Here we go....

Caelan James

September 12, 2008

(a bit of a cutie if I may say so!!)

The Big Numbers.... on September 4th, Caelan had his 2 month doctor visit...

5 shots

23 inches

10 pounds 14.5 ounces!!

AND.... being an 11 pounder, he is out of his Newborn sized clothes and into 0-3 month sizes! I kept trying to figure out why certain clothes made him uncomfortable... ummm... too SMALL! For a long time, everything was too big. He has doubled his birth weight! We are so excited- he is reeeeallly doing well. Here is a picture of where they gave his shots...

SMILING BOY..... he started doing that a couple of weeks ago too! One day I was holding a rattle someone had given him and started getting all excited when he heard it. He was turning his head toward it and following it with his eyes- it was such an awesome moment- ahhh the big little blessings!

playing with Grandpa

He still LOVES his bath! He is all excited here.. often times he will fall asleep

(Matt's) Aunt Ann and Uncle Ted came over for an afternoon

Hanging out with Daddy

The Shelves... I have always wanted Matt to build a shelf for this room whenever we had a baby. I also always wanted to hang curtains over the closet. So as we were getting things together in the nursery (us and Matt's parents) the idea grew a bit. Instead of a standard bookshelf, why not create a full built in unit from floor to ceiling and across the top? So Matt and his Dad built the shelf unit, his Mom and I did the rest.... she sewed the curtain, and we put fabric in the back of each shelf. This turned out to be much more than I ever imagined and I LOVE it!!

The Garden... Matt and his dad planted a garden this year. It is something Matt has always wanted and so they laid it all out, tilled dirt and planted seeds. Matt's dad even ran underground hoses from the house to the garden to water it on timed sprinklers. They built a beautiful picket fence around it as well to make more aesthetically pleasing from the street/ yard. It has been awesome- we have had corn, LOTS of green beans, LOTS of peas, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, carrots and watermelon. It is amazing how much better things taste when they are fresh from a garden. Everything was so good... here is a picture of a zucchini from the garden that is bigger than Caelan!

My best friend Scott and his wife Penny sent Caelan a fire fighter Curious George!!

This is one of my favorite pictures..... I love the crown of Caelan's head; that is the very first part of him I saw when he was born, that perfect little swirl of hair. I always think about that.

Hmmmm.......

Dillon checking out a dahlia from our yard

(the flowers are bigger than CJP's head)

Ries

Sock turtle from Lee

"I Love You" stamp- we got that for him when he was in NICU- stamped it on his calendar next to his incubator..

Sooo..... much love to all ya'll!!!

Pictures

A few (ok.. several) people have asked about updated pictures..... we still have a main server problem and are juggling the locations of pictures..... all I have right now are ones from the 24th of August or older. I just tried to post a couple of them as well as a few from a disk that Matt's dad gave us of Grace and Erin's 3rd birthday. For some reason, I wasn't offered a browse option on posting them.... so I don't know what is up. The computer screen is also doing some funky stuff right now so I am guessing there might be some overall issue.... heck if I know... and I often have a difficult time getting my IT guy to slow down long enough to check certain things out. I WILL make sure I get some pictures posted this weekend.... our little Caelan is getting so big! He is sooo stinkin cute! So...... sorry for the delays... I was really thinking I was going to get this caught up tonight... I am going to cut it short... the flickering monitor screen doesn't seem like a good thing.

I Listen...

Nngzzzze...psshhh. Nnngzzze...pshhhh. Nnnnzzze....pssshhh.

Click, click, click, click, click..

Lick. Lick. Lick. Lick...

Meow?

Thump.


Matt has dozed off... not quite settled yet.
Caelan rapidly sucks his pacifier in his bassinet.
Ries is grooming herself one last time.
Bruce... calling out.. wondering where everyone is.
Dillon has jumped down from somewhere he isn't supposed to be.

I listen...

Whish.... whoosh. Whhish... whhoosh. Whhhish... whhhoosh.

Click... click....... click......sigh. hhhhhh, hhhhh, hhhhh.

Prrrr.. Prrrrr...

Prrr.... Prrr.....

Jingle... Prrrr... Prrr.


Matt's breathing has found its nighttime rhythm.

Caelan stops sucking and settles to that deep slumber.

Ries has tucked in against my hips to sleep...
Dillon piles himself on my feet...
Bruce... with his belled collar.. has found all of us and joins Dillon.

All are accounted for, all are settled in for the night.
I rest.

FINALLY!!

Sweet Caelan James

Ken and Kimberli

LOVE these! (the outfit is from Ken and Kimberli actually)

Sleepy boy....
when he is out.....
He is OUT!!!

Matt and Abbi Ansorge, Kaylee and Allen
came over for dinner

Future Leelanau County Dispatcher!

Christine and Sharon

He really likes Christine!and Sharon of course...
I think he found a new snuggle-buddy!

Ok... I broke all the doctor's orders here- I took him up to dispatch- talk about a major place to pick up germs. But, I went on midnight shift when there is basically no one around except on duty dispatchers.... AND I know that Christine wipes down the entire area each day with Clorox wipes so that made it better. We had a fun visit- it was really nice to spend time with friends and get out for a few hours.... Caelan made a huge poopey diaper (three actually) and smelled up the place... then he spit up down Christine's shirt (the inside of her shirt..) He may be banned for a while.



Lots of time spent with wide open eyes...

Loves that Daddy of his!



I LOVE YOU!!!

Bruce and Dillon on the deck- snuggled up watching birds and rabbits

Next post- pictures of Pat and Lee and all the kids; also Max

I Know...

Sorry... it has been a couple of weeks. Caelan has kept me a little busy! His first week home was a bit challenging- he was waking up an hour or so after each feeding, screaming. He would just writhe in pain, he was gassy and had problems 'poopin' and was soooo upset. So I was getting NO sleep... literally. I called the pediatrician's office everyday for 5 days- I always said I was not going to be one of 'those parents' and in all fairness, I was justified in calling everyday. I KNEW that this was not ok. I also knew that this problem was a formula issue. And sure enough, after a couple of changes in formula (some decisions on my own), our son is back to being the happiest, sweetest little guy in the world. Lesson learned: trust your own instinct, no one knows your child better than you do... and you know him better than you think...

NOW... he is doing FANTASTIC!! He is changing so much and growing like a weed! Triple chins and chubby cheeks! Sometimes he changes literally overnight. It is so amazing. It's funny though- when people see him, they comment on how little he is.... well, he IS still little but he is much bigger than he was. He was born at 5 pounds 9 ounces, left the hospital at 6 pounds 11 ounces, and at his appointment Monday he was up to 8 pounds 7 ounces! He is so beautiful and so sweet. He is alert for several hours at a time and often sleeps for about 4 hours straight. And he is the BIGGEST snuggle-boy! LOVES to be held and cuddled.

He has had a few visitors- Matt's brother Pat and his family, our neighbors Ken and Kimberli, neighbor Patti, and Matt Ansorge and his family. I do have pictures- current ones of our big boy and of friends... I will post those soon.

Again, Caelan is doing reeeally well! Very healthy! He is however, still basically confined to home because he is high risk for infection (although I did break that rule and went out to run some errands Monday- made me nervous though). We do welcome visitors- as long as you have not recently been sick or recently exposed to someone who is sick..... and you must wash your hands good when you get here. BUT... like I said, we love to have people come by to see him. (and bring chocolate for Mommy)

Sorry for the long time, no post... I will do better! It will help now that his formula issues are worked out and we are sleeping now and then.... I will get pictures up tonight or tomorrow. Love to everyone!

Ours

Well.... today was Barbara's court date for termination of parental rights. Matt and I didn't have to be there but Matt went to be a support for Barbara. He just called me to let me know that Barbara sign off- Caelan is OURS!! YAY! We were confident that Barbara was still resolute in her decision but I must say it is nice 'knowing' for sure. We still have our court date and official 'stuff' in the next 4-6 months but in all practical sense, he is ours. Barbara has been amazing through this entire process- we really look forward to spending time with her over the years.

Caelan had his first doctor appointment on Monday- after he peed all over Matt and the exam table, he did really well! Everything checked out good- he is up to 7 pounds and half an ounce and has grown 1 3/4 inches. And they all loved him!

No new pictures right now- stll computer probs & haven't been downloaded to this computer yet... I am also holding the cutest little guy in the world trying to give a bottle. But I wanted to share the news with everyone!

(good to hear from you Judi!)

Hmmmm....

Hmmm... That doesn't look like a NICU bed!

Yep! CJP has come home! Karen called us Friday afternoon around 2:00 to let us know that he would be coming home on Saturday morning- he had to pass the car seat test that night which means being able to sit in the car seat for an hour without increasing his respiration rate or lowering his oxygen level. So... he passed! It was so awesome to see him the next morning with no wires attached and just being Caelan.

Here is his graduation picture

(he even got a graduation diploma!)

HOME!

I think he likes it!

Sunday, July 27

Caelan got his first bath at home on Sunday; he is in a really big bowl! He enjoys being bathed- it is very relaxing for him. He is actually asleep in this picture!

Grandma & Grandpa came to visit on Sunday as well; their first time to get to hold him.

Bright eyes!

His first 'trip' outside- we walked around the house looking at all the flowers & the garden


Daddy reading "Guess How Much I Love You"

Ooooo... I like this!

We LOOOVE you Caelan James! To the 'moon and back'!