We have an active and mobile 8 month old!

I know I say this every month, but seriously, where did the time go? I blinked after he turned 7 months, and now he is 8 months! He is growing up so, so fast!!

Baby Stats

Haven't weighed him recently, but I'm guessing he's around 17-18 lbs now. He's definitely gaining weight as his clothes are getting tighter and tighter. :)

He is still wearing some 6-9 month clothes, but he is growing out of those now and is wearing a lot more 6-12 months clothes too.

He currently eats 5-6 oz of soy formula during the day (every 4 hours), and will eat 7-8 ounces of food twice at night (once before bed, and once around 3-4 AM).

We introduced dairy to Caleb this month (cottage cheese and yogurt). He is a big fan! He still loves his veggies and fruit too! We also gave him some pureed turkey (and that was a big FAT NO!). Oh the face he gave was priceless, and then he started crying. I wasn't going to torture the kid. So then we tried a mixture of chicken and sweet potatoes and he liked that MUCH better. We are aiming for some bigger chunks of food this next month to get him to use those teeth and used to other textures, etc.

The boy now has 6 teeth! Say what?! You get 20 teeth up through turning 3 years old, and this boy has almost 1/3 of his teeth! I was shocked!

He still sleeps from about 8-8:30 PM to around 7:30-8:30 AM. Since he was sick, he has had a harder time getting used to being back in his bed, though he is doing better. I also think he gets separation anxiety sometimes. But we're getting through that. It's hard to know though...because sometimes it is teething too! He may wake up as little as once during the night, and as much as 3-4 times. But for now, he's not teething and he's not sick! So that's good!

OH boy does our boy talk like crazy! :) He says Nna Nna a lot now for food...and we know that means food. It happens everytime he knows it is time to eat! We think that he says that because everytime I would feed him, I would say "Num Num!" And so we think that is where he is getting that! Such a smart boy! He also says Da Da a lot! I mean a lot! We don't know that he is associating Todd with Da Da, but he is definitely saying it! He also has said Ma Ma once (I think).

He does a lot of jumping and babbling...even if he is just sitting on your lap. He is sooo active! He will jump and jump and jump! All by himself.

He has started to crawl and starting to climb up on things and standing! Yes - it's true! He took his first crawl step this past Friday! And just yesterday, he crawled 2-3 crawl steps to me! He also crawls backwards too! He gets up on his knees and moves his body front to back like he is ready to go! It's soo cute! It's sooo amazing to watch him learn these things. He is also climbing up on furniture. In fact, this week, he climbed our ottoman and stood up! What's so cute is that everytime he tried to do that, he would look over at me to make sure I was watching him! So cute, and I'm so proud! And also scared because that means baby-proofing. We used to be able to put him down to play and walk to the kitchen to grab something and know he was okay. Now, he could get into some trouble! LOL! So he is definitely MUCH more mobile than just a month ago!

Cutie pie crawling...

Crawling

 

Standing up! 

 

He is so smart...he knows when I say "give me Mommy kisses" and he opens that mouth to give me kisses. He is learning so much everyday, I am having a hard time keeping up with him! :) He has figured out more of his toys and how to make the beads in his bead maze go from one end to the next. He used to "eat" the books when I would try to read to him, but now he sits like a big boy next to me and listens to me read and looks at all of the pictures so intently. I love it! I hope he always loves books!

Music - Not sure if I have mentioned this or not, but this guy loves music! He will hear a theme song to a TV show, and he will stop to listen. He will stop everything to listen to us sing Jesus Loves Me to him or really any song. He loves singing! I think that's because I sang to him a lot when he was inside me during my pregnancy. But he definitely loves music!

Random but cute - He loves Jeopardy (the show)! If it is on, he will sit there and listen to intently. Sometimes he will yell out something as if he knows the answer! It's too cute!

 I love feeding him. He does this thing where he has to hold my face or a piece of my hair when he is eating from the bottle. I think that is a security thing, but it's so precious!

We rang in the New Year as a family because Todd had a second surgery two days before New Years! This surgery was to remove an infection he had gotten on a small part of his elbow. But since then, he appears to be healing really well. He hasn't been told to start therapy exercises yet, but they just want to make sure the incisions heal well. I hope here in the next week or so that he will be able to start working on his arm. We just want to return to normal again. So your continued prayers for Todd are appreciated.

So even though we didn't get to spend New Years with all of our friends, we still had a nice cozy New Years as a family. My favorite photos are shown below from New Years:

Other than that, this month has been low key. We have spent a lot of time together indoors because of the cold temperatures and ice. Makes me long for spring actually because I can't wait to take Caleb to the park again (since he will be much older since the last time) and we can put him into the park baby swing! Or even just out to see trees (which he loves)! He is such a curious boy that I know the park will be so much fun to him again! And he will be mobile, so his curiosity is going to be even more! But until then, I look forward to watching Caleb learn more and more new things! It is such an amazing thing to watch him learn! So awesome!

Life has been tough, and Todd may have ANOTHER surgery. But we are thankful for all God has been doing in our lives. Even if it is just the simple reminders of faith that we see in our child. I wish my husband was doing even better than he is or able to go to work or able to pick up Caleb and change a diaper, etc, but he will get there. I wish that we didn't have to deal with Doctor's bills, but God will provide. I wish that our cars weren't so old and, but God has allowed them to work this long, and He will continue to provide their functionality. We don't have answers for all the challenges that we have been dealing with, but we know the One who does. Maybe Todd's fall was a chance for us to come together as a family and hold tightly to God even more than before. Maybe this is a way to strengthen our faith in Him? I don't know. But it's true in the sense that we are leaning on God more and more each day, and each day, God gives us reasons to be thankful!

We appreciate your love and continued prayers for Todd's recovery. We really do. And if you could pray for us this next week especially, we would greatly appreciate it! Thank you! We appreciate having that support behind us!

Much love!
The Tabers

Celebrating Christmas and Caleb is 7 Months Old!

Caleb is 7 months old! Didn't he just turn 6 months old? I swear, each month is flying by faster and faster. Before I know it, we are going to be celebrating his 1st birthday! Oh my!

It's been a crazy month, and here are some of his Baby Stats:

Baby Stats

• At his 6 month appointment, Caleb was 15 pounds, 13 ounces; and his height at the time was 26.25 inches. But Caleb got sick this month with a nasty cold (cough, stuffy nose, and a little wheezing), so we found out he actually gained another 5 oz in 3 weeks time.
• He is still wearing 6-9 month clothes, but can wear some 6-12 months clothes too.
• Caleb is wearing size 3 diapers now! Wow. I came across an usused newborn diaper that I still had in the bottom of his diaper bag, and it was just amazing to see the difference. He was soo tiny!
• He currently eats 5-6 oz of soy formula during the day (every 4 hours), and will eat 7-8 ounces of food twice at night (once before bed, and once around 3-4 AM).
• We are eating veggies and fruit each day now, in addition to cereal twice a day! Caleb loves fruit! So far, his favorite is bananas!
• Well Caleb now has 4 teeth! He has two top teeth and his two bottom ones! Oh my goodness! Growing so fast.
• He still sleeps from about 8-8:30 PM to around 7:30-8:30 AM. He wakes up once around 4 for food, and goes right back to sleep. It's been a little different over the past few days or so because Caleb has been sick with a nasty cold! So we have had him in the swing to keep him elevated, and he sometimes just wants to be cuddled because it sucks to be sick. I don't mind. I love that he knows I will be there to comfort him!
• OH boy does our boy talk like crazy! :) He does so much more than just coo and such. He is definitely playing with those babbles and they sound more like him making words. We believe "Nna - Nna" means he is hungry and wants food. We even heard Caleb say "Da-Da," and in the past few days, he says it a lot! He has even looked right at Todd when he said "Da-Da" and it melted his heart. We know he doesn't understand what he is saying, but it still is special to hear him say that! I am waiting for Ma-Ma now! :)
• Still not crawling, but he scoots and rolls to where he wants to go. He loves to stand still, and we practice walking a little with him. He is strong enough to stand, but just doesn't have the balance quite yet. He is getting closer though!
• He is so smart - yes I know, every mother says that. But I really believe he is super smart. After showing him twice how to work a toy, he really tries to do it! And every toy that has noise or moves around, he will pick up and try to find where the sound is coming from or how it is working. Maybe he will be an engineer, like his Mama? hehe!
• Recently, he has been jumping up and down with a particular whiny sound that signals me that he wants me to pick him up. He has been raising his arms for me already, but this was pretty new with the jumping up and down thing.
• He LOVES to jump! He loves that Jumparoo, but man, you don't need it for him to jump. He will jump sitting and standing! Or he will be laying, and he moves his feet like he is jumping too! He is soo active!

Much has happened in a month. I mentioned last month, that Todd had a bad fall and broke his elbow! Well, it's been quite a month with that too! He did break it the worst way possible. He had to have the whole elbow restructured with plates and bolts that will forever remain in his arm. He has been on short term disability (fortunately), so at least we are still getting paid. His surgery was two days before Thanksgiving. But over the past month, he has been improving more and more with physical therapy and exercises he does at home. He has gone from not being able to get dressed himself to somewhat being able to hold Caleb again and carry him. He is even able to drive! Praise God! If you had seen all he went through this past month, I am pretty proud of how far he has come. God has really been healing his arm and helping him through it. It's been a rough month because I have had to take over pretty much everything, and then Caleb has had to go to the sitter more often because Todd couldn't take care of him. But we are surviving, and every single day, Todd gets stronger and stronger. I am truly proud of him! I'm just so happy that Todd can now hold Caleb because it was killing him not being able to do that!

Todd and Caleb! I love that Todd can finally hold him again! 

Caleb had his first Thanksgiving and he had a ball! We spent it with my parents, and Caleb loves playing with his grandparents! He tried mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and sweet potatoes! He was a big fan!

 Caleb and Daddy! This was after Todd's surgery. Caleb was good company for him!

There's our little Turkey! Most thankful for this guy this year! 

And because Todd was unable to lift a Christmas tree, my Dad came up to help me get one. I'm so glad we were able to get a tree too! Caleb LOVED the tree and loved playing with the ornaments that were low enough to reach. It was such a time of wonder for Caleb. He also met Santa for the first time. There were kids in front of us in line, and they got scared and left. But Caleb just sits on Santa's lap like a champ! He had no problem! That's my boy! He really likes people and is always happy to meet a new person.

Anyways, some of my favorite photos are below:

First time laying under the tree

 

 The wonder of a child at Christmas!

 Ooh Mommy...Lights!

 



 So there was this night that he wasn't finishing his bottle before bed because he fell asleep.

Well, I layed him under the tree, and he woke up and just smiled. He stayed like this for the longest time!

 



 More lights...ooh!

Caleb and Santa!

And even though we were unable to go, my brother in love, Wes, graduated with his Masters at Old Dominion University. So proud of him! He is soo smart and loves history so much. He is truly passionate about it, and it was exciting to watch him on a Live Feed online!

 

I was able to get this photo from the live feed at his graduation! He's all smiles! 

Jen and Wes came home for the holidays, and we were able to spend time with them other than Christmas morning! They took our family photos as a Christmas gift to us (see some of the photos below), and they turned out great!

Jen and Wes also came to our home and played with Caleb for several hours...it was great bonding time with him! Caleb loves them both. Jen and Caleb truly are two peas in a pod! I am so glad they got some good bonding time with him since they live so far away. It was special! I swear, Caleb couldn't have a better aunt and uncle!

Two kids (Caleb and his Aunt Jen) looking at the pretty Christmas tree!

 Snuggles with Aunt Jen

 

Playing with Uncle Wes and Aunt Jen

Christmas Eve was our Christmas as just the three of us! See the video of Caleb opening his first present! He was confused at first and looked at us like "Are you sure, I can rip this paper?" It was soo cute!

 

Ready to open gifts!!

 

 

 Mommy helping Caleb learn how to put the shapes in the bucket!

Daddy and Caleb!

Caleb and I made Todd a footprint that Todd will always be able to cherish and look at! Todd really loved it! Someday we will look back at be like "wow...his feet were that small?" So fun.Todd got me a very special gift too! A charm locket that has the birthstones of everyone (Todd, me, and Caleb), wings for Gabriel, and a cross for Christ. And someday, should we have another child, we can put another stone in there. It was so special and beautiful! So all in all - wonderful Christmas Eve morning, and very special memories made!

 Caleb's footprint

 

My beautiful charm locket! My husband is incredibly thoughtful!

Up close to my charm locket! 

And then Caleb got to meet his other grandmother (Todd's mom) for the first time. He was so sweet with her right away and cuddled up to her immediately (That's my boy!). She got him this very fun firetruck that moves, and he was enthralled with the bag! Cracked me up!

Caleb with his other grandma!

Caleb loves the bag, and Todd is trying to get him to pay attention to his new fire truck toy! 

Then we spent Christmas day with my parents! So much fun! Caleb had a ball with everyone, and he was certainly spoiled! We had waffles and sausage for breakfast, and then Jen and Wes read the Christmas story before we all opened gifts. One of the gifts my mom said that Jen and I were giving her was we re-enacted our 1994 photo (see below). It's officially been 20 years later, and she made it possible to re-enact this look! I wish I could show you the photo, but she hasn't posted it online yet. However, it will be shared! :) Too funny.

Our cutie pie in his Christmas PJ's! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Aunt Jen helping Caleb open his gift!

Snuggles with Grandma!

Oooh this is cool!

Our friends who are family to us, Randy and Sue Ann Creamer, came over for Christmas dinner! We had a ball with them and we played Apples to Apples! Wes beat us all! He had won 22 cards, and the rest of us had 12 or less! He is really good at this game! It was a day full of laughs and much love! So thankful for this family! Love them all!

Through it all, Caleb has been sick with a nasty cold, but he still keeps smiling. We had taken him to the pediatrician two times, but he appears to be doing better now. He still has a cough and a little stuffy nose, but no more fever. And once you have a baby, it is so much easier to get whatever they have, so Todd and I both got sick as well. So we are currently getting through our own colds, but I think we are on the mend. I'm just impressed with how happy a baby can be even when he is sick. The only time he wasn't like that was earlier this week on Monday, when he was running a bad fever. I have never held Caleb so much, because while he loves hugs and kisses, he loves to play too. But on Monday, he was unable to do anything. He was so wiped out, and so he spent a good portion of the day asleep on me or on Todd. So glad he is doing better!

Now we just await the new year - 2015! I get to kiss two boys now! I'm so blessed to have these two guys in my life, and I look forward to more special memories made in 2015! I am also thankful for all of our dear friends and family who have prayed for us through the past year! Your prayers and your love are MUCH appreciated and doesn't go unnoticed! May you all have a blessed New Year!

6 Months Old Already and November Excitement

Well Caleb is 6 months old! Half of a year already! I can't hardly believe it! He has grown up so much in 6 months time. I remember thinking that first week, "Will I ever make it?" And now I am just amazed at this little boy who is growing so fast and learning so much. We must be doing something right. People are always commenting about what a good baby he is, how happy he is, etc. I know he brings us so much joy! So much laughter. He really does live up to that middle name of his "Isaac" since it means laughter! So much laughter! :)

This past month has been very busy and full of fun and lots of craziness! Here are some of the baby stats and photos:

Baby Stats

• At his 4 month appointment, Caleb was 13 pounds, 10 ounces; and his 6 month appointment isn't until December 3rd because of the Thanksgiving holiday. However, I did weigh him on my scale at home and I think he is around 17 pounds. I also tried measuring his length, and I think he is at least 26 inches, if not 26.5 inches.
• He is wearing 6-9 month clothes.
• He can wear size 2 diapers; however, those are starting to get really tight on him. In fact, just today, I tried putting a size 3 diaper on to see if it would work, and it does! Wow...size 3 diapers already!
• He currently eats 5-6 oz of soy formula during the day (every 2-3 hours), and will eat 7-8 ounces of food twice at night (once before bed, and once around 3-4 AM).
• We are eating vegetables now! Caleb ate green beans okay, but it wasn't his favorite. So far I think he likes squash the best! I am looking forward to Thanksgiving as we plan on giving him some sweet potatoes and maybe a little cranberry sauce (Mommy's favorite thing)! He still loves his cereal too! 
   
  
Eating some green beans!
 
• Our boy has two visible bottom teeth as I noted before, but this month he has been teething BAD! Poor little guy was experiencing a lot of pain on some teeth that are coming in on the top! I hope those come through soon!
• His sleep patterns have been quite variable this month due to the bad teething. There were some weeks where he would wake up every hour in pain, and it's not like we haven't been giving him Tylenol and Baby Orajel, but it was really rough on the poor guy. He must be feeling somewhat better this week, as he has been sleeping longer before waking up. So it's variable. But ever since the time change, he has gone from sleeping til 8:30-9:00, to 7:30-8:00 now. So he goes to bed around 7:30-8:00 PM to 7:30-8:00 AM. I have tried having him stay up later to see if he would sleep later, but he doesn't. It's his new schedule I guess.
• He does this funny thing with his hand where he holds his thumb and almost looks like he is pulling it out. It's soo strange, but we think it must be a comfort thing. It creeps my mom out to see him pulling on his thumb as she really thinks he is going to pull it out of socket. He is really fascinated by his hands now. Last month it was his feet, and this month it is his hands.

Playing with those cute hands of his! 

• Caleb has been rolling over as I noted in previous posts, but he is rolling over to get to things he wants now. He will just keep rolling til he get there. He is starting to get his legs in the right position for crawling too...so it's just a matter of time!

Getting closer everyday to crawl! He loves to sit and roll over to get where he wants to go

• Caleb has been sitting up pretty consistently this month. He sometimes rolls back over, but he is doing really well at sitting up and playing! He prefers it!

Sitting up and playing with a mouse that doesn't work anymore

because he is obsessed with things that Mommy and Daddy have! 

• Caleb was dedicated to the Lord this month! There are many denominations and the Catholic church baptizes their babies. However, we believe baptism is a choice that Caleb will need to make for himself. Baby dedication is us vowing before God, our church, family and friends to raise Caleb to know the Lord and look to Him as we raise Caleb. And we hope and pray someday that when Caleb is of accountability, he will choose Jesus to be his Lord and Savior. When he does that, he will then be baptized as a symbolism of his new life in Christ. But until that age of accountability, we trust him with Jesus and will do the best we can as parents to show him the love of Jesus. He was too sweet during the dedication. As we were going up, he fell asleep and even when I handed him off to Pastor Stan, he stayed asleep! So precious! Love him so much!

 My adorable boy!

 



Caleb fell asleep and was out the whole time during his dedication!

 

Here is a link to a video of his dedication: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfMcB8cj8ww&feature=youtu.be

• We are sooo looking forward to the holidays! Next month, I know we will have much more to share about Caleb's first Thanksgiving, the first time he sees his own Christmas tree, and all the fun that comes with this time of year! I am sooo psyched to experience all these firsts with Caleb! :)

This month, we went away for our anniversary, and Caleb spent lots of quality time with his Grandma and G-Pa. He spent Halloween with them, and had fun seeing all of the trick or treaters come to the door! Todd and I stayed in Cincinnati at a hotel that had a jacuzzi, and just spent a lot of time sleeping and relaxing on our timetable, and not Caleb's! It was a nice time together to reconnect! :)

Our little pumpkin on Halloween before spending the weekend with his grandparents! 

Todd and I ready to go out to dinner for our anniversary!

 



Every year, Todd gets me the number of roses for the number of years we have been married!


Todd also celebrated his 35th birthday with us this month, and it was the first time I decorated a cake that didn't look like crap! :) My mom had given me tools to use for cake decorating, and those tools worked! I always said I wanted to be a mom that made birthday cakes for my family, and I am happy I can do that! Caleb really got into the cake and wanted to dive right in! :)

I did that! So excited!

Ready to dive in!

 

The birthday boy and our little boy! :)

And just yesterday, poor Todd fell on some ice and he managed to break his elbow in two places! So sad! :( We are going to see an orthopedic surgeon tomorrow, so please pray for us as we figure out what we need to do. I am praying that Todd's elbow heals fast after the surgery. Stay tuned and pray for us in this crazy time. We know the Lord will bring us through this, but we definitely need His wisdom and strength!