Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday to you!  Happy Birthday sweet Caleb!  Happy Birthday to you!  My little biscuit turned two today.  So I will set aside tornados and relief workers, recipes, and shenanigans, and tell you about Caleb.

Caleb was a surprise.  Maddie, my niece, says that he was a gift, and he was a gift for sure.  Several years ago I learned that I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).  This causes me to not ovulate, which makes getting pregnant a little tricky.  I think I have mentioned this before in a blog so sorry, you get to read it twice.

Kael was planned as planned can be.  So it was quite the surprise when Kael was 10 months old to learn that I was pregnant with Caleb, and not just pregnant, very pregnant.    I was almost 17 weeks pregnant when I found out.  For those of you who haven’t been involved in a pregnancy a typical pregnancy lasts for 40 weeks, so I was almost half way finished with mine.  At my first doctor appointment she said, “well, do you want to know if it is a boy or a girl?”  I remember exclaiming “there’s a whole kid in there!”  As I gazed upon my little Caleb through the tiny in-office ultrasound screen reality set in…I will have two under two.  Oh snap!

Our boys are 15 months apart and while they look like they could be twins, their personalities are on opposite ends of the spectrum.  Kael is strong, and stout, Caleb is smart, but noodley.  Their personalities each have areas that bring me overwhelming joy, but there are other sides to them that make me want to pull my hair out!

Caleb is my danger, danger, gotta watch him like a hawk, baby.  My family likes to joke that I watch my kids like a hawk…a blind hawk.  Booooo!  It’s only partially true; I guess there is truth in jest.  When Caleb was just a week old, we were at home and we had one of those Graco Pack n’ Play’s (PNP) with the bassinet and changing station that we would put him in.  It has wheels on it so I was going to bring him into the living room.  I placed him in the changing part and turned to start to pull him and the PNP out of the room, but I didn’t realize that the wheel had caught the cord to a tall standing lamp with a heavy glass bowl fixture top.  That thing came snapping down and landed about 2.5 inches from Caleb’s soft little noggin.  Sam heard me scream as I realized what just happened so he came running in to see the heavy glass bowl detached from the lamp now as it broke in half when it hit, sitting next to Caleb’s head.  He looked up at me and said “you could have just changed our lives forever.”  And he turned and left the room, too shaken by what he just saw to say anymore.

Thanks a lot!  Make me feel like more of a pile of poo.  Like I did it on purpose.  When I was a little kid and I did something bad I would say “but I didn’t mean to!”  And my Dad would respond, “did you mean not to?”  Ah man!  Got me everytime!  When we are deliberate and thoughtful with our actions and the potential consequences we can have a better chance to avoid catastrophe, or hurting people’s feelings, or doing the wrong thing.  I need to remember this…be deliberate.

I am not going to post all about all of Caleb’s survival stories, but there are a few.  The truth is I am a good Mom.  I love my children, I provide for them, I am too soft most of the time and un-train a lot of Sam’s training. (Note to self, do better at supporting Sam’s efforts).  It only takes a minute and your little turkey can be either out of sight, under the sink in who knows what, licking ant hotels, playing with the drapery cords, or chewing on your razor.  I will not say which of these has happened before.

I am so grateful for my little Caleb, my sweet surprise, the easiest, happiest baby in the world, my noodley noodleson.  With kids you have to stay on your toes and not be a blind or distracted hawk.  Love them, teach them, watch them, grow them, lead them.  Like a momma duck with her babies in tow.

Thank you Lord for my wonderful babies.  Thank you for watching over them and for reminding me of the precious gift you have given me. Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.

I recently learned that Caleb has a natural gift for being a ham.   He entertained the family by serenading us while we were at Gorditos in Everett, Washington.  I don’t know where he learned to close his eyes and tip the mic back like that while singing…

Here is Caleb with Grandma.

Here is Caleb getting loved on by my brother David and his wife Dawn.

Happy Birthday little one!

Xoxo

Mom