Santa Clause is Coming to Town

I wasn't going to take Caleb to see Santa this year because of the long line, how expensive the pictures are, and all the sicknesses that are going around. Well, we ended up going at the request of my mother in law. Who was I to say no when she was going to pay!! It also helped that Caleb was already on an antibiotic, so if he picked any other germs up we would pretty much be covered!! The intention was to have Caleb's cousin, Austin, in the picture too....but being the 3 year old he is, that didn't work out.

Santa was amazing! Caleb wasn't too sure at first...he did the whole crying, reaching for me thing, but Santa hung in there and talked to him and read him a book. He finally settled down, let us take his pacifier out, and didn't cry anymore. Of course, we couldn't get a big smile like we usually can get, but hey....I'm just glad he wasn't crying in the picture!!

We love you Santa!!! Caleb has been a very good boy this year!!

My Child......the Love Bug!

I have a little boy that LOVES to hug. He has been known to chase kids into a corner just to hug them. The thing is, most of his hugs usually just consist of him leaning down, laying his head on you, and saying "AWWW". I guess every time he would hug me or Andrew, we would say "AWWW" because he was being so sweet. Now he does it and it just melts my heart. I wish I had a picture of him hugging our other "puppy", but Sambo doesn't sit still long enough for the picture!

I pray every day that Caleb doesn't grow out of the hugging stage. A hug from this little man makes the stress of my days go away in an instant. The love for a child is greater than words can describe. I would do anything for this boy. As excited as I am about the memories to come...birthday parties, sports, school, girls, etc, I constantly remind myself to slow down and enjoy every second of every stage of his life. The phrase "they grow up so fast" has become ever so true.This is Caleb hugging "BIG AL"! He will be saying Roll Tide before we know it!!!

Our outside "puppy", Buster, came in to say "Hi" to Caleb the other night since it was so cold. They are so cute together!!!

12 days of Christmas

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

Well, wonder no more!!

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
A Partridge in a Pear Tree
The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on December 25, the first day of Christmas. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, recalling the expression of Christ's sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered you under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but you would not have it so . . . ." (Luke 13:34)

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Two Turtle Doves
The Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God's self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the Story of God to the world.

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Three French Hens
The Three Theological Virtues: 1) Faith, 2) Hope, and 3) Love (1 Corinthians 13:13)

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Four Calling Birds
The Four Gospels: 1) Matthew, 2) Mark, 3) Luke, and 4) John, which proclaim the Good News of God's reconciliation of the world to Himself in Jesus Christ.

On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Five Gold Rings
The first Five Books of the Old Testament, known as the Torah or the Pentateuch: 1) Genesis, 2) Exodus, 3) Leviticus, 4) Numbers, and 5) Deuteronomy, which gives the history of humanity's sinful failure and God's response of grace in the creation of a people to be a light to the world.

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Six Geese A-laying
The six days of creation that confesses God as Creator and Sustainer of the world (Genesis 1).

On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Seven Swans A-swimming
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1) prophecy, 2) ministry, 3) teaching, 4) exhortation, 5) giving, 6) leading, and 7) compassion (Romans 12:6-8; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11)

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Eight Maids A-milking
The eight Beatitudes: 1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, 2) those who mourn, 3) the meek, 4) those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 5) the merciful, 6) the pure in heart, 7) the peacemakers, 8) those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. (Matthew 5:3-10)

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Nine Ladies Dancing
The nine Fruit of the Holy Spirit: 1) love, 2) joy, 3) peace, 4) patience, 5) kindness,6) generosity, 7) faithfulness, 8) gentleness, and 9) self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Ten Lords A-leaping
The ten commandments: 1) You shall have no other gods before me; 2) Do not make an idol; 3) Do not take God's name in vain; 4) Remember the Sabbath Day; 5) Honor your father and mother; 6) Do not murder; 7) Do not commit adultery; 8) Do not steal; 9) Do not bear false witness; 10) Do not covet. (Exodus 20:1-17)

On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Eleven Pipers Piping
The eleven Faithful Apostles: 1) Simon Peter, 2) Andrew, 3) James, 4) John, 5) Philip, 6) Bartholomew, 7) Matthew, 8) Thomas, 9) James bar Alphaeus, 10) Simon the Zealot, 11) Judas bar James. (Luke 6:14-16). The list does not include the twelfth disciple, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and the Romans.

On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Twelve Drummers Drumming
The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles' Creed: 1) I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 2) I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 3) He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. 4) He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell [the grave]. 5) On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 6) He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 7) I believe in the Holy Spirit, 8) the holy catholic Church, 9) the communion of saints, 10) the forgiveness of sins, 11) the resurrection of the body, 12) and life everlasting.

It has been a LONG time!!

So - I have not been the best blogger lately....AT ALL!!! My little man has kept me so busy since he started walking. I need to do a much better job at this...am I seeing a New Year's Resolution?!! There is so much to catch up on, that I am just going to have to do a quick overview. Caleb is now 13 months old!! He did so well at his party and LOVED his cake!

I could do a HUGE blog about his birthday, but I will keep this to an overview and try my hardest to be better from now on! Caleb enjoyed Halloween.....and yes, he was "BIG AL"...ROLL TIDE!!!

Today, we also had our first snow of the year!!! It was so nice to wake up to everything being white.

I will really try to do better from now on. I am sure a lot more "firsts" for Caleb are just around the corner that I will love to share. He is jabbering all the time and new words are starting to form. God is so good!!

Catch Up!!

BUSY BUSY BUSY.....actually, I have to admit, I am just consumed with the Twilight books and they have replaced my computer time at night!! I have the last book, Breaking Dawn, to go...can't wait to see how it all ends up! If you have not read these books, I suggest it....they are GREAT!!

Caleb is growing like a weed. I can't believe we will be celebrating his 1st birthday here in a month. WOW!!!! The party is being planned and decorations are being made. Yes.....made. I (along with my sister) are being very creative and I LOVE the theme......pictures will be posted, but I am not giving away my secret!! Here are a couple pics of Caleb! I love this little man. He is cruising pretty good, crawls VERY fast, and still has no teeth!

Another thing that is on my heart today are all the animals that are at shelters and need good homs. I am also thinking about the shelters and their needs. Today, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the humane society. Cigna groups together with United Way and does a Day of Caring every year. This year I was lucky enough to participate. We cleaned out rooms, vaccummed, painted, and made snacks for the dogs. At the end, a few of us took a tour of the kennel. This absolutely broke my heart. Tears were in my eyes and I will NEVER forget the faces of these animals. All they want is some attention and someone to look out for. I wish I had room for more at my house, but I don't. These animals are packed in spaces so tight and there are SO many of them. One thing we did today that would be easy to help out with is make treats/toys for the dogs. They gave us paper towel and toilet paper rolls to fill with peanut butter and captain crunch cereal. They use this a lot when trying to distract one dog in the cage to get the other dog out (all cages have at least 2 dogs in them). I am going to start saving my paper towel, toilet paper, and wrapping paper rolls. I am also going to contribute the peanut butter and cereal when I am able. I am hoping to go to the humane society and volunteer to "play" with the dogs as well...when time allows. If any of you would like to do this, or could save their cardboard rolls let me know!!!!!!

Beach and Look Alikes

So - I guess it has been a while and I have tons to post about. 4th of July will have to wait till next time!!! First - My child is amazing, but I know that is all you hear about in my blog!! The first day on vacation, he decided to crawl. The week we got home, he decided to start pulling himself up. Before I know it, my child is going to be walking everywhere!!! I know he will be a busy boy, but I can't wait to see even more of his personality come out!

He loved the sand. The sun totally took it out of him and he slept SO much! He was a very good traveler and hope he continues to be that way!

So - I had gotten a little tired of everyone saying that Caleb is Andrew's twin. This has not been true since Caleb was about 3 or 4 months old. I will say those first few months, Caleb was the spitting image of Andrew....BUT - as you can see from the pics below, this child is my baby twin!!! This first picture is of me around Caleb's age (don't ask me why a little girl was wearing a blue sleeper, but hey, it fit and looked pretty darn comfy, so I won't complain!!) The second picture is Caleb. I wish I could put these pictures side by side, but do some scrolling and see for yourself!!

Sick Baby - But Cute Pictures!!

I believe my baby is SO photogenic!!! I love all the faces he makes and trying to capture them all. He is just absolutely hilarious and I just wish I could hold onto these moments and just freeze time to enjoy them longer. This first picture was so much fun. Caleb was "scooting" to the laundry basket and chewing on it so hard that it sounded like squeaky glass. So - I got creative and put him in the basket, tied a string to the handle, and took him for a ride!! He had a ball. He hung on tight, opened his eyes real wide, and loved every minute!!! Cheap entertainment - the best kind!
He wants to crawl soooooooo bad. He can manuever from laying to sitting to halfway standing. He does the "moon crawl" and can crawl backwards anywhere. The forward crawl is just so tricky. He has so much determination....I know it is coming soon. I know when it happens I will be thrilled, but I will also miss the days knowing that he isn't going too far from where I sit him down. It is just amazing to watch all the milestones your child accomplishes. He can move both hands, but tends to flop like a wet seal when he doesn't get those legs going!! He is great to watch!

This is what happens in parts of his manuevering skills from all fours to sitting to standing. He stayed like this for soooo long....OUCH!!!! He thought it was hilarious!

Does this next picture even need a story? With that face and that hair sticking up, this might be my favorite picture!!! My 2 goofballs!

My baby is the next Michael Phelps (minus the drugs)!!! He absolutely LOVES the water. He kicks his legs and everything. We dunk him all the time and he just comes up smiling! What a little blessing!

So, this video is his huge accomplishment. We have been working for a long time on clapping and so has daycare. Last week, Gramps (my dad) was clapping with him and he finally clapped on his own!!! How much fun!! He now claps when I change his diapers and it cracks me up every time. It is like he is saying "YEAH MOMMY!!! Clean bottom!!!!". Sorry the video is a little fuzzy...it is from my cell phone. Also, if you notice - he mainly just claps his right hand and leaves his left hand still - so funny! Our next step is giving high fives - he is almost there too!!

So - with all this being said - it absolutely breaks your heart when your child is sick. Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday night, our little boy decided he wanted to be held through the night. We thought maybe he was having nightmares, but on Saturday he started a runny nose - BIG TIME. Each night got worse and none of us got a lot of sleep. I almost stayed home today to take him to the doctor, but Andrew said that he was fine and they would just give us the same spill they have in the past. When I got to work I just knew daycare would call for me to come get him. I did some research and diagnosed him with Croup. I just knew it was more than his normal cough. Sure enough, 2:00 rolled around and I got a call saying we needed to come get Caleb because he had ringworm. Wait - not because of his cough???That is what I said. The teacher said he had ringworm on his bottom. I dismissed this and figured they just saw his eczyma spots. I made a doctor's appointment (which I had wanted to do anyway) and went to pick him up. Sure enough, there really is a "ring" on his bottom right beside his other spots. The doctor told us how to take care of that, but decided to treat him for Croup and a possible ear infection. POOR BABY. What else???!!! We definitely got our moneys worth at that doctor's appointment though. He was mighty pitiful tonight. He was extra cuddly. His cough has already slowed down, but after 30 minutes of being in his crib, Andrew is already having to hold him. This is going to be a long night for me. I am lucky enough to have a job where I have a laptop and can work from home tomorrow and not take a whole day off.

Stay tuned - we leave for the beach on Friday and I will come back with lots of pics and ready to blog about the first time in the sand!!!