First, let's talk about food. This month has really been an adventure in discovering what Caleb will and will not eat. We've tried so many things, but...
* He's become somewhat of a vegetarian, but he did not learn this from us! We love meat! If I can hide meat in his food, he will eat it. If it looks, smells, or tastes like meat, 99% of the time he will not even touch it. Every now and then he will surprise us and eat a few bites of meat. One day after church, we went to Raisin Cane's for lunch and Caleb ate an entire chicken strip with Cane's sauce! We couldn't believe it. Granted, that's not the healthiest form of meat in existence but we were just thrilled that he was voluntarily eating meat! These days, he's getting his protein from eggs and beans.
* He's a pretty picky eater in general. Sometimes, I feel like if it's not mac n cheese, carrots, green beans, bread, yogurt, mandarin oranges or cheese he will not eat it. There are other things he will eat but he's just not an adventerous eater. He is very cautious about what food he will put in his mouth. It's hard to get him to try new things.
* He LOVES dairy products. He could drink milk and eat cheese and yogurt all day, every day. The other day, I took out the package of shredded cheese for something I was eating and when he saw me put it back in the fridge without giving him any, he started crying! LOL!
* Like I mentioned above, his favorite foods these days are: macaroni & cheese, cooked carrots, green beans, bread, yogurt, mandarin oranges, cheese, scrambled eggs, apple cinnamon cheerios, black beans, pancakes, yogurt melts, puffs, apple sauce, and ravioli (one of the only meat-containing foods he will eat).
* Since he's been so picky lately, mealtimes have been somewhat stressful as a result. Will he want what I give him? Will he spit it out and cry? I got desperate one day and dug into our hurricane stash of canned goods for his lunch. I pulled out Chef Boyardee spaghetti and meat balls (side note: don't know why my husband bought this for our stash b/c it is disgusting!). To my surprise, he loved it...even the meat! (if that's even real meat, LOL) I took this to mean he must love spaghetti, so I later decided to make spaghetti myself. I just knew he'd gobble it up. But did he? NO!! He refused to eat it. Seriously? The boy likes canned spaghetti over home-cooked? Strange kid!
Now let's talk about his sleeping habits because this month has been a sleeping adventure as well (and not really in a good way!)
* He's still taking two naps a day for the most part. A great day of napping would be ~9:30-11:00/11:30am and ~1:30/2:00-3:30pm. He's been doing pretty well with naps with the occasional off day where he will only nap once or just take short naps. For this, I am very thankful!
* Nighttime sleep has been a different story. Well, once he actually goes to sleep he stays asleep. However, it's the going to sleep part we've had an issue with. On average, he takes about 2 hours just to fall asleep! A few times, he's taken 3 hours to fall asleep! On a "good" night, he will fall asleep after an hour...but usually, it's closer to 2 hours. He used to fall asleep w/in 20 minutes. We really don't know what happened to cause this. Rhett thinks he needs to drop a nap so he'll be more tired by bedtime, but I don't think he's ready to drop a nap. 9 out of 10 days, he will sleep well for both naps and if he doesn't, he gets so tired and cranky...so I think he still needs both naps. We are really at a loss here!
As for learning new things, he's really picking up on a lot of new things daily it seems!
* He definitely knows the signs for "more" and "all done" now, and he even uses them on his own! He used to only do it if I asked "do you want more?" (then he'd sign) or "are you all done?" (sign).
* He's saying quite a few words now: Tag, ball, book, bread, cheese, teeth, truck, dada, and hi. He doesn't really say them that often on his own but we play a little game where I will ask "Can you say _______?" and he'll answer me with whatever the word is. The ones he usually says on his own are ball, book, and bread (which all sound very similar!).
* He's figured out that he's supposed to put the animal puzzle pieces on his fridge farm magnet. He doesn't know how to turn the pieces until they fit, but he does know that they're supposed to go on the fridge farm and he tries to put them on there.
* He has taken a liking to a stuffed puppy that we named "Ruff Ruff" and if I ask him "Where's Ruff Ruff?", he will look for it. I also taught him how to hug Ruff Ruff and it is the absolute cutest thing ever! He puts Ruff Ruff by his face and in the sweetest voice I've ever heard, he says "awwwww" - oh my gosh, it is rediculously cute! I need to get this on video.
* He has also figured out how to answer the phone (toy phones, of course). He puts the phone to his ear and says "hi" - so cute!
* He points and grunts at things...things he wants, and pretty much anything really. Most of the time we don't even know what he's pointing at, LOL It's funny how kids figure these kinds of things out because we did not teach him this.
And some other random things...
* He walks on his knees! And I'm not talking just a little bit. He does it all the time...probably more than crawling now. I have it on video and will post it eventually. I guess we are half way to walking?
* He still loves to dance and he can really break it down! :)
* He loves to read and if there is a book around, he is either looking at it on his own or he is bringing us books to read to him. He is very persistent, too. Sometimes if I've already read a book to him once...or twice...or three times in a row, he will give it to me yet again when we're done and I will just put it off to the side hoping he will forget about it. But, no - he will pick it up again and hand it to me AGAIN. We've got to get some new books! I hope he always loves books!
* He absolutely loves being outside. He will point to the back door and grunt telling us he wants to go out. When we bring him back in, he throws the mother of all fits. And he loves to swing now. He acts as if the world is ending when we take him out of the swing!
* He has no fear when it comes to his puppies. Sometimes they are all three wrestling/playing with each other and he will try to crawl into the action, just laughing. He throws the ball for Rio, although Rio hasn't figured out to bring it back to Caleb. He'll bring it to one of us instead and then we'll have to give it to Caleb to throw. He also tries to take the ball directly out of Rio's mouth. I can't wait until the dogs figure out that he's fun to play with b/c they could really all have fun together. They are still a bit leery of Caleb.
* He is fascinated with the dishwasher and loves to take things out and put things back into it. He even tries to crawl into it. Too bad he can't really help do the dishes! :)
* He has started crying when I drop him off at MDO while I go to Motherwise and on Sunday mornings. He has done this only a few times in the past (like when he was maybe 7-8 months old, I think). Hopefully he will get over this soon!
* He has adorably curly hair in the back and perfectly straight every where else. I think it's cute and so does pretty much every other female who sees it. Rhett, however, thinks its girly and wants to chop it off. I guess he is going to get a trim in a few weeks. I will be a little sad to see the baby curls go.
Well, that's all I can think of for now. Told you this would get long. I'm a detail-oriented person...you know, the kind who will ask 20 questions while someone is telling a story just b/c they don't think the story-teller is giving enough details. ;) Besides, I want to remember all of this when I'm old and gray.
And now for the [bazillion] pictures!
sweetest face on earth!
Caleb couldn't decide who to ask out on a supervised date to the zoo, so he brought both pretty girls! Sam (15 months) and Eden (9 months)
He loved the goats at the zoo! I didn't realize until I reviewed the picture that he put his finger in his mouth...right after petting the goat. Gross!
at Granny and Grandpa's house in Woodville
bedhead!
sitting outside reading in Woodville
adorable curls! this was actually a tame hair day. a lot of the time, it's crazy all over the place.
the one thing Daddy gave me - his lips. :)
really wanting to go outside to help Daddy and Grandpa work on the porch!
fun at Little Gym
riding the "air track" at Little Gym
probably crying b/c I made him come inside. just look at those tears!
wee!! loving the swing!
helping Mommy load the dishwasher
This was the sign on our door at the hospital when Caleb was born. He found it behind his bed so I pulled it out for him to look at. He sat down on top of it for probably 5 minutes, just chillin'.
being silly with Ruff Ruff
another day at Little Gym
he likes crawling under things, including the balance beam at LG
I see this face many times each day, LOL. just look at that lip. pitiful!
turned my back for one minute and he crawled onto the dishwasher door
he goes head first off of everything - you really have to watch him!
Caleb and Daddy at the Astros game
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