Happy 1st Birthday Caleb!!! & Ready for Momma to Get Back...

(Aplogies for the picture quality, they were all taken on my phone)

This past Sunday London and I went to my Parent's after my baseball game to celebrate Caleb's first birthday. My Mom has been keeping foster children since I was 9 years old, and moved to therapeutic DSS foster care a few years back. She currently has two kids in her care, Scotty (aka. Mini-Coop) a 4 year old, and Caleb, a 1 year old with Cornelia Delange syndrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelia_de_Lange_Syndrome).

Little Caleb is an Angel! In his one year on earth he has already experienced much more that most of us will in a lifetime. Countless surgeries, trips to the ER and many doctors telling us that he wouldn't make it. Caleb has been very healthy in the past few months, however. The longer he stays strong, the better his chances are for continuing to grow and develop.

He still eats through a feeding tube, and probably won't be able to walk until he is 5 years old (if ever) and will likely never talk, but the kid has a heart of gold. He loves to laugh and play and make all sorts of noises. He especially loves my brother Chris who can always get him to laugh, and my parent's dogs, Kohle, Pepper and Emma.

Here are some pictures from his first party yesterday:











In other news; This is my 6th day of getting to feel what it would be like to be a single parent. This past Wednesday morning, Crystal left with her Mom for a tradeshow in Atlanta, and will return late tommorow night. Here's a nod to all of the single parents out there, especially those with mutliple children. I honestly don't know how they do it. Just keeping up with the limited amount of laundry and dishes that L and I make is tough.

Probably the most difficult thing is London being "out of her groove." She definitely misses her Momma, as evident of her unwillingness to let me leave a room without taking her with me. She has done fine at My Mom and her Aunt Joyce's while I am at work, but once I pick her up, she is very needy. I understand though, as I am all out of whack too with "Mom" gone. She has started to adjust, but has fought sleep ALOT more than usual. I have had to sleep with her in the bed with me at least 3 nights so far to keep her from crying. She has just learned to climb and stand at the crib rail, and even after I think she's asleep, I'll walk by her room and see her standing there cooing "MuMaMaMaMa..." It's so sweet that I can't help but cart her around half asleep until I am ready for bed.

Once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB, hat's off to single parents, and COME HOME SOON MOMMA!!!

Here's my little mechanic helping Me, Chris and Russ work on the Bronco on Saturday. My sister keeps telling me that London is going to one day resent all of these redneck pictures I keep taking of her.



Here she is after a long night of waking up, crying for Momma and getting transported to Dad's bed. We both look like this in the morning's lately



Here is the little playpad that I set up for her while we worked outside Saturday.