Caleb took his first steps on Saturday. He took one or two wobbly ones that morning, then three good solid ones at his Grandma and Grandpa’s house that afternoon. Finally, he decided to impress everyone and took three good ones at a family birthday party. I think he was just showing off by that point. 
I’ve been meaning to post this for a while now. Things have been super busy over here with getting the photography business set up and Andy has more than his fair share of side projects at the moment. This is Caleb’s new “thing” he likes to do. Not sure why or what he’s doing, but it’s hilarious. Oh, and at the end you can hear him going “bababa” I’m pretty sure that’s his version of “mama”. He just can’t get the “m” sound down. Enjoy:
A few days ago, the temperature outside plummeted overnight from boiling to “ahhhh”. Before it crept back up to boiling again, Caleb and I went to the park for a fun photoshoot.
I finally had enough motivation to paint the bathroom when I ordered my first prints for the house. Here they are displayed in our “new” bathroom.
And here’s the other side of the bathroom, complete with toilet-drumming baby:
It’s so cute that I made him do it six times:
I took the first picture of Toby a few days ago and thought a picture of caleb would go great with it. I’m getting these printed for the bathroom 
I can’t believe we only have two more months until our little man is a one year old.
This past month, Caleb has attempted to climb everything in the house. Once he figured out he could pull up to standing on most surfaces, he wanted to take it one step further and become a monkey. Every morning, when Andy is at the dining room table eating breakfast, Caleb will crawl over, reach up as far as he can and grab the edge of the table, and attempt to hoist himself up. He’s even come close to hanging by his fingertips. He loves opening cabinets and swinging doors, and still loves playing with Toby. He’s becoming more of a cuddle bug every day and loves giving big open-mouthed juicy kisses:
Caleb has gone from knocking down block towers to building them. He’s gone from receiving hugs to giving them whenever we hold him; from laughing at silly noises to making his own just to see if we laugh; from watching us throw the ball around to playing catch with us. I am forever amazed how much he changes from day to day… and I’m so proud of him.
I wanted to share this clip from the book The Pilgrim’s Progress. This four minutes is an incredibly powerful exchange between “Christian” and a man whom he finds in an iron cage of despair and misery. It speaks of one who once was an no longer is. The bewilderment of “Christian” by the man’s condition, a man whose heart is entirely hardened in rejection of the living God for the sake of the fleshly lusts of this world. It gripped me as I have begun to pour through the book again. Without question The Pilgrim’s Progress is one of my favorite books ever. If anyone wants a copy, let me know! John Bunyan is an amazing author. Check out the clip below:
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For those that haven’t read it or heard of it, Pilgrim’s progress is a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan way back in 1678…has never been out of print and is one of the most heralded pieces of literature in history.
Our friends Paul and Nikki gave birth to their first baby boy on the 28th. Little James Connor was born at 10:10 pm weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces and 21 inches long. Andy and I went to visit the family last night and I have to say, although Caleb is obviously the world’s cutest baby ;-), James comes in a close second. He is a beautiful baby and has a great temperament. Congratulations, Paul and Nikki, on your new addition!
I took up knitting the other day and made this hat.
Look at all that fuzz
Andy and I both forgot what it was like to hold a person so small.
Here are a few videos taken from this past week:
Cleaning is Funny
Peek-A-Boo
Teasing Toby
Even though it’s been pretty finished for a few weeks, I’ll let everyone know on here if they don’t already. I finally have a “big girl” photography website. I’m still working on filling up the galleries and have to get pricing packages up. I also have to make a blog and will do that once the weather gets cooler where most of my clients have scheduled. Oh, and to all you locals, I’m still in search of newborns, maternity, teens and families. If you or someone you know falls into any of these categories, I will waive the session fee and you’ll get a free 8×10! Okay, enough advertising. Go check it out!
Caleb is 9 months old today. He’s doing a lot of growing these days. He spent quite a few nights waking up at random and crying, and we were curious why that was….but then Bri found the teeth. He’s cutting 4 new teeth bringing his grand total to 8 now. He’s also using those little teeth for lots of little finger foods, which has been fun to watch.
He’s cruising a little on furniture now, but mostly he’s crawling at a swift rate of speed, going wherever he wants to go whenever he wants to go there. This has brought the world of babyproofing to the forefront. From dog food bowls to tupperware cabinets, there’s alway something he wants to get in to. He’s everywhere. He’s also discovered how to point at objects. He loves pointing at new things and points to our mouth, cheeks and nose when Bri or I ask.
His 9 month check up is tomorrow so Bri will come back and post his 9 month stats when she returns.
***ETA***
We just got back from the doctor and Caleb looks nice and healthy. He’s in the 18% for weight and 60% for height. Apparently he has a crazy good memory because the second he saw the needles, he started crying and the moment they slapped the band-aid on him he stopped, knowing it was all over. Even the nurse was shocked that he remembered this from 3 months ago. Thankfully, we had no vaccines today, just a TB test, anemia test and the flu shot. He’s good to go until his one year check-up.
The past week, Caleb has become very independent. He used to stay right by me anywhere and would vehemently protest if I left him behind. Now he’s exploring every room and finding lots of fun things to get in to. He has also been fascinated with anything that swings. He has a particular affinity to our bedroom door. Here’s a short video I took a few days ago:
Been working for a few weeks now on the sale of my baby, MagMyPic.com (no not Caleb!) - It’s been progressing well despite my lack of integral business-sale-knowledge. Mag has been a blast but it’s also lacked the proper (full-time) attention it deserves to continue growing. I look forward to seeing what the new owner will do with the site to make it all it can be. It will be another month of pretty intense work to get this thing moved and working good under new ownership…wish me luck!
Life has become something of a new adventure since Caleb arrived. I’m not sure if it’s what I expected or not, but it’s certainly a Caleb-centric existance and has been for the better part of 8 months. We try to get everything peripheral done during naptimes, go to events as long as we’re home in time for his bedtime, and we rise at the crack of “Waaaaaaaaaaa” every morning. Caleb runs the show!
It is through marriage first, and then fatherhood that I have come to understand the temptations and tribulations that come within these bonds. The apostle Paul speaks of the fact that within marriage, one’s interests are divided. At once, you are committed to the Lord’s affairs, and yet in another moment committed about how one might please his wife. The core principles within these verses is not to restrict or bring a bitter taste to marriage. It is written so that we might live a life in undivided devotion to the Lord, whether we are alone or together.
It is not mere coincidence that the verses prior to the ones about marriage speak of the truth that this world in it’s present form is indeed passing away. I cannot fathom or properly comprehend this, though I know that it is true, and I know that my passionate love and bonds with Bri and Caleb will change when this world does pass away, and that God shall be glorified in the redemption of his own.
It is easy to consume my mind with the passing world, living each and every day in order to please Bri or Caleb and losing site of an undivided devotion to the Lord, as a family. Rather than looking inward as though our family was huddled, looking only into each others faces, we must turn and hold hands and walk together in devotion to the Lord.
This is not very easy in waterfalls of spitup or hills of blocks and toys. Yet I know the greatest love and devotion I can show to my wife and my son is by lifting them up in the things that are not temporary, but the things that last when our time here has gone.
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