YUCK!

Not sure if it had to do with being out in the windy pollen-filled Spring air, but Levi's eye infection has returned with a vengeance. Poor guy... we toted him around all day to Firehouse subs, to Lowes to buy paint for the back porch, and to Target. I practically tossed him in bed when we got home and when he got up his eyes were puffy, red, and goopy. We did the eye drops for 8 days, but Caleb's also relapsed last week, so I guess we are going through this one more time (sigh). On top of that his two bottom teeth are still coming in. They have been coming in for a month... they are SO slow!

Farm fun

Sunday we went to our friend Grayson's birthday party at a petting zoo/farm. Caleb wasn't too keen on the animals... he could take them or leave them, but he loved the hayride, train ride, bounce house, and playground. It was extremely windy, and poor Levi looked like he was thinking, "You guys call this fun?!"

From March 2011

From March 2011

From March 2011

From March 2011

10 years

10 years. A decade. Wow. There were lots of things I imagined I'd do on this anniversary. One of which was renew our vows. Thing is, it seems like yesterday that we said them. I'm a little scared at how fast my life really will go by. If this is 10 years, and I'm only probably going to get about 6 more sets of those... better try to capture every moment of them.
Joe and I won a night at the Gaylord Texan last spring. It was really nice to get away for a little while. I am still nursing Levi, so it was pretty brief. We had a nice Italian dinner, hung out at a restaurant on Lake Grapevine while the sun set, found some yummy dessert to take back to the room, wandered the grounds of the atrium, (edit) and ended with some great Alias-watching/dessert eating! Joe would have been happy to skip the late-night mad dash to the Sundry store (before closing) to grab me some contact solution, but that's what great hubby's do, without complaint.
10 years: Our $6 apartment, Joe being a meter reader in Arkansas, moving to Birmingham without jobs knowing only 2 people, our wonderful church at Hoover, buying our 1st car (2001 Ford Focus), working at AmSouth bank together, joining the USAF, moving to Pensacola, watching him fly USAF trainers, Blue Angels practicing over our house every week, moving to CA, trips to somewhere cool every weekend in CA, Monterrey Beach, Pebble Beach, moving to North Dakota, blizzards, your new "Eskimo" look in your gov't issed parka, plugging in our cars, grilling outdoors in the snow... in April, calling you in the missile launch facility (just because I could), working with the teens in Minot, trips to Canada, driving 8 hours to buy a car in Minneapolis, having Caleb so early/so scary, living with mom and dad and Papaw, finding our amazing church/friends at NYA, buying our first house, having Levi without the scary, discovering a new career field and trying to get into Occupational Therapy school... all of it... priceless.
I am so blessed to have found a man with so many wonderful qualities. Sure, we are in a rough spot right now with career transitioning, but we were never promised things would always be peachy. I distinctly remember the part about "For better or for worse", and what's funny is, even though these last couple years could be called "worse" we've had lots of the "better". I love you Joe. Thanks for 10 amazing years, and here's to many more... Love you, Kelly

From March 2011

P.S. Sign that maybe we are watching a little too much Alias: we saw someone left a purse on a trash can at night as we were walking around the grounds. I told Joe I should take it to the front, and he said, "What? There could be a bomb in there!" I laughed at him, but I sure didn't go get it.. just let the desk people know where it was... because, what if?!?!

Has it really been a month..?

I'm sure it has. I know the reason I have neglected to post on here is because I have been consumed with praying for/talking about/etc. Joe getting into OT school. We haven't had any great news, only that he was waitlisted at UTMB in Galveston, so I haven't felt like posting anything. But I guess I will catch up really.
So Caleb learned how to mop, which has been helpful, to a degree. Hey, it's better than nothing, which is how I tend to let it get lately.

From March 2011

Then we had our ladies retreat. It was a blast, and Joe kept the boys. Then Caleb came down with pink eye, and although we got him on antibiotics quickly, we didn't use them more than 5 days, so it came back, and Levi got it. Lovely.
Then Spring Break! YEA! We did lots of fun things: zoo, 6 Flags, auto show in Fort Worth (I will never understand how it can be so thrilling for a male to sit in cars and trucks. Caleb was like a kid in a candy shop... he has already asked when we can go back.)

From March 2011

From March 2011

From March 2011

From March 2011

From March 2011

Levi is becoming almost mobile. He gets to his knees, pulls up on things, and flips all around/scoots. He is still not crawling, not even army, although he finds it hilarious when I put him in crawl position and move his arms forward to "make" him crawl. He is babbling all the time: m, dada, baba, baibai. He is also waving (sort of). And quickly growing tired of baby food.

Table food! YUM!

Levi had his first real meal of table food. He ate pieces of carrot, roast (a tiny piece), mashed potatoes, apple juice, and squash/zucchini (that was baby food). He loved it! He didn't get choked, so that was a good sign. He clapped when he was done. I had him say "all done", and he said "da. da." So smart.

My niece Mia came over for a little while today. She and Caleb had a blast riding around in his jeep. She kept saying "Iwageko", and she finally went and got Caleb's blue lizard... "I want gecko." She is so fun and we were sad to see her leave.

Funny Caleb story, he told Joe the other day, when they were watching Backyardigans, "That's Pablo. He's a blue penguin. He doesn't wear any clothes." And yesterday, we saw a guy out running without his shirt on. Caleb said, "Look Mom, that guy doesn't have a shirt on." I said, "I saw, Honey, but people shouldn't go around without their clothes on. God didn't make our bodies so everyone could see them like that." He said, "Yes, because if people see that, they will be frustrating."

My silly boys

Levi learned to clap today!! I don't have a pic because of course he would not cooperate when I had the camera, but he did it several times today. We didn't do too much today, but Caleb did ride his lizards around in the jeep while we went on a lizard hunt. I took a picture because he reminded them to wear their seatbelts because "safety is important". Oh, and I took the other picture on Sunday when he insisted on wearing his shirt backwards. Not an unusual thing for him, since he has worn his underwear backwards since he started wearing them last fall!! Caleb gave me a bracelet he made a school today for Valentine's Day. He said it was a heart, and I love it. He told me I could put it in my bracelet drawer (which he secretly covets for his own).

From valentine

From valentine

From valentine

I had to take these because Caleb was cracking me up trying to "drive" his little coupe around. He can barely get in it, much less shuffle his feet along to move it. Don't let his expression fool you, he was having a blast in the car, he just didn't want me taking his picture. Proof that one is never too big for a Little Tykes Coupe!!

From valentine

From valentine

Happy Valentines Day

From valentine

I remembered this morning that today was Valentines day and I just barely thought to get Caleb something.. of course I forgot to get something for Joe or anyone else. Barely remembered valentine cards for CJ's class on Tues. Those of you who know me well are not surprised by this, since I am one of the least sentimental people I know. Caleb brought me a flower (dandelion picked from the backyard), which he later told me he gave to Daddy, who suggested he give it to me for Valentine's Day. Caleb got a couple of cards with some money, and we finally got him the lizards he wanted from the Zoo (that he reminds me every week Santa forgot to bring him), so he was pretty thrilled. He told me he didn't want to leave them outside though because something might want to eat them. To him, they are real, and there is no amount of explaining that plastic toys are not real which will convince him. Stinking Toy Story.
A note about Levi. He has a virus and a cold, but no Strep or pneumonia or anything, even though he sounds awful. He is in the 5th percentile for head, 10th%ile for weight, and 75th%ile for height. Yep, what I figured. Developmentally on target, but Doc wants me to lose the walker so he will actually make an effort to crawl. Thing is, he loves it, and Doc doesn't have to hear him complain... so maybe it will hang around a little while longer. He is so funny to watch, scooting all over following me around in the kitchen!

From valentine

From valentine

From valentine

Sick babies

Sunday has not been fun, like it was supposed to be. We had a blast eating lunch with friends, but I hope we didn't get them all sick! We were supposed to have a baby shower, Bible Bowl practice, and a going away party for some friends...but...Levi had a fever of 102ish and Caleb has a constantly runny nose/cough. I am afraid we may be dealing with Strep throat. Joe also had a sore throat/aches. I was a little achy with a slight fever. I was supposed to take Levi to the Dr. for his 9 month well baby. So now I guess we will see if they want to see him for a sick visit instead. I HOPE it's gone by morning.
Oh, and I just realized I never posted this. I think we heard Thurs, and we were so busy. Joe got an interview for the Occupational Therapy program with University of Texas Medical Branch!! It is scheduled for March 4. We are SO excited!!! He was on a waiting list last year after he had an interview for their second round (we missed the deadline for first round last year). But this year we are in the first round and REALLY pumped. Yay, Joe!!

From valentine

From valentine

Leadership class

I neglected to post Thursday night, I guess because we got back late and just went to bed. Joe and I had a graduation dinner in honor of two wonderful groups of people who completed a leadership training class under our preacher at New York Avenue Church of Christ. Really, Joe did so much more than I did. He made visits with Bill 2 times each month and had 2 early breakfasts each month, in addition to what we ladies did. We all read about 1 book per month and discussed/wrote about it. He often wrote lessons. We all met with our groups for about 3 hours once per month. We learned so much, and we will always be grateful for the opportunity to be taught how to lead and teach others' in the Lord's Kingdom. The course helped us with our own marriage relationship, family relationships, and relationships with others. We made valuable friendships that we will always hold dear. Thank you, Bill, ladies, and men, for the wonderful experience we shared. We love you all!
P.S. I curled my hair all over... took me about 2 hours total, I think, if you count the first time this morning and the second time before we left. I told my friend I would post pics... now I want to see her straighten hers. It was really fun. Made me think about getting a perm!

From valentine

From valentine

Future gymnast?

Caleb had his first taste of gymnastics today at a birthday party for his good friend, Rachel. He had a total blast. I wish we could get him in for lessons to burn some energy, but they aren't cheap! He loved the rope swing and the big foam blocks. He said he did the balance beam, but I never saw.

From valentine

From valentine

From valentine

From valentine

Bouncing is what my boys do best!

I took Caleb (and Levi) to the Bounce house place in the mall today to meet with some friends. Even though it is loud in there because of all the blowing air, it is SO great. They can just run from place to place without being told to slow down, watch out, be careful, etc. Although we do have to remind not to punch, which it difficult when there is a boxing inflatable. Caleb ran and jumped for about an hour, downed 11 chicken nuggets, some fries, and a lemonade, and was good to go for another hour. He will probably start growing feathers soon. They were all so cute walking from the inflatables to the food court. A long line of boys + Emmy holding hands. So cute that I was busy taking pictures and not realizing I was following them right into the boys bathroom. Oops! Luckily, my friend caught me right before I stepped in and I got the boys to come with me to the girls bathroom, where it was a race to see who could get finished going to the bathroom and washing hands the fastest. And then the blow dryer fun. How boys can make anything and everything a competition and a form of entertainment is beyond me! Caleb already has a big day planned for us tomorrow. He told Joe and I that we needed to get ready, because #14 (a car he has) told him tomorrow it's "going to be the big race" before Rachel's Birthday party. And if we want to watch from the couch we can, or if we want to watch from the chair, we can. Thanks for the permission. Where does he get his administrative genes???

From valentine

From valentine

Game time

I am proud to say that Caleb FINALLY learned to play a game. By the rules. And not just any game like Candyland or Barnyard Bingo, which of course he could play, but just wouldn't agree to take turns, count correctly, leave other people's tokens alone, etc. So today we broke out the Skip-Bo Junior and he was patient enough for me to teach the game, and we played 3 hands in a row before he wanted to move on to something else. And another thing... he actually agreed that I won a hand (gasp!). I pretty much nearly fainted.
Talking with him today, we discussed that it was his friend Rachel's 4th birthday. He said, "Great! Now she can be on my team!" Apparently, he has "teams" for everything and nothing at all. I have no idea where he gets this competitive nature from ;-/
Oh, one other small milestone. I let Levi have short halves of green beans tonight, and he was finally quiet for most of the meal. Not totally sure that is appropriate for an 8 month old, but I watched him closely for signs of aspiration and didn't see any. He is getting pretty good at using the pincher grip to get food off the tray. He is such a momma's boy. Any time I get him he stops fussing and starts sucking his thumb. Caleb was always content as long as someone had him, but not this guy. He wants ME...ditto.

Finally, a day without snow

Caleb was pretty surprised it all melted today, except for our snowman. I told him the little guy must like us a lot to stick around after all the other snow was gone. All of a sudden he had a much greater affinity for him. We got out around lunch time today and ran a couple errands, mostly looking for Caleb some new jeans, since he still wears holes in the right knee. Yup, only the right knee. That is the one he "scoots" on while he plays cars and trains. Caleb informed us at Chick-Fil-A that he didn't want to play in the playplace because it was too loud (huh??), but he was more than happy to sit and eat his ice cream (in place of a toy --love that!)... for 20 minutes. Sheesh. We had time to run in Ross and I found 3 pairs of jeans for $5.50 and $6.50 each! I guess it was a successful mission. I ran to make a couple visits while the boys had quiet time. When I got home, I threw together some delicious (if not loaded with sodium) chicken and rice soup. Well, Joe and I thought it was delicious. Caleb spent an entire hour trying to figure out exactly how much of the bowl he had to eat to earn his dessert. He did eventually eat most of the bowl, even though it was stone cold. Now, off to bed to read a little and be excited for worship with my family tomorrow!

SNOW!!

So after breakfast, we played trains and went "camping" again. The kid can't WAIT until our Spring camping trip with the church! After lunch, I did a little laundry and cleaned up a bit, then we went outside and enjoyed the snow!!! It was snowing off and on all morning but by afternoon it was gorgeous. I really wanted to make a snowman, which I always forget is much harder than it looks. Joe called him "mini-me". Caleb reluctantly helped decorate him, but he was much more interested in pelting us with snowballs as we attempted our masterpiece.
Eventually, Joe gave up for awhile and hauled his huge piece around as if he was going to chunk it at Caleb.
Our finished product. Levi was wondering what all the fuss was about. I let him hold some snow, and he didn't even try to eat it. Weird, since Caleb couldn't stop licking it! The album has pics of Levi in the snow. Caleb did try driving his jeep through the snow, which worked for a little while. Eventually, we came in and Joe made homemade hot chocolate. Like Polar Express hot chocolate. Caleb and I then made homemade chocolate chip cookies. I was so proud I let him help with every step and we were both still alive afterward. Then we ate pizza, watched Fly Me to the Moon, and ate WAY too many cookies with milk. Yum. A pretty spectacular day, I'll say.
He

click on the image below to visit the entire album

snow

Winter weather day #3

We braved the potentially icy roads to drive about 1 mile to our friend Amber's house. We had Joe drive us because I was afraid it would be Caleb played with his friends, Emmy, Amiya and Bubba. Pretty much all he did the entire day was ride on Emmy's indoor ATV, which he was completely thrilled with. Levi also had a blast watching kids run through the living room and back again. Amber and I had a great time using up all our 25,000 words for the day, and our husbands were pleasantly surprised that we didn't have much to say to them for the rest of the night! I even had time to cook a chicken pot pie for dinner. Roads are supposed to be icy still on Friday. Seriously?!?! We didn't have this much of a problem with weather in North Dakota after a blizzard!! Apparently, Texas are against using salt to melt ice. I just feel bad for all the Packers/Steelers fans who came all this way to sit in their hotel rooms. Bummer...

More winter weather days...

Another day of creative fun at home!! We spent the morning going camping by the fireplace. While we were gathering our camp food, Caleb announced that his fish must have leprosy, because it had a gold coin in its mouth.... at least the fish did have spots?!?

From train books of bible

Second half of the morning we spent redesigning the train track, which would be much easier if Caleb didn't think it was a contest to see who could get the most pieces put down as quickly as possible. But at least he has a good time. Levi has a great time supervising all the chaos.

From train books of bible

Caleb was invited over to the neighbor's house this afternoon and had a great time. Of all the days, today he wanted ice cream for dessert... on the coldest day of the year. And when he came home today, he requested a snowflake cookie for dessert, as if we have those lying around. Luckily, I had some break and bake sugar cookies, so I made a snowflake out of two cookies and he got to ice and sprinkle it, which was again his favorite thing of the day!
Tonight we had our own little devotional since worship was canceled at the building. We sang all his favorites, read a Bible story, and said prayers. Caleb keeps praying for the ice to get cleaned up so Mommy can go back to work and make money so we can buy the things we need. By "need", he means his most recent requests: a toy from Cracker Barrel and two lizards from the zoo, which he reminded me that Santa and Granna neglected to bring him. Guess we need to keep working on being grateful instead of greedy

Winter Storm day

We had a winter storm hit on Monday night. So I knew I would have to think of something fun to do with preschool canceled. So we had some neighbor friends come play (inside!) for the entire afternoon. We made sugar cookies complete with icing and sprinkles, which Caleb later said was the best part of the day. We had a great time, but there is a reason I will have no more than 4 kids (on purpose)!! We took Levi outside for just a minute to say he his first "snow" experience. He was slightly less than thrilled.

General Motors Plant Tour

Caleb, Levi and I met my mom, my friend Angela, her son and mother at the General Motors Plant in Arlington for a tour of the factory. They said Levi was the youngest one they had, so far! The workers were so friendly and happy to have us. We waited about 2 hours to ride the tram tour, but I had to leave for work before we got to ride. Luckily, Mom was able to continue with Caleb. They rode the tram 2x (since the workers were on break the first time around), drove radio controlled race cars, test drove a Chevy Camaro and Chevy Equinox, and sat in a real race car! He was pretty psyched about it all!!
I thought we might all go again later (they are only doing it this week due to the Superbowl), but with the ice storm, it's been impossible.

Sick day

Caleb had a fever today. That slowed him down for about 2 hours this morning, until the Tylenol kicked in. At lunch, which he ate around 3pm, I thought again (for about the 100th time) about how boys are so different than girls. When I was little, mom said "don't play with your food", which usually meant "don't mess around and actually eat the food on your plate". But for boys, at least my son, that saying REALLY means "don't use your food as a plaything". This would include bridges, airplanes, trains, cars, weapons of any type, etc. And yet, for some unexplainable reason, he always thinks I will be amazed by whatever new trick he has thought of to do with his food and/or utensils. Of course, this pretty much applies to any new trick he has uncovered, not just at the dinner table. At the moment, most of them have to do with jumping. "Look how high I can jump today", "Look how I can jump from the couch to the ottoman", "Look how far I can jump over these tiles in the kitchen"... now, if only he can use those jumping skills into the pool this summer instead of just stepping off the side. Seriously though, he has learned to say "Mom, watch this!", instead of naming the specific feat he is about to accomplish for fear that I will nix the idea before he can complete it. Sneaky. Now I find myself holding my breath every time I hear that phrase! Oh, besides jumping, it is often some new way of balancing his dinner objects on the way to the sink. So he has now also mastered how to use the dustbuster. I could tell he was feeling better when the usual question popped up again..."Mommy, will you play with me?"

Our Family

The first picture Caleb drew about 2 weeks ago. He was supposed to draw a picture of our family. He says Daddy is the one in blue. I asked where I was and he replied, "Hmmm. I don't know. You can be the heart." I guess that is probably exactly what I want to be.

So tonight, I had him draw another picture of our family. I just had to help him with the order. Ex. Draw a circle, now two legs, now two arms, etc. I would always say eyes, nose, mouth, in that order. On mine, after I said nose, he said, "and then the sharp teeth, right?" Guess I must have lost my position as the heart if I now have fangs. In case you are wondering, Joe is in the middle, then me on the left, Levi on the right, and Caleb at the bottom. There is another circle at the very bottom (no, I'm not pregnant, unless he knows something I don't)... Caleb just said it was "too wow" (too low).