Snowboarding soon!

we walked up Mt. Rubidoux again last weekend and took a family pic at the top. the scenery is so gorgeous right now. everything is crystal clear and thanks to all of the rain last week, the mountains in the distance are covered with snow. i hope to take Caleb up to the snow sometime this winter. John and i are planning on going snowboarding in january. last year neither one of us went snowboarding so this year we are both really excited to go. i'm not good at boarding by any means but i do ok. it's still fun to go. i love my snowboard and my boots. they are so pretty. :) John is one of those crazy snowboarders that takes the double diamond runs and goes down the mountain at 100mph. he's already looking into gear for Caleb and figures that Caleb will be on a board when he's 3 years old. we'll see about that.... ??

Merry Christmas & 9 Month Pictures

Merry Christmas! we had a fun and busy day. we opened presents at home and then went to john's parents' house (opened more presents), then my parents' house (yes, more presents), and then to my brother's house for Christmas dinner (it was sooo good - Caleb loved the turkey!). Caleb has so many toys now that we could practically open up our own toy store. :)

i can't believe Caleb has already had his first Christmas. thank God today was his first Christmas and not last year. exactly one year ago i was put into an ambulance and rushed out to Baldwin Park. i had spent almost 2 weeks in the hospital due to a shortened cervix and was released to do bed rest at home 2 days before Christmas. on Christmas day, i noticed the slightest bit of spotting and went to the hospital to get checked out. i was in premature labor and was dilated to 2cm. the hospital didn't have the licensing to take care of preemies under 32 weeks gestation (i was at 27 weeks at the time) so they had to send me to a hospital that had the licensing and also the room to take me. Baldwin Park was the closest one that would accept me. they put me on magnesium (awful, awful stuff) and strapped me to a gurney. i was so scared. i was crying really hard and the nurses were trying to keep me calm. there were 2 paramedics and a nurse in the ambulance with me and John followed behind in his car. my parents also came out to Baldwin Park that night. when i got to the hospital they rolled my gurney down a long hallway and i thought that it felt like the green mile. i remember one of the nurses taking care of me had on a "Merry Christmas" headband and all i could think of was that i didn't want my baby to be born on Christmas day. it was too early. i prayed and prayed for a Christmas miracle that my baby would be safe and healthy.

i got my miracle. Caleb stayed put for another 10 weeks (which we all thought would be impossible). Praise God!! i am so very thankful for my little boy. my handsome and loving little ball of energy. he is the best gift i could ask for.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Poor Santa

Caleb's first encounter with Santa didn't go very well (this picture was taken before we saw Santa at Oak Glen, and, if you remember, he didn't like Santa then either!). I was actually hoping for a screaming Santa picture because I remember looking back at pictures of me and my brother with Santa and the crying ones are so much more memorable. But poor Santa. I could tell he felt bad for my crying little boy. Maybe he'll bring him a couple extra toys to make up for it!

Riley's Farm

yesterday we went back to Oak Glen and visited Riley's Farm. it was so beautiful and we all had so much fun. these are some pics that auntie shannon took since i left my camera at home AGAIN!! i was so mad at myself but she always comes prepared.

santa came by our table and said hi to the kids. caleb is not a fan of santa (at least not yet) as you can see. the restaurant was set up like in the old colonial days and we even ate by candle light. the girls decorated gingerbread men inside by the warm fire and watched us out the window while we exercised our wreath-making skills. smart kids, huh?

we made the wreaths out of things we found on the farm and even though it was worth it, it was sooooo, sooooo, sooooo cold that my fingers felt like they were going to fall off!

john is such a trooper. he did most of the work since my hands were almost frostbitten (i know, a bit dramatic).

ta-da! there's our hand made wreath hanging up by our tree. now we're all set for Christmas!

Swing pictures

we went to kaia's school today to see santa (i can't wait until the pictures come in!). we hung out on the playground and caleb got on the swings. he loved it! it's a good thing auntie shannon always has her camera with her because i left mine at home. thanks shannon! :)

Crawling and Eating and Trees, Oh My!

caleb is officially crawling on his hands and knees now. he goes back to the army crawl when he gets on the wood floors or when he really wants to get somewhere fast. he can do the belly slide on the wood a lot faster that he can crawl! i love this age.

now that the stomach flu is totally gone, his appetite has come back times ten! tonight he ate a whole stage 3 dinner, a big helping of oatmeal cereal and about 4 tablespoons of ground turkey. i guess he was hungry! he has become really good at eating more than just pureed foods. he used to choke on anything that had the slightest texture and it would scare me really bad. but now he has no problem at all. we went out to dinner at our favorite mexican restaurant last saturday and he had chicken, cheese, rice, beans, tortillas and guacamole! and then came home and wanted baby cereal and a jar of baby food too! he must be going through a growth spurt.

we put our tree up this weekend and i love it. we didn't have a tree last year because i was admitted to the hospital before we got a chance to put a tree up. i am so thankful to be home with my husband and baby this CHRISTmas. i am so thankful that caleb is here and healthy. i love this time of year.

First Bruise

despite $371 worth of babyproofing, caleb managed to give himself his first bruise. there it is on his forehead. he was crawling around and leaned into the leg on our coffee table. it wasn't even like he hit it hard or anything, it was like it happened in slow motion. anyway, i'm sure this is the first of many. after all, boys will be boys!

9 months old!

Caleb turned 9 months old today!

HAPPY 9 MONTH BIRTHDAY, CALEB! MOMMY LOVES YOU SOOO BIG!
I love his cow lick. It's a perfect little swirl...

caleb is recovering from his bout with the stomach flu. he is still experiencing diarrhea but the doctor warned us that that can last several days. he woke up yesterday and was completely covered in poo so we had to give him a bath at 5:30 in the morning! he had another messy diaper today but it wasn't as bad. he's drinking a lot of breast milk so i don't think he's in danger of dehydration. he doesn't want any more ped.ia.lyte or much of anything to eat. all he seems to want is oatmeal, cheerios and crackers. he did eat about half of his lunch yesterday and half of his dinner last night and he is acting more like his normal self so that makes me feel better.

but... this little baby managed to give the stomach flu to 4 other people. why did the doctor say it was okay for us to go to thanksgiving dinner?? she said that as long as no one touched his vomit or poop than they wouldn't get it. she was WRONG! john, my mom, auntie shannon, and my poor little lei lei all got a horrible case of the stomach flu! i felt sooooooo bad. thank God no one in john's family has gotten sick (yet). i was really worried that elizabeth might get it. the last thing she needs to deal with is the stomach flu. she has enough to deal with right now. but, oh my gosh, the ones that got it, got it BAD. i feel so bad for spreading my baby's stomach flu germs to everyone. :(

No turkey for Caleb....

happy belated thanksgiving! yesterday was caleb's first thanksgiving and i was really looking forward to seeing him sit at the dinner table eating little bits of turkey and potatoes with our families. well, that didn't happen (at least the eating part). we woke up yesterday just like any other day but caleb decided he didn't want to eat his breakfast. he nursed for a while but didn't eat anything. then, a couple hours later, as he was nestled in his daddy's arms, he puked all over his daddy's chest. we were a little concerned but thought that he was okay. so then about an hour later, he puked again (btw, these were BIG pukes). now we were really concerned so we went to urgent care. the doctor said that he has a stomach virus and that he shouldn't eat for the rest of the day. only pe.dia.light and breastmilk at night was okay. she warned us to be prepared for diarrhea since it usually follows the vomitting. guess what, she was right! last night he had it bad. it got all over him, all over me, and all over the pillow on the couch (thanks soooo much babe, for cleaning it up!). he slept all night (which never happens) and seems to be feeling better today. he has to have a bland diet today so his breakfast consisted of saltine crackers and pe.dia.light.

anyway, we did make it to thanksgiving dinner since the doctor said it would be okay. we just didn't let him play with the other kids so he wouldn't get them sick. he sat in his high chair at the table and watched us all eat (how mean!) but he had fun throwing his sippy cup down and having everyone pick it up and give it back to him. my poor baby! no turkey for caleb on his first thanksgiving.... :(

john's parents always have my family over for thanksgiving so we get to spend the day with everyone. i love it. the food is always soooo good and having everyone there together is such a blessing. the picture above is us in front of john's dad's orange tree in the backyard. so, even though our first thanksgiving with caleb didn't go exactly as we planned it, it was a great day and we are so thankful.

Caleb updates

caleb had his first stage 3 dinner tonight (he has it all over his mouth in the video). he did pretty good and only gagged a few times. he started eating cheerios about a week ago and has become a cheerio champion. he LOVES feeding himself cheerios. it's the only food he seems to really enjoy. he usually makes a yucky face whenever he gets a spoonful of anything else.

he's still doing the army crawl but now he is starting to stay on his hands and knees for a few seconds before getting on his belly. he's pulling himself up a lot more often now and can inch his way along the furniture while standing. his favorite thing to do is to have one of us hold his hands and walk him around the house. he loves it. i try not to do it too often because i don't want to rush him into walking. speaking of walking, sometimes i put him in his walker while i'm cooking dinner and he has become so good at getting around corners. and he goes so fast that he is almost running in that thing. luckily, our house doesn't have much room for him to get around so he can't get too far.

hmmm... what else..... i'm trying to teach him to wave hello and goodbye. he's waved a few times on his own but i don't think he really gets it yet. i can't believe he is almost 9 months old and that he's going to be celebrating his first Thanksgiving in a few days! it's crazy how fast time flies.

8 month pictures

The Teeth!

We finally got some good pictures of Caleb's teeth. He was full of smiles tonight and was proud to show off those pearly whites! SAY CHEESE!!!!

Caleb's Bear

Nema had this custom bear made for Caleb! It has his name and birth date on the feet so I hope that it's something that he will have forever. It's so cute. Caleb immediately tried to put it in his mouth so I think that means he likes it. :) Thanks, Nema! We love you!

5K

we did it! caleb and i did another 5K this morning. auntie shannon ran the whole thing and she did amazing! uncle derek and i and the kiddos walked it and had a lot of fun. kaia helped me sing to caleb when he got fussy (the walk interferred with his breakfast time) and he calmed down pretty quickly. i definitely want to do another 5K soon and maybe even try to run a little bit next time. but next time i will make sure my stroller's tires aren't totally flat! i knew my tires were low but i had no idea how low until the middle of the 5K today. and, next time i will try my best to not catch a cold right before race day. :)

here we are after the race. caleb wore his pj's since we had to leave before his usual wake up time. he looked so cute! the one on the bottom is of all of us. we had a lot of fun.

On the move

caleb is getting faster at getting around. he is on the move! tonight we got him on video doing a semi-army crawl. he has started pulling himself up on furniture and/or people and he wants to practice standing all the time! he pulls himself up using my jeans and will stand there wiggling his little bootie around (he's still very wobbly). he's so proud of himself when he stands. it's so cute.

something happened to my sweet little baby when he turned 8 months old -- he developed quite the little attitude! he hates to be told "no" (don't we all?). he will cry big crocodile tears and will put on quite a performance when he doesn't get his way. brushing his teeth is nearly impossible! he wants to do it all by himself. i asked john if he wouldn't mind being caleb's official "teeth brusher" because i get so frustrated and end up not doing a good job of it anyway (thanks, babe!).

8 months old!

caleb turned 8 months old today! he is soooo active! we call him "Mr. Grabby Grab" or "Grabby McGrabster" because he wants to touch everything -- and he's quick too! he's getting faster at scooting around on his belly to get where he needs to go. he's still working on crawling and he's getting closer to it every day. he also got tooth #6 the other day. that makes 4 on top and 2 on the bottom. he loves eating apples and avocado in his mesh bags. he is growing up tooooooo fast. where did my baby go?

HAPPY 8 MONTH BIRTHDAY, BABY! MOMMY LOVES YOU!!

Happy Halloween!

It's a bird....

It's a plane....

It's..............................

SUPER BABY!!!
i love his costume. it was technically his back up costume because the monkey costume was way too warm for the weather we've been having. we ordered his shirt online and cut the cape out of some simple red fabric. the pants and red bloomers are leia's so it was a really inexpensive costume and it turned out really cute! and the best part is that he'll get to wear it to kaia's super hero birthday too!

Super Baby needs a Super Mom to push him in his stroller!

Caleb's first trick or treat experience. We went Trunk or Treating at church. Thanks for the candy, baby! Next year you can have some too. :)

My babies! Super Baby Caleb, Wonder Woman Kaia, Tinkerbell Leia & Abby Cadabby Justice! Aren't they the cutest?!?!!

***Trunk or Treat - Best In Show***

McCain/Palin/Super Baby 2008

Their "trunk" was hilarious!

Robin's Baby Shower

today caleb and i went to my old work to attend robin's baby shower. she's having a baby boy in early december and she looks beautiful! what a hot pregger-mama, huh? here is a group photo of me and caleb with some of the girls. i miss them a lot!

it was so good to see everyone. CONGRATULATIONS, Robin! we can't wait to meet baby Jacob and to see all of you again soon! XOXOXOXO

tonight we finally carved caleb's pumpkin. john made the jack 'o lantern's smile match caleb's. he had another tooth cut through his gums today. that makes a total of 5 teeth. ouch (for him and for me too!).

Good news

i just got back from my doctor's appt and my lump was just a clogged milk duct! the doctor poked a needle in it and drained it right then and there and now it's GONE!!! Wooooo-hooooo!!! praise God! i don't know why my family doctor was so sure that it wasn't a clogged milk duct. she caused a lot of worry and fear for a lot of people. i'm just glad that she was wrong and that the lump is gone. i feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. thank you all so much for your prayers.

speaking of prayers... please, if you could, say a prayer for elizabeth. she's back in the hospital now with a blood clot in her lungs. thank you so much.

7 Month Pictures

this month cousin justice went with us to take pictures!
my little monkey! he's actually going to be TWO things for halloween. i like the monkey costume but he gets really hot in it so we have a backup costume. i think i like the backup one better! you'll have to wait and see.... :)
he had some help with this position. he can sort of get to it on his own but not on cue for pictures. :) won't be long before he's crawling!

my little man. i love him so much!!

Lump (**updated**)

**UPDATED AT BOTTOM**

i have a lump in my left breast. it's hard and is the size of a small marble. i thought it was a clogged milk duct but my doctor says it's not. she says it's probably a cyst, but she wants me to get checked out by the breast clinic to be on the safe side. i have an appointment next monday.

suprisingly, i'm not freaking out about it (at least not yet). i've never had a mammogram before and i've heard that they can be painful. i'm not really worried about that either, though. i think it will be ok. if it ends up being worse than a cyst, then i'll just have to deal with it. whatever i need to do to stay healthy. john needs me. caleb needs me. i need them.

i get sad whenever i am holding caleb and he is nursing. i think about what it will mean to him and john if i get sick. i don't think it's cancer but then again, does anyone really ever think it is? i don't know.

let God's will be done, whatever it is.

*** UPDATE: thank you so much for everyone's comments and prayers. nothing new to report yet but john talked to one of his buddies who's wife had lumps in her breasts after each of her 4 pregnancies. in her case, the lumps were cysts and she was given antibiotics and the cysts went away. hopefully it will be the same way for me. i will post again after my appt on monday. wish me luck!!***

Race for the Cure

In support of my 27 year old sister-in-law, Elizabeth, we participated in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure 5K this morning. It was awesome to see so many people together for a cause as important as this one. Elizabeth has shown such strength and courage during her battle with breast cancer. We are so proud of her and love her very much!

How hard could it be?

how hard could it be to change a baby's diaper? well, let me tell you, it's not easy. caleb does so many flips, twists, turns and grabs that it's nearly impossible to change his diaper. it can get pretty frustrating but mostly it's just cute. just look at those buns. :)

Practice, practice

he's trying to crawl! i tell him to slow down, there's plenty of time for that stuff, just be a little baby and let me hold you and don't grow up too fast. but he's not listening. he wants to be on the move. places to go and people to see. he still has a ways to go before he's actually crawling but it won't be long. he inches his way to where he wants to go. he scoots on his bootie sometimes too. it's so cute.
it looks like he's doing yoga here. hahahah. :)
he's up! now to get those legs to cooperate...
guess those legs didn't want to listen...
practice makes perfect, baby! don't worry, we'll try again soon!

the picture below is from tonight's bath. he is so much fun.

caleb loves his baths. last week we moved him to the big tub now that he's a big boy. at first he didn't like it but then he realized that he can splash a lot more in this tub. he loves to splash! just look at that face. doesn't he look like he's having a good time?