Just a little busy

It has been another  busy week here.  We had a great Memorial Day weekend with Grammy and Grampy at their house.  The boys got to get in their first swim of the summer season in Grampy's pool.  We enjoyed the time to relax for a bit.  

After the weekend, Mommy, Daddy, and Caleb headed home.  Aaron, Justin, and Zac stayed the rest of the week.  They had a great time swimming and playing with Grampy.  They wrote letters and did projects with Grammy.   I think all five of them were tired by the end of the week.  

The boys had one evening at home and then more excitement.  The cousins arrived to play for the day on Saturday.  Also, the ladies attended the surprise baby shower for Mommy and Rebekah.  Everyone played until they were worn out.  

Caleb had a great week spending lots of time with Daddy while the brothers were away.  He went to his first occupational therapy appointment on Wednesday.  He did very well.  They are going to be working with him for several months on eating a variety of different textured foods.  He has already shown some improvement in what he is eating thanks to Mommy's patience in helping him.  

The therapist also suggested that some of his problem could be physical. They want to send him for a swallow test to see if the valve that closes off his airways is working properly.  He can tell that this doesn't feel right, so he may be refusing to eat some things. So there is more testing ahead for Caleb.  But he is doing better, and we are trying to get him all the help we can.  

Nancy and Rebekah had a doctor's appointment this week that went okay. Nancy is measuring about 2 weeks small still.  One week from Tuesday we are off to have another ultrasound and growth check.  This will also be our last check up with the cardiologist here in Greenville before delivery.  Daddy also had time to get Rebekah's crib set up this week.  

We are off to see Nana and Papa this week.  We are making our last trips to grandparents for some much needed time together before we are unable to travel because of Rebekah's needs.  We are hoping to be able to travel again for the end of the year holidays to see everyone.  

I guess that is about all we have been up to this week.  I am sure if I forgot something Nancy will add to this post.  I hope everyone has great week.  

D

Update/Prayer Request

Once again I have been laid off. The company I was working for has had there work slow down. I may get a few more days in here and there. This was not altogether a bad thing. I have been pushing myself to keep going, but I really am not suppose to be doing the heavy lifting anymore. So I am excited to see what will be next and how the Lord will provide the next job for us. He always provides our every need. So for now we are headed to NC to visit Grammy and Grampy for the holiday weekend. Some much over due time to spend with them. Then we will pick up the job search when we return and wait to see how the Lord opens doors. We hope everyone has a great Memorial day and we will check back with you all when we return.

D

A Belated Birthday Post

I know, it has been forever, but here are the pictures and updates from Caleb's first birthday (finally!).  At Caleb's first birthday, he weighed 20.2 pounds and was 29 and 3/4 inches tall.  You can't really see it in these pictures, but he has the most adorable curls on the back of his head! I hope he keeps his curly hair! :)

I love my new sandals from Uncle Scott and Aunt Aimee!

What is in this bag??!! Can it be what I think it is?

It is! It is! It is a twin of Aaron's favorite bear, Slumbers.

Caleb now has his own favorite bear - Cuddles!

Look! I can tear paper and no one tells me "no!"

Because of Caleb's food allergies, his cake was kind of boring,

but he had fun "blowing" out the candle with Daddy.

Caleb promptly flipped his plate of cake onto the table and had

as much fun playing with the plate as he did eating cake. :)

By far the favorite present was a toy

lawnmower from Papa and Nana. 

Our living room grass carpet has never been so manicured!

The other favorite was Caleb's very own 

camp chair from Grampy and Grammy.

Caleb is so very proud when he sits in it like his big brothers.

Look at the big boy!

At a year old, Caleb can say mama, dada, gac (Zac), something resembling Justin (ju-di?), ah-duh (all done), bye-bye, nigh-nigh (night-night) and a ferocious grunt while simultaneously standing on his tiptoes which means pick me up!

We still have some eating issues that we are working on with the help of our occupational therapist, Becci. We are hoping to see some good progress in the coming weeks! Because of Caleb's allergies, his menu is quite limited, but he still loves to eat! Some of his favorite foods include cantaloupe, strawberries, apples, bananas, mango, carrots, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, cheerios, graham crackers and Club crackers. Caleb is still eating all of his vegetables and meats (when he will eat meat!) in a pureed form, but we are working to transition him to more solid textures. He has made great progress with his fruits! Our other big goal is for Caleb to start drinking his milk (He can only have hemp milk due to allergies.) from a sippy cup rather than a bottle. We have struggled with the transition from bottle to cup with the formula and milk.

Caleb's favorite playthings are still his brothers! :) He loves to follow them around and try to copy what he sees them do. Caleb also loves to "read" books, play with cars and trucks, swing and slide, play peek-a-boo and recently has become fascinated with the Leap Frog Learning Town Farm which Aaron got for Christmas last year. We have had so much fun dropping the blocks in and watching them slide down to the bottom! :)

We are so thankful for Caleb and his happy personality in our house. He is truly our little ray of sunshine! :)

A Long Week

Well where to begin.  We have had a very long week.  I guess first of all since everyone has been asking. 

 

My interview of a couple of weeks ago.  I did here back from the company.  They are unable to do anything right now.  They are still interested and told me they are waiting on securing a couple more contracts before they would be able to bring me on.  They also mentioned some staff changes maybe will be coming up in about a month.  They have an intern leaving soon that i know about.  So we are going to wait and see what might or might not happen.  We did get some good news that we have a new house to start on Monday at the company I am currently working at.  So I should have rough framing work for another 3 or 4 months.  

It has been  a long time since I have done any rough framing, but it comes back to you like riding a bike.  At least I am not stuck in an office or store some where.  I have always enjoyed working outside in the fresh air.  I also have the privilege of working with some very good friends. 

Now for the rest of the family.  Justin and Zac are working hard at finishing up school soon.  They also are enjoying memorizing there verses and key truths for kids 4 truth on Wednesday nights at church.  Especially Justin.  Mom and I are very proud of them.  Justin had a good report from school and is more then ready for K5 next year.  He is also very excited about going into K5.  

Aaron got to keep Mommy company on all the many doctor visits this week.  He is doing well and growing like a weed.  He is enjoying riding his big boy bike and we tried playing catch last night for the first time with his new ball glove.  

Mr. Caleb has had a very busy week.  He is getting taller and into everything.  He is a very busy boy who loves the outdoors, now that it has gotten warmer.  He is talking more and more.  He loves to play and chase his brothers.  Caleb had a good one year check up this week.  He also saw the Allergist this week and had allergy testing done.  Not so good news there.  He tested positive reaction to most of the tests.  He is allergic to soy, wheat, milk, and a whole bunch more.  They are doing some more testing to confirm that the 1st test was accurate.  He had to have blood tests done to do this.  I guess this in its self was an adventure.  He had to have blood drawn from his arm.  Nancy had the joy of wrestling him to be still while they did this.   Hopefully we will not have to do this to often.  

Nancy was very busy as a taxi service this week to get to all these doctor appts.  She also saw her regular baby doctor this week.  She had a good check up but is still measuring small.  So far Rebekah is still growing at a normal rate so they are not to concerned.  We are now down to every two weeks check ups.  It won't be long now and Rebekah will be here.  Time flies.  

Mom is also enjoying sleeping in today and badly needs the rest.  She is getting excited about Rebekah coming soon and trying to think of all the things she needs to get done by then.  

I think the boys will have a little slower week this week.  Nancy, I and Miss Rebekah will be taking a trip to Charleston on Wednesday and Thursday this week.  We will be meeting several new doctors and the staff at MUSC.  We are hoping to learn where we will be for delivery and surgery and make any final arrangements we need to to prepare for Rebekah's coming.  

I am sure if i missed anything Nancy will correct me with her version.  I hope you all have a great week.  

D