six months! no fooling!

we had big plans for caleb's six month 'birthday.' but caleb had even bigger plans, and was so excited about them, he decided to get up at 530 and not go back to sleep until his nap at 8.
first, we took his six month picture. here's the 5 month picture:


and now, his six month picture:


WOW, HE SURE HAS GROWN!

APRIL FOOLS! haha, yeah, it's pretty obvious that that's not the same turtle (it's turtle's little brother.) here's his real six month picture with his turtle night light:

compared to the five month picture, it still doesn't look like a huge difference, but it is there, i promise.

after a brief nap (again, he was very excited about our plans) we packed up and headed out to the beach to go into the ocean for the first time. it was an absolutely gorgeous day, if a little breezy and cool.


yes, it looks like a fake picture, and no, it's really not. just one of the great things about living here in hawaii.

after caleb had a chance to put his feet in the sand and watch a few birds (they were after the bread we forgot to bring for them) we decided it was time to get him suited up and head for the water.


he was not really sure about the wardrobe required. the pants were a little big, but the smallest we could find. so we headed down to the water, and decided to give it a test before we plunged all the way in.


good thing, because although it was warm in the sun, the water was still fairly cool, and caleb quickly let us know that this was not really his idea of a good time. actually, getting his feet wet marked the beginning of the end, as it was also getting near his next naptime, and we packed it up and called it quits for the beach. but as this nice, calm lagoon is very near our house, i plan to bring him here every week or two and hopefully make quite the sea-lover of him.

we also let him have his first rice 'cracker' today, he took to it quickly but then made the same face he made the first time he had sweet potatoes, so this may take some getting used to. for me the big plus is that now i can mark one more thing 'yes' on the milestones questionnaire at his next appointment. yes, my baby CAN feed himself a cracker!


but in all seriousness, the past six months have been so amazing, so filled with so many different experiences and emotions. sometimes it seems like i can't imagine my life before we had this precious little guy, and other times it seems like he just came home yesterday. we are so grateful for this blessing God has given us, and so humbled by the charge to raise him up to love and serve the Lord. and we are so thankful to caleb, who without even trying, has brought so much joy to our lives, and made our family feel complete. we love you caleb!