My favorite Christmas gift

With the help of my parents and Matt's parents I was able to get one of my favorite Christmas gifts this year. I was tired of the boy's play area getting more and more cluttered. I saw this 9 cube organizer at Target and fell in love. With all the different color options for the pull out bins I decided upon red and blue. If one day we get into a house and this should have to move to their bedroom, it will match perfectly. But for now, it is out in their "play area" which is technically our dining room. But who in their right mind has 2 small kids with carpet in their dining room. That is just asking for you to buy stock in "Spot Shot" or some other cleaner.

Anyhow, back to the shelves. Ethan was excited too and helped me organize his toys into the bins. One is filled with just Thomas and Friends trains, one is filled with race cars, one filled with monster trucks, one is packed full of all different kinds of balls, one with toy guns, one with 2 different bowling sets, and the other 3 have miscellaneous things in it. It is perfect and I love it! I am debating on making some sort of labeling system on each bin with a picture of what goes in it so it is easier on clean up for the boys. But Ethan pretty much already has them memorized. I highly suggest this if you have children! It is one of those things that every time I walk by I just look at it and smile. Ha! I'm a dork, I know.

Snow 2010

We had the joy of having a "big" snow hit North Carolina starting on Christmas and lasting through today. Where I live about 8 inches fell! My dad drove his truck over with my brother this morning and loaded my family up and took us back to his house where my mom and my brother's family was waiting to play! We had a great day of sledding and drinking hot cocoa. Ethan is one of those kids that will play out all day in it if you let him. He was drenched from playing in the wet snow and never complained once. He only came in because we made him! He had snow down his boots, down his shirt, and all over. He and Matt had a blast wrestling in the snow. I mostly sat holding Caleb. He sure did love watching the kids. The only reason he went inside is because I thought he was getting chilly because of his pink cheeks. Not once did he whine or whimper. He loved being outside and watching my 2 nieces and Ethan play! We sure do love getting snow and playing in it when we can! I am so glad we stopped to snap a family shot because rarely do I get a picture with all four of us in it! We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and enjoy spending time with your friends and family. We look forward to celebrating the new year. I can not believe it is almost 2011! That is just unreal!

Christmas kisses

"Dadadadadadada"

I don't know when or how it got started, but that is how my dad would sign his cards to me and how I would address mine to him.

My dad is an awesome man. My dad, Lee, was born in Illinois, moved to Colorado where he met my mom in high school and proposed and married her a week after she graduated high school. If I had to think of one word to describe my dad it would be thoughtful. And while, at first glance, that word doesn't seem to encompass a whole lot. For him, it does. He is one of the most thoughtful people. He is constantly loving on us by making our favorite meals, or dishes. Whenever we go to their house, which is frequently, I would say over 90% of the time we walk out the door with more than we came with. He is thoughtful and before we leave his house he scans his pantry for snacks and goodies that he can fill a grocery bag with and give to us. He buys all the grand kids their special snacks and juice boxes so when they come over, he can treat them! It doesn't just stop at the grand kids, he is thoughtful of us too. He makes us specials meals or things that he knows we like. My dad buys us diapers. He makes special trips to Costco after work to buy diapers. Occasionally he will buy me a Starbucks gift card or slip Ethan some change or dollar bills. He is one of the most giving people you will ever meet. One story I will never forget of my dad is hearing how several years ago he had a coworker whom he knew was going through tough times. My dad, as the manager who cares for his employees, went out and bought a grocery gift card for the man. This just left a huge impression on me. One that I will honestly never forget and should model to my children!

As long as I have known my dad he has worked very very hard. Mom told me that when we grew up that there were times we didn't have enough money. I never knew there were money problems, because he (and my mom) always worked so hard and gave us vacations that we will always remember. Driving up to NC to go camping, driving from Florida to New Mexico and Colorado. We were always camping or going to the beach when I was little. He worked hard to give us things he knew we would love and enjoy!

I am so proud to say that I have a dad who has amazing integrity and work ethic. There is so much about my dad that I love and respect. Family is his number one priority. I love him so much. I am so thankful that in college and my adult life we have grown closer. I will also never forget how he showed up at my door on his lunch break one afternoon right after I had Ethan. I was going through some postpartum depression and he came and just spoke straight to me in a loving way. It was after that talk and how he told me that I was an amazing mom and to trust my instincts and just love my sweet baby that I was able to let go and really be healed from those sad days. He literally slapped me out of it with love and truth!

I really don't know where this post is completely going, but one thing is certain, that I want people to know the kind of dad I have. I truly find it a joy and honor to be called his daughter. He means so much to us and I pray that we have many many more years with him on this earth. We could all learn so much from Lee, the man that I call dadadadadadada.

p.s. Picture on right is of my dad & Ethan this past summer on our family vacation to Gatlinburg. My dad, a.k.a. "Papa" is always coming up with fun games to play. This one was bouncing a ball down the stairs and Ethan loved it!

Preparing for Christmas

I can hardly believe that Christmas is only 13 days away! It just doesn't seem possible!

We decorated our tree and it is tied to the wall by fishing line because it kept falling over. Ethan was so cute decorating the tree because he was very excited. He kept putting all the ornaments on one branch as seen in the picture to the right! We kept telling him to spread them out and that the WHOLE tree could be decorated, but he flocked to the one branch. Whenever he would turn his back I would grab a few ornaments off that he had put on and put them on the other side of the tree.

He also immediately put the stockings on his feet and was skipping around the apartment. I have very vivid memories of me doing the exact same thing as a child. Another reason that he is definitely just like me!

We also put up my Willow Tree nativity set. We have started the tradition of Ethan unwrapping each piece and handing it to me and I will tell him the Christmas story as we set it up. One of my favorite things I own right now is a Yankee candle, Hollyberry. It smells so good! Whenever I light it the sweet smell fills our apartment and it truly makes me think of Christmas.

My only challenge, as I write this, is that with all the external preparations we are making for Christmas, I hope I can stop and reflect on Christs' birth. Because without that, we truly are not celebrating Christmas. I want to instill in Ethan that this time is not all about presents, Christmas trees, and Santa. (Although those are fun!) But I want my boys to know that this holiday is about a time where we remember the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. That he was born to a virgin, is God's son, and was sinless. He became sin for us when he died on the cross. You can not look at Christmas & Easter as separate, because they are very much connected. I pray that you all enjoy this time of year and all that it entails! Don't lose sight of the true reason for the season!

Grrrrrrrrr

My son growls.

For the past few months Caleb has loved to hear himself make noises. One of which is growling. He gets pretty loud and does it often. This wouldn't normally be such a bad thing except in situations like last night. Picture going to a church Christmas party. All the adults and kids in the same room. The Pastor is up on stage giving a little presentation about the Christmas story and all the sudden you hear this growling....like a little puppy defending his little bone. It was so hysterical. I started laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes. He kept doing it. Even our beloved worship leaders who were on stage heard him and were fighting back snickering! If I can get it on video, I will try to post it. He's a funny little booger and I love him!

Who knew such a little adorable thing could have such robust growling!

Goodwill find

One man's junk is another man's treasure!
A new Goodwill opened near us so we decided to check it out. We found these adorable shelves and just had to get them for our boys' room. Not only were they in great shape, but we got them at an outstanding price!
Ethan loves them and immediately went, grabbed some of his books and laid them on the shelves. I really have never been one to yard sale or check out Goodwill, but this little find made me want to get out there and see what other treasures I can find!
Here is a tip if you want to check out your local Goodwill Community Foundation: they only take cash or checks! We learned the hard way. Happy shopping!

It's that time...

Yes I could be talking about Christmas and all that it entails. But i'm talking about Caleb and the fact that he pulled up and stood at Ethan's train table yesterday all by himself! He has been interested in standing the past few weeks. Yesterday I was sitting behind him and was letting him stand at the train table. Well he fell over and I sat him down and was getting up to do something. He started fussing because he did NOT want to sit, he wanted to stand. With frustration and tears in his eyes he grabbed Ethan's edge of the table and pulled up as if he had been doing it for months and was hiding this secret from us! So it's that time... the next few months will be filled with cruising and first steps! Look out world, there will be 2 more little boys running around together!

Exhausted.

I am exhausted. I love the holidays, but they wear me out! The past few days we have traveled, ate, shopped, and ate some more. We didn't even travel far compared to most. My boys and myself are tuckered out. On top of just being busy and tired, I have had a sick baby. I noticed about half way through our photo session (view lovely family picture to the right) that Caleb had a fever. I knew he was fussing more than usual, but I wasn't sure if he just didn't want to be his normal photogenic self. Lo' and behold he spiked a fever 101.3 pretty fast. The past 24 hours has been even more exhausting. He was up all through the night which meant that I was up all through the night. He has been so fussy and just feeling like poop. Aside from Caleb being fussy for the pictures, Ethan decides to throw some fits himself. The little turkey can be such a sweet boy and then turn it off in a heartbeat. He was choosing to be mad and upset and therefore not smiling. The picture to the right is about the time he was finally snapping out of it and was trying to be silly and make himself happy. So you can notice his little face as well as Caleb's fussing look. I have come to realize the more kids we have that the family pictures probably won't turn out as good because you can't coordinate kids looking at the camera at the same time AND smiling. It is just a rarity.
Anyhow, so I am exhausted. But, I have had time to reflect and realize that I have so much to be thankful for. I won't sit here and list out all my personal blessings, but I do thank God for everything I have. I don't deserve to have what He has given me, but I am so ever grateful.

p.s. Tomorrow is THE day. I have already made myself a little weight loss journal book where I will document what I eat every day as well as the exercise I do and a little section for comments. I have already weighed myself (depressing) and I am ready to go. I agree with what a friend commented on my last post- this is a tough season to start. But I am going to try my best to make good decisions and let myself enjoy a treat every now and then. My biggest goal is to exercise more. But documenting my food intake will open my eyes, I am sure, to what I need to eat less of and more of. Please pray for me as I seek to have a healthier lifestyle so I can watch my great grand kids play soccer or baseball. (Matt would kill me if I didn't mention the later)! ;)

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We have been busy with 2 feasts, lots of shopping, and now we are about to go get family pictures done. I love this time of the year! My goal as Thanksgiving is here and Christmas is about to approach is to stop and take time and really remember the true reasons for these holidays. It is so easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle that we don't take time to stop and be thankful for all of our blessings and celebrate Christ's birth. So my challenge to all my readers (all 2 of you- ha ha) is to STOP amid all the busyness and reflect. Even though life is full of hurts and disappointments, we really are blessed by a God who loves us.

On a different note. Monday starts weight loss boot camp for me. I have the unfortunate ability to lose all my baby weight within two weeks of having my babies... but then s...l...o...w...l...y gain weight back. SO, I am tired of it. I have reached the point where I need to get over my excuses and "get with the program" as my mom always says. With family medical health trends and 2 adorable boys watching me, I need to be healthy and set a good example. So yay (a bit of sarcasm and a bit of true excitement) here it goes.

Potpourri Post

This past weekend I went on our Women's Retreat to Fort Caswell with my church. We had a blast. It was absolutely gorgeous Fall weather. We enjoyed some fun, laughter, food, bible study, and more. The theme of the weekend was REST- Resting in Him. We learned some valuable truths. I especially loved exploring the old fort. Here is a picture of me and my good friend, Brooks in the fort.
Caleb's personality has really been coming out the past few weeks. He is easy going and content. But he does have a little temper on him. He has learned to express himself... usually through squealing or screaming. When this boy is hungry, he will let you know. This past weekend while I was out of town, Matt had to take him to the doctor, we found out he weighs 24 lbs, 10 ounces! What a chunky monkey!

I have the best husband! He is very active in the boys' lives and really helps me around the house. One of Matt's "jobs" that he has taken around the house is unloading the dishwasher. Ethan recently has enjoyed helping him. Ethan loves cleaning and helping and often initiates it himself. He is such a good, sweet boy!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week! I just feel like the past few weeks have flown. I look forward to many traditions at Thanksgiving! Also, Matt will be graduating with his Master's degree in a month from today! Yay! He has worked really hard and I am very proud of him!

How Deep The Father's Love For Us

[This song is one of my favorite songs, and speaks volumes. Enjoy the lyrics.]

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
the Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders,
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

9 months old

On November 4th, my sweet baby turned 9 months old. I just can not even believe that is possible. He is at such a fun age right now. He has 2 teeth on the bottom. His first tooth came through while we were in Brazil, then his second one popped through a few days ago. Caleb is crawling some and when he does it is the army crawl. He can do the "regular" crawling, but definitely prefers to army crawl. Little chicken. He absolutely loves standing and will fuss when you sit him down. We learned early on that Caleb does not like meat baby food, so for now it is just fruits and veggies. He also has started eating puffs, which he prefers me to feed to him. He is like a little baby bird with his mouth open. We will have to work on his self feeding, I have a feeling he is going to be lazy in that regard and want us to do all the work. It is amazing how much I have forgotten how things "work" since Ethan was a baby. I keep thinking Caleb should be eating table food. But then again, Ethan had like 6 teeth by now and he barely has two. Caleb is such a smiley happy baby. He sleeps great still. Even this morning with the time change, he slept fine and didn't wake up until I went in to wake him. He loves his daddy a lot and of course his big brother too. Ethan & him just figured out their first game they like to play together. They wave their hands fanatically and sort of slap hands together almost like they are playing those clapping games. Caleb is a little turkey sometimes. He definitely fusses when he doesn't get his way and I have a very strange feeling that he will be our fit thrower! Anyhow, since he won't have immunizations at his 9 month check up, we decided to cancel it. So I will try to do some at- home measurements to report to you. I know he is at least 23 pounds because he was near that at his 6 month check up. Time is flying. I love my sweet baby.

Blog Fog

I have had this blog now for 4 years! I went from posting every day, sometimes multiple times a day, to blogging 4 times a month! Although life continues to happen and we are busy bees, I feel like I have nothing to blog about. I'm guessing at this rate unless the blogging bug bites me hard I will probably be giving it up by the new year. With the increase of social media, I think I have found that Facebook is my preference. I can post pictures on there for friends and family to see and the status updates are where I tell my little stories. When I do blog no one seems to comment, so I feel like i'm talking to a wall. I guess I live for the feedback and when it's not there, I don't blog as much. (Sigh)
Well for today, I will say that I can not believe that Caleb turns 9 months old on Thursday. Time is seriously flying by faster and faster. He got his first tooth while we were in Brazil and the second one just popped through yesterday. He is crawling now, but not a whole lot. He is the happiest little guy! He sleeps like a champ, for a while he was still taking 4 naps a day. I think I have finally gotten him down to 2, but some days he needs a third. He and Ethan are best buds and are constantly laughing together and being silly. Although, he does get a bit tired of Ethan's constant kisses and hugs. He has gotten to where Ethan will just walk up to him and Caleb will start to fuss. He is anticipating the smother! I know I say this often, but I love my boys and I am thrilled to be a mommy. God has blessed me so much! I do hope we can have another some day... maybe God will get my order I submitted for a girl, ha ha! ;)
Maybe a clearing will come in the blog fog, but for now the forecast isn't great! (That is my poor attempt to be funny with puns!)

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from our family to yours! Have a fun and safe day and eat some apples to balance out all that candy!

Check out the latest Brazil news

Brazil team blog: www.bridgemissiontrip.wordpress.com

Busy month

Tomorrow Matt and I leave for a conference in Atlanta, GA for a few days. We are excited to get away and experience this together. Every year Matt gets to go, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to attend myself. Around 13,000 people gathering to worship and learn more about God, the church, and leadership. We will be getting home around midnight Friday night. Then next week is the week. We fly out next Thursday to Brazil. We are getting very excited and just want the day to be here. Preparation, while necessary, is hard because you get to the point where you just want to be there! I am, however, not looking forward to the day we have to kiss our sweet babies goodbye for 9 days. I will be an emotional wreck... but I will have 12 hours in flight to cry and get over it! They will be well taken care of and we get this amazing opportunity to go love and serve others in a real tangible way!
One thing I am very excited about is putting together a treat for Ethan for each day that I am gone. When I was little and my mom would go out of town for a conference or whatever, she would leave paper grocery bags, 1 for each day that she is gone, full of little prizes. Coloring books, crayons, candy, books, etc. I used to love opening them each day and it would be a visual way for me as a kid to see how many more days (or bags I could open) before mom would be home. So I am going to go get some brown lunch paper bags and do the same thing and leave one for each day that we will be gone for him to open. The dollar store will be my best friend as you can get great little prizes for pretty cheap.
Before I know it October will be over. Time is flying by! No wonder I feel like I blinked and now Caleb is 8 months old!!!!

Brazil

"Leaving on a jet plane, don't know when i'll be back again."

Actually I do. Matthew and I get the huge privilege of going to Brazil with some people from our church in less than 3 weeks. We are going to a town in the southern part of the country called Florestopolis. I am getting very excited. But at the same time, I am very nervous about leaving my boys. I am actually struggling with it more than I thought I would. But I am really thrilled about going to Brazil and loving on people and doing some work projects. This will be my first time flying out of the country since my trip to China in 2001. What is going to be really special to me is being able to experience this with Matt. It is our first "missions" trip together! During our church service yesterday we actually skyped in with a man down in Brazil and he was able to talk to us for about 15 minutes about where we will be going and what we will be doing. It actually took some of my fear away that I have about leaving my boys and instilled in me a sense of urgency and excitement to go! So stay tuned in the next month for pictures and stories from this trip because I am sure it will be life changing to us in so many ways!

23 things

So, I want to blog but don't know exactly what to blog about. So in honor of the 23rd of September, I will give you 23 random insights into my thoughts/life...

1. Ethan doesn't nap anymore, but he is currently in my bed resting. Yes, I said in my bed. Because Caleb just figured out that he and Ethan share a room. He gets on his hands and knees in his crib during nap time and looks over at Ethan trying to rest and coo's, laughs, talks, and gets hyper. This is the first of many times I will have to separate my boys!
2. I am excited, nervous, scared, thrilled about going to Brazil in a few weeks!
3. My kitchen is always dirty.
4. I feel like my house will always smell like a poopy diaper.
5. I am very thankful that our parents live close by.
6. My husband is the best husband in the world! He does so much for our family and loves his boys and does a great job balancing his busy schedule.
7. My dad recently gave me a Starbucks gift card and it's almost used up!
8. I am so happy I discovered Target brand formula when Ethan was an infant, because it is $11.00 a can cheaper than Enfamil!
9. Our roads are being paved where we live and they are currently all torn up and have huge holes. Secretly I am happy about the holes because it forces people that speed to SLOW DOWN!
10. I hated my apartment when we moved in. I cried. Matt seriously thought he was going to have to go talk us out of a lease. But, now I love it and everything I hated about it I now consider a blessing! I love where we live!
11. Our car really needs washed. It hasn't been washed since we bought it over a year ago!
12. We sleep with a fan on to drown out noise and now I am addicted and have to sleep with a fan wherever we go.
13. I still sleep with a body pillow that I got when I was pregnant with Ethan.
14. Matt and I kiss each other and tell each other "I love you" every night before bed and every time we leave.
15. There is currently a garbage bag of dirty diapers at the front door that needs to be taken out to the trash... thus the reason behind #4.
16. I am excited to start a new bible study with a good friend of mine on the book of James. It is being shipped to us as we speak. I know this because I am watching the shipping tracker, constantly!
17. I bought more vegetables at the store the other day and i'm actually eating them.
18. I REALLY need to get back into working out and a healthy lifestyle. I have gained substantial weight since having Caleb. (sigh)
19. I am now struggling to come up with 23 random thoughts. I was on a roll....
20. I bite my nails and Matt always tells me to stop. But I never do.
21. I love being a mommy and I would have more kids right now if money were no object.
22. I am a facebook addict. I am never on for long periods of time, but I constantly go on it throughout the day for 1 or 2 minutes a time... which does really add up!
23. I am looking forward to going to Matt's softball game tonight and I am extremely thankful for flexible kids that don't have to be in bed by a certain time or they turn into pumpkins! I am thankful my boys got Matt's laid back personality!

Honored

I am honored to be a mom to these 2 cuties! I feel blessed in so many areas of my life, but the most way I feel blessed is my family- specifically these boys! I was never prepared to feel the way I did and still do when I had these boys. I seriously grow more in love with them every day! Not that every day is easy, for sure, but I love them so much and feel honored to be their mommy!
Since my blogs are few and far between, I thought I would do a recap on each of them.
ETHAN- Ethan is every bit of a 3.5 year old boy! His imagination and energy grows more and more each day. He loves to do crafts, run around (literally! Our poor neighbors below!) he adores his baby brother and his daddy. He is definitely still a mama's boy and will run to me for most things, but I know that he loves and respects his daddy. Ethan loves going to daddy's softball games and looks forward to running around the bases after the games. He loves going to "school" and really looks forward to church. Mostly because his Granddaddy brings him a Krispy Kreme doughnut every Sunday! Ethan loves reading books and watching a few favorite TV shows: Curious George, Thomas, and Sesame Street. Ethan, since the beginning, has been stubborn and very strong willed. He has the best manners when he chooses to use them. Lately though, when someone says "hi" to him or tries to talk to him, he purposefully ignores them or looks away. I have no idea why he does this, for attention I think, but it is so against his fun-loving extroverted personality! So we've been talking to him about always practicing his manners and responding when people talk to him. I love him and look forward to him continuing to grow and develop!
CALEB- Caleb is the cutest baby alive! Ok, maybe I am biased. But still, he is just a chunky little smile right now! He is so easy going and content. Although, I have seen a bit of a temper on him lately! I think he will be our fit thrower, for sure. Ethan was never a public fit thrower, but I have a feeling Caleb will make up for where Ethan was lacking! He is becoming a spoiled little guy! He LOVES being near us. Even if it is sitting on the couch next to us, he is happy. He just recently learned to sit up and is really trying to crawl! He has made a lot of progress with that just in the past 2 weeks. I feel that he could be crawling soon for sure. He doesn't have teeth yet, and if I remember correctly, Ethan had at least 2 by now. Caleb is the best sleeper, still taking 4 naps a day. Yes, I said 4. This kid is a sleeper! When I had Ethan I thought he was the happiest baby and a good sleeper, and while he was, Caleb is even more so! Which I am very thankful for the sleeping because the boys share a room and do great! They have NEVER woke each other up. Anyhow, I love my boys so much!
Thank you, God, for allowing me the privilege to be a mommy. I am truly honored.
(Side note: I do have to say this is an awkward picture... due to me holding the camera myself, the angle of the pictures makes it look like my arm is the same width as my face, and I can tell you that indeed it is not.)

Funny stories courtesy of Ethan!

Ethan has a few things he says I that hope he never stops saying. One of which is "got-for" instead of forgot!
Today at lunch we started eating and then all of a sudden Ethan yells, "hey guys, we got-for to pray!" We just laughed and laughed! It is so cute to hear him say it. But I guess it won't be cute when he gets to high school and tells his teacher, "I got-for my homework!"

Another one of Ethan's sayings is "p-cause" instead of because. When he gets excited and is telling a story he really gets on a roll: "I want to get a new race car p-cause I want it, and p-cause Lightening McQueen is my favorite, p-cause he is the fastest!" So cute.

Today at Walmart we were waiting in a checkout isle. I had the two boys with me by myself. The next isle over was an older larger lady and all of a sudden she starts laughing really loud and really hard. Well, Ethan then echos her and laughs really loud and really hard like she did. She whipped around like she was going to hit someone and saw my precious 3.5 year old darling standing there. She wasn't so angry but I could tell was a bit bothered. I apologized on Ethan's behalf and then noticed that the 2 cashiers and people around us were laughing so hard into their sleeves, trying not to make it a bigger deal to the woman. It really was hilarious. But being the good mom I am, I had a talk all the way out to the car with Ethan about mocking people and how even though she was laughing, and so was he, that it wasn't funny. Somehow I don't think it sank into his mind... it's a hard concept. (Son, don't you laugh when other people are laughing or after they laugh!)

Ethan is always keeping us on our toes! I thank God for his joyful personality and his love for laughing and making other people laugh! I know we will have our hands full in a year or 2 when Caleb and him get going together! They already laugh together and Caleb gets really hyper! See God, I need a little girl to even this household out ;)

Fall is Coming

Fall is coming. Changing leaves. Cool breeze.

Opened windows. Hot chocolate. Sweat shirts. Jeans.

Starbucks coffee. Pumpkins. Shorter days. Pink cheeks. Cold noses.

Long walks. Cinnamon. Vanilla. I love it.

Milestones

Caleb has been rolling over since my last post on the 11th. So about 20 days now he has mastered the milestone of rolling over. Last night he rolled over when I put him down in the crib for the night and he stayed on his belly until this morning. Never waking up crying or anything! So he is officially a stomach sleeper now. He is also not really wanting his paci anymore for sleep. I know everyone says don't compare your kids, but I do. I am not upset, but I do realize that Caleb is a little behind where Ethan was at this age. It may also be due to the fact that he was born almost 3 weeks early. The doctor said at his 6 month check up, that Caleb does get a month "grace period" if he does things later compared to his peers. I guess he doesn't need the grace period in the growth charts though, because he is a beast! It's hard to believe he was 1 day off from being a technical "premie". I will never forget that he was so big in the NICU when he was first born! His "roommate" was a girl who weighed about 3 pounds. Unreal. Anyhow, my posting is so few and far between now, I have been debating a long time about giving up the blog. Unless I get a big kick in the blogging hiney, I will probably be giving it up by the holidays. I use Facebook so much for pictures and keeping up with people that I hardly think of using my blog anymore. (Sorry!) I guess now I need to figure out how to print off all 4 years of my blog because this is pretty much my kids' baby book!

6 months old

I can not believe Caleb is 6 months old! He turned 6 months old on the 4th of August. He actually just rolled over for the first time tonight! We weren't even in the same room. I walked by to check on him while he was laying underneath his play mat and he had rolled over trying to touch daddy's books on the bookshelves. Caleb weighs 20.1 pounds and is 28 inches long. He is in the 90% for height and weight. His head is a bit smaller, I don't remember the exact measurement but I know he was 75% for his head size. Caleb is the happiest baby ever. He smiles all the time and is so content and laid back. He LOVES his brother, Ethan. We love our little booger and just can't believe how fast time is flying by. We are actually going to have to move him up to the next car seat because he is so big! He loves standing on our laps and is so proud of himself when he does. He laughs and looks all around. He loves watching other kids play, especially boys. He adores Ethan and follows him around the room with his eyes. He doesn't have any teeth yet, but sure does love chewing and sucking on his hands. He wakes up so happy unless he is startled by his loud big brother coming in to wake him up. We love our boys and feel so blessed!

My boys

Ethan- 3.5 years old

Caleb- 6 months old
6 months old

Life Happens

I never finished posting at Camp Willow Run for the remainder of the week. That is because... life happens. My little man, Ethan got a stomach bug and threw up in the dining hall one night at dinner. Then later in the night he threw up again in his bed. So the next day I was doing laundry. Then I received a call that my dad was in the hospital because he had a mini stroke. He was there 2 days and is now home and doing better. Saturday was our anniversary, so we went out last night to the Melting Pot to celebrate. It is our tradition to go each year for our anniversary! We have been so busy and our lives are about to get busier. Matt is going back for his last semester getting his Masters. He graduates in December. I am so proud of him. Softball is about to start back up for him and we are planning to go to Brazil in October with our church for 10 days. Not to mention a few birthdays, a church conference, and a women's retreat! Before I know it we will be ringing in the new year! Caleb turns 6 months old today and I can hardly believe it. Life just keeps happening and I feel like time is flying so fast! But I love it. I wouldn't trade anything right now for where we are as a family and what we are doing. God has blessed us so much and I am just happy. I will blog when I can, but when life keeps going by so quickly, I don't have time to write it down!

Camp Willow Run- Day 3

I don't have much to write about, but I will leave you with a movie from yesterday. Ethan loves throwing frisbee. He doesn't have the greatest technique but he can launch it pretty far! He is such an all around little athlete. We love this little guy.

(Ethan has had a bit of a stomach bug here at camp. He threw up last night at dinner in the dining hall and threw up again in the middle of the night. We think he is on the mend. We just pray Caleb doesn't get it!)

Camp Willow Run- Day 2

Today was a rainy day, but i'm not going to complain because we needed it badly! Most of our day here at camp was spent in the basketball gym. Ethan was in heaven! He loved playing with Matt and playing basketball as well as pin dodge which is a version of dodge ball. I am trying to post a video of Ethan's dribbling skills. Not too bad for a 3 year old, he is going to be our athlete for sure! Ethan was the charmer today and got a bit smothered by some girls at camp. I think he would be happy if he didn't see another girl for about 10 years, ha ha! It serves him right, he's been a bit girl crazy lately so I think this cured him! As always we love being here and have a blast! Here are a few pictures from today.

Mr. Charmer
Overwhelmed by GIRLS!

Ethan & Thad (one of the camp directors sons) passing out the awards for the cleanest boxcar for the day!

Little baller.

Daddy showing off his ball handling skills!

Camp Willow Run- Day 1

Sunday afternoon we arrived at Camp Willow Run. This is the place Matt & I met 7 years ago and fell in love. It is an amazing camp where students can stay for a week. Each week is a different age group. This week Matt is the camp speaker to 190 6th-8th graders. The camp is made up of old converted railroad boxcars. So 10 campers and 1 counselor stay in a box car. The box cars have carpet, AC, and bathrooms and 5 bunk beds, plus a counselor bed. Of course, the speaker and their family gets a whole box car to themselves. Anyhow, on to some pictures from our first day here.

Ethan & Ashley, Ethan met Ashley last year when she was a camper when Matt spoke. He immediately developed a crush on her. It is neat that he picked a girl who happened to be the daughter of a lady that works in the camp office. So this year, Ashley came back to visit and help me take care of Ethan since I am a little more confined to the box car with Caleb. He and Ashley had a lot of fun playing yesterday and she is back today! What a lifesaver! In this picture Ashley and Ethan were drawing with sidewalk chalk outside our box car.
Ethan with the engine who is blue like Thomas! Ethan loves climbing on the train and talks all about it!

Ethan swimming in the lake. He insisted on swimming by himself. He happened to be in the section with the most shallow water so he could actually stand up if he wanted. He thinks he is hot stuff because he can swim. I am looking forward to having him in swim lessons because he is pretty good at it already!

Look at those muscles! And those ribs. My goodness, he takes after his daddy. I do promise I feed this child and lately he has been the bottomless pit! He is sucking in in this picture, so don't fret!

Caleb! What a cutie. Everyone loves him around here and his big blue eyes! He is taking everything in. He loves being outside looking around. He has been sleeping well and is in the thick of teething some bottom teeth. I can't see them now, but he is a teething mess! Slobbering and hands in the mouth. Ugh. As I always say, "teething bites"!

Stay tuned for some more pictures!

Such a slacker

So my blogging has gone kah-put. I use facebook a lot and post a lot of my pictures on there, so sadly my blogging hasn't been first on my to-do list lately. In 2 days we are heading to Camp Willow Run where Matt and I met and fell in love! He will be the camp speaker for 190 middle school aged students. We love that place and it is near and dear to our hearts for many reasons. I will probably post a few times during next week when i'm not lugging around Caleb while chasing after my 3 year old who will be in kid heaven! So stay tuned for some stories and pictures. If you want you can scan the past few years of my blog and look up my CWR posts from each summer. It is so fun to look at how we've changed as a family! I am feeling so blessed.

Stingray story

Disclaimer: The spacing and photo placement was not what I wanted but I am having posting issues. The pictures are supposed to be last and the spacing is messed up. Sorry. Enjoy though:

Who knew that such a tiny thing could hurt SO bad!
Matt, Me, Kimmy (Matt's niece), her friend Sammie, and beach patrol man
The cart I rode on.

I drew a crowd!

So, whenever crazy things happen I wish I would have taken pictures. But in the moment when there is stress and an injury related event, it just doesn't seem appropriate to take pictures. Well, I am glad my brother-in-law Mike snapped a few pictures of this incident.

We have just spent the week at the beach with Matt's side of the family. Overall it was a great week with good weather and fun times. Monday & Tuesday were spent at the beach. Wednesday we took a break from the sun and rode a ferry over to the NC Aquarium, then Thursday was spent at the beach. That is when it happened. I got stung by a stingray. Matt's college-aged niece, and her friend, and I were heading out to boogie board. We had been out previously and took a break then was about to head back out. I was walking in about knee deep water when I stepped and felt this pain. My first thought was wow, I must have just been pinched by a crab. I turned to head back out of the water and the pain started surging. I knew instantly that this wasn't a crab bite or anything like that. I pulled my foot out to look at it and I was bleeding a lot. In the next 30 seconds to a minute it was as if my mind was trying to make sense of what was happening. I was in a ton of pain, but there was only this tiny little spot where blood was coming out. I yelled out to Matt to come because I knew I was in trouble. This sucker HURT! In the next few minutes I was helped out of the water and sat down. Two other beach goers who were nurses came over to help. They got a napkin to stop the bleeding and was asking me questions. One funny thing is that when they pulled the napkin away to access, my foot squirted blood about 4 inches into the air because the little booger got me right on a vein on the top of my foot. It was funny to see it shoot out like old faithful.

Anyhow, all throughout the pain was just growing in intensity. I was crying, and crying HARD! I could not believe how much pain I was in. To make a very long story short, people asked if it was a jelly fish, but I had been stung before and this didn't even come close to that. I would have rather been stung a million times by a jelly fish than to feel like this. Someone down the beach called 911, but we told them to cancel that call because we knew it wasn't life or death. The beach patrol came and picked me up in a cart and helped me get off the beach where my brother in law and Matt got me into the van. We decided to head to the Urgent Care instead of the hospital. I am crying the whole time. I am telling you, I have never in my life felt any kind of pain like this. For the next hour and a half I was in horrible pain and it wasn't subsiding. We got to the Urgent Care and I walked in limping and crying and in pain. Everyone stopped talking and literally you could hear a pin drop. Apparently I picked one of the busiest days to get stung. I heard the receptionist talking and they said what is normally a 20 minute wait was going on 2.5 hours. THANKFULLY because they saw what kind of pain I was in, they quickly brought me back. And do you know what the "cure" for a stingray sting is?! Soak your foot in hot water as hot as you can stand it. Literally. They had that water so hot it turned my foot red. But let me tell you, when I had my foot in the water it was instant relief. The hot water draws the venom out. So we soaked it in the Urgent Care for about 20 minutes. I had to get a tetanus shot because of risk of infection. I also had to be put on an antibiotic because I had an open wound in the water. Then he asked if I wanted a shot for pain or a narcotic prescription for pain. But just having it in the water made me feel so much better, that I just took a prescription equivalent of Ibuprofen. So that was that. Your worse pain is in the first 3-6 hours and then it subsides. It has been 2 days since that happened and my foot is a little swollen and bruised. Needless to say Friday Matt and I decided to just head to the pool.

I have spent the first half of my life living in Florida where we went to the beach ALL the time! Mom would always tell my brother and I to do the stingray shuffle as we walked out. But, I now go to the beach once a year and I get stung! CRAZY. Oh well, now I have a fun story to tell and I can potentially help someone in the future!

A little hello from Ocean Isle

Recent favorites

This is my favorite pictures of the boys.
Let me explain the huge Leprechaun hat: we had some friends over and we were playing a card game that you have to wear special funny hats based on your level in the game. This is the best level and since I was dominating that night, I had to keep wearing it! I snapped a picture real quick and I actually LOVE this picture of Ethan because it is a great face shot!

Precious little boy.

Cheesing! Just starting to use the exersaucer and he loves it. I love this picture because it is the biggest smile!

There's never a dull moment

So much has been going on with us lately. Between summer starting and "exciting" stories in our lives (no, i'm not pregnant)... I actually feel like I have stuff to blog about but not much time to do it! So here's some cliff notes of our lives the past few weeks.

* I was in my first car wreck. But I guess it doesn't really count. A high school guy crashed his friend's motorcycle into our parked car. It could have been worse, the kid got banged up and thankfully our car wasn't declared totalled. We just received money to fix it from the insurance company, but we decided that it wasn't worth fixing the dents in our 14 year old car!
* Matt's laptop literally caught on fire on my lap! I had just turned it on and was using it and it started smoking real bad, we actually saw a flame and then it went out! Sadly it was 80 days past warranty and HP gave us horrible customer service. They wanted to charge is $400 or $500 just to have their safety team look at it. We should be fighting this, but right now it's not worth the time, energy, and effort to. Because we chose not to fix our car, we used some of that money to get a new laptop. Oh, and thankfully a very techi friend got all our videos and pictures off our hard drive so they are safe!
* Caleb is doing great with baby food! He has now had peas, bananas, and carrots. So far he LOVES the vegetables, and wasn't too fond of the bananas. My thoughts are that he has had such bland tasting food (formula & rice cereal) that it was probably too sweet for him! I hope he continues his love for veggies as he gets bigger!
* July is a busy month for us! We are going to the beach with Matt's dad & step mom the week of July 4th. We are excited about this. Maybe now I will get some tan on my very white body. Then the last week of July we will be at Camp Willow Run where Matt and I met and fell in love! He will be the camp speaker for the week for 180 6th-8th graders. He always does a phenomenal job and I look forward to taking the boys and having a blast. We are always there over our anniversary which is extra special. I can't believe we've been married for almost 6 years now!
* Matt's softball season just ended. Sadly they didn't win the tournament, but it was a fun season! We have actually finished bible study for the summer and softball games, so now 3 week nights will open up for us. I don't think we will know what to do with all the extra time!
* Time is seriously flying by. Caleb will be 5 months old on July 4th and I just don't think that is possible sometimes! I seriously felt like I just had him.

Well that is it for now. Ethan is currently out of town with Grammy & Papa, Caleb is napping, and Matt is preparing his sermon for tomorrow... so I gotta figure out what i'm going to do with myself until bed time!

Baby food!

It is so funny. I was by the book with everything for Ethan. Caleb... not so much! We have already started jar food. We are on day 3 of peas and he is doing great! He is such a big boy and is so hungry that I knew he was ready for solids. Ethan was enthralled with Caleb eating big boy food, so he wanted to help! I can't believe how fast time is flying by with my boys.

p.s. Not sure why those pictures posted sideways and YES, Caleb has a "J" on his bib. It was his cousin Jackson's!

A few things about my youngest boy...

He is the cutest baby alive!
He can sleep anywhere at any time! He frequently falls asleep on the floor or in his bouncy seat. He will be playing one minute and asleep the next!

He is so happy all the time. This picture was taken the day he got shots at his 4 months well visit. He was more happy and laughing that day than ever. He is such a content little guy and loves to smile and laugh!

I love my boys so much more than I could have ever thought possible!

Answer to previous post below

Amanda wins the prize in the mystery fridge game! That was once fresh cut pineapple. Apparently pineapple turns red and grows neon green mold on it when it gets lost on the bottom shelf of the fridge! EEEWWWW.

Mystery Fridge Game

You will get a gold star and 1,000 cool points if you can guess which mystery fridge item this is. I never knew this food could look like this! Needless to say, my fridge was long overdue for a good cleaning out! Yuck! (Answer to be revealed in a few days)

Caleb- 4 months old

Caleb had his 4 month check up this morning, although he turned 4 months old on June 4th. He did great and was smiling and laughing the whole time with the doctor. I always hate the shot time, but even more so when they go from cooing and smiling to screams of terror. He only cried for about 20 seconds though and was fine. He is such an easy going baby! The stats I remember are:
Weight= 17.1 pounds (93%)
Length: 25 inches (85%)

He is only 6 ounces smaller than Ethan when he was this age, but he is 2 inches shorter. So no wonder we felt like he was a little chunky monkey! The funny thing is he started out more than 2 pounds smaller than Ethan was at birth and has grown SO much! Most of his growth came after he was 6 weeks old when I discovered I was having supply issues with breastfeeding and switched him to formula. Now he won't stop growing!!! I am so proud of my boys and am thrilled with the honor God gave me in being a mommy!

Kind of eery

I ran across an old picture while uploading our vacation pictures from this past week. Let me get your opinion... do our boys look alike?! Can you guess who is who?!

Rice cereal

Two days ago we tried rice cereal with Caleb. He loved it! Most babies push these first foods out of their mouth with their tongues. It is actual a natural reflex according to the pediatrician. Caleb didn't! He sucked it down and actually started crying because I couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough! I knew he was ready! Technically he isn't 4 months old until June 4th and his dr. check up isn't until the 7th, but he has been waking up acting like he's starving, so I wanted to give it a try! I have a feeling he is going to be a really good eater. He is growing up too fast!

Gum Story

Last night we went to one of Matt's softball games. Ethan was off playing with his cousin Jackson and some other boys. At one point in the game Ethan ran over to me with a huge smile on his face. He said, "Mommy, I have gum!" Knowing full well that I did not give him any gum I asked, "Where did you find the gum?" He replied, "In the bush!" Yes, my son had found some one's old chewed gum sitting in some bushes and picked it up and popped it in his mouth! The best part was seeing his face when I told him that doing that was disgusting. He had this "why on earth is that wrong" look on his face. I had to explain to him that we don't pick up gum off the ground, the bush, or anywhere and put it in our mouths. Oh my, he is all boy!