55 years of marriage is a LONG time

Caleb: Great Grandpa Bill and Uroma have been married for 55 years. Today we celebrated with them and other extended family members in Green Isle. Great Grandpa Bill had us stand in front and introduce ourselves, give updates about each family. There were a lot of updates. Cousin Cheryl introduced her new husband, Jack. Great Aunt Tina talked about cousin Heather's engagement to Christian. Oma had Uncle Garrett introduce Kayla as his fiance, and Mommy introduced me, Caleb! I was a ham and giggled/smiled while Mommy talked about me. I like when she does that!

Mommy: Caleb was quite the ham today! He had plenty attention today with family. My aunt Tina and four of my cousins came from Ohio even! It was great!

4 generations

4 generations

The oldest of each generation/family.

Bonfire in November

It's the end of November and we snuck in one more bonfire. November 26th and we sat around the fire. Uncle Ryan, Aunt Britta, Auntie Krista, Oma, and Mommy. We had some fun! I liked have some extra time with Aunt Britta and Uncle Ryan since they live so far away!

Making funny faces!

Side Note

The week before Thanksgiving:
My first snow! Not much or fun to play in, but I saw it!

Auntie Krista gave me presents! Hangers! I mean...hangers with clothes on them! I think I'm even going to wear some of it this week!

Cousin Josie babysat me. My first teenage babysitter. She played with me while my parents went to out to eat at Olive Garden (mommy had her first alcoholic drink in 2 years) and do some Christmas shopping. I think they got my presents, but they didn't give them to me yet. I'm showing my maturity though by not snooping or whining.

I love sitting up and playing! And I'm really have fun with Woody too!

And I love doing a wiggly head dance. Everyone smiles and laughs when I do it!

1st Thanksgiving

Last year at this time my belly had finally popped and I looked pregnant. I flew to Ohio to have Thanksgiving with the Millers and returned to grieve the loss of my Great Uncle Bob Harjes. A year has passed and there has been more loss with the death of my Grandma Norma Monson. But there has been a big gain...Caleb Thomas Miller. I am thankful for him and the joy he brings to my life. Even though some beloved family members are not with us this holiday, we remember them and rejoice in their eternal feast and thanksgiving!

Tuesday was my first day off of school and so I did a little craft project with Caleb. We made Thanksgiving cards for grandparents and great-grandparents. We also made one for Amy, our daycare provider. We are truly thankful for her and the great care Caleb receives.

Caleb's hand print turkey and mommy's Snickers:)

We then drove out to her house where a lot of school age kids joined the regular other 5 boys she cares for. Caleb had a blast seeing some of his friends that he hasn't seen since the first day of school.

Eli and Caleb, held by Alyssa and Tyler. Caleb is 5 months younger than Eli.

We also needed a picture with Amy. We gave her a candle holder and her Thanksgiving card. She loved it, but not as much as she loves Caleb!

This was a great kickoff to the Thanksgiving Holiday. Thursday we had lunch at Oma and Grandpa Gene's house. Aunt Britta and Uncle Ryan came to visit from Colorado! Woohoo! We also got to Skype with Auntie Lauren in Korea.

Auntie Krista gave me this bib: everyone is thankful for me

Auntie Lauren and Great Grandpa Bill Skyping

Uncle Garrett and soon-to-be Aunt Kayla! Engaged!

Mommy and Aunt Britta

Great Uncle Tom and Caleb

After lunch we headed to Nana and Papa Miller's for snacks and supper. Finally got to see Aunt Jen and Uncle Doug again too! Cousins Sami and Max got sooo big too!

Eating on Thanksgiving Day

Caleb with Green Bean Smile and Aunt Jen

I love being on Daddy's shoulders!

It was an eventful day. Wonderful food, fellowship, and family! Caleb had a hard time winding down from all the fun...or three naps he'd had.

Full of Thanks!

Caleb is a blessed little boy. He has family and friends who love him throughout the United States and even in Europe! My host mother, Mutti, sent him a knit hat and sweater as a gift. Lucky duck!

The sweater is still a little big, but the hat fits just right. In fact, we used it in his 7 month pictures!

Wow! Where has the time gone? Look at all those stuffed animals...7! SEVEN! How is he SEVEN months old! He has become such a person with a cheery disposition! He has been quite expressive with his voice and face! I can't wait to see what he does next!

Moving and Grooving

I have been wanting Caleb to be more stable while sitting while still unable to be too mobile. Well, that didn't work out. He is sitting great now, and rolling too. Not just rolling over, but over and over and over. He's getting to where he wants to go! Sunday (11/20) he even pulled himself forward on his tummy towards a toy! I can't believe it! He even got his first bump on the head from moving around and wiggling his way into trouble.

Josh and Caleb have been getting a lot of father-son time the last week and a half since I have had parent-teacher conferences. They have been doing great! Although I have to say I'm not a fan of missing my Caleb time before bed.

Caleb is so social I had no problem taking him to a school staff bowling event. He was passed around and played with the entire time! Here is with my friend, Amy.

 And of course he loves his family time. I love this picture of Auntie Krista and Caleb. She is so expressive with him and he just eats it up!

 This picture is a little older, but I needed to get a picture of him with his buddy Woody!

I would just like to note that we started using the Bumbo with Caleb after he was 5 months old. It's advertised age is at the minimum of 2 months IF they have the neck control. We only started using it after Caleb showed interest in sitting. He had the neck control but was happy to be rolling around on the floor instead. Plus he loves moving around and my physical therapist mother advises to use the Bumbo within small limits, and it's not appropriate or necessary for all infants.

What the Doctor said...

We finally had Caleb's 6 month check up, November 3. I didn't have many concerns or questions so I was only concerned about the shots. Last time shots were done by a different nurse and they didn't go too smoothly.

I picked Caleb up early from daycare and zoomed to his appointment. He fell asleep in the car on the way to the appt and didn't stir much as I carried him into the clinic. I ended up waking him in the examination room after the nurse called back. Katie is great! I love our nurse! She was impressed with how easily Caleb woke up and quickly smiled. That's our boy!

The stats from this appointment were again quite impressive:
Weight: 21lbs (9.5kg)- 94th percentile
Height: 28 inches (71.1cm)- 93rd percentile
Head: 18 3/4" (47.6)- well above 99th percentile

Dr Benson continues to be happy with Caleb's progress and health. He could hear a little rattle in his chest, but wasn't concerned. Caleb was on the mend already.

Then it was time for 4 shots! I asked for two nurses and they were rock stars! Caleb was a trooper too. He only cried about 30 seconds and then calmed right down. I held him, wiped his tears, and kissed his cheeks. Mommy's kisses really do heal all wounds:)

In fact, Caleb was doing so well we stopped by Target to get a few things. Then we got home and cleaned house before we hosted a MonaVie tasting. Daddy took Caleb to Papa's for some guy time while I had the tasting. They came home was we were wrapping up. Caleb woke up as Daddy put on his PJs and he didn't like it. He got mad and you could tell his legs hurt. I let it go for awhile, but then my guests said I could leave them to go be Mommy for a bit. I gave him some Motrin and held him, but he was still crying. I told Josh I was going to take him out to my guests and he'd probably stop crying. Sure enough! He was mid cry when he saw the visitors and smiled. What a stinker! He even got held by most of them. He's such a people person!

A warm bottle a short time later and he was asleep. What a sweetheart!