Cute video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljw8mGojxeM

Bryan figured out how to take video and upload it onto YouTube today, woo hoo! Not sure how to directly put it onto my page, but this will take you right to it. It is Caleb putting together a puzzle, and he is so cute how he'll say "nooooo" until he puts it in the right spot. Enjoy!

More things I forgot!

I forgot a few more things about Caleb that I wanted to make sure I had written down. First of all, he calls Cooper "Bo-Bo"...not really sure why, except that he can't say "Cooper." He calls Bentley "Ben-bee." He loves to hug on both of them, and Bentley lets him, but Cooper is not a fan. He hides most of the day...:(

When we go to storytime at the library, he has the routine of things down. He knows that Ms. Kelly gets the balls out after the hello song, and will stand by the door and say "BALLS!!!" all agitated until it is time for them to come out. But, the thing is, he doesn't really care about playing with the balls for some reason, but he wants to help pick them all up when it's time. Sweet. He still LOOOOOVES the egg shakers, and will knock down anybody in his path to get to them, haha. He says, "Oh BOOOOOOY!!!!" when she gets them out.

He loves Chick-fil-a. If we go through the drive-thru he says "BOCK-BOCK!!!" or makes the cow sound when he sees the big posters of the Chick-fil-a cow. This might mean we go there too often, haha. He also loves to dip his chicken in ketchup or Polynesian sauce...and he DUNKS it in there so it's also alllll over his little fingers. For a while he would dunk it and then just suck off all the sauce, but now he'll actually eat it.

I gave him cereal w/milk in a bowl for the first time this week. He took one bite of the cereal (Kix), and proceeded to scoop out all the Kix and make a little pile of them next to his bowl. He then drank the milk by itself with his spoon. Crazy kid!!

He loves loves loves big kids. Little girls seem especially drawn to him, and want to pick him up, carry him around, lead him around, etc. So cute to see him interact with them.

He loves dried apricots...random! But Bryan takes him to the grocery a lot and they have these free samples, and B lets Caleb try whatever is out. He has LOOOVED the apricots, so we finally bought some. They take him forever to eat b/c they're so chewy...which is a good thing since he likes to cram as much as he can into his mouth and then screech MORE MORE while the food is still in his mouth. ;)

Can't remember if I said he now says "cracker" and "Elmo" (sounds like Mo-Mo). He also knows how to drag things on our iPhones...I have this puzzle app where you have to drag the animal to the correct place, and he can do it. What a world our little ones are growing up in!!

New words every day and other updates...

I am stunned with how many words Caleb is coming up with every day now. Most recently, he has put two words together: "Mama there" in response to "Where's Mama?" He also says "snowman", "rain", "go", "monkey", "more", "baby", "cracker", "door", "oval", "piece","heart", "oh boy!" and recognizes that the letter "B" is "B". He says "oh boy" anytime his is excited...it's the cutest thing ever! He looooooooves to say "bye byeeeeee" to anyone he can say it to. He is scared to death of alligators and/or crocodiles thanks to this pop up book we have where the alligator's mouth pops out...he used to think it was funny, but now he is SCARED TO DEATH of that alligator...and anytime he sees another one in another book he freaks out. We've tried to assure him that there's nothing to be scared of, but to no avail. I hope it's just a phase that he'll grow out of. He recognizes shapes and animal sounds...although he likes to tell us that a cat says "hi" instead of "meow", which he used to say. Too funny! He loves to "help" me sweep the kitchen with the broom--I need to get him a kid-sized broom because he's dangerous with that thing!! He loves anything on TV where they are singing....whenever the singing stops, he gets very agitated and signs and screeches "MORE MORE"!!! If they're not singing, he's not interested. He likes to dance to peppy songs, like "The Rainbow Song" that we first heard at story time last year...it's quite catchy! He is doing better in the nursery at church...I can't believe he's in the last room on the "baby" side...when he gets closer to 2, he'll be moved to the toddler side, boo hoo boo hoo! He loves sliding down slides, running around like a crazy man, and playing with his cars and trains. He loves his books and puzzles...it's so cute when he works a puzzle--he'll pretend to not know where the piece goes and he'll say "nooooooo......" and then he'll put it in the right spot and grin so big. Speaking of grinning, he has this hilarious cheesy grin he'll do when we take a pic of him these days.

I can't believe how big he's getting. He'll be 2 before we know it!!

Haiti on my heart

I'm sorry I haven't blogged lately (all my hundreds of readers, haha), but I just can't think of anything to write besides my heart breaking for the people, especially the precious orphans, of Haiti. Everything else seems selfish and self-centered. My little problems are nothing compared to the kinds of situations these people are in...and it is such a reminder of how RICH we ALL are in the U.S. God is really speaking to my heart about what I'm going to do about this...and sometimes I really wish He still spoke in burning bushes rather than in a still, small voice. Right now I'm just trying to take things slow and step by step, waiting on His leading and timing, but I know He is calling me to step out in faith and be obedient...which is scary stuff! Pray for me, and for us as a family as we try to follow His lead. And continue to pray for the people of Haiti, that they would run to God and let Him comfort them in this time of such great sorrow. I just want to be down there, rocking the babies and telling them it's all going to be okay...

Haiti

I am so heartbroken about Haiti that I really am at a loss for words about it. A couple that I know from church/a mission trip I went on to Northern Ireland are there right now...they were there on a mission trip when the earthquake happened. They are fine, thank goodness, and I don't know anyone else there, but our church supports many people who ARE there...Haiti is very close to Southland's heart. I am absolutely sickened by "Christians" who are claiming that the people of Haiti "deserved" this tragedy...I hope that none of my non-Christian friends will ever lump me in the group of people who feel that way. Do they not remember the story Jesus told the people who were asking him about the blind man..."who sinned, him or his parents?" and Jesus says, "Neither, but it is so the Son of Man will be glorified." Tragedy is not a punishment for sin, but a reminder of our own fragility and COMMANDMENT to take care of the poor and needy. I am very grateful that the government is sending help, but it is truly the Church's responsibility, not the government's. Jon (our pastor) has said that he will be discussing what we will be doing as a church to help this weekend, and I am on pins and needles waiting to see what exactly that is going to be...I feel so incredibly helpless, and I know Bryan does as well. Jon has been blogging about everything, here is the link if you are interested.

http://www.southlandchristian.org/jonweece/

What he's saying/doing these days

I was just thinking, I haven't posted the new things Caleb is saying/doing now that he's 18 months old! He says a LOT of words...the newer ones being: turtle, door, more, no, snow (sounds like "no"), brrrr (when it's cold), hot, bowl, the siren noise a firetruck makes, and more I can't think of at the moment! He imitates everything, it is so cute.

He is in love with SteveSongs on PBS...we don't let him watch much TV at all, and he doesn't seem all that interested anyway, but he always stops what he's doing when Steve comes on, so we play the videos for him on YouTube and he LOVES it. He'll follow along with the dancing movements and is actually learning new words and things from the songs. I highly recommend him!! Bryan jokes that I have a crush on Steve, haha.

He will answer you with yes or no now. He doesn't say "yes" but he'll nod. It's fun to be able to see his preferences for things.

He's in a mommy phase right now. Poor Bryan, but I know it's just a phase.

That's what I can think of at the moment!

18 month stats

We went today for Caleb's 18 month appointment! Here are his stats:

Weight: 26.10 60th percentile

Height: 34 1/4 92nd percentile

Head: 51 cm >95th percentile

He had one big head, LOL! I am hoping that off the charts head is holding a brain that will get him a scholarship one day! :)

He did very well, but I have to share an embarrassing/funny story that happened while there. The doc and I were talking (towards what would be the end of the appt.) and Caleb throws his sippy cup down. When he does this at home, we say, "Bye bye sippy (or paci, or whatever)!" because we're not going to pick it up for him. So he threw it and I said, "say bye-bye!" and the poor doc was like, "Ok, well, he's due back in July, see you then..." and I was like, NO, I didn't mean bye-bye to YOU, we were saying it to the sippy...*turns bright red*...anyway, it was super awkward and I felt like a huge dork. Sigh. Let's hope we don't have to see him until July so he can forget how I cut him off mid-sentence to say bye bye to him.

Other than that, he said Caleb looked great and right on track for his age. Time to really get consistent about discipline, which is tough at this age!

New hairdo!

Got my hair done yesterday! Got some blond highlights, more defined bangs, and the dead ends cut off...I'm liking the length and didn't want to go too short. I LOVE my hairdresser but I hadn't gone to him in a LONG time. I feel like a new woman! :)

Snow Day!

We were so excited to actually get some snow today! Caleb had so much fun playing in it. We sledded on my sled from when I was little in our front yard and also at a local elementary school that has great hills. So fun!!!

"Me too" vows

We said these at church on Sunday. Good stuff.

With God’s help I want to love others in the name of Jesus. I want to love my family and friends with a selfless love that focuses more on meeting their needs than my own.

With God’s help I want to serve the poor the way Jesus did. I want to be attentive to the needs of others, filled with more compassion and courage. I want to sacrifice my time, talent, and treasures with joyful generosity.

With God’s help I want to enjoy life at a manageable pace. I want to talk less and listen more. I want to be an encouragement to those I come in contact with and carve out more time for meaningful conversation.

With God’s help I want to grow in my understanding of the Bible. I want to know Jesus personally, deeply, and reflect more on his crucifixion and resurrection and the implications of those two realities in my daily life.

With God’s help I want to learn how to pray. I want to talk to God with honesty and humility. I want to be more focused on gratitude than personal gain.

With God’s help I want to heal from past pain and learn to live a life free of guilt and shame. I want to have victory over the sin that has robbed me of the freedom that Jesus died to give me.

With God’s help I want to believe that I am who he says I am, replacing my insecurities for the security of his love and grace and acceptance.

With God’s help I want to take a risk in 2010 and live by faith and not by sight.

Resolutions...

Ok, so, I figured that if I write out my resolutions, there will be more of a chance that I will stick to them than if I don't. So what better place than my blog? Here we go.

1. Take more risks-trust God more. This is what the message was all about this morning at church. The safest thing we can do in our relationship with God is to take a risk...so I am praying, Lord, what risky thing do you want me to do this year? I know part of it has to do with trusting Him with our finances and not being afraid to give big. I know another part of it has to do with the new downtown campus of Southland that will be hopefully starting this year and being a part of that. I also need to be praying about who I can love radically this year. Risks are definitely scary, but I know the benefits will outweigh the fear. Can't wait!

2. Establish and keep a regular time with God. I want to journal more. I want to read my Bible more. I NEED to, to be the best mom and wife I can be. Trying to do it without these things is just pointless, and this one area affects every other area of my life...how I love others, how I respond to Bryan or Caleb in stressful situations, my mindset about a million things, etc.

3. Eat healthier, exercise more. I have a seriously hard time with the exercising thing when the weather is so cold out, and we can't afford a gym membership right now, so I'm not quite sure how to go about that. Maybe doing the 30 day shred again. Also, we've been soooo bad with the holiday cooking and baking here lately-need to get back on track with that one. I am hoping to grow our family this year (TEE HEE!!!!) and I know that the healthier I am, the better for everyone involved.

Those are the 3 biggies I am praying about at the moment...

The past 10 years

Another blogger friend of mine, Alyssa, did this kind of post, and I am going to do it too!! A lot has happened in the past decade, and I thought I'd list them in order!!

1. Graduated from college (May 2001)

2. Got my first teaching job and somehow survived that terrible year (Sept. 2001)

3. Got my WONDERFUL teaching job at LCA (June 2002)

4. Got married (Dec 2002)

5. Bought a house (Jan. 2004)

6. Got divorced (Fall 2005)

7. Got baptized at Southland (Sept 11, 2005)

8. Started dating Bryan (Dec. 23, 2005)

9. Got engaged (June 2006)

10. Got married (Oct 2, 2006)

11. Rescued our dog Bentley (Nov 2006)

12. Rescued our dog Cooper (Summer 2007)

13. Saw my brother get married (May 2008)

14. Gave birth to Caleb (July 8, 2008)

15. Turned 30 (Sept 2009)

16. Bought our first home (Oct 2009)

Whew, what a decade. There are definitely things about the first half of the past decade that I sometimes wish I had never done or experienced...but I am so, so thankful that God saw me through all the hardships and pain, and has MORE than blessed me in the second half of the decade...much like Job! I think that if I hadn't experienced the bad, I wouldn't appreciate the good. I can't wait to see where this next decade will take us!!! I am hoping to grow our family more, see Bryan get his Bachelor's in Nursing and then become a Nurse Practitioner, see my children enter elementary school, teach again, see Southland expand their campuses to downtown Lex and be a part of that, and buy our "forever" home. I am sure there will be painful experiences in this next decade, but I know that God will hold me when those times come, and celebrate during the wonderful times. Here's to the next decade!!