First Friends - Part 2: Max

Caleb's new friend Max is another great playmate we spend a fair amount of time with lately. Girls are nice and all, but sometimes a fella needs another guy to relate to once in a while.


My great-aunt Pat lives next door to Max's parents, Natalia and Jason. Natalie and I were supposed to be due three days apart, but Caleb came two and a half weeks early and Max had to be delivered almost a week early via c-section. My aunt thought it would be great for our boys to become playmates, and for Natalie and I to have some companionship during the day to chase away the loneliness and baby blues that sometimes come with being cooped up in the house all the time. She introduced us in August about four months after the boys were born and our friendship has grown from there. Here are some photos from the first time we met:

Grandma and Aunt Pat introducing Caleb and Max.

Friends hug!

Natalie and me

Two tuckered out little boys

Since we moved to VA, Natalie and I get the boys together about once a week if possible. We try to mix it up and do lots of different things which is harder now that it is so cold.

Play date #2: Lunch and playing on our front porch:

Play date #3: Max's house: I can't find any pictures of this.

Play date #4: Shopping:


The fifth time we got together was a little different from the norm. Jason, Max's dad, is a wine maker at a local winery. He created a wine with his own label, and we attended the event when he released Anghel wine.

Our sixth gathering was also unique. Natalie is originally from Moldova and has several friends nearby from her country who formed a group where their children can play together. She invited us to go with her and meet some of these people.

On the way home, we stopped at my cousin Stacey's. I introduced Max to Caleb's twin cousins, Anabella and Daniel. It was a fun filled day watching all the babies play.

This past week we visted the Burrus household again and admired their Christmas decorations. Caleb received his first Christmas package to open. Both babies loved the wrapping paper.


Hopefully, there will be many more play dates in the future.

(Note: Natalie was the photographer for most of these shots. Give credit where credit it due. :))

First Friends - Part 1: Celeste

Our friendly boy made lots of friends over the past seven months. He smiles at people almost everywhere we go. There are a couple of special friends who stand out though and are close to his own age. Celeste is one of them!

Celeste is probably the first real friend Caleb made. Andi (Celeste's mom) and I were randomly chosen roommates our freshman year at Mary Washington. We had a great time joking, freestyling, and even boxing. As Anne of Green Gables puts it, we've been "bosom friends" ever since.

Freshman year in front of our room

Junior year at a Red Sox vs. Orioles game

June 2007 - Andi was a bridesmaid at our wedding.

Celeste actually saw Caleb for the first time when she and Andi went with me to an ultrasound appointment about two weeks before Caleb was born. Here is a picture from that visit:


Shortly after the birth, Andi came to see us again. Since Caleb was so little, she was nervous about Celeste being around him, so Celeste went shopping with her daddy while Andi visited. However, when Marc (Andi's husband) came back to pick Andi up, Caleb and Celeste got a glimpse of each other in person for the first time.

Since then, there have been several opportunities for these two little ones to enjoy each others' company. When we still lived in Maryland, we were only 45 minutes apart so we probably saw each other about once a month. Even though initially Celeste seemed a bit concerned that her mommy was holding another baby, she's always been very interested and sweet to Caleb. She likes to try out all of his toys and show me what I need baby proof before Caleb becomes mobile.


Since we moved to Virginia, we've really missed seeing each other. Luckily, two weeks ago, Marc, Andi, and Celeste were finally able to visit our new home.

Caleb: I like this lady... She's handing me toys.

Celeste: Why does this kid chew on everything?

Lots of toys to keep everyone entertained while the adults ate supper.

We were amazed that at seven months Caleb was almost
the same size as Celeste at seventeen months.

Celeste is sizing Caleb up trying to decide if
she'd like to challenge him to a boxing match.

Caleb likes to watch Celeste whenever she's around. She's such a pretty girl that I can easily understand why. He also likes Marc quite a bit, which Andi and I think is because Caleb thinks he's looking at a bigger version of Celeste.

Aside from being beautiful Celeste also is super sweet. In this video, she tries to share toys with her friend.

I'm thankful he has such a kind friend and wish we could get together more often!

Sick Day

For the past seven and a half months, we've lucked out when it came to having a healthy baby. Unfortunately, last night at around 10:00 our luck ran out; Caleb woke up crying and congested. Sometimes he has some mild stuffiness, but this time it was so bad that he kept choking. I tried to give him a pacifier which usually comforts him; instead, it just made everything worse because he couldn't breathe through his nose. We tried saline and the nasal aspirators we had but his nose started bleeding a little so we had to stop. Mom loaned me her Vicks Baby Rub and I put Caleb in the bathroom with the hot shower running while Dave went to buy a humidifier. Afterwards, Dave blew up the air mattress so I could sleep on the floor in his room for the rest of the night. Caleb then fell asleep until about 3:30 a.m. when he woke up hungry. After a lot of milk, he slept again for a couple more hours until he was up again for good. However, none of us really had a good night's sleep.

Today his little nose ran like a water spigot, but he was in good spirits most of time. He cuddled a lot with his daddy and played peek-a-boo with Mommy. Dave even gave him a special treat, letting him watch a Baby Genius nursery rhyme video:

He ate very little throughout the day but still seemed to have plenty of energy. Here is a cute video of Caleb playing on our bed. It is kind of long but I decided to share it anyway because this one shows a lot of what Caleb can do these days, such as sitting up well without support and playing with toys. The video also gives a glimpse of two funny habits he has: wiggling his toes and chomping his gums together. Most importantly, at the end of the video he says his first real word ever!

(Did you hear "Mama?" I can't believe I caught this on video! We heard him babble "hi" and "da" when he was two and three months old and I thought I had heard a random "ma" recently here and there, but today he actually seemed to be mimicking us. Despite Dave telling me Caleb didn't really know what he was saying, this mama is very proud and excited.)

After all of this excitement, Grandma Sharon came with a Christmas themed tissue box, Rudolph book, and stuffed reindeer to help make being sick a little better. Caleb seemed to be more interested in the tissue box than the toy.


A few hours later, Caleb went to sleep for the night at 4:00. Even though he maintained a happy demeanor throughout most of the day, I think we will keep him home from church in the morning. It will be the first Sunday he's ever missed.

Pumpkin Season

Pumpkin season is such a good time to take pictures! Facebook teemed with photos of people taking their little ones to visit various pumpkin patches and corn mazes this October. Many also decided to take family portraits against the backdrop of the brilliant colored leaves God provided.

I couldn't miss the opportunity to take a few photos myself of Caleb's first fall. Everything was so busy we didn't have time to visit a pumpkin patch like I wanted, but mom and I took Caleb to a plant nursery in town called Springtime to snap a few shots. These were taken about a month and a half ago and I've been wanting to share.

The straw was something new to touch.

Hey! This pumpkin is just my size.

What's my foot doing here?

Don't worry Grandma is behind me holding me so I won't fall.

Peppaw, here's a bale of hay for your cows.

Where's Caleb?

There he is!

All these pumpkins make my mouth water for some pie.

Gotta pick the perfect one!

"I'm gonna eat that." (The lady who did my ultrasound wrote this
quote on one of my sonogram pictures when she saw Caleb
trying to eat his umbilical cord. I wish I could send her this picture.)

If Caleb were a pumpkin he would have been $6.99
according to this chart.

I want this one, Grandma!