"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 Either the chart is really wrong and outdated and needs to be re-calibrated, or maybe every parent is meant to exist in their own timeframe where everything the baby does seems incredible.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.