One Month Down

I'M BACK ...... It has been over a month since I have had time to sit down and actually blog.



WOW - it has been a crazy month. One month ago today I became a Mother. One month down, a lifetime to go. It has been an incredible experience to say the least. Caleb has been a blessing and a joy.

It is so hard for me to express how amazing it is to be a mother. I look at Caleb daily and can hardly believe that Braden and I created something so beautiful and miraculous. Caleb is perfect in every way. He is a true gift from God. I have truly enjoyed watching him grow day to day. On top of being the strongest baby I have ever met, Caleb is now starting to smile. The hard times are all worth it when I get one of the perfect little Caleb smiles.
With the good comes the difficult. Caleb is a night owl. He loves to sleep all day and "party" all night. Since I am breast feeding, I have to get up every few hours and feed Caleb. Then I (or Braden) rock him back to sleep, just to crawl back in bed for an hours sleep just to repeat. Slowly but surely Caleb is getting better at his sleep patterns and we are getting more sleep (maybe 2 hours at a time).

I have to thank everyone who has brought us food, send us gifts, called to check on us, emailed their thoughts and prayers, visited to hold Caleb. Braden, Caleb, and I are all so fortunate to have family and friends who love us so much. For all of YOU we are forever grateful.

Last but not least we have to thank our families. Our parents and siblings have been a wonderful support system and it would have been hard to survive the last month without you. Caleb is truly blessed to be brought into such a wonderful family. We are happy to know he will grow up surrounded by so much love.

Here are a couple pictures. From less than 24 hours old to a picture taken this weekend. Enjoy!

Caleb (not even 24 hrs old)

He sleeps .... sometimes
Caleb loves Lexi (look at that smile) but Lexi is not quite sure what to think of Caleb yet

Mommy & Son

** Don't forget to check out the photo albums on the left hand side**

Photos of Caleb

Just a note about an update to our blog site. We've added a couple to the main page that will take you to different photo albums of Caleb, family and friends. The links are under the heading "view photos of Caleb here!", which located on the left side of the main page, directly under the photo of us from our wedding day. Check back regularly as we will continue to add more albums to show off our beautiful baby boy!

So That's What They Were Talking About...

Hard to believe, but today Caleb is actually one week old (or, more specifically, he will be at 9:59 tonight). We can't believe it has already been a week. We have been home with Caleb for a few days trying to get him acclimated to his new surroundings, and us acclimated to having Caleb around. It is still surreal for us to think that we have a son.

While Rebecca was pregnant with Caleb we were advised by many people who have had kids that we need to stock up on our sleep and prepare for far less sleep after he was born. Although we thought we understood what they were talking about, it took just our first night home for us to realize that, even despite the advanced warning, we had grossly underestimated how difficult sleep would be to come by.

It's not so much that we get fewer hours of sleep, we were just unprepared for the short durations in which the sleep comes. One hour here, 45 minutes there; we pretty much sleep whenever Caleb does at night. And Caleb is definitely on his own schedule as he sleeps all day and stays up crying all night, but we're all making progress.

It's safe to say that we both now understand why every parent advised us to get some sleep. But if you're going to lose sleep, I can think of no better way to do it than waking up at all hours of the night to hold our beautiful son Caleb.

Introducing Caleb Reid Howell!!

It's official, we are parents! Caleb Reid Howell was born on Friday, March 27, 2009 at 9:59 PM at Medical City Hospital in Dallas. He was 8 pounds, 20 inches long, and has huge feet and a vice'like grip! We are extremely blessed that both mom Rebecca and baby boy Caleb are healthy and doing well. It was an absolutely amazing experience, and I'm sure that in time I will be able to find the words to express exactly what it was like and how it felt, but all I can say right now is that the first time I saw Caleb with my own eyes I was in complete awe, and the first time I held him in my arms I was, and am still, speechless.

Rebecca and I are were so blessed and thrilled that a waiting room full of Caleb's relatives were on hand to greet him as he was taken to the nursery. Being able to celebrate his birth with our families - all four of our parents (Caleb's grandparents - Nana B/Grandpa Howell and Mimi D and Grandpa Morina), Rebecca's two sisters (Aunt Jennifer and Aunt Jessica - along with potential future uncle Matt), and Braden's brother and sister-in-law (Aunt Amy and Uncle Barrett), helped to make the whole event even more amazing than I had ever imagined it would be.

After a total of four nights in the hospital, we returned home Monday afternoon. Needless to say, our six-pound Chihuahua (and former only-child of the house) Lexi was overjoyed we finally came home to her, but became immediately curious with the new addition with which we came home. She's still not exactly sure what to make of Caleb, but she has been very good with him around so far. She is, however, a little jealous that Rebecca has another baby to hold so maybe that will encourage her to not be so afraid of Braden!

Also, many people have asked about Caleb's middle name, and many others had heard Rebecca and I saying his middle name would for sure be one of two family names we had narrowed it down to. I'm happy to say that we decided to throw a curve ball and went in a different direction, giving Caleb the middle name of his Godfather and Uncle, Barrett Reid Howell.

Finally (but absolutely not least), Rebecca and I want to thank everyone who kept us in their prayers, came by to visit at the hospital, sent emails and made phone calls, and just everyone who has kept us in their thoughts. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate the help and the company we have received from Caleb's grandparents and aunts and uncles and all of our friends. Although it may take us a while to respond, please know that no email, card, facebook posting, voicemail, or visit has gone unnoticed or unappreciated. We are so very blessed to have all of you in our lives, and again, words cannot express how grateful we are that you would reach out and contact us and celebrate this time with us.

So one more time please join us in welcoming the future star of the TCU Horned Frogs, Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Summer Musical Series, or anything else he wants to do....Caleb Reid Howell. Welcome home son.