Big Brothers

If you didn't catch the subtle hint...Josh and Caleb are going to be big brothers!  We are expecting baby #3.  I'm not exactly sure when I am due yet.  We found out Christmas Day and I have yet to go to the doctor.  I go next week to the nurse for a mandatory paper work appointment.  Then hopefully I will be able to schedule an ultrasound with our doctor.  But we are SUPER excited.  I am feeling great. Actually so great that I don't feel pregnant (other than the growing mid section) so I am definitely anxious to go to the doctor and find out how far along I am.  

Lots has happened since I posted last.  Jeff and I went to Hawaii with the basketball team (without kids) and had a wonderful time.  Lots of fun together and with the team.  The kids enjoyed Christmas and they are playing so well together. They truly love each other.  Josh loves looking for Caleb to see if he is up to "something suspicious".  Which is usually true!!! And Caleb adores Josh and wants to do everything he does (brush his teeth, wash his hands, sit in a big chair, wrestle, etc).  Caleb says "baa" for sheep, "woof" for dog, "books", "mama", and "tissss" for everything else :)  Josh is super talkative right now and still loves stories and is a mama's boy.  Loves holding my hand wherever we go and wants to do everything with me.  We are so blessed!!!  I have a hunch than #3 is another boy but we won't be finding out until birth.  The suspense!!!!

Enjoy some pics.  

We enjoyed breakfast with this beach view several times during our stay.

At the luau (where later that night, Jeff and I would get the dreaded stomach flu that had been going around). 

At a famous shave ice place on the North Shore of Oahu.  Delicious! And served over ice cream.

Jeff and I hiked to the top of Diamond Head on our last morning and saw this gorgeous rainbow.

Jeff and I went swimming up near this waterfall.  Really cold water but lots of fun!

We had the BEST shrimp ever (shrimp scampi - loaded with garlic) from this little shrimp truck.

Both of the boys were a bit impatient to get out the door to play in the snow.

Got to see the sun rise a couple of mornings (around 7am).  But we were awake most mornings well before then thanks to the time change.

The boys Christmas Eve presents were matching PJ's.  Making this a yearly tradition.

Caleb is not one to sit still very long. AT ALL.

Playing with their new shopping cart and food. The majority of the stories we tell are from the grocery store.  We must go there a lot.

Auntie came to visit!!!  The boys loved seeing her!

And Caleb got a haircut.  (see 2 pictures below).  This is before.   It was super long in the back and short on the sides. So we just evened it up.  He did great!

Really enjoyed visiting with my sister.  Try to overlook my robe and naked child on my lap. :)

And the final view of his hair cut.  I am a little biased but he is just so sweet!! And ornery!  I can't tell you how many times I tell him no during the day :)

Happy Birthday Cabers!!

Can't believe Caleb is 1!!! TODAY! I could get emotional thinking back on his birth. Such a whirlwind and fast paced experience.  And that about sums up Caleb!  In the past month, he has started to "run", he put my phone in the toilet and swirled it around, and now says "mama", "dada", and "nana". I'm just waiting for him to say Josh.  He LOVES his brother.  After he wakes up from his afternoon nap, Josh is usually still sleeping. I have to run down the hall and chase him multiple times as he tries to open Josh's door and wake him up.  Here are a couple recent pictures of our sweet Caleb.  He is such a joy and we couldn't imagine life without him. He keeps us on our toes and gives us endless hugs and kisses.  Love his sweet little lips.  He loved his homemade chocolate ice cream birthday cake. We are working on tooth #8. Love you Cabers (aka C-man, C-dog, Cabester, Caberoo)!!

Best Music Video E-V-E-R

Here is an awesome music video my Brother-in-law and 2 of his girls put together.  Definitely my favorite.

Check it Out!!!!

Fall Pictures

I TRIED to take some pictures of the boys a couple days ago but Caleb did not want to look at the camera at all. Josh didn't mind because I bribed him with M and M's. They didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.  Maybe next time. I am still trying to learn how to use my camera.  Enjoy

A yearly tradition

I have yet to post Caleb's 9 month pictures and tomorrow he'll be 10 months...geesh! Where does the time go??  Here are a few pictures of the last month.  We have had lots of activities going on...basketball season has started, my grandparents came to visit, had several birthdays, and our yearly tradition of going to Campbell's Pumpkin Patch.  We visited there today and had a blast even though we froze the entire time.  I somehow left Caleb's hat at home so I wrapped his head in my purple scarf...sorry Caleb.

Caleb is now walking!!! He took his first step on September 2nd.  He took 15 steps in a row on September 26th.  He still crawls sometimes because he can crawl at lightning speed.  So life is busy!!  He now has 6 teeth and is back to waking up at night :( ugh.  I am now nursing only 3 times a day and he has started drinking milk.  So much for following the recommendations!!!!  He loves milk and now we have 2 children eating us out of the house.  Caleb loves bread and cheese.  He eats a lot of other things and really does great with vegetables (sadly, he doesn't love strawberries yet) but really loves bread and cheese.

Josh is so much more energetic and talkative.  We videotaped him last week at lunch where he made up a story about "Buddy and Tiny" (a couple dinosaurs on The Dinosaur Train - he builds his own out of blocks and carries them around).  His story went on for probably 5 minutes. Hilarious.  So to say he loves stories is an understatement.  The new way to get him to go to bed and not whine is to tell him we will set the timer for 10 minutes and then if he's not asleep we will tell him another story :) Now he says "you go set the timer and if I'm not asleep you tell me 2 stories!" I am actually surprised he hasn't called for us yet.  But I think he must fall asleep pretty quickly.

We are so blessed! We love our boys!

Caleb's 9 month pictures

My grandparents came to visit and brought the boys a couple new toys and a new book.  It meant so much for them to make the trip over and spend time with the boys.  The boys sure loved having them come!

A picture of our little guy walking.

Love these 2 big boys.

If you say "How big is Caleb?" he will hold his hands up like this for "SO BIG".

Monkey see, monkey do.  Caleb had this duck in his mouth so Josh didn't want to be left out. They make each other laugh all the time.

And a picture from today at the pumpkin patch. It was freezing.

Caleb is always trying to grab something.

And this smile just melts my heart. He's a sweetheart.

Look closely...they are BOTH crying.  About a minute earlier they were reversed and Josh lost his balance and whacked his nose on the pumpkin's eye hole...got a little bloody nose.  Then we bribed him with a cookie to do it again so I could try and get both of their faces and eventually he wanted no part. Caleb is crying also because he just bumped his head on the pumpkin.  Oh well...I tried.  We had a great time though!!

And below is a flashback to when we took Josh for the first time...at 7 months.  We put Caleb in the same outfit today (if you didn't pick up on that) so that we could see the difference. It's a HUGE difference.  Josh is an enormous 7 month old :)  But a cute one.

And the summer is over...

Well a quick update....haven't even posted Caleb's 8 month pictures. But here they are finally.  Jeff is officially back to work on Sunday (basketball season begins already!!!) August is a slower month for him so we got to spend a lot of time together as a family. 

It is amazing to see the unique personalities the Lord has given our boys.  Josh is ultra conservative, cautious, calculated, precise, inquisitive, sensitive, and a cuddler, just to name a few.  Caleb is ultra ambitious, always on the move, eats (and chews on) everything, super smiley, incredibly social, UN-calculated, and incredibly resilient with getting hurt, just to name a few. :) And they both love each other...a wonderful thing!!  

Caleb has 3 teeth...2 on the bottom and one of the top side teeth, not even the middle ones yet.  We put up a protector for his crib but he seems to chew on all the other sides that don't have it.  Go figure. This is what I walk in and see each morning (and in the middle of the night!!)  He is immediately standing.  He is cruising everywhere, walking with a walker toy and I truly think he will be walking within a couple weeks.  His middle name should be NO FEAR.  And he falls so controlled.  His abs are stronger than mine!  And when he falls or gets hurt, he usually only cries for a few seconds or not at all.  

Josh is keeping us busy as well.  He is OBSESSED with Super Why (a PBS show) and still wants to be called Alpha Pig (Caleb is Peter Rabbit).  He loves playing outside and enjoys running around being chased by Caleb.  

We went to the zoo earlier this month.  Had a blast.  Teddy came too.

We ended the wonderful off month of August by going up to Traverse City again.  Beautiful weather and a lot of fun with the family.  And a lot of food.  It took Josh awhile to warm up to the squishy sandy bottom but the water was SO clear.   Best kind of water for me.

This kid on the other hand crawled head first into the water and ate some sand.  He loved it.

A family pic.  We miss everyone already!!!