Let him eat cake

Half-birthdays just wouldn't be complete without half-birthday cakes, and Caleb opted for green triple-layer half cake with blue icing and sprinkles. Good choice, Spike.

At six months, our little guy is not so little anymore. He's weighing in at 20 pounds now and is outgrowing his clothes faster than I can wash them. He's fully mobile, and completely capable of maneuvering himself to reach anything on the floor that strikes his fancy. He's proficient at rolling, spinning on his belly, and scooting backward and side-to-side, and is just starting to make some forward motion that involves pushing with his knees. I'm scared to think of what this house will be like when he starts crawling, and I fear that will be sooner rather than later.

Caleb loves to be played with and thinks his sister is hysterical. The two of them giggling at each other is the best sound in the world. He's still a great sleeper -- two regular naps each day and 12.5 hours each night leaves me nothing to complain about! He still loves his oatmeal and is starting to take a liking to his green beans, although all he wants after our half-birthday party is another piece of cake.

Six months has flown by, and I can't remember life without Caleb in it. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

All dolled up

Our own very talented Nana made the kids these adorable little outfits from scratch. She picked out the fabric, stitched lace on Abby's dress, smocked each one (blue for Caleb, pink for Abby) and even embroidered a little bear on the front. A lot of work, and a lot of love went into creating these, and apparently grumbling about having to sit next to her brother for a picture is Abby's way of saying thank you.

Thanks anyway, Nana...the rest of the family of fish thinks they're adorable!

Eat your veggies

I did everything right. I bought the right green beans. I cooked them until they were perfectly tender. I pureed them (with love) into the smoothest of mush. And alas, my son still snubbed them.

It seems green beans are not his favorite food. Amazing how discerning his palate is when all he's ever eaten is oatmeal flake cereal. We'll keep trying. It's not like he's starving or anything. He's got enough fat stored in that extra chin to last him a while.

It's not polite to push

July 2009
(Abby-23 months, Caleb-6 months)

Apparently, this game never gets old.

I'm not quite sure what Abby's going to do when Caleb doesn't fit in her stroller anymore. I thought it was a pretty tight squeeze four months ago. It's definitely gotten tighter since March.

For now, I'll make the most of the opportunity to accomplish something while Caleb and Abby keep each other occupied. This activity keeps both kids pretty happy, just as long as Abby doesn't take the corners too quickly.

March 2009
(Abby-19 months, Caleb-2 months)

Every letter makes a sound

We've been holding alphabet school at our house in recent weeks. After finding a super cool alphabet fridge magnet toy at a yard sale, Abby played nonstop beside the refrigerator for days until she knew every letter and its sound. Now I get to listen to her run around the house hunting for letters and singing the "Every letter makes a sound" song when she finds one.

I felt a little guilty that her primary education was happening on the floor in the kitchen, so I organized an informal curriculum for her that includes a lot of coloring and a couple of crafts, all centered around our letter of the week.

She can correctly identify every letter of the alphabet now, tell you what sounds they make (with great gusto), and even identify a couple of words (Abby, apple, elephant, book, and hat come to mind...there are a few more that I can't remember). This book-loving mommy is pleased, and hoping to turn my daughter into a bookworm like myself at as early an age as possible.

What I didn't think about, as we've talked about and scribbled the letters of the alphabet throughout the week, is that Abby might figure out how to create one on her own. I've seen her attempt to write a few letters (and she doesn't get credit for "O"--that's too easy), but I am compelled to brag a little at her most recent success, pictured above.

"Help please," she asked me, holding out her magnet pen. So I helped her get a good proper grasp on her writing implement, then turned to leave the playroom. I peeked in when I heard her singing "H says 'ha!'" and asked if she was drawing an H. Imagine my surprise when I found her doing just that on her magnadoodle! Abby managed to write the letter "H" all by herself, then proceeded to sing "H says 'ha!'" ad nauseam until we all knew how smart she was. You better believe I praised the heck out of her for that one.

Thatta boy, Caleb

His feet stink, he burps all the time, and he sleeps in his underwear.

He'll be a man before you know it.

A late breakfast

At some point in the past few weeks, our daughter fell in love.

With pancakes.

When she wakes up, she asks for pancakes. As we're putting her to bed each night, she asks for pancakes. At random times throughout the day, she'll put in a request for pancakes. Once, I asked her what she wanted to eat as we were headed into Chick-fil-a. The correct answer would have been chicken nuggets. Abby's answer? Pancakes.

So we figured, why not oblige her newest obsession? It's making for a fun Friday night tradition, that's for sure. And I certainly appreciate one night off from preparing a gourmet meal for the family of fish. :)

Justin, our resident pancake chef, is working hard to teach Abby the fine motor skills involved in pouring, mixing, and not losing your spoon in the batter. So far, we've managed a pretty sizable mess each Friday to go along with our big stack of pancakes. But we've turned out some pretty delicious creations in the process. I'll take apple-cinnamon pancakes over vegetables any night of the week.

Two heads are better than one

Spike's new mobility is proving a little puzzling for poor Curly, who was used to being able to play contentedly by herself while her brother was stuck across the room. Nowadays, Caleb wants in on the action.

He's fairly proficient at reaching a specific destination with a series of barrel rolls, and has even, in the past day or so, begun scooting. (So far he can only scoot backward, not forward. He tends to get a little frustrated when the toys in front of him only get farther away the more he strains to get them.)

Yesterday, Abby's noise-making animal puzzle caught Caleb's attention from a few feet away, so off he rolled to go see what all the fuss was about. Abby was none too pleased that her brother seemed to have commandeered her toy, until she realized she could help him. Setting all sibling rivalries aside for a moment, my two little cuties played quite well together, Caleb flailing at puzzle pieces until he grabbed one, and Abby taking the pieces he "handed" to her and showing him where they fit. I love moments like these!

It's just water

Caleb was baptized on Sunday, and we were reminded once again of the awesome responsibility we have in raising God's covenant children. Because aside from being a little wetter than he was before he was sprinkled, Caleb's baptism changed nothing of his standing before God. It was merely an outward sign that should serve as a reminder to repent and believe later in life. He will, one day, have to understand for himself what it means to be totally sinful and in desperate need of a Savior. Our responsibility--our heavenly charge--is to pray in anticipation and faith that God will indeed change our children's hearts and bring them to a saving knowledge of Himself. Christian parenting is not for the faint of heart.We praise God that our children's futures do not depend on us.

How appropriate that our church chose to sing this hymn on Sunday...

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh! precious is the flow that makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone, Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

Naught of good that I have done, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

--Robert Lowry

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The Heidelberg Catechism offers a great Scriptural explanation of the purpose and promise of infant baptism:

How art thou admonished and assured by holy baptism, that the one sacrifice of Christ upon the cross is of real advantage to thee?

Thus: That Christ appointed this external washing with water, adding thereto this promise, that I am as certainly washed by his blood and Spirit from all the pollution of my soul, that is, form all my sins, as I am washed externally with water, by which the filthiness of the body is commonly washed away.

What is it to be washed with the blood and Spirit of Christ?

It is to receive of God the remission of sins, freely, for the sake of Christ's blood, which he shed for us by his sacrifice upon the cross; and also to be renewed by the Holy Ghost, and sanctified to be members of Christ, that so we may more and more die unto sin, and lead holy and unblamable lives.

Where has Christ promised us, that he will as certainly wash us by his blood and Spirit, as we are washed with the water of baptism?

In the institution of baptism, which is thus expressed: "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ," "he that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be damned." This promise is also repeated, where the scripture calls baptism the washing of regeneration, and the washing away of sins.

Is then the external baptism with water the washing away of sin itself?

Not at all: for the blood of Jesus Christ only, and the Holy Ghost cleanse us from all sin.

Why then doth the Holy Ghost call baptism "the washing of regeneration," and "the washing away of sins"?

God speaks thus not without great cause, to-wit, not only thereby to teach us, that as the filth of the body is purged away by water, so our sins are removed by the blood and Spirit of Jesus Christ; but especially that by this divine pledge and sign he may assure us, that we are spiritually cleansed from our sins as really, as we are externally washed with water.

Are infants also to be baptized?

Yes: for since they, as well as the adult, are included in the covenant and church of God; and since redemption from sin by the blood of Christ, and the Holy Ghost, the author of faith, is promised to them no less than to the adult; they must therefore by baptism, as a sign of the covenant, be also admitted into the christian church; and be distinguished from the children of unbelievers as was done in the old covenant or testament by circumcision, instead of which baptism is instituted in the new covenant.

Just keep swimming...

It wasn't always easy, and it was pretty cold most mornings, but with a little perseverance, Abby made it through the week and graduated from swim school on Friday, complete with a Water Tots Certificate of Completion.

She can confidently (at times a little too confidently) retrieve toys from the bottom of the kiddie pool, kick and paddle across the pool with my help, lay on her back (with adult support) crawl in the shallow end of the wave pool like a crocodile, and jump off the side into the water. (That last skill she does with a little more gusto than I would like. )

Her water proficiency did not come easily. Outdoor pool water is pretty frigid at 9 in the morning, and on windy days, our lessons consisted mostly of me holding her shivering body close as we watched the other kids splash around. Perhaps if she had more meat on her bones to keep her warm, things would have gone a little better. We may be signing up to take Water Tots II in the indoor pool.

Big wheels keep on turnin'

I may have mentioned before that Caleb finds tummy time somewhat loathsome. Well today, he did something about it.

He's been dabbling in rolling for a while now (turning over when the mood would strike him a couple times a week) but as of today I have an officially mobile baby, fully capable of rolling from front to back and back to front, over and over again until I lose him as he rolls into the next room. (There's a lot of momentum to be gained when you start shifting that much mass around.) He's able to roll in both directions, but prefers to roll 10 feet in one direction and get himself stuck on a toy or piece of furniture instead.

Tummy time is officially over. It takes him less than two seconds to roll out of the belly-on-the-ground position I've put him in and onto his back, where he proceeds to grin up and me and kick his legs wildly, delighted at his new found decision-making abilities. He was so eager to try out his new freedoms today that I finally had to strap him into his doorway jumper just to keep him in one place while I made dinner.

Somehow I thought I didn't have to worry about this until Caleb learned to crawl. I've forgotten how quickly a rolling child can travel across a house. Any tips on how to manage two children that now move in opposite directions?

Party in my crib

"Hmmm," I thought to myself, rousing my son from his lengthy nap and wondering why my daughter was still sleeping. "What would be a fun way to wake up little Abby?"

With a baby brother, of course.

And so, sneaking ever so quietly into her room, I tiptoed across the floor and gently placed Caleb next to his big sister's pillow. And then, I waited.

"Baby!" chirped Abby in her throaty I'm-just-waking-up voice. Caleb grinned and flapped his arms, and in doing so, committed the sin of accidentally touching Abby's blanket.

"No, baby! Abby's blankie!" declared Abby. And then, for good measure, just in case he was contemplating touching anything else, she added, "Abby's pillow! Abby's gee!* Abby's blankie!" To be on the safe side, she then moved all of her stuff to the other side of the crib.

Satisfied that Caleb wasn't going to try to take anything, Abby decided it might be okay to share, and proceeded to let him hold one thing at a time, beginning with her bear, and removing each gift once her brother started to chew on it.

Caleb giggled and smiled while his big sister bounced and rolled around in front of him, but the novelty of hanging out in a crib with a buddy soon wore off for both of my children, so I lifted them out and retreated to the playroom, where they could have their own space.

Perhaps recalling the fun she had at naptime, later that evening Abby threw her bear into Caleb's crib, then scaled the side and climbed in to retrieve it. Thankfully, Caleb wasn't in there at the time.

Rumor has it that Justin and his brother Matt used to make a habit of joining their little brother for playtime in his crib when they were toddlers. Looks like the future holds the same for our household. Never a dull moment with these kids...

*gee = Zee, short for Zeepy bear, her sleeping pal

A taste of the good life

I imagine that subsisting on nothing but milk for 5 months would leave you longing for more. Alas, until today, Caleb knew no different. But now he's had a taste of the good life, and there's no turning back.

Our son got his first taste of real food today, which puts him one step closer to meeting all the qualifications of being a real human being. (Communication and mobility are also on the list.) I decided to skip the rice cereal (which Abby hated) and dive right into oat flakes this time. He loved the runny oatmeal mush I prepared for him, and by the end of our little high chair session he was even opening his mouth in anticipation of the spoon. He stayed surprisingly clean (by baby standards) and ate a surprisingly large quantity of the stuff. Looks like we've got another good eater on our hands.

Stay tuned for more colorful pictures as we introduce squash, green beans, carrots and beets in the coming weeks.

Bombs bursting in air

I've been accused, on more than one occasion, of being a little over-the-top when it comes to celebrations. Birthdays, Christmas, and any holiday that involves food are big deals, and each has its own traditions that I will work hard to preserve for my family. Breakfast should come with sprinkles if it's your birthday. Christmas festivities begin the moment Thanksgiving ends. And on the Fourth of July, even my (very cranky) daughter gets to get out of bed at 9:30 to go see fireworks.

Abby was too young to appreciate the fireworks last year, but this year she just couldn't get enough of them. After being pulled from her crib just an hour and a half after we put her in it, she found a burst of energy and kept us on our toes chasing her down as she ran around in the dark waiting for the fireworks to start. By the time the explosions began, she was cheering along with everyone else, adding her own "oohs" and "ahhs" at the appropriate times.

And for as much as I thought I loved fireworks myself, this year I found my eyes looking not toward the sky, but riveted on my daughter's face as she stared in wonder at the brilliant lights exploding in front of her. The excitement in her eyes was better than any display of fireworks I've ever seen.