Happy Birthday to my Baby!!

My Baby is turning 3 today...

Caleb was such a surprise for our family! We were unemployed, deep in medical debt with the older kids and their asthma & hospital stays, and did not know WHAT we were going to do! I had been told by my cardiologist that I should not get pregnant again! How could we be pregnant?! And to boot... he was due on April Fools day! (it really did feel like a bad joke! LOL!) But as his pregnancy progressed we saw many miracles and manifestations that this boy was meant to come..and to come when he did! The hospitals helped to write off thousands (even though we had had insurance on & off) & Jess got a solid job for the first time after 18 months of on again off again work! I was greatly blessed and my heart did better with Caleb than with any other pregnancy...He arrived a few days late (by force) but he is our miracle and joy! I don't know how we ever could have thought, even for a moment, that our family could be complete without him!
Here are some fun pics and stories about Caleb...

Emma, Cody and Cam had the HARDEST time waiting for Caleb to be born.. I took this picture our first day home from the hospital. They slept in our room, right in front of the crib, they didn't want to miss ANYTHING! LOL!

Cody was the one who always wanted to hold him! He fed him more of his extra feeding bottles than anyone of us! Code-man LOVED to sit and just hold and love on "his baby" Caleb! Caleb had quite the struggle after he was born...

Cameron had to be hospitalized (the day after we came home from the hospital) with pneumonia, and as the mom, I was completely stressed out , so my milk came in, but wouldn't let down; add that to some bowel troubles, and the poor guy lost a ton of weight and we struggled with pumping milk and enriched preemie formula bottles and all sorts of things to get him to eat! He only wanted to nurse, so it was a mess all the way around... he was skinny skinny for the full first year of his life!

It was so sad! Looking at the pictures actually made me feel so sad inside!

What a struggle...that time in our lives was H-A-R-D!(Caleb always had smiles for his big Bubba!)

We are very glad he is our healthy little ox now! :)
(knock on wood!)

Bubba was helping Caleb to roll over (about age 4 months) and he was watching him while mom was in the shower. Caleb's arm got stuck behind him after a roll so Cody grabbed hold of it (right at the break :O) and pulled it out from under him! He cried and cried and would not move his arm. I rushed him to the ER and they thought it was "nurses elbow". They pushed and pulled at it, thinking it was out of joint! :O OH SOOO SAD!! It was broken! He had the CUTEST little cast for 8 weeks. And he healed really well... although for weeks no one could ask what had happened with Bubba in the room or he would burst into tears!

I just love this boy so much!! All the kids were "Daddy's" boys or girl...Caleb is our Momma's Boy. He is my buddy! We are two peas in a pod home alone these days! I dread sending this one to school.... *sniff*

Caleb has two nicknames: Lubby and Bunkey

Little Skinny Mini!! He LOVES his Daddy too!

One day when I was handing him to Jess in the shower (Caleb LOVED to shower instead of bath), & I had a stuffed up nose. I tried to say "here is the little Monkey"...but it came out "...Bunkey". We have called him "Bunkey" ever since...*grin*

This photo gave me such a great giggle this morning! I had forgotten how super cute this was! Caleb was a very happy baby! Not much made him sad... except when dad would say "YAAH! BUNS N THIGHS!" like the dudes off Saturday Night live. Caleb's lip would pop out and he would cry and cry... it got to be a joke! He could be happy and playing... but if Daddy's voice changed and he said it... Caleb's lip came out and tears would fall! The kids would beg for Dad to do it just so they could see Lub's reaction...


(Mean 'ole Daddy anywho! LOL!)

Caleb was a little slow to crawl, since he took longer for him to roll over again after a broken arm, but this kid was all boy from day one... a tool, a truck, some dirt or a ball and he was after it! Pumpkins made fantastic balls!! LOL!
And he was a curious and busy little squirt! Baby powder. Everywhere. At least he smelled good....*grin*

He had climbed onto the table and stolen Emma's leftover spaghetti from the night before (gross!) He thought it was the PERFECT breakfast for him and Sara (the dog)...
he must have thought it made good hair gel too...his hair was SO disgusting....


Here we are at my grandma's funeral. He was a monster child...running all over... but he kept everyone smiling with his giggles as he ran...


He loves hats! And anything can be a hat... even mom's bra once! Dad laughed 'til I thought he would pee his pants! LOL!

And Caleb is a character! He is sly and sarcastic! He loves to trick ya! He calls me Dad and Jess Mom, just to hear us complain! His giggle is so contagious!

Caleb loves to eat just about anything! He is SUCH a good eater! He loves jalapenos and pickles with his Daddy. He loves avocados and mushrooms with his Mommy. He loves chocolate and has figured out where all the stashes are and he helps himself!

Caleb loves to play with his best friends - Liza and Jesse.

He loves trucks, tractors, trailers and anything he can "work on" with Daddy! He loves Lego's and dirt.

Caleb is a lover...he loves cuddles.

He is also as stubborn as they come! We have to word things as to be his idea...because he does not respond well to be "commanded" in anything...

His favorite show is Super Why on PBS, but he also loves to watch "Bun-bob Tware Panz" with his Daddy and brothers.

He just got his own Big Boy (no more crib sized mattresses at our house!) bed, and since my surgery has slept almost exclusively in his own room and bed (:( *sniff*)

He is very happy to be 3! Although he tells everyone he is four! LOL!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET BOY!!!!!!!!