Music to My Ears

Yesterday Jeff and I heard two words that were music to our ears - "Sounds clear." On Monday Caleb's pneumonia got worse, and he had junk throughout his lungs. He got an injection of a more aggressive antibiotic, which seemed to do the trick. He's still has some gunk in his lungs, but things are loosening up and he has some spots in his lungs that sound clear. He also continues to have a gnarly sounding cough, but it's productive.

Throughout all of this, Caleb has remained in good spirits, although somewhat ornery. Not sure if that's just him going stir crazy, or my lack of patience for the same reason. I've had my share of diarrhea, vomit (both side effects of an upset tummy from the antibiotics), snot and doctor's visits to last me a while...oh the joys of parenthood. Luckily no hospital visits this time around, and looks like he'll be better in time to go Trick-or-Treating for Halloween!

Below is a video of Caleb "running" in his walker, which is just one example of the many ways we have passed the time these last few days cooped up in the house.

Yet Another Cold!

Caleb has a cold...again. This time it's a little more concerning than annoying (although I'm still tired of the never-ending runny nose). He has a cough that began sounding a little "rattley" to us so we took him to the Doc today just to be on the safe side. A little bit got into his lungs, so he's on antibiotics now. Caleb is still in really good spirits and just as much of a ham as ever, so I know we caught it early. He does get tired a little more easily, and has even less of an appetite (which I'm desperately trying not to let stress me out). This is yet another reminder of how vigilant we need to be with his little body.

Caleb Utilizes All of His Resources

It has always amazed me how Caleb naturally utilizes the limited resources his body provides to their full potential. For instance, before he could hold his head up and look around freely, he would look with his eyes, making them rotate further than what is considered comfortable for the rest of the population.

Since his lower extremities are stronger than his upper body, he has always been quite resourceful with his feet and legs. For instance when he's in his black walker, if he drops something on the ground he will pick it up with his feet (given that it's not too heavy) and bring it up to his hands. When lying on the ground, he will sweep his leg and rake items towards him. Below is a video of how he makes his own little bookstand when lying on the floor. He has done this for over a year or so, but every time I see him do this, it's such a great reminder to utilize what we've been given, and to get creative with your resources.

The Man Cold

OK, this has nothing to do with Caleb, but I was rolling on the floor when I watched this one! Don't forget to pause the music to hear the video better.



And, of course, Jeff is nothing like this when he gets a cold ;)

Happy Birthday Grandma Lou Lou

Grandma Lou Lou decided to celebrate her 60th birthday at Boomers, playing with all her kids, grandkids, and some friends. It was such a great way to commemorate her silly, wacky, and fun-loving 60 years on this earth!


Caleb enjoyed playing some games.


Just before this picture was taken, the girl that was serving our group asked my mom how old she was because she wanted to know how many candles to put on the cake. My mom thought that the number 60 would be sufficient (like the "6" and the "0" candle). The girl looked at her with horror and wonder in her eyes and said, "60 individual candles?!" The compromise was 6 individual candles.

We all had fun playing with these pirate eye patches. Aaaaaargh!Not sure that they're supposed to be used while driving, Hayden.
The biggest hit of the day was the race cars.
Here comes Auntie Shana in her Pinto of a race-car...
And Jeff gets passed by Uncle Wayne and some kid we don't know...
Cousin Nathan with visions of driving the real thing in just 3 short years...

Grandma Lou Lou is approaching Auntie Shana from the inside...

and ends up taking the lead for the "victory" lap.

Although he couldn't ride, Caleb really enjoyed cheering on his family from the sidelines.On a sidenote, this is the NEW wheelchair! Sweet wheels, Bub! In the end, Shana's car was a dud, as she needed help even getting to the finish line. Not to mention, she was barely even tall enough to drive the car in the first place :)

My personal favorite was good ol' air hockey. It takes me back to my early college days.

Just check out the concentration.

Haha! Victory is mine!And the unsuspecting victim is Auntie Shana. Unfortunately I was no match for Grandma Lou Lou, who won the next round.

Thanks for a fun-filled day, Grandma. It was certainly a day to remember.

Pictures

OK, so I know I haven't posted anything on the blog in a while. Our TV is broken, as well as our desktop computer. So, our laptop is serving as computer for all 3 of us (yes, Caleb uses it, too), as well as our TV for now.

Although we've been busy and having fun, we don't have a ton of pictures to show for it. So here are some random pics taken over the last couple of weeks :)

Caleb giving Bumblebee some love.

Uncle Scott came for a brief visit. Caleb loved goofing off with him.

Enjoying some family time at the Wild Animal Park.

Caleb loved checking out the elephants. Later when we asked what his favorite thing was, it was, of course, "seeing the elephants poop."

New Addition to the Family

Caleb got a new cousin today (2nd cousin actually, but whatever). David, Ania, and big sister Natalie are very excited to welcome Daniel Lowenthal (middle name is yet to be announced) into the family. Both mom and baby are doing well.Born 5:38am Wednesday October 15, 2008
8lbs 7oz
20.5 inches

His weight is pretty substantial, especially since he was born almost 2 weeks before Ania's due date...which was a revised due date-moved up two weeks from her original due date. Do I hear another football player in the family?

Welcome, little Daniel (I'm using the word "little" pretty loosely here). Caleb and the rest of us can't wait to meet you.