How can I be just ONE month away from having a 2 year old?! This is insane, where has the time gone? Where has my baby boy gone?

Last weekend I was looking through David's laundry basket and I found a little 12 month onesie and a tiny cloth bib and I nearly started crying as I held them up. I was thinking back on the days the drool just used to drip consistently out of Cael's mouth; back on the days when he ate no solid food, just breast milk or formula; back on those days where he couldn't even sit up on his own. I still remember so clearly the first time he grasped my Blistex when I held it in front of him. How I cheered! How I beamed! What an achievement!!!!!!! And now my little man is stringing together 2 word sentences and feeding himself and walking himself up the stairs to bed at night while saying 'Niy-niyt Da-da!'

It's official, when Cael turns two I can no longer truly call him my BABY anymore, he is a boy. One who loves to ride around our kitchen in his tricycle (and is just learning to use the pedals); one who loves to pile stuffed animals high and leap into them with giggles; one who all-of-a-sudden has to carry a toy with him to have his diaper changed, one who raps on the outside of the car door politely while saying 'knock knock' when he wants to get in the car (as if someone would answer and open the door from the inside); one who tries to climb into the car on his own, but his short little legs have NO chance of making that possible; one who takes it upon himself to discipline the cat ('NO NO Bur-Bur!') after we have yelled at Burby to stop scratching the furniture; one who's learned to pout when he doesn't get his way by sticking out his lower lip, one who just this past month started making all kind of funny faces all the time, and the BIIIG story....

The one who has been going potty (both poo-poo and pee-pee) at School, but hasn’t yet poo-poo’ed at home, walked up to me last night and said 'poo poo pah-pah' (he pronounces potty 'pah-pah'). So I took him into the potty, expecting him NOT to poo-poo, but after 1 minute, I hear this 'plop' and he stands up and looks down in the potty, then looks over to me, a little uncertain, I look down, see the poo-poo and JOYFULLY EXCLAIM at the top of my lungs 'POO POO IN THE POTTY!!! CAEL POO POOED IN THE POTTY!! WHAT A BIIIIG BOY!!!!' As Cael excitedly picked up the tray in the potty and carried it to the toilet to do the dump/flush, David came rushing in the bathroom and we both complemented Cael a ridiculous amount on his achievement. Celebrations continued for a good 15 minutes. Needless to say, we hope he'll do it again tonight, we shall wait and see. I think it was an excellent break-through. Granted, we know we have a LOOOONG way to go til he's potty trained yet, but it's a good upgrade from just the pee-peeing in the potty first thing every morning.

I also want to mention one more thing my little Mr. Personality has started doing lately. He's becoming more independent and more decisive on what he wants and doesn't want. This is making me feel emotions I have NEVER in my life felt before. I'm sensing this weird feeling, sort of like what a teenager must feel if the guy she is desperately in love with, the one she is certain she's destined to spend the rest of her life with, is breaking up with her. I'm learning Cael has the power to break my heart like no other human being on the face of this Earth, and it scares me. When I ask him for a hug, when I NEED a hug cuz I've had a BAD BAD day, and he looks at me and says 'NO MAMA!' with this terrible frown as he pushes away, my breath feels like it catches in my throat and a knife goes through my heart. Granted, I know he doesn't understand that I need a hug yet or why I do or why it’s so important to me, but it hurts none-the-less. And I know this is just a small sign of things to come. I'm learning I'm not going to be able to smother him with hugs and kisses at my free will. My baby has turned to a boy. Oh lord I think I need another baby!!!

Well, I finally got Cael a much LONG over-due haircut! I will have to take some pics this weekend. At first, the shortness was hard to get used to, but now it's growing on us, and it sure is much easier to comb.

Cael's vocabulary is starting to explode, he's now attempting to say more words, although his pronounciation is still pretty terrible. For many things, it's only David and I that can translate what he's saying. He now definitely understands that everything has a word and he loves to walk around pointing to things and saying their name if he knows it. He's big into 'wall', 'floor' and 'window' right now. Silly Bear!

He's getting VERY huggy and will run up to us with wild abandon to give us a hug. The best is when I pick him up from school and he comes running from across the room and gives me this giant hug then pats me and turns to everyone else and proudly proclaims 'MOMMA!'. Makes my heart melt!

He's getting more into symbolic play and tries to feed and give juice to his stuffed animals. He also will now kiss US on a boo-boo spot if we say something hurts.

He is LOVING his school and I have no doubt it's helping him blossom mentally and emotionally. He is so loved there and the teachers all talk about how he is one of the happiest kids they've seen.

He still loves the shower and the bath and is obsessed with 'BUBBLES!'

He still pee-pees in the potty nearly every morning and some at school, but we've yet to get a poo-poo in the potty. I've been told that will take a while, so I'll be patient.

I put away all his 12-18 month stuff, and now he wears 18-24 month stuff and even has a few T-shirts that are 2T's. It will be interesting to see if he can still wear this Spring all the same clothes he wore last Spring/Summer/Fall (18 months). He is finally getting a bit taller, but is still my 'short little dude'. He weighs 25 lbs on a good day.

I started taking him to the Gym Daycare just for 20-30 minutes 3 nights a week after school and he's adjusted pretty well for the most part. Thank goodness they have a TV in there. Now that he doesn't get to watch TV during the day, he is glued to it when he gets the chance. Which reminds me, the other weekend we were watching 'Hannibal Rising' and he was freakishly watching it ALL! We realized we HAD to pause it until after he went to bed because we know he understands more than he can convey and it didn't seem right for him to watch and the blood and gore in that movie. There ends the era of watching R rated movies while he's awake. Oh well. :-)

And as far as my last post (I'm sure you heard by now I miscarried just a week after I made that entry), well, we tucked Cael's 'big brother' shirt away for a while . He doesn't mind so much and I'm sure is unknowingly happy he'll get us all to himself for an extra year or so. I know I'm more than happy to lavish all my love and attention soley on him for as long as it takes (and even forever). He is just the best little pookie-bear in the whole world, my most precious miracle.

Cael has some exciting news he wants to share with you all!!!

Yup, his shirt says it all! He's gonna be a big brother!

His sibling is due to be born somewhere around July 20th (I'm 12 weeks pregnant now). He doesn't care if it's a brother or sister, but he's excited to have a live-in playmate other than us and the cat.

I'm debating on whether or not I want to start up a new pregnancy journal for Baby Beep 2.0 -- I don't want him/her to wonder why he/she didn't have their own pregnancy journal when they get old enough to read, so I think I will. Stay tuned. Not sure if I will add on to Cael's pregnancy journal or start up a whole new one. Decisions Decisions. But since I know this is my last baby, I want to make sure to cherish it and remember it as much as possible.

On other news, I have finally updated Cael's photo pages. I added new pics to all months going all the way back to 16 Months, so be sure to check them out!

Cael started his Montessori School yesterday and the teacher said he settled in remarkably well and was very comfortable! I knew he'd love it. But it was still nice when he got all excited and happy to see me when I walked in the room to pick him up that evening.

He's now becoming quite the copy-cat and will copy not just your words, but your mannerisms and actions. The other night David picked him up with a grumble to change his diaper and Cael grumbled back, it was too funny! We were watching that show 'American Gladiators' and afterwards Cael was pile driving his big stuffed penguin. Uh oh! Guess we really need to start watching what we do/say/watch around him now.

He's finally learned to SAY 'no' and 'yeah' to go along with his head nodding and shaking. If you ask him if he wants to go to bed, no matter what, even if he's rubbing his eyes and laying on the floor, he will shake his head and say 'no'. But if I pick him up and carry him towards the stairs, he immediately starts tiredly waving 'good night' to David. You're still too cute, my little Bear.

Argh, I have wanted to post for so long, but have been so busy. Now I will forget all the new things that have happened the past 2 months! Here's some I can remember...

• nodding head/shaking head for yes and no (but still doesn't really SAY yes or no).
• will try to repeat what we say if we say 'say ____!' It's pretty funny to hear him say 'Favre!', it' comes out like 'phhbbb!'
• has touchdown signal (arms in air) down like a pro. Sometimes spontaneously does it when he sees people running around on the TV. David has him trained to say 'Romo!' very well.
• pee-pees in the potty most mornings (when I set him on it), but no poo-poo yet, I need to work with him more on that in the evenings right after dinner. During this time he has seemed to really figure out HE is making the pee-pee and that it just doesn't appear 'magically'. He loves to say pee-pee and poo-poo, but only AFTER he does it! LOL!
• will ONLY feed himself, but is still pretty terrible at using the spoon/fork. Often gets more on himself than in his mouth.
• run to the fridge when he wants milk and says 'mah!' (guess he can't say the 'ilk' part?)
• had a week bout where he threw tantrums and softly hit me or David if we didn't let him do what he wanted. Thank goodness that hasn't happened for several weeks, cuz I was getting worried wondering what was happening to my bear-bear!
• he's much better at cooperating with getting dressed and undressed, and tries to pull up his pants himself, but only pulls from the front, so it doesn't work very well.
• loves to say the word SOCK with a C instead of an S. heeheee
• becoming a music lover, wants to make his toys make music so he can 'dance'. He dances a LOT, its so gosh-darned cute! He will copy David making the funny wobbly knee dance where you move your hands back and forth between your knees. Gotta get video of this!
• definitely getting the 'everything is mine' syndrome and it takes him a while to calm down once we tell him everything is NOT his.
• loves torturing the cat and chasing him around. Thinks the cat is hilarious.
• caught the beginnings of pink eye and another ear infection, but we got him in antibiotics fast enough to nip it in the bud (we hope that continues).
• loves seeing how far he can push playing with the Christmas Tree when he know he shouldn't be. Our tree looks terrible with NO ornaments on the bottom third. Oh well.
• says CHEESE when he sees a camera.
• He still sleeps through the night with virtually no problems unless he's really sick and needs more medicene. I wish we could move him to a toddler bed, cuz he's definitely ready for it, but we haven't child proofed our upstairs yet.
• He will be starting a Montessori School in January, we are very excited about this since we know he love all the different activities. But we know he'll also miss his friends over at Kiddie Shack Daycare.
• Seems to understand most of what we say to him, which is crazy. I can say 'go find your penguin and take it to the fridge' and he'll do it without questioning me. LOL!
• He's getting an imagination, and will drive cars around while making 'car' noises
• He is getting very good at puzzles and can hand us the right piece when we ask for it. Ie: 'Hand me the Motorcycle/pig/helecopter.'
• Has no fear of the shower (LOVES showers) and doesn't even care when we dump water right over his head/face to rinse the shampoo out of his hair.
• Is definitely liking attention and tries to be silly on purpose to get attention (ie: falling, dancing, playing with toys, etc.)
• He is so joyful and seemingly independant for his age, he is rarely clingy and never shy. But he is showing affection more often and cuddling more often now which is sooo heavenly to me.
• He carries all the stuffed animals he can find to a baby whenever a baby is around. This is sooo gosh-darned cute! Someday he'll make a great older brother!

Whew, I guess that's enough for now! HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!

Hard to believe my little guy is a year and a half already, but he is!

He had a rough past month battling ear infections, but as of his 18-month checkup, they had FINALLY cleared up (after 4 Rocephin shots and 2 rounds of antibiotics AND a ruptured eardrum!)

Doctor is saying he may benefit from tubes if last month is any indication of what he may deal with this Winter.

At his check-up Cael weight 23.5 lbs (19th percentile) and was 30.8 inches long (12th percentile).

His biggest change this month has been his amount of babbling. He is saying more words (most of which only David & I understand) and he is babbling in new ways with new consonents he's never been able to pronounce before. I NEED to get video of this soon because I know I will turn around one day and he'll be talking in sentences and I'll FREAK out. One thing I do think is odd is that he still hasn't said the word 'no'. I've often heard that's one of many kids first words, but he says about 8 others, but no 'no' yet. I'm not upset about this. heehee!

Oh, he's finally learned to pucker up for kisses. LOL!

He was a teddy bear for Halloween. Pics of him in his costume and many more awesome pics are on his 17 month photo page! Please check them out.

ACK! It is my fault for waiting so long to getting around to post an update. In this past month and a half since I last posted, SOOO much has happened and changed and progressed with Cael. I would say this seems to be his greatest growth spurt to date mentally-speaking!!

Here are some of the things that started happening once he turned 16 months:

• Definitely without a doubt recognizes himself in the mirror as a unique individual. He cracks me up when he looks in the mirror and gets all excited to see himself.
• He is trying to jump and it's sooo darned cute cuz he can't yet, but he's more like squatting and pushing up and lifting only one leg at a time off the ground.
• Loves his spin and bounce Zebra.
• He is finally good at building blocks, not just tearing them down.
• LOVES to give open-mouthed kiss a LOT now, will lean his head in, even when not prompted to, to give love.
• Loves to play the 'hug game' where he stands on the other side of the room and holds his arms wide out and you hold your arms wide out and he runs to you and throws himself into your arms and hugs you. Can I even TELL you how much I LOVE this game?!?! I shall never EVER grow tired of these hugs!!!!
• We went on a trip to Pittsburgh where he came down with 2 nasty ear infections. Poor little guy! But he was such a trooper on the plane flights and only cried for about 2-3 minutes on each flight as we descended.
• Had some flare-ups of his eczema, but only on his face, and after treating them with the prescription medicine, the rash was quickly cleared up. We still do not know exactly what triggers the flare-ups.
• Thanks to me reading the book 'Diaper Free Before 3', we have decided to start familiarizing him with the potty. He sits on it every morning after he wakes up and every night after he eats dinner. He has peed in it a few times, but so far, no poo-poo. He doesn't really understand what the potty is for yet, but he likes to sit on it and we like the idea of getting him in a routine of sitting on the potty so later in life he'll not be scared of it when he does have the understanding of what it's really for. His daycare is also supposedly sitting him on there a couple of times a day, too. We never sit him on the potty if he isn't in the mood.
• His favorite word by far is CAR! He will say ‘CAR CAR’ every time he sees a car. He will exclaim it with such excitement that you can't help but be thrilled about the sight of an ordinary everyday car. This makes for some extra fun when driving down the road in rush hour, because 'CAR CAR CAR CAR!' is pretty much all you hear from the back seat. He feels compelled to point out nearly EVERY car he sees. We are trying to teach him the difference between car and truck, but so far he can't really say truck, so everything with wheels is a CAR! LOL! As a matter of fact, he has an UNCANNY ability to spot cars ANYWHERE and EVERWHERE. Watching TV and there’s a car in the background? Cael sees it! Flipping through the phonebook and there’s a 1 cm by 1 cm icon of a car? Cael will point to it and yell CAR! Have cars on clothes, cereal boxes, newspapers or wrappers? Cael will see them all and be sure to point them out to you! THANK YOU CAEL! I never knew how many cars there were in this world! LOL!
• His other favorite word to say is ‘TEETH’. This is of course because we're convinced he wants to be a dentist when he grows up. He is still overly interested in everyone's mouth and teeth and will grab them with any opportunity. Him saying 'TEETH' is one of the cutest things I've ever heard. It’s a lot of ‘eeeethhhh’ing. Must get this on video for posterity!
• He got a tricycle from craigslist and loves to ride and steer it around the house even though he doesn't understand how to use the pedals yet.
• He got his 3rd haircut before we left for Pittsburgh and he loved it. We went to one of those 'cuts for kids' places and he got to sit in an airplane and watch the WIGGLES on a flat screen TV.
• He's still wearing the SAME clothes he wore when he was 9 months old. Believe it or not, 18-24 month clothes swim on him. My pudgy baby is slowly disappearing! Wah!
• Starting after Labor Day weekend, he got to switch to forward facing in the car. He loves it! And, naturally, that lead to even MORE pointing out of the 'car cars'.
• Starting with his ear infections he's decided he loves medicine and we no longer have to trick/coerce him to take it.
• He's becoming a bit fickle when it comes to switching back and forth between liking Mommy or Daddy best. One night he's all Daddy and the next night he's all Mommy. We have not been able to figure out any rhyme or reason to this, but it continues to amuse us.
• He still LOVES to brush his 'TEETH!'
• Starting Labor Day weekend, we took away his last night time milk bottle, so he's a big boy now that only drinks milk out of a sippy cup. He hasn't wanted as much milk as night because now he relies on a bigger dinner to keep him full through the night.

Well, there's a MILLION more things I could add, but I know I have to stop somewhere. Basically, he's growing taller and becoming so much more aware of the world around him. Even though he isn't saying a lot of understandable words, he can pretty much understand anything we say to him. He knows all his major body parts (hair, eyes, nose, teeth, mouth, ears, hands, arms, feet, belly, chest, etc.) and particularly loves to play with his cars and now his new racetrack. He is still waving when he wants to go to bed and is starting to shorten his daytime nap and go to bed a little earlier at night then he did before, but he still stays up til about 9:15, which makes us happy since we get to play with him longer.

His temper tantrums are actually better now than they were last post. He rarely throws himself on the floor now that he seems to understand he can communicate with us better now. He is still signing a lot since he hasn't been able to articulate many words. However, his mouth is sure practicing and his babbling is getting more hilarious and complicated by the minute.

He has a little swat/hit thing he does now when he's angry, but as soon as I pout out my lip and say 'No, that hurts Mommy', he feels all bad and looks at me wide-eyed and then will often try and give me a smile or even a kiss or hug to make up for it.

His appetite has shot way up now that he is getting over the ear infections. I can't even fathom how much this kid will cost us in food when he gets to be a teenager! LOL!

Cael continues to be the most exciting person I've ever met. Seriously! He is so funny and sweet and gentle and inquisitive. My little bear-bear is going to be a teddy bear for Halloween, so I promise to get some good pictures in his costume. Also, we will be taking his 18 month pictures this weekend, so stay tuned for some great new pics of my growing guy. Later, friends!

Well, my sweet little Bear-bear... you have just turned 16 months old.

I've decided I'd like to write a letter directly to you every couple of months (at least for now) to let you know how you're changing, growing and how you're impacting (and enriching) our lives.

This past month has been a fun one, as always, but I think it's been a little hard on you. You started at a new in-home daycare last week (with 8 kids) and have come down with a cold and a mysterious rash on your sweet little face. It's surely all those new germs and foods you're being exposed to, but I suppose they will make you stronger down the road. You handle your horribly stuffy head and runny nose with hardly a complaint. You're our tough little pookie-bear.

You have learned to give REALLY good hugs, and are especially good at them when you grow sleepy. I cherish those sweet hugs, the ones where you put your cheek on my shoulder and you sigh happily while kicking your feet in content. I wish I could memorize every one of them, I'm trying my best.

You are learning some new things from your new daycare, like how to be sassier than you ever have been. You are learning to kick and swat when you are angry or frustrated. It shocks me the couple of times I have seen you do this because it seems so out of synch your gentle personality, but I realize this is all an integral part of you growing up and learning you are your own person and that your wishes may be different than someone else's. You still have never done anything that I have felt was worthy of punishing in any way, but I know someday that will happen. Yes, you throw mini-tantrums, but for now, they are short-lived (10 seconds) and pass quickly.

Your new daycare has raved about your laid back personality and how fun and sweet you are. You should know your Grandma's heart broke when she had to relinquish you to them so she could go back to working at the school. She took such fabulous care of you this Summer and you two have an unbreakable, special bond. You light up when you see her and you have her twisted around your little finger.

We took a vacation away from you just last week. 4 days in Las Vegas. You stayed with your Grandma, with Lisa and with Sabrina (your new daycare lady). You are such my adaptable little guy! I am so impressed with you! By Day 4 of my trip, I missed you something SO fierce that I tried for over an hour to get an earlier flight home, but no luck. When we finally arrived late late late at 12:45am to pick you up I felt it was like waiting for 100 Christmas mornings combined!!! And there you were, laying in the pack-n-play and I could barely contain the strength of the hug I gave you when I first picked you up. Two groggy eye rubs and a yawn later, you realized you were in my arms and gave me the sweetest, most genuine smile I'd ever seen. You are so incredible! The whole way home you sat in your car seat and I sat back there, right next to you. I couldn't squeeze you or smile at you enough! We gave you some more milk when we got home and played with you for a bit (you were in great spirits, as always), then you easily went to sleep in your own crib. I could tell how content you were to be back home. I don't think I'll leave you again on a vacation for a VERY long time.

You have really developed an interest in stuffed animals recently and love to hug and 'kiss' them. It's very sweet. You have attached to many, although none of them would I consider a 'lovey'; none of them do you need to take with you anywhere.

Your favorite toys right now are your wood puzzles, your giant blocks, your shape toolbox, your shake-em car, and your flip book.

You HAVE to lie on your giant Happy Feet penguin in order to drink your bottle of milk at night, it is sooo sweet and I'm going to get this on video for you so you can see it. If you are not positioned JUST right, you will get frustrated and whine and keep trying to position yourself to your satisfaction. It is so cute and precious that I might never want to wean you from your only bottle of the day. You down 8 ounces in just a few minutes. Then, when you're finished, you will roll off the penguin and be ready to be taken to bed. If you need your diaper changed, you will run over to the door to the closet (where the changing table is) and afterwards, you will eagerly wave 'night night' to Daddy (as Daddy sings out 'Night Little Guy!') as we ascend the stairs to your room. We look forward to the routine EACH and EVERY night. It is soooo precious, YOU are so precious.

I honestly don't know how there could be a more loved child out there. Each night I say a prayer for you as I gaze at you sleeping peacefully... 'May God keep you healthy, happy, safe, smart, silly and respectful.' Well, he's sure doing a good job because you are all that and more. I love you Bear-bear.

Cael is 15 months! He has his well-visit yesterday and here's his stats: perfect health, and 22 lbs 15 oz and 29 1/4 inches long. This is 25% for weight AND height for his age. Well what do you know?! My little guy is finally in proportion! LOL!

Things I have not mentioned that he's been doing for a couple months now:

• waving night-night when he's tired (we have a tradition of David saying 'good night little guy' and waving as I walk Cael up to his bedroom and Cael waves back. He loves going to bed and still goes down at home with nar a complaint.
• he loves to drink out of big people cups (as opposed to sippy cups). He'll take a drink and then put the cup up to my mouth so I can take a drink. We take turns. It's soooo cute!
• he's finally starting to understand 'just one more minute' which is nice, cuz it makes it easier to change his diaper when he understands that we're NEARLY done. Boy, I tell ya, that kid hates to be lying flat on his back unles he's sleeping!
• his allergic rash is completely gone as long as we never ever use any diapers with dye. WHole foods diapers are worth every penny.
• his favorite toy is currently the long bug sucker attachment to the Dustbuster. He thinks it's the coolest drum stick ever and loves to walk around hitting it on different things and hearing the different sounds they make.
• He LOVES being with his Grandma during the weekdays and anxiously waves bye bye to me when I hand him off in the mornings.
• his favorite foods now are still yogurt, chunks of fruit (apples, bananas, grapes, raisins) and pretty much any gerber graduate meal. Oh, and I recently discovered he loves Twizzlers.
• he is down to just one bottle... the one right before bed. He no longer lets me hold him as he drinks his bottle. Instead he wants to run around the house drinking it or lay on his penguin, kicking his feet happily.
• He still tackles his giant Happy Feet stuffed penguin when he gets tired and bites the penguin's nose. He will also eat the nose of any other stuffed animals around, like his stuffed Emile from Ratatouille.
• He LOVES to laugh and giggle and will run around the house trying to get you to chase him and tickle him.
• He thinks the cat is funny, especially when the cat gets into one of his sneezing fits where he sneezes 15 times in a row.
• He still will give open mouthed kisses when it suits him.
• He likes to try and feed himself with the spoon. He'll do ok for a few bites and then get sloppier and sloppier, I still pretty much have to help him hold the spoon when he wants to do this, but he's getting better.
• He has been signing 'more', 'milk', 'yogurt', 'drink' and 'night-night', I have not kept up with more than that, unfortunately.

Newest things:

• He LOVES the TV Show 'The Wiggles' and will point his pointer fingers up in the air and move his hands back and forth when he's in the mood to see them. If you pause the show while it's playing, he will wait a second, then start waving his pointer fingers again until you re-start the show. heehee!
• He loves to dance to music... any music. He tap dances like Happy Feet (thanks to David) and dances in circles with his arms flapping (thanks to Grandma) AND he even dances with his upper body while sitting down (thanks to me).
• All of his eye teeth are breaking through the gums as we speak. This gives him ALL his teeth until his 2 year molars come in, but knowing him, he'll start getting those at 18 months.
• He can't get enough of the outside, loves walks and LOVES his cousin's pool! But he will still panic if he falls down and has bare skin touching the grass.
• From time to time (when the mood suits him) he will mumble 'all done', 'up', 'ball', 'dog', 'cat', 'mama', 'dada', 'milk' and a couple others.
• He now is having an awareness of himself and get a certain knowing look when he's knows he's gotten us to look at him cuz he did something funny/cute.
• He's learned to give really good hugs, and the best ones are the ones you don't ask for. They're the most precious gift I've ever received!

He's very independant and not very clingy unless he's tired or grumpy. At Mall toddler area playdates, he will run around hardly even looking back for me. He's far from a daredevil, though, and is pretty cautious with his climbing. He seems to understand his limits and is getting pretty good at going up and down stairs (half walking, half crawling).

... MOM! Please add a comment and let us know the other things you've heard him say or funny things he's done. I want to keep record of this and this is the best spot!

I know I need to post up some new pictures and some video. I will try and do that this weekend, so stay tuned.

Well, where to begin? I guess let's start with an update on Cael's rash. After having to be referred to a pediatric dermatologist, it turns out his rash is an allergic reaction to his diapers! Probably more specifically the dye in the diapers! Oh my lordy! So all these weeks we have been told it was a common diaper rash, then a yeast infection, then a virus; and of course none of the bazillion of treatments we have tried for those issues worked. I had a mommy-hunch the whole time that it was an allergic reaction, and I even suspected his diapers, but since he's been using the SAME diapers since he's been born, I dismissed that as a valid possibility. I'm not really sure why at the age of 1, he would develop an allergy like this, but I'm just SO relieved to finally have this diagnosed, cuz the poor little guy was about to scratch all his skin off on his belly and diaper area! So I ordered some dye-free, fragrance-free 'Mother Nature' diapers from Drugstore.com and ran to Whole Foods to get some 'Seventh Generation' diapers (read: EXPENSIVE) to tide me over until the Mother Nature shipment arrives. We also got a hydrocortisone-based prescription from the dermatologist and I'm happy to report his rash is remarkably better!! WHOO HOO!

But what could we possibly throw into this equation to make sure he isn't completely itch-free? He got stung by a wasp on Father's Day! ACK! Somehow a stupid wasp got in the house and was walking around on the floor and Cael decided it looked like the most fun play toy ever, so as he picked it up, he got stung and began to scream in pain. David and I went running to him and watched his little thumb swell up in front of our eyes. We force fed him children's Benadryl just to be safe and he seemed ok within 5 minutes. What a trooper our pookie-bear is!!

So what is Cael's newest trick thanks to my Mother? Giving kisses! Yes! He has learned to kiss and it is SOOO cute! He starts opened-mouthed and then sort of puckers up after you touch lips with him. This was a source of great amusement during the family Father's Day dinner we hosted yesterday. Kisses for EVERYONE! LOL!

OH, I also want to say how much I'm enjoying it that Cael LOVES to be put to bed at night (including his naptime). When he is ready to head off to bed, he will walk over to me and wave night-night to David. This means, 'Mom, take me to bed; Daddy, good night!' It's the cutest thing ever and he's been doing it reliably for a couple weeks now.

And speaking of sleeping, this kid sleeps like a log! I hope it continues! Man, we've had some BAD storms over our house the past few months and I will wake up, my heart pounding. I cannot believe he has never woken up from these storms! I'll turn on Cael-TV, just certain he is tossing and turning, bothered by the loud thunder cracks, but he's just peacefully asleep. I know sooner or later this will change, but for now it still amazes me since I know he is growing fearful of other very loud things.

And speaking of fearful, I just want to mention he is growing clingier and more wary of strangers. When we had a bunch of family come over yesterday night, he initially didn't want to leave my (or David's) side, but once you force him to do it, he'll cry for 15 seconds or so, then he realizes he's having fun with someone else and be happy.

Last thing I just need to mention. This past weekend we all went to Target together and little man decided he no longer is content just to sit in the shopping cart. He wants to get down and walk! And walk he does... more like run! Remember when I said he's fearful of strangers? Well, not when he's at a store! He'll run down isles as fast as he can away from me, not even caring if I'm following him or not. I turned my back for ONE second and he was half way down the next store isle! That's sort of freaky and I know I need to watch him closely. He wants to point at and touch everything in every isle whether it's a Barbie doll, a flower, a fan, a ball, a box of cereal, or whatever. It's fun to let him explore. And oh the complements he gets as he open-mouthed smiles at everyone he sees! But then the problem is getting him to realize we DO need to get some shopping done and he has to sit back in the cart cuz his little legs just can't keep up with ours.

I love my short little walky Bear (who is brave against storms and wasps and loves to kiss and is allergic to Pampers and waves night-night when he’s ready for bed)!!

Hi there friends! Cael gave me his first ever real voluntary hug at my request this weekend! It was SPLENDID!!! I'm working on kisses, so I'll keep you posted.

His big thing for the past couple weeks has been pointing at EVERYTHING. He points at something and makes this cute little "Uh" or "Bah" or "Gub-bah" or squeek noise as to notify me that he sees the object and likes it, so I announce what he's pointing at. So far, it's a fun game, but I bet you parents out there say it wears out quickly! LOL! I tell you this kid has an uncanny knack to find a sole helium balloon 40 feet away out of a huge panoramic view filled with other busy scenes.

He still has this rash all over his body which is worst on his cheeks and in his diaper. And he was pretty itchy. Last week he was waking up in the middle of the night cuz he was so itchy. I felt so bad for him! At first the doc thought it was a typical virus that he caught somehow weeks ago and just now the symptoms are showing, but now that the rash isn't going away after 2 weeks, the docs are saying it's yeast. After trying several doctor-recommended over-the-counter medicines, nothing seemed to be helping. This past Friday, we got some samples from the doc of perscription medication that is helping a little, but tonight I FINALLY get to pick up an expensive oral perscription that took 4 days and 30 calls for my freakin' insurance company to approve. Ergh! I am hoping by this weekend he will finally feel better.

And his top molars are coming in now, too. His nose has been running again and he's been pulling at his ears in response. Mom got off of school for the summer and has started watching him during the days, so he's adjusting to her place sans his play-mate Karson. All in all it's been a rough week and a half for my little Bear-Bear; but he's still overall my happy little guy who is loving to try to feed himself with the spoon (and making a glorious mess when I allow him), loving playing with his new (used) Little Tikes Workbench, and is getting to be so darned cute and finally a tad-bit affectionate! More pics have been posted on his 12 month page from Mother's Day Weekend.

Well, I guess it was bound to happen. My first trip taking Cael to the ER. And fortunately, there was no blood involved. My trip to the ER was performed only at the STRONG insistence of my doctor and nurse. I didn't feel there was anything really wrong, but they made me second guess myself. See, Cael's had a pretty bad diaper rash or something that was in conjunction with some weird issues having to do with this 'boys'. When I called the nurse to explain the issue, she insisted he may have a hernia or have some organs twisted inside him that could cause sterility. And since my nurse has never been anything but calm and nonchalant when I've spoken to her about various new-mom worries, I realized I should heed her commands and take him in. I asked if Urgent Care would be ok, but she insisted it wasn't, that he needed to be someplace with surgeons readily available! ACK!!!

So to the ER we went, and since David was conveniently out of town, Mom came with me. THANK YOU, MOM! I tell you, the drive there was filled with panic and worry. I realized how I took for granted the health of my precious son. I prayed nothing would be seriously wrong with my little guy.

The good news is that even after nearly 3 days of symptoms, when it was our turn to be seen in the ER, the symptoms disappeared!!! Seriously!! How odd is that? But I was so relieved I didn't even care that I was paying a bazillion dollars for no good reason. Of course, after being discharged, the symptoms have come and gone, but obviously it must be nothing to worry much about. To be sure, we'll hope the symptoms are temporarily back when we go to the doc tomorrow.

So what else is going on? Well, Cael has decided that he absolutely positively CANNOT lay still enough for a diaper change anymore. And during my stint at Jury Duty yesterday I finally got to start my 'Diaper Free Before 3' book. Maybe it's time to start INTRODUCING him to the baby potty I bought for him? I know that seems crazy, but this book explains it's completely rational to start introducing him to this routine now and I think it makes sense. The book is by Jill M. Lekovic if you want to check it out.

His walking skills are really coming along, he is perfecting stopping, standing still, turning, climbing and all that. He continues to get funnier with his baby talk. He seems to really be trying to tell us something, yet it just doesn't make any sense. He is STILL fascinated with other people's mouths/teeth. I swear that boy will be a dentist!

He is now starting to not just PLAY with the cat, but TEASE the cat by dangling his toys with strings and laughing when the cat attacks the string. It's cute. His personality is really starting to show. I am certain he will be pretty outgoing, he tries to make eye contact with EVERYONE at the grocery store and he will smile bigger and bigger at them until the person FINALLY gives him some type of positive feedback. Which is pretty funny when Cael happens to choose to accost the 22 year old cool biker dude who doesn't even want to crack a smile in public.

He is finally consistently eating many Gerber Graduate foods now, but he still refuses chunks of chicken and chunks of green beans. Oh well, baby steps. I am just so glad he won't eat baby food the rest of his life. As a matter of fact, I had to throw out the last couple of Stage 2's I had left cuz he refuses to eat them.

So how long do these molars take to come in fully ANYWAY? His bottom two are STILL not all the way through! Dang!

Oh! Hopefully you've seen the ONE YEAR pics I posted on Cael's 12 month Photo page! Check them out if you haven't.

Well, that's enough for now. Love to everyone!

Well, this past Tue night, Cael started taking his first real steps without holding on to something!

We were soooo excited for him, although I'm not quite emotionally ready to see him walking all over the place!!!

Here's some video of his first steps!

Some other new things he's doing: helping undress himself, pointing with one finger to things, whining to get his own way and manipulate us, getting better at eating small bits of table food (his over-sensitive gag reflex is finally leaving!) -- he's nearly off of baby food and on to the gerber graduate stuff, he's now copying noises/expressions we make pretty well, his babbling is becoming more english-sounding and he's completely off of formula and drinking cows milk. But he still prefers milk from a bottle, so I've got to figure out how to get him to drink it from a sippy cup like he does water. Any tips?

Well, Cael is officially a 1-year old!!

He had a TERRIFIC birthday party on Saturday combined with his favorite girl, Ella, who is just one day older than him.

I have thrown some of my favorite pics of Cael from the party up on his Twelve Months Photo page. Check him out eating his first ever cake! I will create a new page for the big day with ALL the pics, including the guests, as soon as I get a chance. Oh, and be sure to check out the 'First Year' photo montage I created for Cael up under the Video section of the Twelve Month page! It's amazing to look at how much he's grown in just one year of life!

Cael had is one year well visit on Monday and he has actually LOST weight since his 9 month appointment which is a bit unexpected, but he now weighs 22 lbs 12 oz and that is the 50th percentile. Everyone TOLD me he'd even out weight-wise when he started crawling and walking and they weren't kidding. His height is still remaining in scale to what he has been before, but is still shorter than the average child his age. 28.5 inches which is 20th percentile.

He's perfectly healthy and seems to be developing at all the right paces. We feel so blessed! It still may be another few months before he walks without holding on to something, but I'm in no hurry. David and I can see that he is WANTING to walk between pieces of furniture and wanting to stand up from a squatting position without holding on to anything, but he still doesn't have the balance for it yet.

Oh, and he had his FIRST HAIRCUT yesterday from Taylor! He just needed a little trim. He sat like an angel and smiled the whole time. I didn't have my camera, unfortunately.

He got so many wonderful gifts from family and friends for his birthday! We want to thank you all for your generosity! Ironically, though, so far his favorite thing has been playing with the helium mylar balloons from his party! Go figure!

We're having his 1 year photos taken this weekend at Sears, so hopefully in a couple weeks I'll have some good pics to mail to you all with your thank you cards!

And stay tuned, cuz more pics and video will be up on his 12 Month page soon!