Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

Yesterday we put up our Christmas tree! I know what you might be thinking...it is December 23rd and you JUST put your tree up? Yes, well I can explain. We decided to get a real, live Christmas tree this year that we will plant after we have used it in the house. To keep it from getting dried out, they say you are only supposed to leave a tree inside for 3-5 days, hence putting it up so late. It actually works out pretty well...only a couple days of telling Caleb that the tree is off limits (although he hasn't really been all that interested in it anyway). As you can see, our tree is very unique and Kevin and I agree that it is our favorite tree ever. It is imperfect...just like us and it reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas picture books called Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect. If you haven't ever read this book, you need to! It is so good!!! Anyway, we are enjoying our new tradition and are praying that our tree will make it after it has served its purpose indoors. :) We are planning on doing this each year that we have a child (for their first Christmases)...then it will be a reminder in our yard for years to come!

I hope each of you have a very Merry Christmas! When I was pregnant last year during Christmastime, I felt a special connection to Mary and the Christmas story because I understand what it was like to carry a child. This year as I look into the face of my precious boy, I can understand how much God loved his son and how proud He was of him. I hope to find a moment this Christmas to pause and reflect on the amazing birth of our Savior! Merry Christmas!!!

"Caleb...that's off limits" (as I said for the 10th time)

Caleb's First Christmas!

Caleb and Kevin putting up the star!

A Wonderful Weekend

This weekend we traveled 8.5 hours to Lubbock, Texas to visit my mom's family. We had a great time and Caleb was able to meet his Great-Grandma (Oma) and his Great-Uncle Bobby, whom he had never met before. We stayed at my aunt Missy's and had a great time playing games with her kids. I was SO worried about the long haul to Texas, but Caleb did great both coming and going. He is such a good baby and I really don't give him enough credit! We opened presents (thanks everyone), ate WAY TOO MUCH food (thanks to Ken, Missy, and Oma's cooking) and even got to go to a great rock concert (okay, not really rock but it was a Christian artist named Josh Wilson who could really rock it out...believe me I know, I was covering Caleb's ears throughout much of the concert because I was worried about his little eardrums). We loved getting to see everyone and look forward to next Christmas with the Dillon family!!! Well, I think I have used enough parantheses for a lifetime, so I will stop writing. :)

Kellie, Caleb, and my twin cousins Hannah and Jenna

Caleb and his new BFF (aka my cousin Zack). He adored Zack and wanted to play with him the whole time!

Us with my Papa Dillon and Nana

Let It Snow!

Caleb got to play in the snow for the first time today! He wasn't sure about it at first, but then liked it once Kevin was able to play with him. He doesn't exactly have the perfect "snow attire" on, but we made do with Size 2T snowbibs ($3 at the Britches & Lace sale), squeaky shoes, 2 hats, and mittens with no thumb holes. Next year we'll have to invest in some boots and waterproof gloves, but he's still pretty little to do any heavy duty playing. :) On another note, we are really going to have to start working on being nice to other kids. Caleb's cousin Evan came over for a few minutes on Saturday and they fought over the same block over and over. The ending of this video is so embarassing! Sorry Evan!!!

Scared of Santa?

As a first time mother, I have looked forward to my child's first Christmas with anticipation since he was born! I dreamed of sitting him on Santa's lap and capturing a beautiful smile filled with love and appreciation for the "right jolly old elf." Well, that wasn't exactly the way that it happened...Caleb is apparently terrified of Santa! And this was even the best Santa ever with a real beard and a jolly disposition and everything! Oh well...I guess it will just give us something to laugh at for years to come. My mom keeps a small photo album of all of our pictures with Santa from every year since we were born and it is so much fun to look back on them each year. I am planning on doing the same thing with our child(ren)'s Santa pictures. Caleb's first picture will just be a red-faced babe with a wide-open mouth and streaming tears...poor baby!

On another note, I have been "tagged" by my friend Kristen. Here it goes...

8 TV Shows I Watch
1. The Office
2. Worst Week
3. ER
4. 24
5. American Idol
6. Grey's Anatomy (off and on...it can be pretty racey, so I pick and choose when I watch this show)
7. HGTV and the Hallmark Channel (but only when we're at the lake...we don't have cable)
8. Most recently "The Wiggles". Caleb rarely watches TV, but whenever he is SUPER fussy, "The Wiggles" does the trick! "Hot potato, hot potato", anyone?

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Sonic (but not for their food, just for their Dr. Pepper's)
2. Outback
3. Olive Garden
4. Carrabba's
5. On the Border
6. Freddy's
7. Panera
8. Carlos O' Kelly's

8 Things That Happened Today
1. Caleb slept in until 8:20 (he normally gets up between 7:30 and 7:45)...this meant that I woke up when Kevin left and was able to get myself ready without tiny hands taking EVERY SINGLE THING out of my makeup drawer as I try to get myself dressed!
2. Went to JoAnn's Fabrics
3. Stopped and got a Dr. Pepper at Sonic (Thanks, Crystal M., for the gift card) :)
4. Took Caleb to the Baby Story Time at the Andover Library
5. Changed a Wet, Poopy Diaper before putting Caleb down for a nap
6. Came downstairs to check and see if we sold the truck on E-Bay yet
7. Talked to my wonderful husband on the phone for a minute or two (yes, I am really searching for 8 things...it's only 11:00!)
8. Writing this blog post!

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Caleb's First Christmas!
2. Each new and exciting stage that Caleb has and will go through
3. Having more children
4. Weekends
5. Date Nights!
6. Getting to spend time with girlfriends
7. The Baptism of each of my children
8. Seeing Brian again in Heaven (along with the rest of my family)

8 Things I Wish For:
1. To teach my child(ren) to love Jesus and ultimately be in Heaven someday
2. The country of Zimbabwe to be rid of their horrible dictator that is causing starvation, sickness, and death
3. To be a servant to all
4. For the health of each member of my family (immediate and extended)
5. To make a difference in the world
6. To instill in Caleb (and any other future children) a love for others and a desire to do good in the world
7. For pain and suffering around the world to cease
8. The love that Kevin and I share to be as strong as it is now (if not stronger) for the rest of our lives

8 People I Tag:
1. Crystal H.
2. Julie
3. Beth
4. Kristen
5. Mercedes
6. Emily
7. Sharla
8. ??? I don't know any other bloggers... (I know that Numbers 3-6 have already been tagged, but I can't think of anyone else)

Not Feeling So Hot...

Caleb is hardly ever sick, but he hasn't been feeling so good the last few days. He won't drink his bottles and he has become the PICKIEST eater (we used to call him our garbage disposal because he would eat ANYTHING). Needless to say, my stomach has held up better cleaning up his accidents than I previously would have given it credit for (you do what you gotta do as a mom). I am trying anything and everything to make sure he gets enough fluids. I even went to Sonic today and got him an Apple Juice slush (okay...I admit it was partly an excuse to get myself a Dr. Pepper). :) He really seemed to like that (probably because it is PACKED with sugar) and even drank out of a straw, which I didn't know he could do! I must have been really desperate...coming from someone who gives her child almost no sugar and dilutes his regular apple juice 4 parts water to 1 part juice! I love his resiliency though...one minute he will just act like he doesn't feel good at all and the next minute he will be ready to play. The next two pictures were taken within a few seconds of eachother. I really really really hate that I don't know what's wrong with him...it makes me feel so helpless. I just hope my baby gets to feeling better soon!

Here is a picture of Caleb with his first Christmas tree...it is in his room! His LoLo got it for him and it has ornaments of the nativity story on it. So cute!

First Steps!

Our baby took his first steps on Thanksgiving day *tear*! After having an amazing Thanksgiving lunch with the Crowley's, we headed to Table Rock to be with my family. We arrived on Thanksgiving evening at my parent's lakehouse just in time for another Thanksgiving meal (we were stuffed). After dinner, we helped clean up the kitchen and then Caleb was playing on the laminate floor. I held up his hands and my mom stood a couple feet away with her hands extended. Caleb stood by himself, took 2 steps, stood, then stepped forward and fell down! Needless to say, he hasn't done it again and I know he is still a ways away from actually "walking", but it is a momentous event nonetheless.

It doesn't really seem possible...where has the time gone? Just yesterday I was holding my bundled newborn and rocking him with tears in my eyes as we listened to "The Rocking Song". I just want to treasure every moment of Caleb's life. What a blessing he is to Kevin and me!

These are two pics from our wonderful weekend (I have the rest on Facebook...it is more difficult to upload them on blogger). We had a great time "giving thanks" for both of our amazing families. God has surely blessed us with each of you! We love you!

Give Thanks

"I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with Thanksgiving." -Psalm 69: 29-31.

On the eve of Thanksgiving, I want to take time out to thank God for all of the blessings he has given me. My amazing husband, my sweet precious baby, my home, my family, my country, food, and so many more! Not only that, but I would like to thank him for the struggles that I have gone through as well because I believe they have made me a better person. I sadly do not take time to do this as often as I should. The tradition of the "Blessing" jar was started by my mom and my brother Brian. Throughout the year, we put blessings in the blessing jar and then at the end of the year, we read through them. I have started typing them out and putting them in our Christmas scrapbook so that I can be reminded of them for years to come. It is a very special family tradition and one that I look forward on passing down to my children!

For some reason it seems like our society as a whole seems to think that we deserve the good things in life. But when something not so good happens, we always wonder "why me?" Maybe we should be asking the question of why God blesses us. I ran across this verse and it somewhat answers this question...

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." -Luke 12:48

I definitely feel like I have been given much, so I better get busy living up to what God demands of me! I am so thankful for all of the blessings in my life, but I need to put that thankfulness into action. I can't help but think of the people of Zimbabwe, suffering and starving all because of the decisions of a terrible dictator. Please keep them in your prayers this holiday season! Also, if you are interested in learning more about Nhowe Mission in Zimbabwe, go to www.nhowemission.org.

I hope each of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving! As you spend special moments with family...remember to cherish every second!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

If You're Happy and You Know It...

Smile...

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Clap, wave, give high fives, and say dog (or almost dog--whenever Caleb hears or sees a dog he says "daw", he knows what it means he just can't say the /g/ sound yet). He just learned how to clap YESTERDAY on my birthday! Yay!!! :)

Squeaky Shoes

Thanks to E-Bay, Caleb is now the proud new owner of some shoes that squeak whenever he takes a step! Some of Caleb's "girlfriends" at church (uh-hum London) have squeaky shoes and I thought they would be really fun! :) So far, they have been a big hit. I think it is going to spur on this walking thing even faster (which I don't know that I am emotionally ready for) because Caleb LOVES hearing the squeaks so he is more motivated to take steps. We have had such a great week! Caleb has been such a happy boy and so easy-going. This is his natural demeanor, but he hasn’t totally been himself for the last month because he got 6 new teeth in the period of a month!!! I just love being a mom so much, it makes my heart so happy to see my precious little guy grow, learn, and change. I am so thankful to God for blessing me with an amazing husband and a precious child…

Family Pictures

Peek-A-Boo

This video is from this morning. I hurt my back badly yesterday and as I have been laying on the couch, Caleb has entertained me with peek-a-boo. It is so sweet! I hope you enjoy the video. Thanks Kevin and Mom for all your help with Caleb!!!

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Friends, Fun & Frights

Okay, not really any frights but it seemed fitting for a Halloween post. We have had lots of fun this Halloween. Back before Caleb, Kevin and I used to enjoy a quiet evening at home with homemade potato soup and passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. That was going to be our tradition, but now that Caleb is here we have places to go and people to see! On Thursday (the day before Halloween) we went up to the Fountains with the playgroup from church for some trick-or-treating. On Halloween night, our first stop was to Grandma and Grandpa's to see all of Caleb's cousins. Next, we went to Trunk-or-Treat at church, then to see LoLo, Uncle Brad & Aunt Kellie. Our final stop was to see Mimi. Kevin and I were pooped by the end but Caleb had all the energy in the world (even without the candy that will plague every other Halloween). :)

Goldilocks & the Three Bears

Uncle Brad dressed up as Obama...Raises the "politicians kissing babies" thing to a whole new level involving tongue! :) This picture, of course, definitely does not indicate who I will be voting for on Tuesday!

Candace, Blake & Luke

Caleb and his cousins Evan, Emma, Ethan, & Luke

At the Fountains

Such a happy bear!

Caleb and his friend Carter

Papa Bear and Baby Bear

Loading the Container for Zimbabwe

On Saturday, we took Caleb downtown to help load the container to be sent to Zimbabwe. We weren't sure how this would work out considering that it was right in the middle of his morning nap, but he lasted for about 2 hours. He was in his stroller most of the time just sitting there and watching us and occasionally someone would come over and pick him up. Needless to say, he had lots of people to watch working away. If you haven't heard any updates about the country of Zimbabwe as a whole, it is complete chaos. They're estimating that in the matter of a couple months, nearly 5 million people will be starving. There are 1.3 million orphans now (more than 1 in 4 children in the country of Zimbabwe are orphans) and the average life span has dropped from the 70's (10 years ago) to the early 30's for both men and women due to the AIDS epidemic. Please keep the country of Zimbabwe in your prayers and my dad especially as he is traveling there on Friday with a group from church.

On another note, I have been pondering the following verse a lot this week: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it" -Proverbs 22:6. Caleb has started to throw fits whenever he doesn't get his way and I am totally not ready to have to discipline! He seems way too young for this. I have been putting him in his crib (lights on, door open opposite of what it is at nap times) for a minute or two when he does this but he just seems so young! On the other hand, I don't want to continually enable his behavior and then deal with it when he is 2 or 3 because by then I am sure it will be much more of a struggle. I have been reading about the appropriate way to mold a child's behavior but you find so many contradictions when reading...it is very frustrating. My mom and friends of ours have been telling me that I am doing the right thing, but I am totally not confident in myself since I have never done this before. I wish the writer of this Proverb (Solomon I think) would just have given us the exact instructions for this training! Isn't there a complete guide to parenting out there somewhere???

Kevin and I listened to Chuck Swindoll's tapes on Parenting when I was pregnant with Caleb and he said that the key phrase in this verse is "the way HE should go", meaning every child is different and what works for one might not work for another. He also said that keeping the child's temperament and their interests (when they are older) in mind whenever parenting...letting your child be their own person and not forcing them into this mold that you had in your mind of how they should be. There is a fine line between authoritative and authoritarian parenting...I just want Caleb to be allowed to be a baby while also learning to obey us, God's instructions, and other adults.

I thought this picture was too precious not to post...

This is a video of Caleb walking with his walker. He gets ahead of himself, but seems to enjoy it. He gets impatient after a while and would just rather crawl, so I think we've still got at least a month of two before he is going to be ready to walk.

My Little Pumpkin

We have had a great weekend! Today we went to Walter's Pumpkin Patch in Burns, Kansas. It was so much fun!!! We left with a caravan from church with about 10 other families at 9:30 and didn't leave the Pumpkin Patch until 1:30! We weren't planning on staying that long, but we were just having too much fun to leave. Caleb was so mesmerized by all the fun things to see and do, he was very content and didn't mind missing his nap and eating lunch really late. :) Some of our favorite things to do at the pumpkin patch were the underground slide, the corn playbox, and the tractor ride. Both Kevin and I put Caleb on our laps for the slide and he loved it! We had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back next year. I think he will have even more fun going on the paddleboats, climbing on the hay bales, and riding in the barrel train. Here are some pictures...

My favorite...

Our little pumpkin is over 2 feet tall!
Fall Family Fun!

Just being silly...you can see the underground slide behind us
Playing in the corn! Caleb loved it!!!



Picking out our pumpkins
Daddy and Caleb on the big John Deere tractor
Caleb, London & Abbey...just a few seconds before Caleb was trying to eat the mud. He is definitely all boy...the whole time we were trying to pick out pumpkins, he wanted down on the ground to crawl!

Smiling for a picture before heading home