1st Haircut!

After I attempted a few minor trims around his ears and clipping a chunk on accident.....I decided to have Mary (Nana Snyder) give him a nice trim! I wasn't sure how his first haircut would go since it was quite a chore to even trim around his ears, but he was FANTASTIC! He just entertained himself with some wooden spoons and measuring cups while Mary gave him a nice trim! He looks so handsome!

Crawling is exhausting.........for Mom!

Last week when I told my friend Bethany that Caleb was crawling, she told me that my life was officially over! Over? How could that be? Its just been over a week and my son is FAST! Our house is not that big thankfully, so I can keep track of him quite well. He loves to explore areas of our home which are off limits (Speedy's water bowl, computer cords and blinds to name a few). He likes to squirm and kick his feet when I pick him up and move him back to safety. I know Caleb understands "no" because every time I say it, he knows how to use his cute smile in hope that I may actually say yes the 5th time he tries!

I have to admit I was a little beat at the end of the day! You would think Caleb would grow tired with all of the motoring around and bypassing his afternoon nap. Not a chance. Today I realized why all of my mom friends said I shouldn't desire a young crawler!

Caleb is crawling!

We have passed yet another milestone, crawling! It took Caleb a little bit longer than others, but I knew this day would come eventually! 3 weeks ago when Kerry was out of town, I thought for sure he would push off and crawl. I am so glad he waited for both of us to see this next stage together! We have been using toys to lure him over the past few months and he was fine just rolling to them. Lately, he would inch forward once or twice and then crash on his belly. Every teacher has told us that a baby needs to crawl in order to develop their reading skills. Speedy may not be so happy about reaching this new milestone, but we sure are! Yeah for Caleb!

Drum Fit

It started out real cute. We gave Caleb the Curious George drum and he starting playing. Sticks in both hands, like a real drummer. He fell backwards onto his head and began screaming. Owwww! I picked him up, rubbed his head for a bit and he continued crying. Then it escalated into a full blown fit! The worst Kerry and I had ever seen and he has had a few in his 10 months of life. Screaming bloody murder! I initially thought it was because he hurt his head, but apparently not. I sat him down by his drum to see if that was the reason for the tantrum and he immediately turned happy. He turned around, looked at Kerry and begins smiling, almost giggling. At that point I knew, my son had won. I had to face the screaming and take him away from the drum once again. Was it my mistake to sit him down in front of that drum again? Probably, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't because of his head. We walked away and I tried to calm him down, but the tantrum continued. What was a mother to do, be patient and wait it out? I have to admit this type of behavior scares me. Hysteria cannot be good for a baby heart. We eventually walked into the kitchen and he was calm. The drum fit had passed and he lost his privileges for a week. I hate to do it to a 10 month old, but he won't remember that drum until next week!

Road Trip to SoCal

I just realized my last post was weeks ago, apparently my life is not so interesting! Well, we just returned from our SoCal road trip. We were only gone 9 days, but it felt like a month! Kerry spoke at Forest Home in Ojai Valley for a week and its about 8 hours from AZ so we attempted a night drive with Caleb. Success! He slept soundly whereas his mother drifted in and out of sleep to make sure Kerry was still awake! Luckily this year I was able to tag along since I am no longer obligated to a job per se. We shared a guest trailor and I can honestly say 1 week in a trailor is long enough, but it was very accomodating. The only downer about camp was the yellow jackets who surrounded the outdoor eating area. Kerry kept saying, "Ignore them and they will ignore you." Its kind of hard for me to "pretend" they are not there when they are sitting in my salad! I must say I am proud that the Snyder family was bee sting free! Yeah!

While in Ojai we were able to meet up with our good friends the Abbe's who are expecting their first child in December. It was so nice to spend time with them and hear about their latest adventures. They just bought a new house with 150 avocado trees on their property......yum! After Ojai we headed down to San Diego to spend the weekend with my best friend Julie and celebrate her youngest daughter's first birthday! Its always a special treat to spend QT together, something I miss terribly!

On our way home I witnessed a sting operation of a parked Minivan at the Viejas outlets and was awoken to Kerry saying "holy crap" to what appeared to be some lights that were following us in the sky. They would come and go and reappear in a different place. It did not look like aircraft, but closer to flare lights as we noticed a trail behind them. I wouldn't have given them a second glance, but Kerry's commentary along Hwy 8 about these lights got me interested too. Is it a UFO? Part of the Government's new spy plan? Perhaps someone stranded in the desert who had a couple dozen flares on hand? After stopping for gas in Gila Bend I lost interest. I was more entertained by the little girl running through the mini mart.

Caleb is an amazing traveler. I hope this carries on as the years go by. He slept in a handful of places just fine. I am glad to be home for a bit before we venture off to the East Coast for a "work free" vacation.