February 28

Caleb wasn't quite sure what to think when we finally arrived home from our trip to Mexico. He met us at the door, then ran to the back door to show us the drawing he and Grandma had made.

Can you guess which part he did, and which part Grandma did?

It took him a while to get past the "are they going to leave me again" wariness, but we tried our best to help him get over it.

Daddy played basketball with him.

And I helped him try on my shoes, while I wore Daddy's shoes.

Then we each wore one of Daddy's shoes.

It's good to be home.



Our Adventures in Mexico

I don't really feel like posting too many pictures from our trip to Mexico, but here are some of my favorites.

(My one big disappointment? We somehow ended up with no good pictures of the two of us together. Such is the peril of traveling as a twosome, I suppose.)

The moment we arrived, we found these hammocks. They were suspended over an infinity pool which overlooked the ocean. It was pretty magical.

This was the view from our breakfast table the first morning we were there.

Even the lifeguard huts were beautiful

32 weeks.

 Babymoon complete.

We're almost ready for you, Baby!

Caleb's Adventures With Grandma

I don't know why I ever worried.

This child loves his "Namaw", and she loves him.

I left my little point-and-shoot camera at home with them while we were in Mexico, and found these darling little snapshots of their time together. These, plus Mom's occasional texts, helped me piece together the story of their adventures.

Feb 26, 3:55 pm

"Having fun??? All is great here. We are playing the running game.... :) Thinking about going to Target, but Caleb says he is just fine here!"

In a phone call, Mom informed us that right after dinner, Caleb ran to the garage door looking for us, saying, "Mommy? Daddy? Messico?"

Poor kid.

Feb 27, 12:49 pm

"NO WAY will you get another kid this awesome!!! (She will have to be amazing in a totally different way!) Thanks for letting me be a part of it!!!"

Feb 27, 4:00 pm

"Caleb:

"Wite. Namaw. Eight. WOW!!!"

Does Namaw ever feel special!!!"

Something tells me that Caleb really does think she's special. I'm so glad they had fun.

February 24

Sorry for the absence for the last few days - we've been busy, busy, busy preparing for our trip to Mexico! We actually leave early tomorrow morning; my mom will be staying with Caleb at our house while we're gone. The separation from Caleb + no internet access will mean no blog for the next 3+ days. Sorry!

We  tried to spend as much time as possible today snuggling with Caleb. Hopefully that will tide us over for the next few days!

Caleb and Chris got their Mother Goose fix (this is literally the 4th time we've checked this book out from the library).

Later, Caleb helped us pack. 

"Mommy. Daddy. Messico!"

Chris tried to convince me that this would work.

*sigh*

4 days without this little guy? It's going to be rough, but at least we'll be suffering in the lap of luxury. :)

Happy Birthday to me! So far, 30s are full of snuggles and exciting tropical vacations. If every year is like this, I'll take it!

February 21

We heart bank holidays.

Caleb and I both enjoyed having Chris home all day today; it was just the kind of lazy day we all needed. Caleb spent much of his day enjoying the remnants of my birthday celebration.

This morning, I found him laying on the floor between his two bears, lazily playing with a balloon.

Later, Chris and Caleb enjoyed leftover birthday cake. Of course, birthday cake (even leftover birthday cake) requires candles and singing.

He was delighted!

He tried to blow out the candles, with limited success.

 He didn't mind that Daddy helped him blow them out.

I'll be sad to send Chris off to work tomorrow, but it's only a 2-day work week for him. I'm a lucky girl!

February 20

Today we had an early birthday celebration for me.

(I turn 30 on February 24th!)

Because it involved Mexican food, chocolate, and our family, it was perfect. Even better? Caleb was ridiculously fun tonight, and I got to enjoy watching him make everyone laugh.

Our server at my favorite Mexican restaurant worked really hard to make sure we had a great time. He even brought out a little sombrero for Caleb when he saw how much Caleb liked the big one!

Caleb and I were a stylish pair!

Caleb REALLY loved the sombrero. We may have to find one for him when we're in Mexico next week!

My mom requested a photo of her three boys, but only Ryan was feeling cooperative. Caleb was skeptical of baby Max, who was busy plotting how he could get his hands on Caleb.

Aside from the sombrero, Caleb's favorite part of the night was the birthday cake and singing the birthday song. We've been preparing for this for days; he's insisted over and over that we sing the song or look at pictures of cake. When the big moment finally came, Caleb let out a "Wow!" during the middle of the song.

He was excited to help me blow out the candles.

My cake was topped with chocolate curls, with a massive chocolate slab on top of that. We had to remove the chocolate slab to cut the cake. Everyone was so focused on the cake-cutting that no one noticed Caleb was helping himself to the chocolate curls stuck to the bottom of the chocolate slab. This kid munched happily on chocolate for a solid 20 minutes, eventually even biting into the slab!

Luckily, he shared a bite of the big chocolate piece with me!

It was such a fun night.

Mostly, though, I'm so thankful for all God has given me: a loving family, a doting husband, a bright, handsome son, and another baby on the way. This is exactly what I'd always hoped 30 would look like.



February 19

All it took to wipe away yesterday's funk was an Oreo Mint Blizzard and a good night's sleep. Good thing, because today was a busy day!

Caleb got to play with Daddy all morning while I slept in, got my hair cut, and bought a swimsuit for next week's trip to Mexico. But the best part of the day?

While I was out shopping, I came across these shoes.

On clearance for $4.50.

In Caleb's size.

It was a no-brainer.

When I told Caleb I had new shoes for him, his face lit up.

When he saw them, he got even more excited.

He loved them, and couldn't wait to put them on. When I explained that I had to tie the laces in a bow before he could walk around (he's only had velcro shoes 'til now!), he said, "Tie. Bow. Walk!"

And then we went outside, in the yucky, more February-appropriate weather, to write on the patio. I was delighted by the sight of my little rocker boy, in his Converse one-stars and rock n roll hoodie.  What a cutie pie!

February 18

I'll be honest; today was as crummy as yesterday was fantastic.

Chris and I stayed up late last night to make sure the house was spotless for our showing today (a second showing! We were so excited!). I ended up only getting 6 and a half hours of sleep, and pregnant Carrie needs 9-10 hours to function pleasantly. I spent all morning cleaning, only to get a call an hour before the showing that they had cancelled. The people are looking into new construction now. :( Then Caleb was needy and demanding and whiny all afternoon, it was only 60 degrees instead of 75, and I was officially in a funk. Still am. I'm hoping some prayer, sleep, and sweets will work me out of it. We'll see.

In the meantime, this was the only time today that Caleb was delightful.

The warm weather has added to his vocabulary:

back yard

front yard

sidewalk

patio

garden

I took him out this morning to write with chalk, and of course he sat in it and made a huge mess, but he was so happy. For the rest of the day, all I heard was, "Mommy! Outside! Write! Patio! Mommy! Mommy! PATIO!"

See what I mean?

(This is actually a "Smile for the Camera" photo.)

Perhaps he'll be ambidextrous?

"Mommy write. Mommy write. MOMMY WRITE!!!!!"

Doesn't the kid understand that Mommy needs a break?

Or that Mommy is nearly 31 weeks pregnant and doesn't want to crouch/sit on the cold concrete and bend over and draw?

Tomorrow's bound to be a better day.



February 17

What a great day. Seriously. It was fantastic. It started with waking to wide open windows, which is a rare treat. When Caleb got up (earlier than he used to, but whatever. I should get used to it.), he immediately wanted to look out our bedroom window. Chris' gym bag was blocking his path, though, so Caleb said, "Help. Move. Bag." I was so impressed! It seems like this week he's been speaking in more and more rudimentary sentences, which is really exciting.

So. Sunshine. MOPS, where Caleb was friendly and sociable and delightful, and the craft I planned went over really well. More sunshine. Naps. Lots of books. Chocolate pie. Outside time. (Lots of outside time.) And then snacktime, when my cooperative, charming little man was downright adorable in the golden afternoon sunlight.

Now I can't remember why he was smiling, but this was a real smile, not a "Say cheese for the camera" smile.

This is Caleb showing us how he jumps. His feet are not in the photo because they do not leave the floor. He merely squats, then stands quickly. But he's convinced it's a jump, and he's so happy about it. Often, he'll accompany the jumping motion with the words, "Up. Down. Up down. UPDOWN."

*sigh*

Love him, and the animal cracker crumbs under his lip.

February 17

It was 75 degrees today.

In Februray.

75.

So, it was a pretty great day. In between running errands and eating and naps, we played outside as much as we could. I was really excited to take Caleb to the park for the first time since November. He loves the park! Right?

Maybe not. For the first five minutes, he clung tightly to my hand and wouldn't do anything. We headed straight for the swings, since he loves to swing.

Or not.

Apparently in the past 4 months, he has forgotten how much fun swinging is. I put him in the swing, gave him a push, and watched his little face crumple and his little hands form a death grip on the side of the swing. He started crying, "Mommy! Holdu! HOLDU!!!!!" Nothing I did or said could appease him - he wanted out. Poor kid.

Eventually we had more luck walking around the playground, peeking through the cutouts, and banging on pipes.  I don't know if it was the long gap between park visits, or the fact that it was super-crowded today, or maybe he was just out of sorts, but it just wasn't the same. 

He eventually had some fun; once we got home, he talked and talked about the park and the kids and the castle and the sailboat (there was no sailboat - not sure where that came from) and the umbrella and the slide. So hopefully next time will be better!

February 15

Last night was a busy one - I made dinner for my boys, lamb stew for my "Book Club", and then enjoyed a long evening with my "Book Club" girls. When I got home, I was too exhausted to do a blog post. But I did take pictures for you!

We're enjoying this delicious bout of unseasonably warm weather. Yesterday, Caleb was excited to hop in his stroller for a walk around the neighborhood. When we got home and I was putting away his stroller, he found his garden tools and immediately began to "dig".

He was really excited to find this little patch of lingering snow. The little yellow sand scoop was perfect for digging and flinging snow all over the place.

"Wrake! Wrake!"

(That's what it sounds like when he says "rake" - a little bit of r, a little bit of w.)

"Poke leaf. Poke poke poke."

I had to leave for "Book Club" just as my boys were getting ready for bathtime. I went upstairs to say goodnight, and was greeted at the baby gate by a stark naked Caleb, gripping this book, shouting, "Hello.... Fredbird!" Of course I had to run back down the stairs to grab my camera, but this was the best photo I could muster. I'm not sure anything is better than a naked, Cardinals-loving child.

February 14

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day at home.

We started the day with heart-shaped bread and peanut butter.

Caleb thought that was just about the coolest thing EVER.

He could hardly wait to grab it and dig in!

After breakfast (and some serious hand-wiping), he noticed the Valentine I had made for him. It was just a silly little card with a list of things that I love about him right now. I made one for him last year, too, and it seems like a fun tradition. Surprisingly, Caleb really enjoyed the card. He insisted I read it to him, and pointed out all of the hearts I had drawn on it.

What a happy boy!

Later, we ran some errands. He was an angel, and despite the fact that it was an hour before naptime, he fell asleep in the car and slept for three hours! What a great gift for me! It gave me lots of time to prep for our special Valentine's Day dinner: crabcakes (break to digest), bruschetta with goat cheese and spinach salad (break to digest/put the kid to bed), bacon-wrapped Angus filets with roasted asparagus and twice baked potatoes (break to digest/clean up/write blog post), and soon a chocolate chess pie with whipped cream, berries, and coffee. Yum.

With all that food and two handsome valentines, I'm one lucky girl!