singing caleb

I love to sing to my babies, despite the fact that I have a horrendous voice. I sing them personalized songs, which I learned from my mom. One of our favorites is this one sung to the tune of "Frere Jacques"...it has magical powers to calm a screaming child.

"Caleb Brian, Caleb Brian,
I love you, I love you.
How I love my Caleb, How I love my Caleb,
Yes I do, Yes I do."

Pretty simple, huh? Well, Caleb has taken to this song and loves to sing it to Noah (Alan). Lately, though, he has been doing something with the song that we think is absolutely adorable. After we have gone through both Caleb's and Noah's names in the song, he just started adding our names. So now he sings, "Mommy Alan" and "Daddy Alan" because that is what we sing to Noah. :)

Check out the video...you'll have to watch a very choppy version of "Jesus Loves Me" before you get to this song.

moving

It's just about official...we will be closing on our new house on April 9th. We are moving just 2 miles away. If you have any suggestions for showing/packing/moving with a 2-year old and a newborn, we can use all the advice we can get! :)

Oh, and if you know anyone looking for a house in our area, we are trying to sell ours! In case you didn't know: there is an $8,000 tax credit for new home owners and a $6500 credit for existing homeowners that have owned their home for 5 years or more and move (we have been in this house for 5.5 years so we qualify--yeah!).

3 months

Don't you just want to eat up those chubby little cheeks?

This is how Noah looks 90% of the time. He has found his hand and LOVES to suck on it. He is also holding his head up much better and actually tolerates tummy time. He LOVES to be held and sleeps best during the day in my arms (a bad habit...I know, but some days I feel like this is the only one-on-one time he gets with me).

His personality is emerging a little more everyday and he is so very precious. I think he has got to be the most easy-going baby ever. He smiles with his whole face (much like Caleb) and LOVES to watch his big brother. He is very mellow--I think he is going to be one that isn't in a hurry and will do things in his own time.

In honor of his 3 month birthday, he slept 10 consecutive hours last week! It was a one-night thing, though and we are back to 7-8 hours of continual sleep (which is still wonderful). He has started to coo and squeal when he is really excited...it is so cute! Most of the time all it takes to elicit a smile or squeal is just a little interaction. Those poor second children don't get near the attention the first one did!

Little Noah is such a blessing in our lives and it seems like he has been with us forever. Both boys are crazy about each other and I can't wait to see their friendship grow in the months and years to come!

First Prayer

Caleb said his first prayer completely by himself tonight when I was tucking him into bed. He will normally repeat afer us and then add his own people he wants to pray for. This time, he did completely on his own. It was absolutely precious and a moment I never want to forget. Here is how it went...

"Dear God, keep safe. Be wif Bumba, Peepaw, Tistal (Crystal), Brent, Evan, Emma, Brad. Thank you for Lola, Papa, 'Tis (Chris), Tettie (Kellie). Thank you, God. A- Tu (I love you). Amen."

Granted, he definitely forgot several family members--but he's got the right idea. I had to blog about this before I forgot this moment.

*Sorry to force you to indulge in yet another sappy story. I've been really bad about writing things down lately, so this is my way to remember.*

And here's a picture of Caleb sitting on our bed, doing what he loves the most--watching Veggie Tales. I honestly think he just might be obsessed.

Oh, and did I mention that Caleb got a haircut? Daddy decided to cut his hair on Saturday and let's just say he doesn't get to do that job again...unless that is, that uneven bangs are suddenly in style. :)

comprehending consequences

Every time before bed (nap or nighttime), Caleb says he wants to read a "little one." These are just small individual bible stories that we got as a shower gift when he was born. Today we were reading the story of Jonah. I read the story through and afterwards we had this conversation:

Me: What happened to Jonah when he disobeyed God?

Caleb: Fish!

Me: And what did the fish do after 3 days?

Caleb: Fish spit him out!

Me: What happens to you when you disobey Mommy?

Caleb: I go time-out.

I'm simply amazed how the mind of a child works. God certainly created children to seek Him. I'm in awe of his creation!

brothers...

Caleb was really excited about getting his picture taken with Noah...so much so that I think it kind of freaked Noah out! These two boys are absolutely precious and, along with their Daddy, the loves of my life! I'm having so much fun watching them grow closer by the day.

...and thanks to Aunt Crystal for the adorable matching outfits!

Snow Day!

Monday was a snow day here. Even though I am no longer a student nor a teacher and snow days in no way affect our lives, I still find myself excited that school is cancelled. Maybe it's because snow day festivities are some of the fondest memories I have from my childhood...

In honor of the snow day, Caleb and I went outside for a *very* short time while Noah was asleep. The wind was terribly blustery and Caleb's cheeks were bright red after about 3 minutes outside, but we had fun nonetheless.

Every time we had any accumulation of snow growing up, my mom would help us make snow ice cream. All you need for snow ice cream is snow (of course), milk, vanilla, sugar, and food coloring (if you choose--we opted out of that since I would like to keep my carpets their natural color). :) You just add a little milk until the consistency is right (not too runny since the snow melts fast), then about 2 T. sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla. This was the first time Caleb would actually try the snow ice cream and he LOVED it (as did I). I look forward to passing along this fun tradition to my kiddos like my mom did with us!

And here's what Noah thought of it all...he's got to be the most easy-going baby ever!

too many changes

I think Caleb has reached his breaking point--as far as changes are concerned anyway. In a matter of two weeks he went from:

-----using the potty chair instead of diapers

-----sleeping in a twin bed instead of a crib

-----sitting in a booster seat instead of a high chair

You might wonder, "why would you spring all of these changes on him at once--especially just 2 months after adding another member to our family?" Well, we didn't...not really anyway. He initiated the potty training on his own and we went with it because he was so excited. He dove out of his crib and landed on his head, so we changed him to his "big boy" bed to save him from serious injuries if he was to do it again and land wrong. We did move him to the booster seat because he didn't really want to sit in his high chair anymore, he wanted to sit in chairs like us. So in a way, he initiated all of these changes.

The transition from crib to the bed was difficult for a few nights and we woke up several times, but for the last week he has done great sleeping all the way through the night. Until last night...he woke up at 1:45 and didn't go back to sleep until 4:45. During that time, he was up and down, opening the door and playing in the living room for who knows how long. We tried the door covers on his bedroom door and he figured that out, so we'll have to get some different ones.

And he is going potty on the floor now, which is just wonderful (can you sense my sarcasm?). I guess the novelty of going potty in the potty chair has worn off and now he wants to make it interesting again. I'm not really sure how to discipline with this one. We've thought about just putting the potty chair away until summer, but sometimes he will tell us when he needs to go--and sometimes he doesn't.

I know I will yearn for these days someday, but for today I just want to vent about having to clean up poop off nearly every surface in our bathroom this afternoon as Caleb decided to make an art project out of his potty. And I really need to pray that God will grant me the patience that I have lost today...oh and maybe for an attitude adjustment too. ;)