Fowler Christmas

On Sunday after Caleb's nap we headed down the road to
Marion County (Lebanon) to celebrate Christmas with the
Fowler side of the family. Caleb, Ava, Eli, and Reagan all
had a blast together. I am just so bummed that I didn't get
a picture of the four of them together! It wasn't for a lack of
trying, I may add!

Making (not so) beautiful music. Eli was actually holding his

ears! He is hilarious!!!

Caleb plays with one finger while Ava prefers the two handed

approach.

Reagan will be one in just a few weeks. Isn't she just

beautiful?!!

Caleb and Ava got matching tricycles from Aunt "Kaka"

and Aunt Lisa. Of course, Caleb hopped on Ava's pink

and purple one. (I'm starting to worry a little! Ha!)

More Celebrating

On Christmas evening we went to "Aunt" Patricia's house for
another yummy meal and to spend time with cousin Ava. Caleb
ate about 35 pretzels (seriously!) and loving running around
with Ava. He even learned a new word...Billy got him to say
"please" for the first time! Caleb will do anything for dessert,
in this case carrot cake!


Sweet cousins


Kissing cousins! Don't worry...Caleb quickly turned his head
and just missed the peck from Ava.


Caleb got Ava some new toys for her baby doll. She knew
exactly what to do with the highchair and pretend food.

Excitement

I just want to start by saying that Creed and I were SO
excited to set up all of Caleb's toys. While it is fun to open
gifts, it is way more fun to watch Caleb's face as he opens
his gifts. I love seeing the excitement written all over his
face!

We had a very Merry Christmas, and we hope you did as
well!

Santa's work

Good Christmas morning, Caleb!

Checking out his new chair from PeePaw and Grandma Beth.

(Thanks for letting Caleb have it early! He LOVES it!!)

Playing with his cash register. Creed and I both remember

playing with the 1980s version ourselves. :)

Patience still needed...He is trying to learn how to push

his train without it falling off the track.

It amazes me how he quickly figures out how to "work"

each toy.

Calling Grandmom. "beshdh ghiodhk hiohkg bye bye."

So comfortable as he watched Laurie Berkner.

Thanks Grandmom and Grandpa for this awesome car!

The smile says it all!!!

Merry Christmas!

For our Christmas Eve celebration, we started out with the
Blacketer side of the family at Aunt Joyce & Uncle Jim's
house. Caleb didn't do so well...WAY too much stimulation,
which meant he wouldn't eat and never stopped checking
things out. Luckily Grandmom and Grandpa were seated
in the basement near the toys so they were able to keep an
eye on him while we ate.

Caleb loved his toy trucks from Granny Sue.

Even Grandma got in on the toy truck action.

*****

After dinner, dessert, and presents, we headed over to see

the Stoltz side of the family.

All the little kids. Caleb LOVED having a boy cousin to

play with. Braden is only about two months older, so they

had lots in common.

Busted! Luke got caught sharing his Root Beer with

Caleb. My first question...does it have caffeine? Luke

showed me the bottle to prove that it didn't. Whew!

PJs & Presents

This morning we walked over to Caleb's friend Barrett's house
in our PJs to exchange presents. The boys are so cute
together and always get along great!


Barrett took his job of giving Caleb the present very
seriously.


Thanks, Barrett for the awesome UK shirt and book!

Christmas Eve Eve

Last night we headed over to Grandma & Grandaddy's house
for the Hume Christmas. After a very yummy meal and lots of
cookies for dessert, we all sat around while Grandaddy read
the Christmas story from the book of Matthew. When he
finished, he said that he just wanted to remind us why we
celebrate. After this, Caleb let out a big, "Aaaaamen!" Isn't
that just precious?! I think we may need to join a church where
he can yell that out often! :)


Having a cracker with Caroline.

This year Caleb drew Emma's name. He was cute taking

the present to her.

A present from Grandma & Grandaddy- a John Wall

jersey!!! (Mommy and Daddy's favorite gift!!)

And a four wheeler. That should be LOTS of fun!

Caleb may have had a cool 4 wheeler, but as soon as

he got the chance he hopped in Caroline's car to take

it for a spin.

A John Wall jersey helps you jump higher...

and slam dunk the ball!

He LOVED controlling the train! This was such a big hit!

Before/After

Before my Mom took Caleb for his last hair cut, she took these
before and after shots. If only my hair grew as fast as his...




Lookin' good, Caleb!

Let the Christmas FUN begin!

Monday night we got together with the Durst and Schulz families
for our annual Christmas dinner. We had so much fun catching
up with Laura and Brian- it had been a year since they had seen
Caleb, so I'm pretty sure he had changed a little. :) Caleb also
exchanged gifts with Madalyn and Hayden, which he loved. It's
great to have such wonderful friends!

Learning how to rip open the presents. (He is going to need to

learn to do this a little faster, though. Otherwise Christmas

morning is going to be a long process!)

Madalyn and Hayden got Caleb this cool tool box. I love how

she is showing him what to do. (See the giant tent in the

background? HA! That is Madalyn's new tent. Sorry Matt &

Nikki for the rather large gift!)

Having a tea party. I LOVE these pictures because this is the

first time that Caleb & Madalyn actually played something

together.

Photo Shoot

Last week I took Caleb over to my grandparents house in hopes
of taking a good picture of him. Grandma was there to help, and
I'm pretty sure we looked ridiculous as we tried to get Caleb to
sit still and smile. I couldn't help but smile as I looked back over
the pictures. Either I'm a really bad photographer or 18 month
olds and photo shoots don't mix.

This is the face Caleb made as we were singing, dancing, etc.

to get him to smile.

"Stay" works better on Rhett than Caleb.

We even tried a prop...

Here he wanted to show off his new hair cut from the back.

Another hair cut? Yep, number 7!

Waiting Patiently

Usually Caleb goes straight from getting his pjs on to his Mommy
or "Abba's" lap to read. On this particular night I decided to quickly
pick up some of his toys before reading. When I turned around I
found him up in the chair, reading his favorite bedtime book.

This boy sure loves to read! And this Mommy sure hopes that
continues!!!

Whatever It Takes, Part 2

About a year ago I wrote a post about doing whatever it takes
to survive with a baby. I included this picture to show what I had to
do to keep Caleb entertained while I got ready one day:



Now, one year later, I am still doing whatever it takes, only this
time it's letting my toddler dip his green beans in ketchup. He
ate THREE helpings of green beans today, so I'll continue to
do whatever it takes!!!

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!

Caleb's Door

There are only a handful of words that Caleb says that all of
you could understand. They include "Mama," "Rhett," "yeah,"
and "Amen."

Another word you would recognize for sure is "door." Saying
that Caleb loves doors is an understatement. While he prefers
garage doors, any kind of door will do.

On Monday I took him to the mall and let him pick out this year's
Christmas ornament. I should have known better than to let an
18 month old decide. He looked past the Elmo, Dora, and all the
other Sesame Street characters.

What ornament caught Caleb's attention????


That's right. The "Our First Home" ornament now reads,
"Caleb's Door."

Prayers

Tonight before bed I read Caleb a few stories and then said
his prayers for him, ending with "Amen."

Caleb followed by saying,

"sedemgr remadta dshatg siohogih. Aaaaamen."

Caleb's language.

I'm pretty sure God speaks it too.

Choo Choo

Grandaddy put his special Christmas train together and Caleb
was SO excited to watch it go round and round. It has fun
lights and sounds, which also makes it a favorite for Caleb.

Thanks Grandaddy (and Grandma) for all your hard work!







By the way, we were over during the UK vs IU game, which
explains why Caleb is sporting his UK gear. Doesn't he look
like such a big boy! He now says, "Goooo," when he sees
a basketball game on TV. We are still working on the "Cats"
part.