Caleb

All my children make me laugh in different ways....for instance, Nathan (yes, I know, already blogged about him) wants pudding SO BAD. We had said at dinner that we would watch "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" tonight before bed and that we would make some (instant) pudding to go with it. We decided we really needed to clean the living room and kitchen and that a movie wasn't necessarily a good idea unless we agreed to watch it without Jonathan who was going to do the cleaning. So then we said if they helped us clean up, we'd go ahead with the movie. We got the living room done and were moving on to the kitchen when Jonathan said "Nathan really thought that by helping clean up the living room, he'd get to watch the movie, so let's put in the movie". While starting the movie, he asks his Dad for the umpteenth time if he could make the pudding. Jonathan replied that he wanted to clean up the kitchen first. So, what does Nathan do? Does he sit back to watch the movie that he told us he really wanted to watch??? NO -- he VOLUNTEERS to help clean the kitchen. Obviously watching the movie was only a vehicle to the pudding. So, I'm sitting here on the couch with the little 3 watching the movie that Nathan wanted to watch without him because he's cleaning the kitchen with Dad! How hilarious is that??? Anyway, on to Caleb. He really likes this movie. Did you know he's going to be 5 next Sunday, the 2nd?? He was a "surprise" in lots of ways -- it took a long time to get pregnant with him (we began "trying" when Nathan was less than a year old and he was just a few months shy of turning 3 when I found out I was pregnant -- see, it's not really in our control!!) and then he ended up being due on Thanksgiving Day 2002 -- a time of the year I would not have picked had I had the option. The timing was also "bad" because I found out I was pregnant just days after my brother announced his engagement and his December 14th wedding. Caleb came late -- the Monday after Thanksgiving. Mom & Dad had been to visit for the holiday thinking they would be here for the delivery. When Thanksgiving Day came and went, they decided to go home for the weekend so Dad wouldn't miss a Sunday (they lived in Illinois at the time and the church Dad was preaching at didn't really allow him to miss). So, they packed up with 3-year-old Nathan on the weekend after Thanksgiving. I went to the doctor on Monday morning and they said that since I was overdue I could pick a day that week to be induced. Since Jonathan had been in the ER the weekend before Thanksgiving ("Exactly which one are you here for?" the lady that checked him into the ER asked us when we arrived with me obviously VERY pregnant!) and was due to have a colonoscopy that Thursday so I picked Tuesday. Went home, took a nap, planned on getting some Christmas shopping that evening with Jonathan since we were childless while my parents were on the way home with Nathan. While at Lifeway, I started not feeling well and decided we should just head home instead of shopping. While stepping out of the van at home, I felt it -- my water broke. It was just minutes before 7. Couldn't reach Mom & Dad on the road so we changed our outgoing message to say something about going to the hospital. We were taking our time....stopped at Arby's so Jonathan could get some dinner before we went to the hospital (Nathan's labor had lasted 15 hours). Arrived at the hospital about 7:30. Begged for an epidural but couldn't get one because the doctor was in a C-section. By 8:30, things were getting unbearable and I was pretty upset that they wouldn't go get that doctor for the epidural. Then the nurse told me it didn't matter because I was too far to get one. During this whole time, my mother-in-law was finishing her night at work (getting off between 7:30 and 8) and was planning on getting there about 9 after getting a bite to eat and getting my father-in-law. They arrived around 9 to be told they couldn't go back because I was pushing. My parents arrived with Nathan not too long after that. But, since they wouldn't allow anyone back there, Caleb arrived with just me, Jonathan, 1 nurse, and 1 doctor in the room at 9:15 p.m. (Now do you see why I say I'm terrified of going into labor on my own this time? Caleb was the last one I went into labor with -- Elizabeth was induced and John, even though I went into labor on my own, they tried to stop it which ended up only slowing it down.) 5 years ago....Caleb's a treat. His first word was "ball" and he's still obsessed with balls/sports. At his 1-year check-up, we discovered he had an ear infection and, just in time for us to go spend an early Christmas in Indiana with family, we discovered (the hard way) that he was allergic to penicillin. He was a binkie baby, too, the only other one (so far) was, ironically, his "look-a-like", John. Nathan & Elizabeth would take them every now and then but didn't cry for them. He's a gentle soul -- easy to upset/make cry but thinks of others, too. Just tonight, while playing, he brought John a pair of pretend safety goggles from a pretend tool set because he knew that John liked them. While we were putting up the Christmas tree today, Nathan was decorating this little tree that he's put up in their room for the past couple of years. Nathan gave Caleb some small ornaments so he decided he'd put them on his "tree", the pretend shopping cart!! (Wish I would have gotten some pictures of that but I didn't....) He then also put some ornaments that didn't make the tree this year on the drawer knob pulls on the cabinets/drawers in the kitchen. Anytime there's a baby around, Caleb is the one to ooh and aah over it and usually says "Aah, he/she's so cute!" or "Look, I think he/she likes me!". Caleb likes to build things so he likes Lego's and he also likes to "help" anytime you do something that has a tool involved. For instance, when his Dad and his Papaw were laying our flooring in our living room earlier this year. Caleb donned the safety goggles and got out his hammer and stuff to "help". I think he may be the singer of the family, too. Tonight at dinner (which he didn't eat -- he's the pickiest eatier I've ever met and it drives me bonkers!), he was singing a made-up song "Everybody's pounding on something". But, get him to sing in public -- forget it. He gets all backwards and pretends to be shy. Ah, yes, never a dull day around when Caleb's here!! Here's a few recent pics of Caleb. First up, Caleb in one of my Mom's t-shirts; then, as an army guy at COSI; and last, a picture of him in his car seat with this yellow blanket (trust me, it used to be yellow, I promise!)