A Love Note

Caleb has a new love interest.  Her name is Beatrice and she rides the bus with him every day.  She's an older woman, though - 4th grade.  Apparently he tells her, "I love you," and her response is, "You're not my type."  I guess she's into guys her own age and is in love with another 4th grader.  Ahh, young love. Anyway, Caleb came home from school on Friday and said, "Mom, I want to make a card for Beatrice to tell her I love her."  So here it is.

 Awwwww.

 OK, so they battle together (typical Caleb move).

 Then she uses the Force on him, causing him to drop his lightsabers.

Then she cuts his head off!  How romantic!!!

Unfortunately, I had to break the news to Caleb that he can't give the card to Beatrice because if she takes it home her mom might think he's somewhat.... DISTURBED.  He learned that when making a love note, it's pretty important that nobody dies.

Caleb Swimming, Yet Again

Caleb has been doing such an amazing job with his swimming lately.  It never ceases to amaze me how agile he is in the water.  He has become so smooth in his movements and strong with his strokes.  Pretty astounding to watch.

Here he is from another viewpoint.

Check out Caleb's Moves

One day Caleb said, "Hey Mom.  Check out my awesome moves!"

So, of course I grabbed my camera for you to enjoy his awesome moves, as well :)

Halloween

HOLY GUACAMOLE!!!  I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since my last post!  I've got some serious catching up to do.  Here are some pictures from Halloween.  We were a Superhero family... with a twist :)

 I made some pretty sweet pumpkins this year - above is Anakin and below is the Republic symbol (Star Wars, of course).

Caleb Sitting Up!

A few days ago when Caleb woke up I heard him moving around a bunch.  Then I heard him call to me, "Mom!  Can you come here, please?  I have something to show you!"  When I walked in the room and saw him, I stopped dead in my tracks.  My jaw dropped, and tears immediately came to my eyes.  He was sitting up in his bed just looking up at me with the biggest, proudest grin.  Before this moment he had never sat up on his own.  For the rest of the morning he showed each one of us individually how he did it, narrating his every move.

Remember to pause the music on the right to hear Caleb better.  Enjoy!

1st TOOTH!

On Monday Caleb lost his first tooth!!!  We were on our way to the Dr. (Caleb had the flu) and he was munching on an apple.  The tooth that had been pretty wiggly for a while was suddenly just dangling there, so he pulled it out.  Then he, of course, had to show everyone in the Dr.'s office.  It was pretty cute to see how proud of himself he was.

Saying, "Thank You."

This year, in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, we decided to say, "Thank you," to our local Firefighters by visiting some of the stations and bringing them cookies.  They were all so happy to see Caleb whizzing around in his wheelchair and loved the cookies.  Caleb took his challenge coin and challenged almost every firefighter.  There were definitely a few that didn't have their coin, so Caleb will be owed quite a few drinks when he turns 21!

50's Day at School

I got a text from Caleb's wonderful aide the night before at 9:00 saying, "Don't forget tomorrow's 50's day."  Well, of course I had forgotten!  Kylie and I quickly brainstormed what he should wear and we came up with this outfit!  Turned out pretty sweet, if you ask me :)

Love the tough-guy look!

This one cracks me up every time I see it!  I love the cheesy grin as he's looking off into the distance.

2011 MDA Telethon

We got the privilege of participating in another MDA Telethon.  It was different this year because it was only 6 hours long on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, and Jerry Lewis has retired.  We always have so much fun helping to raise so much money - this year $61 million was raised!!!

The 2 Calebs - they have become such good buddies and are already talking about spending the week at camp together next summer.

Caleb with Angel and Alex - two of his favorite MDA ladies.  And, yes, he still LOVES hair!

Getting ready to go on camera :)

Lightsaber battle with Ashley.  No event is safe from lightsaber battles.

Making a muscle with one of his favorite Firefighters, Angel.

Lightsabers on camera.

Making a muscle with some of the most amazing moms I know.

Me, Starla, Melva, and Kim.

Ring, ring, ring, ca-ching, ca-ching, ca-ching.

Being presented with a Firefighter challenge coin from one of the Fire Chiefs that has been touched by Caleb.

After our on-air interview.

Getting ready for some more on-air time.

Keep Smiling, Caleb

Here is the video that KUSI put together about Caleb this year.  We are so excited to be a part of the MDA Telethon for another year, and were very moved by what John Soderman put together to create this amazing video.  Thanks for watching!

Under Water Pictures

Haven't had Caleb's pictures taken underwater in a while.  I thought I'd get in there with him this time around.  It was fun, but way more difficult than it looks.  It was so cute, before getting in I told Caleb that I needed to practice going underwater without blowing all my air out so the bubbles wouldn't get in the way for the picture.  So he had me practicing beforehand.  It still ended up that he was more photogenic than his mom in this photo shoot. 

X-Games

A couple of weeks ago Jeff got hooked up with some tickets to the X-Games for the family.  It was such a cool experience.  We went to watch the skateboarding finals and were definitely entertained.  We got to see Shaun White clinch the Gold!  Caleb loved the moment and said afterwards that he really wants to meet Shaun White.  So if anyone knows him, can you please spread the word?

Mommy & Caleb Date Night

A couple of weeks ago Jeff wasn't feeling very well, so I decided to take Caleb to see a movie - he had been asking to see the Smurf's for quite a while.  I told Caleb I wanted to go on a date with him and go have some dinner and see the movie.  He responded, "DATE?!  We can't go on a date, 'cause dates are for falling in love!"  I explained it wasn't going to be that kind of date :),  more like a play date, but just for the two of us to enjoy each others company.  We had so much fun chatting about Star Wars, Super Mario, and so much else.  Any time he would start up with "boy talk" (e.g. about poop or something), I would tell him that we don't talk about those kinds of things on a date.  Then we'd change the subject and move on.  Good training for a real date (way, WAY in the future).  Unfortunately he made me foot the bill this time.  

Ready to eat our pizza (he picked the cuisine)

He got a cupcake after dinner.  Can you tell what flavor?  This is when I knew for sure that my date was not trying to impress me.

1st Day of 1st Grade

Last week Caleb had his 1st day of 1st Grade (*sniff*).  It kinda hit me that this was REAL elementary school!  I mean Kindergarten was just like practice school.  Now he's in an actual grade.  Enjoy the pictures of my little man!

Posing with a couple of his Star Wars buddies

Using the Force as he gets on the bus.

Sitting in his 1st Grade desk.

One of his friends, Lily.  They've lived in the same neighborhood their entire lives, but the first time they've gone to school together.

That's his best buddy, Collin, next to Caleb.  They have become best friends over the last 6 months and now get to be in the same class!

More Swimming!!!

Caleb has been doing absolutely AMAZING in swimming lately.  He had a scare in the pool a couple of weeks ago, and ever since then he has been taking it very seriously and wanting to practice in every spare moment of the session.  This has made him progress in his skills by leaps and bounds.  Enjoy these videos!

Newport

A couple of weeks ago we got to spend some time with family up in Newport.  We had so much fun spending time at the beach and just lounging around.  

Enjoying some kayak time with Papa Mickey.

Taking another ride with Dad.

Building a sandcastle with Uncle Dan and Cousin Braden.

Hmm.  Looks like they're burying more than just your feet this time.

Good thing it was low-tide.

Enjoying a frozen banana at the Fun Zone.

Beach Time!

I can't believe I forgot to post these pictures from Father's Day.  We had a wonderful day at the beach enjoying the sun, sand, surf, and a bunch of family.  It's become a tradition, one that we enjoy every year.  This year we were even blessed with perfect weather.

Playing in the sand with Papa Mickey and his Cousins, Brookie and Zoe.  Notice the big pile of sand in front of Caleb - his favorite thing to do in the sand is to have other people bury his feet, then he pretends they are monsters escaping from their slumber.  It's cute, but the kid can do it for HOURS.

Checking out the waves with Dad.

Weeeeee!

Ridin' the waves.

Catching some rays to get warm.

Enjoying some ice cream

Another great day at the beach!