Good news! I have finally found both the camera and the camera cord so I can provide new pictures. In the meantime, I've discovered that we've been so busy with life in the States that the number of pictures we should have been taking (particularly considering the number of "firsts" and experiences playing with new friends and cousins that Caleb has had)! I'm a little disappointed in us so my new goal is to do better with this.

Anyhow, when my parents and brother were here a few weeks ago, we celebrated a mass birthday party for Caleb (1), Samuel (3), and Noah (5) - all cousins - at Chuck E Cheese. This was a great environment for five little boys (and the rest of us) to play lots of games and just have fun. Naturally, this was Caleb's first trip to Chuck E Cheese and he had a BLAST! (All of these pictures were from that birthday party.)
In a more current update, we have continued to be plenty busy in our new home. (No, the unpacking has not yet been completed, though we are getting closer.) This past Thursday, Caleb's cousins, Fisher and Johnathon, came over for the day. It is so fun to watch Caleb try to keep up with the older boys and I have been so impressed with how good all of the cousins are with Caleb. They are mostly gentle and helpful with him, though Fisher and Johnathon didn't seem to understand why Caleb did not say "Please" and "Thank you" for everything and I'm pretty sure they considered to be rude.

On Friday, Caleb and I went to my sister's clinic to check on his outstanding shots. After comparing England's immunisations with America's during the first year, Caleb ended up getting 5 shots on Friday and must return next month for more. Though he never cried during shots when he was younger (he hasn't had any since 4 months old), he had tears streaming down his face as he was shot repeatedly. It was so sad! I hate the fact that the parent has to be the one to hold the child down! Thankfully, TX has a system of providing free immunisations for children without health insurance, since ours won't kick in until next month. While we were there, we also discovered that Caleb continues to have ear infections. Ugh. He has now been put on soy milk until they clear up, though we suspect that they are caused by his exploding teeth (I think he may be up to 15 teeth now, with molars in 3 out of the 4 quadrants of his mouth).

On Saturday, we went to Mesquite to see our friends Micheal and Sandy and enjoy some Labor Day fireworks. These were Caleb's first fireworks and he was not very sure what he thought of them. Though he seemed to like the lights, he was NOT a fan of the explosive noise (which at times actually rumbled the house since they were being set off across the street). Still, he sat outside and watched the whole show, at times holding on tighter to me than other times, though he did completely freak out during the finale.

Tomorrow, we have a birthday "jump" party for cousins Samuel and Noah (who will then be staying with us starting on Wednesday for 5 days, so there will be plenty more stories - and new pictures - to come).

Labels: Caleb