Anton

This sweet boy has been on my heart a lot lately.  Click the link below to read baby Anton's story and to donate to his adoption fund if you feel so led.  He has a family here in the United States waiting to adopt him, ready with open arms...praise the Lord!  We wait in expectation to see what the Lord has in store for this little guy!

http://hopeforanton.blogspot.com

18 Months

 

Caleb you are 18 months old...unbelievable!  We love the stage you are in right now, we love each stage but this one is so unique and fun!  Your personality just continues to shine and it's so fun to watch you learn, grow and be you.  We love your huge sense of humor, your loving ways, and we really just love having you around and being with you so very much.  You are a sweet little boy, and such a blessing.

This past month you have become quite the talker and are learning so many new words each day.  Not only do you say so many more words, but you really understand e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g Mommy and Daddy say!  We love that, and are often surprised at how much you know already!  We are so excited to watch you learn even more, and especially excited to hear your sweet words! :)  You have your own little language and you also speak english.  Ha!

Here is what you are saying lately:

"all done"

"belly button"

"baby"

"bye bye"

"book"

"banana"

"car"

"cute"

"dada"

"down"

"done"

"ears"

"go-go"

"hot"

"love you"

"kiss"

"k" for okay 

"mama" (used most frequently and also Mommy's fav)

"mac" (mac-n-cheese)

"no-no" (used a lot)

"nigh-nigh"

"nuh-nuh" (nurse)

"okay"

"opps"

"oh no"

"off"

"poo poo"

"peach"

"shoe" (super cute)

"snack"

"toot"

"up"

"uh oh"

"wa-wa" (water)

"yeah"

and so many more...

You love to play with other kiddos, as always.  Mommy feels comforted that you feel so secure when she is away for awhile, you just play confidently with others and don't even notice she is gone really.  You just really love to be with others and play, play, play!

You are sleeping really well at night, and are still taking one to two naps a day.  You will usually either take two shorter naps or one long nap, varying from day to day.  You love to go "bye bye" and go on fun field trips with Mommy.  You also love to explore your home territory by climbing on anything and everything you can, you are such a fast climber and we really have to keep a close eye on you...as we have learned you climb so incredibly fast!  You also love to run around the house, play chase, hide and go seek, be pulled in your wagon, push around your little shopping cart (or run around while pushing your shopping cart).  You are such a gentle boy, loving others.  You will often sneak up behind Mommy, through your arms around her neck and just love on her saying "ohhhhh" and then give her kisses.  You are SO full of love, and we love you right on back!  It's so fun to watch your expressions of love be shown even more as you grow.  You love to nuzzle noses, give hugs and kisses, pat our backs, and give loving looks and words to us as well as others.  We are so thankful for you! :)

Your favorite foods right now are pickles, beans of all kinds, mac-n-cheese, french fries and chips, peaches, bananas, waffles, broccoli, zucchini, apples and cantaloupe.  You dislike meat of any kind, which we think is just a texture thing and that you will soon outgrow, other than that though you will pretty much eat anything! 

You still love to dance and love music, you have really started to sing even more as well.  You will repeat songs we sing and have even been attempting to yodel lately...it's pretty cute!

You have such a sweet spirit, and are very gentle.  You have become even more adventurous as you grow and are showing your will even more!  You love to explore and climb, which we must limit in certain situations for your safety (but also allow you to be adventurous, of course)  You love to get into everything and empty drawers, shelves, anything of their contents.  We just laugh as we have heard so many words of wisdom from those parents who have gone before that these days will fly by, so we are just gonna go with it...messy house and all!  

Love you Boose Bear! 

17 Months

 Caleb all bundled up going down the slides for the first time...he loves the slides! 

 Field trip with mommy to Campbell's Nursery

Caleb is 17 months old, he is full of life!  We are so thankful for him, and that the Lord has sustained his life and kept him safe and healthy.

What is our little guy up to now that he is 17 months old?  Well, in the past month he has learned to say more and more!  He says "all done" (a done) and "there you go" (there go).  He also has been repeating more words that he hears us say, it's so adorable.


Caleb has sure been adding to his dance moves lately.  We love to watch him boogie, and he loves to show off!  He loves music, and will dance to the beat.  It's so cute to watch him focus really hard while moving his limbs to the beat.  He even has the Elvis leg move down! We really need to get that one on video.

He is on the move, if he isn't dancing he is walking or almost running around here, there and everywhere.  We love that he is walking and able to get around so freely now, it's a joy to watch him...and also exhausting! :)

Caleb LOVES Toy Story 3.  He watches it everyday.  So do we.  We have all of the lines memorized.  Toy Story 3 will always be near and dear to our hearts, we will probably even watch it when Caleb goes off to college someday, and shed tears thinking of the times we watched it with our little boy.

We see God working so much in Caleb's life, even now as he is so young.  We pray that he may have the fruits of the spirit now...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.  It's amazing also to see his love for others really grow and watch him reach out to show love to others, even at his young age.  We see God's hand in his life and His faithfulness to hear our prayers for his life.  Most of all, we pray that Caleb will know that he is a sinner, in need of Jesus to save him, and to surrender his life to Jesus at a young age so that he may know Him and walk with Him all the days of his life.

16 Months

Caleb you are 16 months!  Mommy and Daddy are so thankful that you are theirs, and in their lives!  We cannot imagine life without you...or even what life was really like before you were in our lives! :)  Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

At 16 months you are really growing and changing...and moving!  You now walk everywhere, never crawling, ever.  You even look like your are running sometimes, you walk so quickly!  You have not fallen hardly at all, you are so very cautious and each step you take is very steady.  We are thankful for this!

Oh Caleb, you are so silly :)  You make us laugh each day with your funny little sense of humor.  You have always had such a great sense of humor, and it continues to grow as you grow.  You are also so animated, and have an expression and sound for every occasion.

You have many words now, you are saying more and more all the time!  Your words have so much meaning now, rather than just repeating a sound.  You say...

"hot" to food when it is warm

"bubble" to bubbles in the bathtub

"uh oh" when you drop something

"oh no" when we say "oh no"

"boom boom" when you drop something or fall on your bottom

"ni ni" to go night night

"nuh nuh" to nurse

and many more, those are some favorites

You love to read and will often bring books to use to read to you, we read many times each day.  Your favorite book right now is The Three Little Kittens.  You love to play, and never sit still.  You get into every cupboard possible, and love to play with pots and pans.

You are now playing pretend with things.  You pretend to stir with a spoon in a bowl and then to eat what you have just stirred.  You also pretend to talk on the phone.  So adorable!

You are really fighting sleep at night, you want to keep playing and have a hard time letting go of the day. 

You are still a great eater and will eat anything!  Well, except for meat, you prefer beans to meat for some reason.  But anything else is great!  You especially love melons, zucchini and broccoli.  A new found favorite is, of course, macaroni and cheese.

You love to dance, and will dance to any music playing.  You have always loved to dance...so I guess the real update is that you have been learning some new dance moves :)  You also still love to sing, as always.  You sing "la dee da dee da la dee da la dee da" it's so precious.  You also still love to strum the guitar.

So many things to update!  You are just so cute, and we love you so much and can't get enough of you...our Boose Bear.  Each day we love spending with you and soak in as we know they are going to go so quickly.  We are thankful for today and thankful that we have been blessed by the gift of you as our little boy!  

Love you Caleb!

15 Months

Boose, you are 15 months old!  This post is a little late, but we have been extra busy this past week with Daddy being home for fall break!  We had such a great week together, spending a lot of time together.  You and Daddy played and played and played!

You are learning to walk, and are walking more and more each day!  You are so cautious, and so graceful it's really sweet.  You have such a gentle way about you, yet are such a boy all the time!  We love to watch you learn and grow and take those steps.  You are pretty excited too, and you light up with each step you take.

You are really talking now, you say all kinds of things.  You are starting to combine words that we can clearly understand as well.  You have say "Bye bye mama" and also what sounds like "I love you".  You say Daddy all the time, and you say "mama" in an extra sweet tone of voice.  We love hearing your little voice, all you say warms our hearts and your sound is so sweet.

You still love music, and with a growing love too.  You dance often when music is playing, a cell phone rings, or any beat that you may hear.  You still love to play the guitar with Daddy and sing along with him.

During the day you are a busy little guy, playing all the time, and also going places with mommy.  You love to go out and about with mommy to do errands and are so social with others.  You love to say "hi", wave, give a friendly smile, and are so attentive to others.  Recently you have really enjoyed coloring, it is so cute to watch you scribble on paper with crayons.  You also love to play chase Daddy around and hide-and-go-seek. 

You love to eat, you will eat almost anything.  You do not like meat, however.  You may be a vegetarian?  Maybe just for now :)  You love love beans of all kinds, vegetables of all kinds, fruit, and all of your snack foods that Mommy gives you during the day.  You eat puffs, Mum-Mums, granola bars, and other such snacks while you are taking a snack break from playing.  You also are taking a sippy cup more and more, and seem to really enjoy drinking water. 

You love bath time, and usually end up in there after the majority of meals (because you are so very messy)... which you don't mind, because you truly love it so much.  You love to play and splash, dip your face into the water, scoot around, lay down and play with the water coming out of the faucet.   

You are such a sweet spirited little boy, really loving towards others.  We are so very blessed to have you in our lives and we just cherish each day we get with you, Caleb.  We love you so much and look forward to all the days we get to spend with you.  We are so blessed to be your parents, God has truly given us such a perfect gift.  You are our little buddy, we love you love you love you.

14 Months

 

 

 

You, our sweet little Caleb, are 14 months!  Well, you will be in two days on September 18th!  We decided to write this post early as our last month birthday posts have been late, and we have a busy weekend coming up!  Caleb...you are such a joy, and each month we seem to fall more and more in love with you... our first born son.  So here goes your little update...

You are almost walking, you walk when holding onto one of our hands, we barely support you...so you can walk, you are just waiting for the perfect moment to show your stuff and take those steps.  You have taken two steps to and from furniture.  We are so excited for the day you will toddle along next to us!  We know that day is coming soon, so we are enjoying our little crawling cruiser right now.

You are talking more and more.  You say all kinds of stuff, some that we can determine what you are saying and then most of it is in your own little language...it's so adorable.  We love to hear you jibber jabber, you have the sweetest little voice.  Recently you have been saying "hi" a lot while waving hi.  When we walk into your room, you will look at us, wave and say sweetly "hi!".  Also, you have been saying what sounds like "I love you".  We say  "I Love you" so much in our home, we thought you might grow  to  think that to be your name!  The past few days when we say "I love you Caleb, I loovvveee you" you say "I uh ou" or something like that.  We think it's his very own way of saying it back to us!

You are our little buddy, and we LOVE you. 

Shopping List

I just read a fun little article on the Dr Sears website, here it is...

Taking in the following factors - protien, fiber, beta carotene, Vitamin C, B, folate, calcium, zinc, iron and phytonutrients here are the top ten Sears recommended veggies in alphabetical order. Are these on your shopping list?




■Artichoikes

■Beans (black and kidney)

■Beets

■Broccoli

■Chickpeas

■Lentils

■Spinach

■Sweet Potatoes

■Tofu

■Tomatoes
 
Tofu...no.  Never tried it, if it's good I guess I am missing out!  Caleb has tried and loved all of these foods except for tofu and beets.  We aren't a big beet eating family, and no tofu.  However, we eat broccoli almost each day, and we do eat beans a lot.  Cole hates beans.  He doesn't eat them.  I do however, and so does Caleb, so Caleb and I eat beans and Cole eats...not beans.  We do eat chickpeas, occasionally, we should start eating them more.  Tomatoes are yummy, and Caleb loves sweet potatoes and squash.  Squash wasn't on the list.  We love spinach.  In conclusion, we will be eating more chickpeas.

13 Months

Your newest face...Mommy says "cheeeessseee" ...

you close your eyes really tight and smile real big. :)

Could it be?  You are 13 months!  It really feels like we just were celebrating your 12 month birthday!  How time flies!  This has been quite the month too, baby boy!  This month you have grown and changed by leaps and bounds! 


You are sleeping right now, Mommy is watching you...as usual :)  Your eyelashes are twice as long as your Daddy's, and his are quite long.  I think you may just have the longest eyelashes known to man.  They are beautiful!  We do think you will have lots of hair one of these days , both Mommy and Daddy have thick, dark hair.  We love your sweet little head, eyelashes, cute button nose, dark soft whisps of hair, smooth kissable cheeks, just perfect, we love you!

You love to say "go-go-go" while crawling around the house, you are "going"! :)  You have also been saying "no-no-no" a lot more to things that you do not like. Such as...getting your face wiped.  You are happy 95% of the day, only a little fussy when tired.  You don't really cry anymore, you just fuss and say "ni-ni" telling us you want to go night night.  We think you are experiencing separation anxiety, we know that the age 12-18 months is a time when most babies do experience this more.  But, we have only seen a little bit of it, then again you are always with Mommy so you haven't had to be stretched in that way.  We anticipated this stage, so we are trying our best to stay near to you.  You do follow Mommy extra close these days and look for her when she may be in another room while you are playing with Daddy.  You also love to pull on her pant legs until she scoops you up.  At times you do not like to be put down and might get your feelings hurt a little if Mommy puts you down when you desire to be snuggled.  So, she just picks you right back up and snuggles you extra close :) 

Likes...
-Pickles,pickles and more pickles...when we are out as a family for dinner, we order you some pickles and you are entertained for the entire meal :)
-Reading books
-Feeding Mommy and Daddy food, we have yet to leave a meal without being offered several bites from you and we have learned our lesson, if we do not take what you offer to us...you throw it on the floor in frustration almost as to say "how could you not eat this!?!" waaaa  and lots of food on the floor.
-Bedtime, you LOVE going to bed and snuggling. 
-Luxuriating on pillows and blankets. 
-Other babies and kiddos
-Music, dancing, and anyone who can beat box or even attempt to beat box. 


 Dislikes...
-Having your face wiped, you'd rather be messy.
-Having your teeth brushed
-Being tired and not asleep.
-Being told "no" or moved in the opposite direction of the thing you were after.

We love our Boose!

12 Months

Caleb...

You are one year old.  A year ago we looked into your eyes for the very first time.  Those eyes that are so bright, so wide, and filled with such love and wonder.  You looked up at us, right after being born, and we knew a love that we had never known before.  You know what else?  That love has only grown and grown with each day you have been in our lives.  We did not know our hearts could expand to the sizes they have, but our hearts are giant for you. 

What are you up to, little guy?  Well...you are starting to cruise around the furniture and crawling like a champion.  Not yet walking, you are a cautious one.  We think when you do walk, you will be a careful walker as you are a careful crawler and a careful pull-to-stander.  You are a very content boy, and  strong-willed. We would say you are pretty easy going, just like your Daddy...and you also have some stubbornness like your Mommy. You are easily cheered up...as always, if we can just tickle you, cuddle you or tell you a funny joke.  Your sense of humor has always been so fun, you really seem to understand your Mommy and Daddy when they are being funny with you.  You like to tell us jokes as well, you will purposefully make a funny noise and look at us in expectation...expecting us to laugh, and then you laugh at yourself.  It's adorable, and you truly are funny.  If we only had one word to describe you, we would say...sweet.  You are SO sweet.  You love to play.  You play peek-a-boo and hide-and-go-seek.  You have two favorite hiding places which are a little cubby type spot behind the couch and behind Mommy and Daddy's bedroom door.  You love to go back behind those places and hide, waiting for us to come find you, and then peek around the corner giggling at us.  You love to explore and be adventurous by crawling in new territories in our house.  You especially love your newly expanded territory exploration area of Mommy and Daddy's room, it's the coolest spot in the house according to you, other than the place where the toilet paper is stored that is.  It's fun to watch you explore and decide where you want to go next, we just follow you around and let you find your way.  It is so much fun...and a lot of exercise!  It gets pretty exhausting at times (for us, you seem to be well energized), but it's well worth it!

What are you eating, you little chowhound? Your favorite food is winter squash.  That is so strange to us, we think it's really not all that great, but you love it!  You love all baby food, and you are still practicing the art of eating finger foods.  You will try anything that we give you to eat, and you seem to love all foods.  You are still getting the hang of chewing, but you try very hard to eat everything we give you these days.  Even though most of it ends up in the high chair or on the floor, you are learning more and more each day of how to eat!  Mommy plans on breastfeeding you through this next year as well and is looking very forward to the continued amazing experience of breastfeeding.

What are you saying these days?  Lately you have been saying "mama" even more, and your favorite word is "dada" as always.  You might be trying to say "flower", Mommy points to a flower and says "flower" and you say "fffff".  You also say "buuuhhhh" or "boooo" when pointing to a book, so we think that might be your way of saying "book".  You make tons of noises and hum little song like diddies throughout the day.  You love to play, but when you are ready to nurse or go to sleep you will go to Mommy, asking to cuddle or nurse.

 

What are your dislikes?  Well, you really do not like to have the sun in your eyes, you close your eyes as tight as you possibly can when the sun hits them, and shake your head as to say "no sun".  You also dislike having your diaper changed, when we lay you down to change your diaper you immediately start up a fuss and try to escape.  We've had to become rodeo fast at changing your diaper.  You dislike having your face wiped clean after eating lunch or dinner, typical boy we suppose! :)  You also don't like being told "no", the other day you decided to lick the TV and Mommy gently said "no no, Caleb" and you turned to Mommy, stood up on your tip-toes,  strained every muscle in your body and face, turned red in the face, got all big eyed, looked straight at her and then... let out the loudest and longest grunt you possibly could "uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh", you were maaadddddd. We couldn't help but look at each other and laugh.   

What do you love, lovey boy?  You love your Mommy and Daddy! :) You love to be with both your Mommy and Daddy, but we both agree...you are a Mommy's boy.  You follow her around all day long, always asking to be picked up by going up to her feet, looking up at her with your arms raised.  You also love to tug on her pants, asking to be scooped up into her arms.  She loves this,  such a sweet thing you do!  You love to read with your Daddy and Mommy, but Daddy is the best reader...he reads with all the fun voices and noises and actions.  You also love to play the guitar and sing with Daddy.  At first, you just banged on the guitar, but now you have started to actually strum the strings really well.  Daddy sings simple songs for you to sing along, he will sing "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-meeeee" or "da-da-da-da-da-deeeee" and then you will have your turn that sounds something similar.  Also, Nana is teaching you to beatbox...she does her version of beatboxing (which you think is hilarious) and you try by saying "dedede" and then sticking your tongue out, moving your head all around, and making some noises.  We need to get it on video!   Your love of music continues to grow, you are a singing, dancing, beatboxing little boy and we are quite entertained each day!Mommy still wears you in the sling often, you are nearing the weight limit so she will need an upgrade very soon. You really enjoy being in the sling while you and Mommy are out together, Mommy loves it too! You love to clap your little hands when we say "clap your little hands" and you clasp your hands together, raise them and shake them in the air when we say "Hercules! Hercules!".

You also love others.  You are such a sweet boy, my goodness!  When we are out and about shopping, you will look at other people, right in the eyes and just sweetly smile at them.  It's so adorable, and so polite!  You especially love other little ones like yourself. You also LOVE your Nana.  You cannot get enough Nana time.  When she comes over and you see her at the back door you get all giddy with excitement.  You want to be with her...it's all about Nana! 

You amaze us each day, little Boose.  You are 12 months old!  12 months you have been with us, we can't even believe it!  We are SO blessed for the time we have had with you and so thankful for each day that God gives us with you.  You are a gift, a treasure.  We are so thankful to our amazing God who has sustained your life for this past year.  We pray that he continues to mold you and shape you into the young boy He desires you to be.  May you know Him and love Him with all your heart, soul and mind. 

We love you, our sweet Caleb Allan!

Birthday Crown

I have been doing some do-it-yourself birthday projects/crafts this week for Caleb's first birthday, which is coming up quickly as it is this Sunday.  Tonight I made him a birthday crown, made from scrapbook paper, sticky gems and some more scrapbook paper.  I am not a very crafty person, but I thought I could try to make a few simple things for his first birthday, rather than buy already made items.  I thought it would be a little more personal and also save us some money. Here is Caleb's first birthday crown...

To make a birthday crown (or a just- for- fun crown :) ), that is made of something a little more durable than the one I made, you can read some tuitorials here.

I hope Caleb likes his crown on his birthday!  Tonight I tried it on him for size, and he loved it!

Mommy and Me

Look! I'm as big as she is!

Pickles

I have always loved pickles, they are one of my top 5 favorite foods.  Definitely a staple item in our home, along with  fresh fruits and veggies.

So it pleases me so...to see my young baby son eating pickles with much delight. 

Like Mommy, like baby son.

:)

Big Boy Pajamas

Tired boy.

Caleb in his very first pair of big boy pajamas.  These were a special gift from his Nana.  Tonight I was doing his laundry and I pulled these out of the dryer, and even though he was already in his pajamas and about to go to bed...I decided to change him into these because they were just too cute to resist! 

Our big boy all ready for night-night in his Toy Story pajamas.  I think he looks like such a big boy when wearing these.  Well, he is a big boy...these pjs are size 18 months and just barely fit him! 

Look at those little feet :)

Mommy, can I play just a little longer? 

The Reason For The Drool-Drops On My Guitar

Caleb and Cole love to play the guitar together.  Caleb enjoys gently strumming the guitar strings, pounding on the guitar August Rush style, and sitting at his Daddy's feet listening to him play.  Caleb has just learned to pull himself up very well, and he is now able to pull himself up to the guitar and strum along with Cole.  He even used a block as a guitar pick to strum the stings, and then managed to get it stuck within the guitar...now Daddy's guitar has a  large block stuck inside!

Caleb playing his beautiful song.

Daddy and baby son, playing the guitar together.

So, so sweet.  Makes a Mommy's heart happy.

Note:  The title of this post is true, Caleb drools constantly upon Cole's guitar :)

Tell Me A Story

Caleb loves to read with us.  We started reading to him daily at around 3 months.  Actually, Caleb started to read himself around that same time, or shortly after...

Do not disturb the reading baby.

 After Cole gets home from work each night, it's story time. The father and son pair sit in the rocking chair located in the corner of Caleb's bedroom next to the window.  I love to listen from the next room, peeking around the corner to see the precious sight of my two boys reading together.

I'm so thankful that Caleb enjoys this time with us, as I hope reading is something we can always enjoy to do together and I hope Caleb loves to read on his own as well as he grows into a young boy.  If he is anything like his Daddy, who was reading the newspaper by age 2 (eeer pretending to read) and encyclopedias by age 4, I think he will.  I always loved to read, too.  I can remember reading as a young child with my grandparents, I'd snuggle up to my grandparents in their rocking chair as we read through a stack of books.  I will cherish the memories of reading with them forever.  Cole remembers reading for hours upon hours each day as a young child, mainly the above mentioned newspapers and encyclopedias, he was also read to by his beloved older sister Monica...who read to him very often.  We are pretty sure Cole had his own library card by his first birthday, couldn't rightly say though.

Oh and I just had to sneak in a photo of Caleb's precious little feet.  He is almost a year old and his feet are adorable and kissable as ever.  I love this photo of Caleb's feet above Cole's feet, so sweet.

Daddy

Dear Daddy,

Happy Father's Day!

You are the best Daddy ever.

I love how much you play with me,

laugh with me,

teach me things,

love me,

sing to me,

and snuggle me all the time.

I am so thankful that God chose you to be my Daddy,

and I to be your son.

That's pretty perfect how that worked out, if you ask me.

I love you Daddy!

Love,

your Caleb

Expressive

Caleb on his 11 month birthday.

Caleb is pretty expressive.

I'm not sure what to even call this look...

...but it's a look, that's for sure.

He raises his eyebrows a lot, he always has.

love you Boose.

xoxo,

Mommy