The Caleb Blog

Pictures from Yesterday Up

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:26:00 -0700

Another Shopping Day

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:29:00 -0700

Today, we will be going shopping again. I need to get some professional cake pans (pans that are deeper rather than shallow. Makes for a better cake), and need to get a few things at the store for the home. I plan on baking a cake this weekend, to use up some of the fondant that I used from Zoe's birthday. So, will be making a psychodelic cake to use most of it before starting on Jordan's birthday cake.

I cannot believe how much Caleb has changed since the beach. It's like he changed literally overnight. He's helping, he's listening (for the most part), he's playing with his sister, he's eating (a huge big one), and more importantly, he's happy. I think the beach trip really helped him a lot. We spent a lot of time together, and we're doing the same since we got home.

It's amazing what staying away from the computer for awhile can do. LOL. I separated myself from my mommy message board all-together and I've started slowly doing the same thing with Facebook. I'm noticing that redoing my priorities is helping that. Before, I would turn on the TV (because that's what he's wanting), and I do a little housework, then spend the day on the computer. Well, that just wasn't cutting it with Caleb and it only took me going to the beach to realize that. I'm so dense sometimes.

So, now that the weather is turning cooler, I plan to get out more and enjoy the time we have before it gets too cold. Plan on going to the park, taking walks, and just enjoying the time.

I have the pictures ready from yesterday's playground visit at the mall. Going to take me a little bit to get it all done, but it will be done sometime today after I get back.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Going up and down the stairs

Awesome Day Today

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:27:00 -0700

Caleb, Zoe, mom, and me went out for a long day out of shopping. The best part of the whole shopping trip was at Oak Park Mall where we played at the Carousel and the playground area. Watching Caleb and Zoe play together had to be the best thing ever. I wish I had our main camera with me to get the pictures, but the phone pictures are just going to have to do.

Caleb got a new pair of shoes today. Found out today that his shoes that he's been wearing is outgrown and were just a tad snug on him. He was wearing a 9w, and he's up to a 10!! LOL. Yeah, he was in need of a new pair of shoes. He also got a new pair of dress shoes and they look so cute on him.

MY LITTLE BOY IS GROWING UP!!!

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Sleeping

Good couple of days

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:08:00 -0700

Caleb has just been a real good boy the last couple of days. He's been helpful, listening, playing with Zoe galore. It's like he's a different person, and it's nice to see the old Caleb again.

He's as happy as a clam and he's been a pleasure for sure. My sanity was about to go before the beach, but these last couple of days, my blood pressure has started to drop. LOL.

Caleb's Photo(s):

Pictures Galore!

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:12:00 -0700

Wow, did I have a lot of pictures to upload to our main site. Whew. I had to get everything up from June 1st!. They were so many, that it's not even listed in the recent 25 albums. LOL.

But, you can click here and see what's on there, and if you so choose to see the others, you'll have to go under Caleb and Zoe's picture categories and find from June 1st on. Sorry about that folks.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Watching TV

Playing

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 07:48:00 -0700

I wish I could have blogged last night, but I was just so tired I just didn't have it in me. But last night was the first time in a long time, that Caleb actually initiated playtime with Zoe. It was the cutest thing ever. Waiting to get the link for the video as i write this in fact. I downloaded Zoe's video and it took so long I had to go to bed, so I wasn't able to do this one last night.

Part of it was a little rough, but that's ok for me because I don't want her growing up to be TOO girly. In fact, I'd like her to grow up like me and be more tom-boyish. LOL.

But, anyway, he initiated and he actually looked like he was having fun. Then with the video that I put on Zoe's blog, he did that with her and it was the funniest thing. Both of them were a mess with laughter but I didn't get the good parts since I couldn't find the camera in time. :(

I've been doing better about spending a lot of time with Caleb (or as much as I can, anyway), and he's really done a complete turn-around. He just looks satisfied. I guess I didn't really realize how much the lack of attention he was getting. I thought I was giving him plenty, but he wanted more one-on-one I guess and that's something that I really wasn't giving him. The trip to SPI really helped I think, and he's been a totally different kid - even different from when he went to TX. Even Jordan has seen the difference, so that says a lot.

I feel good. Caleb feels good. We all feel good, and that's how it's supposed to be.

Enjoy his video along with the video on Zoe's page

Home, Sweet Home

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:14:00 -0700

Finally back from our fun vacation and we took it nice and slow.

Yesterday we only did a short day of 3 hours and made a stop in Oklahoma City, OK to visit the memorial bombing site. Jordan and I went there on one of our trips to TX, and today it's still as goregeous as it was back then. We stayed just outside of OKC in a town called Perry. Out in the middle of nowhere, but we found a place. Nice hotel, quiet area and fortunatly, great beds. We've been lucky in that department.

Today, we drove the rest of the way to KC - a 4 hour trip. Not bad at all. The kids did great, slept (well Zoe did), and took everything in stride. We got into KC at 3:30 and we stopped off at my parents house first so grandpa could see his kiddos. Caleb wanted some grandpa time, so Grandpa took him to PlayPlace for about an hour while mom, Zoe and I headed to my house to unpack some stuff. Started some washing, cleaned up some toys that were already in the floor, and waited until Jordan got home. Had pizza for lunch, both kids bathed and both are in bed - all at 8pm. Fantastic work by us for sure. LOL.

Caleb did excellent with his dinner tonight, did well with his shower, and did well about getting ready for bed. Not too much whining once I told Jordan what needed to be done. Whew. We did it!

Now, just waiting for Jordan to finish up so that we can catch up on some shows before I honestly crash. I'm tired and hope for a good night's sleep. Here's hoping the kids wake up later tomorrow, rather than early. LOL

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Being read to

LOL...

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:36:00 -0700

So, Caleb has a new song (sung to BINGO):

C-O-L-E-B, C-O-L-E-B, C-O-L-E-B and Caleb was his name-o.

LOL. No matter how much we tried to tell him that his name is spelled C-A-L-E-B, he still kept doing it the other way. And he just came up with it. I don't ever remember telling him how to spell his name. So, unless someone else did (Jordan, in-laws, my folks), he's figured it out on his own, and this is a good thing.

Such a smart boy, he is.

He also made the drive to Denton ok. He's done very well this trip. Every once and awhile, he'll get a little wonky, but for the most part, he's done very well.

He looks good with his tan, and he's filling out from actually eating. He looks great.

My favorite part of each night is when he wants his kiss, hug and squeeze. I forget by chance, he stays awake until I go to him, and he's out within seconds afterwards. Love having that with him. He's my little man and love him to pieces. I enjoy waking up to him running to the bed, getting in, and snuggling. It's the best thing ever, even when I'm still sleepy. I won't have that for long and I'm treasuring these little bits with him now.

Caleb's (or should I say Coleb's) Toddler Forecast: Sleeping

San Antonio

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:17:00 -0700

We only made it to San Antonio today. Which is fine. Since we're going in a three day period, it works out. We had a good drive. Caleb did well, although it seemed he had to used the restroom every hour on the hour in the beginning. And he went, it's not like he was using it as an excuse. But we got through it and got into San Antonio around 5:30 after being in a traffic jam for a half hour. One feeder, plus the on ramp from I-10, coming into two lanes eventually going into one, is not how I like to spend the last leg of the drive. But, we made it.

We stopped at a picnic rest area for lunch, where we were attacked by a wasp. I think it was a wasp anyway. Whatever it was, it looked like part yellow jacket and part wasp. Craziest thing I've ever seen. And it didn't go after anyone but me. Caleb, who had the most colorful shirt of us all - BRIGHT ORANGE - wasn't even the target. What's the deal with that? I had a pale pink shirt on, and I was being attacked. Something just isn't right with that picture.

We ate at Cracker Barrel tonight. Caleb had some of our food and he ate all of it. No fight or anything. He did well. He got some dessert tonight - chocolate donuts :)

On top of that, it's 9:20 and he's in bed! How awesome is that! We might all be asleep by 10pm tonight. Woo!

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Trying to go to sleep

Last Day for South Padre Island

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:30:00 -0700

It's been a full week and we ended it by spending it at the beach. It was a gorgeous day again. The water was cold, but so refreshing. Even with taking the precautions of sunscreen, shirt, and hat, Caleb got a little burned. He's peeling on his little nose and on the back of his neck, but considering, we did extremely well.

He absolutely LOVED it here, and I think we might make this a habit of coming each year. Well, at least some sort of real beach - so it can be east, west, or south padre. :)

Didn't get to blog yesterday because we were just exhausted, but we did the pool thing. I even got Caleb to trust me enough to let me help him float on his back. It didn't last long, but I'll take anything that I can get. He's just got the eeby jeebies about doing stuff like that for some reason. But we'll get there and we'll take it as slow as he wants it. He did let me dunk him, but I made it a game. If he wanted me to go under water, he had to go too. We eventually did the same thing with floating on the back. If he wanted me to do it, then he had to do it too. And he did much better by doing it that way.

He did have a rough night though last night. He didn't eat all his supper because he thought he was going to get McDonalds. We told him that we were not doing that and that we would be going for dessert later, but he said he was full so we left it at that. Twenty minutes later as we take a walk, he says he's hungry, and you guess it at McDonalds. But we told him that we weren't doing McDonalds and that McDonalds is not a substitute for dinner. He got the hang of it real quick. So we got dessert, he sat and watched us, and he was ok with that. Not once did he whine or cry or anything like that.

So, I didn't feel like a horrible parent at that moment. I was so glad too because I didn't like having to do it anyway. But it's the only way he's going to learn I guess.

Today, he did really well with the eating department. He at just about all his dinner, but we were all just too tired to go out for dessert. Such a shame too, because I was really looking forward to some gelato. <sigh>

We ended the night by having some good playtime. I've never heard Caleb belly laugh like this in my life. Looking back on it, I should have video taped it, but I didn't even think of it at the time. He was just laying down and Zoe was playing with him, and he just let out this laugh and kept it going. You couldn't help but laugh at him. It really just capped off the evening. Makes me smile just thinking of it.

Tomorrow morning we head back out to KS. Not sure when we're leaving, but we'll be taking it slow this time. I'm thinking we'll get in sometime Wednesday afternoon or so. We have no reason to actually rush to get back, and with two kids, it's going to take us longer anyway. The only reason we rushed to get here was because of an advanced purchse of the hotel and we had to get here with no cancellations or changes. With us having no committments, we can take it a bit slower. Should help all of us in the long run.

So, once again, everyone is asleep and I'm blogging. It's a nice time for me to just have some me time. Don't get too much time of that anymore, but in the end, it's all worth it.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Sleeping

Full Day at the Beach

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:34:00 -0700

What a beautiful day at the beach. Seriously, we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The sand was still hot, but the day in itself was just perfect. Caleb and I had an awesome day building stuff in the sand: sand castles, boat docks, river for the boat, and roads that lead to mountains from his sand castles. We spent a lot of time in the water as well. We went a little further out today, only because the beach is so shallow. You get in these areas where there are deep areas (waist high for me), then all of a sudden, you go up a little hill, and you're in calf deep areas. Just weird, but we enjoyed ourselves. He loved the fact that mommy would get tossed down by the waves. He laughed so hard, and he would try to help me up, and of course, a small wave would me knock me down again.

We left the beach at around 5:30 this evening (we got there at about 10:45ish). Like I said, a full day. Zoe didn't like her neon pink hat (but then again she doesn't like anything on her head right now anyway), so Caleb enjoyed wearing it. Mom got a kick out of him wearing it because she just thought it was funny that this little boy was wearing a pink hat. Hey, if it's a hat and it keeps the sun off his neck and face, I don't care what color it is. LOL. Saved me from buying one for him. I did wind up earlier buying a visor for Zoe, and water shoes for mom and Caleb. Good thing too because the sand didn't cool down by the time we left the beach, so the shoes came in handy.

We all got cleaned up and then went out to dinner to Pirates Landing Restaurant in Port Isabel. Good food, good atmosphere and right by the water. I saw it on the way in to going to walmart one evening. Thought it might be a good place to go, and it was. At least tonight. LOL. At 9:15 we stayed for the fireworks display. Not very much of one as it was only about 5 minutes long, but Caleb enjoyed it, and that's all that mattered.

After that, I dropped off Mom and Zoe so that they could get ready for bed, and Caleb and I went to a surf shop called Jaws. It had a big shark at the front door and in order to get into the front door, you had to go in the shark's mouth. He thought that was cool, so we did it. Bought a couple of cute T-shirts for the kids, and a shark toy for Caleb. On our way home (we walked), he said that today was the best day ever. That sentence made my night. I'm glad that he enjoyed himself, and I'm glad that he felt good.

Honestly, I feel like the best mommy ever and it is a really good feeling.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Sleeping

Pool Day

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:27:00 -0700

Didn't get to the beach today at all. By the time we got out of the room it was past afternoon and the sand was just too hot for any of us to cross to get to the beach. So, we had a pool day. Which turned out to be better in the long wrong. No salt air around us too much, no salt water, and especially, no sand. So, any sun we did get wasn't that bad.

Caleb had a good time in the pool and I spent most of the day in the pool with him. A few times I needed to get out to help mom with Zoe, but we had a good time playing together. I tried to get him to float on his back. The first time he had a meltdown, the second and third time was much easier, but he still felt uneasy. We'll eventually get there though. But I do think that it's time for him to learn how to swim. So, we might be thinking about doing that next year - along with Zoe.

He sure is enjoying his time here on the island. He's getting so much needed mommy time too, and it does feel good to spend some time with him. Thankfully, he knows that when I need to attend to Zoe it's only for a little bit, and then I come right back to him. This trip has been really good for the two of us, so I'm happy we're bonding. He just seems so much happier when he is around me full time. It's been nice not having to feel like getting on the computer when I'm at home too. That's going to change when I get home. Computer will be off during the day and we're spending that much needed time together, even if that means that my parents have to come over and watch Zoe for a few hours. I see a difference in him and I like what I see. LIke I said, he just seems happier.

Tomorrow is beach day again. Hoping to get there before the heat of the day. Tonight, we walked the strip and I bought me some water shoes. That will help if I have to make a trip to the room. LOL. At least I won't feel like I'm walking on hot lava balls. LOL.

Tomorrow hoping to take some more pictures of some beach time. Forgot to take some while at the pool, not that I would have gotten very many since I was mostly in the pool with him. But tomorrow will be good. Videos and pictures are my chore for tomorrow. Hoping to get some good castle building too.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Sleeping

Such a Good Boy

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:27:00 -0700

Ok, so when I told you guys earlier that he had turned over a new leaf, it wasn't a fluke. It's for real.

He's been wonderful this trip. He made the drive well, he's been listening for the most part (only takes us a few times to get his attention rather than a million LOL), he's eating well, he's drinking well. Me likey that the good ol' boy is back in town. :)

He had his first full day at the beach today and boy did he have a good time. He enjoyed the sand, chasing the seagulls away from the beach, going in the water and jumping the waves, and looking for seashells.

We did have a bad moment earlier in the day. The tide is really low here (something I've never seen while on the Atlantic, and he goes out really far. He was only supposed to go to the edge and play, but he decided he was going to go out far like he and I did. He could easily stand and the waves weren't too bad, but the point is, he didn't listen.

So, I go out get him, reprimend him, he has a time out for 2 minutes, and we're back up playing. Later that day, I go out with him and purposely let him fall from the waves which knocked him under water. I immediately grab him, make sure he was ok (he was, he was laughing), and then did my teaching about why I didn't want him to go out by himself. It clicked. He never went out that far without me. LOL. We stayed out there longer, and I held him while some of the bigger waves came in. He just really enoyed himself, and frankly, so did I.

I haven't been to the beach - the REAL beach - since living back in MD. It was good to be back. It may not be the ocean like I know it (we're swimming in the Gulf), but the look, the feel of it all, bring back memories of how things were at home.

We might just need to make this a yearly trip. :)

We left the beach around 5 this evening, got "home", took our showers, and I got Zoe down for bed. She was out in seconds.

Caleb and I went shopping at Walmart (like you didn't know that was coming) got a few things for the next few days, got Dinner (McDonalds is conviently in our backyard), and then it was bedtime. Everyone is asleep, and I'm the only up. And it's 10:40! I'm still on some sort of rush over the past few days, so catching up on some blogging, before heading off to bed. Tylenol PM is in my system and I should be asleep fairly soon after I close. Hopefully. LOL

The one thing that I can't just get over is how HOT the sand is here. I either forgot from back home, or it's seriously over the top here because OH. MY. GOODNESS. I do believe I have burned the bottom of my feet. Oh, I had sandles on, but it doesn't matter. You sink in the sand here, and that hot 1 million degree sand hitting your feet seriously makes burning your finger on a stove or oven feel like ice cubes.

I have never felt anything so hot in my life.

I only felt this because we ran out of water in our cooler and I was going to get some. I couldn't go any faster on the sand becuase you can't get a good grip here. The vegetation around the paths are so overgrown, that you really can't get to it quick enough. Going to the beach we walked the same path, but it wasn't near as hot as it was later in the afternoon. I was seriously in tears on the way up to the hotel alley. A few choice words were spoken as well. I hurt. I couldn't barely walk at that point. And I still had to endure all that again BACK to the beach. Thankfully though, I took a few steps, got into the vegetation. Took a few steps and got back to the vegetation. Once the vegetation was gone, I just had to slow really down and shake my sandles every step I took until I got to the area where it wasn't that hot. When I got back to my chair, the bottoms of my feet, NO LIE, had a tan as well as a huge burn. Thankfully, I got into the water and went as far as I could until I felt cold water. That helped a lot, and the burn went away, but I still have the redness.

SOMEBODY (ahem Jordan - shakes finger), didn't warn me about how hot the sand can be out here in the south. I would have brought some tennis shoes.

Tomorrow, I at least know how to go back and forth so if I have to leave the beach for any reason, I can do it with minimal pain. While at walmart, I looked for some cheap shoes, but apparently, everyone had the same idea I did. They have to be restocked. LOL

We're all enjoying the beautiful weather, the awesome beach, the low attendance of crowds, and most importantly, taking some time for us.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Sleeping soundly

Father-Son Day

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 11:01:00 -0700

This morning, Jordan and Caleb went off and are enjoying the day with each other. I'm hoping that this will be a weekly occurance, because I think it will be good for them. If not, weekly, hopefully, more often.

I have a feeling what they'll be doing, but not quite sure until they get home. He seemed really excited about going though, so that's a good thing.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Off with Daddy

He's Getting Older

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:12:00 -0700

This week has been amazing. Caleb has been the perfect angel. Not sure what clicked with him, but he's been awesome. He's eating, he's playing with Zoe much better, he's sharing better! It's like a totally different kid. LOVE it. LOL

I'm hoping this trend continues too. It's nice to see him back to what I like to call, his old self.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Watching Clifford