Caleb's First Halloween

Halloween - such a great kid's holiday! Costumes, candy, and the fun of getting just a little bit frightened... what more could a little person want? Although Caleb's still too young to appreciate Halloween (or just about anything that doesn't involve eating, napping, or being held) we figured we'd drag him along for the experience.



Since he doesn't yet fit into his chicken costume, we dressed Caleb up as Winnie the Pooh.

Willy, nilly, silly old bear! We learned a lesson that many parents have surely learned before us - don't put the kid in the costume too early. By the time trick or treaters started to arrive, a diaper blowout and some spitup necessitated a change of clothing.

Our house in La Honda is too genuinely remote and potentially creepy to attract any trick-or-treaters, so for our third straight year we spent Halloween at our friend Marika's house, which gets good trick-or-treat traffic and has the added bonus of an over-the-top awesome haunted maze across the street. As you can see we did a great job of decorating the porch, but Marika's neighbors' maze features smoke and strobe lights and haunted music and creepy characters jumping out at you. Really a blast.

We're adults - we don't need to dress up!! Instead we had a great potluck meal, with BBQ beef and salad and Robin's delicious pumpkin-peanut butter soup. Here are Marika, Sarah, and Robin giving Caleb the attention he demands!! If he outgrows the chicken costume next year, we'll have to come up with something new!

Caleb's First Camping Trip

It's a month of firsts! Which is fitting for Caleb's first months of life... Our friend Chris is attempting a ski streak (skiing at least once a month for as many consecutive months as possible) and the window was closing on month 24 at October's end. We'd talked about camping with Caleb as a possible adventure for the three of us this Fall, before it gets really cold at night, so we decided to accompany Chris on Saturday's skiing trip and drove up Highway 88 past Jackson on Friday afternoon.



I believe this is pronounce "Pie Pie." But if we come back here in a few years, Caleb may pronounce it differently and I will giggle at it along with him.

Ari completed his inspection of the tent so it must be good to go.

Dog bed on one side, Caleb's Moses Basket (thanks Jonathan and Andrea!) on the other, and Mom and Dad in the middle.

Off for a hike around the campground before sundown!

Since we weren't sure how cold it might get we brought lots of cozy clothes for Caleb and he stayed warm throughout the night, sleeping just as well as he does at home. However, Mom and Dad didn't think to bring as many clothes for ourselves and we were chilly. The sacrifices parents make...

Mom and Caleb in warm fleece and Ari with his warm fur coat.

In the morning we were off to meet Chris at Carson Pass, where we hiked in a few miles to Roundtop Lake. Caleb was quite comfy on my chest, but with his weight combined with the weight of the pack and ski gear, I thought my shoulders were going to fall off... Here we are about to enter the Mokolumne Wilderness, one of California's many phenomenally beautiful wilderness areas. It would take a lifetime to explore them all, so it's good that Caleb's getting an early start!

Lunchtime at Roundtop Lake, with snow-covered peaks behind us.

Mom and Caleb staying cozy and warm at the lake before Dad and Chris set off in search of snow.



We found quite a bit of snow, thanks to the record-breaking snowfalls of last winter. But if quantity wasn't a problem, quality was, and our turns back to the lake were on some of the firmest, most chattery snow I've ever skied. Congrats on 24 months, Chris! Same time and place for #36 next year?

Caleb's First Concert

Before Caleb was born we bought lawn tickets to the annual Bridge School Benefit at Shoreline Amphitheater, knowing that he'd be about a month old when the day of the concert came. The Bridge School Benefit show is always a great concert, put on by local legend Neil Young (actually a La Honda resident since the 60s!) featuring acts invited by Neil to play all-acoustic sets benefitting the Bridge School, which helps special needs students with communication issues caused by various disabilities. Because the music is acoustic it's a fairly quiet show and we thought with earplugs at the back of the lawn Caleb's young ears would be fine.



Here we are at the beginning of the concert, with Caleb's colorful earplugs in place.

I'm trying to teach Caleb a few Neil Young songs so he can sing along... Thanks to Lauren and Paul for taking these pictures.

Caleb's very fashionable sun hat - thanks John and Brooke!

Caleb's shouting for the show to start as the sun goes down! He slept well throughout most of the concert in our arms - we kept him warm with his ears muffled while we enjoyed an evening of many great performances. Hopefully this can be the start of a family tradition if Neil will have quite a few more years of performing in him (on stage he seems ageless at 65!!), and when he's gone someone can carry on in his place.

More Pictures of Caleb

Finally, a few more cute pictures of Caleb... our goal was weekly updates, but the days and weeks are rushing by!



Is he thumbing his nose at us?

We've taught him to stick his tongue out at us when we stick our tongue out at him! We're working on pursed lips. Smiles may be just around the corner...

"What's that you said?"

Dad holding Caleb in one of our favorite shirts.

Big Guy!!! He's already too big to wear this one ever again...

Caleb's favorite sleep sack (or, really, our favorite sleep sack to put Caleb into). It keeps him cozy and the zipper glows in the dark. Thanks Laura, Fabrice, and Matthew!

The tongue again - one of the few things he's doing at this young age, so we get a lot of pictures of it!

Caleb in his crib, where he spends his nights now.



A wider shot of Caleb's room, which used to be the office/guest room. It's amazing to us to see the transformation - a little blue paint, a crib, a rocking chair, a few cute items, and tons of baby accessories go a long way!!!

A close-up shot of Caleb in one of the adorable onesies made by Auntie Lara. This picture was taken two weeks ago and he may have outgrown the outfit already!

Domestic bliss - Amy the mom, Caleb the baby, and Green the cat.

And Ari the dog! Now only our second whiniest dependent. Green and Ari look seriously protective in these pictures!

We have a lot of nicknames for Caleb (Stinkpot, Spitup King, Little Man, Peanut, etc.) but my favorite is Wizard Hands. He often gestures as if he's casting a spell, or like he's Magneto from the X-Men. No acts of magic or bent metal yet, which is fine by me since I don't know if we can afford tuition at Hogwarts or Professor X's academy.

This sequence of photos (sadly) sums up a lot of our experience with Caleb as a newborn. A moment before this picture was taken he was happily sucking away on his pacifier. And then, with surprising dexterity, he grabs onto it and pulls it away. But...

....he wants it back! Now!! Can he reverse the action he's just taken and put the thing back in himself? No. Not even close. So Mom or Dad rushes to restore the Implement of Happiness, and...

...order and calm are restored to Caleb's universe. (This amazing shirt also from Lara!!!)

Close-up of the Wizard Hands. 

And even closer!

A typical view of a walk through La Honda's Cuesta neighborhood, with Ari leading the way and Caleb napping peacefully in the Bob.

First Photos of Caleb Russell Shefftz

Amy showing off "the bump" before Caleb was born.  I'm not sure how long this was before he came as I now only dimly recall life before nighttime feedings, daytime naps (for Caleb, Mom, and Dad!), intermittent bouts of fussiness followed by displays of overpowering cuteness, and of course many, many poopy diapers...

Caleb was born at 4:45 on Friday, September 23rd.  This picture was taken a few hours later in the nursery, where I watched the nurses hose down and manipulate Caleb in various ways while Mom cleaned up back in the hospital room.  

Again in the nursery - Kung Fu Caleb!  

Back in the hospital room - Mom and Caleb having a "Hello, looks like we're going to be spending a lot of time together" moment...

Dad and Caleb in the hospital room.

This and the following 6 pictures were taken by the semi-professional photographers who work with the hospital.  

I think in this picture he looks a bit like Popeye the Sailor Man.

See what I mean?  (Note to Caleb:  the spinach is fine, but nix on the pipe.)

This was only day 2, but even then we knew that this is the face of impending doom.  Not to over analyze, but I think by pulling back the corners of his mouth he's bracing himself to be able to then expel lungful after lungful of air at the highest possible volume.  Try it out at home!

Get used to it Caleb - mispronunciations and misspellings are the Shefftuz/Sheffitz/Schefftz family legacy.

Finally at home!  As we left the hospital we felt a little overwhelmed - No more nurses a press of a button away?  Are we really qualified to do this? - but it was really great to be back.

Little man, wide awake!

Caleb in the Ergo insert in Mom's arms.

Caleb in the swing in his best reclining male model pose.

Ready for his closeup...

As soon as we got home we've tried to stay active, going on our usual hikes and little excursions to the outside world, to avoid the "baby bunker" mentality.  Caleb's been a good field trip baby so far.  Here he is in the Ergo (aka, the "man womb") in the pasture above town where our friends Ed and Betsy keep sheep and ducks.  Josie, one of Ed and Betsy's three Australian Shepherds, is a sheep-crazy blur, as usual.

Mom and Dad and a sliver of scalp that belongs to Caleb.

Wake up and feed me already, Mom!! 

Allow me to get sentimental for a moment... There are some things that you can know objectively but not really, truly understand until you experience them, and my simple epiphany of the month along these lines is:  Moms are amazing.  So thank you Amy, from me and on Caleb's behalf, from the bottom of our hearts for working so hard and giving so much.  Thanks to Moms everywhere.

The last known photo of Caleb sucking on a pacifier other than the Hawaii Medical Gumdrop.

Here's Caleb with The Gumdrop, aka the Implement of Happiness, aaka The Third Parent.  Yes, we are pacifier parents.  It soothes him and therefore soothes us.  We figure taking the pacifier away someday will be easier and more socially acceptable than cutting off his thumbs.

Also, the gumdrop has given us further insight into the Baby Industrial Complex that will shape our spending habits for the next several years.  You see, we were given The Gumdrop at the hospital and it was Caleb's very first pacifier.  We were also later given a Soothie and then bought two Nuks.  But Caleb only had eyes for The Gumdrop.  As we increasingly relied on The Gumdrop to placate Caleb and to get him to "go the %&$* to sleep," we began to panic - we only have one!  If we lose it we're screwed...  So of course we had to procure more Gumdrops.  I figured I could place a bulk order on Amazon and then get a few at our next excursion to Babies R' Us, but from a quick scan of reviews online I saw complaints that the Gumdrop sold in retail outlets is not the same as the Gumdrop given out at hospitals, and after reading more reviews by angry parents complaining of picky babies rejecting impostor Gumdrops, I called the 800 number conveniently embossed on The Third Parent and was connected with... Hawaii Medical, now known as Sandbox Medical.  They make the Gumdrop - the original Gumdrop - and sell only to hospitals and direct to the public.  They've also licensed the Gumdrop design to the First Years corporation, but according to angry internet parents these "impostor" Gumdrops are not as delightfully squishy and nipple-like as the real thing.  The nice lady with the New England accent told me my 10-pack would ship from Needham, MA the following day.  Also on the following day, I went back to Lucile Packard Hospital and begged for more Gumdrops.  Perhaps that day, too, the Gumdrop mastermind and founder of Hawaii Medical was surfing and eating papaya somewhere near Princeville.

Moral of the story:  first one's free, and get 'em hooked while they're young.

Auntie Elena holding Caleb.

Little man, fast asleep...

This outfit was last worn by Dad approx. 37 years ago!!  Thanks for hanging on to it, Mom.

Caleb fusses in the Hotsling, one of Mom's must-have items.  Free hands!!

Caleb asleep in the Hotsling in the arms of our neighbor Barbara.

Bathtime for Caleb!!  Once he gets in the water he's usually pretty happy.  Once we pull him out... not so much.

Dad needs a bath too but a certain little someone seems to be coming first these days...

Clean baby!!

A series of adorable photos!

Caleb spending some time in the infant distraction device that Jonathan and Andrea dubbed "the jimbo jambo gym" and sent to us as toddler cousin Micayla outgrew it.  Caleb's PJs are also hand-me-downs from Micayla.  Thanks, Micayla!!

Reaching for the bee-type thing.

Caleb and Dad on the phone with Grandma.  

More pictures to come as Caleb keeps growing up!!