The PeePaw Express

Late Christmas night the "PeePaw Express" made it's way into
town, and we were SO excited that they came. It meant so much
that they would give up their Christmas day to drive all the way
here! While Caleb was sound asleep when they arrived, he was
super excited to see them the next morning.


An early morning showing of The Polar Express, our favorite!

This cracks me up. Uncle Matt was helping Caleb put together

his new Lego fire station and Caleb thought he'd help by reading

the directions!

Working on his tool bench- "like Handy Manny."

Showing Uncle Matt how to do it. It's Caleb's way...

I told Matt and Drew that next time they saw me I'd be smaller and

they'd have a new nephew!

Grandma Beth commented that she never gets in pictures with

Caleb because she is always taking them. He is such a stinker

and would NOT cooperate for a single shot. Oh well!

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day we decided to go to Grandmom and Grandpa's
house for a Christmas brunch. Grandpa makes the BEST french
toast, and this year's batch did not disappoint! After Caleb was
finally able to get Paige and Luke out of bed, it was time for more
presents. (Sadly, I did a terrible job taking pictures and only have
1.)

This Mickey cash register was, by far, the highlight of Caleb's

day. He LOVES it! It cracks me up to see him scanning items,

then swiping his credit card to pay. Ha!

*****

After nap, we headed to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Val's house to

celebrate with the Fowlers. With four little ones running around,

there was never a dull moment!

Caleb spent 99% of his time playing with Aunt Sharon and

Uncle Rick. He loved getting pulled around the house in one

of Eli's sleds.

Over Thanksgiving Ava told me that she wanted a pink chair

for Christmas. I think she liked it! :)

I just love this!

Sweet cousins- Caleb, Ava, Eli, and Reagan

Christmas Morning

I don't think Creed or I will ever forget the excitement in Caleb's
voice as he looked over the banister, down into our living room
Christmas morning and exclaimed, "Yook, yook!" He saw that
Santa had brought his kitchen, and you could see the magic in
his eyes. It was the most precious thing!

Realizing that Santa also ate his cookies

This is exhausting...

Cookies for Santa

Caleb was so excited to leave Santa a snack, especially when
he realized it was his favorite- cookies! He decided that Santa
would want 3, so I let him help bake them.

He put the cookies of the plate and made sure the reindeer had

plenty of dog food. (We told him that reindeer probably like carrots

better, but there was NO changing his mind...they eat dog food!)

Christmas Eve

Our first stop Christmas Eve was at Aunt Joyce and Uncle Jim's
house to celebrate with the Blacketer side of the family. We had
an amazing pot luck meal, and Creed made his famous pumpkin
roll again.

The Hume grandkids

Caleb and Caroline quickly found the toy corner in the basement!

Hanging out with Uncle Luke

Cousins

Caleb LOVES Emma and by the look on his face, I'd say he

was enjoying his sugar high too!

All the madness at present time!

By this point Caleb was getting really good at opening presents!

*****

Our next stop was Aunt Robin and Uncle Keith's house to celebrate

with the Stoltz side of the family!

They were all so focused and hard at work getting those presents

opened!

Adding to his train collection!

Reece, Braedon, & Caleb

Christmas Eve Eve

Our family Christmas celebrations began Christmas Eve Eve
at Grandma and Grandaddy's house. It was the perfect evening,
although we really missed the Dayton Humes!


Our family of (almost) four!


Caleb and Caroline were precious opening their presents
together.


Trying out Caleb's Mickey table.



Loving his new train accessories!

Sugar & Sprinkles

Monday morning Caleb went to Madalyn & Hayden's Christmas
party and he had SO much fun! He had a yummy breakfast, got
to decorate (and eat!) a sugar cookie, and even painted his own
ornament to take home. There was also lots of playing with toys
and even a fun book exchange.


Donuts & mini-muffins...the breakfast of champions!


I think this little lady was enjoying herself!



Caleb decided to not use any icing on his cookie, just sprinkles.
Apparently is tasted just perfect because he ate every last crumb!



He loved painting his ornament, which he decided he wanted
to give to Grandmom. It's already hanging on her tree!

Thanks Madalyn & Hayden (and especially Nikki!!!) for the
super fun party. We had a blast!

Christmas with Friends

Sunday night we celebrated Christmas with the Durst and
Whitworth families. It was so nice to be able to spend the evening
with such great friends, and it's always a blast when we get the
kiddos together. They all loved opening their presents and had
fun playing with each other's gifts!

The best picture I got of the group. Hayden, Caleb, Madalyn,

and Jackson.

Opening his first Christmas present of the year!

Jackson had to open his train right away! There was only a

slight scuffle between Caleb and Madalyn over playing with

it!

To calm the kids down, we turned on the Polar Express. Caleb

made himself right at home on Matt's lap. He loves his

wrestling partner. "Wrestle me, Matt!"

Coming to Town

"Caleb, tell Daddy who is coming to your house next week."

"Peepaw!!!"

A few seconds later... "and Santa."

I'd say PeePaw ranks pretty high!

2 1/2

Caleb,
You are 2 1/2, and I feel like I could write a book with everything you
say and do these days! You are so entertaining, and keep us all on
our toes! We just love you SO much!!!

So we'll never forget...

You say the funniest things these days. Answering yes or no
questions with a "maybe" just cracks me up. Do you even know what
"maybe" means? Donald Duck uses the phrase "Oh Phooey!" which
you have picked up on very quickly. At least you use it in the correct
context! And, my personal favorite- never mind. I LOVE that you'll
ask me something, and then say, "Nebermind."

You are precious in the way that you pronouce and say some things.
Some of my favorites are "up a side down" (upside down),
"lasterday" (yesterday), and "Fubafu" (Subaru), although I'm sure I
will add to this list!

You are still sleeping like a champ. You sleep from between 8-9pm
until anywhere between 7 and 8:30 am. You also couldn't live without
your nap each afternoon! You always look forward to getting in your
"red mattress." (Yes, you still refer to your bed as a mattress!)

You are eating more these days, and I think you could live on 2% milk
and black olives! (Aside from sweets, of course!) You also love
pb&js, cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, meatballs, and most fruits.
The only vegetables you'll eat are raw carrots (with Ranch dip) and
green beans (well seasoned), but you will eats lots of those. You will
NOT each pizza, grilled cheese, or mashed potatoes, regardless of
how much I try.

You are an AWESOME shopper at Walmart, Kroger, and Target.
Something about those stores just puts you in a good mood,
regardless of how long we are there or how long the lines are.

You want to know where everything "came from?" Every single
random thing you see. For example, "Grandmom, clock came
from?" "Heater came from?" "Birthday cake came from?"

You know the makes or models of many vehicles on the road and
point them out while riding in the car. For example, when we pulled
into the parking lot at school today you pointed in front of us and
said, "Look Mommy, a black Focus." You were correct! You know,
and can name, the Tahoe, Mazda, Expedition, Toyota (Camry),
Odyssey (both "old" and "new" ones referring to the slight change
in body style this year), Lexus, Infiniti, Blazer, MiniCooper, Subaru,
Equinox, Focus, Acadia, and your favorite, the Impala. But, you
also can point out cars "like Mrs. Ashley's car," "like Mrs. Devon's
car," and "like Amanda's old car," although you haven't learned
those names yet. If only those were the questions on your preschool
assessments!!

While you are not what I would call a "fit thrower," you are extremely
defiant. Extremely. Time outs and prayer are all I can do!

Finally, finally, finally you are slowly becoming more cuddly. Twice
now you have just wanted me to hold you in the morning, and will
even ask to cuddle on the couch from time to time. While it only
lasts a few seconds, there isn't a better feeling in the world!

We love every second of watching you grow and learn about the
world around. You are one special and loved little boy!

Baby it's cold outside!

Caleb has been dying to go outside and play these days, but with
wind chills in the teens and below, we haven't ventured out much.
On Saturday while Creed was fishing and had the boat out, I did
let Caleb play in the garage on his riding toys, but even that didn't
hit the spot. However, on Sunday with a dusting of snow on the
ground, we bundled up and headed outside for a whole 10 minutes.
While we stayed outside as long as it took us to actually bundle up
to go outside, it was still worth it to watch Caleb run and play.

"Try catch me!"

Throwing a snowball, the highlight of the afternoon!

Makes Me Smile

I can't help but smile when I see these matching pjs- in a size

3T and 3 months. Thanks, Marshma!