Moving Right Along

The Hall family is moving right along. No, literally. We are following Caleb around the house. This little kid does the army crawl – and has become a pro at it. He is FAST.  See, there he goes again!  He also loves the edges of EVERYTHING. He is like a boomerang that keeps goes after the edge of the big rug we have. We try to “direct his attention elsewhere” (like to play with all his awesome toys) but as soon as we let him loose again, back to the edge of the carpet he goes. He’s gotta lift it up to see what is under it.

Caleb is also gifted with a very fast hand. When carrying him down the hall, or in a store, if you get too close to something he is within arms reach of, before you know it, it’s in his hand…or you are stuck in the hall because he is holding onto the door. His grip is as strong as the hulk. Not kidding.

And let me just tell you how hard it is to change his diaper these days…..well, maybe I won’t as it gets messy sometimes.

But, oh my word, this kid melts your heart! Mark and I die laughing when he raises his eyebrows….he does it all the time. Who taught him that? Also, when he goes to sleep, he says “da-da, dah dah, daaa daa” in the softest, sweetest voice you ever did hear.

In other news, hallelujah, I have actually been losing some of the rest of my baby weight….I know, 9 months later. I have a bit to go – but progress is being made. I’ve lost 7 pounds so far. My goal is to feel happy and comfortable when I get to be a bridesmaid in Lauren’s wedding in July!!  I am lucky, I have a personal trainer…my brother Tim, who analyzed my diet last week and gave me some pointers. It would be even more helpful, Tim, if you could come cook my food for me. Aint nobody got time for that! ;-)

Speaking of cooking food, Caleb LOVES all the homemade food I’ve been making for him. I cook it, puree is, put it in ice cube trays, and freeze it. We pop out 4 or 5 and mix them together when it’s time to eat. It takes extra time to do all this but I love making him homemade food because I want him to have the best nutritional start possible and it makes me happy that I, his mama, get to be the one to do this for him. He will be an organically fed baby as long as possible. Sweet potatoes and pears are his all-time favorites. He also devours broccoli and blueberries (two of his new favorite foods). Last weekend, he tried cantaloupe for the first time and liked it. He also loves bananas, apples, spinach, peas, all varieties of squash, and cheerios (yes, there are organic versions).

Life is busy, REAL BUSY, but great!! We get to take the boy to his first Easter Egg hunt next Saturday at church. And, although he won’t be able to actually participate, he will have fun crawling around on the grass!

Caleb’s 9 month check-up was last week. He is in the 98th%tile for head circumference, 95 for height, and 85 for weight. He’s actually not so chunky anymore…because he won’t sit still.

And, this morning, he ALMOST pulled himself up into a standing position. He was very persistent and kept trying…that is until I had to leave for work. But, we’ll see if he can teach himself this new trick this weekend! He can now get back into sitting position from his belly, suck from a straw like a pro, and he is starting to eat a little more textured food (although he still gags on it sometimes).

Mark and I are in the market for a baby hiking backpack (to put Caleb on our backs while hiking). We are revving up to get our hiking going now that spring is here (even though it snowed yesterday and is supposed to snow again on Monday – wha??)

In other BABY news… Tim and Dulce are having a baby. It’s a girl! Actually, they don’t yet know if it’s a girl – but I dreamed it was, so it is! Baby shower will be on July 14^th!!

John and Rhonda had a baby girl – Elise Eleni Tsongalis. Eleni was John’s mom’s name. OMG, I can’t wait to meet her – she has cute, chubby, Greek cheeks!! J

And, dear Sara Thomas is in her single digit week countdown for baby girl Thomas who will arrive on or around May 21^st!!! I LOVE baby season!! I just wish I were independently wealthy so I could go spend time with all my peeps and their little wiggly balls of love!!  I’ll get Mark on it! ;-)

First Hike EVER!!

Too cute for words!

Not so little anymore, actually.