I have more to post about this weekend, but it will have to wait. I'm posting this at 11:30 on Sunday night. I actually copied and pasted it from an e-mail that I sent to our parents and a couple of friends:
We just got home from the ER. Everything is okay, but it's been an exhausting night. This afternoon, Caleb refused to nap. He cried for over an hour and a half while I tried everything I could think of to get him to sleep. I decided he was just being a twit and let him cry. He finally fell asleep and we both took about a 30 minute nap before he woke up screaming again. I noticed that he had something on his face by his right ear, but didn't think much of it. I figured it was runoff from the crying episode. He went to the park with Rudy, played at home and ate a huge dinner! As I was getting him ready for bed at 8:00, I used a baby wipe to clean his face next to his ear. He screamed like I was killing him. I got my otoscope and looked in his ear. Ugh - it was completely full of fluid and looked worse than any other ear I've ever seen. I sat him down on the bed and he fell asleep immediately. I told Rudy I was worried about it and that I thought we might need to take him to the ER, but I didn't want to overreact. We decided it was better to be safe than sorry, so we went. After waiting for what seemed like forever, we went back into the actual ER and waited some more. Finally the doctor came by and took one look in Caleb's ears and said we need two antibiotics - one for in the ear and one to take orally. We waited some more for the actual prescriptions to be written and then dropped them off at Walgreen's on our way home. Rudy has gone to get them now. I tried to put Caleb down to sleep in his bed and he threw a holy fit, which I would normally ignore, but I just can't since I know that he doesn't feel like himself. When I'm sick, I want my Mama and I guess he does too. We're going to sleep on the guest bed tonight and hope for the best.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Splish Splash
It rained buckets this afternoon, leaving our street with puddles all over the place. Since Rudy is at band tonight, I decided to take Caleb outside to play in the driveway. He had other ideas, though. Since we live on a barely-traveled street on the back side of the neighborhood, I walked with him as he explored the wonder of puddles. He laughed hysterically every time he splashed his little Elmo shoes in the water. It was one of those moments where I realized how lucky I am to have a little boy.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
September
Life is going by so fast! It's been about 3 weeks since I posted anything and lots of things have happened. Let me see if I can remember it all...
We all survived the stomach flu. As of my last post, Mom and Mr. L. had driven up here on Saturday to get Caleb so that Rudy and I could try to nurse ourselves back to health. Caleb had a wonderful time at their house. He played outside and walked all over the place. They said he loved the ducks and the water! I got up Sunday morning and drove to Hot Springs to get the little man. I still wasn't feeling all that great and it was obvious that he wasn't either, but we made it home safe and sound Sunday evening. Rudy was still feeling awful, but we all managed to go to school on Monday as scheduled. Rudy woke up on Tuesday still feeling terrible, so he stayed home. He went to the doctor Tuesday afternoon and found out he was still running a fever, so he stayed home on Wednesday as well. It was a rough week for him. Caleb and I bounced back a little quicker. We also found out that Mom got the virus on Tuesday and was down for the count for a couple of days. It was miserable for everyone! Now we're all better and back to a somewhat normal life, but it was questionable for a while!
We were glad to be feeling better for the weekend. We left for Sherwood right after school on Friday and got to Memmie and Poppie's house about 8:00. We had a wonderful dinner (of course) and then played with Caleb for a while to try to get him ready to go to bed. I put him down to bed at about 9:00 and he cried so hard that I was afraid he was going to be sick! I got him out of bed and he played and played and hammed it up for Memmie and Poppie until 10:30. Rudy was exhausted from a week of being sick and then driving 3 hours to get there. He went to bed early and I ended up sleeping in Caleb's room with him just to try to get him to go to sleep. It was a long night for me!
We got up Saturday morning for the weekly "big breakfast" at the Hatches. It was wonderful as always! Caleb loved Memmie's homemade biscuits. I've never seen him eat so much at one meal! He ate biscuits, eggs and even a piece of bacon. I loved watching Caleb warm up to Memmie and Poppie and realize that they love him just like we do. The child is certainly loved by a lot of people. There is no doubt about that!
Saturday afternoon was Maddox's 1st birthday party. Becca and Jimmy decided to have 2 parties for him since they don't know many people where they live. The first party was in Little Rock and they invited all of their Arkansas family. They had a great turn-out and we had a fun afternoon. There are lots of pictures on Shutterfly .
We spent Saturday night playing marbles with Memmie and Poppie and listening to the heartbreaking Arkansas/Alabama game. Memmie and Poppie don't have cable, so we didn't get to watch the game. We listened very intently and tried to contain our emotions as we came from behind and then lost.
On Sunday, we went to church with Memmie and Poppie, then out to lunch at Red Lobster. Caleb showed out for the whole restaurant when we got ready to leave. Rudy was carrying him out and he was yelling, "bye-bye" to everyone. At least he wasn't crying!
We drove home on Sunday after taking some pictures of Caleb and his great-grandparents. Caleb and I slept all the way home and Rudy got us here safe and sound.
On Monday, Caleb started his new school: Pine Crest Private School. We really like it there and he seems to be adjusting well. It was a hard decision for us to move him, but it came down to 2 factors: money and location. We liked Building Bridges and the people there, but Pine Crest is much closer to our house and it's $500 less expensive for the year. That's really big, considering we still own a home in St. Louis that doesn't look like it's going to sell anytime soon. We also had been having some problems with a child in Caleb's class biting him. He had been bitten 3 times in a week and that's just not acceptable. I know that children that age bite and there's not much you can do about it, but 3 times in a week is a little excessive.
The rest of the week was pretty normal. We did our usual family routine. On Friday, I got a call after lunch from Rudy, saying that Pine Crest had called and said Caleb had thrown up twice and we needed to come get him. I immediately thought the worst: stomach flu again! Fortunately, I don't think that's the case. I truly believe it's all related to teething. Caleb's molars are trying to come through and he's having a hard time. He has had diarrhea really bad all weekend - just like when his first teeth came through almost a year ago. I went to pick him up and he was sleeping so hard on his little mat on the floor. It was an odd sight for me to see, but I felt good because I knew that he felt safe there. We came home and he played just like nothing was wrong with him at all. He hasn't thrown up again, but has had some pretty gross diapers.
Mom came in on Friday afternoon. She stayed with us all weekend and loved every second of being with Caleb. Yesterday morning, while Rudy and I were getting ready for the ballgame, she took Caleb to Old Navy and Belk and then went to the mall to look for some Crocs for him. She wanted to get him some so bad, but couldn't find his size. Instead, she bought him a bunch of PJ's. She also wanted to get him a rocking chair, so Rudy and I stopped and bought him one at Cracker Barrel on our way to the game. It's red and says Razorbacks on the top. Too cute!
Rudy and I went to Fayetteville yesterday at about 10:30! The game didn't start until 5:00, so we had lots of time to visit friends and walk around. We started out meeting up with one of Rudy's college roommates - Bryan Wilhelm. We hadn't seen him in a long time and it was great to catch up. His wife and 2 daughters were there too and it was so nice to see them all! After that, we went to Bud Walton Arena to look in the Razorback shop. It just so happened that the basketball team was practicing, so we got a sneak peek at the team. After that, we walked over to the indoor practice field to see if the band was practicing. We visited with some friends there and then went to the Alumni house. We left the alumni house just before pre-game. We got to the stadium and got an invitation to sit with one of Rudy's co-workers in their box. That was so nice! We spent the whole game in the luxury box and never broke a sweat! :) The game was horrible! We couldn't believe we lost to Kentucky. We were so mad that we didn't even go out afterward. We came straight home.
Mom left this morning after we got up. We're having a lazy day at home now. Jan came up this afternoon to play with Caleb. We're having dinner with the Voises and Doug this evening and then the week starts again tomorrow morning. Rudy's playing golf with Doug tomorrow afternoon. So, it's another week at the Villines house! We're hoping for a healthy, uneventful week!
We all survived the stomach flu. As of my last post, Mom and Mr. L. had driven up here on Saturday to get Caleb so that Rudy and I could try to nurse ourselves back to health. Caleb had a wonderful time at their house. He played outside and walked all over the place. They said he loved the ducks and the water! I got up Sunday morning and drove to Hot Springs to get the little man. I still wasn't feeling all that great and it was obvious that he wasn't either, but we made it home safe and sound Sunday evening. Rudy was still feeling awful, but we all managed to go to school on Monday as scheduled. Rudy woke up on Tuesday still feeling terrible, so he stayed home. He went to the doctor Tuesday afternoon and found out he was still running a fever, so he stayed home on Wednesday as well. It was a rough week for him. Caleb and I bounced back a little quicker. We also found out that Mom got the virus on Tuesday and was down for the count for a couple of days. It was miserable for everyone! Now we're all better and back to a somewhat normal life, but it was questionable for a while!
We were glad to be feeling better for the weekend. We left for Sherwood right after school on Friday and got to Memmie and Poppie's house about 8:00. We had a wonderful dinner (of course) and then played with Caleb for a while to try to get him ready to go to bed. I put him down to bed at about 9:00 and he cried so hard that I was afraid he was going to be sick! I got him out of bed and he played and played and hammed it up for Memmie and Poppie until 10:30. Rudy was exhausted from a week of being sick and then driving 3 hours to get there. He went to bed early and I ended up sleeping in Caleb's room with him just to try to get him to go to sleep. It was a long night for me!
We got up Saturday morning for the weekly "big breakfast" at the Hatches. It was wonderful as always! Caleb loved Memmie's homemade biscuits. I've never seen him eat so much at one meal! He ate biscuits, eggs and even a piece of bacon. I loved watching Caleb warm up to Memmie and Poppie and realize that they love him just like we do. The child is certainly loved by a lot of people. There is no doubt about that!
Saturday afternoon was Maddox's 1st birthday party. Becca and Jimmy decided to have 2 parties for him since they don't know many people where they live. The first party was in Little Rock and they invited all of their Arkansas family. They had a great turn-out and we had a fun afternoon. There are lots of pictures on Shutterfly .
We spent Saturday night playing marbles with Memmie and Poppie and listening to the heartbreaking Arkansas/Alabama game. Memmie and Poppie don't have cable, so we didn't get to watch the game. We listened very intently and tried to contain our emotions as we came from behind and then lost.
On Sunday, we went to church with Memmie and Poppie, then out to lunch at Red Lobster. Caleb showed out for the whole restaurant when we got ready to leave. Rudy was carrying him out and he was yelling, "bye-bye" to everyone. At least he wasn't crying!
We drove home on Sunday after taking some pictures of Caleb and his great-grandparents. Caleb and I slept all the way home and Rudy got us here safe and sound.
On Monday, Caleb started his new school: Pine Crest Private School. We really like it there and he seems to be adjusting well. It was a hard decision for us to move him, but it came down to 2 factors: money and location. We liked Building Bridges and the people there, but Pine Crest is much closer to our house and it's $500 less expensive for the year. That's really big, considering we still own a home in St. Louis that doesn't look like it's going to sell anytime soon. We also had been having some problems with a child in Caleb's class biting him. He had been bitten 3 times in a week and that's just not acceptable. I know that children that age bite and there's not much you can do about it, but 3 times in a week is a little excessive.
The rest of the week was pretty normal. We did our usual family routine. On Friday, I got a call after lunch from Rudy, saying that Pine Crest had called and said Caleb had thrown up twice and we needed to come get him. I immediately thought the worst: stomach flu again! Fortunately, I don't think that's the case. I truly believe it's all related to teething. Caleb's molars are trying to come through and he's having a hard time. He has had diarrhea really bad all weekend - just like when his first teeth came through almost a year ago. I went to pick him up and he was sleeping so hard on his little mat on the floor. It was an odd sight for me to see, but I felt good because I knew that he felt safe there. We came home and he played just like nothing was wrong with him at all. He hasn't thrown up again, but has had some pretty gross diapers.
Mom came in on Friday afternoon. She stayed with us all weekend and loved every second of being with Caleb. Yesterday morning, while Rudy and I were getting ready for the ballgame, she took Caleb to Old Navy and Belk and then went to the mall to look for some Crocs for him. She wanted to get him some so bad, but couldn't find his size. Instead, she bought him a bunch of PJ's. She also wanted to get him a rocking chair, so Rudy and I stopped and bought him one at Cracker Barrel on our way to the game. It's red and says Razorbacks on the top. Too cute!
Rudy and I went to Fayetteville yesterday at about 10:30! The game didn't start until 5:00, so we had lots of time to visit friends and walk around. We started out meeting up with one of Rudy's college roommates - Bryan Wilhelm. We hadn't seen him in a long time and it was great to catch up. His wife and 2 daughters were there too and it was so nice to see them all! After that, we went to Bud Walton Arena to look in the Razorback shop. It just so happened that the basketball team was practicing, so we got a sneak peek at the team. After that, we walked over to the indoor practice field to see if the band was practicing. We visited with some friends there and then went to the Alumni house. We left the alumni house just before pre-game. We got to the stadium and got an invitation to sit with one of Rudy's co-workers in their box. That was so nice! We spent the whole game in the luxury box and never broke a sweat! :) The game was horrible! We couldn't believe we lost to Kentucky. We were so mad that we didn't even go out afterward. We came straight home.
Mom left this morning after we got up. We're having a lazy day at home now. Jan came up this afternoon to play with Caleb. We're having dinner with the Voises and Doug this evening and then the week starts again tomorrow morning. Rudy's playing golf with Doug tomorrow afternoon. So, it's another week at the Villines house! We're hoping for a healthy, uneventful week!
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Eeeew ~ Stomach Flu
Our house has been attacked by the stomach flu! It started Thursday morning. Caleb was still asleep when Rudy left for work, which is strange, but we just wrote it off because of the bronchitis he's been fighting. I got ready to go and then got him up and ready. I put him in the car with his morning cup of milk and off we went. I got to the end of the driveway and heard a sound I'd never heard before. I can't explain it...nor do I want to. Suffice it to say that I thought maybe I hadn't put the lid on his cup well and he had spilled his milk. I turned back to look and he was covered with milk, then threw up again. I calmly put the car in drive, pressed the garage door button and pulled back in. I ran in and pulled off my work clothes, pulled on a t-shirt and grabbed a towel. I got Caleb out of the car, wrapped in the towel and took him in the bathroom to get him cleaned up. I was so proud of myself for not gagging! I put some clean PJ's on him, then called the school absence number. I put Caleb in the high chair with a cup of water and made some phone calls to the preschools I was supposed to go to on Wednesday and then called Rudy to warn him that he might have to take off on Friday since we try to split our sick days for Caleb. Caleb and I spent the day snuggling and sleeping. This was the first time he's ever laid his head down in my lap to rest and it was so sweet. He felt so bad. He just wanted to be held and comforted. He didn't throw up again that morning, but had some pretty nasty diapers. I put him down to nap from 10:30 - 1:00 and from 2:30-5:00. He was exhausted. While he slept, I cleaned up the car seat, which was gross, but I still didn't gag! At dinner, Caleb seemed to be feeling better, so we tried to give him something to eat. He took a couple of bites and threw up in his plate. I felt so bad for him. He had no idea what was going on and he was miserable. That was the end of it for Caleb, though. He hasn't been sick since. He doesn't have much appetite yet, but he seems to feel okay.
I went to bed Wednesday night with a headache, but planned to go to work on Friday. woke up at 3:00 on Thursday morning with that nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right. Rudy was sleeping on the couch, so I had the whole bed to myself. I laid there until 3:30, when it finally hit. I was sick all morning! By noon, I had absolutely no energy left and couldn't even get out of bed. I was running fever and using my cell phone to call Rudy to ask for Gatorade and popsicles. It was completely pitiful. Rudy was great to take care of me and entertain Caleb all day.
Rudy came into the bedroom at 5:45 this morning and said that we needed to call someone to come get Caleb, because it had hit him. I called my parents and they drove from Hot Springs to get Caleb. They left their house at 6:00, got here at 9:00 and left here at 9:15. I was feeling okay, but still not good. I probably could've managed Caleb today, but I wasn't so sure. I was running a low-grade fever and didn't want to chance re-infecting him. Rudy has been in the bed all day today (against his wishes) and is feeling pretty crummy this afternoon. I took a long nap this afternoon, caught up on Days of Our Lives and I'm doing some laundry. I'm going to drive down in the morning to get Caleb, spend a couple of hours in HS and then come back.
On a happier note - Caleb's bronchitis seems to be gone!
I went to bed Wednesday night with a headache, but planned to go to work on Friday. woke up at 3:00 on Thursday morning with that nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right. Rudy was sleeping on the couch, so I had the whole bed to myself. I laid there until 3:30, when it finally hit. I was sick all morning! By noon, I had absolutely no energy left and couldn't even get out of bed. I was running fever and using my cell phone to call Rudy to ask for Gatorade and popsicles. It was completely pitiful. Rudy was great to take care of me and entertain Caleb all day.
Rudy came into the bedroom at 5:45 this morning and said that we needed to call someone to come get Caleb, because it had hit him. I called my parents and they drove from Hot Springs to get Caleb. They left their house at 6:00, got here at 9:00 and left here at 9:15. I was feeling okay, but still not good. I probably could've managed Caleb today, but I wasn't so sure. I was running a low-grade fever and didn't want to chance re-infecting him. Rudy has been in the bed all day today (against his wishes) and is feeling pretty crummy this afternoon. I took a long nap this afternoon, caught up on Days of Our Lives and I'm doing some laundry. I'm going to drive down in the morning to get Caleb, spend a couple of hours in HS and then come back.
On a happier note - Caleb's bronchitis seems to be gone!
Monday, September 3, 2007
Doctor visit
When Caleb got up from his nap this afternoon, I took him to the convenient care clinic. The doctor said that he "just" has bronchitis, but since he's had it for over a week, it's probably bacterial, not viral. She wrote him a prescription for an antibiotic. He is obviously feeling pretty miserable and is worn out from trying so hard to breathe. It's 7:35 right now and he's already asleep. We're saying prayers that he gets better very soon - for his sake and ours.
Vocabulary
Humor me. I'm a speech path. :)
At 16 months (as of yesterday), Caleb can say the following words:
Mama!
Dada!
Dudu (Dewey)
dog "dah" (sometimes he just barks instead)
bird "buh" (points at the window where there used to be baby birds in a nest)
LaLa "wawa"
cracker "kah-kah"
night-night "nah-nah"
ball "bah"
nose "nuh" (points to his and ours)
go
bye bye
duck "duh" (quack-quack)
banana "nana"
hi
tree "tee"
Woo Pig "ooo dah" (with hand motions)
We swear he's also saying, "what's that?" He says it all the time with perfect question inflection: "uh dah?"
He also signs "more" - but that's just his sign that he wants something to eat or drink. He doesn't really understand that it means "more."
He shakes his head for "no" and nods his head for "yes". The nodding is hilarious, because he always raises his eyebrows and makes a funny face when he does it.
His receptive language is also getting really strong. He understands when we ask him to get things, come here, let's go, etc.
Other than the fact that he claps for us after we sing to him and that he tries to sing along sometimes, you'll have to ask Rudy about Caleb's musical skills. I can only tell you about his speech and language. Ha!
At 16 months (as of yesterday), Caleb can say the following words:
Mama!
Dada!
Dudu (Dewey)
dog "dah" (sometimes he just barks instead)
bird "buh" (points at the window where there used to be baby birds in a nest)
LaLa "wawa"
cracker "kah-kah"
night-night "nah-nah"
ball "bah"
nose "nuh" (points to his and ours)
go
bye bye
duck "duh" (quack-quack)
banana "nana"
hi
tree "tee"
Woo Pig "ooo dah" (with hand motions)
We swear he's also saying, "what's that?" He says it all the time with perfect question inflection: "uh dah?"
He also signs "more" - but that's just his sign that he wants something to eat or drink. He doesn't really understand that it means "more."
He shakes his head for "no" and nods his head for "yes". The nodding is hilarious, because he always raises his eyebrows and makes a funny face when he does it.
His receptive language is also getting really strong. He understands when we ask him to get things, come here, let's go, etc.
Other than the fact that he claps for us after we sing to him and that he tries to sing along sometimes, you'll have to ask Rudy about Caleb's musical skills. I can only tell you about his speech and language. Ha!
August...to the best of my memory
The last post I have saved from the old blog (boooo!) is from July 20th. So, for the sake of posterity, I'm going to try to remember what's happened since then and post it here. Here we go...
July 25th ~ Mom and Mr. L. came to St. Louis. With the help of about 8 of Rudy's former students, we loaded 2 of the biggest U-Hauls we could get. Jenny came over to keep an eye on Caleb. She ended up taking him to her house, just to get him out of the melee of moving. Michael came over after work and was a big help! Jerry and Sherry came by to say "bye" and to play with Caleb for a little while. Fortunately, Jenny had brought him back by that point. While they were at the house, Sherry was holding Caleb's hand while he walked around and I walked in the room. Caleb let go of her hand and took about 3 steps to get to me! It was his first time to ever walk by himself. We were all so excited about that big advancement. After we got the trucks loaded, my parents, Rudy, Jenny, Caleb and I went to TJ Wings for some dinner. We were all completely exhausted! When we got back to the house, Jenny and I said a tearful "see you later" and I went back to getting things ready for the big drive the next day. Caleb slept in his pack & play, Mom and Mr. L. slept on a mattress on the floor in the guest room and Rudy and I slept on our mattress on the floor in our room.
July 26th ~ We were up bright and early to leave St. Louis. Mr. L. and Rudy drove the big trucks, Mom drove Mr. L.'s truck and Caleb and I were in my car. We were quite the gypsy caravan! We made it here by 2:00 and started unloading right away. We had lots of help: Chris (Rudy's brother), Nick and Jan showed up to help. Once things settled down a little, Leslie brought Jackson and Grace over and the Schmidts came over too. Stacy had been kind enough to keep Caleb during the day so that we could unload the truck without his "help." We ordered a few pizzas and started unpacking.
July 27th ~ I had to meet with the HR director at Bentonville in the morning, so I left the crew here and went to do that. It was a challenge getting really dressed when most of my stuff was still in boxes, but I managed. Mom and Jan were very kind to take care of Caleb, start unpacking household necessities and make the first Wal-Mart run while I was gone. Mr. L. and Rudy spent the day taking the U-Hauls back and doing "man stuff." Mr. L. grilled for us that night and it was a great first dinner in our temporary home.
July 28th ~ Mom and Mr. L. left for Hot Springs pretty early Saturday morning. Rudy, Caleb and I spent the day unpacking some boxes and just spending time together after the whirlwind of activity that comes with moving.
August 1st ~ Rudy started back to work. His main job is with the middle school bands, but part of his responsibility is that he has to help out with summer band camp and Tuesday night rehearsals at the high school. That's not so bad, considering how much he was gone the past few years.
August 3rd ~ We all went to the band party at a park in Springdale. The staff, kids and band parents made us feel very welcome. Caleb loved going over to the pond and feeding bread to the ducks and geese. They came right up to him and he, of course, laughed and said "quack!"
August 6th ~ I started my new job in Bentonville. We had a week of new teacher orientation and a week of staff in-service before the kids ever darkened the doors of the schools. It was a long two weeks!
Since I started back to work, Caleb started his new daycare. He really seems to like it there and has adjusted well. The staff likes him and they always tell me how sweet he is for them. I had a hard time with the idea of Caleb going to a daycare facility. Ms. Carrie was so completely wonderful last year. When we had him there, I felt like he was with a family member. Now, he goes to daycare in a room with about 10 other kids. He sits in a little chair at a little table for lunch and he plays on a playground for recess. The hardest part for me, though, was the idea of him taking his nap on a cot. Until he started daycare, he had never slept anywhere other than his crib, his pack & play, the carseat or someone's arms. Now, he's sleeping on a cot. The visual image of that was what made me cry the night before Caleb started daycare. I'm okay with it now. He's been there almost a month and he lights up in the mornings when I tell him it's time to go to school. That makes me happy.
August 10th ~ Mom and Mr. L. came up for the weekend of August 10th. Mr. L. and Rudy were beside themselves with excitement about going to the PGA Championship in Tulsa. They went over there on Saturday and Sunday and loved every single minute of it! While they were gone, Mom, Caleb and I spent Saturday goofing around here and taking a tour of the area. We had a good time, even though Caleb wasn't quite feeling 100%. He was pretty cranky. We even got up and left PF Chang's before we could order our food because he was so out of sorts. It's too stressful for me and everyone around me when he's like that in a restaurant. I think it's just best to get up and leave.
August 12th ~ The morning of August 12th was huge at our house! Caleb decided he'd just take off walking all by himself. He had been taking a step or two here and there, but that morning, he walked for real! We had just finished breakfast and he was getting fussy, so Rudy got him out of the highchair and took him in the living room to play. All of a sudden, Rudy started yelling at us to come look, because Caleb was walking. Mom, Mr. L. and I went into the living room and Caleb walked from Rudy to Mom, then from Mom to Mr. L. I grabbed the camera and took a couple of pictures and a little bit of wobbly video. I was so glad that Mom and Mr. L. were here to share that fun with us!
August 16th ~ Caleb's daycare called and said he was covered in a rash! I went to get him and took him to the pediatric clinic. The doctor looked him over and said that it was a post-viral rash and that he could go back to daycare. It wasn't roseola this time, but something similar. I guess that explains why he was so grumpy the previous weekend!
August 17th ~ We had dinner and visited with the Voises at their house. Jan and Chris were in town, so it was good to have everyone together.
August 18th ~ Jan took care of Caleb while Rudy, Chris and I rearranged our garage. When we moved in, we just stacked the boxes and extra furniture in the garage however we could. We really wanted to park at least one of our vehicles (preferably mine) in the garage, so we spent the day of the 18th taking everything out of the garage and putting it all back in! Now, half of the garage is storage and the other half is perfect for my car!
August 20th ~ School started for Rudy and me. Actually...school started for Rudy, since I don't start seeing kids until tomorrow. :)
August 22nd ~ Rudy and I visited a different daycare center that we are going to move Caleb to. Leslie & Nick take Jackson there and they love it. We are perfectly content with where he is now, but we REALLY like new place. Plus...it's cheaper, newer and closer to our house. We're actually going to save $500 a year by moving him. I don't think there's much debate there!
August 23rd ~ Mr. L. has started a new job and needed a laptop. Rudy's new job supplied him with one, so we loaned Mr. L. Rudy's old one. So...we met them in Ft. Smith for dinner and to give him the computer. Caleb was funny when he turned the corner in the restaurant and saw them sitting there, waving at him. His eyes got huge and he grinned from ear to ear! It was so funny! During our meal, Mr. L. and Caleb fed each other french fries until I thought Caleb was going to turn into a big french fry. Those two are just enamored with each other! Isn't that why we moved home in the first place???
August 30th ~ For the whole last week of August, Caleb had a terrible cough that just kept getting worse and worse! Finally, I called the doctor's office to make an appointment. I took him in on the 30th. We saw Dr. Byrum and he said that Caleb has bronchitis. He prescribed Albuterol and wished us luck. I went to get the prescription at Walgreen's and it was $75! I about had a heart attack! Come to find out, the actual medicine was only $10, but the plastic mask that we have to use to give it to him was $65! So, we've been giving him this medicine all weekend and he's not doing any better. We've had a couple of rough nights of him coughing and crying for over an hour in the middle of the night. I'm taking him back to the doctor this afternoon (9/3/07). Hopefully, they will be able to give us something better.
August 31st ~ We went out to dinner at Fish City Grill at the Promenade. It was wonderful!!!! It was a beautiful, cool evening, so after dinner, we walked over to the fountain to let Caleb play. He loves to look at the fountain. He walked around and around it for quite a while, then he took off walking to see some flowers in a big terracotta planter. He tripped somewhere along the way and hit his chin on the planter. He has a scrape on his chin that looks pretty yucky. It doesn't seen to bother him, though. I guess it's one of the first of many of those! Since he's been walking, he seems to have lots of mysterious boo-boos. Last week he had a bruise on his right cheek that I couldn't explain and he's had some red marks on his forehead that I could only assume came from a topple at daycare.
September 1st ~ WOOOO PIG SOOIE! Finally - football season has arrived. Jan came up to keep Caleb for the first Razorback game of the season. Rudy and I had lunch with the Fellers at Jose's. After that, we went to the Alumni house to meet up with the Lyons crew. The Hogs won the game against Troy (46-26). At halftime, we were invited up to a luxury box by Rudy's work partner and that was quite a treat! After the game, we met Cindy and Kendra at Willy D's (piano bar) for about an hour or so and then came on home. It was a great day that we've been waiting for for a long time!
September 2nd ~ We met the Lyons family at Monte Ne Inn for dinner last night. It was fabulous as always, but Caleb was quite a handful! He kept wanting to get out of his highchair and walk around. Rudy and I worked our rear ends off trying to keep him occupied!
September 3rd ~ Finally - I'm caught up to today! All that, and there's not much to report for today. After having a rough night with Caleb last night, I slept in and Rudy played with Caleb this morning. They even went to the park for a while. Now, Caleb is taking his nap and I'm about to get a shower so that I can take him to the doctor this afternoon. Rudy is playing golf with some band directors. I start seeing kids for therapy tomorrow morning! Yikes - I never thought I'd be doing therapy again. I have kids back-to-back from 8:00-3:30 tomorrow. I will be completely exhausted tomorrow night!
July 25th ~ Mom and Mr. L. came to St. Louis. With the help of about 8 of Rudy's former students, we loaded 2 of the biggest U-Hauls we could get. Jenny came over to keep an eye on Caleb. She ended up taking him to her house, just to get him out of the melee of moving. Michael came over after work and was a big help! Jerry and Sherry came by to say "bye" and to play with Caleb for a little while. Fortunately, Jenny had brought him back by that point. While they were at the house, Sherry was holding Caleb's hand while he walked around and I walked in the room. Caleb let go of her hand and took about 3 steps to get to me! It was his first time to ever walk by himself. We were all so excited about that big advancement. After we got the trucks loaded, my parents, Rudy, Jenny, Caleb and I went to TJ Wings for some dinner. We were all completely exhausted! When we got back to the house, Jenny and I said a tearful "see you later" and I went back to getting things ready for the big drive the next day. Caleb slept in his pack & play, Mom and Mr. L. slept on a mattress on the floor in the guest room and Rudy and I slept on our mattress on the floor in our room.July 26th ~ We were up bright and early to leave St. Louis. Mr. L. and Rudy drove the big trucks, Mom drove Mr. L.'s truck and Caleb and I were in my car. We were quite the gypsy caravan! We made it here by 2:00 and started unloading right away. We had lots of help: Chris (Rudy's brother), Nick and Jan showed up to help. Once things settled down a little, Leslie brought Jackson and Grace over and the Schmidts came over too. Stacy had been kind enough to keep Caleb during the day so that we could unload the truck without his "help." We ordered a few pizzas and started unpacking.
July 27th ~ I had to meet with the HR director at Bentonville in the morning, so I left the crew here and went to do that. It was a challenge getting really dressed when most of my stuff was still in boxes, but I managed. Mom and Jan were very kind to take care of Caleb, start unpacking household necessities and make the first Wal-Mart run while I was gone. Mr. L. and Rudy spent the day taking the U-Hauls back and doing "man stuff." Mr. L. grilled for us that night and it was a great first dinner in our temporary home.
July 28th ~ Mom and Mr. L. left for Hot Springs pretty early Saturday morning. Rudy, Caleb and I spent the day unpacking some boxes and just spending time together after the whirlwind of activity that comes with moving.
August 1st ~ Rudy started back to work. His main job is with the middle school bands, but part of his responsibility is that he has to help out with summer band camp and Tuesday night rehearsals at the high school. That's not so bad, considering how much he was gone the past few years.
August 3rd ~ We all went to the band party at a park in Springdale. The staff, kids and band parents made us feel very welcome. Caleb loved going over to the pond and feeding bread to the ducks and geese. They came right up to him and he, of course, laughed and said "quack!"
August 6th ~ I started my new job in Bentonville. We had a week of new teacher orientation and a week of staff in-service before the kids ever darkened the doors of the schools. It was a long two weeks!
Since I started back to work, Caleb started his new daycare. He really seems to like it there and has adjusted well. The staff likes him and they always tell me how sweet he is for them. I had a hard time with the idea of Caleb going to a daycare facility. Ms. Carrie was so completely wonderful last year. When we had him there, I felt like he was with a family member. Now, he goes to daycare in a room with about 10 other kids. He sits in a little chair at a little table for lunch and he plays on a playground for recess. The hardest part for me, though, was the idea of him taking his nap on a cot. Until he started daycare, he had never slept anywhere other than his crib, his pack & play, the carseat or someone's arms. Now, he's sleeping on a cot. The visual image of that was what made me cry the night before Caleb started daycare. I'm okay with it now. He's been there almost a month and he lights up in the mornings when I tell him it's time to go to school. That makes me happy.
August 10th ~ Mom and Mr. L. came up for the weekend of August 10th. Mr. L. and Rudy were beside themselves with excitement about going to the PGA Championship in Tulsa. They went over there on Saturday and Sunday and loved every single minute of it! While they were gone, Mom, Caleb and I spent Saturday goofing around here and taking a tour of the area. We had a good time, even though Caleb wasn't quite feeling 100%. He was pretty cranky. We even got up and left PF Chang's before we could order our food because he was so out of sorts. It's too stressful for me and everyone around me when he's like that in a restaurant. I think it's just best to get up and leave.
August 12th ~ The morning of August 12th was huge at our house! Caleb decided he'd just take off walking all by himself. He had been taking a step or two here and there, but that morning, he walked for real! We had just finished breakfast and he was getting fussy, so Rudy got him out of the highchair and took him in the living room to play. All of a sudden, Rudy started yelling at us to come look, because Caleb was walking. Mom, Mr. L. and I went into the living room and Caleb walked from Rudy to Mom, then from Mom to Mr. L. I grabbed the camera and took a couple of pictures and a little bit of wobbly video. I was so glad that Mom and Mr. L. were here to share that fun with us!
August 16th ~ Caleb's daycare called and said he was covered in a rash! I went to get him and took him to the pediatric clinic. The doctor looked him over and said that it was a post-viral rash and that he could go back to daycare. It wasn't roseola this time, but something similar. I guess that explains why he was so grumpy the previous weekend!
August 17th ~ We had dinner and visited with the Voises at their house. Jan and Chris were in town, so it was good to have everyone together.
August 18th ~ Jan took care of Caleb while Rudy, Chris and I rearranged our garage. When we moved in, we just stacked the boxes and extra furniture in the garage however we could. We really wanted to park at least one of our vehicles (preferably mine) in the garage, so we spent the day of the 18th taking everything out of the garage and putting it all back in! Now, half of the garage is storage and the other half is perfect for my car!
August 20th ~ School started for Rudy and me. Actually...school started for Rudy, since I don't start seeing kids until tomorrow. :)
August 22nd ~ Rudy and I visited a different daycare center that we are going to move Caleb to. Leslie & Nick take Jackson there and they love it. We are perfectly content with where he is now, but we REALLY like new place. Plus...it's cheaper, newer and closer to our house. We're actually going to save $500 a year by moving him. I don't think there's much debate there!
August 23rd ~ Mr. L. has started a new job and needed a laptop. Rudy's new job supplied him with one, so we loaned Mr. L. Rudy's old one. So...we met them in Ft. Smith for dinner and to give him the computer. Caleb was funny when he turned the corner in the restaurant and saw them sitting there, waving at him. His eyes got huge and he grinned from ear to ear! It was so funny! During our meal, Mr. L. and Caleb fed each other french fries until I thought Caleb was going to turn into a big french fry. Those two are just enamored with each other! Isn't that why we moved home in the first place???
August 30th ~ For the whole last week of August, Caleb had a terrible cough that just kept getting worse and worse! Finally, I called the doctor's office to make an appointment. I took him in on the 30th. We saw Dr. Byrum and he said that Caleb has bronchitis. He prescribed Albuterol and wished us luck. I went to get the prescription at Walgreen's and it was $75! I about had a heart attack! Come to find out, the actual medicine was only $10, but the plastic mask that we have to use to give it to him was $65! So, we've been giving him this medicine all weekend and he's not doing any better. We've had a couple of rough nights of him coughing and crying for over an hour in the middle of the night. I'm taking him back to the doctor this afternoon (9/3/07). Hopefully, they will be able to give us something better.
August 31st ~ We went out to dinner at Fish City Grill at the Promenade. It was wonderful!!!! It was a beautiful, cool evening, so after dinner, we walked over to the fountain to let Caleb play. He loves to look at the fountain. He walked around and around it for quite a while, then he took off walking to see some flowers in a big terracotta planter. He tripped somewhere along the way and hit his chin on the planter. He has a scrape on his chin that looks pretty yucky. It doesn't seen to bother him, though. I guess it's one of the first of many of those! Since he's been walking, he seems to have lots of mysterious boo-boos. Last week he had a bruise on his right cheek that I couldn't explain and he's had some red marks on his forehead that I could only assume came from a topple at daycare.
September 1st ~ WOOOO PIG SOOIE! Finally - football season has arrived. Jan came up to keep Caleb for the first Razorback game of the season. Rudy and I had lunch with the Fellers at Jose's. After that, we went to the Alumni house to meet up with the Lyons crew. The Hogs won the game against Troy (46-26). At halftime, we were invited up to a luxury box by Rudy's work partner and that was quite a treat! After the game, we met Cindy and Kendra at Willy D's (piano bar) for about an hour or so and then came on home. It was a great day that we've been waiting for for a long time!
September 2nd ~ We met the Lyons family at Monte Ne Inn for dinner last night. It was fabulous as always, but Caleb was quite a handful! He kept wanting to get out of his highchair and walk around. Rudy and I worked our rear ends off trying to keep him occupied!
September 3rd ~ Finally - I'm caught up to today! All that, and there's not much to report for today. After having a rough night with Caleb last night, I slept in and Rudy played with Caleb this morning. They even went to the park for a while. Now, Caleb is taking his nap and I'm about to get a shower so that I can take him to the doctor this afternoon. Rudy is playing golf with some band directors. I start seeing kids for therapy tomorrow morning! Yikes - I never thought I'd be doing therapy again. I have kids back-to-back from 8:00-3:30 tomorrow. I will be completely exhausted tomorrow night!
A New Blog
Once again, I've had to change my blog address. I was using a company called Eponym as my blog host. It was great all last year. Now, all of a sudden, my blog has disappeared! I've tried to e-mail them several times (they don't have a phone number posted!) but haven't heard anything back. Needless to say, I am pretty mad about it. I try to remember to download my blog entries about once a month so that I can print them out easily and use them for scrapbooking purposes, etc. Now - I don't have anything saved since July 20th. That wouldn't be such a big deal if August hadn't been such a big month for us: Caleb started walking, we moved, we started new jobs, etc. I'm going to do my best to remember the big stuff and post it here. That's not so bad. I'm just really upset about losing the details - that's where the good stuff is. Lesson learned.
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