It's been a while (part 2)...

SEPTEMBER

Around the time that Caleb turned 15-months, he started having some really bad separation anxiety issues.  We tried all kinds of things to help him understand separation and how it is just part of life, but nothing seemed to be helping.  Stephen and I talked about it and decided that enrolling him in a Mother's Day Out program might actually help, so after checking into a couple of different programs we picked one.  On Thursday, September 4th, Caleb attended his first day of Mother's Day Out!  His first day went well and he had a great time, he cried very little and actually took a nap for them, I was extremely impressed and very hopeful!  He had a couple of very rough Thursdays after that, and I was beginning to wonder if it was all going to work. The workers decided that part of his frustration was the room he was in (toddlers -- he was bored), so they moved him to the 2-year old room and that's all it took... he loves it and is doing great!  This past Thursday, he was actually asking me if he could go play with his friends and see Miss Kim, Ms. Patricia, and Ms. Lisa (his teachers); I am so excited!

Caleb getting ready for his first day at Mother's Day Out!

This boy is ready to go play at MDO!

Stephen's cousin, David, got married on September 20th!  It was a beautiful wedding and we all had alot of fun.  Stephen and Josh were both ushers and I was in the house party, so we all stayed pretty busy; keeping up with Caleb was the interesting part!  

Caleb and Josh on their way to the wedding! We hadn't changed Caleb's clothes yet, but don't they look handsome!?! They clean up well!

Since we were all in town for David's wedding, we had a little birthday party for Caleb and Austin (Stephen's sister's little boy) on Sunday the 21st, at a park in Georgetown.  Caleb was born on September 30, 2006 and Austin on October 8, 2006, so they are almost exactly a week apart.  We had fun visiting with everyone and letting the boys celebrate their birthdays together!

Caleb opening his birthday presents!

Austin opening his birthday presents!

All the cousins around the birthday boys!

On, September 30, 2008, my baby boy turned two years old!  We celebrated his second birthday in style with a "Construction" themed party!  It was a very small party, with my brother and his girlfriend, Jenna, and a few close family friends in attendance.  Caleb had a ton of fun, and we thoroughly enjoyed watching him "officially" turn two at 9:17 p.m.! 

Two Things that I Love About My Sweet Boy:

1. He has a precious smile and cute little giggle that just melt my heart!
2. He gives the absolute best hugs and kisses!

Caleb sitting at his birthday table!

Caleb's cookie cake

Isabella and Caleb

Stephen, Caleb, and I 

Caleb with his Uncle Josh and Jenna

OCTOBER

Caleb's two year check-up with Dr. Meyer was on October 2nd.  He weighed 29.5 lbs. and was 36 inches tall...my how things have change in just two years!  He got two shots and the flu mist; he did really well getting his shots (I was alittle nervous because he has gotten so much bigger in size since his last shots and Stephen was out of town, so it was just me and the nurse to hold him down if he got unruly)!  

The first weekend in October, we made a trip to my parents!  We went for several different reasons, but the main one was to attend the 60th Wedding Anniversary Party for my Great Aunt and Great Uncle on Saturday, October 4th.  We traveled up on Thursday evening, so that Caleb would take a nap in the car (Haha...no such luck with that one), and so we could get a good nights sleep and go to Canton on Friday morning.  When we arrived, Caleb had a bit of a surprise waiting for him, since mom and dad were unable to attend Caleb's "official" birthday party, they decided to have a party of their own for Caleb.  It was so cute!  He walked in the door only to find presents and cake, and best of all mamaw, papaw, and gigi...he was so excited!

Caleb with his presents from Mamaw and Papaw, and Gigi!

Caleb with his John Deere tricycle from Mamaw and Papaw!

One the 3rd, we made our way to Canton and we were ready to shop!  The morning started out great, but about 30 minutes into our shopping adventure Stephen and I received a phone call that made the rest of the day really quite sad... Stephen's grandmother had passed away earlier that morning.  We walked around aimlessly for a good while and then we headed back to mom and dad's so that we could decide what we needed to do.   After talking with his family, Stephen decided that we would stay to attend the 60th Wedding Anniversary Party and then he would head home for the visitation on Sunday and mom would come with me so that she could stay with Caleb during the funeral on Monday.

Me with my mom, my great aunts, great uncle, and grandma at the 60th Wedding Anniversary Party!

On October 28th, we made our annual trip to the "Habitat for Humanity Pumpkin Patch."  This year Uncle Josh and Jenna went with us; after we purchased our pumpkins we went back to the house to carve jack-o-lanterns.  Uncle Josh carved a "Lightning McQueen" pumpkin for Caleb...it was very cute!  

Caleb's first trip to the pumpkin patch in 2006!  My how things have changed...in this picture he weighed less than our pumpkin and was barely bigger than the pumpkin in size!

And this year...Caleb picking out his "little" pumpkin!

Caleb sitting with the "pumpkin cross!" I thought this was a really neat picture, Jenna took one at an angle that is even better, but I don't have a copy of it...yet :-)

He liked sitting ON the pumpkins, this boy is hysterical!  

Caleb, Uncle Josh, and Jenna showing off their finished product..."Lightning McQueen!"

This pumpkin is all aglow!

October 30th, Caleb had a fall festival/halloween party with his mother's day out friends.  He had lots of fun! They had everything set up with games and snacks, it was really neat and Stephen and I enjoyed watching Caleb play and assisting him with the games.

Instead of thowing the balls, Caleb decided that putting them directly into the holes made more sense!

What a stinker!  I can just see the mischief about to erupt!

Caleb was only a month old for his first halloween in 2006, he was a little "bull" and I wore my "John Deere Country Girl" shirt.  It wasn't a planned thing, but when we saw the pictures later on, I decided that a family theme for halloween was a fun idea.  

Caleb's first halloween in 2006!

Last year Curious George was at the top of Caleb's favorite cartoon characters and I had the idea to dress Caleb as a monkey (Curious George) and Stephen would be his friendly companion "The Man in Yellow."  

Caleb as "Curious George" in 2007!

The whole thing turned out great, so I continued with the theme idea again this year.  Stephen told me he didn't think that it was possible to top the Curious George theme from last year...so I took that as a challenge!   As I was searching through ideas, I came across a parrot costume for a toddler; I thought about Caleb and all of his new found abilities to talk non-stop and repeat everything that we say...a parrot was perfect for our little munchkin!  I was so excited because Stephen and I could be the pirate shoulders that he would sit on!  So, this halloween we were "Two Pirates and a Parrot."  

A "jibber-jabbering" parrot in 2008!

We got all dressed up and took Caleb trick or treating, and to the fall festival at Hillcrest Baptist Church.  Central Baptist had their fall festival the weekend before, but all of us were sick with a nasty cold, so we didn't attend that one. 

Caleb trick-or-treating at Jenna's apartment! 

Uncle Josh was dressed-up as a cowboy and Jenna was Miss Universe! Josh scared Caleb with his outfit, he had to take off his hat and mustache before Caleb would have anything to do with him, it was pretty funny!

Caleb and I at the fall festival!

NOVEMBER

November was a fairly calm month...thank goodness!  We had a couple of exciting events, but we were mostly just around the house doing our normal activities.  Our big project for the month was to build some cabinets in the garage.  They are great and have helped get some of the clutter up and off the floor of the garage.  

Caleb has discovered the ladder...

Hanging out in the garage!

My handymen!

We attended the Ducks Unlimited Banquet with the Texas A&M University Chapter on November 6th.  This was Caleb's first time to attend the banquet, and he won his very first raffle while we were there!  The best part was that since his Uncle Josh was one of the DU officers he got to give Caleb his prize...we thought that was very cool!  

Caleb and Stephen at the DU Banquet!

Caleb getting his raffle prize from Uncle Josh...yes, it's a Mallard Rocking Duck!

Here he is riding his "Rocking Duck!"  He gets this thing really rocking and I'm pretty sure one day it's going to fly off!!!

Uncle Josh and Caleb talking some "philosophy!"  They are so cute together...it is going to be really hard when Uncle Josh has moved after graduation! 

I attended Advent at our church on November 11th, it was beautiful and really got me in the Christmas spirit!  I gradually began decorating the house for Christmas, the weekend after Advent.  

Caleb helping decorate our Christmas Tree in the kitchen!

I hosted my first "Holiday Wishes Showcase" a holiday open house for my Mary Kay business November 21-22.  It was productive and I had alot of fun getting everything ready!  

Getting ready for my showcase

We went to my parents for Thanksgiving and had a really good time!  It was nice to be able to rest and relax!  

Caleb, ready to eat some turkey! He was so ready we caught him chewing on his football (he was really chewing on the ball, but in our defense he was cutting his two-year molars)!

Stephen and I got up at 2:30 a.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving and went on our first ever "Black Friday" shopping adventure.  We were completely exhausted by the time that we got back to mom and dad's, but we had so much fun and were completely in awe at all the people out shopping!  I think that I can safely say that we will be making this an annual event...we had so much fun together!

While Stephen and I were shopping, Caleb slept-in and then had pancakes with Mamaw, Papaw, and Uncle Josh.  This was the picture that we got while we were out and about...it seems that Caleb stuffed himself real well and then wanted to brag about it ~ Mamaw and Papaw thought that was a great idea!

So that gets me almost caught up with our posts...I've begun work on December and January and hopefully I will have that one up before January is over!!! 

It's been a while...

Okay, so I know that I have been M.I.A on my blog for a good while, and I have received some complaints.  I have been checking in on things and keeping up with what everyone else is doing, I just haven't made the time to update our blog.  So here goes my attempt to get everyone caught up with the happenings from the past few months.  In this post, I will be filling you in on our adventures from July and August...

JULY

We began our first real attempt at potty training, so Caleb got a potty seat, you know the one that sings and talks to you (I know he didn't need the potty seat that has all the bells and whistles, but it sure is fun!) As far as the potty training goes, he is currently in that experimental stage and has been there for a several months.  He has very good days where he will stay dry almost all of the day and then we have the days where he will refuse to sit on the potty altogether. We are just letting him take things at the pace that he wants; I am sure that it will help when we (Stephen and I) make the decision to be more consistent in reminding him to go too!  

Caleb helping getting out his potty!

He's thinking about trying it out!

One step closer to big boy undies!

Josh (my baby brother, who is not so much a baby anymore) was gone all summer long doing an internship that he got through A&M with some of our wonderful Texas cotton gins.  For the first half of the summer he was in the Lubbock area, and the second half was spent down around the Corpus Christi area.  Caleb is CRAZY about his Uncle Josh and Josh is CRAZY about his nephew, so this summer was very hard for the both of them.  Caleb would pretend to talk to Josh on the phone when we couldn't talk to him for real.  He would search the house thinking that just maybe Uncle Josh was playing hide and seek, and sometimes he would just stand at the door, waiting and hoping that Uncle Josh would pull into the driveway, it was just so sad!  The 4th of July weekend Caleb got the best surprise ever, his Uncle Josh came home!  We were on our way to the swimming pool with Caleb when I got a phone call from Josh's girlfriend, Jenna, she asked if she could come visit us because she was feeling kind of down since Josh was out of town (she sooo fibbed).  So, we made plans that she would just meet us at the pool.  We had been there for a little while when she arrived...yes, she had my 6'4", blonde haired brother in tow.  You should have heard the squeals that came from my child.  The life guards thought that something was wrong at first, until they saw the excitement that was on Caleb's face!  After we left the pool, we came home, grilled steaks, bakes brownies, and let Josh and Caleb have some much deserved play time!!!

Uncle Josh pushing Caleb down the "clam" slide at the pool.

Mixing up brownies with Jenna!

Brownie kisses!

Brownie face!!!

All smiles with a "Joshyback" ride!

Whew!  Mr. Stinky pants!

After a diaper change, they did some kung fu fighting!

AUGUST

August was a pretty busy month.  Stephen's parents came in for a visit and Stephen and his dad built a "Fuzz Box" (some kind of a petal for Stephen's guitar) they really enjoyed working on the project and it looked really neat when Stephen finished it up.  

Caleb trying to help out with the "fuzz" box.

A really good friend of mine, Wendee and her husband Brian, had their baby girl on the 8th.  They named her Berklee Anne.  Berklee came into this world very early (15 weeks early) and truly is a miracle baby.  She was born at 8:50 a.m. (10 minutes before Wendee's graduation ceremony began at A&M) and weighed in at a whopping 1 lb. 12.2 ozs. and was 12.5 inches long.  You can read more about Berklee at   http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/berkleebinford

Jenna, my brother's girlfriend, graduated from A&M on the 8th, she was in the same ceremony that Wendee would have been in.  We celebrated with Jenna and her family at her graduation party after the official ceremony.    

Josh and Jenna

Stephen turned 32 on the 9th!  Since, mom and dad were in town for Jenna's graduation they watched Caleb so that Stephen and I could have a baby free dinner and enjoy a night out on the town.  It was wonderful to be able to enjoy dinner and not have the munchkin pulling on our arms and squealing for more food!  Caleb is a precious little boy and we love him so much, but it is nice to have a break from time to time.  :-)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

(Caleb and Stephen playing before we went out to eat.)

Papaw was coaxed into playing, too!  They really had to twist his arm (Haha)!!!

This is how we got to slip out for Stephen's birthday dinner...with no tears!  (Caleb had a wonderful afternoon playing with Stephen, Papaw, and Josh; he was completely worn out. So, it didn't take Mamaw long to get Caleb down for a long afternoon nap!)

The week after Stephen's birthday, he took his annual vacation.  We had planned to make a trip to the beach this summer during his time off, but the various different hurricanes put a kink in our plans this year.  So, we took a couple of days to rest and relax, and then we took a few short day trips.  One day, we stayed in the B/CS area; we had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Papa Perez, and then we took Caleb to the Children's Museum in downtown Bryan.  Then one day, we went to the Houston Zoo and did alittle shopping while we were there.  

The Music Room at the Children's Museum

The boys at the "Legos" building table in the Children's Museum 

Caleb is fascinated with fish (one of his favorite movies this summer was Finding Nemo), so we took him to an aquarium to see all the different kinds of fish.  He loved it!  

Caleb and I at the entrance of the Houston Zoo! 

(As you can see, he was still pretty kicked back at this point...it sure didn't stay that way, he loved seeing all the animals and we couldn't get to the next animal fast enough sometimes.)

Stephen and Caleb at the zoo!

Out and about at the zoo!

Exhausted from the zoo!

(This picture was taken before we ever left the parking lot)

After we returned home from our adventures at the zoo, we decided to have a family picnic in the living room!  It was so much fun!

One of our other big adventures in August, while Stephen was on vacation was weaning Caleb from his pacifier.   We initially started out a few months earlier just limiting the usage for naps and bedtime only. However, he got a summer cold and we let him have his "passy" for comfort, therefore, he started trying to use it all the time again.  So, we decided to go cold turkey this time...and it worked!  He asked for it some, but we had a book that we read, Pacifiers are not Forever, and we used lots of distractions.  The Little Tikes bubble machine was one of the distractions that we used and it worked wonders!  Caleb loved it!  Every time he would start to whine or ask about his passy, we would pull out the bubble machine, and that would be the end of it (at least for a little while).  We had a couple of very interesting days, but all said and done it was pretty painless.  I might not have said this at the time, but looking back on it I think that Caleb did really well! 

Bubbles...bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!!!

On the 30th, I had my business debut as a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant and hosted a grand opening event at the house.  So far, things have been going well.  I get to do some girly stuff that is just for me, I get to do girly stuff with my friends and other ladies too, I get all my products half off and I am making alittle bit of extra money doing it!  How much fun is that!?!  

The Mary Kay box reads, "Discover your DREAMS inside!"  

Looks to me like my dreams have already been discovered!!!  

My handsome boys! 

So, if you throw in the normal everyday activities and the occasional extras like playdates, birthday parties, dinner with friends, and wedding showers,  you can see that August was quite busy.  I've started work on the next update for September and October, hopefully I will get it posted soon!