Jeff – Amy – Caleb

Caleb is now 21 months. I can’t believe he will be 2 years old in less than 3 months. I am already starting to try to decide what to do for his birthday party. He LOVES Thomas the Train, Mickey Mouse, and Elmo so those are all easy ideas. He also loves going to Gymboree. He climbs up all the ladders, runs across the bridges, throws balls to the other children, rides on the parachute, and blows bubbles. I love taking Caleb because the whole time he is there he just smiles. It is pure joy. His favorite thing to do right now is get Gymbo stamps at the end of class. He loves that. Anyways, I have lots of good ideas for his party, so hopefully I’ll get something neat lined out for him soon:)

Caleb is talking up a storm. He can say over 200+ words! He also repeats everything you say. This weekend, my mom said “Oh Gosh” and Caleb repeated it right back at her. His Meme was showing him motorcycles this weekend and he now says it over and over too. I love hearing him say new words.

Caleb is also starting to put words together. He uses 3 or 4 word sentences! His favorite sentence right now is “No No Daddy. Be Nice.” He is a mommy’s boy lately which I secretly love.

Caleb can also count to 10 on his own. He counts everything from the French fries on his plate to the stairs up to the playroom. I am SO PROUD of him and his counting. He does get the numbers confused sometimes, but overall he can count really well.

Caleb moved up to the two year old classroom at school. I am excited about this because they focus more on learning new skills. He has only been in the classroom a few weeks and he can already count to five in Spanish! He is also learning to cut and paste in his classroom. I love seeing what artwork he puts together at school. Last month they learned all about me. This month they are learning about transportation which Caleb will love. He loves anything that moves: School Buses, Trains, Cars, Planes, Boats, you name it!

Caleb still isn’t eating well. We are lucky to get one full meal down him a day. He weighs 24 pounds now which puts him in the 5th percentile on weight. The doctor says that I shouldn’t worry about it and continue to give him 5 or 6 things on his plate each night. When I was pregnant with Caleb, there was a couple in our community group whose children wouldn’t eat. We had them on the prayer list for a few months. I remember thinking, “Well, if they are hungry they’ll eat.” I was wrong. I now realize the stress, frustration, and worry that poor mother had each time her kids wouldn’t eat. I have hope because I know they are eating now, so hopefully with prayer and patience I’ll get this boy to eat sometime soon.

Caleb’s favorite toys are his golf clubs, blocks, train table, and slide. Funny Story. We took him to Academy the other night and he wanted a $1,000 swing set. We told him maybe later. The next day I was at WalMart waiting on some people from our corporate offices, so I picked up a TBall set for him that was on sale. That night I picked up Caleb from school and I said, “Mommy got you a toy today. Can you guess what it is?” He yelled “Swing set with Slide”! Umm, No! But, I have taken notes and Jeff and I are saving to get a nice one for him for Christmas possibly.

Other than playing toys, he loves to read books and color! He is also starting to sing which is too cute. He loves to sing This Little Light of Mine, Twinkle Twinkle, The Wheels on the Bus, If You’re Happy and You Know It, and Jesus Loves Me. He also sings the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song. Ha!

One last thing he loves is Golf Carts! His Papa and Uncle Ty-Ty take him in the golf cart when we are home and he loves it! Also, the new church we have been visiting has a golf cart that picks you up in the parking lot if you need it. It is supposed to be for the elderly. Yet, Caleb now yells Golf Cart and Brother Keith every time we go to church, so now we get rides into church. It is too cute because the church is close to his daycare and each night when we leave daycare Caleb says, “Bye Bye Church. Bye Bye Jesus.” He even yells “Amen” after we bless our food at night. I love that he is learning about God at an early age.

Caleb is growing up so fast. I just can’t believe how quickly time flies. I am so thankful to be his mother. Jeff and I are amazed at how we just woke up one day and he went from being a baby to a toddler. I wish I could make time stand still and enjoy every second more and more. Sorry for the long post. Most of this is just so Jeff and I can remember in ten years all the fun and silly things Caleb was doing at this time!

Have a great day!

Caleb had one of the best weekends ever! I’ll post more about that later this week when I get all the pictures downloaded off our camera.

Until then, here is a video of Mr. Man calling those Hogs! I love how he works the room and just keeps on calling the Hogs! He is ready for football season.

Jeff and I left last Monday for a quick vacation to Cancun. We stayed at the Excellence resort which was wonderful! The resort was about 20 minutes outside of Cancun. It was so quiet and relaxing. The food was fantastic. We never needed a reservation. They also knew it was my birthday and brought me cake and champagne each night!

The funniest part of the trip was when Jeff and I went to do a hydro therapy session at the spa. You had to jump into cold pools and then hot pools. After I jumped in the cold pool, I yelled HOLY MOLY! First thing that came to mind. The Spanish lady looked at the other attendant and then at Jeff for a translation. Jeff just said Wow! They were so perplexed by me yelling that. It was so cold.

Other than great food and beaches, we had a wonderful time just being together and talking. We made our bucket list one day on the beach. We have a lot to accomplish in the next 50 years:)

I was so happy to get back to see Caleb. He had a wonderful time with his Meme. They did lots of fun things together while we were gone like make cupcakes, go to Chick Fil A, Pets Mart, Target, go on walks, go to the pool, the list could go on and on. He was spoiled rotten.

The rest of the weekend we just enjoyed time as a family. Caleb’s favorite day was Saturday. We started the morning off with doughnuts from a store that looks like a barn! Caleb loves barns and doughnuts, so he was very excited about that! Then, we went to the Farmer’s Market and to the park. After that, Caleb went home to take a nap while I went to host a baby shower for a good friend. After he woke up from his nap and I came home, we made dinner and headed to the Promenade. Caleb rode the train and fell in love! It was his favorite thing ever. He has asked to ride it every day since. He also got ice cream, got to play at the playground, and go walk around the fountain. I have never seen that boy so happy!

We had a great week off work as a couple and as a family. This week has been a little slow because we are readjusting to our normal routine, but overall it is going well.

Caleb keeps surprising us this week with all the new words he is learning. For instance, yesterday a Victoria Secret came in the mail and Jeff was teasing me about the sexy models. The next thing we know, Caleb has the magazine and is saying “Sexy” over and over again! We know he shouldn’t know that word, but we were laughing way too hard to tell him no.

Other exciting news is we got an Elmo Potty. He really likes sitting on the potty. We haven’t started full force potty training yet. We are just getting used to the idea, but I think it will happen soon. He is really ready to learn. It is awkward for us because there is no alone time in the restroom anymore in our house. Caleb opens the door to watch you every single time. Oh how life changes with a toddler:)

Have a great day!

We had a GREAT weekend! The whole weekend was full of fun.

Friday night, Jeff, Caleb, and I went to eat at a new Mexican place called Sabores in Bentonville. It was excellent food and the service was fantastic. The salsa was great too. We loved it. After dinner we went to get our groceries and play with toys! Caleb ended up coming home with some new train toys for his bathtub. Much cheaper than the $79 train set that he kept begging us for:) We then came home and played in the sandbox. Fun night.

Saturday was the best day. We woke up at 6:30AM (joys of a toddler) and went to get doughnuts. At the doughnut store, Caleb had doughnut holes and a chocolate sprinkle doughnut. He ate a few doughnut holes, but his favorite thing to do was eat each sprinkle, one at a time, off the doughnut. Too cute.

After breakfast, we went to the Bentonville Farmers Market. It was much less crowded than the Fayetteville Farmers Market. We had a great time. We left with some vegetables, dessert, salsa, and kettle corn. Not really organic items, but you know me and Jeff.

From the Farmers market, we headed to a cool park off the square. Caleb enjoyed going down the slides and climbing up the rock mountain. While we were there, we saw a tractor that was digging space for a new parking lot. So, we jumped in the car after playing at the park and drove closer to the tractor. Caleb loved watching the tractor dump the dirt and rocks into the dump truck.

Then, we went to Pets Smart to see the fish, cats, and birds. Caleb loves doing this and we do it almost every week. After Pets Smart, we took him to the Promenade to see the water fountains and play with the train set at Melody’s Choices! By then, it was 11:00 so we ate lunch and headed home for a nap.

But, oh, Caleb was not interested in a nap. His mind was set that he had a party to go to later. He kept saying Pool and Party over and over. Finally, it was party time. Our neighbor’s boy across the street turned 1, so they hosted a pool party at our neighborhood clubhouse. The party was fantastic. She had decorated it so cute in a soccer theme. We had a great time visiting at the party with all the guests and watching Caleb play with the other children. He was amazed by the cake and all the balloons. He kept saying cupcake, party, and juice over and over again. I enjoyed the party too because I got to meet several moms in the neighborhood whose kids are close to the same age as Caleb. I love our new neighborhood. The people are fantastic and I can tell that some of the neighbors are going to be lifelong friends!

About an hour and a half into the party, Caleb grabbed his dad and said “All Done” and climbed into his wagon. So, we left the party and he immediately went to sleep. When he woke up, his Papa, GiGi, and TyTy had come over to play and stay the night with us. You could tell that Caleb thought this was the best day ever. Caleb went to a basketball game with my parents and Jeff and I got to stay home and watch a movie! It was fun just to sit in the living room and watch a movie. We both laughed at how we were too tired to deal with the movies or going out for a drink or dessert. We just wanted to chill out:)

Caleb came back and we headed straight to bed. Sunday, we got up and went to a new church. Caleb made it about 30 minutes into the service before he was kicked out of nursery He tends to not like new people or new places. After church, we went to Fred’s for lunch. My family was able to hang out most of the day before heading back to the gym to watch Tyler play basketball. My parents brought Caleb a sprinkler for the backyard and a water bazooka thing. He loved the water gun. After playing in the backyard, we went to the pool. Caleb loves the water. He was doing belly flops into the water. We were counting to 3 and he was jumping on 2. So much fun!

Then, Sunday night was cleaning up the house and just spending time as a family. Caleb rode his mini ATV up and down the street and headed to bed at a decent time.

Overall, it was a great weekend! We enjoyed getting to do so many fun things with Caleb. He is growing up so fast and he amazes us each day how smart he is. And, it was also nice to have my family in town and get the opportunity to catch up with them. With all of our busy schedules, we don’t get to spend enough time together. But, when we do, we have fun!

This time next week, Jeff and I will be on vacation. I can’t wait to go. He surprised me with a little trip for my birthday! Caleb will get to hang out with his Meme and have his own vacation which I have a feeling will consists of lots of outdoor time, McDonalds, and maybe some chocolate chip cookie batter! He loves it as much as his daddy. I will miss my boy terribly, but am excited to spend some time with my husband.

Have a great day!

Caleb had a good night last night. We are working really hard on getting him to eat. As you can see in the picture, I am following the doctor’s orders of putting 5 different items on his plate to encourage him to eat. He had two plates last night. He had Chicken Fried Rice, Cheese, Carrots, Apples, Hot Dog, Chicken Nuggets, and French Fries! He ate lots of Apples, a bite or two of Chicken Fried Rice, a Chicken Nugget, and about 4 French Fries. That is a start!

After dinner, Caleb found some “monies” so he put them in his piggy bank. For the rest of the night, he kept asking for more monies! It was too cute.

Hope everyone is having a great day!