Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Parental Dedication

On Sunday morning [September 27, 2009] Caleb was dedicated at church. Dedication is when a very young child's parents dedicate their child to God, praying his covering and guidance over their life until they one day, we pray, make their own decision to follow God according to their own faith. The church congregation prays for the child, as well as for the parents to have wisdom in raising the child according to God's word, and for our family as a whole. It was a special service because both sets of grandparents and all aunts and uncles were present.

Thank you Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Papa, Uncle Barrett, Aunt Amy, Aunt Jennifer, Aunt Jessica, & "Uncle" Matt for being a huge part of Caleb's life over the last 6 months.

After church Braden and I took everyone out to lunch at our favorite place, McCormick & Schmick's.


Proud Mom & Dad with Baby Caleb

Grandpa, Grandma, Caleb, Papa, & Nana


Caleb's Aunts & Uncles
Matt, Jennifer, Jessica, Caleb, Mom, Dad, Amy, Barrett

Caleb loves his new shoes :)

After a church, lunch, and being passed around, Caleb was tired and my little angel took a little nap.

I LOVE THIS LITTLE MAN



Fun Weekend with the Family

Like most weekends, it was a crazy weekend in the Howell household. My family came up for the weekend to see Caleb and we all hung out. We love to see everyone but hate when everyone has to go home and leave us :( We miss you Grandma, Grandpa, & Aunt Jennifer

Aunt Jennifer bought Caleb this adorable t-shirt
The other day Braden went to get Caleb out of bed and he had rolled to the head of his crib and had his arm hanging out. This just shows you again how big he is getting.
Caleb allergies have been bothering him so we put a little pillow under the covers to help elevate his head while he sleeps. As you can see, he decides if he wants to sleep on the pillow or climb over it.



A few people I work with bought Caleb this cute Dallas Stars outfit. Now he can cheer on the hockey team with his Daddy.



6 Months Update

My little baby boy turned 6 months old on Sunday. I had a moment of sadness thinking about how fast he has grown up and how much I miss the teeny tiny baby stage. Caleb is getting bigger and more independent every day. I am loving his current stage but miss the little baby stage too. Caleb had his 6 month doctors appointment yesterday. Dr Abel says Caleb is looking great and growing right on schedule. Up until this point Caleb has not be a great sleeper. He is up at least once every night. We discussed this with his doctor and Dr Abel gave us some pointers on how to help Caleb sleep through the night. The hard part is that we will need to let him "cry it out" in the middle of the night. I love to run into his room and snuggle him close when he cries but Dr Abel says - no more! So, we are going to work on sleeping through the night and not rocking him back to sleep when he gets up. Pray for me that I survive :)


6 Month Stats:
17lbs 10oz
28" tall

Caleb at 6 Months:


  • Wears 6-9 month size clothes

  • Wears size 2-3 diapers

  • Has only slept through the night TWICE in 6 months

  • Still only has 2 teeth (but they are beautiful)

  • Drools all the time

  • Loves to take walks in his stroller

  • Loves to people watch when we are out and about

  • Is a little roly poly - can't crawl yet but he can roll anywhere to get what he wants

  • Loves to take baths and play with his rubber ducky

  • Loves his baby food - still eating only organic fruits and vegetables. So far he likes everything except squash. But the dr says a baby has to try a food 20 times before he decides if he likes it or not

  • Loves to give kisses (or at least open his mouth against your face)

  • Loves to stand and jump (with assistance of course)
  • Loves his Mommy, Daddy, and Lexi dog

This is one of the blankets my Great-Grandmother (Nana) made for me.

This is another blanket my Nana made for me
Cute little hiney

Diapers are courtesy of a vendor from work






Friday, September 25, 2009

Random

This morning on the way to work/school I turned around to check on Caleb and this is what I see. Caleb has figured out where I am in the car and realized he could turn his head to see me.

I see you Mommy


Braden and I have lived in our house for about 2 years now. When we bought our house we LOVED the big backyard. I could immediately envision lots of kids running around and playing on a swing set. But, I always hated this "dead" ugly tree that was right next to our deck,. I had asked Braden to cut down the tree numerous times because I hated it so much. But, Braden being the eco-friendly person he is, refused to cut down this awful tree. Well, God is on my side and the other night during the bad weather, one of the limbs broke off into our yard. Now, we have to get rid of the tree :)


Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Bath Time, Oktoberfest, & Cowboys Game

We had a very fun filled, busy weekend. Caleb is growing up so fast and changing every day. All of his changes are apparent in our daily lives. It is hard to believe my little pumpkin is almost 6 months old.

Caleb loves his bath time. He splashes and plays with his rubber ducky and chews on his toes. He doesn't mind getting his hair washed or having mommy clean behind his ears and between his toes. Recently while giving Caleb his bath, he decided he didn't like sitting up like a big boy. He wanted to rotate and sit side ways in his tub. I would sit him up straight and then he would wiggle his way back down. Soon we will need to find a new bath time option.

Caleb showing off his toes and his signature lip bite

Look at the CUTE LITTLE bottom
and his signature lip bite

All clean and getting dried off

Saturday night Braden, Caleb, and I met up with some friends at Addison Oktoberfest. We walked around and had a great time. I am not a big beer drinker so Braden drank enough beer for us all. Caleb loved being outside and watching all the people.





Last - But Not Least - Sunday, Braden got to go to the Inaugural Dallas Cowboys game in the new stadium. He was QUITE impressed with the size of the stadium up close and took a few amazing pictures to commemorate his first game in Cowboys Stadium.






The HD Video Screen



The view from his seat


Former President, George Bush, and Laura Bush called the coin toss

I am sad to say the Cowboys lost their first home opener game.
Better luck next time
GO COWBOYS GO!!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Too Cute For Words

It was a rainy weekend in Dallas. Despite the bad weather, we had a great weekend with my parents.
Caleb got to stay home from school on Friday and spend the day with his Grandma & Grandpa. My parents came up to my work for lunch and brought Caleb to visit. All my co-workers got to see Caleb again. He has changed so much since I took him up to visit while I was out on maternity leave. Friday night we all went to try the "Best Burger In Dallas" at Twisted Root Burgers. The burgers were delicious (I would definitely recommend).
Saturday I had to attend a Junior League function until 2pm so Caleb got to spend more time with his Grandma & Grandpa. When I got home my mom and I went out to do some baby shopping. We went to Babies-R-Us (which seems like my home away from home). Then we went to a specialty boutique and bought Caleb an outfit to wear for his church dedication (check back after Sept 27 for photos).
Sunday we had Jessica and Matt over to eat brunch and watch the 1st Cowboys game with my parents. Once my parents left to go home and Jessica left to go to work, Braden, Caleb, and I just relaxed for the rest of the day.
It was a really good weekend - despite the rain and bad weather.


My Handsome Little Man
I just love his little guy :)
I am very happy that Lexi, our dog, is good with Caleb. She lets him pull and poke and pet her all the time. She is super sweet and we are blessed to have her as part of the family.


Lexi is saying "Mom, please help me"




Caleb: "Hey Lexi, want to play with my toy"
Lexi: "I don't know, let me sniff it"


Such a big (drooling) boy


Ha Ha - Daddy is SO funny


Look at my Dallas Cowboys outfit




Caleb & Uncle Matt (Jes's boyfriend)


The little Bud Light's were a gift from our friend Rich.
Braden couldn't resist pulling them out for the game.
[don't worry - they aren't open]


My Good Looking Men
in their Cowboys gear


Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Caleb Pictures

Caleb recently ate carrots for the first time
Yum Yum
Cute but messy.... Just like Daddy


Caleb loves to swing in our neighbors swing


Mom, look how high I can go

Lexi wanted in on the picture
*this is the neighbors house - our house is not for sale*

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Labor Day Weekend

The Howell Trio had a very fun filled weekend.

Friday I surprised Braden with a night away at the local Westin Hotel. It was nice to be able to go to dinner (Sushi, of course) and sleep soundly through the night without having to worry about Caleb. We missed him terribly but enjoyed a little R&R away for the night. Jessica (lil sis) and her boyfriend Matt babysat Caleb and Lexi while we were away. I think they had a great time.

Matt & Caleb (such a natural)
Caleb smiling at Aunt Jessica

We got home on Saturday afternoon and spent the rest of the day as a family. We went to the opening of Babies-R-Us (which was a huge deal for me - the closest one until now was 10 miles away).
Sunday and Monday were spent running around town doing errands and working on home projects.
Caleb is cutting more teeth so he has been a little fussy and drooling up a storm. Caleb has to wear a bib all the time now just so he doesn't get his whole outfit wet from drool.

Lexi missed me so much on Friday night. So when I climbed into bed on Saturday night, she climbed in right next to me and shared my pillow.

Happy Baby jumping and playing music

Sound asleep on Nana B's shoulder


Precious Baby Boy


Caleb LOVES to eat his toes


Eating Toes
Picture #2