Caleb's first family reunion

First things first-a picture of Caleb!Yep, he's as cute as ever!
(Just in case you were wondering, his shirt says "Automatic Sprinkler".)

So Caleb enjoyed his first family reunion last weekend. It was a lot of fun spending time with my mom and my brothers and sisters, although everyone was a little bummed that Amy, Matt and Zachary didn't make it. Why do plane tickets have to cost so much? Well, Amy, even though you were missed, we had a lot of fun!

Friday night we went to Brandon's, ate dinner and just hung out.
Caleb finally got to meet his cousins. Ethan was especially excited and gave him lots of "loves" throughout the weekend.
Everyone was captivated by Caleb, even little Eliza.

Then on Saturday we went to Katie and Aaron's to eat breakfast and then we all headed to the zoo. I was a little nervous about taking Caleb, but he did amazingly well. I borrowed a sling from Jamie and he slept in it for most of the day. I guess we'll have to take him back when he's older, he missed pretty much the whole thing:)

This is what I saw one time when I peeked into the sling to see how Caleb was doing.

Caleb wasn't in the sling the whole time, though. This is him and his daddy enjoying some sling "free" time. (My 2 handsome boys!)

We all thought this picture was pretty funny. This gorilla was just lying there in the shade with a burlap bag under his head that he was using for a pillow.
After the zoo we headed back to Katie and Aaron's, all of us pretty bushed from a day walking around in the sun. Although everyone was too tired to go swimming, we enjoyed celebrating 4 birthdays.
Happy Birthday Bennet (you can see the back of his head in the bottom right corner),
Chloe, Troy and Aaron!
Sunday after church we once again gathered back at Katie's, ate lunch, and took family photos.A photo of my family minus the 3 sorely missed persons already mentioned. This is our second family photo
(the first was taken right after Caleb was born in the hospital.)
Don't I have the cutest family?
It was a marvelous weekend! The only sad part was it had to end!

1 week

I have wanted to blog for a week now, ever since Caleb was born, but somehow I can never find the time.So I am practicing my multitasking skills and going to attempt to blog while feeding Caleb. We'll see how good I am at typing one handed.

This past week has been a blur of wonderful experiences that I will always treasure in my heart. The time that we had with Tanya and Caleb in the hospital was priceless. I was able to be in the delivery room when Caleb was born and Brian came in soon afterwards. It was such a special experience which continued that night when I spent the night with Tanya in her room. I was able to help take care of Caleb and I will always be grateful to Tanya for that experience. As Brian mentioned in a previous post, we are so blessed to have such a wonderful friend as Tanya.

We brought Caleb home Thursday and it has been an absolutely wonderful experience taking care of him. I LOVE BEING A MOM! Even at 2:00 am I absolutely love gazing into his precious little face. Our son sure is such a cutie!
Yesterday was his 1 week birthday. I took him to see the pediatrician and found out he now weighs 6 pounds 12 ounces (he's only 1 ounce away from his birthweight!) and is 19.5 inches long. He is a very healthy little boy. For his 1 week birthday he only woke up during the night once-happy birthday to me. (Don't worry-he made up for it last night by waking up every 2 hours to eat.)
Now what you all have been waiting for- more pictures!Caleb on his 1 week birthday.
I thought this outfit was very festive although it was quite big on him.
Such a handsome little guy!!
We took this picture today after giving him a bath (he has peed through 3 diapers today-I think it's time to invest in some different diapers) and when we took off his pee soaked outfit we found his little umbilical cord missing-yep it fell off today!

Tanya

Today we received temporary custody as well as a renewed appreciation for Tanya. She is such a wonderful person and Jenny and I admire her for her strength and kindness to us and everyone else. We know that pregnancy and adoption are very difficult experiences for anyone, but we have been amazed at Tanya's resolution in her decision. We know that it is two separate things to know what to do and to actually do it.

Our relationship with Tanya will continue through letters and pictures and Jenny and I are morning the loss of a continued relationship as it has been. I have seen Jenny light up as she talked with Tanya and as she told me about their experiences together. I'm grateful to her for letting us be so involved and I view some of what I felt during the delivery as sacred feelings and impressions. Tanya has an amazing personality that is focused on others, which is how I want to become too.

Thank you Tanya - we love you

We're home

We brought Caleb home on Thursday. Here are some pictures.

This is the outfit we brought him home in.
The first thing he did when arriving home was sleep.

His first bath

Sun tanning to help with Jaundice

Caleb's Debut!

7/16/2008 3:53 AM

6 lbs 13 oz

19 inches

So, we finally have access to the internet in our home-sorry about the delayed blogs!

So much has happened since the last blog.... BUT first of all the time is getting closer-Tanya is 36 weeks! I have been able to be present during 2 ultrasounds as well as all of her appointments. She also came over for dinner and saw the finally completed nursery (pics below). I have thoroughly enjoyed the time that I have been able to spend with Tanya and the wonderful friendship that has developed.
Kind of simple-but I really love how it turned out.
(Thanks to Kathy for her ideas and mom for her sewing skill!)

Other news and fun:
Brian graduated with his Master's in December and walked in April.
I also graduated with my bachelor's in April but didn't walk.
It is so wonderful not to have homework ever again. YEAH!!!

Thanks to both of our families for your love and support!

We spent some fun time with my family up the canyon from my mom's home.

Tyson, Becca, Mat and Em enjoying the campfire.

Ethan (my nephew) celebrated his 8th birthday and was baptized.
All of my family were able to be there except Tyson and Becca and Amy and Matt.
(I can't wait to see them at the family reunion in August.)

Most of my family at Ethan's baptism.

AND last but definitely not least, Brian and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Wow, I can't believe that it's been 5 years- 5 wonderful years. I am so incredibly lucky to be married to the most wonderful husband in the world!

Caleb Ray

We've decided to name the cute little guy Caleb Ray!
Ray is Brian's middle name, as well as the middle name of Brian's father and grandfather.
Can anybody guess why we chose Caleb?
Everything is going well. We ate dinner with Tanya and her family (very yummy lasagne!) on Sunday. It was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to her next appointment on Monday.

Update

So, a lot has happened these past few weeks. I guess one of the biggest changes is that we've moved. Yep, after 5 years we have left Provo. We are still in an apartment, but hopefully it will be just for a little while longer. We are trying to see what we think of the area as well as seeing if Brian can survive biking to his work (I agree that he's a little crazy, but he's determined!) Anyway, we'll see what happens. Hopefully it will end with us buying a home. One problem the move has caused is that we no longer have internet access-hence the reason why I haven't blogged for a little while.

Kind of a funny side note-the first thing that was set up in the new apartment was the crib. (Brian's parents bought us a crib and brought it with them when they helped us move the first night. They wouldn't leave until the crib was set up, although it was pretty late at night. Needless to say they are excited as well.)