Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello everyone! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a great time on our long weekend with family. But it was a busy trip. We started out with Greg's mom in Granbury, where Caleb became infatuated with his aunt Sammie. He got all shy and giddy when he was around her. Greg got a big kick out of Teri and I actually being in the kitchen cooking for once. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner together.Caleb enjoyed a game of baseball with daddy after dinner. Then we all joined in to gather a few buckets of pecans. Next was the venture to our hometown of Brady where my parents still live. Caleb always has a good time there with all the animals Grandma Christie and Papa have. He helped Papa feed the horses and lambs, and enjoyed playing with the many dogs they have. Friday Aunt Dani, Grandma, and I traveled on to Fredericksburg for some shopping while the boys had some bonding time. Then we had our Thanksgiving dinner Saturday. Lots of yummy food all week! Caleb loved playing with uncle Rhett and aunt Dani all weekend. They enjoyed reading books together, playing baseball, and the forbidden jumping on the bed. (Rhett's a bad influence.) Every morning Caleb would wake up saying it's time for aunt Dani to get up too. Luckily she's an early riser. Greg and Caleb hung out with with uncle Jeremiah and G-pa (Greg's dad). Then we ended the weekend with a stop by the dairy to see Great Grandma and Grandpa for a nice visit. So we definitely had a busy, busy Thanksgiving. Now it's time to get ready for Christmas! Already Caleb looks up the fireplace letting us know that's how Santa is getting in the house.

Yum, Yum

I am not what one would consider a great cook. But I have been trying to make healthy meals with some variety since Caleb has been able to eat table foods. Recently I have been trying to come up with different ways to make chicken, since that's the only meat Caleb really likes. He made me feel like a wonderful chef at dinner last night though. While we were eating our chicken(of course) he said "mm, delicious". Greg and I were surprised by his use of vocabulary, but I thanked him for his compliment and he continued with "yum, yum mommy." I knew he was being honest because when he isn't interested in something, he says "i no like it mommy" and pushes it far away. He never ceases to amaze me. I introduced Caleb to a few Christmas stories this week, I know it's early but I love Christmas time and want it to last as long as possible. Caleb now can point out Santa and enjoys saying "ho, ho, ho". One book tells the story of scrooge using the Disney characters. Though it's hard trying to read about Bob Cratchit in this story, while Caleb is arguing "no, that's Mickey mommy" or about the ghost of Jacob Marley, "no, that Goofy". Yes but in this story, "no, mommy." Caleb really enjoyed the Christmas lights around the trees we saw on our way home. He kept trying to find more lights to see. I know he will really enjoy going around the neighborhoods closer to Christmas.

Candy, Candy!

I think I have created a monster. I started giving candy to Caleb after he went potty on the big boy toilet. (I didn't know what else to do with all the Halloween candy he collected.) Well you can imagine how things are going now. Everyday he gets home he says "I go potty mommy, I want candy." Whatever works right. We are trying to trade candy for nemo stickers with minimal success. I am going to have to find a healthy, yet yummy treat if this is going to continue, or he'll be bouncing off the walls. I found some mickey mouse tennis shoes for Caleb which he loved. He wanted me to take a picture of his "mickey mouse clubhouse shoes." Occasionally we have trouble getting Caleb to eat all his veggies. Daddy told him if he wanted to be big and strong like him, he had to finish all his veggies. So now Caleb often shows us his muscles at the dinner table to show us how strong he is getting.

I found Caleb's train tent this week and he has been putting it to good use everyday. He threw all of his stuffed animals downstairs, and there are several, so he could put them in his tent. Then he camps out in there with his elmo couch and "friends." Even Monte joined in on the fun.

Potty Like a Rock Star

Yeah! Caleb had poo poo on the potty. Greg thinks it's because he sang "potty like a rock star" while Caleb was attempting to go potty. (Greg made me put that as the title) Actually, I think it was just an accident because after the deed, he said "what's that mommy". I explained his success, and he wanted to stay on the potty to try to poo poo again. What progress he has made! Now we just need to be more accommodating for potty time. He tried 4 times at school today they said, but hasn't succeeded yet, maybe stage fright. This morning Caleb was very excited to go to daycare, when I asked if he was ready to go to school, he said "I go see Aidan and Claire" (surprising I know). Then he ran to "help" open the garage door, as it was automatically going up, saying "I big helper". He was heading to the other side of the car when I informed him that daddy backed mommy's car in backward so it would be easier to get out, he said "yeah, good idea". Seriously when did he get so grown up! I can't believe the things he keeps saying.

Yeah Caleb!!!

We had Caleb sleep with us last night to ensure no more upset tummy or fever. (He had a fever yesterday afternoon.) He woke refreshed and in a good mood, which is more than I can say for mom and dad. He likes to toss and turn, then cuddle with one of us, which means the other gets the feet in the face. Well as long as he feels better, I am content with a sleepless night. Dad took Caleb to school since he was going in late. And apparently we both called the daycare today to check on Caleb, I guess our communication is a little off. But he had a good day thankfully. Such a resilient kiddo. Dad worked late again so Caleb and I enjoyed a quiet evening together. Before bath time Caleb said "I have to go potty mommy", granted he had already been on the potty twice after we got home and just flushed the toilet and played with the toilet paper. Well this time he really did need to go pee pee! He was such a big boy aiming in the toilet without making any mess! YEAH!!! We had a pee pee dance and high-fives! Now we'll see if this becomes a routine or if it's just a fluke. Caleb and I continued with the evening light hearted and enjoying lots of cute conversations. At one point Caleb kept repeating the first half of a sentence he was trying to say because he was distracted, so I said "spit it out buddy". Silly me; the next thing I know Caleb is spitting on the floor. I was speechless.Caleb was really excited about his new pj's, "i want to wear my"t-rex". I may have to buy a duplicate if I'm ever going to be able to wash these again.

Zoo with Teresa and Caleb

Last night I made the mistake of telling Caleb we were going to the zoo in the morning with Teresa. He was very excited and said "we go to the zoo now! " No, the animals are asleep I said. Tearfully he said "no, we wake them and go to the zoo in a minute." I finally distracted him and he forgot all about the zoo until this morning. He kept watching out the window waiting for Teresa to show up with her mom, Sarah, and sister, Addison. They were nice enough to come and pick us up. They even had an extra car sit we could borrow already set to go in Sarah's car. Everything was going great, Sarah and I were enjoying catching up on things, when all of sudden Caleb started groaning in the backseat. I had a bad feeling, and I was right because shortly thereafter he vomited all over himself. I felt horrible for him and because that wasn't our car seat! Sorry Sarah. We detoured to clean up the mess, and since Caleb seemed back to normal, set off again for the Ft Worth Zoo.

We ultimately had an awesome time. Caleb did well the rest of the trip, and all three kids seemed to really enjoy seeing the animals. Caleb was of course demanding to see the elephants as soon as we arrived, while Teresa preferred the lions. We finally fulfilled both requests, and then some including a ride on the carousel and train. Before we headed home, Teresa and Caleb decided they needed to "cut down" a tree and chase each other through a field. They were so cute, taking turns laughing hysterically. They all crashed shortly after we left the zoo. Rocky beginning, but a wonderful ending. Now I just hope Caleb doesn't have a repeat of this morning's event.

Big potty

I had a dinner last night, so I missed out on the evening fun with Caleb. For a while now Caleb has asked to go potty on the "big potty". Though he had yet to actually go potty, he usually just plays. Last night Greg said he climbed on the potty and told daddy to go away. Then apparently a short time later Caleb says "daddy I go tee tee." Sure enough Greg said he had pee pee all over the toilet, not sure if any actually made it inside the toilet. But they got very excited over the success. This morning I asked how his day went yesterday at daycare, "good, I play with Aidan and Claire, and Lucas." At least there was a little variety to the day. Tonight Greg had to work late again, so Caleb and I had a leisurely night. We had to go by the store for a few necessities on the way home first though. Caleb was a "big helper" or so he kept saying; he helped by literally throwing all my groceries in the back of the cart. I think only minimal damage to most items was done. We have been trying to teach Caleb manners by using"please"and "thank you" when appropriate. After bath, Caleb wanted to read the Very Quiet Cricket, so he threw it in my lap and climbed up on the couch. I was in the middle of explaining why it wasn't nice to throw the book when he said "say thank you mommy."

Here are some random pictures of Caleb.

I went to Payless to find some tennis shoes for Caleb, and he found some Dora boots he really wanted to wear. He is really into boots, and he didn't care when I told him those were for girls. He wore them around the store for a while. I thought it was very funny, Greg disagreed.