ER visit and 12 month Dr. visit

We have now taken our first trip to the ER with Caleb. We made it a whole year but just barely!
Monday after his afternoon nap he woke up with a froggy sounding cough and runny nose. That night he had a fever that kept going up till it reached 105! I put him in the bath and called the nurse. She said since it was so high we needed to take him to the ER. We had already given him Tylenol an hour before the high fever. So about 9:00 we headed to TC Thompson. By the time we got there his fever was down to 102. They did some blood test and x-rayed his chest but everything turned out fine. By the time we left there he was feeling much better. He just had some kind of virus. The next day he was fine all except for a runny nose.

Anyway, yesterday I took him for his 12 month check up. He got 4 shots..poor baby! He weighs 20 lbs. 10 oz and is 29 inches long. This is in the 25th percentile on the growth chart. He had been running in the 50th percentile so now he has slowed down quite a bit. He only grew a quarter of an inch since 9 months! I just thought he would have been a little taller by now. At least now we get to use the new car seat that sits forward facing! That makes me a little sad...it means he isn't a baby anymore!

1st Birthday Party

Sunday we had a small party at our house for Caleb. Jim's parents came to town from Wisconsin to celebrate with us. My parents came and also my aunt Betty. Caleb had two of his 1 year old friends to come Sydney and Cody. The theme was Elmo since Caleb has liked Elmo from just a few months old. He smiles every time Elmo comes on TV and he likes to play with his talking Elmo's. Caleb did not like eating his cake though. He got some icing on his fingers and tasted it a few times but started to cry. He just wanted more Goldfish instead!

Each child got a "Find Elmo" book, an Elmo sippy cup, and a DVD of his 1 year slideshow.

I was a little sad to see his first birthday come and go. It just seems so weird that he is now walking around and becoming a toddler.

Here are a few pictures of his big day.

Caleb playing with the balloons

Caleb listening to his Elmo singing "Happy Birthday"

Caleb sitting in his ball pit


The Elmo Cake


Caleb not eating his cake

Learning to rip the paper off

Caleb and his friend Sydney

Caleb's friend Cody

Happy 1st Birthday Caleb!

Today my baby turns 1 year old. It's so hard to believe that it's been a year. It has been fun to watch him learn new things and develop. I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. I had a planned C-section due to the fact that he was big. I was given the choice by Dr. Brody to have the c-section or be in labor for possibly a long time then still end up with the c-section. I was glad of my decision after he weighed 8lbs 11 oz and was 21 3/4 inches long. The Dr. said I made a good choice when he got Caleb out. I also had gestational diabetes so the Dr. said that usually makes for a bigger baby with broad shoulders so Dr. Brody said it is safer for the baby to have a c-section. I figured why take the chance on hurting him during a normal delivery. My whole experience was great and recovery wasn't bad at all. I even enjoyed my stay at the hospital.
Here are a few pics from his birth. I will post pictures of his birthday party later.

Playground Fun

Yesterday we met our playgroup friends at a park called the Pumpkin Patch Playground. It is up on Signal Mountain about 30 minutes from our house. It is a very big playground with different sections to it. It had a huge slide that Caleb loved to go down with me. It also has a section for the smaller children so we stayed in that area mostly. Caleb got to play in the sand a little but he didn't care much for it being on his hands. Also since he still has to put everything in his mouth it made it hard for him not to eat the sand. He loves to swing and it had some baby swings so he enjoyed that for a while.
Caleb is starting to walk more now. He takes a few steps till he loses his balance. He just wanted down most of the time to either walk or crawl on the ground. It is finally feeling like fall weather here. It was a nice cool day! Here are a few pictures of Caleb playing.

Sale!

I LOVE to shop...especially when I can find a bargain! Yesterday I went to one of the biggest consignment sales that is here in Chattanooga 3 times a year. Friday I took a few things to sell and I volunteered for 4 hours. The benefits to selling and volunteering are that you can get in to shop at the sale before the public can. It's almost like an adrenaline rush to go in and see what all you can find before someone else does. LOL
So, I was able to get Caleb some toys for his birthday and will probably save one or two for Christmas presents. I also got him some really cute "expensive" outfits. The good thing about getting in early is that it is easier to find name brand clothes. I'm not one to care if his clothes are name brand or not but at this sale I look for the outfits that I would never pay full price for in the stores. The really cool thing about what all I bought was that nothing was over $10.00 and none of the toys were over $5.00!!! Now, that is just too exciting!!!

Back on schedule!

Yeah, Caleb slept all night without crying! He slept from about 8:30- 6:30 and did not cry out once! Today he has even taken his morning nap and afternoon nap without much of a fuss!

That's my sweet boy!! :)

When Will Caleb Walk?

I am happy to say that we are all feeling better this week!
Caleb has been waking up some during the nights since he has been sick. When he was sick and would wake up we did go in to hold him or feed him since we knew he didn't feel well. Now, it is a different story! He has learned in this short time if he cries we will come. We have followed a book that says if you want your baby to sleep through the night you have to let them "cry it out". This does work and he has been a great sleeper ever since we did that when he was around 5 months. Now, we are just having to go through that again and I hate it! Tonight will be the 3rd night which this process is supposed to take at least 3 nights for it to work.
Let's hope he sleeps all night or that I can be strong and not give in to go hold him!!

Now, the question is: When will Caleb Walk? He is cruising around here so much faster and he has actually taken a couple of steps on his own. He just needs some more confidence to let go even more. I was hoping he would be walking on his own by his birthday which is the 26th. My mom and I went today to buy him his 1st pair of walking shoes. He has been wearing Robeez shoes but he needed some shoes to go with his birthday outfit for his picture so I bought some white Stride Rite walking shoes. My mom bought him some brown shoes since he obviously needed more than one pair....right?? ;)
So, we are all ready for him to take off and I'm ready to start chasing....even more so!

T.G.I.F.

I titled this blog TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) because that is the day when Jim can be home all day! I have felt horrible today. I have felt sick at my stomach but as long as I'm laying down I am fine. I sure hope I'm not catching what Caleb had since it can last up to a week. I don't have time for that! :)
I am blessed to have a husband who is willing to take care of Caleb all by himself! That is why I'm glad it is Friday since he was able to be home to care for us. Caleb is better but still doesn't feel 100% yet. I just hope our entire weekend isn't with me laying on the couch!

On another subject, I have been following a blog of someone I don't even know. It is a family who was pregnant with their first child and knew early on in the pregnancy that the baby would not live. The baby was born this past week and only lived 16 minutes. They posted some pictures of this precious baby boy and I've just been crying my eyes out. My heart aches so much for them and I am praying for this family. They are a true testimony of how the Lord can carry you through any storm in life. Here is a link to their blog if you want to cry and pray for them. www.sgirl79.blogspot.com

Caleb is doing much better! He has had 3 bottles of milk and it stayed down. He still doesn't play as much and wants to just lay around but I'm sure he is about over that.

I thought I would practice adding some pictures on here. Here are a few recent pictures.

We brought out the old baby swing for Caleb since he's been sick. I didn't think he would like it anymore but he did this week. Look how big he looks in it now! ;)

Jim went in to check on Caleb one day and this is what he found.

My friend Diana and her son Jayden came to visit from KY so we met for dinner.

We got together with some friends a few weeks ago with the kids- Cody,Caleb, Kara, and Ben. I love how Cody is pulling Caleb's hair! Caleb doesn't seem to mind!

Better Today

Today we started out with a sick baby but this afternoon has been much better! Caleb is playing and cruising around like he feels so much better. He had a few ounces of formula almost an hour ago so we'll see if it stays down. I know he is hungry for something more than cheerios and saltine crackers!
As for me, I am so ready to get out of the house and do something! I can only take a day or two being at home all day. :) You would think that I could have gotten a lot done around the house since I haven't left it but that isn't the case. I have spent my days this week holding my baby, comforting him, and watching baby videos. I would rather do that any day than worry about what has to be done around the house. Now that he seems to be getting better the house chores will be a little easier to get done.
My husband Jim has started his own blog. I think he just wanted to copy me......no, he actually had another one before I ever did. :) He liked this blog set up better so he switched his.
His blog will be more about spiritual things since he is a pastor so be ready to read a lot on his page! :)

Welcome to Blog World!

Well, I guess it's about time for me to start blogging. I read so many of my friends blogs that I gave in and had to join them. I just needed one more thing to keep me busy at the computer! I am just trying to learn how to do it.
It has been fun keeping up with my friends by reading blogs. Some have been sad to read, others funny, and some just reading about what is happening in their life that day. I can't seem to think anything I say on my blog will ever mean much to anyone. It will just be me venting about my days most likely. My son Caleb will be turning 1 year in a few weeks so it is a good time to start writing about what he is doing.
Today he is sick with the stomach virus. This is the first time he's been really sick so we have been fortunate! I thought he was better last night but today he has been sick twice and can't keep his formula down. I hate seeing him like this. He is so lithargic(spell?) and I just have to sit and hold him. Right now he is taking his nap. I hope he gets over it soon but it could take a week the nurse said. Ugh! At least he should be better for his big birthday in 3 weeks! I can't wait for that. I'm just praying I don't get sick!