Caleb's 9 months!

So, I am a few days late, but I can not believe my baby is 9 months!!  What the heck?  Less than 3 months and he will be a whole year old!  My goodness, I can't believe it.


Anyway, Caleb has been standing for over a month now, but has no desire to walk...he's not even cruising.  He is perfectly content standing up and falling down...seriously, he does it for fun.  Caleb also likes playing with water bottles, either full or empty.  He grabs them out of our recycling bin and throws them all over.  He has also found the toilet paper!  He is so quick...by the time I get to the bathroom he has unrolled like half the roll!  And I really mean he is quick. If I turn around for a second, he is gone.  He usually ends up in Sammie's room...probably because that's where all the fun toys are. 


My little pumpkin (That's what Sammie calls him...I don't know why) is also sleeping through the night.  Not every night, but enough to where I feel a little rested some days.  He is also teething now, well, it seems like he has been teething forever!  We see what we think is a tooth, but no tooth yet.  I am hoping he gets one soon! 


There's so much more I could say about Caleb.  He is almost always happy, but he has a temper on him!  I think both of the  kids got my temper!  Oh and I think my favorite thing Caleb does now is when David comes home,  he stops whatever he is doing and crawls right up to him with the biggest smile and stands up so daddy will pick him up!  And I mean he stops whatever...he could be playing with a favorite toy, eating his puffs, watching tv, standing up and falling down...It is sooo cute!!  I think he is going to be a daddy's boy!

So, that is 9-month-old Caleb in a nutshell. Man, I love him!

Sometimes it's so hard

Last night was a rough night. Long story short, we had bible study last night and during these studies, all of the kids go into a different room and play.  Samantha did not want to go and when we finally tried to make her, she broke down.  I carried her to the room kicking and screaming and she hung on to me for dear life.  I could see it in her eyes, it was not out of defiance,  she really could not handle being in the room with all the kids.  Yes, it was pretty rowdy up there, but all the kids were having fun and she knew every child there!  Most of them, she has known since she was a baby.  And although she likes each child individually, as a group, she can not deal with it.  Her stress level gets so high and she ends up in a fight or flight response.  So, after a few minutes in the room with her, I knew there was no calming her down, so back down the stairs we went.

David and I drove home separately that night and he took the kids, so I was able  to drive home in quiet.  When we left, I was a little frustrated by Sammie's behavior, but as I had time to think, I became so sad.  We have implemented so many sensory activities into Samantha's daily life and it has helped sooooo much.  Bed time is so easy now and brushing her hair and teeth are getting much better. I have been so happy with all of the changes, but last  night just reminded me that Sammie is still going to have difficult moments.  Moments that not everyone will understand and moments when  I won't know what to do. 

It hurts my heart when I think about how difficult social situations can be for Sammie.  I hear that it does get easier and when she is older, she will learn how to cope, but right now, at this stage in life, I want nothing more than to scoop her in my arms and take away all the bad feelings.  It is so hard to see my little three year old full of so much anxiety. It's so hard to watch other kids playing and laughing together while mine is clinging on to me.  It is so hard to explain to people what's going on when she overreacts to a touch or them just saying hi.   It's so hard when the moment I mention we are going certain places, I see her face change and she starts telling me how much she does not want to go.  And it's so hard when we do have to go somewhere and I have to leave her, not only to hear her crying, but to listen to her for the  next week telling me how much she didn't want to be there and how much she didn't want me to leave and how I should not do that again. 

So, here is David  and my job...we have to find ways for our Sammie girl to not just deal with different situations, but to be happy or at least comfortable in those situations.  We have to learn her triggers.  We have to push her, but not so hard that she becomes overwhelmed. And then, we have to teach her.  Sammie is so beautiful, ridiculously smart, hilarious and oh so compassionate.  Not everyone sees all of that now, but I have so much hope that one day everyone will.

3 amusement parks in 3 months



This is the best family picture we got all day



Yes, we have been to 3 different amusement parks in 3 months, which I find interesting since we really aren't amusement park kind of people....Once or twice a year is good enough for me. Anyway, on Friday we went to California Adventure.  Just like Disneyland, Sammie was a bit overwhelmed at first and Caleb was a happy boy...as long as we were  holding him or he could get someone to  pay attention to him.  This time, we gave Samantha time to take it all in and then, she had a blast!  Caleb did  too.  I think his favorite part was when we were in line for the Toy Story ride and he was able to  flirt with the two girls behind us.  No kidding, I was playing with him and he was staring at me laughing, then he caught eyes with the girls behind us and it was like I didn't exist  anymore!  Anyway,  Samantha loved  all the rides and shows.  She and Caleb both loved  The Disney Jr Show.  And of course Samantha's favorite rides were the ones that spun her in circles.



Loving the ladybug ride



Samantha loved this ride...this ride made me sick. My motion sickness is pretty bad

Watching Disney Jr.  He LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  He couldn't keep his eyes off the stage

Caleb got his own ride from Daddy

Me with my baby boy

My girl was happiest, once again, when she was able to  run, jump and climb

So, it was a good day, but Samantha didn't want to go at first.  Here's my conversation with Samantha the day before we went...

Me: Guess where we are going to take you tomorrow?
Sam:  Where?
Me: California Adventure.  It's kind of like Disneyland and Legoland.
Sam: I don't want to go.
Me: I think you will like it, but I guess we can take Caleb and you can stay with Grandma and Grandpa. (I thought she would say No)
Sam: Ok
Me: Oh sorry, I forgot, Grandma and Grandpa can't.  They are busy.  You will just have to come with us and have lots of fun.
Sam: (After a few  minutes of thinking) I know!!!!!  You can call Aunt T and she can come over  here and watch me!  Then you can just take Caleb!

Seriously, she talked about her Aunt T coming over until we actually put her in the car and took her with us.  I'm pretty sure she was glad she went. Silly girl.

Happy Happy Mother's Day

When I was younger, I would ask my mom what she wanted for Mother's Day and she always said something like, "I just want you guys to get along." Or "I don't want anything, just you guys to be happy." At the time I thought she was crazy.  Who doesn't want anything?!  Well, I have found myself turning into my mom.  When Sammie  asked what I wanted, I replied, "I just want you to be happy."  And it was the truth...I didn't want anything, but to see my children happy.  I mean, don't  get me wrong, it is always nice to get a gift, but really, I didn't want them to get me a thing.  I just wanted to see my family happy, and happy is what they were!

Aside from being sick and wanting nothing more than to sleep the day away, my day was pretty good....You know, once I got some drugs in me. :)  It started off with David getting up with the kids so I could actually sleep in.  And then of course, he made me breakfast and Sammie gave me my gift.   After church, we had our families over for an early Mother's Day dinner.   David BBQed tri-tip and chicken...sooo good!


I am so blessed to have such amazing children.  To say that I adore them would be an understatement...they are my world and bring so much joy into my life.  I feel so honored and priviledged to be called their mommy.