A Funny Thing...

Many of you know the sleep troubles we have had with Caleb. If you don't, here's a brief run-down. We started co-sleeping with Caleb when he was just a week old. That came out of my insanity of a first time mom to a NICU baby who made strange noises when he slept. It ended up being an easier arrangement and was very bonding for us as a family. If you don't know the benefits of co-sleeping, check it out. There are many! Around 7 months or so, we Ferberized him. In other words we put him in his crib and let him cry himself to sleep. That worked well until around 10 months when we went through a season of constant bronchitis and he started sleeping with us again. It took us another 8-10 months, a new bed and lots of work and tears to get him into his own big boy bed. He has always known how to climb out and knows he can come to us if he needs too and has ended up at my side of the bed a few times wanting to snuggle (he knows not to approach Daddy!). Last night we woke up to a strange sound only to look at the end of our bed and see Caleb staggering through the room, dragging his pillow toward me. He almost made it until Daddy intercepted him and took him back. All I could do was laugh! I thought I would share a funny, 2am moment from the Mathis house!

Happy Birthday Baby

Today Caleb turns 2. It doesn't even seem possible that he is 2, but I guess, in the words of my husband, that's what happens to kids! Yesterday we took Caleb to the Dallas Zoo. I have tried 3 times to post pictures and am just not having any luck today. I'll try again later. For now, here are two pictures to remind you of where we came from and where we are today! Happy birthday Caleb! We love you!

Home on the Range

Lately, Caleb has developed a fascination with walking around in my shoes. Here he is one day shuffling around the house.





















And here is his the next day doing the same thing! Funny how those shoes look less like clod hoppers on my feet!
















Caleb was being super silly here and was in rare form. He is wearing the glasses from his Mr. Potato Head.
















We have always tried to teach Caleb to be kind to animals. This has developed not only a love for other animals, but also for our beloved cat, Gus. Gus now follows Caleb around, rubs against him and can even be found napping with him! They are quite the pair!
















My grandmother and I found this shirt and thought no statement could be any more true! Caleb is the spitting image of Jes!

Our Fun, Fabulous Week

So this past week was both mine and Caleb's Spring Break. It was a nice break to sleep in and relax, but it didn't turn out to be the week we had planned.
On Monday, after a couple of days of feeling quite out of sorts and just plain yucky, I finally drug myself to the doctor to find that I had a double ear infection (otitis media) and a throat infection (pharyngitis). Fun, fun. While the throat infection is a fairly common event for me, the ears really through me for a loop, literally! Boy I really wish some doctor had suggested taking out those old tonsils when I was a kid!!!
We knew that Jes was going to have to go back to South Carolina on Tuesday, so I saw him off bright and early at 4am that morning. Of course, I promptly went back to sleep with Caleb and we stayed in so that I could get well and he wouldn't get sick.
Wednesday we went to my home town, Garland (a really far trek...) to spend the day with my grandmother. We lunched, shopped and did the normal stuff for us, just dragging poor Caleb along for the ride. He did get a Dora the Explorer book out of it that he just LOVES!!
Thursday we went to the gym so that could work with my gymnasts. I took Tuesday off to recuperate, but I knew that the girls needed some help from me, so away we went, with the portable DVD player in tow. That seemed to keep Caleb somewhat occupied and out of our way!
Friday we went back to the gym for another few hours with the girls. Caleb was very good this day as well! We then had dinner with my parents Friday night so he could see his Mawmaw and Pawpaw! He loves them and can't wait to see them again soon!
We found out on Thursday that Jes and the other guy he is travelling with would have to leave South Caroline to travel down to Florida. We were really afraid that he would not be back in time to be with Caleb before I had to go back to school on Monday, but it looks as if they will be back sometime either late tomorrow or early Monday. Either way, we will be going to get Caleb's birthday gift that day. We have planned on buying Caleb one of those large wooden pieces of play equipment. We currently walk around a 1/2 mile one way so that he can play on slides and such and want something in our backyard. Since his birthday is only a few days away, we decided to pool all his birthday money and buy him one! As soon as we get it I will post some pictures! We hope all of you had a fun filled Spring Break week, even if you didn't get the week off!

Thankful

After my last posting, I figured that I should wait until I was in a little more positive frame of mind before I posted anything.
Healthwise, things in the Mathis house have been improving. On Tuesday, when I went to pick up Caleb from Mother's Day Out, it looked as if his pinkeye had come back with a vengence. I hurried him off to our beloved nurse practitioner, Betsy. She suspected that it might just be allergies since he's had it so often and his eyes never get pink. She gave us some Patanol, the ever famous eyedrops for people with "allergy eyes". It seems to be helping a bit. She also gave us Singulair. Some of you don't know my battles with the doctors over this drug, but I have been asking for it since we started this asthma/allergy/aspiration journey of ours. Someone finally decided to let us try it. I think it has already made a difference and it will help in the long run by lessening the length and severity of illnesses. Plus we may be able to stay off steroids for longer lengths of time. That makes my mommy heart happy!
















Caleb loves and I do mean LOVES spaghetti! This is him last night after a rather messy spaghetti dinner. He is quite adept at using the spoon and fork, but when it comes to long noodles, we just let him go at it with his hands. He had a great time and got a bath out of the deal, another favorite of his!















I wanted to include a photo that shows how big my little boy is getting. He is 30 pounds, holding steady. He has waffled between 28 and 31 pounds at different times in the last 6 to 8 months, but has had a consistent reading now a few times in a row. He is approximately 33 or 34 inches tall, getting very close to that 3 foot mark. He is in 2T clothes, however his little Buddha belly is leaving us so some of them are a little loose in the waist. He is also very close (19 days) to that 2 year old mark and boy is he showing it! He has been asserting himself a lot lately, but it's fun to watch him try all the new things in life and bring me along for the ride!
Next week is Caleb's and my spring break. Thank goodness! We both need a rest, not like we'll actually be home. We are going to spend the week visiting family in Garland and going to the zoo and such. We're going to have a great time! Hope all of you have a good week too!

Conflicted Feelings

The things I love about Spring:
- Caleb's birthday
- the warmth returning
- the sun
- the beautiful flowers
- my parent's anniversary
- it's the best time to have a wedding (our original plan but a little thing called graduate school got in the way!)

The things I dislike about Spring:
- pollen
- 90+ degrees
- severe weather
- the constant coughing and runny noses...

Thanks for letting me rant. We have received so many strange looks this week because Caleb is still hacking and coughing like he's a TB patient. Try explaning to Mother's Day Out teachers that he is not contagious as he is blowing snot bubbles and coughing. Not to mention the other moms standing there watching, clutching their child for dear life. I miss winter!