He is awesome!

The title reveals Karissa's thoughts about Caleb Whitaker Haley born on November 3rd, 2009 at 12:48 pm after 2 days of prelabor and one push.

a princess for a sister

Yesterday, Karissa transformed into Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty. She decided to be Sleeping Beauty after we had a conversation about how sad it is that all the Disney princess's mommies are dead. We were naming all of them and then when we got to Sleeping Beauty Karissa remembered that Aurora's mommy was still alive. As a result she decided to be Aurora even though she likes some of the other princesses better. She also decided that Caleb could either be a prince or a puppy next year.

Caleb's Room!

Finally, the completed room! A lot of love went into this room. Grandddaddy Haley bought most of the furniture from Ikea. Daddy and Karissa built the furniture. Karissa made many beautiful pieces of art to hang on the wall. Grandma Haley made all the bedding. Grandma Haley and Karissa painted. Mama and Papa Whit brought the glider. I just directed where it all should go. I hope Caleb enjoys his room!

The Pumpkin Patch

Last Monday, Karissa and I went to Washington Farms to visit the pumpkin patch with her preschool class. We had a lot of fun! It was a beautiful day! Caleb was pretty laid back most of the time except for the hayride. He did not like being jostled around so much! Needless to say I was exhausted by the end but it was well worth seeing my daughter have so much fun. I am sure we will return to Washington Farms for some strawberry picking and at that time it will be fun to have Caleb with us outside the belly.

Big Kids and Babies

Last Monday, Karisssa took a class on being a big sister at Athens Regional, the hospital I will be delivering at. She of course took it very seriously. They talked about what a baby is like and things they can do to help and how they can interact with the baby. She had a lot to say, mostly due to being around her cousin Paul. It was most definitely another step to helping Karissa become more excited for the arrival of her brother. We also had a tour of the Mother and Baby Unit. It is very well arranged and set up. I think I will like being there. My favorite part of it is that it is very self contained. Needless to say after all this she feels like an expert.

Attempt Number Two

One of the most frustrating things about leaving St. Louis (for me a least) was having to leave right after we got Caleb's room all finished. Thanks to the great blessing of John's parents Caleb will have his own room here at their house. So this past weekend Karissa and Dorinda worked hard to paint the room the same colors that he would have had in St. Louis. Also Aunt Melissa was very kind to come down with Paul and help organize things. So once again Caleb will have a beautiful room thanks to the wonderful love of family!

U2!

This past Tuesday, John and I went to an U2 concert and of course Caleb came along too. It was an excellent concert and very entertaining! Caleb enjoyed it a lot too. He was rockin' and rollin'. I guess we can always tell Caleb he did one of the coolest things in his life before he was even born.