Caleb the Oinker

I always thought that one of the greatest trials in parenthood is getting your child to eat well. Now I know that stage may come later with Caleb - but I can honestly say that we have yet to have that sort of problem with our little oinker. Our issue is more of how to get him to stop eating - as he'll eat everything that we prepare for him and then have the nerve to try to eat off of his parents' plates as well. He has yet to meet a food that that he hasn't liked - as he eats everything from fruits to vegetables to meats to breads. If he wasn't so darn active crawling around all the time, I'd be seriously worried about an ultra-early onset of childhood obesity. Overall, he's a pretty happy baby - but his most demanding and impatient behavior surfaces if Sharon or I dare take a second too long in between bites when we're feeding him. He also hasn't quite learned the distinction between Caleb's food and his parents' food - as he'll go nuts if we don't give him at least a morsel of whatever we're trying to eat. Though I do appreciate his good eating habits, I'm secretly a little disappointed that I don't get to do the "airplane spoon" trick to interest him in eating. The one time I tried that trick just for fun - he shot me a disgusted "why are you messing around - GET THAT FOOD IN MY MOUTH!" look that revealed that he knows that food is for eating and not for playing.

Some of you may also be wondering what the latest on our house is since we were supposed to be closing this past week. The homeowner was willing to fix some of the issues that came out in the inspection, but unfortunately that also pushed our closing date back to December 1. We just found out that our loan was also officially approved so we will be homeowners in exactly 9 days from now - barring anything unforseen from arising. It's definitely exciting, but also a little scary and overwhelming for me as we're immediately undertaking the kitchen remodel project. I never thought I'd actually enjoy going to Home Depot or Lowes - but I have a feeling that we'll be making many trips there in the next few months so I better start liking it. That's all for now as our next blog entry will hopefully be as proud, new homeowners.

What is it about a cardboard box that brings hours of sheer bliss?

Unfortunately, Caleb still relies on his calculator for more complex multiplication problems.

Caleb's maiden voyage up the steps (I love how Sharon asks "Oh my gosh, he's standing!" like he's juggling flaming swords or something)


"Dadda" or random babble? - you be the judge

Housing Update #2

Well, a lot has changed in our housing search over the past two weeks. We did make an offer on a house about two weeks ago and have been under contract since then. Last Monday, we had the inspection done - and it definitely raised some concerns about how much money we would need to put into it right away. I am definitely not a "project guy" so the thought of having to redo some stuff on our own is a little intimidating to say the least. The most immediate area of concern is the tiny kitchen (pictured below), but we do have the option of pushing a wall back to give us more space there. Over the next two days, we'll be negotiating with the seller concerning some of the items we would like to have taken care of before we would move in. We also need to get a quote from a contractor to see if we could afford to move the wall in the kitchen as we had planned. As I am admittedly an over-analyzer, Sharon and I have gotten to the point that we're feeling a bit of "analysis paralysis," but we're going to need to make a decision for sure by Thursday at the very latest.

On the Caleb front - he has recently become more of a babbler on the verge of his first really word. I really think that he is already starting to say "da-da" and I think it will be just a few days before he's saying Polamalu - in reference to his favorite Steeler. He definitely is quite the extrovert (just like his dad) as he was having a bit of a fussy day on Sunday and we were really concerned to take him on the scheduled nursing home visit with our church small group. Once he got there - he turned in to a veritable prince charming as he smiled and flirted with all the old ladies (and some of the old men as well). One other thing we've noticed recently is his development of those irrational fears. Caleb loves the sound of white noise and the looks of electronics - but if you put these two items together into a hair dryer and a vacuum cleaner, it induces shear terror in our little guy. If Caleb sees a vacuum, hairdryer, or space heater - he instantly goes into freak out mode even if they aren't turned on. Hopefully this is something he will grow out of soon as I was hoping to have him vacuuming our house as soon as he learned how to walk.

The front of our potential new home

The tiny kitchen that we would want to expand somehow


Caleb loves his tongue!

Happy Baby!

Is this a Theo face?


Who needs a crib when you have a laundry basket?