Always There

Before you were born
I could feel you tap on my belly
And we would tap each other
back and forth
Playing a little game with each other
As a way to let each other know
I am here

And that May night you were born
You were held by nurses, doctors,
Your grandparents, and your Daddy
And no one could soothe you enough
until you were placed on my chest to know
I was there

As a young infant, you discovered my hair
you always wrapped your tiny fingers
around several strands of my long hair
Fascinated by the strands
And once you had it
You fell asleep because you knew
I was there

And even now as a young toddler
Your fascination with my hair
Has only continued
You love to play with my hair and twirl it around
And when I help you fall asleep,
Your favorite way is holding my hair because you know
I am there

But even as you grow into a little boy, a teenager, a man
You won't always want to hold my hair or need me around
But I promise you that I will always be
Your biggest fan, your biggest prayer warrior, your biggest support
Because those are the way to show you that even if distance separates us
I will always be there

S. Taber

I write this as I contemplate my beautiful son and how even though he is growing up so fast, he still needs and wants me. I am honored to be his mommy! I don't feel like I deserve him, but God gave this boy to me for a purpose! He is our precious miracle that I am most thankful for each day! 

16 months old!!

This sweetheart is 16 months old! It's amazing to watch this kid grow into a little boy and discover his personality! He does so many funny things on a daily basis, and usually I am taken off guard by those things. He will say or do something, and we just burst out laughing because it's so funny. I don't know how I am supposed to keep a straight face when he is in trouble. He is growing very well too. I don't know how tall he is yet (will find out this week); however, I know he is officially 25 pounds on our scale at home!

He has also become quite the Daddy's boy! If Daddy is around, then I practically don't exist (unless he doesn't feel good, he needs food, or is sleepy). If Daddy is around and then leaves the room - the world has literally ended according to Caleb! No - Daddy must be attached to Caleb! Also - most recent, I was at a field event for work and Caleb stayed with his grandparents. So Todd was without Caleb and me for two days! So we go and pick up Caleb (both of us) after not seeing him for a couple of days, and he was soo excited! I was in front and running to give him a hug, and that boy ran past me and went to Todd! Wow - snubbed much?! Yeah he loves his Daddy. He loves me too, but lately, those two are two peas in a pod! And later on, Caleb played with me and hugged me, so I know he really does love me. It's just amazing how at times he prefers one parent over the other.

Daddy's boy!

Loves his Daddy!

He does this really silly laugh that I don't think I can describe. It's deep and it almost sounds like "Bo Bo!" But it's a deep laugh! He is really experimenting with this voice! He also experiments with his head. He shakes his head no when I shake my head no and say No.

Some new words or modifications on words:

• "Paaah" for puppy (this is a modification for when we see a puppy outside, on tv, in a book, etc). Also there is major squealing when he sees a puppy! He also uses this for penguin when he sees the many penguins around the house that I have and in his room. 
• Step! (he says this when we go down and up steps)
• Car - he says this very well (and attempted it last month with "ca")
• "Bea" for bear! He does this very well!
• "Gock" is block
• "Buh" for bunny
• Apple - in the past week, he has been saying this very well! He knows apples! 
• "Guck" for truck as well as duck
• Ball - he says this very well! 
• "Bir" for bird
• "See" for swing
• Sit - he knows this very well when I ask for him to sit down to get his shoes on
• Bubble - he loves this word! He says this very well! 
• Just once did he say "Mmmmm" when pointing to the moon. 

And while he isn't saying these words yet, he knows the following words when talking with him or when I ask where it is and he points to it:

• Tree - (I ask him where the trees are and he knows and points to them)
• Shoes (just have to say, do you want your shoes on, and he goes where his shoes are and will sit down for you to put them on)
• Video (you have to be careful of this because he LOVES to watch Hoopla Kidz on YouTube for kids songs, and he loves "videos!"
• Bath (he just doesn't say it - but he knows what a bath is, especially when I say we are going to have bubbles in his bath)
• He knows kisses because I will ask him to give Mommy kisses, and he leans in for kisses! 
• He knows when I ask "Do you want to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider" what that is. He gets his hands ready and we do the song together! 
• He also knows PattyCake and takes my hands and we do it together. And EVERY time after we finish Pattycake, he will give me the biggest smile and hug! 
• He knows when I ask if he wants to sing a song, what that means. Because he expects us to sing! And if you don't intend on singing for a long period of time, don't say the word. Because he loves it when you sing songs! 
• We have been praying to Jesus on the way to Miss Jane's in the morning and at night before bed. I take his hands at night and we pray, and he knows what that means. Because I will ask him if he wants to pray for Jesus, and he gets his hands ready! 

There is more I am sure. I swear the list just keeps going. He is just learning soo much, and I love it! 

He really is quite the blessing!

YAY! 

Such an infectious smile!

And this month, we celebrated my 35th birthday. Although, I was out in the field on my birthday, my sweet husband sent me flowers to my hotel room! Such a sweet surprise! And then when I cam home early Saturday morning, we went out for a nice birthday lunch (just the two of us), and went to Cincinnati to have cake with my parents and pick up our boy. 

The birthday flowers Todd sent to my hotel in Indiana! 

Beautiful birthday flowers!

Fall is officially here too! So I look forward to going to a corn maze/petting zoo to get him a pumpkin and start some fall traditions with him. I think he will need to have a costume for Halloween too. He will be with his grandparents (since Mommy and Daddy will be having a weekend getaway then for our anniversary). Plus, I look forward to the fall leaves and cooler air. So stay tuned next month for more exciting memories! And I leave you with this cute picture of Caleb and his penguin!

Todd's Arm After 9 1/2 Months Later

So I briefly put on Facebook that Todd's last scab from the past 9 1/2 months of surgeries has finally came off! YAY! We averaged a surgery every month since November 22, 2014. Can't believe it!

But I thought some folks who don't see Todd very often, or at all, would like to see what his arm looks like after 9 1/2 months of surgeries, waiting, infections, more waiting, crazy emotions, more infections, more waiting, and more surgeries becomes!

His elbow may not look great to some of you, but man oh man, does it look great to us! We have waited a long time for us to get to this point. He will probably have many of these scars his whole life, but talk about a testimony! A long testament to getting through such a crazy ordeal! We are still not completely done, as we still have a couple more Doctor's Appointments, possibly some more therapy on muscle use, and likely 2 more months of antibiotics! So we aren't done, and infection could always show it's ugly head again, but with no more surgeries being planned and there officially being no more open wounds, it isn't as likely!

And there is the part of me that wondered this whole time why God allowed this to happen. And I really still don't have an answer on that. But God did help us along this long journey in more ways than one. And possibly, I will write more about that on a future blog post. But, I am grateful for what is his arm right now! His bone is fully healed (when it was completely shattered). He has about 75% muscle control. And no infection!

So thank you for the prayers. These photos are answers to prayer! The journey isn't completely done yet on this, but I know we are most thankful for where it is right now.

Much Love for your prayers, love, and kindness!

The Taber Family!

Chatty, Fun Loving Toddler Turns 15 Months and other Updates

 

This guy - yes, this guy is 15 months old! My oh my! He is soo fun, even if he gets into trouble. He is curious and loves life. I love his excitement about even the littlest of things. But to him, they aren't little. For instance, just saying the word "Do you want to get your shoes on?" And he instantly squeals with delight "AH SI!" Which means Outside. He loves to go outside.

 

He is a strong willed boy too! He likes to do what he likes to do, and if you try to veer away from the norm, well, he will tell you about it. I always knew I would have a stubborn child like me! LOL! But, he is doing better about listening to us say "No." He doesn't always listen, but there are times he does, and so that is definite progress!

 

He is getting better about playing with toys on his own if we are busy with chores or making dinner, etc. So that's encouraging too. And many times, we will just find him sitting by himself "reading" a story.

 

We are learning some new stuff as well! He "dances" on his own now. He has this little march, two-step dance thing he does. Haha! It's so cute! He also has a recent obsession with trying to walk backwards. And even though we know he loves music and when Mommy sings songs to him, his interest in music and songs has deepened even more. Sometimes when I hug him or hold him, he sounds like he is trying to sing to me too. Or we are in the car, and I will hear him sound like he is trying to sing a song. I love it!

 

Caleb has been working on steps more and more to the point that he can walk up our steps outside our home by himself. He grabs the railing and does a great job going up the steps! We are working on going down steps as well, but not without holding Mommy or Daddy's hand. However, our stubborn boy thinks he can do it on his own sometimes, and last week, the boy decided to try going down a step when I thought he was doing something else, and he went down into some gravel. Poor kiddo. I love his independence and I love how he wants to do things for himself, but it is so hard to see him fall. And you'd think that would stop him from trying it again, but he is fearless.

 

Some new words he says (or improvements on words) since last month:

• Cacker for Cracker (this is definitely and improvement - it used to be Cack)
• Beal for belly
• Buba for bye-bye (when he chooses to say it)
• peee for puppy (this is when we see a puppy on a story)
• STA! for Stop! (this is a pretty recent thing where if he doesn't like something or if he hears me say stop, he says STA! very emphatically. In fact, I think I even heard him the other day say this to a little girl who got into a car toy he got out of (because it was her turn). LOL. He is definitely going to learn sharing.
• Go (not very often does he say this, but when I say let's go, he has said Go)
• Lite (I know I heard him say this for light before. Just once, but he did say it)
• Goke (yogurt - this is an improvement)
• Wawa for water. Not very often does he say this, but he has said it a few times now.
• Ah for up. This is when he wants us to pick him up for really anything. If he doesn't want to walk (which isn't often) or when he wants us to show him pictures on the walls or turn off the light.

Now even though he can't say these next words, he knows what they are when he sees them and can point to them when we go for a walk, etc. So even though he isn't actually saying the word, he knows what they are:

• moon (Every evening we go for a walk, and he always points to the moon. What's cool is that he recognizes the moon from stories he reads too. So when I say where is the moon when we are outside, he points right to the moon)
• He doesn't say the word light very often, but he knows what it is. He points right to a light when I ask where is the light. Or if I ask him to turn off the light, with me lifting him up, he knows that when he turns off the switch, a light goes out. So it's really cool to see him recognize that cause and effect.
• He knows what a penguin is - you'd think so with all the penguins he has in his room! LOL! But even though he can't really say that word, he knows what they are.
• He knows trees and points to them all the time when I say "where is the tree." He knows trees very well because we go outside so often.
• He knows the word shoes and knows that when we say Let's get your shoes on, he sits down beside me so I can put them on. He also knows shoes on means going outside too.

He is also able to climb up and down our couches all by himself. He still scares us by sometimes being to close to the end when he sits or tries to stand up, but he does it very well.

He definitely keeps us on our toes and is truly learning every single day. I love it! I love to see the wheels turning in his brain when he figures things out. Like for instance, when he said Cacker because we were trying to get him to say the word better than just cack, and he did it, we were all "YAY Caleb," and then he lifted his hands up in the air with excitement. He was even proud of himself too!

And in Todd updates - we are on our last, tiny scab on his elbow. Then no more open wounds! Woohoo! He will still be on pill antibiotics for the next couple of months, but this is great! hoping and praying that it stays that way. It's been 9 1/2 months since his accident, and we are ready for this all to be done!

So I leave you with a cute photo of my two guys! And also a cute photo of me and my little man! So grateful for both of these guys!

 

 

If Not Us, Then Who?

A little different than my normal blog posts. Most people won't even read this post. Especially because it is so "controversial." But, if I just let those "odds" determine everything I did, I wouldn't be where I am even now. And honestly, I felt pressed by God to share this.

Many know I am pro-life. And I can honestly say, I have felt an urgency in the past few weeks like I have never felt before to really speak out. Why put post after post on my wall about Planned Parenthood? What good will it do? What can Sarah Taber do for those babies? What can any Christian or any person that hates abortion do? I'm here to tell you - that YOU can make a difference. In fact, if I may be so bold, if you are a true Christian, you have an obligation to stand up for those little ones because they can't.

If you are like me, the videos that have been coming out on Planned Parenthood are disturbing and quite heartwrenching. I didn't enjoy watching those videos. I didn't enjoy watching the moral depravity set before me. I didn't enjoy seeing these workers laugh about "Oh, it's a boy" when they realize the baby parts they are going through were parts from a boy. I didn't enjoy seeing them lift up parts and pointing out how much each of those parts would get them as a group. I didn't enjoy hearing them say pretty clearly that sometimes babies are born before the procedure is done, and these are living, intact babies, and then they clearly will suffer and die alone because intact babies get more money. It's disgusting...it's heart wrenching....it's EVIL!

How many of you watched the videos? I don't blame you if you didn't. But, I think sometimes it is necessary to know what we are up against when we are fighting what is clearly a spiritual battle - between EVIL and GOOD. But if it feels too overwhelming, and if you feel it is easier to just be appalled and then forget. Yes - I guess that would be easier. It would be easier to get through life without thinking of the evil that is funded by our own tax dollars. It would be MUCH easier to forget and live life ignorant. I would rather live in a happy-go-lucky bubble. But, since you and I both know these things are going on (you can't avoid knowing it is occurring with social media), and if you avoid doing anything, are you not then saying it's okay? Are you not being complicit? It was that kind of attitude of "doing nothing" that led to the slaughter of millions of Jews.

Here are some facts you may not know - the current tally of babies killed since Roe vs. Wade is well over 55 million! This number of children killed is more than the number of people killed during the Holocaust in Germany and more than the number of people killed in the Armenian Holocaust combined.

I'm not saying you have to become one of those people on the streets screaming the end is near or anything like that. But, I believe that Christians have a moral responsibility to take a stand against evil. What does that entail? Well in this case with Planned Parenthood, what are some of things you can do? I came up with a list of things that my family does as some examples. Do one or some of these things, and you are helping in this fight.

• Spread awareness - post on your Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.
• Pray every single day against these injustices - with prayer, I believe God moves mountains. I believe that babies lives can be saved. I believe that things can be changed.
• Call/write your state representatives about defunding Planned Parenthood or to look into investigations
• Stop giving money to companies that fund Planned Parenthood. This list provided in the link below is an updated list of companies that support PP (although recently, American Express and The American Cancer Socity has also distanced themselves from them). That list can be found here: http://prolife.ie/news/2015/07/23/us-companies-distance-themselves-planned-parenthood. Maybe you think it is too hard to give up any of those things, but you can do it. My family is. We love Pepsi more than Coke products; however, Coke distanced themselves from PP. Pepsico did not. So we are making adjustments to our lives to avoid having any more of our money going to people that kill these babies.
• Volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center or donate baby clothes/money to them as these centers focus on helping women get the help they need to provide for those babies or put them up for adoption. Many of these centers also provide ultrasounds for women to see their unborn babies to help them understand their baby isn't a blob of tissue, but a LIFE!
• Go to a protest - Go with the intent to pray over the women that enter those abortion mills. Pray that the staff will have a change of heart and mind. It CAN happen. Abby Johnson is just one example of someone that was a Director for PP, and she stopped after she saw a baby at 13 weeks try to get away from the abortion suction device. She saw the life in that ultrasound and vowed to never be a proponent of abortion ever again. She changed. People can change.
• With that same thought - even if there isn't a scheduled protest. If you know of PP or abortion mill in your area, take a lunch break and walk over there and pray. Again - prayer can move mountains!
• Pray for legislation to change/propose new legislation to your representatives to allocate funding to go to those crisis pregnancy centers that focus on life, not death.
• Attend the March for Life in Washington D.C. once in your life. It is truly an amazing experience! I promise!
• If you know a woman that is struggling with whether or not she should keep a baby or not, be her support. And if she chooses life, be her support through the child's life. She is going to likely need support and help, and if we claim we care about life, we should care about them well after they are born. So show that compassion and love to those women who are choosing life even when it seems hard. Be the encouragement and help they need.
• Be a big proponent of adoption. And if you can, prayerfully consider adopting children. Not even just the children that are babies.
• Vote for candidates who actually live their lives as pro-life candidates.

Do you have any other suggestions?

It makes me sad that I know of Christians who would rather keep silent about this because it is so controversial than to do anything about it. Being sad about the unborn lives lost every day isn't enough. And it makes me sad that there are more people on the bandwagon to seek justice for a lion, than there are for these little babies. Why is that?! Where are the Christians?! If we are going to leave a mark in this world, do you want to be known for someone that just shrunk back in the shadows when evil is occurring, or do you want to be known as someone that stood strong and fought for little unborn babies everywhere? When we say nothing and do nothing, we act like those nations did when the Jews were being killed in Nazi Germany. This is OUR time!

So do it - make a difference for all of those babies. Their very lives depend on it!

Matthew West - "Do Something"

Toddlerhood with Caleb (14 months) and Update on Todd

I mean, can he be any cuter?! 14 Months Old!

  

I am amazed at the changes our little man has made in just a month's time. He is 14 months old and wow, does he act like a toddler. There are wonderful things about that, and as we are learning, not-so-wonderful things. Like tantrums! haha! I was only being slightly integrated into tantrums last month, and now we are getting more. He is very stubborn and wants what he wants, but we are learning to talk to him at his level and tell him No (and trying hard not to involve yelling, but stern voices). But  most of why he may act up is if he isn't the focus of attention when he wants to be the focus of attention. He is perfectly fine with playing by himself when he wants to do it. But, if he wants your attention and you are doing something else, he will throw a toy, a book, or just look at you and get mad. He scrunches up his face and may even yell. We understand though that he just wants our attention and not because he wants to be "bad." So we try to focus his attention elsewhere and distraction. Sometimes we can't stop what we are doing, so he is learning that he can be okay for a little while, as long as we do end up giving him the attention he desires after we are finished. He definitely tests us too. There are things he wants to grab/touch/get into still, and so we are consistently having to tell him no. But he knows he shouldn't. He will look straight at us as he is about to touch it. And we will say No, but he will inch that hand closer and closer til he touches it. It's so cute, but we try hard to hide the smiles we have (because he is so cute) to emphasize he needs to listen to us. This is definitely a learning time for all of us.

But the fun things about this boy...so many. He is learning more words, which makes it so much easier to understand what he wants. Here is his list of words we have heard him say. There may be a little more...I can't think of them right off hand. But his vocabulary is growing:

• Uh - Ooooh!  (He really draws out the Oh). He has been doing this for a few months now.
• Mama
• Dada
• Daddeee
• Sooooo Biiiiiii (So Big). This is his favorite book and it has Elmo!
• Baba (bottle)
• Ick (stick)
• aaa saaaa (applesauce)
• cack (crackers)
• gock (yogurt)
• awwwwww (he does this when he hugs a stuffed animal or when he puts his cheek next to our cheeks)
• Yeah (he definitely says this more when he is showing he is agreeing with you on something. For instance, If I ask if he wants something, he will Yeah like he agrees)
• Nana (banana)
• Ahh Dahhh (All done) - and he does this with his hands up as he says all done!
• ah si (outside)
• Guck (duck)
• Ditty (kitty)

He is sleeping better now. We took a weekend a litte over two weeks ago to really sleep train him again. And it worked. Within one day, he was sleeping better and in his bed! So yay! We are all getting a little more sleep now! Even if that means he wakes up between 7-7:30. I know at least he will sleep.

He has also gotten his first two molars (left and ride bottoms) and more are definitely coming. So we now have 10 teeth!

He is so much more affectionate. I love how he gives me kisses more often now and puts his cheek next to mine and says awww. It's so sweet! I can help myself when he shows me that love!

We play a fun game where I will run away to another room, and I will say "Where's Caleb?!" And he squeals and is all excited and giggles and then runs to find me. When I see him, I yell "Boo!" and he laughs very hard and runs away and we repeat that for a while. It's sooo cute!

The weekend before July 4th, we had a cookout with friends north of Columbus, and we had a ball. Our friends have a farm, and they have chickens, turkeys, and pigs. Caleb LOVED to see them. Plus, they also had some dogs, and Caleb loved to chase after those dogs! And then when we went to a park/farm nearby a week or so later, he got to pet a donkey and sheep, and also chase chickens and a cat. He even says "ditty" for kitty! It is so sweet! I love how much he loves animals. He has the best giggle when he is around them, and it's just so fun!

 Ecstatic about the animals!!

 Petting a donkey!

We also started a new tradition on July 2nd - we put off balloons in the sky in honor of Gabriel in heaven as a family. Caleb loved the balloons, and we always want to emphasize how valuable life is. How even at such a small age in the womb when Gabriel went to heaven, that he had a purpose. His life was short, but his life had purpose. I believe we advocate for the unborn even more, and we have an awareness and understanding about miscarriage that we never had before. I believe that the unborn deserve a voice, and because they don't get a voice in this country, someone has to be their advocate. I am more vocal about my miscarriage as well because I believe people should talk about it. Women feel way too alone during a miscarriage in this country, and it's no surprise that it is because many people don't view these little ones as a life. And even though I am an advocate for the unborn, I believe I am even more of an advocate of love and compassion to those mothers that feel like they have no other choice but abortion. I believe they should be shown love and grace. I hate abortion, but not those women. Women should be told the WHOLE truth about abortion. They should be told that there are other options. I believe women who have abortions are given misleading information and scared. We should do what we can to help them choose life. And instead of advocating abortion, what if that money would go toward adoption or helping the mother take care of her child herself. That way, no one has to die. Just my thoughts, but again, I feel this so strongly because of what happend to us three years ago! And perhaps Gabriel's life will always be a testament to why we fight for those babies!





This past Wednesday, we had a trip to Newport Aquarium (his first visit to an aquarium). We had intended on visiting Cincinnati Zoo because it was $1 admission; however, when we got to the exit for the zoo, it took us well over an hour to drive to the zoo because of the LONG line. Then, when we got there, there was NO parking anywhere. UGH! So by this point, we had been in the car for 3 hours. So as a Plan B, we drove to Newport to the aquarium. I think we would have enjoyed it more had we not had such a band experience at the zoo. Plus, there was a line to wait in to go into the aquarium (and a toddler waiting in line is not really fun, when all he wants to do is run around). But we paid and went in, and he saw all kind of fish, turtles, jellyfish, alligators, stingrays, sharks, and of course my favorite - the penguins! He really loved it when a fish would swim right up by the window of the aquarium so he could act like he could touch it. He would squeal and laugh. It was fun! Plus, he really got a kick out of walking under the aquariums that had fish overhead. He loved the reflection of the water on the floor, and he would go back and forth through them squealing and laughing! Too cute! And when we saw the penguins, there was one in particular that was pruning himself, and he just laughed and laughed at him. :)

Looking up at the fish over us!

Walking under the water with Daddy!

Back and forth he would go!

And he loved to touch the wall of aquarium to "touch" the fish

So lots of fun things happening with this boy just in one month.

In other news: Todd's elbow is still healing. Where they did the skin graft, the elbow is actually starting to look like skin and it is now scabbed. YAY. Just waiting for those scabs to come off, and then we will feel better. As long as there is a possibility of an open wound, there is still a chance for infection. But, so far so good. I hope next month, I can say even better news! But Todd will likely be starting work up again the first week in August. So please keep him and us in your prayers about that. We want that to go smoothly too!

Even though, he has had so many surgeries, the good that has come from this is that Caleb and I have seen Todd more. We have had more time together as a family, and I am thankful for that. But, I know Todd is bored during the day when both Caleb and I are gone, so he will be happy to be busy again.

Can't believe how fast this year has been going. I guess surgeries and toddlers will make time fly! At any rate, we appreciate your prayers, love, support, and encouragement. We couldn't do it without that! Much love!



Update on Caleb's 13th Month and Todd's Healing Process

Our 13 month old!

Our big boy is 13 months old. Didn't we just celebrate is 1 year birthday?! Oh man...time is just flying by. It's been quite a busy month.

Caleb was officially weighed in at the Doctor's two weeks ago, and he was 21 pounds, 14 ounces (almost 22 pounds). And he is 29 3/4 inches long! So he is almost half my height! He is doing really well developmentally. He continues to learn and talk our ears off! LOL! Our doctor is very pleased with his walking, interaction with people, talking, and learning.

He loves to run around the house (quite literally). He is all about running and then racing up to give hugs! Oh he gives the best hugs! He loves to open EVERY cabinet door there is. And he can actually reach our top drawers in the kitchen and can open them. YIKES!

We discovered he loves dogs and cats. Our sitter has a sweet neighbor dog and cat that sometimes comes over to her yard. And Caleb just loves to run over to them. He literally squeals with delight when they nuzzle up next to him. Haha! So cute!

He has also been working on his steps. We have a lot of steps outside leading up to our home, and holding our hands, he takes the steps up. It's so exciting to watch him want to do that. We can't go down the steps yet as it's scarier to do that. But we are working our way to that. He loves to be outside, and gets upset when we tell him we have to go back inside. He is all about sticks too. He loves to pick up random sticks and carry them around. We think it is because he feels like he can reach further because he likes to reach up high with the stick.

We also love that he likes to take our hands and walk. Sometimes he wants to be independent, but he loves to hold our hands and walk. He knows when we say "want to go outside?" or "want to go for a walk?" what that means. He goes right to our front door. And I gotta say, I love watching him with Todd. Todd and him are buddies for sure. Caleb already tries to imitate his Daddy's strides. It's so precious!

Holding his Daddy's hand!

See how he watches Todd's strides

We also played in his baby pool for the first time two weeks ago. He had a ball! And with as hot as this summer has been (I know - it just turned summer technically), we are going to need that pool!

Caleb loves to dance with us too. He loves to have one hand holding ours and we dance. All we have to sing is "Dancing...Dancing" and he is sooo excited. He loves to dance to whatever music is playing or if we sing ourselves. It's so cute!

Caleb has been somewhat regressing in his sleep, but some of that may be due to his recent MMR shots, and some of that might be teething (still working on those molars). I also think he has been having some very scary dreams lately. I saw him sleeping and there was this one moment where he puts his hands in front of his face and is all upset and scared (but his eyes were closed and still sleeping). And just my touch on his back, and he calmed down. I just hate seeing him scared like that. I heard that kids go through that, but it's still very hard. We have had to re-sleep train him, and it works sometimes. But there have been definite nights involving night terrors or bad dreams. Poor kiddo.

We are also being integrated into the toddler tantrums. Caleb is such a sweet boy, but he has his moments for sure. He gets all angry when I don't let him open up the trash can and pull out the trash. He gets upst when I won't let him keep the refrigerator door open so he can touch and play with everything in it. Sorry kid, but we pay for that electricity. We did pretty good with putting things up high or away that could break, but there are still moments where we take away something because if we don't, he will hurl it across our end tables, and I'm concerned he might actually break the end table. Or when he just throws things across the room to see what it does. He gets mad when his toys don't do something as he wants it to do (don't ask me what that is, as he can't communicate that very well right now). It's so cute to watch sometimes (his face gets all scrunched up and he clenches his fists and whines really loud). But it can get old too. LOL! I guess I have more fun to look forward to in the coming years. I just try to distract him with something else. The hardest part is when he just wants to be with Daddy and accidently touches something that hurts Daddy. Ugh...I hate that. Caleb doesn't understand and I feel bad because Todd wants to do so much more with Caleb too.

Caleb started drinking only whole milk two weeks ago (YAY - no more formula!). I wanted to wean him off of it to see how he would handle it because he has been drinking soy formula. But he didn't mind the change at all and didn't have any allergic reactions to it either. So YAY. Cheaper costs...I'd rather pay $2.58 for a gallon of milk a week vs. the $28 a week of formula!

Another big change - we have a new sitter. Starting in June, we have been with a lady from our church. She is truly a God-send to us! I noticed quite a difference with how Caleb interacted with her and how he interacted with his old sitter. He loves Ms. Jane. She has a calm and sweet personality, and loves to tickle and play with him. She prays with all the kids, and has so many fun toys. I expected that Caleb would struggle the first week with a new person, but he only cried for the first 5 minutes when I dropped him off the first two days. On Wednesday that first week, he didn't even cry. He was happy. And when I pick him up, he is happy. Todd and I both noticed he just seems happier now than he ever did with our old sitter, and that eases this mama's mind. Plus, she is not disrespectful and she doesn't do anything questionable. She is definitely an answer to prayer!

We also celebrated Father's Day this past weekend with family as well. Was nice to celebrate another Father's Day with our Caleb! Caleb had a "test" hot dog with the guys (my Dad and Todd). So he was just one of the guys ;) LOL!

Caleb got his Daddy a mug with photos of him with Daddy

Up close at the mug

But G-Pa also got a mug too for being the BEST G-Pa Ever!!

Eating a "test dog" like the rest of the guys!

And this photo is very similar to a photo of me with my Grandpa Dunmyer feeding me a big drink

from a big bottle! I had to imitate this same thing with Caleb and his G-Pa!

So all in all, Caleb is doing wonderfully. And he hasn't been sick since early May, so YAY! We are finally having a break from all of the sickness! Woohoo!

And in other news - Todd had surgery back on May 29th to clean out infection that was found. AGAIN. And they cleaned it out really well and kept him in the hospital for a week. While he was there, he had muscle moved from above his wrist and moved to the elbow to promote blood flow. This then allows the antibiotics to work better. And in that process, we received a pick line in his working arm so that he could take IV medication for the next 6 weeks. He can administer it himself and we only have a home health care worker come to the house once a week for dressing changes and for blood to be drawn. Todd had a wound vac attached to him for the first week in the hospital and at home, and it promotes sucking out anything nasty (leakage), and helps move the good tissue up and heals faster. But that was only the first week. And a week or so ago, Todd also had a skin graft done by taking from his thigh and moving it up to the elbow area where they placed the muscle. The worst pain actually came from that skin graft (which is normal), but even that is healing well. I change out his bandages on a daily basis, and it is nice to see that it is healing very well so far. I am seeing scabs where they should be and watching this skin adapt to its new location on his elbow is just fascinating. Maybe I could have gone into medicine. I think Todd is happy that I don't get grossed out by this stuff because I can help him more. It's been quite busy, but so far, so good, We have received much love from family and dear family friends, and many prayers from family and friends. So if you have been praying, we continue to say thank you and please keep it up. Our prayer has always been that this would be it, and I continue to hope and pray this is it. So far it is looking really good. But we still have a few more weeks of IV medication and healing before Todd would go back to work. So continue to be praying for us if you would! Thank you friends!

We are looking forward to this next month to see friends and family to celebrate Independence Day. This upcoming weekend, we are seeing our friends in Columbus area at a cookout, and this year, Caleb will be able to run around outside. Last year, he was only 4-5  weeks old. :) So it should be fun to see how he handles it all.

Enjoy the time with family and friends and stay tuned for most updates!

Much love to all of you!