Legos

Caleb and Jonathan had their first father/son Lego time a few days ago. I think the pictures will explain enough (with a few added captions)....so here it goes!

"Helping" Daddy assemble his Lego gift from Santa.

"Daddy won't let me eat Legos!"

"Ok, I think I'm over it"

"Mommy wants to see, but I'm going to hide it!"

"Ok, I'll leave it for you to take a picture!"

The whole experience took all of 5 minutes, but it was a good introduction to Legos! The helicopter has since been put up so that Caleb can't get to it, but he enjoyed playing with the moving parts while we let him (under close supervision). 

I think both of my boys had fun even with the little tantrum! Can't wait until Caleb is older and they can build things together. I see a Lego invasion in my future!   : )

The Details

You have no idea how excited I am to finally get to tell everyone about baby Lutz #2! I've been keeping this secret since the Monday before Thanksgiving! And, if you know me, you know I don't keep secrets very well!

I had my first ultrasound this past Tuesday and got to see Baby kicking, rolling and the heart beat! We were quite surprised at how developed he/she is...we thought I was around 7 weeks along and it turns out I was actually 10 1/2 weeks! (Meaning I'm now a little past 11 weeks) Everything with the ultrasound looked great! This means Baby is due July 15th! Caleb and his sibling will be around 21 months apart. (My sister and I are 22 months apart and I always planned for my kids to be close together as well)

December has been a rough month for us between my morning sickness, my sinus infection; Caleb's flu, ear infection, and reaction to a medication; and Jonathan's stomach bug. I am very thankful to say my morning sickness seems to be ending (it's already MUCH better than it was a few weeks ago) and I think the rest of our household is on the way to full recovery.

Thanks to everyone for celebrating with us! I look forward to keeping everyone updated as Baby grows and July gets closer!

Christmas Card

Well.... this year I didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards,so here's the digital one! 

Merry Christmas! 

Christmas Outfits .... $30

Holiday Meal ... $50

Gifts for Caleb ... $80

Knowing there are 4 of us in this picture ... priceless! 

Merry Christmas from our growing family! 

Christmas Day '10

Christmas Day was at our house again this year. We are so blessed to have the space for everyone to come over and celebrate Christmas together. It was also great to be here so that Jonathan could join us. He was still very weak yesterday, but had enough energy to sit in the rocking chair and enjoy our family being here. 

I woke up Jonathan early enough to make his way to the living room while I got Caleb up. Santa brought him a Mickey Mouse chair! It was fun to watch him explore it. In the pictures you can see that he went all the way around it and pointed at all the pictures of Mickey. Even today he is excited about it and constantly in and out of it. I think Santa made a very good choice! 

My mom came over early to help me get things ready. It would have been quite a challenge to get everything done without Jonathan's help. I'm so thankful that she was able and willing to do so much. Caleb was really clingy in the morning, so I put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for him to watch while we worked in the kitchen. I thought it was cute that he was sitting in his Mickey chair watching Mickey! 

Before too long, everyone started to arrive. We had a total of 16 of us here. It was so nice to be surrounded by all of our family. Just for us to remember in the future, "everyone" included: My parents, Thomas, Kristen, Eli, GG, Papa, Derrill, Katy, Mal, Sarah, Alex and Lana (and the three of us, of course)! By the time everyone got here, I was lost in everything going on and forgot to take a lot of pictures. I really need to get better about that! 

Grandma and Caleb before the craziness began! 

GG and Papa arrived with a fun new toy for both of the boys....scooters! For the next 30 minutes or so we had scooters going in circles! Caleb already loves his even though he's a little small for it, I think it will get a lot of use! 

Eli got a cowboy hat and boots for Christmas. Aunt Kristen thought it would be fun for Caleb to try on the hat too! I love his expression : )

Shortly after this picture he took off the hat. He doesn't really like anything on his head! 

And the last picture is of the boys playing together. Any time Eli is over it seems that they are following each other around. 

We had a wonderful Christmas day! Caleb got several great toys that he'll be able to grow into and learn with. Jonathan got a box for screws/bolts for the garage and I was given a few things for the kitchen. We are so thankful for all that we received and the time we got to spend with our family. 

We have one more Christmas celebration this afternoon at Jonathan's mom's house and then it will be time to start taking the decorations down. It's been a great few days, but I think I'm ready for a break! I think we've worn out Caleb....he slept until 9:15 this morning! 

Merry Christmas everyone! 

Christmas 1 and Christmas Eve

Our little family is busy this Christmas with 4 days in a row of festivities! I decided to split the days so that one post isn't too long, so here it goes!

On the 23rd, Jonathan's dad invited everyone over for dinner to celebrate Christmas early and for a little birthday celebration for Sarah. Jonathan has been very sick with a stomach bug, so he stayed home and Caleb and I went to enjoy some family time. We had a great time catching up with Aunt Laura, Uncle Drew, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Alex, Lana, Mark (Dao's son), Dao and Grandpa Ron! Being on my own with Caleb, I didn't remember to take many pictures, but did get one of Aunt Laura reading to Caleb. Notice where Caleb decided to stand during story time - that was all him! Crazy boy!

We enjoyed a yummy dinner and time to let Lana and Caleb play together. Unfortunately, Caleb's bedtime was pushed a little too late and we had a very cranky boy before I left, but he did ok. I enjoyed our first Christmas and watching Lana and Caleb play together!

The next day was Christmas Eve. Again, Jonathan was unable to join us, but Caleb and I went to my parents house for our traditional Christmas Eve soup night. GG and Mom made 5 different soups and we had lots of bread/crackers to go with them. Our cold front came through that evening, so temps were still fairly warm that afternoon. Caleb and I spent a while out on the patio with my parents before everyone else arrived. It was good for him to get some time outside and always fun to watch him studying the leaves around him.

Again, I didn't get any pictures, but I did take a video of GG and Caleb together. She's a pretty good GG!



I wish Jonathan could have joined us for our first two days of Christmas, but at least he was well enough to be with us Christmas day. I'll share more about that on the next post!

Santa Came to Town...

Well, maybe not Santa...but just as good (if not better) than Santa in my opinion. Granny and Grandpa came to visit!

My Granny and Grandpa live about 3 hours away in the middle of nowhere outside of Austin. We don't get out to see them as much as I would like. They are the ones that host the Mullinnix family reunion in July every year. Since we moved back to League City after college they have not been able to make the trip down. Various medical issues have made it difficult for them to drive that long. They finally decided they could make it, so they came this weekend to visit family and see our home for the first time!

We were so excited to hear they were planning on coming and planned for a big family get-together at our house. Unfortunately, around 9 o'clock this morning Caleb had another round of tummy trouble and we had to cancel. (Good news is everyone got together at my parents house instead - except us)

We knew Caleb wasn't contagious anymore so, after all the company left, my parents and grandparents came by the house for a quick visit. They had a chance to tour the house and then sat and visited for a while. It was nice to have a quiet opportunity to catch up with them even though Caleb hasn't been feeling well.

While they were here, they surprised us with two Christmas presents. I knew one of them was coming, but not the other. Have a look....

I love Caleb's toy box... we got to see a sneak peak last time we were visiting, but it was still in individual pieces. It looks amazing! Grandpa even put in a latch that keeps the lid from slamming shut. Caleb already loves opening and closing it! 

The second gift is a step stool. Jonathan admired one that Granny and Grandpa have at their farm and Grandpa decided I could probably use one too. The bottom step actually swings out from the bottom so it can store easier! I LOVE it! 

Am I not the luckiest girl to have a grandpa that can make such amazingly beautiful things? I have a shelf in my kitchen that he made me when I was a teenager. I look at it all the time and think of them both. It's so wonderful to have things around my home that remind me of people I love. 

We are so glad they had the opportunity to come down, I think they might be my favorite Christmas present this year! 

Caleb's First Ear Infection

It seems like this is becoming common, but for the last two weeks we've had a sick household. I ended up with a sinus infection (which I blame on the constantly changing weather) and was out of commission for most of last week. Luckily, Jonathan stayed home one day and my mom came over on Friday to play with Caleb so I could rest. I would have to say this is the sickest I've been in quite some time, I even had to go to the dr to get some antibiotics. Thankfully, I am feeling better now besides I lingering cough that sounds worse than it really is.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Caleb. He developed a cough over the weekend and I assumed he was coming down with the same thing I had. He threw up off and on Monday through Wednesday, but never often enough that I felt the need to rush him to the doctor. He kept down cheerios and pedialyte, so we watched him carefully, but didn't worry too much. This morning he suddenly got worse though. We were able to get him an appointment at his doctor's office and found out that he was at the end of the nasty flu that's been going around and had a minor ear infection in his left ear. We are actually very glad he hasn't been running the high fever most kids have with this flu. The doctor said we got him in at the perfect time.

Below are a few pictures of Caleb this week.... he obviously hasn't been feeling well. He's been very cuddly and hasn't played on his own in several days. He fell asleep against me at 6:45 this evening, so we put him to bed early. I'm hoping his antibiotics combined with lots of sleep will help him feel better soon. I hate for my baby to feel so bad! 

Sleeping on Daddy

Napping in the playroom, after taking a long nap in his crib....poor baby. 

Resting with Daddy while he plays the wii. 

Lawn Mower

Last week, Caleb was having a fun time with the lawn mower cousin Eli gave him for his birthday. Too bad it's not a vacuum cleaner....that could really help me out! 

School Christmas Party

Last night was the PeeWee School Family Christmas Party. I had a lot of fun getting to see my 4 year olds with their families and visiting with my 2 year olds from earlier in the year. I must say the school did a great job of setting up some fun activities for the kids and making it a relaxed time for adults. I stayed for the whole event (as a teacher), but Jonathan did bring Caleb for a little while. Most of the activities were too advanced for him, but he did get to have his picture taken with Santa!

I didn't grow up taking yearly pics with Santa, so it never crossed my mind to do that for Caleb. I was a little apprehensive at first, not knowing how he'd react, but he sat there calmly while the photographer took his picture. When he was done, Santa handed him a stuffed toy. Caleb wouldn't take the toy from Santa, but when I picked him up, he took it from me! I guess we've taught him not to take things from strangers already! Silly boy, Santa is ok!

Below is the picture from Santa. I'm glad we didn't have any tears as I heard several screamers through the evening! So glad I teach (and Caleb attends) somewhere that celebrates the true meaning of Christmas and values family togetherness. PeeWee School is a true blessing in our lives!

Christmas Teaser

A big box arrived for Caleb a few days ago! He investigated, but Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let him peak in just yet : )

20 more days little man, and then you can see what's inside! (I think Mommy and Daddy may be more excited than Caleb!)

Dancing

The title says enough....enjoy : )

Thanksgiving '10

Happy Thanksgiving! I love this time of year! A time of reflection. A time to remember the ways God cares for us and blesses our lives. A time of family.

Thomas and Kristen invited us all up to their house for Thanksgiving this year. It was nice to spend the days before this holiday relaxing (and doing some shopping) and not preparing our house for guests. We left around 9:30 on Thursday morning to get up to their house around 10:30. We were the first ones there and had a chance to catch up and relax before everyone else arrived.

Kristen did a great job putting together appetizers and the main courses of lunch. The rest of us brought sides to go along with the meal and my sister, Katy, brought LOTS of dessert! As usual, there was way too much food and it was hard to not overeat!

All of us at the table, minus Thomas, Jonathan and the boys

I think my favorite part of the day was watching Eli and Caleb interact more. Caleb is beginning to follow Eli around and copy him in a lot of ways. I think it's just a tiny view into what the future will hold with those two! I think Eli loves when "Cabab" gives him so much attention. Of course, I enjoyed that both boys are still young enough to take naps so we had about an hour or so of relaxing time too!

Playing with Eli's computer in his cozy chair!

Tickle Time! 

Following Eli around! 

It was a wonderful day with family! Since then we have been slowly working on taking out the Christmas decorations and Jonathan braved Toys R Us on Black Friday! (Late in the afternoon with just two things on his list) Caleb seems to have a cold today so we're taking it easy and letting him rest. The weather has gotten cooler the past two days and we're enjoying staying cozy inside. I think it's a perfect way to continue our Thanksgiving through the weekend!

Hope everyone else enjoyed their Thanksgiving whether with family or friends, wherever you are! God is so good and we are very thankful for all of our blessings!

A New Park

Caleb was invited to a friend's birthday party at a new park in League City today. The park is fantastic! It was designed for kids with handicaps as well as younger children. We had a great time letting Caleb run around and play! Unfortunately, I underestimated how hot 74 degrees really is, so we were all a bit warm, but there was a nice breeze and he seemed to have a fun time. This is definitely a park we plan to go back to (maybe during the week when there are fewer kids there)!

Happy Boy!

Checking out everything

On the slide with Daddy

Silly little smirk 

I think we have a mountain climber

Sliding with his friend

Anyone there?

Crawling in the tunnel

I think he had a great time! He certainly played hard....he's still napping and he went to bed 2 hours ago! That's a definite sign of having a good time around here, needing a longer nap! 

Just Like Mommy

I try really hard not to be on the phone around Caleb too much, I like to give him my attention while we're together. That being said....I guess I haven't done so well with that goal as he is now copying Mommy!

I took some pictures of him yesterday "talking" on his phone and pacing, just like I do! Such a silly little boy : )

Totally unrelated... here are some other playtime pictures. 

Grandma Mal gave him this toy rocket ship a long time ago and we've just recently pulled it out to play on. He LOVES it and for some reason decided it would be more fun to stick a toy in his mouth while he played on it this time. 

The other day I found him like this on the floor. It was cute to see him with snack, cup and giraffe! 

And last, I found the cats like this a few mornings ago. I love that their feet are intertwined. Maybe they were keeping their feet warmer...not really sure, but they are cute too.