Has It Been 3 Months Already?

Caleb is 15 weeks now and is such a joy to have in the family. He is full of joy, always blessing us with his many smiles. He is content to play and giggles while he works on grasping at his toys. He is so patient with me while I often need to put him down to help Zach with something. Such a good second child! He has been rolling over from back to tummy since he was 12 weeks and I am sure tummy to back is coming any day now.

He is a great little sleeper too! Much like his brother he does so well when we swaddle him up. He goes to bed at 6:30 and usually wakes up around 2:00 and 5:00 to eat and then goes right down. He has been an early riser so daddy gets up with him and they have a little bonding and play time until Zach and I roll out of bed a while later. He is working on sleeping in a little bit later now though which I know Andy appreciates. He has developed a consistent 9:00 nap so hopefully the afternoon nap times will start to become more consistent as well.

He has the most beautiful blue eyes that light up a room and right now it looks like he may be a red head. Too cute! He is still our little guy. He only weighs 11 lbs and 14 oz which puts him around the 5th percentile. His Dr. is not concerned though. He told us that he likes to look at babies from a Gestalt perspective (I love this use of the Gestalt concept) and he sees him as being very healthy. We know that the low weight is mostly due to the reflux. We certainly don't expect him to be a big baby, but we are trying to help him keep more down in the hopes that he will put on a bit more weight.

Caleb, you make our lives so special. Your precious personality melts our hearts and you are truly a joy to be around. Daddy, Zach and I are so thankful to have you in our family. We love watching you grow and learn about the world around you. We look forward to each day with you, and learning more about who you are.

The Big Three

No, I am not referring to the number of times I have actually made it to the gym since Caleb has been born, or even the number of hours of sleep I got last night. The Big Three are what I have named the three major milestones that I wanted to help Zach accomplish before he turned three-years-old this coming April. Those milestones were: getting rid of the pacifiers that he slept with at night, moving out of his crib and into a big boy bed, and potty-training.

I decided that the pacifiers had the be the first to go. It was way past time! I had been putting this off because he is such an incredible sleeper. I was afraid that taking these away would make it harder for him to fall asleep and take the great naps that he and I have both come to depend on to get through our day.

On January 1st we did it! We started talking about it a few days earlier. We told him that since he was such a big boy now he really didn't need those pacis anymore so it would be great if we could pass them on to a baby that really needs them. Since this is my blog I get to brag about my kids so I can say that he is such a caring little guy so we decided to appeal to his heart on this one. Even though he looks a little skeptical in this picture he was quite excited to put his pacis in the box and send them on.

Zach and mommy walking to the mailbox.

Proudly walking back home after doing such a brave thing.

Once we realized he was willing to continue being a great sleeper, even without those little plastic crutches, it was time for the big boy bed.

Wearing his hard hat and showing his screwdriver after he helped daddy put the bed together.

That was a lot of work! He is ready for a nap!

The transition went great. He loves his new bed and he is still a wonderful sleeper. Victory!

Potty training is the final step. So far Zach is doing well and his parents are being totally inconsistent. Stay tuned...

Snowmaggedon!!!!

This is what they are calling the blizzard that hit the East Coast this weekend. In case you haven't heard, we have gotten a little bit of snow out here in Maryland. I think the last time we checked we measured around 26 inches in our backyard. Lets just say we are all going a little bit stir crazy! More snow is expected for later in the week so we are planning on breaking out of the house for a few hours today just for a change of scene. Andy was able to get the car out to go to work this morning. This is when the 4-wheel drive seriously comes in handy. Andy also did an incredible job keeping us shoveled out as the snow continued to fall. He is our hero! I think I will attempt to sneak out tonight and have a glass of wine with some friends. Must regain my strength for the next storm!

In anticipation of the storm we needed to get some groceries. Zach was sick and Andy and I both had a very busy week so we decided to give Giant's online grocery delivery service a try. It was great! I picked out everything online. Told them what time I wanted them to be delivered and waited. The next morning, as the kids played inside our toasty warm home, the door bell rang and all of our groceries appeared in our hallway. Amazing! That great part with this new system is that Zach still gets to do his favorite job which is putting the groceries away. He definitely has his mama's love for straightening and organizing!

Here is Zach, half-way through the storm. Already up to his waist in snow.

Underneath all of those clothes we heard his little voice saying, "Someone help me, I can't move!"

Beautiful snow in our backyard.

This is the church across the street from our house. Our church was canceled on sunday morning so we walked across the street to this church and had a nice little service with the other 6 people that were also able to make it.

Trying out the new trail that daddy shoveled.

We also had lots of fun together being cozy and warm inside. We made forts out of cardboard boxes, made soft pretzels from scratch, read lots of books, watched a few movies, and took lots of naps. I even managed to get a little bit of studying done!

"Well, we're not bored!"

These were the words uttered by Andy the other night as we collapsed exhaustedly into bed after yet another day that was filled to the brim with activity. Life these days is fun and exciting leaving little time to rest. I have started my classes again and I am loving every minute of them. Who knew the girl who needed a math tutor to survive elementary school would find statistics so exciting? Maybe it is just that the scientific and mathematical subject matter provides a nice change to the ambiguous gray areas of my counseling courses in which there never seems to be a right answer. Not to mention the need to stay ever flexible and ready for anything as a mommy of two boys under 3! So yes, somehow God makes everything beautiful in its own time, even a statistics class. I get to escape off to class two afternoon/evenings a week while Andy has fun with his little boys. On wednesday and thursday I spend a fun morning at home playing and cuddling with my little guys. I put them down for their naps, pack enough food to feed a normal person for a week (a nursing mama needs to eat), grab my school bag loaded with amazing books, and run, leap, jump, and spin to the car. The car without the car seats and the goldfish ground into the floor! I then remember that I can't go anywhere for more than three hours without dragging along my breast pump (yes, I did just use the word breast pump on my blog!) and go trudging back inside to get it. On my hour drive to Loyola I get to enjoy the scenery, listen to my Emily Griffin (Chick Lit.) books on CD and enjoy the rare moments of not having to answer any questions about exactly which type of backhoe loader we are passing. All this to say that just in case I start feeling a little too independent, someone sitting behind me in class will point out that I have a trail of spit-up going down my back. You also know of course that while my classmates are spending their breaks having philosophical conversations I am on the phone with Zach congratulating him on using the potty! I must add that none of this would be possible without the support of my incredibly selfless husband, who could share many funny experiences like this of his own. Andy, aka SuperDad, continues to single handedly pastor our church while learning the valuable lessons of life, such as, you never take a double stroller into Panera at lunchtime! All of this to say that life these days is all about balance! We are having fun, enjoying every moment with our amazing little guys and thankful everyday for God's amazing blessings. Updates on the boys are coming soon! Until then, enjoy a few recent pictures

Caleb- 3 months

Andy baptized Caleb on January 17 (Granddad's birthday!). It was such a special day. Having experienced the way our church congregation truly loves, guides, and cares for our children I was even more touched by the congregations promise to shepherd Caleb as he grows.

Zach doing a "silly baptism picture." There probably aren't many of those taken!

We were especially blessed to have Andy's parents there for the occasion.

It was nice of Granddad to share his special day with Caleb. :-)

Andy and Zach in their matching firetruck PJs made especially for them by aunt Joanie.

Zach showing Caleb (2 mos.) how to play with his baby gym.

How angelic is this sweet face?????

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

and all through the house, not a creature was still hollering from his bed that he wanted to see Santa, not even a mouse that was discovered to be living behind our oven and has been since "taken care of." Andy preaching in his pulpit robe and me on the couch with my Mac, were not yet settling in for what will literally be a nap before Caleb needs to eat again.

As wonderful as it is to be the mother of two incredible little boys, it also makes my days very full! When you add Christmas preparations to the mix I have had very little time to post on blog this month. I thought I would take you on a picture walk and provide an abbreviated month in review.

We chopped down our tree from Homestead farm this year. It was such a fun experience and we chose a beautiful tree. It looks amazing all decorated in our living room even after Andy got a little bit carried away with the power saw!

Excited to be picking out a tree to put inside the house.

Supervising daddy's work

The day was made complete with time on the farm tractor.

Zach performed Christmas songs with his Community Bible Study class.

It was very precious and I think during the last song he even realized that he was supposed to be singing :-) He did a great job ringing his jingle bells though!

We took Zach on a "Train Ride with Santa." Zach was thrilled to be on a real train for the first 10 minutes. We then remained on the train for an hour and a half ride during which all three of us were looking for the Emergency Exit in order to escape our boredom (see picture above). Santa however, showed up during the last ten minutes and paid Zach a personal visit.

Zach moves over to make room for the Big Guy.

Having a heart to heart

Santa wanted Caleb to be in the picture too, but since I am completely paranoid about H1N1 I was not about to whisk him out of the Baby Bjorn and hand him over to the man that has hugged at least 100 children in the past hour. So....here we are...all of us...with Santa!

Uncle David and Aunt Emily came for a visit to meet Caleb and brought Zach a Home Depot work bench complete with very noisy power tools. He couldn't be happier and spends a large part of his days doing work around the house...like for instance all of the drilling that needs to be done on this wall!

That is one happy (and safe) little boy!

Maryland had one of biggest snowstorms since '83 last weekend. It was so much fun. I loved being cozy in the house with a cuddly baby and baking cookies while the boys had a blast playing outside! It was quite hard to get Zach back in. We were extra blessed that weekend with a visit from our friend Ben (a friend we met in college). He was so much fun to have here and Zach completely adores him. He still tells me before his nap that when he wakes up Mr. Ben will be here! Awww, Ben you are missed. I should also say that he was the photographer of these amazing snow pictures!

The beautiful church across the street covered in snow!

Thanks Papere for the cozy new snow boots. Playing in the snow this weekend would not have been nearly as much fun without them.

Which brings us to today, Christmas Eve...

Daddy and Zach built a snow man in the yard this morning.

If you didn't notice, our snowman in rooting for both CU and the Broncos!

After a wonderful night at the children's Christmas Eve church service, we came home to eat our chili and Zach opened new Pjs for both of the boys. He couldn't wait to put them on and stripped off his clothes immediately.

Mommy and her Christmas boys!

Zach and daddy put out soy milk and cinnamon streusel for Santa (it was what we had and I am sure that Santa gets bored of the same old cookies and milk house after house.)

We certainly hope that wherever you are reading this from, you are having a

peaceful, joyful, merry merry Christmas!