the loudest and longest grunt you possibly could "uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh", you were maaadddddd. We couldn't help but look at each other and laugh.   

What do you love, lovey boy?  You love your Mommy and Daddy! :) You love to be with both your Mommy and Daddy, but we both agree...you are a Mommy's boy.  You follow her around all day long, always asking to be picked up by going up to her feet, looking up at her with your arms raised.  You also love to tug on her pants, asking to be scooped up into her arms.  She loves this,  such a sweet thing you do!  You love to read with your Daddy and Mommy, but Daddy is the best reader...he reads with all the fun voices and noises and actions.  You also love to play the guitar and sing with Daddy.  At first, you just banged on the guitar, but now you have started to actually strum the strings really well.  Daddy sings simple songs for you to sing along, he will sing "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-meeeee" or "da-da-da-da-da-deeeee" and then you will have your turn that sounds something similar.  Also, Nana is teaching you to beatbox...she does her version of beatboxing (which you think is hilarious) and you try by saying "dedede" and then sticking your tongue out, moving your head all around, and making some noises.  We need to get it on video!   Your love of music continues to grow, you are a singing, dancing, beatboxing little boy and we are quite entertained each day!Mommy still wears you in the sling often, you are nearing the weight limit so she will need an upgrade very soon. You really enjoy being in the sling while you and Mommy are out together, Mommy loves it too! You love to clap your little hands when we say "clap your little hands" and you clasp your hands together, raise them and shake them in the air when we say "Hercules! Hercules!".

You also love others.  You are such a sweet boy, my goodness!  When we are out and about shopping, you will look at other people, right in the eyes and just sweetly smile at them.  It's so adorable, and so polite!  You especially love other little ones like yourself. You also LOVE your Nana.  You cannot get enough Nana time.  When she comes over and you see her at the back door you get all giddy with excitement.  You want to be with her...it's all about Nana! 

You amaze us each day, little Boose.  You are 12 months old!  12 months you have been with us, we can't even believe it!  We are SO blessed for the time we have had with you and so thankful for each day that God gives us with you.  You are a gift, a treasure.  We are so thankful to our amazing God who has sustained your life for this past year.  We pray that he continues to mold you and shape you into the young boy He desires you to be.  May you know Him and love Him with all your heart, soul and mind. 

We love you, our sweet Caleb Allan!

The Reason For The Drool-Drops On My Guitar

Caleb and Cole love to play the guitar together.  Caleb enjoys gently strumming the guitar strings, pounding on the guitar August Rush style, and sitting at his Daddy's feet listening to him play.  Caleb has just learned to pull himself up very well, and he is now able to pull himself up to the guitar and strum along with Cole.  He even used a block as a guitar pick to strum the stings, and then managed to get it stuck within the guitar...now Daddy's guitar has a  large block stuck inside!

Caleb playing his beautiful song.

Daddy and baby son, playing the guitar together.

So, so sweet.  Makes a Mommy's heart happy.

Note:  The title of this post is true, Caleb drools constantly upon Cole's guitar :)

Tell Me A Story

Caleb loves to read with us.  We started reading to him daily at around 3 months.  Actually, Caleb started to read himself around that same time, or shortly after...

Do not disturb the reading baby.

 After Cole gets home from work each night, it's story time. The father and son pair sit in the rocking chair located in the corner of Caleb's bedroom next to the window.  I love to listen from the next room, peeking around the corner to see the precious sight of my two boys reading together.

I'm so thankful that Caleb enjoys this time with us, as I hope reading is something we can always enjoy to do together and I hope Caleb loves to read on his own as well as he grows into a young boy.  If he is anything like his Daddy, who was reading the newspaper by age 2 (eeer pretending to read) and encyclopedias by age 4, I think he will.  I always loved to read, too.  I can remember reading as a young child with my grandparents, I'd snuggle up to my grandparents in their rocking chair as we read through a stack of books.  I will cherish the memories of reading with them forever.  Cole remembers reading for hours upon hours each day as a young child, mainly the above mentioned newspapers and encyclopedias, he was also read to by his beloved older sister Monica...who read to him very often.  We are pretty sure Cole had his own library card by his first birthday, couldn't rightly say though.

Oh and I just had to sneak in a photo of Caleb's precious little feet.  He is almost a year old and his feet are adorable and kissable as ever.  I love this photo of Caleb's feet above Cole's feet, so sweet.

Expressive

Caleb on his 11 month birthday.

Caleb is pretty expressive.

I'm not sure what to even call this look...

...but it's a look, that's for sure.

He raises his eyebrows a lot, he always has.

love you Boose.

xoxo,

Mommy

11 Months

Caleb...

Today you are 11 months old.  It does not seem possible to me, but here we are...11 months!  I cannot believe we are only 1 month away from your first birthday.  Time has flown these past few months.  I hope I can savor these precious moments with you while you are still my little baby.  You will always be my baby, but will only be this little for so long. 

 Okay, so maybe you aren't my little baby...but my big baby!  I don't know how much you weigh, but I can tell you how heavy you feel...very heavy!  Mommy is getting quite the workout carrying you around.  You love to be carried and snuggled still, which I love.  Thankfully, though you are very mobile, you still love to ride in the sling and just be held still. 

Our days are spent together, you and I.  You are my little buddy, we do everything together.  Daddy has been gone long hours this summer, so it's you and me kid.  Though the days are long...you have been a joy to be with, I have no complaints.  I hope you feel the same way! :)  We sure do miss Daddy and can't wait until his schedule settles down again and he is home more! 

You love your Daddy!  We listen together for him to get home each night.  When we hear his car door shut, I say..."Caleb, Daddy is home!".  You get very excited, I scoop you up and we watch at the door together.  As Daddy enters you squeal with delight, flap your arms, clap your hands, all smiles and say "Da-da" it is adorable.  I think it melts your Daddy's heart each time.

You are loving playtime.  I love how playful you are.  You crawl everywhere and are so adventurous... crawling under, over, between, behind and around everything.  Your jumperoo, high chair and the kitchen table have now become your favorite things to explore underneath.  You even love to play little hide and go seek games with me, I hide behind something in the room and you giggle and crawl over to find me.  It's so fun :)  You have figured out the shape sorter.  It's a favorite toy for us to play together with and we love to help you learn.  Daddy thinks you have signs of being very inventive, as you strive to put the circle shape in the triangle opening.  You love to play games and be tickled. 

You know what the word "no" means.  We don't use it much yet, but there are certain things that we must use the word "no" for.  You have such a gentle and sweet spirit, you obey almost each time. :)  It's amazing to watch you already thinking through the decision to obey.  I pray the Lord gives you an obedient heart, first to Him and also to us as your parents. 

What else are you up to?  You sure do enjoy opening and closing your dresser drawers, taking your clothes and blankets out.  It really is very cute, I don't even mind having to continuously put the clothes and blankets back in the drawers because I just think it's so cute that you have figured out how to get into things.  You also have grown to love taking the books off of your little book table one by one, that's pretty cute too.

As we drive around town, we are usually listening to a Glee or Shane and Shane song and I can hear your sweet little voice singing along.  You love music and to dance.  You also love other babies and kids.  If we are at Target or Southpointe (our usual outings) and we see another baby, you love to stop and say hello and smile.  Today we watched some YouTube videos of babies laughing and you just thought that was the funniest thing ever.  You also love to look at photos of yourself as a little-little baby and photos of Mommy and Daddy as babies.

You eat lunch and dinner now, mainly just fruits and veggies still.  You really enjoy all foods and have yet to refuse to eat anything that is pureed.  You do refuse to eat anything that is not pureed though.  Daddy and I joke that you may be on a puree diet the rest of your life. We know that someday you will eat table food, we won't rush you.  I think you just don't like the texture or you are waiting for a few more teeth to come through or something (as of now you only have two bottom teeth and two fangs on top) :) 

You are wearing clothing in the sizes of 12 months, 18 months and even some 18-24 months.  Some of your 12 month tops are getting a little too small already, I tried to put a onesie on you yesterday that I couldn't even fit your arm through the sleeve...chubby! Needless to say, you ended up wearing a different onesie and  I had to pack that other one away... which always makes me a little sad.  It's summer and you have been wearing shorts a lot, which doesn't fare well with crawling all over the place.  I have been putting Aquaphor on your knees twice daily, seems to help.

A recent extra cute thing you have done is trying to whistle.  ADORABLE.

Caleb, we love you SO MUCH.  You are our precious boy and we are so blessed and privileged to have you in our lives and be your parents.  We still can't believe, even after 11 months, that you are ours!  You are such a joy to be around.  Your smile lights up a whole room and your eyes show how much you love.  If we could keep you this little forever, we would.  But we know that God has big plans for your life and He is going to do so much through you as you grow into a boy and a man.  We are excited to watch Him shape you into all He longs for you to be, we are ever thankful that you are HIS.

xoxo,

Mommy

A Onesie Just For Him

Caleb in his beloved car onesie...

it's super fun to be able to play with your clothes. :)

See?

And be able to bang your toys on some button wheels.

How adorable is that?!

Caleb in his "boose" onesie.

I love that we have a personalized onesie of his nickname.

My friend Tracy made these adorable personalized onesies that we ordered from her Etsy shop Twinspirations.  I will forever treasure these onesies, it truly is so much fun to dress Caleb is something personalized just for him.  I had no idea how much I would cherish and simply enjoy dressing him in something made just for him.  These onesies have quickly become keepsakes.  Caleb has already worn his personalized onesies dozens of times and they still look brand new, and they are oh-so-soft!  A smile is brought to my face each time I dress him in one of his personalized onesies, it's so much fun.  I could go on and on.  I just had to share how much we are loving these onesies made by Tracy!  We'll be ordering more soon as Caleb grows, can't wait!

Show me the way...

Show me the way that I must take;

to Thee I offer all my heart.

Teach me to do Thy will for Thou art my God.

Keep me safe, O Lord, for the honor of Thy Name.

(Ps 143:8,10,11)

Catch!

Nibble Nibble...

(Imagine a photo of a cute baby eating food here)

I am thinking Caleb will start solids in about 17 days...

...a few days after he turns 6 months old.

That is, if I get the okay from his new pediatrician...

...who we will meet with for the first time on the 21st of January.

I am a little nervous.

Caleb has food sensitivities...

and I so want him to be able

to eat...

...with enjoyment

...in fun

...like a little boy should.

A little boy who...

...is having his first bite

of yummy...

...scrumptious

food.

Oh, please...

let him be able to eat!

When we DO take this big step and finally whip out bowl and spoon...

I am thinking his first bites will be one of the following...


a. Avocado
or

b. Yellow Squash
or
c. Sweet Potato

(we are skipping rice cereal altogether, Dr. W says it's more difficult to digest)

Any votes or suggestions?

I am planning to prepare all of Caleb's baby food myself, and to use organic veggies and fruits. I would like as little extra stuff as possible in his little tummy, to lessen the chance of a food sensitivity. Though, I know there may be nothing I can do to prevent a reaction, I just hope that less will be more in this case. We will space out each individual new food we try at least 3 days before introducing a new food, of course. Also, I plan on keeping a food journal for him.

One thing IS for sure...

I have a pretty good hunch that

Caleb is going to LOVE...
...food.

He already gets all arm flappy and makes all sorts of boy noises...
...at just the sight of his daily multivitamin.

Ha!

Sittin' Pretty

He has been doing it for a couple weeks

Though sometimes he pouts...





and sometimes he fusses through it...




Caleb is...



...sittin' pretty.

Oh, and please pardon the drool.

Caleb rocks the drool drenched shirt look =)

5 Months

Tomorrow...

my beautiful baby boy...

will be 5 months old.

I simply cannot believe it.

Caleb...

is sitting up on his own (for a little while)

jibber jabbers some sort of words

cries the word "mama"

has developed a little more of a like for the carseat

loves the bath and splashing

loves to be with daddy, his "taxi"

laughs histerically and has a wonderful sense of humor

thinks mama is super funny for some reason?

squeals with delight

tests how loud his voice can really be...which is quite loud!

gives open mouthed kisses...so cute!

loves to snuggle snuggle snuggle

falls asleep holding something soft (little blankies or his puffy)

why does 5 months seem SO much older than 4 months?

My baby boy is growing up!

Little Face

I love...

his...



little face.

His little face that...
smiles after just waking up
looks around with wonder
pouts so sweetly
lights up when he sees mama or daddy
raises his eyebrows with such expression
wrinkles his nose when he laughs
squints his eyes when he smiles
makes raspberry sounds with his lips
whispers softly when sleepy
looks so peaceful and beautiful while asleep
looks up at us with love and trust.
I just love...
his little face. :)

4 months

Caleb is...

4 months old!

He is...

squealing,

giggling,

giving kisses,

singing along to Glee songs,

reading stories with Mama and Daddy,

cuddling with blankies,

snuggling his puffalump dog,

and getting really big!

Caleb is in the 90th percentile for height

and

80th for weight!

Whoa big boy!

We love you, sweet baby boy!

Favorite Things (Part One...Baby Addition)

These Are A Few...

...Of My Favorite (baby) Things...

Given to us by dear friends...

Rutheah and Will!

Caleb hears this story each night

before he falls asleep.

I can't wait to get more books

by the same author!
Her other books are darling!

What can I say?

This travel system has been great!

It's simple,sturdy,neutral, easy to use and...

SAFE

Chicco, you done good.

Love this body wash.

I love anything by California Baby, actually.

It's gentle, it smells good...

and it's free of yucky stuff!

I buy ours at Target.

Don't you just love Target?

Swaddle blankets by Aden and Anais

They are breathable, soft

and

they seem to love the washing machine.

I love how they are really big

and

make the perfect nursing cover too.

Light for summer, cozy for winter.

Caleb loves them!

Best diaper cream, ever!

Seriously, I love Weleda.

This stuff rocks!
I have found it protects

longer and better

than any other diaper cream out there

(I've tried most of them)

and

it's free of yucky stuff, too!

So there you have it, five things I love baby.

Little bear...

Little bear...

What will you wear?

Hmmm...

I think I'll...

Just be...

A bear!

Happenings of a very good day...

Walked...

...in the sunshine.

Loved...

...a little Vitamin D.

Practiced...
...rolling over.


Talked...
...to the ceiling.
For a good half hour.

Sat...

in the Bumbo.

For the very first time...

...unassisted.

Snuggled...

...A LOT.






Cause me to hear
Thy lovingkindness
in the morning;
for in Thee do I trust:
cause me to know the way
wherein I should walk;
for I lift up my soul
unto Thee.

Psalm 143:8