Month: June 2011

  • Live, Love, Laugh

    We have this saying on the wall above our kitchen sink and it’s exactly what we’ve been doing lately.  Caleb is growing by leaps and bounds.  His personality is really starting to shine.  Lately he thinks it’s hilarious to run the other way when I ask him to “come here.”  He runs into the kitchen and I say, “Uh-oh!  Where’s Caleb?”  Then he comes running back into the living room, giggling the whole way.  He also enjoys showing us his toys.  He will grab a random stuffed animal or car and hold it out to show us until we tell him what it is.  Once we tell him “that’s Snoopy,” he’s off and running again.  So much energy!  I’ve been making different barking noises for all of Caleb’s stuffed dogs.  He has started imitating my “woof woof.”  It sounds more like “oof” when he says it, but it’s so adorable.

    At 16-months-old, it amazes me how much Caleb understands.  The other day I picked up a block in the dining room, handed it to him and told him “go put this back.”  He took it and carried it across the living room and put it into the basket with the rest of the blocks.  He then proceeded to pick up a couple more blocks off the floor and put them back in the basket, too.  Daddy also mentioned one of his favorite books, “Truck Tricks,” and Caleb walked over and picked it up from under a few others.  He understands the names of toys (if I ask him to “find Snoopy” he goes running and comes back with Snoopy), the meaning of “off” and “on,” the meaning of the word “eat,” and several other things that I’m probably forgetting at the moment.  He knows several body parts and can point them out, including nose, eyes, ears, hair, belly and feet.  He is such a smart boy!

    Some of Caleb’s favorite pastimes are reading, looking out the window, playing with his stuffed puppies (Snoopy is his favorite) and toy cars, pointing at every light in sight, and eating fruit.  He’s usually very cooperative, but throws a fit when it’s time to brush his teeth.  He gets comments all the time on his big, beautiful, brown eyes (which I think sometimes get him mistaken for a girl).  His hair is growing a bit shaggy in the back, so we’re taking him in for his first real haircut tomorrow afternoon.  Caleb loves to play with his Fisher Price laptop in Spanish mode.  He’s got quite a sense of humor; I just told him his toy was stuck when he tried to pull it out from under the coffee table and he laughed.  He also laughs every time I say “banana.”  Our new favorite mealtime game is to use the letters of his name to make words (C is for car, A is for apple, etc.).  The “B” is always banana and he laughs every time.  I also repeat the word alternating slow and fast; he gets a kick out of that, too.

    Sometimes I just sit in awe of my son and can’t believe how big he is.  Other times I look at him and he still looks so small.  He truly is our “miracle baby.”  I can’t begin to express how much life, love and laughter he has brought to our lives. 

  • Hmmmm…

    I haven’t posted since March.  I was actually thinking it had been longer than that…seems like forever!  I wanted so badly to vent on here the other day, but talked myself out of it because I didn’t think it was right to air my dirty laundry.  Now I can’t even remember what was bothering me.  There are certain things that I try to write down so that I won’t forget.  I guess it’s a good thing not to write down the “bad” things or situations or people that bother me.  There’s no need to look back and remember those things!  I’d much rather look back and remember the cute things my sweet Caleb does or the nice things my husband and family do for me.  And, if by chance, my children read my writings someday, I’d much rather have them reading the “good” things about their mother’s life.

    I decided at the end of Lent to begin a cycle of Novenas, beginning with the Divine Mercy Novena that is traditionally prayed between Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  Since then I have prayed a Novena to St. Dymphna, St. Joseph, and am currently praying the Holy Spirit Novena in preparation for Pentecost this Sunday.  The Novena prayers have really helped me to have a sense of peace and calm.  There is plenty going on in our lives right now to be upset, nervous, fretful and fearful of, but instead I just feel peaceful and calm.  I am trusting that God is in control and that He will provide for our family.  After all, He hasn’t let us down yet. 

    Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.  Proverbs 3:5