This video was taken just Friday afternoon. Earlier that morning before Ben left for work I told him I thought she would be crawling by the end of the weekend. Perhaps I should have put a little wager on it. We will see!

A few days ago she started scooting backwards and practicing her skills in the early morning hours when she awakens. It has apparently paid off because her skills have quickly progressed. Here is a little video so you can see. (Sorry she isn’t wearing a shirt, her dress was getting in the way! And for Isaac’s crying in the background. He was a *little* upset at having to come in from outside.)

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However, in light of the eventful first year we thought it would be fun to have an end-of-year/beginning-of-year band party. Those of you that know us know that it rare that we throw a party that doesn’t involve a costume. And this party was no exception.

Ben had the costume theme idea which seemed to be perfect for this crew. The theme: Come dressed as someone else in the band (or a member of their immediate family). In light of the fact that the band was getting a new drummer we didn’t expect him to be dressed in costume, but everyone else was required.

Okay, let’s just start with the party pooper award and get that out of the way! That would be MATT! He came dressed as himself. Okay, that is out of the way, onto the rest of the great attire!

There was Melissa, Drew and Jonas who came as Baby Acker, Beck, and Isaac – great ensemble!! We didn’t get a picture of them with their real life people because Baby Acker wasn’t present

Next there would be Jody who came as Marisa – of course Marisa decided to straighten her hair for the day so it was kind of funny! But kudos to Jody for participating!

Justin was most definitely Mark Acker! He totally looks like this during band weekends don’t you think? Well, not really, but he has the landscaping ensemble down. I think we need a weigh in from Mark and Mandy since they weren’t able to join us – what do you two think?

Then there was Ben, Isaac, and I. We came as pregnant Melissa, Drew (with a bit of a mullet), and Jonas. We were quite the site! So much fun though. Not sure I am quite ready to be 6 months pregnant with an infant though!

And taking the prize for best costume was Alathea who came as Justin. Check out that great shirt and if you look closely at her legs (I am sure Alathea won’t mind you checking out her legs) she is covered in some great poison ivy. It really looked real! She might want to consider going into makeup artistry if she gets tired of the youth gig. Oh. Wait. Being a makeup artist is a necessary skill when working with teenage girls!

To view all of pictures from the evenings events head on over to the gallery. We had some great awards that were given away and were glad that not only the new drummer could come, but that last year’s drummer, Brian could join us for some of the festivities.

And one of my favorite pictures from the evening was this one of Jonas hanging with Drew and Justin. He looks like he is just one of the guys! Just chillin’ and contributing to the conversation!

Speaking as the wife of a band member – you all are a tremendous blessing to our family and our walk with Christ! Thank you for your service, time, candor and the great relationships that have been formed over the last year. We are looking forward to the upcoming year and many more great memories together.

My how time sneaks up on me! Ben and I were just discussing the other night that we can’t believe that we have had 5 months with Isaac already. Sometimes it feels to me that we have had him an eternity. Other times I am in disbelief at how big he has gotten in such a short time. It is all very wonderful.

Here are this months milestones:

1. He continues to grow at an alarming pace! We are now definitely into 6-9 months clothes and some days I get a little short of breath thinking it won’t be to long before 12 months clothes are necessary. My goodness! I have no idea how much he weighs right now (too much at any rate) but he is currently 27.5 inches. At the advice of our pediatrician we have began the purchase of the convertible car seat(s) as he is getting long and HEAVY!

2. He has become MUCH more vocal this month. It started out with just the coos and such but has quickly progressed to yelps, loud grunts, and periodic screams. He seems to be testing out that little voice of his. As I write, he is loudly grouching because the rings (that are attached to the exercise mat) won’t come off when he pulls them! He definitely uses his voice for squealing and laughing too which is loads of fun.

3. He is much more mobile. He is really fun to watch in the baby monitor when we put him to bed because he just rolls all over the place. He regularly rolls from his stomach to back and back to stomach. He hasn’t quite figured out that he can get places doing this but he is slowly working on that skill.

4. We had our first Christmas. That was lots of fun and you can be read about it here and see pictures here, here, here, here, here, and here, if you haven’t already.

5. Isaac survived his first New Year’s Eve Party – Disney style! He was our little Sebastian for the 20 minutes that he enjoyed the party but it was fun!

6. Just a few days ago Isaac got his first tooth! I would love to show you a picture but I am lucky if i get a quick glimpse of it myself! The second one on the bottom is just about to break through as well. It is so close!

7. Eating food! Several weeks ago we started Isaac on rice cereal. He has proven to be a Callahan and eats very well! He loves his rice cereal and is now enjoying peas. Other vegetables will be added in as we progress. Probably at the rate of one new vegetable a week. I think green beans are next on our list.

8. “Star” is back! We got the exercise mat out again and he seems to be enjoying it again. He has moved from just watching her and making her sing to slowly plucking off all of the stuffed animals and trying to do pull ups on the mat! It is worth at least 10 minutes of sanity for me on most days.

9. Sleeping. If we didn’t have a video monitor this would be a scary thing to me. But we do, and unless I am sleeping I can watch what he is doing. We have been sleeping him on his stomach as it is his preferred method of sleep. When we put him on his back he inevitably ends up rolling over onto his stomach anyway. The only thing that freaks me out sometimes is his desire to smash his face into the side of the crib. I often go in to check for breathing. I really think he would like a blanket to hold in his hand too but I can just imagine that this would result in him smashed, face first in the corner with the blanket over his head! YIKES! So no security blanket fro now.

This is a picture of how he fell asleep playing while I was writing this post. SEE! Totally loves being wrapped up in a blanket! But I was sitting right there and could remove it from his airway. So cute, but don’t worry, I won’t cave!

10. ExerSaucer. At his 4 month appointment the doctor recommended us not putting him in the ExerSaucer until he was rolling around more. So we have kind of put it away for the month. We have gotten it out a few times, but rarely. Now that he is getting to be more mobile it might be time to try it a little more often.

11. Sitting up. Here really wants to be sitting up on his own. He really tries, but he just doesn’t understand that he isn’t quite there! He loves being pulled up in to the sitting position or held that way so that he can play with nearby toys.

12. At Christmas time we dropped the evening nap. This week I think we are working on adjusting the schedule again but it is hard to tell because teething has been a little bit of a disruptor. Right now we are still at 3 naps each day and about every other day he still takes a long 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. I am praying that nap sticks around for awhile but am thinking that it is on it’s way out!

13. Hair! He has discovered hair and that if fits nicely in his hand! Mommies hair of course! So sometimes I taunt him with it other times I guard it with my life!

14. Games that he likes to play:

• Kisses! Oh, how fun this game is for all of us! Basically I attack him with kisses and he smiles and giggles. LOADS of fun! I have even started putting his mouth to my cheek and saying “Give me kisses” which he also really enjoys (or at least I like to believe he does). He has even started mulling my face with them! (yes, I know he is teething, appease the mother in me already!)
• Patty Cake. This is a Grandma Gallivan exclusive but involves his amazingly cute feet! From what I hear it is a Monday night favorite.
• Still lovin’ the “take my clothes off” game. This one never seems to get old. Isaac getting fussy? Just start by taking his socks off. When he gets bored with that, take his pants off. When he tires of that, undress him all the way! (Of course he kind of expects a bath at that point).

Goodness! A whole lot sure does happen in a month. When I am feeling like I am not accomplishing much it is nice to write these posts. Then I can look back and see why it is that my house isn’t clean and the laundry not done, I am too busy helping my child develop into a little boy (and working on that new website)! So thanks for walking down memory lane with me this month. Feel free to peruse some photos (not previously published) from Isaac’s 5th month of life!

After the first x-ray the technician came out to change the film for the next one. All of a sudden she looked at me in horror. She looked at my “belly” region and looked me in the eye agaim as if waiting for an answer. To which I replied “I just had a baby 5 months ago”. She sighed in relief and told me I had scared her. Great! (hear the sarcasm). Apparently I need to spend more time at the gym afterall!

When I got Isaac up for the morning I did my inaugural finger in Isaac’s mouth (to check for those bottom teeth). This has been a daily occurrence ever since I noticed the two swollen places on his bottom gums (ouch, they really look sore). However, I was in for a nice surprise when my finger grazed something sharp. Turns out the right one decided to finally break through! Okay, so Santa came a little late this year for Isaac (he asked for this tooth for Christmas). The left one is still working it’s way through but we are expecting it’s arrival soon!

Then it was time to start on a vegetable this week. I was going to start it earlier in the week but wanted to start it at the morning feeding (he eats better at this time and less chance of night time effects if there are allergies). However, I also know that Ben enjoys being around for these “new” moments and I try to include him as much as I can. So TODAY was the day. After much debate we decided to start with peas. So here is how it went!

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We dressed him (in the most appropriate bib), made the food, got the camera ready, and braced ourselves for the shower we might soon be experiencing. The verdict: no dice, just plain and simple eating of the food! Really, there were a few funny faces as he was trying to figure out what was different, but other than that it was smooth sailing. Some days I ask Ben to pinch me to see if I am awake or dreaming. Nothing seems to phase this kid! Then again it is food, and he is a Callahan; eating, growing and pooping come with the DNA!

So the first bout of veggies went off without a hitch. He ate 1/3 of the jar of peas (yes, I used a jar, it was free and organic and I haven’t had time to make my own peas yet) PLUS his 2 tablespoons of cereal, and his 3 oz of bottle! Wowsers! We will see what tomorrow brings!

More details and pictures coming with next week’s 5 months old post!

I am instituting a new uniform around here (at least for the first week). My supervisor approves but suggests it needs a few more spit-up stains to be truely acceptable! Oh yeah, and the new hairstyle as well! I call this the “who has time to shower?” style? (and when little hands are just going to pull it all out of your head anyway, does it need to be washed? I say no.

Now don’t get me wrong. TOTALLY NOT implying that staying at home is a lesser version of life where I get to sit around in my pj pants for the afternoon eating bon-bons and watching soap operas. Just giving myself permission to have a little fun for a few days. To watch the laundry pile up to extrodinary heights. To cuddle a few extra minutes each day wih my son. To lavish my husband with homecooked meals. To sync my iPhone (Ben that one is for you ). To work on that up and coming blog – oooo, so exciting! I suppose I should admit that there will likely be alot of “tweeting” and Facebook Scrabble in my near future as well.

But in all seriousness It is so exciting to know that my family is my primary focus. They are so amazing. I am so blessed. Today is a fantastic day for me! Today is the first day of a life I never dreamed of having! Watch out mommihood here I come!

Some friends, that we met through friends, that also go to our church had a baby a couple weeks back (like that for an explanation)! We had the pleasure of taking them a meal tonight and meeting Amaya Grace for the first time! She is a cutie!

We, of course, took Isaac with us. Looks like Jonas is going to have some competition!

“She sure is a cutie! Mmm, she smells baby soft!”

“Uh, it’s okay that I kissed her right? Guess I should have asked first, I’m sorry.”

“Jonas, Jonas who?”

As we exited the theater he took me to his home. We arrived and there were shutters on the windows and the warm glow of light from a television shone through the window. There was my mother sitting on the couch, awaiting our arrival. There was jovial conversation, then her departure.

The handsome man then escorted me to a room that held a baby. As I peered in the crib I saw a tiny baby boy with soft chubby cheeks. He had the most beautiful smell and the smallest of breaths. I looked from the man to the baby and back again. I slipped out of the room.

I lay down and the man lay beside me. It appeared that he was my husband and the baby laying in the next room was my son. . . and then I woke up.

It appears that I wasn’t dreaming at all. I was, in fact, awake the whole time. That tall, handsome, kind, gentle, patient and loving man is my husband. The orange painted walls and warm, cozy home is my own. That beautiful cherub faced baby laying in the crib is my son. And this is my life. My real life. Not a dream. Well, not a dream that I have to wake up from.

I suppose if you told me 20 years ago my life would be this great, that God could be this good to me, I would NEVER have believed you. It surely is not possible. I am so very glad it is. I am certain I have no earthly comprehension of what heaven will be like, but if (and I know there shouldn’t even be an if there) God is even a fraction of as generous on the other side of this life as He has been to me on this earth I can’t wait to be there.

Lord, thank you so very much for my undeserved life. For my mother. For my family. For my husband. For my son. For my Salvation. Thank you. . .for dreams come true.