3 and 4

Over the past week we've been to the doctor twice...once for Caleb's 3 year checkup and the other for Luke's 4 month checkup. Both boys are healthy and growing! Caleb talked the doctor's ear off while she was there and didn't cry at all for his shot. She asked him to count to ten with her and he said, "Let's count down from ten. 10, 9, 8, etc." (Thank you, Mrs. Harper!) Luke reacted so much better after his shots...he wasn't fussy at all this time. We have been referred to a pediatric surgeon to look at removing a cyst from the side of his head. The appointment is next week so we'll see.

Caleb, 3 years old

34 pounds, 38 inches

Luke, 4 months old

13 pounds, 4 ounces 24 3/4 inches long

First Movie- Veggie Tales

Last Wednesday morning I took Caleb to his first movie and we had so much fun. It was $1 children's movie morning, and when Caleb got out of the car, he exclaimed, "Look at all the kids!" While it was a theater full of little ones, Caleb did great and watched all of the movie. He enjoys Jack and the Neverland Pirates, so this Veggie Tales pirates movie kept his attention. His friends Madalyn, Hayden, and Jackson were there too, so that made it even better. I can't wait to take him to his next movie...maybe Cars 2?!!

4 Months Already

Luke Michael, you are FOUR months old today! Over the last four weeks you've gone from an observer to an active participator in life. You love to hold and study your toys, especially if you can get them in your mouth. You fingers, however, are still the greatest thing in your world and you love to suck and chew on them. You are a constant drooler and we're trying to convince your brother that its drool and not "yucky throw up" as he calls it. You are also a mover. I put your head on this burp rag and when I looked down, this is what I saw...

You did a complete 360 on the floor! You can roll from your tummy to your back, and can get about 3/4 of the way from your back to your tummy- one arm always gets in your way.

You are still a very happy baby and content about 85% of the time. (You just really do no like to be sleepy!) Twice last week you threw a fit in a store while riding in your car seat, so today I used the Baby Bjorn in Kroger and you were a perfect angel. You sleep from around 8pm until 8am, waking up around 3am to eat. On most days you take 5 naps, ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours. My goal is for you to be taking less naps, but longer ones. Can you help me out on that?!! Oh, and when you are asleep The Miracle Blanket is still a must! You just don't sleep for more than 20 minutes without it!

You have fine, ginger hair that is about half an inch long and stands straight up all over your head. And speaking of your head, it seems to be rounding out nicely, thanks to all those late night turns we made. Hopefully at your appointment next week the doctor will agree.

While you will coo a little your favorite thing to do is smile and laugh. And when you smile, our hearts melt!

You've been in your jumperoo for about 3 weeks now, and hopefully sometime this week we'll get the Exersaucer out of storage. Sorry buddy- as Uncle Drew says, you'll never get anything with a tag on it.
You've also become more attached to your passie and we don't ever leave home without it. (Lesson learned!)

You also got your first taste of rice cereal this week. Two words: confused and disgusted.

We love you so much little guy!

This past week...

we ate yummy black raspberry chip ice cream

enjoyed a lot of walks
took many, many bike rides

snuggled up for naps in the stroller

tried out goggles for the first time

ate "huge frog Popsicles"

and celebrated Uncle Luke's birthday at a Japanese grill where Caleb tried unsuccessfully to catch fried rice in his mouth. He did eat an entire California roll that I ordered for him though.

We sure L-O-V-E summer!

An Interview at 3

HERE are Caleb's answers last October, a little before he was 2 and 1/2, when I asked him some questions about his favorites. I asked Caleb these same questions this week...

What is your favorite...
snack? Fruit Loops
fruit? oranges
food? balsamic chicken with couscous
dessert? white cakes with sprinkles (pause) shaped like a hexagon (The boxed, Little Debbie cakes!)
drink? lemonaide
color? red
TV show? Mickey Mouse
Mickey episode? Plutos Playmate
Song? Deep and Wide
place to eat? Chick fil a
toy? Legos
animal? horse
store? WalMart
book? Bear in Underwear
person to play with? Mommy. Are you a person?
person to talk to on the phone? Marshma
ice cream flavor? cookie dough
place to go with Daddy? Incredible Daves
place to go with Mommy? Von Maur

Lego Table

A few weeks ago Uncle Matt showed up at our house on his day off to build a Lego table for Caleb. He went to Lowes and bought wood, screws, and bolts. And with NO plans or drawings he made an amazing table. It looks just as good as our Melissa & Doug workbench, which he made it to match. (Hey- if my living room is taken up with a workbench and a Lego table, I at least want them to match!)

I think it was 96 degrees that day (even hotter in our garage!)

The picture above is the workbench that he built the Lego table to match. I think he did an amazing job...

His green Lego board slides in and out, so one day when he plays with the smaller Lego pieces, we can just slide a new board in!

Thanks Uncle Matt!

June 14th

Since we were out of town, I didn't get to do a 3rd birthday post with pictures for Caleb. So, 6 days later, here we go...

Caleb, saying that you are three years old is so crazy. You have grown up and matured so much lately. You talk absolutely non stop and in full, complete sentences. When I dropped you off at the nursery last week the volunteer asked, "What is your name?" And you replied, "My name is Caleb." Just saying "Caleb" isn't adequate in your mind! Tonight you told your first joke. After eating some of Daddy's ice cream cake I told you that I needed to clean you off. With a giant smile on your face you laughed, "But Mommy, I don't want to go in the dishwasher!" We both laughed at that one.

You love, love, love all things water and would play in water all day if we let you. Some of your favorite toys include your "snap blocks" (Trio building sets), Legos, and Matchbox cars. But, your real passion is music. You love playing instruments and sing 99% of the time. While Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey has been your favorite since Christmas, lately you have taking a real liking to Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues. Listening to you sing that while you are playing absolutely cracks me up! Grandmom and Grandpa got you a karaoke machine for your birthday and you love it. You also love singing Deep and Wide very, very loudly! Since Luke has been born you also have begun to watch more TV (usually while he eats, takes his bath, etc.) You still love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but have recently started to like Dora, Diego, Wonder Pets, and Ni Hao, Kai Lan. At least you have picked up on a little Spanish and Chinese! :)

You are a pretty good eater. Your favorites include black olives, pickles, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers, Kraft mac & cheese, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, popcorn, watermelon, raspberries, apples, Pop Tarts, and fruit snacks. But I can get you to eat carrots and spinach salad if it's served with ranch. You love all sweets and would live on desserts. (You get that from your Daddy!) Your favorite dinner is "Balsamic Chicken with Couscous" and hearing you request that is hilarious! You also love when we get sushi because you eat all the rice off my rolls. Last week you even ate 3 of my rolls and really liked them, (minus the avocado!)

You are an ok sleeper. You go to bed between 8 and 9, but sometimes it takes you up to an hour to fall asleep. You usually wake up between 7 and 8 am. On most nights you wake up around 4 am and request my presence- all you need is a quick (10 second) cuddle, and then you sweetly tell me "Good night." But, over the past 6 months you have started to have "night terrors," as the doctor called them. Around 11 pm you sometimes wake up, talking very quickly, and then it turns into full blown screams. You are still asleep, but we have to wake you completely up to get you to calm down. I usually have to pick you up out of bed and turn the light on to get you awake. It's sad, but luckily it only lasts a few minutes. We can't wait for you to out grow that! You still love your naps, and usually sleep between and hour and a half and two hours.

Caleb, you are the BEST big brother. You love Luke so much and are so sweet to him. You always help me by getting diapers or burp cloths when he spits up. You also love to hold him and always ask first. You're gentle and I don't worry about you being around him at all anymore. The only time you show jealously is when your grandparents are around. You want them all to yourself!

Each night before bed you always have to cuddle with me and you've started "I love you kisses." You kiss me over and over, saying "I love you" between each kiss. One day when you have a child of your own you will know how much that means to me.

We all love you so much, Caleb! You are truly a gift from God.



Grandma Beth made you a yummy strawberry (your request) cake at the lake and you love having two birthday cakes!

Claytor Lake

After Drew left for the beach, we packed up the car once more and headed to "Peepaw's Lake" as Caleb calls it. PeePaw, Grandma Beth, Marshma, Papa, Dana, and Steve all went, so it was lots of fun. And the boys got LOTS of attention! When we were not on the water, Caleb was playing countless games of hide and go seek with Dana and Steve, and Luke could always be found in some one's arms. I was especially thankful that Marshma and Papa graciously volunteered to stay in the house with Luke while I played on the lake. Running up all the steps to feed Luke and put him to bed every few hours might have even counted as exercise!

I wasn't sure how Caleb would feel about the lake, but as it turns out he loves it. We even called him our "lake rat" because he would have swam and played all day. He was the first one off the dock and it the water each day, loved floating in his raft, had a blast riding on PeePaw's boat, and could not get enough of the jet ski. He only knew one speed- full throttle, and kept asking to "do it again!" Creed remembered to bring Caleb's fishing pole, and it didn't take long before they were catching fish off the dock. It was the perfect vacation!

Caleb's first catch at Claytor...It was this big!

Our lake rat!

If you don't already know, Caleb is obsessed with his Aunt Dana. She holds a very, very special place in his heart! It was so funny...about 7 and 1/2 hours into our drive to North Carolina we told Caleb, "We are almost to PeePaw's house." His response: "Yay! I am so excited to see Dana!" Ha!

The two most common phrases: "Go fast!" and "Let's do it again!"

Can you imagine a better place for snack time?!!

Thanks PeePaw and Grandma Beth for having us! And, a big thank you to everyone for helping out with the boys all week! We had a blast!

Drew's Graduation

Last Friday morning we loaded up the car and headed to North Carolina to celebrate Drew's graduation. Caleb watched movies and played with some of his new birthday toys during the 8 hour trip. Luke was the best- he did not cry one single time. (Apparently he saved his tears for the ride home!) While the boys and I skipped the actual graduation ceremony, we were there for the "Carolina style" pig roast. One word: Yum! Because Caleb witnessed the pig roast himself, he decided to become a vegetarian for the day. Ha! Luke did really well and took a really long nap during the majority of the party while Caleb ran around, talked to everyone, and even sang a little Johnny Cash for entertainment. We are so proud of Drew and are so happy that we could celebrate with him. We wish him only the best at Appalachian State next year!!!

Caleb was amazed that the cake had Drew's face on it and claimed that piece from the start. We told him that he would have to wait for that one...

These pictures represent the beginning of the end of our content baby. After being held for 99% of the time that he was awake for the past week, he is now spoiled rotten and ONLY content in your arms. Ha!

At the end of the day, Caleb was so excited to "eat Uncle Drew's face!"

Early Sunday morning we said goodbye to Drew as he headed off to the coast to celebrate with his friends at "Beach Week."

We love you, Drew!!!