Happy Birthday Caleb!

Happy 4th Birthday, Caleb!

You are one of the most amazing people I have ever met!

You pay special attention to the details in life, and always remember them. There is no getting anything past you, that's for sure.

You love, love, love to talk, especially to adults who will hold a conversation with you. Your Sunday School teachers always tell us how you talked the entire time you were there and they feel like they know us- there is no telling what you say!

You are a creature of habit and love your routines. You still sleep with your "ocean sounds" that we turned on the first day you can home from the hospital. You also sleep with your nightlight on and fall asleep to a lullaby CD that we got when you first transitioned to sleeping in your room. At night we always read books, have cuddle time, and then hug time and kiss time. Nothing can be left out, and it needs to occur in that order. (You also have a new love for mouthwash and use it many times a day. At first you always smiled and looked in the mirror asking, "Are my teeth sparkling?" Oh, the power of advertisement!) At this point you go to bed between 8:30 and 9:30 and always come downstairs between 7 and 7:15 in the morning. You have a clock in your room and you know it must have a 7 before you can come downstairs. Sometimes I wonder how long you've been up! You still take naps most days, usually about 1 1/2 hrs, although I've let you skip some recently and you've done fine.

You love to play with guys (action figures) and we see your imagination run wild. Recently you've developed a love of pirates and Peter Pan, yet Captain Hook is probably your favorite. You always want to be him! (We are hoping it's not a bad thing that you want to be the villain.) You also still love to build things with your snap blocks (Trio building sets) and Legos. Playing restaurant is also a favorite. You always take our order and "cook" something in your kitchen. We play fast food drive thru a lot and you always ask, "Do you need any sauce with your order?" That cracks me up!

Recently you have decided that playing with friends is way better than playing by yourself, and you even went to a friend's house for the first time without me. While you were only two houses down from ours, it was still a big deal to me.

You say the most grown up things sometimes! My favorite is always when you say,

"Call me if you need anything." (You usually tell people this as you are leaving their house.)

You are the best big brother that Luke could ever ask for. I know you two will have knock down, drag out fights at some point, but right now, I'm cherishing your interactions. While he does bother you, especially the excessive drool, you are so patient, loving, and accepting of him. You offer to "watch" him for me while I need to do something and always look out for his safety. Even today before his nap you walked over to him, hugged and kissed him, saying, "Have a good nap Luke. Sweet dreams." You know how to melt your Momma's heart.

Speaking of melting my heart, you now give lots of hugs, kisses, and at least daily say, "I love you, Mommy." You are also quick to tell me that I am a mean Mommy and that I won't let you do anything sometimes. :) Sometimes you even count and threaten to put me in time out or not let me have a Diet Coke if I don't meet your request. I can't help but to laugh.

You love to sit on the couch an watch TV  (Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Octonauts, and Doc McStuffins are recent requests) or movies (Ice Age, Monsters Inc., Toy Story) but also love to get outside to run and play.

You are not a big eater, although sometimes you'll clean your plate and ask for more. You love popcorn, fruit, chicken nuggets, tacos, fish sticks, and dessert. You got your sweet tooth from your Daddy and you have your favorites. You always want Graeter's ice cream- specifically their raspberry sorbet. (We actually cut most dairy out of your diet in April and your tummy seems to be much happier!) Today I told you that I wanted to take you out to breakfast and you decided on Waffle House...

I loved every second of your breakfast birthday date. You also decided that for your birthday you wanted to go to the park, go to the pool, and have Sake Blue for dinner. Your wish is our command! :)

We love you more than words, sweet Caleb. If I could, I would keep you this age forever!

You are the best!

And, no matter how big you get, you'll always be Mommy's baby!

The Tree House

For the past few weeks, Grandmom and Grandpa have spent the majority of their time working on a shared gift for Caleb and Luke. I actually had to the keep the boys away from their house for about a week until the big reveal. Caleb and Luke are now the proud owners of a really cool tree house! It's about 99% finished, just waiting on shingles to match the new roof Grandmom and Grandpa are getting on their house, thanks to the recent hail storm. Inside you'll find containers of fun toys, bubble gum, and treats.  We are still on the look out for a couple of little chairs for the deck. :)

Last night Caleb wanted to eat his dinner in the tree house so I packed his lunchbox and we headed over there. Grandmom was quick to climb up and play with them! I only had my cell phone, so the pictures aren't great, but you can still see the huge grins on the boys' faces!

Caleb's Pirate Party

On Saturday Caleb had his 4th birthday party with his little friends at the park. He wanted a pirate theme, and I think all the kiddos had a great time playing on the playground.

Capt. Caleb and Madalyn

 The impossible task of lighting candles on a breezy day (We gave up!)

Kaden and Caleb

 (Kaden was in Caleb's preschool 2s and 3s class.)

Pirate Jackson

Taking a swing at his pinata

Cousin Eli made me a little nervous with his swing! ;)

Go Hayden!

 Brody took a good whack at it!

After all the kids took a turn with no luck, I helped it along a little.

Brother had his first juice box at the party.
He L-O-V-E-D it!

And then he crashed! (Grandmom took full advantage of his exhaustion and cuddled for a while!)

Opening presents is a serious business! I love the look on their faces as they study the gift.

Capt. Caleb crashed on the way home! Sweet (almost) FOUR year old. 

**My camera's memory card was full- thank you, thank you, thank you, Nikki, for getting all these great pictures!

Uncle Luke's Graduation Party

Last weekend we went to Uncle Luke's graduation party. He and his friend, Connor, had a combined party, and we all had a blast! They had a giant, inflatable slip and slide and a two story dual slide. Needless to say, everyone got in on the action.

Uncle Luke and Caleb sliding together

Uncle Luke gave Caleb a head start for their race!

Creed and baby Luke

Luke LOVED the slide and probably went down it 20 times!

Caleb going head first!

Caroline head first, too!

 (Since there wasn't "an operator present," most slide rules were broken. Actually I think we managed to break every single rule posted. Oops!)

Grandpa also managed to take some video footage and posted it on youtube. Here are the links...

Caleb and Levi (one of Uncle Luke's teacher's son) on the slip and slide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4UUg4bkLIw&feature=youtu.be

Grandmom, Caleb, and baby Luke on the slide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixDTXb_rcwM&feature=youtu.be

Like I said, everyone had a good time. Even Creed showed off his daredevil side and did a few somersaults down the slide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EeAYPv-eA0

Zoo Trip with Aunt Paige

We are all LOVING having Aunt Paige home this summer. Aside from the fact that Creed and I have had a few date nights, the boys love playing and being silly with Paige. Last Friday it was supposed to be cloudy and cool, which in my opinion is the best day for a zoo trip. Caleb was never impressed with the zoo, or even animals for that matter, so we hadn't taken him in over a year (besides the annual Halloween party.) This was Luke's first trip, and he loved it! He barked at all the animals and got so excited that his whole body shook. It was precious! Caleb had fun running around and was content with his enormous bag of popcorn (that he ate entirely before bedtime that night!)

The carousel with Paige

 Luke even loved the fish!

Yep, he ate every single morsel. 

Sorry about the video being sideways. I was so eager to get a video of his excitement that I didn't realize I had my phone sideways. Oh well, it is still precious. And this is what he did for every single animal that he saw!

Last Day of School

On May 25th, Caleb had his last day of school in his preschool 3s class! We are so incredibly thankful for Mrs. Fisher and the way she has taken care of our little man this year. He simply adores her, and has said at least five times since that day, "I sure miss Mrs. Fisher." That morning I snapped this picture when I dropped him off...

Caleb's class had a party that day to celebrate the end of the year, but since it was my last day of work as well, I couldn't go. Luckily Grandmom, Aunt Paige, and Luke were able to attend.

I'm reminded of THIS day, less than a year ago.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend, although it felt as though much of it was spent like this...

Saturday we went up to Dayton for Adam's graduation party, where I managed to take ZERO pictures. In my defense, it was hard chasing Luke around a nonbaby-proofed house! They did have a baby pool set up, so Caleb, Caroline, and Luke had fun splashing around.

Sunday we were so excited to make it to the pool for the first time of the season! Luke loved swimming around and Caleb was a little fish, as always.

Sunday night we hung out in Brody's yard and let the boys (and the Dads!) slip and slide. We ended up staying out until past dark, which meant that the lightning bugs came out. Caleb and Brody LOVED chasing them around!

Sunday I took the boys to Cousin Eli's house for a cookout. (Again, ZERO pictures) Caleb had so much fun playing with his cousins and ended up napping in the car again because he was so worn out!

It was a busy and fun weekend! Bring on summer!!

Luke- 15 Months

Earlier this week, Luke had his 15 month well-baby checkup. He checked out fine, weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces (25th) and was 31 1/2 inches tall (50th). He only had to get one shot, so it was relatively an easy visit.

At 15 months, Luke loves...
-Sleeping in his bed (8pm til 8 am, plus around a 3 hour nap each day)
-Playing with toys, especially Caleb's pretend food and kitchen toys
-Getting into (and making a huge mess in!) our master bathroom
-Shredding napkins, toilet paper, Kleenex, etc.

-Playing in Caleb's room
-Wrestling and playing rough
-Snacks (Pretzels are a new favorite.)
-Sitting on the couch with you (This is new and he thinks he is SO big.)

 -Playing in water
-Being outside and going on walks
-Having "conversations" with you
-Drinks, especially if he gets a sip from your cup

At 15 months, Luke DOES NOT like...

-Having food or toys taken away (especially if you hand it back to Caleb!)

-Riding in the car for longer than 15 or 20 minutes

-Being told "No."

-Being redirected away from something

-Getting hot outside

-Swallowing (This is just an assumption, as he goes through at least 3 shirts a day due to his excessive drooling!)

Just for comparison, I just had to pull up THIS post. (Personally, I think Caleb's full head of hair made him look a lot older at this age.)

Shaving Cream

Just some rainy day fun! Luke normally only has his passie at bedtime or in the car. However, I thought it would be necessary to keep him from tasting the shaving cream.

Passie on the floor and shaving cream in the mouth. He's a crazy one, that's for sure!