My Sweet Hubby

Thanks to some gift cards from Matt's co-worker, Matt and I were able to have a ritzy night out at the Taste of Texas. This restaurant is usually too rich for our blood as the steaks average around $40 a plate. It was a very fun experience as you get to select the actual steak that you will be eating that night (pre-cooked obviously) then head off to the salad bar. The salad bar was AMAZING with lots of different options for dressings and toppings and some yummy homemade bread. The steaks were probably the best I've ever had...so tender. The whole evening was fabulous...any date that involves delicious food wins my vote as a favorite! The only downfall was that there was an hour plus wait at the restaurant, but that was understandable as soon as we knew how good the food was! They also gave away free popcorn, chips 'n salsa, and soft drinks while you waited, so that was a nice bonus.

Matt also stayed busy this weekend working on the brakes of our van. Our brakes starting squealing a few months ago, so I took it into a car shop just to see what was wrong and see the cost etc. We needed new back brake pads and rotors, which they were going to charge around $500 for parts and labor. With my nagging, Matt finally got to fixing it this weekend (weekends tend to get busy so quickly and Matt needed to set aside a good 4 hours to do it). He did it much quicker than that and the brakes work fabulously, and he saved us a ton of money! I love being married to a handy-man! No one likes to quit in the middle of a project, but an hour into the job, he got a call to come help someone move. Matt says it was the worst move he's ever done because there was so much...so 4 1/2 hour later, he comes home sweaty and tired and drained and still finished the van. (I think he was worried about his wife's wrath if he didn't finish!) He had such a long day yesterday, and I just want him to know how much I appreciate his willingness to serve and how he takes care of our family. I love him so much!

Caleb Update

It's been awhile since I've posted an update on Caleb as far as his growth etc. He is 16 months old now (only two more months until nursery!!!!) and making a lot of progress. At his last doctor's appointment (15 months), he weighed 23 lbs. 3.2 oz which is in the 28th percentile, and was 31 inches tall (40th %). He has definitely slowed down on weight gain, but he still loves to eat and is super active.

Within the last few weeks, he learned to point to all his facial features. (This is something we've been working on for several months!) Nose came first, but he can also point to ears, eyes, and mouth. He has been able to point to his belly button for the last couple of months, which is his favorite. He hates when I have him in a onesie under his clothes because then he can't point to his belly button.

Caleb has really gotten into pointing at everything in a book and having me tell him what it is. He loves animals. Ducks used to be his favorite, but in the last two weeks he now loves dogs the best. He used to point to every animal in a book and say 'duck'. Now he just loves to point out dogs. Seeing a dog for real is the most exciting thing for Caleb. He will just point at the dog, and he is getting really close to saying 'doggy', although it sounds very similar to 'daddy'. We went to the park on Friday and saw real ducks, which Caleb was very excited about.

So words and phrases that Caleb can say now in the order that he started saying them: at, wow, 'mo' for no, hot, duck, and "what's that?". Notice that I don't have mama/mommy or dada/daddy listed there. He can definitely make those sounds, but he does not call Matt or I those names. When he's hurt or crying, he will say ma ma ma ma ma ma, but it's not in reference to me. And when he is playing sometimes, he will say 'dad-dy' over and over again, whether or not Matt is there.

Caleb doesn't say 'bye-bye', but he'll wave bye-bye. (He's actually regressed a little on this...he did it a lot better a few months ago.) Recently Caleb has started giving hugs though, and that's so fun. He is a pro at high fives since he's been able to do that since 12 months. We're working on blowing kisses.

Another fun thing that Caleb just figured out is that there are actually real people on the other line of the phone. I was talking to Matt on the phone and held the phone up to Caleb's ear while Matt was talking. Caleb got such a kick out of hearing his daddy's voice! For the next 20 minutes or so he just walked around the house with the phone up to his ear listening to Matt make all kinds of funny noises and Caleb just laughed and laughed! It was so adorable.

It's so fun to watch him learn and grow up!

Christmas Pictures

I'm a little late on this post, but Christmas was simple and wonderful this year. Christmas Eve is always a big celebration at my parent's house where we invite the missionaries or other families to join in on the festivities. This year we had all the little children act out the nativity scene, which was really special and more meaningful for the kids.

Matt and I tried to be better this year about getting in the true spirit of Christmas as far as serving and helping others through plates of cookies to our neighbors, doing the 12 days of Christmas for a family, etc. It made this Christmas more memorable than the past few we've shared together.

As far as presents to each other, we kept it simple because our big present was a new TV this year! It's so nice not to have to wiggle the cable cord now in order to get a clear picture. I got Matt some shears for the yard and a new sweater. He got me some lotion, a hair cut kit so I can start cutting his hair, and he cashed in our discover points and got me a few gift cards for Kohls. That was perhaps the best gift because I don't ever shop for new clothes for myself--I hate spending money. So it was so nice to go shopping yesterday with a carefree attitude while I picked out some new clothes.

As far as gifts for Caleb, well, he got jipped this year. He doesn't care though, and he doesn't need anything new. We only got him a new church outfit and some new shirts because we knew he would get some new toys from his grandparents. Besides these pictures, Caleb also got a new puzzle from his cousin, Drew.

Christmas morning
Caleb playing with his new toy from Grandma and Grandpa Call

Caleb's new wagon from Grandma and Grandpa Shurtliff

A new truck that Caleb loves to push around.

Picture Time

While Matt and I went to see the musical production of White Christmas, Caleb had fun with his Grandma and Grandpa Call and two of his cousins. Grandpa loves to take pictures. Here are a few from the afternoon (unfortunately Caleb had just woken up from a nap and was not happy...hence the pacifier):

Grandpa and his three grandsons:

Caleb, Hunter, and David Earl
Caleb and Grandma

Caleb driving an airplane

Caleb loves being outside!

Santa

My parents took Caleb to their church Christmas party while Matt and I went to his work party. Here are a few pictures from the night:

Caleb's first time on Santa's lap

Grandpa and Caleb

Caleb is really into toys that make sounds right now. He just barely figured out how to press the 'on' button to get them to work. Grandma's house has LOTS of Christmas decorations that play music. Caleb loves this one particularly because it plays music AND there is a train that goes round and round. He gets so excited when the train comes back out of the tree. This is a picture of him looking for the train.

Snow in Houston?

The last time Houston has seen snow is December of 2004, so this was so fun for us!

Caleb dancing in the snow. He thought it was so fun! He woke up with a runny nose this morning though.

Our little snowman on the back of Matt's car.

A Day in the Life of Caleb

So this post has been a long time in the making simply because I had to remember to have a camera near me during all our activities. It has been so fun taking pictures of everything Caleb does during a typical day. So here goes:

A Day in the Life of Caleb...

Caleb wakes up around 6:30 to 7 am. One of the first things we do after he wakes up is eat breakfast. Bananas are what he usually prefers, but he'll also eat adult oatmeal (as opposed to the baby cereal), yogurt, or some Cheerios.
Then we get ready for Mommy's morning jogs where I meet my running partners at 8 am. We'll still run if it's in the upper 50s and higher, but lately in the morning it is a lot colder than that, so we have started doing workout videos inside. Since my running buddies each have one kid, all the kids love playing together, but it makes for constant stops during our workout. This picture is of Caleb decked out on a colder day. You can see his enthusiasm clearly on his face.

Once a week, Caleb, Aunt Ariane, and Cousin Dallin and I all go to the library for Mother Goose storytime. We sing songs and say rhymes. "Mother Goose" tells a story. There are bubbles and other fun things like jingle bells. Caleb typically is pretty shy and stays close to Mommy, but a few times he has ventured out in the middle of the circle of mommies and babies and done his little dance. Caleb's little dance involves putting his right hand up in the air and running in place. It's adorable.

Mid-morning, we'll usually go out in the backyard while Mommy waters flowers or weeds. Caleb loves playing on his Little Tykes play gym.

Around noon is lunch time--either a peanut butter sandwich, grilled cheese, or a quesadilla and fruit--and by 1:00 Caleb is napping. He has finally taken to a "comfort item," this little bear, which has made nap time and bed time at night SOOO much easier! He wakes up less often now and needs Mommy less. His naps are usually 2 hours if I'm lucky. On the rare occasion he will sleep closer to 3. On those days I'm in a really good mood because I had more time to be productive!

From the hours of about 4:00 pm on, Caleb is extremely fussy. (This is doubly difficult when I try to start preparing dinner by 5:30.) We go to the park at least 3 times a week during this time because Caleb loves to go outside so much! Here are a few pictures of what he loves to do at the park.

Lately it's been too cold and windy for the park outside, so we'll take a trip to The Woodlands' Mall and I'll let Caleb play at 'The Tree'. He loves it, and there are lots of kids to interact with.

On the days when we don't go to the park, a sure trick during Caleb's fussy time (where nothing makes him happy inside!) is pushing the lawn mower outside. We probably look pretty silly pushing that lawn mower up and down the sidewalk, but Caleb is happy :o) He is so good at pushing it by himself except when it gets stuck in the grass.

A few times a week, Caleb and I will take a walk to get the mail.

The best time, for Mommy and Caleb, is when Daddy gets home from work. Daddy does cool stuff like throw me up in the air...

and read me stories.

We eat dinner around 6:30. Caleb will eat with us, whatever we're having, although sometimes he can't wait that long and I'll feed him earlier. After dinner, Caleb loves to help Mommy and Daddy do the dishes!

Once a day, we practice going potty. It's usually before his bath, but sometimes I'll do it around the times he usually has a BM. We've been successful going potty in the toilet maybe once a week, but I always make a big deal about it whenever he does. I think he's started associating the potty with storytime, because while we "wait" I'll read him several stories. It has become his "learning time" too because we'll practice pointing to facial features and his belly button (which he's really good at) as well as me just singing learning songs to him. He doesn't quite get what the potty is for yet, but hopefully it will come with time because I'm tired of the expense of diapers and just diapers in general! Caleb is really good at flushing the toilet afterwards though.

Lastly in our day, Caleb takes a bath. His bedtime is 8:00.