Just Another Day in Paradise

I hope you all enjoyed your Valentines Day and that your sweeties treated you extra special (which they should do everyday anyway - right?)
This past week has been all about packing and staying up all night with a sick baby...oh, and rainy, gray days. Kaleb has a pretty fun cold. I don't know who I feel worse for - us parents, or poor Kaleb who can't breath and stays up all night screaming his discomfort to the world. Although we are all beyond exhausted in this house we still manage to get lots of giggles and snuggles in.
This is a very poor quality video - sorry there is no light on - but it's moments like this that you realize why you are a parent and how much you love your kids, even if you were up with them trying in vain to comfort them from 12-4AM. Kaleb is so talkative and always has a lot to say. I came in and he was just playing by himself with his stuffed duck (Jake named duck Howard) and was having a full on conversation with Howard.

I still want to get a video but lately he's been really into dancing. He'll just be sitting there and start swaying and bouncing and bobbing his head, especially when music is turned on. We were in a restaurant one evening and a song came on overhead, he just started giggling and started bopping all over. I guess he came with his Dad's love for music. He loves to mimic what we are doing and then he acts like he doesn't even know what he's doing. I was feeding him today in his highchair and had my head cocked to the right - I looked at Kaleb and he was doing the same thing - I moved it to the other shoulder, and he did the same thing - put my hand on head - so did he (but only when he thinks your not staring at him) You'll sing out a simple silly tune and he'll babble it back. Kaleb cracks us up and is a great daily dose of much needed laughter. (most of the time anyway) I have to add a side-note. Kaleb has the best long-face pout when he is sad or isn't getting his way. Hope I can catch it on camera one of these days (can't say film anymore)
Friday we had some amazingly wonderful friends come by for the evening to let us load up their car with some boxes and help us move a few more carloads of stuff. After they helped us they bought us dinner - wait a minute? We enjoyed pizza and a movie (no way has Jake packed his TV yet) Thank you so much Brent and Emily for your help even in the middle of your own chaos.
We are going to miss this ward so much and all the amazing and wonderful friends we've made here. We're excited to be moving to a ward where we already have some friends - Nick and Karin can't get away from us - we're stalking you. Really once you are a part of this ward you are always part of it. I guess they have reunions in a few places in UT and elsewhere and pretty much as many people show up as there are ward members. We'll still be around, you thought you could really get rid of us?
For Valentines day we had some other amazing friends watch Kaleb so we could go out on a date. We wanted to do an all day excursion but with Kaleb sick and this-n-that we opted for just a few hours at a sit down restaurant. Jake randomly found this hole-in-the wall place that was so delicious. Salvadorian and Mexican - loads of flavor without the spice - my kind of food! If anyone needs a good recommendation in the area let us know - we highly recommend this place. It was like you were family once you stepped in the door. Gloria - the owner (and name of the restaurant) was wandering around - pointing to the servers - this is my son, my other son, my grandson, etc. It was a very warm and inviting place to go. It was a nice recharge for our batteries.
This morning I decided Kaleb's hair was floppy and moppy and bugging me. I grabbed the clippers and the scissors and went to work to give him a summer buzz (just waiting for that summer - I know it's out there. Don't hurry too fast though, I am enjoying the fact that there is weather in CA. even if it means I can't get warm). It's quite entertaining trying to cut a straight line with a 7 month old flipping his head all over the place. And yes, I cut off his duck tail, his Stevens trait had to go-just kidding. His hair grows so fast, I know it will be back next month.
Here's a few after pictures - although they aren't the best pictures. This kid doesn't stop wiggling even in his sleep.

For some reason this picture really reminds me of my nephew Lucas. I can see some Scofield in Kaleb.

Well, that's it for the time being. Until we get our office back up and running. We'll come at you live from Tujunga in a few weeks.