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. :(