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!

Caleb is ONE!!

 

Well it's official! Our boy is ONE! I can't even believe it! The year has totally flown by. Seems just like it was yesterday when we brought him home. I remember how scared I was because the idea of taking care of this tiny human and being responsible for him was a daunting thought. And yes, the first couple of weeks were the absolute hardest, but after a few weeks went by, I was feeling better about it. And looking into this beautiful face when he smiled at me - I was smitten! And we became the best of pals this year! We have had a year full of many firsts, days at the park, singing, dancing, napping, doctor visits, and lots of snuggles!

 

I love this boy more and more each day. Even though there are days where all I want is a nap, I find that when he isn't with me, I miss him. He has a smile that lights up any room. He is full of so much life and curiosity. We prayed that our boy would be curious and love life....and boy did God deliver! This boy loves to explore. He loves to get into everything. He quite literally keeps us on our toes!

 

Caleb has been walking pretty steadily since 11 months and continues to climb into and around things. He is becoming more and more independent and doesn't always want to hold our hands because he wants to do it on his own. He has also been playing "ball" with us for the past few weeks. He likes to throw the ball to us and we throw it back! I am soo proud of him. I mean, how did he learn so much in a short year? It's amazing! We look forward to seeing what more he learns this year!

 

Caleb's Birthday Party

 

Caleb's birthday party was the day after his birthday, and it was a success. It was a Penguin themed birthday party, and I even made the cake. I was so nervous about making it because I had the best mom in the world who made amazing cakes, and I wanted Caleb to have that in me too. But it turned out great!

 

Birthday boy in his birthday outfit!

 

The Birthday cake

 

I made a fun board of photos and his baby stats on it. I weighed Caleb on our scale (and he was actually detected), and he weighed 21 pounds. I also attempted to get his height (though he was quite squirmy), and he is around 29 inches (might be more as he was moving around a ton). It was fun putting this board together as it really took me back through the last year. I truly have a handsome boy! And despite being quite biased, I would even say he is the cutest!  

 

 

Caleb had many special guests come to his party, but the best surprise was when we heard the doorbell, and there at the door was his Aunt Jen and Uncle Wes!! I quite literally squealed with excitement! Jen had told us just the day before on Skype that they couldn't make the trip, but were so sad about it. So that's why we Skyped with her on his birthday. It was a great call and Caleb would go play and then come back and talk to her. But then the next day, they were there! My parents knew and kept this fun secret from us! :) It was the best surprise! I was so touched that they thought it was so important to be there! And honestly, we see them once or twice a year, so this was just the best thing ever! But we were honored to have many other special people there who are family to us!

 

Aunt Jen and Uncle Wes

 Bunch of family and friends

 

The Food: The food were pinwheel sandwiches, penguin shaped cheese crackers (mostly for Caleb), delicious crackers and cheese dips, fruit and yogurt dip, penguin shaped pasta salad, and blue raspberry cupcakes and Funfetti cupcakes. Caleb was the only one that got a whole cake to himself! hehehe!

 

Pinwheel sandwiches

Penguin cheese crackers

Crackers with vegetable cheese dip and spinach artichoke cheese dip

Fruit, penguin shaped pasta salad, and Blue Ice punch

 

Blue Raspberry and Funfetti cupcakes

 

 Caleb's Birthday Cake: I put a candle on his cake and we all sang to him! I gotta say, I even had a tear in my eye when I heard everyone singing to him. That was just special! So I tried to show Caleb how to blow out a candle and he watched me. Then it was time to try the cake. He wasn't sure about it. I think he liked the taste, but it was quite overwhelming to him because he doesn't eat sugar normally. In the end, he was bored and didn't care about eating it. He wanted to play! He still got quite messy though. His arm kept getting mushed into the icing! LOL!

 

 

So then we opened presents, and boy did he make out like a bandit! He got a corn popper, a swimming pool and swim trunks, cool John Deer tractor, a car, a dump truck, a push toy with a cute lion face that makes music as he pushes it, books, clothes, a fun stackable hamburger that spins, a beautiful wooden toy turtle, a height chart, and a game where he pushes balls into a hole that goes through a maze. Lots of fun for this boy!

 

"Nothing Run Like a Deere" - says the John Deere Tractor

Helping Daddy put together a toy

Playing with his corn popper!

 

But honestly, the best part was just the love that was shared with this boy as we celebrated him. It was so special that he was surrounded with many people that love him!! So thank you to those that were able to come and to those that live far away and couldn't be here, thank you for sending love to him in your messages.

 

It's been an amazing first year, and we are looking forward to seeing him grow and learn even more! I leave you with this cute one year old's face!

 

 My heart!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caleb is 11 months old - 1 more month to go!

The reality that Caleb is turning 1 in a month has definitely set in. We have sent out birthday invitations, and we are getting things together for his big day! But just this past month, I swear this boy has changed a ton, and he is learning and growing so much!

Baby Stats

 So a few weeks ago, this poor boy was very sick with a stomach virus and had lost 12 ounces since he weighed 19.1 pounds. I know that he has definitely gained it back because he just keeps eating and eating and eating. So I am assuming he is anywhere between 19 and 20 pounds. We will find out for sure in a month about how much he is gaining.

Hanging out with Mommy when he was sick. Oh this face gets me!

He is drinking 20-24 ounces of formula each day. This is exclusively given during the day. He is now off any nighttime feedings! Woohoo for Mommy! More sleep! This is definitely less than he had been drinking last month. Since at around a year, we pretty much eliminate formula completely, so we will have to ensure his food sources come from solids. And we have been practicing with the sippy cup, and he is doing better than he had. We found a better transitional sippy cup for him to use, and it seems to be working.

Caleb continues to eat a lot of table food and baby solids. He is pretty much telling us that he is no longer a fan of baby food (pureed stuff). So we are taking him away from that. He has 8 teeth for goodness sake. This boy can chew stuff pretty well! His favorite foods are applesauce (I know that it isn't chunky, but he loves the stuff), bananas (he will eat directly from the banana), and crackers! He also loves pasta, and whatever Mommy and Daddy are eating. We went to a restaurant fairly recently, and we ordered him food (mac and cheese, and some zucchini). His food tasted good to us, but he wanted whatever we had. So I gave him several bites of my Jambalaya and he loved it! Spice doesn't seem to bother this kid! He is all about it! So if we are eating it, he would rather eat that. And you can't eat something without him wanting to eat it, even if he just ate. He is a growing boy, and I am learning quite a bit about how much this boy loves to eat!

Sleep has been an issue because of him continously getting sick. When he is congested, I like to use the swing to prop him up, but then when he is all better, he doesn't want to be in his crib so much. Sooo....we tried propping up the bed with some blankets underneath it, and that didn't work. We tried making it a little cushier (we thought maybe he thought the bed was too hard), well that didn't work. And he can't sleep in his swing forever. He will have to be in his bed, so we attempted sleep training. And it works! It really does! It's hard to hear them cry, but it really only took him about 20 minutes before he settled down and slept like a champ! Unfortunately, he is sick again (congested with a runny nose), and so we had to resort to propping him up (if he has asthma like his Daddy did, we don't want it getting into his chest) again. But, since I know the sleep training works, I am not worried about whether he will sleep in his own bed again. Because he will. We just need a longer break between illnesses! I realize that babies in their first year or so get sick (especially with colds) between 8-12 times, but UGH. It sucks!

I mentioned above - He has 8 teeth! Two more showed up this past month! This kid has been teething since 4 months old! And he is still going. These next teeth, which have caused a lot more pain and lack of sleep, are his first molars! Ugh! Poor boy!

Caleb in the past week, has been attempting more walking on his own. Just last night, he walked about 6 or so steps before he falls on his bottom. But then he gets back up and tries again! So he is definitely walking more. I expect full blown walking will occur in the next few weeks. He is also walking along the walls...but he has gotten really fast at it! Plus, he is only holding one hand of ours versus two hands. I think that has inspired him to try walking on his own. He is building up confidence for sure.

He is a super fast crawler, and he plays games with me. He has this look he does before he crawls and he looks at me like he wants me to chase him. And then he takes off. So then I go and "chase" him, and he squeals and laughs as he crawls away from me. Cracks me up.

He loves to play Peek-A-Boo with me on his own. If I am sitting on the floor, he will come behind me and stand up, and smile. He wants me to say "Where's Caleb?" and then he peeks his head around and I say "Peek-A-Boo" and he laughs hysterically! I love that he loves to play games with us!

 When he gets excited, he almost does this panting-like squeal and jumps up and down! Doesn't take too much to excite this boy, whether it is food or playing with a toy truck and driving it up to him and saying "Beep! Beep!" He cracks us up all the time now. He is just so much fun to be around and loves to play and explore! I love his curiosity!

He has been "talking" a lot more this month too! Most of what he says is jabbering that I don't understand, but I love to listen to him. He really sounds like he is having a conversation with me! But a week ago or so, I was in the kitchen and I dropped something on the floor. I said "Uh-Oh" without even thinking about it. I hear Caleb crawling/walking along the walls over to me and he says "Uh-Oh!" and then laughs! It was soo cute. He imitated me! I also believe he is trying to say bottle. We try to talk to him with the correct language (and not baby language) so that he knows what things are all the time. And so when I am feeding him a bottle, I always say the word to him. Well this past week, I believe I heard him say "Ba Ba-Ul." That's what it sounded like to me. He says Mamama and Dada a lot, but I am not sure yet if he is talking about us yet or not. He also says NumNum for food. See - he loves his food! LOL! And while he doesn't say No, I believe he is learning that No means not to touch or do something. A few days ago, I told him No to something, and he started crying. I think he is learning what it means for sure!

This past month, he has really loved playing with doors. He loves to open and close doors all the time! He loves little doors, big doors, doesn't matter. He is all about opening and closing and opening and closing. This has definitely led to a few pinched fingers, but he is learning from it.

Already closing the door to his room to keep me out ;) LOL!

On Easter Sunday, Caleb played in a swing for the first time! He LOVED it! He smiled and smiled and laughed! It was so fun to see him love that! He also loves to get out on the grass and walk with us. He loves the feel of grass! It's the little things!

Easter Sunday - looking so cute!

 Easter Sunday - Playing in a swing for the first time!

Sadly, this boy keeps getting sick. I have read and heard from many mothers that this is common the first year. Sigh. He wasn't sick, except for Hand Foot and Mouth during the first 6 months of his life, but these past 5 months, he has gotten sick pretty much every month. :( But I am hoping that this just means that he will be golden once he goes to school! I just keep praying that for his birthday, he isn't sick!

Other than the fun experiences above, not much has been happening with us (thankfully!). Todd and I got the same stomach bug Caleb had a few weeks ago, but we didn't have it very long. Caleb had it for a week, which was very rough! Todd has been told that he will need a 5th surgery...yes I said number 5! But this is more to repair the muscle tendon near his elbow that is preventing him from moving his arm in a certain way, and will hopefully help with pain. Plus, while they are in there, they will remove the metal in his arm (which is likely the culprit of his infections). So that will be happening the week after Mother's Day! Coming up soon! But here's hoping this is the LAST ONE! :)

I can't believe the next time I post about Caleb's development, he will be ONE! My baby is becoming a toddler...ugh! Time has flown! But I plan on enjoying this month thoroughly!
Again thank you for the prayers and love, and I look forward to sharing more fun stories next month! I leave you with this adorable shot of my baby boy!

Caleb is 10 Months and other Family Updates

Caleb is 10 months old and starting the walking process!

 

Another month down, and now 10 months old! I don't even have the words! But here is what is happening withi Mr. Caleb:

Baby Stats

 Three weeks ago, he weighed in for his 9 month appointment at 19.1 pounds! I'm sure he weighs a bit more than that now, but man do my arms feel it! Such a big boy! He is also 28 inches long!

According to our 9 month appointment, they gave a test on his motor and social skills. This boy was at the top of the charts! He is pretty much excelling at all of the things they expect a 9 month old to do. Go Caleb!

He is wearing 12 and 12-18 month clothes exclusively now!

He eats about 24-28 ounces of formula each day. We are weaning him off the night time bottles since it is more out of comfort that he wants those bottles. We are also working on the sippy cup with him too!

Caleb continues to eat a lot of table food and baby solids. He is impressing us with how much he likes anything and everything. This past week, we ordered from the kids menu at a Mexican restaurant, and he ate the filling from his chicken taco, rice, and refried beans! He does so well! And it's funny, when I am eating cereal on the weekends, he crawls super fast to me and stands up with his cute face and almost begs me to have a piece of my cereal. LOL! Cracks me up. He's like a puppy in that regard.

Now that's a boy that likes his spaghetti!

Still teething...still only 6 teeth, but one of these days, I expect some more. His slobber has gotten crazy!

He sleeps from about 8:30-9 PM to around 7:30-8:30 AM. He takes less naps (1-2) a day.

Just two weeks ago, our boy stood on his own, and then just a week or so ago, he took his first steps to his grandparents without holding onto anything or anyone! He is definitely on his way! He uses the walls now to walk around the whole house. And he uses our hands to practice as well. I expect him to walk on his own probably this month at this rate. We shall see - and I'm not pressuring him to do it. I want him to do it when he is ready, but this boy is so independent already. He wants to do everything and has always seemed so independent at a very young age.

Standing on his own!

He now uses the wall to walk along it.

His love for reading has only expanded, and he loves to help turn the pages too! It's just so fun to watch his excitement and love to read already!

He had another cold this past week, which led to Mommy getting bronchitis. But, he seems to be doing better. I just didn't want another relapse from his RSV he had back in February. So thankful it doesn't appear to be the case.

He loves to climb on Mommy's lap and hold her hair when he is eating a bottle. Even if he is holding the bottle, he has to be holding Mommy's face or hair. It's too precious.

He loves to dance with Mommy. He will even shake his little bootie to dance some too!

We mentioned he stands on his own, and so since he learned that, he gets this super excited smile on his face, and almost jumps up (gets on his tippy toes) with excitement and squeals! He is so proud of himself too. You can see how much he loves learning a new thing!

He still loves people, and he is very flirtatious with women. He smiles and acts all bashful, but then gives them a little laugh or flirty smile. (I believe we have a little heartbreaker). But he has become a little more clingy (which I have read can happen). He needs a little more time to get used to a "new person" before he instantly plays with them or can be held by them. But after a few minutes, he warms up and forgets he was nervous at all.

 This upcoming month, we are sending out Caleb's 1st birthday invitations! Yes - that's what I said. Just two more months til our baby is 1! EEEK! I cannot believe it! Seriously! My baby boy is growing soo fast, and I don't know that I am ready. But ready or not, he is!

In other news - it's officially Spring! Yay! We are ready for the beautiful flowers, and taking Caleb to the park again! I look forward to finding an actual park that has swings and swinging him! I think he will love that! We just purchased a new to us, used car. It's a Toyota Carolla and so far, we really like it. This is replacing his Pontiac Aztek as it cannot function anymore. He got a good 10 years out of that car!

Todd had another surgery this past month to remove the antibiotic beads they put in his arm to remove that bad infection he has had for the past 3 months! Anytime they open him up, that leaves room for more infection. So we continue to pray that infection stays FAR away from him. So please continue to pray for Todd that the infection never returns. We are ready for good news, not more bad news. We just want to move forward and return to normal as soon as possible.

Commemorating 10 Years!

I believe most people know this, but I'm an engineer. I work in the environmental engineering field at CH2M HILL (I know it's a mouthful - but the name came from the initials of the founders back in the 1940's), and I have been working there officially 10 years! An entire decade! That's HUGE! And when I heard the statistic from our CEO that a majority of the 25,000 employees in the company have been with the company for less than 5 years, that made me feel old! But it also made me realize just how long 10 years is! So much has happened in my personal life in 10 years (dated Todd again, got married, started our family, etc), and then I think of all that has happened while working there. 

I was a very nervous girl when I started. You see, I had worked at a small environmental company in New Jersey for a year and a half right out of college. The company had me start as a project manager right out of college (the word for that is stupid). I worked with all guys (except for our adminstrative assistant), and that wasn't what bothered me. What bothered me there was the jerky attitude these men had. What bothered me was the way they talked about women, especially their own wives. The way they made fun of Ohio, when they have nothing to be all that proud about with New Jersey. I mean seriously - New Jersey is the arm pit of Amercia. I know - I worked there! I know way too much about the environmental problems in that state. But anways, I digress...I hated my job. I hated being pushed into a position I wasn't trained for, I hated working with men who couldn't care less about me, I hated the egotistical attitude they all seemed to have, I hated that they had such low standards for safety (seriously, their safety message to me when I was told to go into the worst part of Newark, NJ was: "If you hear gunshots, DUCK!" So stupid!

I cried most days I went into work. I was quite unhappy there. I only worked on one engineering project the entire time I was there, and there wasn't too much engineering involved in it. The only thing I liked about living there was my church. I had good friends there.

But - then the day came when I was fired. They blatantly treated me differently and fired me because of it. My boss at the time told me that I would never make it in an engineering firm when I left. And instead of taking those words and letting those words destroy me, I really felt fired up! NO ONE tells me I can't do something. I hated that he was trying to demoralize me. But you know what - I listened to God. I knew that he was wrong for saying that. I knew God was doing something, but I wasn't sure what. So I spent 3 months finding a job. And then I found CH2M HILL back in Ohio.

I remember when I was really young, I always thought it would be cool to work in a downtown environment and work in a building that has revolving doors. Ha ha! Well my building is downtown Dayton and they have revolving doors! Funny isn't it?!

 

This company had a pretty good mix of women and men, and it would actually involve engineering! I started with a little hesitancy because I wasn't sure if I would survive. But every year I was there, I learned more, I developed more as a person and engineer, and I became a stronger person. I also eventually became a leader in the Dayton office for junior staff and I co-started a program called JuMP for the entire CH2M HILL environmental business group. I went from scared girl to a confident woman. I'm not saying I don't have a lot to learn still (I would be a fool to think that), but I have history with this company and I have done a lot of good work (their words, not mine). I appreciate them giving this girl a second chance. I appreciate them taking time to teach me to become a leader. I appreciate them wanting to invest in my career and wanting me to succeed.

Every company has issues, and mine is no exception, but I am incredibly grateful for these past 10 years. I really am a different person than I was when I started. And so much of that is because of CH2M HILL.

(Funny side note: I heard about a year later after leaving my former company, that the guy who fired me, was later found out to have stolen company information to form his own company. This guy was quite a hypocrite and had no ethics - yet he had the nerve to say I wouldn't make it?! It's nice when you know that you don't have to get even. I believe that when lies and lack of integrity are involved, you will always be found out.)

So today - today I celebrate 10 years! How many people can say that they have been anywhere that long?! And according to that former employer, I wasn't supposed to have made it this long. But - I give much of that credit to God. He believed in me and made it possible for me to work here.He believed anything was possible!  He knew I would do it. And so did they! I have mentors that knew. So thank you, CH2M HILL. Thank you for 10 years! Thank you God for helping me grow here! And here's to many more....

Where My Trust is Without Borders

This is a very vulnerable post. It shows the deepest feeling and thoughts I have on my own faith. But, yet, you ever just feel God is telling you to share something? Well, I think He wanted me to share my broken heart and my real faith in Christ. I think Christians put this air out to the world as if everything is fine or even act like they know everything or are better than others. This isn't that kind of post. I promise. This is full of deep truths...my truths!

Have you heard this song shown above? It's "Oceans" by Hillsong UNITED.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoZE2RsthRg

I have a love/hate relationship with this song. While I love the music and the words are very trusting, the words are my biggest fear! In fact, when I first heard the words shown above "Spirit, Lead Me where my trust is without borders." I froze. Do I really want to sing that? Do I really want to say that? Because that could mean God will test me in that. And it scared me. I heard this song early last year and I would refuse to sing it because I wasn't sure that I was ready for a relationship with God that would make me trust without any borders. Yes - I said it. This girl still wants to control everything she can. As if I can. But still - I wasn't sure I wanted that deep of a relationship with God. It hurts to say and I wince at the thought. But it's the truth. I felt like we had enough drama and pain in our lives already when I heard this song, and I didn't want to find out what "trust without borders" would mean. I was more scared of what things would happen to my family than anything else. I wanted a great relationship with my Savior, one that wasn't mediocre, but I was also afraid.

So then jump to November 22nd when my husband fell and broke his elbow in as the Doctor's said "the worst way possible." Prior to that accident, our lives were busy as it was. We were learning this whole new parent role and also working. We had enough on our plate, and our marriage was also having some issues. I think anytime you become a new parent, it can take a hit on the marriage too because you have to learn so many newer things and yet maintain your marriage. Life got really hard, and we would argue over dumb stuff. I felt like we weren't communicating very well. And then his accident...

Not only could my husband not use his right arm, he was on medication and literally couldn't even try to help me with Caleb. Being a new parent is hard enough as it is, let alone, with a husband who needed surgery and would be out of commission for how long? As we found out, it would be longer than we expected. He has had two infections that caused him to have two other additional surgeries. So for three months, before Todd returned to work, I had to literally do it all. I was happy to help at first. After all, I love to help my family and do what I can. But over time, and after things weren't improving with his arm (the infection being the culprit), I was tired of doing it all. I found myself being snippy with Todd a lot more, and even blaming him for his fall. It's not like he wanted to fall. It's not like being on short term disability is a vacation really. I can attest to him being BORED! What a horrible attitude I had. I acted in such a horrible way to him. I am quite ashamed of this fact.

And as if Todd's pain and the exhaustion I was feeling wasn't enough - the medical bills! Can I just say how scary that is! Not knowing what kind of costs are involved, what insurance will cover, what they won't, etc. I was petrified. And then Caleb got RSV. And a trip to the hospital that led to him being admitted. Can I just say, I had no idea what to think. I found myself more alone than ever before. I was scared for son's health of course, but I also kept thinking...more medical bills? How are we going to withstand this? And now, we have to have a car payment because Todd's car bit the dust. So on top of medical bills, we now have a car payment. And with Todd on short term disability, we also had less pay because short term with his company covers only 75%. So again - where is the money going to come from?

And during the past 3 months, I have heard this song almost every single day. I actually believe God was calling me to have this kind of relationship. I actually believe He had been telling me that He wanted to have a relationship with me where He wanted me to trust Him NO MATTER WHAT! No borders! None of my "Well, I trust you with this and this...but not this."  We talk about being faithful to God and trusting Him in every situation, but when the time comes, you will encounter something in your life that tests you more than ever before. And I knew when I first heard this song, that somehow down the line, I would be tested. Would I trust in God NO MATTER WHAT?!

So where are we now? We have a lot of medical bills! We have a car payment! And it feels like NOTHING else can happen. I do a lot of "fearful" praying. What I mean by that is - "Oh God, please not one more thing."

And I really do feel that way. Not one more thing. But will there be one more thing - I don't know. I pray everyday that there isn't. BUT - I need to trust that God is going to provide even if there is one more thing.

But then I think of the good we have: We were able to survive 3 months on 75% of Todd's paycheck. Todd received a bonus at Christmas time. Todd received a wonderful raise at the beginning of this year (and he wasn't even working). My husband's arm is starting to heal and so far, no more infections. Our little boy is healthy and doing just fine. Our marriage has been improving on communication, and I believe there is more appreciation and love for each other than ever before. Because Todd wasn't working, we could witness Caleb crawling and standing up together, which wouldn't have happened during our normal schedules. God gave me more strength than I ever had before to take care of both Caleb and Todd. He has somehow provided the funds to pay for more daycare. God is present in our lives and while I still have my fearful tendencies, I have been praying that when that comes on, I pray that I have peace. I believe God is molding this awful situation into something for His glory. I just don't know all that this will look like. Maybe in the next few months, I will see more clearly.

I am also learning that He also provides when you need it, not when you think you need it. That verse where it says to "lean not on your own understanding" - yeah, these 4 months have been a lesson in leaning on God and not on what I see. I don't see how things are going to work, and yet God is helping us through it.

So when I ask for prayers, I ask for them for the healing of course, and the help we need (healing and financial help). But, also for me to be a different woman than I was. I ask for the prayers to become a woman that doesn't even question if God is in control anymore. Real faith - this is hard, knitty gritty stuff! It's hard! God didn't say life would be easy. He knew it would be hard, but He is with us.

I am not anywhere near the faith of a person that "trusts without borders." I still get a sick feeling in my stomach when bad stuff happens. Just being honest. I think of people like Paul in the Bible, and I am amazed at his strength and faith in Christ. But then I am reminded of where he came from. He used to kill Christians. He used to mock them and torture them. And through a long arduous journey (literally and figuratively) after being transformed, he became a man that trusted God without borders. So it's a journey. And sometimes it's a long journey. But then I think of the verse that says "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6. So I guess He is going to continue to mold me...I am a work in progress!

We really want you all to know that we appreciate your prayers, love and support! We appreciate them deeply! We still need them! We would like to return to a life that even seems boring. It would be nice to have some boring time! LOL! But we truly do appreciate you! Thank you for being faithful to God and being a blessing to us by praying! And for those that send encouraging words, thank you for that as well. God knows we need that encouragement. So thank you! We do love and appreciate you too!

When life gets busy, Caleb grows up and is 9 months old!!

9 months old!

This month has been a blur! So much has happened! But in fun news, our sweet Caleb is 9 months old! He is growing up soo fast and we couldn't be prouder! Can't believe he will be one year in just 3 months time! WOW!

Baby Stats

Just a week ago, he was weighed and he was around 18 pounds! He is approximately 28.5 inches long now too! We believe his body type is very similar to his Daddy's growing up. Todd was long and lean growing up and this boy is appearing to be the very same way. He is healthy though and that's most important.

He is growing out of anything 9 months (only has a couple things he can wear that are 9 months), and he is mostly in 12 months or 12-18 month clothes!

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).

Caleb has been eating more "table" foods that we have like mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, spaghetti, bread, crackers, fruits and vegetables, etc. We have some baby food jars too, but it's been fun and convenient to share our food with him since he can chew it. He seems to prefer whatever we are eating anyways.

He is teething again! He already has 6 as I mentioned, but I envision another two coming very soon (on the bottom). I might be wrong, but that's how it feels.

He still sleeps from about 8-8:30 PM to around 7:30-8:30 AM. He takes less naps (1-2) a day.

Our sweetie talks a lot and says Da Da Da and Ma Ma Ma. He also still say Nna Nna for food. He is trying to tell us stuff all the time, and we let him try.

Caleb shows us lots of love! He has given us kisses and hugs before, but I think he is doing it more and more. Nothing warms the heart more than when he leans in and gives me one of his baby kisses and gives me a hug! My heart just bursts!

We are working with Caleb by pointing to various things/people and emphazing what those things are, like ball, food, bottle, Momma, Dadda, etc.

Caleb does this little noise when he is concentrating hard on something. It sounds like he is sounding out the T sound and whispering it. It's too cute. I love the little quirks our guy has! So fun!

 Caleb crawls a ton and has crawled all over the house! He is climbing on everything (even when we say no). He wants to see everything and doesn't think we should keep him from doing that (even though it's a place he shouldn't climb). He is incredibly mobile and walks around the ottoman with his hand on it so he can get places by being up (not just crawling). I really see him attempting to walk in the next month or so. I won't be surprised if he is walking by his first birthday!

Crawling all over the place!

 

He loves this toy fire truck that pops out balls and moves on its own.

He will crawl after it all over the house!

 

Climbing everything like crazy!

He is such a daredevil! He will climb his rocking chair at my dismay!

Caleb recently had RSV! It's a glorified cold for adults, but can be very bad for little ones and their lungs. Caleb was wheezing and really seemed to work too hard to breathe. So we tried to take him to the Dr, but they were booked. They recommended we take him to Children's Hospital in Dayton. So I took him to the ER, and they were very convinced that he needed to be admitted because his oxygen levels were in the 80 percents. Your breathing should be in the high 90 percents though. So they admitted him and had him wear an oxygen tube that hooked into his nose. They also had him on an IV to ensure enough fluids. I swear, there is nothing scarier than watching your little baby scream and cry because they are so scared and don't understand what is happening to them. I stayed with him overnight, and he was improving quite a bit. Just within a matter of 12-15 hours, he improved greatly! Some kids don't improve as fast, and so we feel thankful that he did. He was released the following day and everyone was really proud of his improvement. Our Caleb is a fighter man! He is so strong! So proud of him!

We were happy to have him home on Valentines Day. We didn't have a very romantic Valentines Day this year, but this year we celebrated with the product of our love - Caleb! He is a sweet, wonderful little boy and we are so thankful for him! Todd and I still gave each other Valentines we made each other (see photos below). Todd wrote me a beautiful love letter. To those who don't know, my husband has been writing me love letters since we met back in 1995! He is so eloquent and so sweet!! I did something a little different and fun!

Valentines Day - Caleb is reading to his new Valentine Bear

from his Valentines Day Curious George book

Todd picked out the most lovely red roses (my fave)

and wrote me a beautiful love letter

The fun and "sweet" card that Caleb and I made Todd!

Todd also had a third surgery the week prior to Caleb getting RSV, as he had a 2nd infection. Turns out he had community based MRSA! YIKES! That's why it didn't go away the first time he had the infection. So during this 3rd surgery, the Dr put in this cement/bead antibiotic mixture into this elbow that stays there releasing the antibiotic medication over the course of 5-6 weeks. He also had an IV during surgery of antibiotics and he is taking two pill forms of antibiotics for the next 5-6 weeks. The Dr. is pretty convinced this should eliminate any return of the infection. When he did the surgery, he also removed the infection by scraping it out. So our prayers every week are to have no sign of any infection because we want to Todd to be able to return to normal operations of his arm as soon as possible. Fortunately even with this splint that he is wearing, he is returning to work this week! So that is going to be helpful to give us some normalization again!

It also looks like this upcoming month, we will be making our first car purchase as a couple! We each brough our own cars to the marriage, but now Todd's car needs replaced. So we are working on finding a reliable used car.

So it's been a very busy month, full of fun and crazy excitement (good and not good). But we ask as we continue this next month, if you would continue to pray that the infection stays away from Todd and that we have wisdom in all of our decisions! Thank you!! Much love!

And I leave you with this precious smile that melts hearts!