It's never too late for the first update!

Hello everyone!

It's been over a year and wow, things have changed. Caleb is a spunky, energetic, almost 17 month old BOY! He loves outside, farming with daddy, and destruction! He has changed so much over the last 1 1/2 years it's hard to believe. He's is growing big and preparing to be a BIG BROTHER. While he doesn't completely understand whats to come he knows where to look when we ask him "Where's the baby?" Sometimes he lifts up his own shirt and looks at his belly so we have to explain, nope... the baby is in Mommy's belly. :) He also loves to give the baby kisses.

To give a quick update of this baby/pregnancy, we found out at the end of April about this upcoming addition, right before all of Ben's medical issues arose. (That is another story for another day if you don't already know). Due to Ben's stuff and a very busy summer at work the early parts of this pregnancy flew by. We are already at week 30, with only a few more short weeks to go. We are expecting this little one very close to Christmas, so holiday plans this year will be very flexible and unplanned. Who knows, we may be celebrating the holiday in our hospital room! So far all check ups have turned out perfect and this little one is a growing, moving little bugger. For those of you that don't know, we did not find out the sex of the baby so it will be our Christmas surprise!

The reason I've been meaning to get an update in is because we plan to use this blog to keep updates available for anyone interested when the big time comes. It will be a very busy time of year for all but an exciting one none the less. Hope you guys all enjoy our journey to meet our new arrival.

Sleeping baby

How can you resist taking pictures of a sleeping baby?

Of course, its hard to resist taking pictures any time. :)

Has it been over a week already?

I can't believe it has been over a week since I updated on the little man. Time flies when you are having fun apparently.

No doctor's appointments or any other specific information to update on but we did do some traveling last week. Caleb and I travelled out to Mosinee late last week so Caleb could meet his Great Grandparents. He was such a good boy for their meeting and we even got a 4 generations photo!

Last weekend was pretty low key, with one day spent up at the lake and the other at home. Caleb did go on his first pontoon ride ever but he did not seem to enjoy it. Once we got out on the water the wind really picked up and he was just over tired so the ride was cut short. Hopefully over 4th of July he can give it another shot. 

Of course, with Sunday being Father's Day, Ben and Caleb had some great bonding time. Caleb bought Daddy a hammock and then they both took a nap together. Both Caleb and I can't be more blessed to have such a great husband and Daddy. 

So far this week we had a chiropractor appointment (both Mommy and Caleb) and then Caleb's godmother Ashley visited yesterday. He loved her visit and spent most of it cuddling with her. 

Today we have the public health nurse coming out to the farm to visit with us/measure/listen to Caleb. This is something the county provides for all new babies. I am thinking the little man is at least 11 1/2 lbs. I guess we will see.

We have a pretty low key weekend ahead of us. We are waiting on a phone call from our good friends to let us know they had their little girl and when they do, we hope to travel and visit the new family. We wish them a safe, quick and healthy delivery and baby.

To finish up here are some of the latest pictures of Caleb.

Our perfect little genius

So lots have been going in the life of Caleb lately. I will try to update you all as best as I can.

Last Thursday we had Caleb's newborn photos (at 6 days old!) with Jess. He was such a sport, I am so excited to get the photos back and show everyone. I am sure they will turn out wonderful. Jess has always done a great job with our photos in the past so we couldn't go wrong.

Sunday we decided to venture out to church with the little man. He was wonderful through the whole thing, no fussing at all. After mass we were welcomed and congratulated by so many people. It was so nice knowing that everyone recognized such an important milestone in our lives. After church we headed to Eau Claire to do a bunch of errands. Even with going in and out of the car about a zillion times, Caleb slept through the whole thing! He even went about 4+ hours between feedings without even a peep. After we got home we got about 2 hours of attentiveness and his big beautiful eyes. It was so fun to interact with him when he was so awake.

Today was his first appointment with his new pediatrician. Ben and I were taking bets on how much he weighed. He left the hospital at 8 lbs 8 oz and at my lactation appointment last Wednesday he was up to 8  lbs 14 oz. I was figuring he would be about 9 lbs, maybe a bit more. Ben was guessing about 9 lbs 3 oz. He weighed in at 9 lb 13 oz!! He gained almost a pound in 5 days! I knew he was a good eater but WOW! His weight is in the 90th percentile and his height is in the 97th percentile! Everything else checked out great; the doctor confirmed he was the perfect little boy. :)

Once again, after the appointment, we had a few errands to run and he slept through it all. We are so thankful he rides in the car so well. On Wednesday I plan on heading out to Mom and Dad's with Caleb so I am hoping the 2.5 hour drive will go as well as the rest of our outings.

Our little genius was able to find his thumb one afternoon when he was fussing. He calmed himself down with it almost immediately. Only thing is when he went to pull it out, he was tugging on his cheek and screaming like crazy. Good thing Mommy was there to save the day!

And of course, can't have too many pictures of the little man just hanging out. 

"Mom, quit with the pictures!" :)

Hope all is well with everyone. Our plan for the evening is, once again, cuddling with the little man.

All smiles

Caleb wishes you a great weekend!

Settling in well

Over two days in and things are going well. Caleb is a pretty laid back little guy, making the transition home very smooth. Yesterday was Caleb's first outing out of the house. Mommy had a followup lactation appointment at the clinic and Caleb got to show the nurse his mad nursing skills. She was very impressed. He has also already surpassed his birth weight; up to 8lb, 14oz. After the appointment we ran some errands and even went out to lunch. He slept wonderfully through everything. Once we were back home he was making it clear that he only wanted to cuddle in Mommy's arms which continued through the night; sorry Daddy. Here are some updated pictures of Caleb.

Caleb's big cousin Haley made this burp rag for  him

He loves cuddling with Daddy

Home Sweet Home

We are home! Hard to believe, it's all gone by so fast already. The trip home was pretty uneventful but the craziest thing happened at the hospital before we left. It took most of the morning to get checked out by all the doctors, order meds and get/sign all the discharge paperwork. By noon we were packing everything up and getting ready to head out. Crazy thing is... they let us! They let us leave with this perfect little angel. I told Ben I felt like we were stealing him, like we totally didn't deserve something so great. Shouldn't have we applied for something like this? To make sure we were good enough to raise this little man? It still feels so surreal, I could cry.

So far, Caleb has settled in just fine. Eating, pooping and sleeping like a champ. Hopefully his first night at home goes as well as the hospital nights went. Good night, and wish us luck!