Booker Life

Anyone got a fire to fight?

2010-06-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

Abigail:The Male Model

2010-06-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

She loves to wear her brother's clothes and constantly models them for us.

Runway walk? Check.

Disinterested stare? Check.

A modeling pose to die for? Check.

Disheveled hair and pouty lips? Check.

Me and My Girl

2010-06-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

The Kids

2010-06-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures Scott and I took of the kids the other day. We found this great creek near our house with rocks and water for the kids to climb on and play. I thought it would be a good spot to finally attempt 3 1/2 and 18 month pictures of the two of them. I should have taken some "after" pictures because after the water and mud these clothes looked gross! :)

I love the joy on their faces!

Abigail- 18 months

One of the best ones we got of them together. I wish Caleb wasn't hidden behind her, but oh well. :)

Caleb- 3 1/2 yrs old

There is...

2010-03-13T18:13:00.000-08:00

nothing more manly than a boy playing with a pink dump truck.

He unashamedly pushes it around

Seeming not to mind the cute purple tires

"What do you mean it's pink?"

Yes, we are still working on identifying colors. :)

The Poser

2010-03-13T18:05:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, she sits like a lady.

Sometimes, she does not.

She may be crazy
BUT...

We still LOVE her!

Father/Daughter Dance 2010

2010-03-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

Scott and Abigail had a great time this year at the Father/Daughter Dance. He said she was all over the place and wouldn't sit still unless M&Ms were on the table. :) Ahh, a true girl! She only lasted about an hour, but I think they had a good time. It's so fun to see the pictures this year and compare them to my baby last year. I think the big thing last year was she wouldn't take a bottle. :) My, how things have changed. Oh and the big success, in my opinion, is she left her pigtails in until after pictures!

Meanwhile, this cute guy and I had a nice date to Chick-fil-A. We stopped at Walmart and I let him pick out a little toy. Surprise- he chose a crane. :) I took a book with us. No, not for me to read to myself, but I read a book to Caleb while we lingered over our meal. And I do mean linger. This kid wanted to stay for a long time! It was such a fun time and he had been looking forward to our date all week! :)

Sharing a delicious milkshake!

Recap (to make my family zip it!)

2010-03-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

So what I haven't been blogging? Nobody leaves comments so I didn't think anyone cared. Well, tonight my family (or rather my husband's family) decided to tell me it was high time I reentered the blogging world.
So here it is... the recap from December-February

Christmas was a lot of fun. Caleb got a digger. I think I was more excited to give it to him. He uses it everywhere- especially in the snow. He will shovel a little pile of snow onto the driveway and then "smooth it flat" with the digger or scoop it into the trailer.
Here he is enjoying it Christmas morning.
Although what kind of face is that?

The kids also got bean bag chairs (thanks Gramma and Grampa).
They love to sit in them!

Although, don't look too closely because Caleb doesn't have pants on.
Not too sure why. He likes to hang like that, I guess. :)

In January, we took a swim indoors- because I'm a cool mom!

But please, don't tell the landlord. No spills, but he might have a heart attack.

And lastly we had 2 major blizzards in February. Huge!
Scott was out plowing for a week straight while we enjoyed being snowed in with Gramma and Grampa. Scott and Caleb made this "healthy" snowman one morning. Notice the carrots, cucumbers and celery. (Hey look Caralyn, celery, just for you!)

That's all I got for our riveting life. Don't you all feel better being caught up? I thought so.
Stay tuned for the Father/Daughter Dance pictures. So cute!!

Decorating

2009-12-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

happy times

2009-12-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?

In the lane, snow is glistening.

A beautiful sight

we're happy tonight

walking in a winter wonderland.

So, we had a grand time picking out our tree the other day. Happy times! It's the 3rd year in a row we decided to go cut down our tree. I thought it would be a good memory and tradition to continue. Boy was I wrong! It all started when Caleb slipped in the mud. I wiped his hands off but there was still some mud on them. My son (who normally would roll happily in the mud) was distraught. Add to that, sweet baby girl wanted to walk but kept slipping in the mud. Tears all around and I blame the mud! :) But, I kept snapping the pictures because- they are, after all, memories, right?

Also, is it me or has the price of trees gone up significantly?!

You mean we PAID for this "memory"? :)
Here she is in all her glory...

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

following

2009-12-04T08:31:00.000-08:00

Like any little sister, Abigail is learning to love what her big brother loves. Now that she can walk, she follows him around all day and tries to play with him. This is often frusterating to him, especially as he tries to line up his "guys" and she comes through like a tornado to mess them all up. Many times during the day I will hear Caleb sternly say to her, "No Ma'am!" Can't imagine where he's heard that?! ;)

But just last night Abigail learned a little about having a servant's heart. Caleb wasn't feeling well and was lying on the couch. I gave her a cracker and told her to take it to Caleb. She quickly shoved it into her mouth and looked at me blankly. Well, the next time I gave her two crackers - one for her and one for Caleb. She walked over and handed one to him, beaming. After that I only gave her one cracker and she beelined for Caleb, smiling the whole way, and gave it to him.

It is amazing how many examples and reminders I am given about God each day, through my children. As I watch Abigail follow her big brother around and want to please him and spend time with him, I inevitably start thinking about my own walk with the Lord. Do I image Him daily to my children? Am I following Him so closely that I reflect His love to my children?

I love being able to teach my kids new things each day- whether it be how to have a servant's heart or why Christ died on the cross for our sins or why we shouldn't throw something at a sibling. Granted, this job takes a lot of patience, but it is a job I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. It is a job that constantly reminds me of God's patience and love and how I need to be following closely to Him.

How many times does he teach me the same things over and over?
We serve such an awesome God who has patience for children of all ages. :)
I'm so thankful for that!

the party's over

2009-12-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

First, the big news.

This girl is walking! Last night, for the first time, Scott and I watched as she stood up from a sitting position. It's so cute to see kids start to walk and how they learn to stand. First the butt goes in the air and then they push up to a stand with their hands. :) This is obviously not something they learn by seeing. I haven't seen an adult stand up like that! Since then though, she has only crawled when Caleb knocks her down (oops) or when she wants to be picked up! We are so happy for this accomplishment at 13 months. She still does a "Frankenstein" type walk- with her arms outstretched, but hey, we'll take it. :)

We had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving with our families!
Lots of cousins, lots of activity and lots of late nights.
Here are the Booker cousins:
Abigail, Caleb, Megan (4), and Emma (18 mo).

Now the Hamilton clan:
Caleb, Abigail, Jack (11 mo), Gabi (3) and Andrew (3 mo).

Now, the real reason the party's over. :(

We took Aunt Christine and Jack to the airport this morning. We have had such a great time with them these past 2 1/2 weeks. They came to visit from Georgia since my brother, Mark, is in Iraq. Thanks for coming guys! We'll miss you! Caleb was so sad to see them go and got quiet for a couple minutes after they left the van. He kept asking me why we couldn't just drive them to their house. Ha! I don't think he would really be up for that trip. :)

Here's sweet baby Jack playing in the leaves at gramma's house the other day.
We love you!

So thank you for coming family!
We love you and can't wait to see you all again!!

I'm Back!

2009-11-21T12:48:00.000-08:00

Well, to be honest, we'll see how long this lasts.
Did you all like the post by "Uncle" Carl? Thank you for a job well done, Carl.
By the way, family, if you have something to say, tell me and I'll let you hijack the blog. :)

I had to share these pictures with everyone. They are my motivation for blogging.
On Abi's 1st birthday a couple weeks ago, Scott met me at a local park and we took pictures of the kids. I think they turned out great! Hopefully soon I will post more exciting things or pictures, but for now enjoy the children. Can't believe they're so big. Sigh.

My big 3 year old.

I crack up at this picture because he looks so posed-

like he should be the fake insert picture in a frame that you throw away :)

My sweet baby girl. Wow, can't believe she's 1!

Oh and by the way, the apple was a lifesaver.

The photo shoot would not have gone so smoothly without the apple.

I'm thankful that it fit in with their fall birthdays as well.

So, what are they up to? Caleb is still an active boy! He loves trucks and his verbal skills never cease to amaze us. The other day he described a toy as a "pricey digger." I am sure I never said that (seriously Scott)! And the best was probably this past week when he invented a new song. His Bible study class is practicing Christmas songs so the song originally goes, "Mary rode to Bethlehem on a little donkey." Well, he came out of the bathroom the other day with his pants down and I said, "Pull up your pants." "Oh mama, I don't have any underwear," he said. Then, "Oh I know... Mary rode to Bethlehem, without her underwear." Oh my, I don't know where he comes up with that stuff, but I am constantly laughing, and don't worry I did tell him that was not the way it should be sung in Bible study. :)

And Abigail. She is a sweet, demanding, cuddly, quick tempered little girl. We love her and enjoy watching the changes in her. She is walking- but only for candy. I know that sounds silly, but I'm serious. She will walk all over the room if you hold out an M & M. But the minute you put it away she sits down. Crazy! She is saying, Hi, bye, Mama, Dada, Moo, Uh oh. Every time someone walks into the room she will turn and look sweetly and say, "Hiii." It makes me smile every time.

Well, that's it for us. Naptime is about to be over. We are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with A LOT of family!
Happy Thanksgiving!

The Babies Birthdays

2009-11-13T18:54:00.000-08:00

Hey it's uncle Carl here (Caleb and Abi's aunt Caralyn but also called uncle carl...ask Rachel sometime.) Here are some pictures from their combined 1st and 3rd birthday party.

Getting ready to eat her little cupcake!

feeling a little shy at first...

...but then decides to dig in.

and Caleb got a new power drill.

Uncle Mark

2009-09-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

Today is Uncle Mark's birthday and Abigail and I wanted to tell him HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Uncle Mark is in the army and just started a year long deployment to Iraq 2 weeks ago.

We miss you and can't wait until you come home again!

Notice how nicely I'm sitting and Abigail looks like she's about to escape. Girls!

This is the sign I made for Uncle Mark. Well, Mom put the words on it, but I colored some too.

I was so excited that it was your birthday and couldn't wait to celebrate with you, that is, until Mom told me that, "No we can't visit Uncle Mark." I don't understand why not because we took a trip to Ocean City this summer and that was fine, so why can't we go visit Uncle Mark?

Oh well.

Maybe if we leave Abigail behind we can, you know, because she cries in the car.

I also sang Happy birthday to you and I wanted to show you the video. I told Mom I could sing by myself, I know all the words, but she had to ruin it by singing over me.

Anyways, sorry about that!

Love, Caleb

summer fun with cousins

2009-08-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

We have had several times to get together with cousins this summer and I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures.

Here's Caleb and Gabi in her jeep.
We went up to visit them in late June and they played so well together.
They both took turns driving each other up and down the street.
(Don't panic- it was a little dead end street with no traffic).

I love this picture! Gabi and Caleb had climbed into Abigail's crib and were pretending to be asleep. When I peeked at them with the camera this is what I saw. Thankfully, neither one of them noticed the camera until I had already taken the picture.

That would have been a disaster! :)

And onto another group of cousins... Caleb and Megan.
They also played well together.
We had a chance to spend time with them when they visited from NY in July.
I'm not sure what's happening in this picture, but they look like they're having fun.

Megan (4), Caleb (almost 3), Emma Kate (1), and Abigail (10 mo).
We tried to get some cute pictures for Granny, and even though they aren't all looking at the camera in any picture, they still look cute. I love their expressions. In this picture Emma's hand is on Abigail's head- this is seconds before she pushes her head down. :)

Our newest cousin, Andrew, was born August 6th. We can't wait to meet him! Next weekend big sister Gabi and his parents are coming down for a visit!!! :)

And, just because the last swimming video was a hit, ok and also because I'm a proud mama, here's another video of Caleb swimming. Check out this accomplishment!

My girl

2009-08-13T05:55:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures I took of Abigail the end of July.

She turned 9 months old and started crawling all over the place.

On top of the world

A face we see quite frequently.

Are we in trouble or what?

look what i can do!

2009-08-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, it's been a while. This summer is flying by and I promise to go back and recap the vacations, fun times with cousins, and all the other memories.

But...

I must first be a proud mama for a minute and boast about my son.

I couldn't wait to get these pictures up for all to see.

Yesterday, at gramma and grampa's pool, Caleb decided that he could swim by himself. Scott and I were shocked at how our little fish jumped into the water and swam. It was really more of a doggy paddle, but who cares? :) He kept pushing our hands away as we would try to help him out. Oh my, a first big step toward independance...

Just Caleb and his swim belt!

He would jump into the pool and swim to the ladder (unassisted), climb out and jump in again!

Check out the joy on his face

The best was when he heard me tell my dad that he was incredible. Caleb replied with,

"Yes, I am incredible." :)

NO FEAR!

And here's a little video of my little man swimming! Great job Caleb!

Did you notice Abigail floating in her tube? I'll post some pics of her soon too! :)

A New tradition?

2009-06-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

For my birthday this year I asked Scott if we could go to the beach for a day or 2- just the four of us. Of course, the beach being- Ocean City, Maryland! Where we have gone for years and love it. So, this past week we got a great price on a hotel room and were able to stay for 2 nights.

This is a picture of our room- notice Abigail down at the bottom, crying. She was so funny and cried when we put her down in the room the first couple times. I don't know if she thought we'd leave her or something.

The day we got there it was windy and a little chilly but she loved sitting in the sand.

Scott and Caleb had a great time digging and even went out when it was raining.

We went to the boardwalk one night and Caleb got to ride a couple of the rides. I think he rode 2 before we told him we only had a couple tickets left for 1 more ride. He thought a minute and then said, "Well, I think I'd just like to go play in the sand now." :) Scott says, at least he knows his limits.

2009-06-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

Abigail had a good time in the stroller watching Caleb on the rides.

A family picture? Well, it's funny that neither of the kids are really looking- but oh well.

Our final day at the beach was warm and sunny!

Caleb got to jump in the waves. I think both Scott and I are thankful that he loves the water!

The indoor pool was nice too. Scott and I took turns taking Caleb to it when Abigail needed a break or a nap. Abigail and Caleb did great in the car which was a huge relief! It was such a fun time and we can't wait to go back in August with our families.

A lot to Celebrate!

2009-06-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband!

June 21

6 years ago we said, "I do" and were married.

7 years ago I said, "Are you kidding me? Yes, I'll marry you" and we got engaged.

10 years ago you said to my dad, "Rachel and I are just friends" and then kissed me that night! That was the start of our dating relationship.
Can you believe 10 years has gone by?

It's been wonderful for me and I can't wait to see what God has planned for us in the next 10 years. Thanks for being such a Godly man, terrific husband and incredible role model for our children.

On that note...

Happy Father's Day!

Thank you for all you do to provide for our family. We are so thankful for all the sacrifices you make and the ways you meet our needs. You make each one of us feel so special and we can't wait for you to come home from work each day. It is a joy to raise our children together and watch them grow.

On that note...

Happy 8 month birthday, Abigail!

You really have turned into our little joy (as your name so redundantly points out). :) You are sleeping great now, about 12 hours a night and 2 long naps during the day! You always have a smile and a laugh for your big brother and love getting Daddy's attention by "yelling" at him. Though you have been able to sit up on your own for a while now, you have shown no effort to crawl. A fact that makes us all laugh as we wonder when you'll do that. :) You love to eat and will gobble up ANYTHING we give you. We are so thankful for you!

I think that concludes the list of celebrations.
Happy Father's Day to all the fathers!

All Done!

2009-06-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

We finished the landscaping job! Last week we all piled in the van and went to Lowe's to pick out bushes and flowers for my parent's yard. I can't tell you what everything is, but enjoy the pretty pictures. :) Caleb thought it was pretty fun to play in the dump truck after the mulch was dumped. I can tell you though- he wouldn't be smiling if he had seen the camera!

The right side of the house. Here's my simple description: bushes in the back, some azaleas in the middle and flowers in the front.

The left side of the house. Bushes in the back, a Gerber daisy on the left end, azaleas in the middle and flowers in the front.

All planted! Dad put the paver stones back in this week (to the left of the sidewalk).

We had a great day working and it was much nicer than pulling out all those yew bushes! My mom's friend, Kim, came over and played with the kids for us while we worked. That was such a nice help and a break for me! :) Thanks Kim!

Hope you enjoyed this tour. If you'd like any landscaping done on your property please contact Booker Landscaping. Of course, this is NOT a non-profit company and fees will be applied. :)

I'm a big boy now

2009-06-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

The Choice: The Binky or The new Handy Manny tool set

The Decision: To cut up and throw away all binkies

The Evidence: Broken Binkies

The Reward: Handy Manny tool set with dancing, usable TOOLS!

The Result: A very happy handy man

So, giving up the binky was WAY more stressful for me. Without Scott around to keep me strong there was no way I could have done this. :) We decided it was time because although Caleb only uses his binky in his bed, he has of late been climbing into his bed at random times during the day to use his binky. Not to mention the fact that he must always have his binky and "the other binky" while he sleeps. Many a night we have searched his bed and under the bed for "the other binky." So, the binky had to go.
I took him to Kmart and let him pick out a toy (yes, it was a $28 toy) and told him when he was ready to cut up and throw away his binkies he could have the toy. He did this right away and has LOVED the tool set. The first night (Friday) he stayed up until 11:30, just sad that his binky was gone. Since then, we have had very few issues, PRAISE THE LORD! I have been in constant prayer about this and have no doubt that God has seen me through, uh I mean seen Caleb through, this challenge. I am so glad that it's over!
Can anyone tell me why this was WAY more stressful for me than potty training him? Did I write a post about that? :)

Bob the builder?

2009-06-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

Meet... the Yew Bush

2009-06-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

My parents have been wanting to get rid of the yew bushes in front of their house and redo the landscaping. So, as a Mother's Day present we spent last Saturday at their house working in the yard removing all bush and shrub in sight. It was a huge task, but I think it turned out great! This was made possible by the fact that I married an incredibly skilled landscaper. :)

This is one side of the house before the demolition. I forgot to take a picture of the whole house before we started pulling things out, but I'm sure my family will be the only ones interested in this post and I'm sure you all can picture the house. :) Try not to notice Mom working here. I tried to get her to sit back and enjoy watching her Mother's Day present, but, well, you know Mom.

We borrowed a dump truck and began pulling out the 6 huge yew bushes. Caleb was occupied the whole day by playing in the dirt and "helping" us.

This is my parents' house after everything was uprooted.

I put this picture in because of the size of the roots! Look at them. These bushes were planted before my parents moved into this house, well before I was born.

Caleb had the best time finding worms and putting them in the little wheelbarrow.

Here's the 3 men working hard.

And finally, the finished, well semi-finished product. This coming weekend we hope to go back and plant a few shrubs for dad as a Father's Day gift. :) Hopefully, I'll take some of those pictures.

I must say, the kids did a great job of being happy and content while we worked.
Here's a sweet picture of Dad and Abigail relaxing.

What do you do with sand?

2009-06-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

Recently our landlord got tired of Caleb digging in the dirt in our backyard. So, my parents decided it was time for him to have a sandbox. They bought him this cute crab-shaped sandbox. He loves it! He's able to take "his guys" (trucks) into it and dig to his heart's content.

Abigail wanted to join Caleb in the sandbox and it wasn't long before she decided to taste the sand.

Apparently, it didn't taste too bad because she soon started putting handfuls of sand into her mouth. Much to my own mother's horror, I have been letting her taste and eat the sand a little bit. My hope is to get her used to it and maybe over this fascination before we head to the beach in August. Can you imagine her delight, at the beach, if she thinks sand is some sort of delicious food? Oh no!

And lastly, this is the happy couple: Marc and Joelle. Scott and I were able to go to their wedding this past weekend and stay overnight. We had a great time! Other than Abigail getting up at 6 in the morning, I think my parents and the kids had a good time at home too. :)

Swinging at the Park

2009-05-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

This is only the second time Abigail was on a swing. She had so much fun!

I was able to push them side by side on the swings. Abigail giggled to see her brother beside her.

Oh and of course, Bob the builder was sure to bring his hard hat along. :)

The happy baby! We are loving the spring weather. Although we have had a lot of rain recently, but are thankful for that too. :)

My friend, Jessy, and her son, Nathan, came to the park with us. He loved swinging as well! Can't believe Nathan's going to be 1 year old soon! What a cutie. :)

Hope you all have a great weekend. Scott and I have a wedding to go to tomorrow night, so my parents are spending the night with the kids. This is the first time we'll be away overnight since Abigail was born. Hooray! :)

Smiles and a Swimsuit

2009-05-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

Abigail is now 7 months old and loves to eat. She especially enjoys peas, sweet potatoes, squash and ALL fruit. She is very skilled at picking up and eating puffs and cheerios, although a lot of them end up in her lap. :)

Abi takes two 2 hour naps and sometimes one evening short nap. She is sleeping well at night going to bed between 8-9 pm and getting up between 6-7. This morning she slept until a little after 7 and I remarked to Scott that she slept in. He said, "It's kind of sad when sleeping until 7 is sleeping in." We are happy to not be getting up at night though. :)

Abigail is sits up on her own very well without support. She can roll from her belly to back but is showing no signs of crawling or rolling the other way. The doctor thinks she can but is just choosing not to. Can you say high maintainence? ha!

Abi loves to squeal at her brother and "talk" to her daddy. She is generally a happy baby as long as her needs/wants are met. :) She loves to be involved in the action and will protest loudly if she can't see us or if she is feeling left out. Here she is in her new bathing suit all set for summer! We can't wait!

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

Our precious daughter

The siblings

Ok so, the other day Scott and I were taking Abigail's 7 month pictures outside. By the way, the cute dress is from Walmart - 3 dollars!! Isn't that great?! Anyways, Caleb wanted to take a picture with her. This is super rare, he hates getting his picture taken. So I ran him inside, grabbed a polo shirt and wiped his face. When I took him back outside he said, Ok first you have to take pictures of me on my bike. ha! So, he posed on his bike. What a sweet smile!

Not sure what happened here. He looks like he's up to something. To be honest, this is an expression I'm sure I have used at one time or another in a picture, to be funny of course.

Anyways, we had a great Memorial day and spent time with both sets of grandparents!

What is your mop bucket for?

2009-05-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

Abigail had an upset tummy so I wanted to give her a nice bath. I decided that the mop bucket was the perfect place for her bath. So, I swished some water in the bucket to get the dirt and gunk out of the bottom and then placed her in it. Joking! It was a brand new bucket that had never been used. (in case Nan reads this, I even cleaned the NEW bucket before I put Abigail in it). Don't worry people, I'm not gross! Anyways, Abigail loved her bath as you can see in the pictures.

Enjoying the deep water and playing with her toes

Sweet baby girl in the mop bucket :)

I think she was getting sleepy and relaxed because that's when she sucks her fingers. She doesn't take a binky/pacifier but instead found her two middle fingers and sucks them. I think it's cute, as long as she doesn't need braces someday because of it. :)

Baltimore: The Inner Harbor

2009-05-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago some friends of ours, Rachel and Andy, visited us and we spent the day in the city. Rachel was actually Caleb's first babysitter. She started watching him for us when I went back to work part time in Philly. It was so fun to see them and spend some time with them before their wedding next month. Here are some pictures from that day.

Caleb waiting for the water taxi. He was so excited to be able to ride on a boat. However, the "boat" took a long time in picking us up so he waited quite a while, but I think he still enjoyed it a lot. Oh and notice the hat. He rarely leaves the house without his bob the builder hard hat. :)

Look at the beautiful harbor behind him.

Can you tell I was born and raised in Baltimore and I love it here?

The Bookers

I almost didn't put this one in because my hair looks so rough, but whatever, it was windy on the water taxi. The rest of my family looks nice. :)

Andy and Rachel

All in all it was a fun time in the harbor, minus one minor mishap with the stroller that involved one of the children falling out. But hey, I'm not pointing any fingers. :)

The cousins!

2009-05-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Abigail, Caleb, Gabi, Jack

So, these pictures are a bit delayed in being posted. What can I say? I'm a busy mom. We were able to get my whole family together for Easter and I was able to snap these cute pictures of the cousins. My brother, Mark, his wife, Christine, and their son, Jack, came to visit from Washington. My brother, Kevin, his wife, Kristen, and their daughter, Gabi, also came to visit, from New Jersey. We were able to get some professional pictures of the whole family too, but I can't figure out how to put them up here. So, these will have to do. :) Do you see any similarities with the kids?

Sweet baby Jack

Gabi and the babies (Jack and Abigail)
I think Gabi's practicing for when her little brother is born in August. :)

Jack and Abigail

The conversations I have...

2009-04-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Today Caleb was busy playing with his large "scoop" the backhoe/digger and his dump truck. Apparently the game he was playing involved fitting both the dump truck and Scoop into the center of Abigail's boppy pillow. This he informed me was the garage and where they needed to spend the night. Well, Caleb got extremely frusterated when both of the vehicles couldn't fit comfortably in the inner part of the boppy pillow.

Caleb : Oh Aah! It won't fit.

Me: What won't fit honey?

Caleb: Scoop can't fit in the "garage" with dump truck!

Me: Ok, well why don't you just put Scoop on top of dump truck?

Caleb: Oh no Mama, then the birds and other animals would get him!

Me: Oh... well... ok then... Hmm, why don't you put dump truck on top?

Caleb: No! Then the animals would get him.

Me: Ok then maybe they just have to take turns in the "garage."

Caleb: Oh, I have an idea... come here dump truck... If you just put your wheels on Scoop - just a little bit- then you can both fit.

Crisis averted and a happy ending! Although a minute later they both left the "garage" to dance to baby einstein, which Abigail was watching.

Speaking of Abigail, she is now 6 months and 16 lbs - 55% for weight and 80% for height! She sits up on her own and is very interested in eating anything she can. She sleeps through the night now 9-7 and takes 2 naps during the day. She has become such a pleasant baby and is a joy to our family.

Oh and I want to post some Easter pics from when my whole family was in town, but I have to get them up on the computer first... :)

-Rachel

Caleb's 3rd birthday

2009-04-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we celebrated Caleb's 3rd birthday. For those of you who can't do the math or are upset you weren't invited to the party- his birthday is and has always been October 26. So, he won't officially be 3 until October.
But, that didn't stop him. Here's what happened...

Scott's brother and his wife (Tim and Caralyn) came over for dinner a couple weeks ago. After dinner we said, Ok time for dessert. Caralyn had made confetti cake. This is the point where Caleb says, "Oh it's my birthday." He then goes off to find - I kid you not - a 'party hat.'
See the hat he found? Then Caleb says, "Ok find a candle to put on my cake so you can sing happy birthday to me." Yep, he knows how it works. :)

The cake was delicious!

Below is the video of us singing to him. My favorite part is when I ask him how old he is. He knows he's 2, but must have figured out with a birthday it would make him 3! :)

Just Playin'

2009-03-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

So, a couple weeks ago Scott went to Denver to visit his best friend, Ben. He brought back this adorable adidas outfit for Abigail. Well, we both thought she would look cute in it with Caleb in his adidas outfit from Christmas. Hmmm, I'm not sure this was the best photo shoot.

This might be the only picture where they are both somewhat smiling.

Looks like they had fun right? Can't tell we had to bribe Caleb with candy to make him smile in some of the pictures :) Oh well...

-Rachel

Little Lady

2009-03-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it's still March and I have my daughter in a sleeveless dress...but I found this cute dress in the closet (loaned by her cousin, Gabi) and I realized she would never get to wear it. So, I put the dress on her and we took Abigail's 5 month old pictures inside.

Abigail loves to smile and laugh now and can push up on her belly and roll onto her back. She looks like she might try to start crawling soon, but we'll see.

Our little sweetheart!

This one's my favorite. She was so fascinated with lifting the dress up and feeling the fabric or just chewing on it. Did I mention she's also teething? She is sleeping pretty well at night now and will go to bed around 9pm and sleep until 6 or so. If I feed her then she usually sleeps until 8 or so. We (Scott and I) are thankful for this sleep and hope it continues! :)
-Rachel

4 months old!

2009-02-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

Here's our sweet girl! Abigail had her 4 month old check up yesterday along with shots. :( She is 13 lbs (42%) and 24.5 inches (60ish%). The funny thing is Caleb was 17 lbs at this age and just a bit longer than she is. :) They grow so differently! She did pretty well with the shots, so far. I just kept up with the Tylenol. Now, if we can only get her to sleep through the night!

Where are the children?

Oh, here they are...

I was trying to take pictures of Abigail (because Caleb hates to have his picture taken). Somehow, I guess she made it look fun because he quickly wanted to join in on the action. The only reason he's smiling in this picture is because he was hiding under the blanket and I pulled it off his head and he laughed. I snapped the picture before he could frown. Apparently Abigail has no idea what's going on... :)

-Rachel

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T10:39:00.000-08:00

We had a good time taking this picture and then we made Valentine cards for our family. :)

So, this is Abigail at 3 1/2 months wearing her Valentine's Day shirt today.

And below... is Caleb at 3 1/2 months wearing the same shirt for Valentine's Day, (just 2 years earlier).

See any similarities?

My silly little boy!

2009-02-12T13:47:00.001-08:00

I just have to write two funny things down before I forget. Caleb is constantly saying funny things and making all of us laugh.

Today we were making cupcakes for Valentine's Day and he asked if he could eat one. We had just baked them but I was going to frost them after they cooled. I said, "Sure, but you have to eat your lunch first." Well, he gobbled up his lunch and then asked for one. I gave him one and he got a huge smile on his face and took a big bite. Immediately his face changed to disgust and he said, "Uh um, oh, I can't eat this! It hasn't been decorated! It needs frosting!" I started laughing because he was so indignant that he needed frosting and sprinkles on his cupcake! Yes, I know, the best part of the cupcake. :)

Caleb and I were looking out his window after nap today. We were talking about all the different things we could see: a tractor, the grass, some rocks... I started talking about the wind. "Caleb look how windy it is out there." To which my 2 year old replies, "Oh my land!" What in the world? Am I turning him into an 80 year old woman? I guess that expression does slip out of my mouth sometimes. :)

And one more... we had some leftover hershey kisses from Christmas in a jar on the counter (the peppermint kind). I say had because Caleb was playing in the kitchen the other day when I went to change Abigail's diaper. I didn't hear anything for a couple minutes so I came back to see what he was up to. He had dragged a chair over to the counter and opened the jar, dumped all the kisses onto the counter and unwrapped them all. When I got to the kitchen he was in the process of shoving some of the unwrapped ones into his mouth and putting some back into the jar. I'm not sure how he decided which ones to eat and which ones to put back in the jar. I said, "Caleb, how many have you eaten?" He answered, "Just 3 mama" Well, ok then keep eating. 3 to him could mean 10. He lost it when I told him as only a kind mother can, "Ok, just 1 more." He shoots back, "No, 2 more, please!" Let's just say 1 more turned into no more... Oh the joys of parenting.

Daddy said it was ok!

2009-02-09T14:00:00.000-08:00

So, after church yesterday we were walking down the sidewalk into the house and I turned around to see Caleb had decided traipsing through the muddy grass seemed like a much better choice than the sidewalk. I yelled to him to get back on the sidewalk. At the same time Scott came back outside and said, "Oh, it's no big deal. He's a boy and he's having fun in the mud." Well, thinking it would end there, imagine my surprise when I see him dressed in sweats and his snow boots a couple minutes later heading back outside?

Can you tell he's having a great time?

Yep, he discovered it's even more fun to sit in the mud! He actually fell down at first, but soon realized how great it was to sit in the mud. We laughed so hard when he slipped and fell because he was so unsure of what to do next! He kept saying, "Oh, I'm stuck" until we told him to just put his hands in the mud and stand up. :)

I tried to explain to Scott the reason I wasn't so excited about it at first was I (as the mother) just see the clean up and the mess. Well, I'm glad I got over that because he had such a great time! And by the way, Scott gave him a bath and did all the muddy laundry! What a great guy!

We took a ton of pictures, but nothing captures the joy quite like the video clip below. Can you think of a more fun way for a 2 year old to play on a warm day in February? :)

- Rachel

Father/Daughter Dance!

2009-02-08T13:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the annual Father/Daughter Dance for our church. Scott was talked into taking Abigail because it was rumored that he could get a prize for having the youngest daughter in attendance. For the record, he won a $25 Lowes gift card! :) I loved the excuse to dress her up (thank you "Aunt" Becca for the adorable pink outfit). Scott said she received many compliments!

Look how sweet they look! So cute! The night went well, even though Abi (Scott's preferred spelling of the nickname haha) wouldn't take her bottle. She behaved though, just refused the bottle. I think it was probably overwhelming for her- the music, the people, the noise. She even got to dance a bit with Daddy (well he said he swayed on the edge of the dance floor and looked down and noticed he had put her to sleep). :) haha

I took advantage of the night to spend some time with my favorite little boy. I asked Caleb if he would like to go have dinner somewhere thinking he would pick Chick Fila. Well, he very adamantly decided that we should go to....

McDonalds. Oh well, as you can see he had a great time eating his nuggets and licking the ketchup from his fingers. After that we were able to walk next to McDonalds and see some diggers and an excavator. Caleb loved that! Then ending our "date" we found a soccer ball for a dollar and some gummy bears! :)

I think the whole family had fun last night!

-Rachel

More Snow!

2009-02-08T10:58:00.001-08:00

Another snow day! Hooray! Pop and Daddy had off school so we got to play. We hardly had any snow at our house, but Pop and Granny's house had at least a couple inches! Daddy didn't have to plow for very long today so when he got home we grabbed our snow gear and headed over to Pop and Granny's house. I got to do a lot of sledding.

Here's Pop, Granny, and I. Granny's about to give us a push on the sled!

Here's me with Daddy in front of our snowman. Look he has a hat and a scarf too!

We had to capture some sledding on video. Listen to Granny laugh. I think she might be enjoying the sledding even more than me! :)

-Caleb

All in all it was a great day and yes - Baby Abigail stayed inside again!

My New Car!

2009-02-01T18:54:00.000-08:00

It's true! I got a new car! Mama came home from Sam's club yesterday with diapers and we turned the boxes into a car! Don't I look proud to have my own car? We painted it blue (that was before I needed a trunk so Mama had to "add on" to the car). Daddy helped me make the tires and the steering wheel. I have a seatbelt, a door and keys! I went on several errands yesterday. I went to Walmart and to the grocery store. I loaded everything in my trunk before returning home.

Here I am taking little sis around town in my new wheels.

I told her to hold on tight, I drive FAST!

Abigail seemed unimpressed with my driving though. See her lounging with her arm out the window!? C'mon Abigail, this is fun! See my license plate?

Well, gotta run... I have places to go!
Caleb

Let it SNOW!!

2009-02-01T18:07:00.000-08:00

Relaxing in the snow

YEA! SNOW! I love it! It snowed this past week so I got to enjoy the snow. Gramma and Grampa got to come play with me because school was canceled and they didn't have to teach! Unfortunately, Daddy had to plow snow :( but I got to play in the snow with him later.

Here Gramma's helping me walk on the snow.

The ice on top of the snow was slippery so we had to stomp it with our boots.

Gramma brought her sled so I got a chance to try some sledding. It was so much fun. Mama and I would go down the hill and she would pull me up and then Gramma and I would go down the hill. I pulled Gramma up the hill once - well, ok, she helped me a little. We had so much fun but someone else didn't even want to come outside...

Yep, Baby Abigail wanted to stay inside! Look how cute she looks in her snow outfit (thanks aunt Loey and uncle Steve). Mama tried to bring her outside to look around for a bit but she just started crying. Oh well - she's such a baby!

She told me she'd like to stay inside where it's nice and warm!
Abigail got to play with Grampa the whole time the rest of us played outside so she had fun too!

I had so much fun and can't wait for it to snow again... maybe this week!!! :)

Love,
Caleb

What?! I'm 3 months old?!

2009-01-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

Yes, we can't believe it either! Our baby girl is now 3 months old!!

So much has changed since her birth. She now smiles all the time and has even laughed a couple times. She always has a smile for her big brother, even if he's rough with her. :) Abigail is a sweetheart who loves to be snuggled and talked to. She would like to be part of the dinner table, even though she's not eating, so many nights she has joined us - on the table- reclining on her boppy pillow. She will sit and entertain herself for about 5 minutes now, which I consider a success. Her favorite things are bathtime and laying on her changing table. Both can keep her happy for a long time. :) She definitely is our sweet baby girl!

And just because it's cute and I seem to have uploaded it twice - here's the picture again :)

Visitors!!

2009-01-22T18:18:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday my good friend, Joellen, and her daughter, Madelyn, came to visit us. We had so much fun catching up and chatting while the kids played. I definitely wish we lived closer to each other so we could get together more often... Oh well, it was a fun day though! :)

Here Maddie and Caleb are having fun with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

My friend, Peter

2009-01-22T16:30:00.000-08:00

So, awhile ago Caleb discovered his reflection.

Of course we had to give the "boy in the mirror" a name, so we named him Peter. He loves to talk to him and usually says, "Hi, my name's Peter wanna play with me?" "No!" Ha Ha a (only the laugh sounds evil). I managed to record him talking to Peter in the mirror. At the end he starts to talk to Peter's family. What an imagination!! I wonder where he gets that from? :)

Our Little Girl

2009-01-19T19:18:00.000-08:00

So, I've been slacking on my blogging. Scott has been laughing because I read other people's blogs all the time but haven't updated mine in a long time. The latest change is our new addition... Abigail Joy. She arrived October 21 and is such a sweet baby girl. We are enjoying her so much and she is very loved by her big brother, Caleb.

Cousins

2008-04-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

We had a family get together this past weekend and it's so fun to watch the cousins together.

I managed to get them to sit still on Grampa's motorcycle- together! They both love to make the motorcycle noises as well as the beep beep of the horn...

They both love their Gramma and want to play with her or do whatever she's doing. The trouble comes when Gabi or Caleb both want the same thing or think they can't share Gramma. We can't wait for the day that they'll actually play together. I know Kristen and I are hoping it will be at the beach this summer. Sitting back and relaxing while the kids play together? That would be nice...

Caleb's New Truck

2008-04-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

We recently went to the fairgrounds for a used kid's sale. We found a couple great things but the best had to be this truck for $10. Caleb absolutely loves playing with it. We have a couple older kids that live near us and have the same truck. He watches them all the time run up and down the sidewalks with their trucks. Everytime they leave the truck for a second, Caleb runs over and tries to claim it. As soon as we bought this truck he got so excited. The whole way home from buying it he cried because we made him put it down to get into his car seat. He cried, "Truck, Truck!!!" As you can see from the pictures once we gave it to him at home, he wasted no time in pushing it up and down the sidewalk, just the way he has watched the big kids do so many times!!!

BBQ=Mmmm

2008-04-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

2008-02-23T06:15:00.001-08:00

In his own little world

2008-02-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Caleb decided to have a conversation with himself. We have no idea what he's doing or saying, but it was too cute. We had to videotape it!! :)

Exercise

2008-02-23T05:43:00.001-08:00

Uncle Tim thought this was a good way for Caleb to exercise. - He actually enjoyed it!

Washing Dishes

2008-02-02T07:13:00.000-08:00

Caleb loves helping out in the kitchen, especially if he can help do the dishes! See if you can tell when he noticed Scott was watching him. Here's a hint: listen for the laughter.

Laundry Time!

2008-01-26T07:37:00.001-08:00

Granny was trying to do laundry one day and Caleb decided to help. We couldn't help laughing when he repeatedly tried to put the laundry basket in the dryer.

Fun with Uncle "Dim"

2008-01-26T07:27:00.000-08:00

For some reason Uncle "Dim" loves to beat on my belly. But to be honest I kind of like it too!

Growing!

2008-01-26T07:05:00.000-08:00

So, after seeing Caleb sit for 5 minutes and watch his cousin, Gabi, in her online videos, I realized it was probably time for me to get a website to post pictures and videos of him. He's growing so fast and I want to be able to capture the changes. I couldn't believe how fascinated he was watching Gabi and he kept saying, "More Gabi..." I hope to be able to update this with his pictures and videos. Maybe Gabi will enjoy watching him! :) It should be pretty easy to upload the videos and pictures with my new camera, we'll see! :)