Counting down the days...

We are SO thankful to have had PeePaw, Grandma Beth ("Beaf"
as Caleb calls her!), and Uncles Matt and Drew stay with us this
past week. We all had so much fun and are already counting down
the days until we can see them again.



A special breakfast with Uncle Drew. Caleb normally eats in
his high chair but insisted that he sit at the big table next to
Drew for this meal! :)

Happy New Year!!!

Our boy is 18 months old!! (Well, he has been for a few
weeks but just went to his check up.) He was 26 pounds, 6
ounces fully dressed and checked out fine.

18 Things About Caleb at 18 Months...
1.He still loves Laurie Berkner, but recently has become
interested in his Preschool Prep dvds. His favorite is the
"colors" one. We are working on blue and red.
2.He is down to one nap a day and it is finally becoming
longer!! It's at least 1 and 1/2 hours, but lately is as long as
2 and 1/2.
3.Bedtime is still 8pm and he usually gets up between 7:30
and 8am.
4.He LOVES "treats." (His face just lights up when you say
the word.) This includes cookies, ice cream, fruit snacks,
etc. We have a major sweet tooth on our hands!
5.His vocabulary is suddenly increasing. He is saying pretty
much anything you ask him to say, although it doesn't always
sound like the word at all.
6.He will say please ("peas") when you prompt him.
7.Caleb loves to say "aaaaamen" at the end of a prayer.
8.For three straight weeks he hasn't cried as I dropped him
off at the church nursery. Hallelujah!
9.He loves playing with cars, trucks, trains, etc. Basically all
things boy!
10.Caleb yells "Go!" anytime he sees something that is UK
related.
11.He plays independently really well (on most days).
12.Caleb gets along really well with all of his friends. He loves
to share and (so far!!) plays nice!
13.He wants what we are drinking. As long as you put at
least a drop (literally) in his water and he sees you do it, he is
content.
14.He loves all of his grandparents more than anything!
15.Caleb is very observant. He notices pulls in carpet, crumbs
on the floor, mulch on the sidewalk, or anything that is out of
place.
16.He babbles constantly. If only I knew what he was saying...
17.Caleb is a stinker. For example, I may have bumped his
head a few times on the door frame of the car as I put him in.
Now every single time I put him in the car he holds his head
and says "ahhh" like I hit it.
18.If I had to describe Caleb in a few words, I'd say determined,
strong willed, particular, and perfect!

Special Plate

While celebrating Christmas with the Fowlers, cousin Hannah
did an art project with all the little ones. She made a very special
plate, then had Caleb add his hand print. I absolutely love his
Christmas plate, and I'm sure I'll cherish that precious little hand
print for many years to come.

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!