Happy Birthday Kaleb

Happy birthday to my baby boy, who isn't even close to being a baby anymore. What a big boy he has become. Can you believe that this time next year we will be doing kindergarten roundup? Wow!

A trip down memory lane. Kaleb was born at 7:17pm on April 26, 2004. It was a Monday and my first official day of maternity leave. Since there were only 6 weeks left of school I decided to take off beginning that day so that I could get things done around the house before Kaleb arrived. He had other plans. My water broke around noon in the middle of folding towels. For about an hour I walked around the house not knowing what to do. Once those contractions kicked in Jason and I knew it was time to go to the hospital. When we arrived I was 4cm. Being my first child we were expecting a long evening ahead of us. 5 hours after we arrived to the hospital it was time to push. 1 hour later Kaleb arrived. All 8lb 6oz and 22 inches of him. Man was he a gorgeous little gerber baby!

We had some scary moments right after birth. We knew when we arrived to the hospital that there was meconium in the amniotic fluid. Unfortunately Kaleb aspirated a little of it as he was born. His breathing was a little labored and his nostrils flared. They decided to take him to the special care nursery right after the delivery and it broke my heart. I wasn't allowed to see him until after my iv bag had emptied. With the help of a nurse and Jason we got that iv to go in a little faster than normal! As soon as I had full feeling back and was unhooked I walked myself down to that nursery to hold my baby. The nurses couldn't believe I had walked there, but nothing was going to stop me.

Luckily Kaleb did great through the night and no other special care was needed. We took him home on Wednesday. Kaleb was such a good baby. He has been growing like a weed since we brought him home. Today Kaleb turned 4, and it blows me away that he was born that long ago. It doesn't seem possible. Kaleb had a great birthday party at a park by the beach. The theme was pirates and I think the highlight of the party was the pinata! Thank you to everyone who attended and made his birthday extra special!

Here are a few pictures of my favorite boy!

Brand New!

In the Special Care Nursery.1 month old2 months old1 year picture that I took of him. Still my most favorite picture of Kaleb.1st Birthday cake.2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

Taken today on Kaleb's 4th Birthday!

Enjoying the beautiful spring weather.

We have been outside this week enjoying the nice weather we have had. On Saturday, Emerson and I played outside while we waited for Kaleb to get up from his nap.

It only took Emerson 1 day to master the slide. I thought the first step was too tall for her, but she proved me wrong. She got up here all by herself.

Later that day we went down by the bridge to run around and feel the breeze.

On Sunday we all walked to Lakeside Beach to enjoy the swings, playground, and scenery. Emerson is fascinated with boats.

On Monday the kids and I made the long trek to Pine Grove Park for a picnic lunch and fun on the playground. Poor Emerson fell asleep and nearly fell out of the stroller on the way there.

The weather for the remainder of the week doesn't look too promising. Rain is in the forecast for the next 4 days. Getting the kids outside this spring break has been so wonderful. Now I'll have to find places to take them where they can enjoy doing things indoors.

Fever induced hallucinations

Have you ever been witness to a child wide awake in the middle of the night screaming his head off because bees were stinging him??? This is one of the scariest things you will see as a parent.

Tuesday and Wednesday night went a little something like this. Kaleb went to bed around 8pm. At 1:15am I am woken by the sounds of Kaleb sobbing. He tells me his ear hurts and doesn't feel good. I then take Kaleb back into my bed where I attempt to fall back asleep. For the next 3 hours Kaleb is begging for water, throwing up the water, coughing, crying about his ear hurting, burning up with fever and unable to sleep. For about 15 minutes during this time period Kaleb is literally scared for his life because the 'buzzy bees' are trying to sting him. He can see the bees and he is trying to dodge them. He points them out, screams, cries, and tries to crawl under me for protection. No matter how much I reassure him, he is terrified. Keep in mind that this kid has never been stung by a bee. The only bees he knows are the ones on Noggin, and those don't seem too dangerous! Finally at 4:15 he begs for us to just go into the living room and watch cartoons. We do. At around 6:30 he falls back asleep for 3 hours. I call in sick and therefore use up my last sick day of the year.

Turns out the poor kid has another double ear infection. That makes it 4 in about 6 months. He also has bronchitis, on the verge of pneumonia....again. Back on antibiotics and breathing treatments we go. The poor kid. We are all in desperate need of some warm weather. This cold weather is obviously no good for Kaleb's lungs.

Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that no major illnesses strike Emerson before the end of the school year. Approximately 41 days left of school by the way. Who's counting???