"every baby is special." -- Max Lucado. (just kidding)

I have noticed that pretty much every parent of a young child that I have talked to is convinced that their child is ahead of the curve in physical growth, intelligence, verbal communication, or something that medical doctors statistically chart. If everyone I talk to says this, this can only mean one of two things. Either the chart is really wrong and outdated and needs to be re-calibrated, or maybe every parent is meant to exist in their own timeframe where everything the baby does seems incredible.

That being said, I thought (somebody told me) that babies aren't supposed to raise their heads until sometime later than how old Caedmon is now. But here he is, ten days ago (sorry for the delay!) holding his own head up like a champ. And apparently looking for something.

Don't worry, he's not mad, but he is excited. In between cries (some of which are on the video) he was also smiling and looking adventurous.

A Big Video Gallery

So I'm making up for lost time by posting TONS of stuff to the blog. These are only for the die hards. Make sure to watch all three, because they get better. (save the best for last)

I have been trying for a long time to catch Caedmon while he is sleeping, because he makes the funniest faces. But whenever he ACTUALLY makes the funny faces, I am either not by the camera, or the card runs out of space, or it's too dark. But here's a tiny sample. And then he startles awake.

unfortunately, it's not all fun and games. In case I have presented too rosy a picture of Caedmon's existence, here he is when all is not well. I'll probably delete this video once he gets older to save him the embarrassment, but for now, I think that it is HILARIOUS! It raises Joanna's blood pressure, though. (As it should) His face just looks so funny! (and don't worry, I comforted him after I was done shooting)

This last video is the grand finale. Unlike all the other videos so far on the blog, I've posted this one in a higher resolution, so it will take a long time to load. But it's totally worth it. Let's just say that Caedmon is getting older ... !!!

the Many Faces of Caedmonanity

alright. This time, no editorializing. Just the facts, the pics, the hilarity :

Thanksgiving 2009

sorry to everyone for taking so long to post about Thanksgiving. But as you can see, there were a lot of pictures to sort through! Also, Blogger's been doing this weird thing where if I rearrange the pictures, then you can't click on them to enlarge them. So the narrative is out of order, Quentin Tarantino-style (minus the violence, obsessive cult film references, and otherwise screen time waste).

First, a comedy sketch. Joanna was using our camera, but she was catching Aunt Saray's flash by accident. Witness the juxtaposition of Caedmon's expressions with everybody else's.

Dad's favorite way to hold Caedmon (and us when we were babies) was the football hold. Caedmon doesn't seem to like it when we try it; Dad must have a special touch.

(Grandma Martha says hi too)

Aunt Saray and the Honorable Uncle John have a new house with a dining room that is so epic that I just had to post a wide-screen shot of it. The lighting was pretty sweet too (too bad my camera's not good enough to really capture it.)

After a long day of everyone else stealing Caedmon, Joanna had to say "hey, he's mine!"

actually I was just looking for an excuse to post a really cute picture of my wife.

here we cut to earlier in our story when we were at the Hubeners'. Uncle Bob meets the little guy!

hi there Nate.

Caedmon was laughing a LOT for Grandma Roxie.

He musta remembered her.

Stefani meets him! (and says hi)

continuing with our time-reversal, we come now to thursday (Thanksgiving Day) at the Leemans'.

Caedmon and Aunt Lisa enjoy a quiet moment together ...

And then Dora comes and says "Hey guys, what's going on over here?!"

another indulgent wide shot: just click on it. do it. it's cool.

I had to post this picture in memory of Grandma Schultz. Sorry to end the post on a downer, but there is a sad beauty and poignancy in it, I think.

well, it's not last picture. I can't really think of a caption for this picture, except that it makes me smile.

Grunters and Beal

Caedmon grunts all the time. All day long. He's just a grunter, I guess.

Here's an example of what he does every day.

The beginning shows him dreaming. One of these days I'll catch him when he's having a really good dream. It's outrageous, all the faces he makes when he's dreaming. But he wakes up from the dream, and he makes a bunch of funny faces while trying to wake up. Watch for the raised eyebrows ...

So yeah, that's what he does all day. He also has a variation, a short grunt that sounds like he's clearing his throat. It's funnier, but it's more rare. Except at four in the morning. He seems to like to clear his throat at four in the morning.

" yeah, you like that ? "

none of these were posed

Caedmon is a man of many faces. Should the need arise, he is capable of assuming any role the occasion requires. A consummate actor, he can embody any role with passion and ease.

Witness some of his recent performances:

Batman (with cape blowing in the wind for dramatic effect)

a gunslinger ready to draw

this could be anything. is he an author? a fashion model? a literature professor? an armchair critic?

an opera singer

trying to figure out what to order from the Taco Bell menu

AAAHHH! Get it off me! I'm being attacked by my own hand !!

Mickey [!?] Meets the Schultz Family

This last weekend Joanna's grandmother Louise passed away. She never got to meet her new great-grandson Caedmon, but she did see pictures, and we knew she loved the little guy. So much so that she already had a nickname for him. I'm told that one day she declared (out of the blue) that she was going to call him "Mickey". So far no one knows where that came from. But it might stick. Except that "Mickey Rodriguez" totally sounds like the name of a baseball player. Maybe even the ultimate multi-racial baseball player.

So the weekend was hard. (It was also Caedmon's first road trip, and he did pretty well, but it was draining). But on the plus side, Caedmon got to meet a lot more of his extended family. And it was pretty amazing to see how he brought much-needed life to so many people at the wake, the funeral, and the graveyard.

Right before we headed out to Plainfield / Naperville, he was making some really cute faces, so I snapped a few pictures ...

and once we arrived ... here he is meeting Dora !

When I changed his diaper and he was screaming in agony, Dora came into the room, looking as though she was sorry for Caedmon. She looked at him with big sad eyes.

he also met these two responsible-looking gentlemen. Just minutes before this picture, they were extolling the virtues of Miracle Whip as a salad dressing. We see here the effects of their life choices.

and here's Caedmon with "Ol' Pap" Leeman

Caedmon carries the histories of his family with him. Though he never met Great-Grandma Louise until we tipped him to peak into her casket, he carries her memory with him simply by virtue of his interwoven place in this family.