Happy Halloween! We had a fun time with family this evening. Jonathan and I had everyone over at our house for the afternoon/evening to snack, watch the boys play, have an early dinner and take Eli and Caleb Trick-or-Treating!
Everyone started arriving around 4 this afternoon and we let the boys play together inside for a while. Eli is beginning to get to the age when he wants to include Caleb (sometimes) while he's playing. Caleb will oblige for a few minutes before moving on to something else, but it's fun while it lasts.
Playing together : )
GG brought animal crackers
Yum!
Caleb really liked his treat, I've never seen him go after something with so much zest before!
After we ate a quick dinner, we got the boys into their costumes and went on our way to do some candy collecting. Both boys did a great job walking up to the houses. Of course, Caleb wasn't saying anything, but Eli took care of everything saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" to each house we went to.
His costume all ready to go...
Cute cousin Eli
Crazy Uncle Derrill
Caleb wasn't so sure about that headpiece!
The beginning of our journey
The boys definitely had it good!
We saw a lot of families out trick-or-treating and I think we had the two cutest kiddos of the night! We stuck to a small portion of our neighborhood and I was impressed by how many people we had passing out candy. There were a few houses with several families sitting outside just enjoying the evening while doing the candy thing. It's really encouraging to see neighbors doing neighborly things.
Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween, I know we did!
Last Friday (a week ago) we took Caleb on his first field trip to Space Center Houston! The school I teach at (and he attends) does a few field trips each year on Fridays when we don't have school. Parents bring their own children so teachers aren't in charge, but we all get to have some fun together. After an hour of playing, Jonathan was even able to come join us for some fun.
It was fun to be on the parent side of a field trip instead of the teacher side. I watched Caleb explore new things and see his little friends. There was a really neat Lego castle exhibit that we spent most of our time at. They even had huge Legos that Caleb could play with!
I'm so glad that the fact that I am teaching is allowing Caleb to have so many new school experiences. He has already learned so much and started doing so many new things now that he's in school two days a week.
Anyways, here are some pictures from the day, looking forward to the next field trip experience whenever that may be!
Playing with BIG Legos!
Sitting on a Lego bench with Daddy.
My boys walking together
Caleb going down the slide
In front of the Lego Castle exhibit (neat how we combined Jonathan's two favorite hobbies - NASA and Legos!)
Inside the Space Shuttle mockup
On the Safer (Jonathan says that's what it's called - it's really an astronaut jet pack)
Playing a simulator game, you can't tell but Caleb is in Jonathan's lap
We had a great time at Space Center Houston. Believe it or not it was my first time to ever visit there even though I grew up such a short distance away! I love that Caleb is now getting to the age to enjoy new experiences like that!
Hello all! Well, I'm way behind on blogging and have had several requests for some different news. And, of course, now that I have time to sit at the computer the website is having some "maintenance" done. Hopefully that won't effect this blog post too much.
So, I'll start with the special surprise I mentioned quite a while ago! Those of you that know me well know my one lifelong passion - Music. My parents let me start piano lessons while I was in elementary school and it quickly became one of my favorite things to do. My favorite piano books moved with me from one apartment to the next in college, but I rarely got the chance to play. Jonathan and I had recently started looking for a used piano for our home, but nothing we had seen really jumped at me. I always knew the piano I wanted, but figured it was something I would have to inherit in the far future. It's a strange attachment, while there are other, more expensive, more impressive pianos, the only one I wanted was the one I learned on and had it's home in my parent's living room for as long as I can remember.
Well, my parents shocked me by giving me their piano a few weeks ago! They have been redecorating their living room and decided it was time to part with the piano. I can think of only a few moments that top this one in my life (those being important milestones having to do with Caleb and Jonathan). I can never thank my parents enough for giving me such a wonderful gift! I have played nearly every day since it got to my house and Caleb loves reaching up and tinkering with it! I can't wait til he's old enough to begin lessons! I wish I had a better way to explain how amazing it is for me to have a piano, but I just can't think of an analogy to share! The best I can explain is to say music is a part of my innermost being and not having the ability to express it, in some ways, made me feel incomplete.
This is just a little video from the day we got the piano. Caleb now loves to sit on the bench with me and he uses one finger (I think it's his pointer finger) to play the black keys! He plays them one at a time...it's so cute!
I also haven't had a chance to write about our trip with Aunt Sarah, Lana and Grandma Mal to Old MacDonald's Farm on Columbus Day (meaning Jonathan got to come too). We had a fun time letting Lana and Caleb loose with animals in the petting zoo (don't worry, we were always nearby), walking through the pumpkin patch, and riding the train! The farm was about an hour away, so not somewhere we want to go often, but it was a fun outing for us. It was just another reminder that fall in Texas doesn't necessarily mean nice weather....it was a beautiful day, but it got pretty warm by the time we ate our picnic lunch.
Below are just a few pictures from the day.
And one more thing I'm behind on sharing... my wonderful mother made Caleb's Halloween costume this year. She did an amazing job! He's going to be our little lion. I took one picture of him the day she brought it. I'm not sure he cares for the head part, but at least I got one picture of him in it! I also took him to a local pumpkin patch this past Monday and let him explore the different pumpkins (he really likes the bumpy ones!) and got a few more pictures in the body part of the costume. A few of our friends met us at the pumpkin patch and we got to see their costumes as well...they already gave me some ideas for next year! I hope he'll wear the whole costume on Halloween (and I hope the weather is a little cooler), but, regardless, Grandma did a great job with his costume! Thanks again Mom!
Well, I guess that catches up everything for now, the big stuff anyways! We're staying VERY busy around here and Caleb seems to have more energy than either Jonathan or I. Hopefully things will slow down soon, but as we're beginning to enter the holiday season I highly doubt it!
(By the way, I started this post on Wednesday - hence the date at the top, but it took me two days to figure out how to post pictures since the website changed it! Hopefully it won't take me this long in the future! Please be patient with me as I figure things out) : )
Our sweet friend, Jessica Clarkson, is beginning her photography business! We are so excited for her and decided to have her do Caleb's 1st birthday pictures to help start her business and to get some cute pictures of Caleb. I LOVE the way they turned out! The weather was beautiful the day we took the pictures and Jessica did an amazing job of capturing some adorable moments!
Thanks Jessica for doing such an incredible job! Jonathan and I are having trouble picking our favorites ~ they all are so special!
Grandma Mal asks Caleb how big he is and then she stretches out her arms and says "Sooooooo big"! This week I definitely feel like he is "so big!".
To start, I'll share his "stats" from his 1 year well baby appointment.
Height: 27 3/4" (2%)
Weight: 16lbs 7 oz (.08%)
Yes, he's still tiny, but he's growing and getting a little more height. The doctor was pleased with how much he gained since his 9 month appointment and he is walking so steadily!
In the past week it seems like he has just grown in so many ways though!
Outside Time: If we're outside and the boys across the street are out Caleb wants to go play with them. He runs into the street faster than I can stop him (thankfully we live in a cul-de-sac so it's not a big safety issue). He can't understand that the big boys on scooters are a lot bigger than he is! There are little steps from the garage into the driveway and at the end of the driveway and he spent a long time this week at both areas going up and down trying to walk over them. He now steps down each one like a pro! (He attempted that on our stairs this week too with less than great results...his little legs aren't ready for those big steps just yet!)
Toys: He's very into balls right now (hence the ball pit for his birthday) and duplo legos. Caleb sits for 10-15 minutes with two blocks putting them together and taking them apart over and over again, and he gets frustrated when he can't get them together! So cute!
Meal Time: Caleb has now moved to a "booster" high chair at meal time. We felt that he really didn't need the full high chair anymore, but we still needed something with a tray. This has been perfect and when he's ready to start eating at the table we can just remove the tray and use it as a booster seat.
Food: Everything! So far we do not have a picky eater and he eats A LOT! The boy can eat 5 chicken nuggets (cut up of course) and half a fruit cup at one meal! Goldfish are his current favorite snack - though we limit those because he tries to stuff far too many in his mouth at a time and scares his momma!
Bed Time: Are you familiar with the zip/button pajamas most little kids wear? Well, Caleb is done with those! It has been common for him to bring up his legs in the middle of the night and when he stretches both legs end up in the same leg hole..not a big deal! Well, not too long ago we went to get him up and he had kicked out so forcefully that he tore out the zipper! With the nights getting a little cooler now we decided to get him some big boy pajamas with a separate shirt and pants....see how cute he is!
Car Time: We are in the process of getting a bigger carseat. He's nowhere near outgrowing it in weight, but he's beginning to reach the height limit.
Church Time: Today we moved Caleb into the big boy class at PeeWees! He's been in the wiggler room since the first time we dropped him off back in January! It was kind of hard for me to let go of him, but I have interacted with all of those women for quite some time, so it was a comfort knowing he was in good hands.
I feel like I ask Jonathan every day where our baby went! He's really jumped into toddlerhood and isn't looking back! His personality comes through more and more each day. We are so thankful for our little man and the joy he brings us each day!
And sorry little boy, you'll always be our baby, no matter how much you learn and grow!
We are so blessed to have friends and family that truly love Caleb and bless his life in so many ways! Many of them came over this afternoon to help us celebrate his birthday. We have had beautiful weather here for the past week, so we were able to enjoy being outside for the afternoon. We ate plenty of food and watched the kiddos have fun playing in the yard. It was such a wonderful day!
We started out the party letting the kids play and eating a bit. It was fun to watch the kids running around and we had some lawn darts out for the adults to play. After a while, we decided it was time for cake. I made Caleb's birthday cake on Saturday. Sarah (Jonathan's sister) came over to help work on the cookies I was using to decorate the cake on Friday and then I did the actual cake on Saturday. She and I had a great time learning a new decorating technique and I really love how cute the cookies looked on the cake. I also made a smaller "smash" cake for Caleb, I didn't get a picture of it after it was finished, but we have a good one of him getting into it!
Caleb LOVED his cake! I've never seen a 1 year old really get into eating the cake without some assistance.... Caleb didn't need us at all! As soon as I put it in front of him he stuck his finger in the icing, licked it and then dove in. Jonathan started off taking pictures, then switched to a video after Caleb took a handful. I think this video is just adorable!
After cake we let Caleb play for a while before opening presents. Jonathan and I had already given Caleb the presents from us earlier in the afternoon. One was a kiddie pool with balls in it. He enjoyed playing with it all day and Lana even joined in the fun. Don't worry, at the end of the video Lana is fine! She got right back up and joined in the fun again!
After playing I helped Caleb open his gifts. He received many wonderful toys and a lot of clothes! We are so appreciative of everything he was given!
Here are a few random pictures from today:
As I said before, we are so blessed to have wonderful people in Caleb's life that love him and want wonderful things for him. Thanks to everyone for making today so special! It has been an amazing year watching Caleb grow and learn so many things. He brings Jonathan and I such joy every day. I hope the past year is just a window into what life holds for Caleb and for Jonathan and I. We love our little man so much, happy birthday sweet baby boy!
