The McLendon Family

Hello, Second Trimester! (14 Weeks)

2012-01-25T22:22:00.001-05:00

First pregnancy post since the announcement... and it's 2 weeks in the making.

And now the second trimester is already here... WOW!

The second time around is definitely different for me. My focus is definitely not "all baby" like it was for the first. Partly that has to do with most of my time being spent with Caleb... and then napping. I'm starting to get some energy back this week and don't feel the urge to run straight to bed after I put Caleb down for his nap.

The other side of it is that I have been more sick with this baby. Since week 7 I've had difficulty with nausea and more. The doctor suggested to try taking half a Unisom and 25mg of Vitamin B6 before bed. It worked well enough to get through the next day. I did have a perscription for Zofran but was able to manage it with the Unisom/B6. I'd try every week or so not to take it, but until this week the results were not good. Hopefully that will continue. So maybe Bug #2 is a girl according to the old wives tale!

I am having lots of crazy dreams! Two nights during the past week I dreamed all my teeth fell out when I was chewing gum... what does that mean?

I've popped. Big difference in being pregnant with this baby: I don't care about squeezing into my regular clothes... bring on the comfort. I am wearing some clothes but using a belly band; my winter maternity clothes are all huge since I was wearing them at 8 and 9 months with Caleb.
I'd wear pajama pants everywhere if I could!

I had an ultrasound on January 4th. The baby's little arms were moving around and legs were crossed. It was a big difference from the bean shape at the previous one 4 weeks before!
This Scripture kept popping into my head:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

-Psalm 139-

Visiting the Magees

2012-01-25T22:21:00.000-05:00

For MLK weekend we visited Brooke, Jeremy, and James in Asheville!

Brooke is also pregnant... AND we have the SAME due date!

Caleb and James had fun together; they're a year apart but the same size. Caleb is at the low end of the growth percentiles for his age and James is at the high end of the growth percentiles for his age.

On Friday evening we went to the Tractor Shed, a delicious BBQ restaurant. There was live music and to say Caleb loved it is an understatement!

Playing drums with James!

Finger Painting with MomMom

2012-01-25T22:20:00.000-05:00

January 12, 2012

Dancing with Maggie

2012-01-25T22:19:00.002-05:00

January 9, 2012

Guilty...

2012-01-25T22:19:00.001-05:00

January 9, 2012

Holy Holy Holy

2012-01-25T22:19:00.000-05:00

January 6, 2012

BIG melon

2012-01-25T22:18:00.000-05:00

January 5, 2011

Happy New Year!

2012-01-06T10:54:00.000-05:00

For the 5th year we rang in the new year with the Taylors; we've gone from zero to soon to be four kids!

Caleb was SUPER excited to be going to Zachary and "WaWa's" (Joshua's) house!

Happy New Year from Joshua, Caleb, Zachary, and New Bug!

And then it wouldn't come off...

Balloon fun!

Christmas Pickles?!?!?

2011-12-30T10:40:00.000-05:00

...or in Caleb's words: "peeeeeckles!"

He sure loves them!

Christmas!

2011-12-30T09:56:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve

Off to Christmas Eve service at church!

Christmas Day

Opening up a few gifts before MomMom (Caleb's new name for my mom) and Aunt J arrived!

Christopher got me speakers for the kitchen for music... LOVE IT!

Caleb would as "Is it?" ("What is it?") while opening gifts!

Lots of surprises... a basketball goal for Christopher and car garage for Caleb!

Stockings!

Caleb got fireman, policeman, and train conductor costumes from MomMom!

Opening gifts at Mema & Granddad's house!

First Time Making Christmas Cookies!

2011-12-29T11:49:00.000-05:00

In Love

2011-12-29T11:20:00.000-05:00

To Ms Courtney, the lady who took away the bottlecap:
Thank you for the truck! I really LOVE it! I even had mommy bring it with
us to the grocery store last week to ride along next to me in the cart
AND I insisted it take a nap with me. I think this makes up for the
bottlecap experience! ;)
Love,
Caleb

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T10:02:00.004-05:00

Caleb is nicknamed "Bug"...

so now we have "New Bug" coming around July 22, 2012!

Caleb's New Dance Move

2011-12-09T10:07:00.000-05:00

Caleb loves to dance. Usually when music comes on he'll say "DANCE!"

Here's his newest move:

Kebub's World

2011-12-09T09:50:00.000-05:00

Loving Tuesdays went the landscappers come with their big mowers!

And playing with cars ... all lined up in one direction, of course!

And reading books.... LOTS!

And finishing up every last bit of the delicious crepes at lunch with Ma/MomMom (he's currently calling her both)!

A Walk Through Bethlehem with MOPS

2011-12-09T09:47:00.002-05:00

On Sunday we went to "A Walk Through Bethlehem" at a church in Wake Forest with the families from my MOPS group. It was a neat experience!

Afterwards we went to our leader's house for dessert! Caleb enjoyed playing with baby Maddie and Jamie's new puppy Lucy!

Happy Birthday, Abby & Tyler!

2011-12-09T09:44:00.000-05:00

We traveled to New Bern this past weekend for Abby & Tyler's birthday party!

The kiddos had lots of fun playing. During breakfast on Saturday morning Caleb and Tyler were trying to tell each other knock knock jokes and were cracking up at each other.

Party time!

The party was at the fire station; Amy's boyfriend Chad is the fire chief.

The boys enjoyed climbing all over the trucks and Caleb even went for a little ride.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2011-12-09T09:39:00.000-05:00

We decorated the house for Christmas in the days after Thanksgiving.

We're really thinking when we tied the Christmas tree on the car... so in the window I went!

Caleb has enjoyed checking out all the ornaments!

His new ornament for this year is a train!

Thanksgiving

2011-12-09T09:37:00.000-05:00

Enjoying the Macy's parade!

Yummy meal!

We got to use the china that was my grandmother's for the first time.

Raleigh Christmas Parade

2011-11-22T22:44:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we went to the Raleigh Christmas Parade with my mom and the Taylors.

Caleb's Favorites:

horses, dogs, marching bands, giant shopping cart, cars...

motorcycles, the Jeep, tractors, balloons, oh my!

He could have cared less about Scotty McCreery or Santa...

I mean who wouldn't when right after come the ambulances and fire trucks!

Caleb is quite fascinated with Zachary still!

Two-Year Old Photos

2011-11-22T22:40:00.000-05:00

A little impromptu photo shoot at Umstead Park

on November 12, 2011...

Gettin' His Groove On

2011-11-15T22:41:00.000-05:00

So the common denominator is still to be determined...

but every now and then a song will catch Caleb's attention and make him dance!

First up... the new Prius Commercial:

And now a song on The Sing Off:

Caleb's Party

2011-11-06T09:47:00.000-05:00

Opening a few more gifts and getting ready for the party!

We're going to have a whale of a time!

The morning after.... lots of new things to play with!

Surprise 40th!

2011-11-06T09:30:00.002-05:00

Christopher got a big surprise on Caleb's actual birthday.... a surprise 40th birthday for him!

His birthday isn't until November 15th but this was the only weekend that would work for friends.

As soon as he left for work, we got busy getting everything ready for this golf themed party!

On the menu:

Golf Club Sandwiches, Chip Shots, Sand Traps (rice krispie treats), Water Hazard (blue jello), Bucket of Balls (meatballs), Fruit Golf Balls

SURPRISE!

2 Years Old

2011-11-04T16:19:00.011-04:00

Caleb is 2 years old!

How time flies... minutes old... one year old... two years old!

Got out the moose today for a comparison picture!

Ahhhh an emotional 2 year old!

At home measurements have him weighing 24-25 pounds. We go to the Pediatrician for his well-check on Friday so I'll update then!

He is wearing size 4 diapers with 12-18 (pants) and 18-24 (shirts) month clothes.

I'm amazed at how quickly Caleb is picking up new words!

Some favorites: Kebub (what he calls himself), , eeeenamils (animals), hold it, police car, ambulance, people (frequently he'll say "Hi, people" when we pass others in the grocery store), WaWa (Joshua, my brother), TONS of animal names, "watch" (when he wants to watch TV), birthday, party, beep beep, "round" (around), piano, peeeeeckles, covers

Counting: He counts to fourteen. He still skips four!

Alphabet: Not yet!

Colors: Most things are green but every now and then he'll get it!

Concepts: open/close, on/off, up/down, in/out, shhhhhh

Skills: helping to dress/undress, walk independently down the stairs (he likes to "walk," not crawl now), tries to sing

Favorites: green beans, "bars" (Nutrigrain bars), pickles, Elmo, matchbox cars, books with flaps to lift up, trucks trucks and more trucks, trains, his friends (He gets very excited about Maggie and Brody!)

Sleeping: He takes 1 nap for 3 to 4 hours and sleeps about 11 hours at night.

Caleb started off his birthday with birthday donuts with Mommy and Ma.

We practiced blowing candles out; he kept saying "More birthday!"

Caleb opened his presents from Ma and the packages that had come in the mail from Aunt Kathy and Uncle Steve, Uncle Joshua and Aunt Ashley.

We did lots of getting ready for Daddy's surprise birthday party that night (a real surprise on Caleb's birthday); Caleb helped with the golf balls. We also had lunch at Ruby Tuesdays with Daddy!

Halloween!

2011-11-01T11:22:00.001-04:00

Trick-or-Treat bag doubles as a hat!

Our Halloween ended up a little different than planned due to the rain.

First we stopped at Mema & Granddad's church to do a couple activities at their Fall Fest.

Then we headed to the mall to trick-or-treat with all the rest of Raleigh.

Caleb's costume was a hit! It was super crowded but fun to see all the costumes.

Caleb carried around his "back pack" (as he called it... a.k.a. pumpkin treat bag) to get candy.

I love the tail!

On our way to our last stop...

Last we went to Ma's house for a surprise visit!

Pre-Halloween Fun

2011-10-30T22:34:00.000-04:00

We went to the Halloween Hoot at the library this week.

Caleb's favorite part = the lollipop!

When I was getting out Caleb's cold weather clothes for the season, I stumbled across his Halloween costume from last year... still fits!

A little crafting!

And his first jack-o-lantern!

What's your name?

2011-10-30T22:29:00.000-04:00

Caleb will answer now when asked what his name is.

I love all the funny ways he says words; loving it while it lasts!

"Key-bub"

Look Out Post

2011-10-30T22:22:00.005-04:00

Our front windows are the perfect spot to look outside;

we watch birds... dogs... trucks... motorcycles.... everything!

Waiting for the trash truck to come... we heard it coming and were so excited that we had to take a break from lunch!

Beyond excited...

Watch the Fed Ex truck in the other part of our neighborhood across the pond.... AMAZING to a 2 year old and almost 2 year old!

Watch the mailman. And yes, Caleb is making his baby knock on the window.

Happy Birthday, Brody!

2011-10-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

Brody turns 2 tomorrow and we celebrated with them on Saturday. Brody and Caleb are only 4 days apart.

Brody did a great job blowing out his candles!

Brody's Mommy Jan did an amazing job with decorations, food, and more!

Caleb especially loved the donuts and all the trucks/cars!

Happy Second Birthday, Brody!

North Carolina Zoo

2011-10-23T23:16:00.000-04:00

After visiting the aquarium on Sunday and farm animals at the fair on Monday, our week of animals continued yesterday with traveling to Asheboro, NC for Caleb's first trip to the zoo. We arrived about 10:00; Caleb was still going strong all the way until closing at 5:00 with no nap. He was asleep by the time we got out of the parking lot when we headed home. My mom (who Caleb has started calling "Ma") came with us.

The giraffes and the elephants were up close!

A chimp and a gorilla were right up by the glass!

Caleb loved watching the seals splash.

This bird kept Caleb's attention for a while; he was walking back and forth along the glass with it.

He LOVED the snakes!

Five years ago...

2011-10-21T07:22:00.002-04:00

I take you to be my husband/wife,

to have and to hold from this day forward,

for better for worse,

for richer for poorer,

in sickness and in health,

to love and to cherish,

until one lays the other safely in the arms of Jesus.

According to God’s holy ordinance, this is my solemn vow.

We celebrated with dinner out at Sullivan's! Delicious!

The best toys aren't toys at all!

2011-10-18T16:54:00.000-04:00

MOPS

2011-10-18T16:51:00.000-04:00

I have enjoyed being able to participate in MOPS on Tuesdays at my church this year! Maggie's mommy was willing to switch the days we work this year and we've enjoyed going. The program alternates every week with time at the church and playdates. This past week my group had a playdate at the park; the kids wore their Halloween costumes and decorated pumpkins!

It was the debut of Caleb the Whale!

Fair Time!

2011-10-17T16:49:00.001-04:00

The North Carolina State Fair is here!

We took Caleb on a carousel and ferris wheel for the first time!

Myrtle Beach

2011-10-16T16:40:00.013-04:00

On October 14th we traveled to Myrtle Beach to help with NDI's Feed the Hunger Pack-a-thon; Christopher's very good friend Joseph runs NDI. The volunteers packed 152,700 meals for at-risk children!

Visit http://feedthehunger.org/ for more information if you'd like to help!

We also enjoyed some pool and beach time with the Williams'!

Caleb kept pointing to the ocean saying he wanted to go to "that pool!"

We went to the aquarium on Sunday before heading home; Caleb loved it, of course!

Got Blueberries?

2011-10-10T16:33:00.002-04:00

Fall is here... heading to the park!

2011-10-10T16:14:00.001-04:00

At Ma's neighborhood park with her, Aunt J, & Mommy!

At Kid's Together Park with Erin, Joshua, Zachary, Maggie, and Mommy!

Caleb LOVES glasses!

2011-10-07T16:10:00.000-04:00

23 Months Old

2011-10-04T09:00:00.017-04:00

Caleb is 23 months old today!

At home measurements have him weighing 24-25 pounds and measuring 32 inches tall.
He is wearing size 4 diapers with 12-18 (pants) and 18-24 (shirts) month clothes.

Caleb's last "first molar" is in!

I've completely lost count of how many words Caleb has; he has new words every day!

My Favorites of His Words: dance, noPe, Ma (what he calls my mom), round (when a car or something is not facing the direction as all the others), Maggie, rock, school bus, mail, nail, baa (what he calls sheep), tractor, noodles, owl, play, watch, ride (when he wants to go in the car), weeeeee (when we go down a hill in the car)

He is getting better about telling us what he wants. He loves to label things as Daddy's or Mommy's.

Counting: He trys to count to ten. He usually skips four and needs assistance for eight and ten. If I give him the first sound he can usually come up with the word.

Alphabet: Not yet!

Colors: He will sort colors but isn't naming them yet.

Concepts: open/close, on/off, up/down, in/out, shhhhhh (usually in reponse to seeing a baby)

Current Favorite Foods: noodles, rice, corn, green beans, anything with "dip", pancakes, cheese

Favorite Toys: matchbox cars, trains

Favorite Activities: playing matchbox cars, riding his tricycle, playing with dogs, walks

Favorite Books: My First Truck Board Book

He takes 1 nap for 3 to 4 hours and sleeps about 11 hours at night.

Caleb got to meet his Great Uncle Kerry and Great Uncle Kevin on September 24th. Pepaw and Mimi came too!

Making a fruit loop flower! First he placed the fruit loops on one at a time on the glue then it was handfuls!

Caleb has discovered he's big enough to climb onto our dining room chairs and onto his toy box!

Buddies... balloon and baby for each!

Cars aren't the only things that fit in the basket!

The rocking chair is much more fun without the cushion!

Helping daddy build the loft in the garage!

Caleb and Maggie had a fantastic time watching the dogs in the doggy day care at Petsmart!

Picnic lunch with "Ma"... that's what Caleb is calling her!

Caleb's not afraid!

Chic-fil-a Mother & Son Date Knight

2011-10-03T22:31:00.001-04:00

Caleb and I went on a date tonight to Chic-fil-a's Mother & Son Date Knight!

All the staff were dressed in medieval clothing... even the Chic-fil-a Cow! We were waited on and orders were taken at our table. There was face painting and balloon animals. Caleb got a little cow stuffed animal and I got a rose! We enjoyed free dessert too!

Coyote

2011-10-03T22:26:00.000-04:00

Yes, you read that right.

Coyote.... by the pond next to our culdasac!

Caleb's been wondering...

2011-10-03T22:24:00.000-04:00

What's wrong with my shorts???

We've had some cooler weather the past few days. The first time he wore pants this season he was a bit confused and kept pulling up his pant legs!

Hillridge Farms

2011-10-03T22:20:00.000-04:00

On September 24th we went to Hillridge Farms.

They have 2 teacher appreciate weekends and we all got in free... sweet!

The weather was a bit dreary but we still had a good time.

Got Soup?

2011-09-20T16:32:00.000-04:00

Caleb likes to eat his snack on the step!

On this day it included cans of soup!

MY Mommy

2011-09-20T16:30:00.000-04:00

Yes, Caleb is telling Christopher "no" when he comes over to hug me!

Yes, Caleb is telling Christopher to "stay" when he leads him away!

Yes, this happens frequently!

Chocolate Cake Mustache

2011-09-20T16:29:00.002-04:00

Seizure

2011-09-20T16:28:00.001-04:00

On Thursday evening Caleb spiked a high fever (103.8) in 30-40 minutes. While buckled into the carseat to head to the pediatrian, Caleb started having a seizure. His eyes were huge and his arms were convulsing. Thankfully his breathing was labored... but he was breathing.

I got him out of the car and screamed for Christopher while holding Caleb in the driveway.

I called 911 at 6:14; later I saw on our hospital paperwork that we checked in to the ER at 6:19.

Christopher drove us to the hospital as we didn't want to wait for the paramedics since we only live 5 minutes from Rex. He stopped seizing as violently while I was holding him in the back seat but was unresponsive and limp; his jaw was clamped shut on my finger. It was difficult to keep him awake; I was afraid for him to go to sleep.

We were ushered immediatly through the waiting room and triage in the ER. It was clear he was out of the seizure but was very drowsy and still unresponsive to us. All I could think about was if he had suffered brain damage, knowing nothing about seizures of any kind. Later Christopher told me this "postictal period" lasted about 30 minutes; this is the time the brain recovers from the seizure and is an altered consciousness.

Caleb laid with me in the bed for a while, very lethargic and not talking. He was started on Ibuprofen as well as a urinalysis and blood test to try to determine the cause of the fever since there were no other visible symptoms of illness other than the fever. A fluid drip through an IV was started.

I was flooded with relief when he finally cried"Mommy" while putting in the IV.

Caleb was diagnosed as having a febrile seizure after a description of our day and the seizure to Dr McHugh. Febrile Seizures are caused by a spike in fever. Most last less than 5 minutes and are typically harmless events without lasting effects.

After about 2 hours after the seizure, Caleb was sitting on the bed, looking at books with me, playing with his trucks, and getting back to normal as far as his demeanor. Because of how well he was bouncing back, Dr McHugh felt it was not a severe bacterial infection (such as meningitis) so we were able to avoid putting Caleb through a CAT scan and spinal tap... THANK GOD! After how much he screamed with the IV and catheter, I can't imagine a spinal tap.

To be proactive, he was started on an antibotic through the IV just in case it turned out to be bacterial.

We were given some extra time after the IV drip ran out until we were ready to go home; I'm thankful we didn't leave at 11pm when the antibiotic was finished since shortly after he had his highest fever of the night at 104.3, and he had some shakes from the IV and fever. Probably wouldn't have gone over well with me at home. We left at about 1:30am when the fever lowere to 101.6 after a dose of Ibuprofen and Tylenol in combination. And I thought I was scared to bring him home from the hospital after he was born...

Dr McHugh and two of our pediatricians have educated Christopher and I about when this happens again as it is likely. The only thing we can really do as far as the seizures is aggressive treatment of fevers from the onset. We'll help keep the Ibuprofen and Tylenol companies in business... gauranteed!

I've had my alarm set throughout the night to check on him.
It should be something he outgrows by age 5 or 6. Apparantly these seizures are quite common and effect as many as 1 in 25 children. Eventually, I'm told, we may get to the point where we won't drive to the ER or Pediatrician when a seizure occurs (to which I say, HA!).

After 2 follow-ups to the pediatrician, Caleb was diagnosed with Hand Foot and Mouth Disease after blisters were spotted in his mouth. HFM is not directly related to Febrile Seizures. It was just the cause of the fever that caused the seizure.

Feeling much better! His hand is wrapped to cover the IV. He had an oxygen monitor on his toe and 5 ECG heart monitors on his chest.

So glad to be home and playing with balloons from Grandma!

I'm thankful that "febrile seizures are more scary than dangerous,"

as another blogging mom of a toddler wrote.

I'm thankful his seizure was short.

I'm thankful he was able to sleep in the hospital.

I'm thankful we know now what caused the fever.

I'm thankful that my husband can drive fast... real real real fast.
I'm thankful that my husband is a calm man.

I'm thankful Caleb can have no recollection of the seizure.

I'm thankful for Dr McHugh and Dr Coleman's wisdom and patience with all my questions and insecurities.

I pray this will be his first and last seizure.

I pray that if he has another we will be right there by his side to keep him safe.

I pray that if there is another seizure it will be very short with a speedy recovery.

“Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned and the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. You are precious and honored to me; I love you! I have made you for my glory!”

-Taken from Isaiah 43:1-7

First Trip to the Dentist

2011-09-20T16:22:00.000-04:00

Caleb went to the dentist for the first time on Thursday. He did awesome for Dr Brooke!

Wake Pediatric Dentistry provides a complimentary appointment for kids before age 2!

Tricycle... or "bike" according to Caleb!

2011-09-20T16:19:00.000-04:00

Happy Early Christmas Caleb!

I've had this in the attic for a while to save for this Christmas. We decided to go ahead and get it out to enjoy this Fall before the weather turns cold.

Caleb loves his "bike!"

All lined up...

2011-09-20T16:16:00.003-04:00

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-20T16:16:00.000-04:00

Over Labor Day weekend we visited the Peckhams!

While we were there we picked up our new dining room set at Ikea.

Caleb got to help put everything together!

Friends

2011-09-20T16:12:00.002-04:00

At Roanoke Park!

Hanging out at home!

My Little Gentleman

2011-09-12T17:27:00.006-04:00

This is what happened when I told Caleb and Maggie it was time to eat lunch...

Caleb totally took Maggie's hand and walked her over to her seat!

The camera was right there on the counter and I got the shot... fuzzy photo but so precious!!!!
Look how high he's holding her hand. So proper! :)

It kind of reminds me of this:

Pancakes & Praise

2011-09-12T09:01:00.000-04:00

Caleb enjoyed listening to Cedarmont Kids Praise on Pandora this morning during breakfast!

It cracked me up when "We Fall Down" started playing and Caleb said, "Shhhhhh!"

22 Months Old

2011-09-04T13:31:00.012-04:00

Caleb is 22 months old today!

He weighs 24 pounds. He is wearing size 4 diapers with 12-18 (some are snug) and 18-24 month clothes.

No new teeth this month!

Caleb has over 50 words now (this was the therapist's goal for him by age 2)!

He had 8 words in June... 15 in July... 34 in August.

Some of His New Words: please, bite, peas, beads, play dough, Melmo (Elmo), moose, bee, bubble, quack, neigh (for horse), hush (to Schnitzel), stay (to Schnitzel), read, book, walk

He has started to sing a little! Not words... just kind of vocalizing with me!

Counting: Lots of "two three" still!

I think he understands "two".

If he falls down, he wants me to kiss his boo boo.

He has his moments, of course, but for the most part Caleb has gotten a lot better with Schnitzel.

Even Schnitzel gets to wear beads...

Current Favorite Foods: green beans, animal crackers

Caleb's had Peanut Butter now... and isn't allergic! He loves PB&J!

Favorite Toys: any truck, "choo choos", books, telephone, balloons, whale stuffed animal

Favorite Activities: reading books, going on walks (he asks to go), playing outside with the trucks and balls

Favorite Books: Whale books... not so easy to find whale board books so we've been careful with some paper nonfiction books from the library!

He's started doing more pretend play. This cracked me up when I saw Caleb sharing his lunch with the Little People man!

He takes 1 nap for 3 to 4 hours and sleeps about 11 hours at night.

He has still successfully dropped using the pacifier to sleep. I was curious to see how it would be when Maggie returned since she still uses one, but it hasn't phased him!

Quack Quacks!

2011-09-02T13:29:00.005-04:00

We went to Lynn Lake the past two evenings to feed the "quack quacks," as Caleb says!

Hilarious...

Airplane!

2011-09-02T13:29:00.004-04:00

This is what Caleb does when he hears an airplane:

Bees....

2011-09-02T13:24:00.001-04:00

We had an eventful Friday evening last week...

Christopher was retrieving one of our large balls down by the water in front of our house that the neighbor's dog had pushed down there. There is tall grass all along the water; Christopher unknowingly disturbed an underground bumblebee hive (the BIG bees that can sting repeatedly). He was stung 20+ times and quite sore.

Caleb and I were standing at the top of the hill watching Christopher and the neighbor. It lonly took a few seconds for one of the bees to come towards us and land on Caleb's lip. He was stung on his lip and swelled up badly across his mouth and cheeks; I would say 3 times as big. He had a cough earlier in the week so when he started coughing after the sting we needed the peace of mind that the coughing was returning from earlier in the week and not an airway issue.

We tried several urgent cares around here ... but apparently they all close early on Friday nights! So we just went to the ER. We were there for a few hours… they gave him a steroid to stop the reaction. It worked quite well and the swelling had gone down substatially by the time we got back home and when these photos were taken...it looked MUCH MUCH better by then!
The doctor said Caleb has a "mild allergy" to bee stings.
Hopefully that will be the last sting for a while!

Since that night every now and then Caleb will randomly point to his lip and say "bee!"
We've observed some bees while on walks since then; he doesn't seem to be afraid.

Beach Music!

2011-09-02T12:52:00.001-04:00

We went to the last beach music of the summer with the Deans last week! My mom and Alisa's parents came too! Caleb was sweaty so Christopher gave him a new hair style!

Uh oh... bye bye balloon!

Caleb had a fantastic time playing in the mist tent!

New Trucks!

2011-09-02T12:46:00.000-04:00

Caleb got some "new" trucks that the Kindergarten teachers at my school didn't want anymore; he's REALLY enjoyed racing them down the cul-du-sac!

Back Together Again!

2011-09-02T12:44:00.000-04:00

Playdough Hats... of all sizes!

2011-08-21T17:59:00.000-04:00

"BITE... BITE... BITE!!!"

2011-08-21T17:55:00.001-04:00

We went to FRESH on Glenwood last night for ice cream!

barely had time to get a bite in myself when Caleb asking "bite... bite..." after each taste!

Water Bug

2011-08-20T16:19:00.000-04:00

The Catching Stance

2011-08-20T16:03:00.000-04:00

Caleb loves for Christopher to throw/kick the ball up the hill then catch it as it rolls back down.

This was his stance while he waited for the ball to roll down:

WHALES!!!

2011-08-20T16:01:00.000-04:00

Caleb thinks the sucker fish in our fish tank our whales...

and he LOVES his whales!

As soon as he wakes up in the morning, he starts talking about them.

Hat!

2011-08-20T16:00:00.002-04:00

LOVE this boy!

2011-08-20T15:59:00.003-04:00

First Haircut from Daddy!

2011-08-20T15:59:00.000-04:00

Beach Music

2011-08-20T15:57:00.001-04:00

Caleb had a great time at Beach Music last week:

High fiving the Chick-fil-a Cow...

Feeding grandma ice cream...

playing with dogs...

and showing all the people around us where the dogs were!

Balls!

2011-08-20T15:56:00.000-04:00

Caleb, Zachary, and Joshua had a great time in the ball pit last night after dinner out!

Fireman Caleb

2011-08-20T15:54:00.000-04:00

Early Birthday!

2011-08-20T15:53:00.000-04:00

My mom and sister gave Caleb an early birthday gift last weekend... a water/sand table!

We're excited to be able to use it while the weather is still warm!

Giving Schnitzel a Ride!

2011-08-20T15:52:00.002-04:00

Last Story Time of the Summer

2011-08-20T15:51:00.002-04:00

Playnation

2011-08-20T15:49:00.000-04:00

Jan and Brody introduced us to an awesome new place to play; Caleb absolutely loved Playnation!

Wii with Daddy, Aunt J, & Cousin Brian

2011-08-04T20:49:00.003-04:00

Little Water Bug

2011-08-04T20:49:00.000-04:00

Caleb LOVES the water!

Swimming with the Chapmans!!!

At the Millbrook Exchange Pool and Sprayground with Jackie and Nathan!

Caleb LOVES to be in the water with his Daddy!

21 Months Old

2011-08-04T17:58:00.005-04:00

Caleb is 21 months old today!

He’s becoming much more independent and wanting to do things for himself.

Caleb weighs 24 pounds. He is wearing size 4 diapers with 12-18 and 18-24 month clothes.

Caleb has 11 teeth; we’re still waiting on all 4 canines and his left first molar. They are giving him some trouble.

Caleb talks a lot (even though we can’t understand most of what he’s saying); he has 34 words now. This is up from 15 last month and 8 in June; he’s really taken off! He should reach his goal of 50 words by age 2 in no time!

Some of His New Words: knee, ear, me, whale, why, cheese, hello, knock knock, keys, excuse me (ooo eee), milk, daddy, up, out, mine, off

He understands the telephone now and will say “hello.”

He’s a bit OCD sometimes… he definitely likes this “just so.” Doors have to be completely shut… drawers completely pushed in. He’ll sometimes go back and stand up a toy that had fallen or something similar when we leave a room (such as here with the car; we put the car in front of the chair so Schnitzel won't jump up on it when we leave).

Most of Caleb’s discipline issues seem to revolve around Schnitzel. He has a really hard time being gentle with Schnitzel. Schnitzel is very patient!

In the pack-n-play missing his buddy Schnitzel after being too rough....

I wouldn’t say he’s a picky eater because he likes most things. However, he’s picky about whether he’ll eat it at that meal. He loves to feed himself with his spoon and fork. He is sitting at the table with us in a booster seat for dinner now; he loves being right there with us. The kid can put away some food!!

Current Favorite Foods: watermelon, green grapes, freeze-dried fruit, Nutrigrain bars, graham crackers

DIP!!!!
Favorite Toys: any truck, "choo choos", books, telephone

Favorite Activities: reading books, swimming, cooking with Mommy, puzzles, coloring, going on walks (He’ll walk over a mile in our neighborhood!!!)

Making fresh blueberry pancakes with Mommy!

Storytime at the Library!

He's getting a lot better with stacking blocks!

He's got a good arm and we're working on catching now; these are his catching hands:

Favorite Book: Any book like this one that has photographs of animals, people, anything!

He takes 1 nap for 3 to 4 hours and sleeps about 11 hours at night.

He has completely dropped using the pacifier to sleep; it didn’t even seem to phase him!

The Great Communicator

2011-07-29T13:06:00.000-04:00

Caleb's doing a lot better with his speech; we're up to about 27 words from 8 on June 14!

Three things that crack me up....

~1~

He climbs on his toy box to see out the window but lately he's decided he can't get down on his own. So he stands on the toy box and yells "ME" with his hands up until I rescue him.

~2~

The way he says "whale." Usually it sounds like it has 2 syllables.

By the way, just so you know, anything large in the water is a whale!

~3~

When he's looking for something and raises his hands and gets this serious look on his face...

Home Baked Bagels

2011-07-29T13:04:00.000-04:00

Caleb and I made home baked bagels today from scratch.

They turned out quite delicious!

Caleb loved punching down the dough after it had risen.

Here's the recipe if you're interested:

http://www.food.com/recipe/home-baked-bagels-26168

They're not quite as big as a large bagel but definitely bigger than the mini bagels...

AND they're only 150 calories!

A Caleb Hadyn McLendon Original

2011-07-29T12:47:00.006-04:00

Any takers for this 1st edition piece of original artwork by Caleb Hadyn McLendon?

It's truly priceless!

He's too big for slices now... or so he thinks!

2011-07-29T12:42:00.002-04:00

Been waiting to see one of these all summer...

2011-07-29T12:30:00.001-04:00

Special Delivery

2011-07-29T12:28:00.003-04:00

Caleb got a "big cousin" gift from my mom this week!

He's fascinated with babies to begin with so I had been wanting to get him a boy baby doll.

Whenever we're in the grocery store and see a baby... or even an infant car seat... he says "BABY!"

So this is Baby Andrew!

2011-07-29T12:01:00.003-04:00

First Time with Play Dough!

2011-07-26T15:12:00.000-04:00

Play Dough Lesson # 1:

"No, we don't eat it!"

He only tried a few times...

Crocs on Schnitzel?

2011-07-26T14:23:00.000-04:00

New Bern

2011-07-26T14:21:00.000-04:00

Caleb and I traveled to spend 3 days with Amy, Abby, and Tyler in New Bern!

Caleb had a fantastic time at this amazing pool!

We spent Wednesday morning on the beach.

Caleb was afraid of the waves this time; he was okay if the water was still.

Caleb and Tyler were having a fantastic time together... silly boys!

On Thursday we met up with the Penny's at the Aquarium!

Music/Movement Class

2011-07-21T08:38:00.000-04:00

This past week was our last music/movement class.

I had hoped Caleb would get more into the music...

but he DEFINITELY loved the sticks and parachute!

TRUCK TRUCK!

2011-07-21T08:36:00.000-04:00

Caleb was beside himself excited about the tractor trailor that parked in our cul-du-sac over the weekend. The driver even let him sit in the driver's seat and honk the horn. He kept walking around it, pointing, and saying TRUCK!

Still there the next morning!

Joshua's 3rd Birthday Party

2011-07-21T07:58:00.000-04:00

We had a fantastic time last weekend at Joshua's 3rd birthday party at Bounce U!

Caleb "meets" his cousins!

2011-07-15T22:06:00.004-04:00

My brother and sister-in-law's triplets were born on Wednesday! He sent us some pictures last night so I showed them to Caleb this morning. He's fascinated with babies so I knew he'd like them.

As soon as I showed it to him he started pointing and counting "two three" (he doesn't say "one").

We can't wait to really meet Alexia, Allison, and Austin!

Let's go feed .... the deer????

2011-07-15T21:49:00.001-04:00

Didn't expect this when we went to the lake today to feed the ducks and walk around Lynn Lake this morning!

Schnitzel got tired on the last stretch of our 2 mile walk around the lake so he got to ride with Caleb!

Doesn't he look so grown up????

2011-07-15T21:29:00.000-04:00

Randomness

2011-07-15T21:21:00.001-04:00

I caught him trying to eat the bubbles...

And more bubbles...

Caleb LOVED playing with Ms Nancy, a neighbor from growing up who is visiting from Colorado!

At Ella's birthday party! Caleb is her adopted "little brother," as Ella says!

Last weekend we got together with the MacLeods and the Zullos; Aimee, Terea, & I work together. Caleb got super excited when I told him we were going to see Maggie; he LOVED all her brother's big boy trucks!

Ahhhh pancakes...

20 Months Old

2011-07-06T16:45:00.001-04:00

Caleb turned 20 months old on July 4th!

Photos by Jeff Peckham

Caleb weighs 23 pounds on our scale at home.

He is wearing size 4 diapers with 12-18 and 18-24 month clothes.

He has 2 new teeth this month (his first molar on the upper right and first molar on the lower left).

And more are on the way; he's been in a lot of pain lately.

He continues to be very emotional and is having more mini-tantrums. As dear friend Becky says, he's "practicing to be 2." He's started loud, shrill-like screams as well.

Caleb still is very affectionate. He has started trying to kiss me. It's quite hilarious. I've got to get it on video because I can't quite describe it with words.

He had his speech evaluation on June 14th; it was a comprehensive evaluation so we got lots of interesting information. In the areas of Gross Motor Skills, Visual Perception, and Receptive Langague he was ahead of the game; his Fine Motor was a little behind. His Expressive Language (the reason for the evaluation) was found to be at a 15 month old equivalency. He is considered to have a mild delay; at 19 months of age, he has the speech development of a 15 month old. She said he does have a good range of sounds, uses his whole mouth (not just sounds made in the front... or sounds made in the back of the mouth), and has good intonation. When asked how many words would be considered typical, shhe said at 18 months, 20 words; the goal for 2 years old is 50 words and putting 2 words together in combination. We are not going to do speech therapy at this point since it's only a mild delay, but if we are still having some issues at 2 years old or even as we approach that, she said to call back and they'll reassess things.

It was really interesting to just sit back and watch what he could do... even some sorting activities!

He's actually doubled his words since the evaluation for a total of 15.

New Words: baby, Steve (my uncle), two, three, kitty, choo choo, puppy, bark bark (He has named dogs "bark bark.")

Caleb will try to count now! Except he doesn't say one... just "two three." It's really cute!

Caleb continues to regularly sign please, thank you, all done, more, and eat.

He loves to climb up at sit on the couch now.

Current Favorite Foods: watermelon, green beans

Favorite Toys: any truck, "choo choos", books, baby dolls

Favorite Book: Brown Bear Brown Bear

He takes 1 nap for 3 to 4 hours and sleeps about 11 hours at night.

Asheville & Mooresville Vacation

2011-07-06T13:51:00.000-04:00

We took a little family vacation to Asheville and Mooresville from June 29th to July 4th.

On the evening of June 29th after we checked in to our hotel in Asheville, we headed to have dinner with Brooke, Jeremy, and sweet baby James. Caleb had a great time opening and closing their sliding door as well as blowing bubbles with Brooke and Jeremy. Brooke was so sweet to have a birthday cake for me as it was my golden birthday... 29 on the 29th!

We stayed at the beautiful Grand Bohemian Hotel right outside the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. Caleb had a fantastic time watching the trains and trucks out the window. While we were walking aroudn Biltmore Village we found a little park next to a church that he enjoyed sliding at.

On Thursday we spent the day at Biltmore Estate.
The house was incredible and the gardens were gorgeous!

Caleb really enjoyed the farmyard at Antler Village on the Biltmore Grounds.

Friday morning we took a drive on the Blueridge Parkway and got to play in a creek on a trail.
We learned on the way home that Caleb takes after me... carsick on mountain roads.
It was bad.... very very very bad.
But good to know!

Next we headed on to Mooresville, NC to visit the Peckhams! Christopher went to college with Jeff.
We played outside a lot and made a trip to Ikea; Caleb also enjoyed playing with Jonah's cars.

On Sunday, July 3rd, the Williams joined the fun. Christopher had also gone to college with Joseph. We went to a festival at the Y that ended with fireworks. Caleb did SO much better with the fireworks this year! He did shake his head a few times at the beginning while saying "no no no" ... but soon he got used to them!

On July 4th we headed to Christy's parents' house to go swimming!
It was a great finale to a great week with wonderful friends!

Music/Movement Class

2011-06-27T15:50:00.000-04:00

This was our third week of a music/movement class at Sertoma Community Center by Shelly Lake. Our friends Jan and Brody are also in the class. The class is for toddlers ages 1 to 2. The teacher does different movement activties to music; so far we've also used bean bags, rhythm sticks, ribbons, and a parachute.

We've enjoyed it despite teething pain and attending the morning after long trips in the car. Today he finally gave the bean bags, rhythm sticks, and ribbons back without a mini tantrum... yea!

It's been fun doing something that I can't really do with him during the school year.

Caleb loves the parachute best!