Official first word!!!!!

On Monday, Caleb started his first day in the Toddler room and while he was ok for the 15 extra minutes i stayed with him (playing with toys, walking around, etc.), once i left, it was just awful. He immediately started to cry. I felt awful and had to walk out of there with tears in my eyes. That was really difficult. He knows now that he's in a strange place with strange people and it was really scary for him. He cried all day long. When he was picked up by Ernest later that day, his eyes were puffy and red. Poor little guy. Tuesday was the same, but Wednesday and yesterday were slightly better. This morning when i left him, he was not crying like he had been, and in fact, when we went in, he saw the teacher he's with all day and stretched out his arms to her. I took that as a good sign. They told me he ate better yesterday and spent more time just participating and enjoying being there. THANK GOODNESS!!!

Caleb's not one to warm up quickly to anything or anyone, so it's really good to hear that he's doing better. I figure once he gets into the routine and sees how much freer to walk around he is there, he will do just fine.

The worst part has been noticing that his sleep has been interrupted by his anxiety of the new faces. Monday and Tuesday I was forced to let him sleep in the bed with us and it was no fun. He's uncomfortable there, and so are we. He put up a bit of a fight on Wednesday but he did stay in his crib and last night Ernest was on baby duty and says that he had no problem putting him to bed. However, he was up a few times during the night.

It's been quite an exhausting week, to say the least. We're just hoping that he'll do better today, and next week, and the week after. He will be home with me for Xmas break and I know getting him back to Day Care after a full week at home is going to be tough. It'll be like stating all over again.

On the bright side, he's walking, babbling, letting us know what he wants by taking us by the hand, and so many other wonderful things.

The big news is that he now knows that Ernest is Papa. He'll look in the bedroom and say Papa, as if asking me where he is, or he'll stand outside the bathroom and knock on the door saying Papa. We have a picture frame of Ernest and Caleb and now he looks at it and says Papa. I love it. If Ernest is home, we'll go in the bedroom because he'll say Papa, Papa, Papa, and take my hand to walk with him. He asks me to put him on the bed next to Ernest and he'll get very close to his face and say Papa. It's so sweet.

Personally, i'm so happy this is happening. I do wish he would keep hanging out with his dad even when i'm home. I mean, if that's his first official word then make it extra special by always being with him and perhaps leaving me alone for an hour. Is that too much to ask? Don't get me wrong, i love being mommy but sometimes it's nice to watch them just enjoy each other and ignore me.

I'm trying to get a video of Caleb saying Papa to Ernest so i can post it here. It's hard because as soon as Caleb sees the camera he stops doing everything. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, enjoy this picture. It's my absolute favorite in the last 14 months.