Choo Choo...Caleb is 2!!

Today is all about Caleb!  Our sweet little boy turned 2 today.  We have been giving him nonstop birthday hugs and kisses all day and sung "Happy Birthday" about a dozen times.  It is hard to believe that this year has gone by so quickly and to think about how much he has grown.  Lucky for you all, I just so happened to upload all my iphone pix to my computer last night...so here's a little trip down memory lane to see Caleb as a 1 year old....

At 2 years old Caleb loves his trains, speaks in sentences - "Snuggy, where are you?", jumps with both feet off the ground, bosses Basco around, loves the phrase "my turn", has figured out how to fight bedtime, plays lots of basketball, and has an awesome laugh & smile.  Here's some birthday celebration pics...

Happy 2nd Birthday Caleb!  We love you!

Permission to travel!

Recently the pediatrician gave us the thumbs up to travel again.  It has been almost a year since we have gone anywhere (Baltimore not included).  The last place we went was Bethany for week last summer with Veronica and Josh.  We came back on a Sunday and had the MRI that changed our lives on that Tuesday, 7/13.  Can't believe it has almost been a year!  Anyways, with Lalito's recent improvements, we are finally good to venture away from his medical team(s) :-) So this past weekend we loaded our car FULL of stuff and hit the road to visit Nana & Grandpa in WV at their cabin.  We had a blast and everything went smooth.  Caleb wasn't even walking the last time he was up there, so he had a great time exploring and we had both boys in pack & plays next to each other and they both did great sleeping. 

3 generations

Nanita & Lalito

Walking in the springs

Looking for fish

Roasting marshmallows

Partying

The other reason posts have been slow is that we have been partying over here.  First, a baby shower for my best friend, who has a baby due in August.

Can't wait for Baby P - only a few more weeks! :-)

Then, a train party to celebrate Caleb's 2nd birthday!  Except, little did I know, my sneaky husband made it into a party for me also.  That's one way to guarantee a surprise is to have a birthday party 4 months after the birthday!  But 4 months later is the way to go since my birthday always falls during tax season.  Anyways, I was certainly surprised when I saw the room already filled with friends and family when I arrived with the boys to set up.  It was very sweet of my hubby and everyone else to celebrate me and cheer us on after a hard year.  And after Caleb had a chance to warm up to all of the people, he had a great time running arounds with cousins, friends and daycare buddies.  Thanks everyone!

Lalo helping Veronica & I bake the cupcakes

Caleb & Chase hanging out

Caleb & I

On the lookout for trains!

Hunter & Aunt Fina

Train ride!

Daddy & Caleb on the train

The cupcakes lasted all week long :)

Lalito

Okay, I'm breaking up my posts into smaller chunks so I can actually get some done.

Lalito is slowing down again on doctor's appointments, which is great.  Last week we saw the neurologist, who said Lalo does not need an MRI right now and that, unless he starts having seizures or any new issues, they don't need to see him again.  Love saying good bye to doctors!

He also had a sleep study last week, which was uneventful but annoying.  They attached a bazillion wires and sensors to him, and watched him sleep on video monitors.  This test was requested by his pulmonologist.  I'm not expecting any issues, but we won't have results for another week.  Here is an awful quality pic that shows you some of what he is hooked up to.

The GJ-tube continues to be a complete lifechanger for him.  We made some other changes a few weeks ago that the GI dr approved, but I didn't want to post until I knew they would stick.  We eliminated another medicine.  This one was his erythromycin, which was given to help motility, and he got it 4 times a day.  This leaves us with just 3 doses of meds a day (down from 16 when he came home in January)!!!   The other change is that Lalo no longer needs to sleep in his carseat!  His doctors insisted on that one since pretty much the first week Lalo was home with us.  At first, we had this huge wedge we were lucky enough to inherit from a parent of a 2 year old who had been at the same rehab hospital as a baby as Lalo.  However, our little guy quickly outgrew it.  So after that it was the carseat for every nap and at night.  That was the worst, especially considering all of the time we spend in the car for doctors' visits and picking up C from daycare.  It took Lalo a little while to get adjusted to the freedom, but now he seems to love it.  And I think it really is helpful for his physical development for him to stretch out and move around.  In fact, while in his pack & play just this past Thursday he started rolling from his back to his belly!

Lots of Pictures

Goodness I hate procrastinating on posting because the longer I wait, the more pictures I want to share, and the harder it is to get started!  And we have been busy around here, so there are lots of pictures - as a matter of fact, my iphone just told me it is out of space - whoops...So I'll start with just some random cute pictures and then get to updates soon.

This is the type of smiles we get when someone knows they should be napping, but are not...

Taking advantage of Lalo's sweet tooth with frosties.

Just some cuteness...

Carosel ride (Caleb HATED!)

Cousins with big smiles!

Basco telling jokes.

Tummy time partners

They're starting a band

Caleb in his shades

Banana