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!

Bebe Sounds

When I was pregnant with Caleb I got one of those "Bebe Sounds"
monitors so I could hear his heartbeat. After about the 30 week point
with Caleb, I could find his little heartbeat. Since baby Luke is such
a mover and shaker, and makes his presence very known, I've been
able to catch his heartbeat for about a month now. Caleb thinks it's
so much fun to "hear baby," although I know he has absolutely no clue
what he is actually listening to. The other evening I saw the most
precious thing, and actually took these pictures so quickly that I didn't
notice that the lens cap wasn't fully off, which explains the dark spots.




Listening to his baby...Yeah, he has NO IDEA what he is in for
come February!

Visiting Santa

Let me start by saying that Caleb will do anything, and I mean
anything, for a sweet treat. Realizing that he may be a little timid
when it came to meeting Santa this year, I told him that he would
sit on Santa's lap, I would take a picture, and then we could go
and get a cookie with sprinkles. We even practiced those steps,
and he told me what he was going to tell Santa he wanted for
Christmas...

• Red Play dough
• A kitchen "like the one at Target"
• For Grandpa to fix Granny Sue's garage door
  

When we walked up, I took Caleb out of his stroller and pointed
towards Santa. Without any assistance or persuading, he walked
up to Santa by himself and climbed in his lap. I was shocked.



And there he sat for at least two minutes, listening carefully
as I can only hope(!!) Santa was telling him that he only brings
toys to good boys and girls. Hopefully the focus was on being
good, but I couldn't hear from where I was standing. But Santa
just talked and talked.


At that point Caleb took over, and I did make out kitchen, so
I am assuming he did tell his wish list. Santa then helped him out
of his lap, at which point Caleb walked straight to me and said
"Cookie with sprinkles now." Did I mention he would do anything for
sweets? Santa...no big deal. But a cookie with sprinkles...now we're
talking!

I REALLY love my...

new Elmo slippers!

I can fix it!

We have a smaller tree that I usually decorate in all white ornaments
and put in front of the dining room window. Unfortunately when we got
the tree out this year we noticed that one of the legs was broken.
Before we even realized what he was doing, Caleb had gotten out his
tool set and was working on the tree. "I fix it, Mommy!"

A First of Many

After church yesterday, our Christmas tree now has its first official

handmade ornament, and we just LOVE it! I'm hoping it will be a

first of many to come!

Baby Luke Checkup

On Wednesday we (Luke and I) had our 27 weeks checkup.
Baby Luke was happy with a heartbeat in the 150s. My doctor
might have joked with me as she walked in, "What did you do,
eat the WHOLE turkey?" in reference to my November weight
gain! But, in my defense, I took trips to Florida, Nashville,
Cincinnati, and had Thanksgiving over the past 4 weeks. I'm
hoping that had something to do with the drastic change on
the scale! I also did the one hour glucose test, and so far haven't
heard that I failed- no news is good news! Next Monday I have
to get the RhoGam shot, then won't go back to the doctor until
the end of the month. Praying that all these appointments will
continue to be routine and event free!

Part 2

On Black Friday instead of hitting the stores, he headed through

the mountains (I got the worst car sick headache ever!) to Claytor

Lake in Virginia. There we celebrated Thanksgiving with my Dad's

side of the family. I did a terrible job taking pictures...I promise that

Grandma Beth, Marshma, and Papa were there too!

Luckily Annie is a really, really sweet dog!

Caleb and PeePaw practiced "bump ball." I think by

Christmas they are going to try a flip.

With Uncle Drew (Drew happened to apply to UK as one of his

college choices...how AWESOME would it be if he was only an

hour away?!!!)

With Uncle Matt (Creed is going to try and work it out for Matt

to sell cars this summer at Bachman. Fingers crossed!!!)

Freezing cold Claytor Lake. Looking forward to being back there

in June!