What a week...

Whew! It has been quite the week in the Anderson home!!! Caleb has been to the doctor, the ER, turned 11 months old, fell on a toy, and FINALLY seem to be acting like himself again! This is all in a matter of 7 days!!!!

WARNING: This post is not short!!!

Last Wednesday I picked Caleb up from Ms. Ann's house (his babysitter). She said he was very fussy, not eating well and coughing. She said she didn't think he felt very well. So I went home and kept a close eye on him, and I thought she was right -- he wasn't acting like his normal, fun self. That night I was up with him all night (VERY, VERY unusual) and decided at about 3:30 that I would stay home with him Thursday. I called the doctor that morning and got an appointment. The doctor said Caleb had croup (which we are now calling the crap), and that it would basically have to run its course. OK - fine. We go home and Caleb continues to fuss and by bedtime he had a fever of around 100. At 2:30 we are up with him again, and his fever is 102. I know that isn't much of a fever, but it was the highest his had ever been and I freaked out. Obviously Caleb wasn't going to Ms. Ann's; it was Michael's turn to stay home Friday. When I got home from school Friday, Caleb had a solid temp of 100.5 with Motrin. To make a long story short, by 8PM Caleb was on FIRE with a temperature of 103.6. Again, I freaked out. He was laboring to breath, very lethargic and just plain pitiful. I called our After Hours Care line for the doctor, and after 10 million questions, they sent us to the ER. By the time we got to the ER (about 35 minutes later) Caleb's temp was 104.5. After 4 x-rays (lungs and throat), they determined Caleb did in fact have croup, and another virus that makes your airway swell and close up. They put him on 3 days of Steroids and sent us on our merry way. We could tell within MINUTES that the meds were helping. The fever went away by Saturday night, and he is finally acting more like himself. WHEW! I am so thankful to live in Atlanta with Children's Healthcare. They were AMAZING, and I would go back there in a heartbeat!!

This is sick Caleb on Thursday -- times this by a million and you can picture what he looked like Friday.



So...Saturday Caleb turned 11 months old!!! I can't believe it!!!It is hard to believe that in 1 month we will be celebrating his 1st birthday. Birthday plans are in full swing -- we are having a train theme!!! We are so excited. Here is Caleb's 11 month picture. Pictures are getting harder and harder to take of Caleb these days. He doesn't want to to sit still!!! These pictures were actually taken yesterday (not on the 12th because he was so sick).

Take 1:



Take 2:



Third times a charm!



At 11 months Caleb loves:
- to talk! LOUDLY
- play with any "bawl"
- crawl and cruise the furniture
- play with Buddy
- bath time
- sleep

At 11 months Caleb hates:
- to have his face washed
- to be left at the babysitters house
- washing his hair
- having his diaper changed
- sitting still

At 11 months Caleb is:
- taking a few steps
- saying dada, mama, uh-oh, bye bye, bawl, bubba (Buddy), ba (bottle)
- eating lots of table food and not so much baby food
- loving his bottle (finally!)
- giving kisses (turning his cheek) and giving hugs
- can point to his nose

Caleb giving mama some love



My baby boy is getting so big! Trying to take his 11 month picture, I got this one. I think he looks SO big!! You are probably wondering what the blackish/purplish spot on his face is. He fell on a toy at Ms. Ann's Monday morning. It is actually looking better than it was! Poor kid can't catch a break!!!



We are hoping for a very restful, calm weekend. Let's hope we all stay well and happy!!!

My sweet baby boy

I am feeling a little sentimental tonight....I just wanted to write a few words about my sweet baby boy....

I am so blessed to have such a beautiful, healthy baby. I love Caleb with all of my heart. Actually, he is my heart. I don't remember life before him, nor do I want to. He is amazing, and I thank God every day that He gave me Caleb. Even though Caleb can be "all boy" sometimes, he is still so gentle and sweet that is sometimes amazes me. He loves to give mama and daddy "love," and to be honest, my heart melts every time.

The smile and the eyes get me every time....

Savannah Grace Bell

Michael and I welcomed our 2nd niece Saturday morning. My sister gave birth (4 weeks early!) to Savannah Grace Bell. She came in weighing 6 pounds and was 18 1/2 inches long. She has a head full of dark brown hair, and if I do say so myself, she is beautiful!!!! Everyone is doing great, just very tired. Here are some pics of our first few days with Miss Savannah...

World, meet Savannah....


Caleb, meet Savannah...


Savannah and Grandmommy -- about 2 hours old

the 4 Camuso cousins...Sara, Savannah, Davis and Caleb



everybody got in bed with Aunt Lisi


big cousin, Sara, feeding Savannah her bottle...


Lisi got out of bed and Sara got in...


...and so did Caleb!


mommy and Caleb


Other than Savannah's birth, we have a very busy boy on our hands. Caleb is into EVERYTHING and L O V E S to play ball!!!

Long time no blog

I know I have been beyond slack on the blog lately...sorry to all of you people who frequent our blog. Life has been crazy busy to say the least in the past few weeks.

Since the last time I wrote, we took Caleb to his 1st Lindsay Family Reunion. My family has been having annual reunions every July for over 60 years. My Grandmommy (Caleb's Greatmom) was 1 of 8 children. Her brothers and sisters started having this reunion every summer, and the tradition still carries on today. A usual reunion brings somewhere between 75-100 people. Michael and I feel so blessed to be part of such an awesome family where we have relationships with my 3rd, 4th and 5th cousins. Every year we go somewhere different. This year we went to Lake Chatuge/Helen, GA.

Caleb with his Great Great Aunt Betty. She turned 90 July 1st. They were the oldest and youngest people at the reunion this year.



Caleb with his Great Aunt Kathy



This is a very special picture. This is Caleb with his great Uncle Barry. Uncle Barry married Michael and me 3 1/2 years ago. He is currently fighting a winning battle with cancer. Uncle Barry told Caleb "I had a lot to do with you." So special.



Michael won the golf tournament!! Go Daddy!



August 5th (after 2 furlough days) I went back to work. It was very sad, and many tears were shed by mommy. Caleb is staying with a wonderful woman, Miss Anne, in her home. Miss Anne kept Sara and Davis (Caleb's cousins), and so we are thrilled to have Caleb with her. Going back to work has been so stressful. I have taught 1st grade for 4 years, and loved it. Back in January I decided I needed a change of scenery. I went to my principal and asked for the change, and she gave it to me. So, this year I began my journey has a 3rd grade teacher! I love it so far, but it is so so so so different than first grade!!! I am lucky to have a wonderful team of teachers and a wonderful class. I actually have 5 kids again that I had in 1st grade. :) However, being in a new grade level I feel like a first year teacher all over again. This time it is just a little harder since I have a baby and husband at home! Whew! :)

This past weekend we took Caleb to his 2nd Gwinnett Braves game. He loves baseball! Michael's company had a night there. Caleb had a great time cheering for the home team...

Go Braves!!!



Can you tell he just learned to clap?? It is very serious business...



On Wednesday Caleb turned 10 months old. This is so hard for me to believe. Something about him being in double digits is kinda sad to me. My baby is growing up too fast. Here is his monthly couch pic with a comparison pic from 1 month. My how times change.

10 months (August 12, 2009)



1 month (November 12, 2009)



At 10 months, Caleb loves...
- bath time
- playing with mommy, daddy and Buddy
- waving
- talking -- he is one loud little guy. He can say dada, yaya, byebye, hey or hi, mama(when he feels like it), baba (this means bottle), bubba (Buddy)
- playing chase -- the kid loves to crawl
- pulling up and trying to stand alone
- hugging and kissing mommy
- pointing
- giving high 5's
- smiling

At 10 months Caleb does not love...
- having his diaper changed
- putting on clothes
- mommy or daddy leaving
- his bottle

On Wednesday when I picked Caleb up from Miss Anne's I noticed his left cheek was kinda pink. I figured he had hit his cheek on something and basically forgot about it. On Thursday morning when he woke up, the pink spot was now covering the entire left side of his face and was BRIGHT red (think fire engine). Caleb was staying with my mom that day, so I felt better about leaving him. I went ahead and called the doctor and we went Thursday afternoon. He said it was an allergic reaction to something he came in contact with (not food). He said it would have to run its course. Well, Saturday we woke up and the bright red was still there, but it had taken on red pimple looking bumps and was a little swollen. So, back to the doctor we went. We saw a different doctor this time, and she said the same thing the other doctor said, but she gave us some cream. She said it there was no improvement by Monday to bring him back. The cream seems to be helping, but Caleb still looks like someone slapped him. Here is a pic of him on Thursday night and one this afternoon after a day and a half of cream. What do you think?

Thursday, before the cream



Sunday, a day and a half into the cream



Here are a few cute pics we have taken recently....

crazy hair....



too cute with Daddy's sunglasses...



I am so smart I can pop out the outlet covers....baby proof - HA!

Some new pictures

Beach Trip '09

I know it has been a long time since my last post, so I apologize now for the length of this post!!! Our lives have been busy to say the least!! :)

July 7th we headed out for Caleb's first trip to the beach. We drove 1/2 way to Valdosta that night, and then drove the rest of the way on the 8th. Caleb did a GREAT job in the car...he slept most of the way!! We went with 2 other couples and their babies (15 months and 6 months). Once we got into Daytona and got settled we headed down to the beach for the babies to meet the ocean and sand. It has been raining all day at the beach, so to say the water was cold is an understatement. We put Caleb in the sand, and he wasn't sure. Then the water came. You would have thought we were sawing his legs off the way that boy screamed. It pretty much went that way the rest of the week...OK with the sand and not OK with the ocean. On Friday we took the babies to the beach, and Caleb played in the sand a lot...he ate it, threw it, etc., but never touched the water. It never occurred to us that all of that sand would probably end up in his eyes. So, to make a long story short, Caleb ended up rubbing his eyes and getting a TON of sand in his eyes to the point that he didn't want to open his eyes. It scared me to death, but after a shower and a nap he was good to go! :) He was mesmerized by the ocean and loved to look at it, but that's it. He is just like his mama...I would much rather sit at the pool and look at the ocean. :) We spent most of the week at the pool, and Caleb had a blast!!!! He loved being in the water and his float. All in all it was a great week. All of the babies were troopers staying up late, missing naps and playing hard every day! :)

While we were on vacation Caleb turned 9 months old!!!!!! I can't believe it! To think that this time last summer I was pregnant and swollen just blows my mind. I really don't remember life with out Mr. Man!! At 9 months Caleb is...B-U-S-Y!!! He is crawling ALL OVER THE PLACE! He is very quick and thinks it is great fun to be chased. He is saying da-da, some form of hey or hi, blah-blah-blah, bye-bye and ohhhhh. He does say ma-ma, but not often and usually when he is fussing. He is very nosy and likes to know what is going on around him at all times. He still only has 2 teeth, but we think he is working on 2 more. He loves to give mama love (hugs and kisses). He likes to irritate Buddy the cat and laugh at daddy. He loves his golf clubs (they are plastic) and drags them all over the house. He has cut is nap times down, but is still sleeping like a champ. He is such a blessing and Michael and I love him with our whole hearts!!!

The other big news is that we got a new car!! Those of you who know us well know that I have been driving my Corolla (the car I got right before college graduation) and Michael has been driving the big red truck. Neither of which were perfect for a family with a carseat and a lot of other JUNK. So all day Saturday was spent at dealerships. We came home with a Pathfinder. The truck is gone, and I think Michael is in mourning. He loved his truck. We love the new car, and Caleb and I will enjoy the space. Thank you daddy for giving up your truck that you loved so for us! We love you! :)

Saturday night we headed over to Kimberly and Tyson's house for Supper Club(for you GSU people, this is Kimberly Carraway, and Madison is her daughter). We just started this with 3 other couples and we had a BLAST!!! Caleb had such a good time with Madison and her new bus. We tried very hard to get a good picture of the 2 of them, but trying to get a 9 month old and a 16 month old to sit still, smile and look at the camera at the same time is not an easy task. :)

Madison giving Caleb love. I don't think Caleb was feeling it...


Madison liked Caleb's booty....


The best shot we got...I'll take it!

4th of July weekend

We had a fun 4th of July weekend. Michael's cousin, Charley, came to visit from Kentucky and was here all weekend. We had a wonderful time catching up with him. Caleb L-O-V-E-D Charley. He just stared and laughed at him all weekend. Charley hadn't seen Caleb since he was a month old, so to say he had changed is an understatement. The boys spent the weekend being boys -- playing basketball at the Y, playing golf, watching movies, playing Guitar Hero and other boy things. :) The 4th of July was fun too. We went to one of the huge churches around us, and they had an AWESOME fireworks show. We didn't know how Caleb would do, so we were prepared to leave if necessary, but he was mesmerized by them. He stared, in awe, for all 20 minutes!!

The Anderson's, July 4, 2009

Mommy's Little Firecracker (so true!!)

Caleb and Charley -- I told you Caleb loved him!!!

In awe of all the bright lights...

The other exciting news for us this weekend was the engagement of Aunt Mary Eveyln (Michael's sister). She will be Mrs. King soon (no wedding date set)!

Congrats Mary Evelyn and Shawn!!!

We are off to the beach Tuesday for Caleb's first trip. I am sure I will have TONS of pictures and stories when we get back. See ya then!