ok, here goes

I'm finally going to let you all know what we've been up to the last month!
Well, after Caleb's baptism, I kind of went into frantic mode of going back to work. After 3 months of staying home and spending all my time with him, it was terrible to think that I wasn't going to be able to do that anymore. Well, the first week went ok. I had Daddy drop him off on the first day, I just wasn't up for talking about it. I just wanted to get to work and start the day - I think it helped because the day went quick and I didn't feel really bad. Then Tuesday comes and I have to drop him off at daycare...it went ok too. Robin is a super nice lady and you can just tell that she loves kids. Since she is excited about the kids being there, it made it much easier to drop him off (rather than someone just doing a job for a paycheck). Of course I didn't want to leave him there, and was just waiting for someone to come in and say 'You've been punked'...it never happened and I left without my baby. I got through the day with no tears and as quick as possible. When I showed up he'd just woken up from a nap a few minutes earlier and you could just tell he was so tired. Robin told me that he loved to just sit and watch all the kids playing and talking. He's always wanted to up sitting upright so he can see and hear things going on, so I wasn't too surprised. I was relieved though that he had fun on his first day. The next 2 days were about the same, he was sleeping when I showed up and had a fun full day watching the older kids play. I like mixing it up between Robin and Grandma Sandy during the week though, for my sake. I got home on Thursday and realized that he went to Grandma's the next day and it made me feel like it was already Friday and it was just about over. But I tried to get off a little early on Friday so I could just go home and enjoy being with him some more, but of course I didn't get there any earlier. Oh well, I was able to spend the weekend with my little trooper and enjoyed every minute of it!
Ok, now the stuff you guys really want to know. He is about 14lbs as of last week and he is just getting so strong and mobile. We got him a chair that sits more upright than the bouncer and he just loves to sit up and watch the dogs, TV and mommie and daddy. I noticed a huge difference in his neck strenght from Monday to Friday, and I have to thank Robin for that. She said that he gets at least a couple sessions of Tummy Time in and it definately shows. Daddy played airplane with him this weekend and he was just as sturdy as could be while up in the air. He is standing on my lap all by himself and is able to sit with a little support (just keep from going to the side!).
A couple weeks ago he was on his tummy at home and he didn't like it anymore, but I thought I'd just let him get a little fussy and see what he can do. Well, I just sat by him and he proceeded to get his feet under his side and flipped himself over. So we can check that off the list - rolling over from tummy to back! I even have a picture of him trying the next day. Now we are working on rolling over from back to tummy. I've also been checking for teeth. This child drools just as bad as my dogs to! He is a slobbery mess but I haven't seen anything coming in yet. I just hope he stays as happy then as he is now! Caleb is such a blessing. He is so happy and content to play with his toys and watch the activities going on around him. The only time he gets pretty fussy is if he's hungry. Everything else is just no big deal for him (diapers, sleeping, attention). He will put himself to sleep when he's ready and just get a little squirming with a diaper...and someone is always talking to him or playing with him so he always has someone's attention! We've also been using his Bumbo chair in the kitchen now, while I cook supper, he just sits and watches me or looks out the windows. He's starting to intentionally grab at things so I'll be getting the tray for the Bumbo that I can put his toys onto. Yes, he's figured out how to grab mom's hair and her chain. He is starting to want to grab at his toys that hang, so I went out and got a few more that don't hang and he can actually hold onto. Now that he is working on the grabbing, more things are making it into his mouth. He's not sure he likes it, but he keeps trying to fit them in there!
All I can say is that Caleb is the sweetest little boy and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. He wakes me up every morning with smiles and chatting, and I've never woke up so happy or easy in my life since he's been here. I try to get pictures of him smiling, but he is just like Charlie and as soon as I get the camera out, they look away or stop smiling! I do have some pictures from this past couple weeks that I'll post and I'll also put up our family pictures. We had Hills in Sioux Center take our pictures before I went back to work. I must say, they turned out great! Well, I'm going to get some lunch and then I'll post my pics.

Have a great week & Thanks to all the veterans out there!