Happy birthday Caleb!!

Can someone please tell me how it is possible that our baby boy is now a year old?! It seems just yesterday we were checking into the hospital for an induction (we joke that we had to evict him or he'd never have come out) and then bringing him home and he was a little snuggle bug on my chest. Now he is a rambunctious, happy, handsome, noisy, breath-holding little toddler!

He has a great appetite and loves table foods...mostly wants to eat whatever we have on our plates. He still sleeps on his face but sleeps through the night on his own most of the time. He loves board books and pushing cars & trucks around on the floor. We truly thought he'd be walking by now, since he's been crawling since about 6 months old...but he's not. He cruises like a champ but he'd really rather just put his head down and crawl really fast to get wherever he wants to go...mostly to keep up with big sister!

We had a very low-key first birthday...just the four of us, some cake, and some presents.

And then a bath. :P

We had a Cars birthday cake...even though he's never seen the movie.  Well, he's never seen any movies, so...we just picked it 'cause it was a boy theme. :)

Waiting for cake!

Happy birthday to Caleb!

Mmmmmm, cake!

He wasn't a big fan of the icing...mostly pushed it around to get to the cake. Which he devoured!

Present time! Unlike at Christmas, he actually knew how to rip the paper and get to the good stuff. :) 

Olivia wanted to give Caleb a "Build-A-Bear" for his birthday. She has one, "Patches," that I made while pregnant with her, and she wanted to be sure Caleb had a "Patches" too. His bear looks very different from hers but that's probably a good thing! He loved it!

So sweet!

We love you, Buddy Bear. You are a ray of sunshine, a trial of patience, a joyful noise in our lives. We are so thankful that God blessed our family with you. It is amazing to see your personality develop day by day, and we look forward to watching you grow into a terrifying toddler, a messy little boy, and an adventurous young man.

A Day at the Park

Yesterday was a lovely day today in Austin...79 degrees and partly cloudy. After church we couldn't resist taking advantage and having some awesome family time at the playground!

We had a lot of fun playing and running and climbing. We are so blessed!

Fun on the slide! On a side note, I have a picture of her in almost the same pose, from when she was almost 2...

CUTE!

Caleb had some fun on the slide, too...until he turned over and started to slide down by himself...

Silly girl

I'm gonna get you!

Swinging time

Daddy and Caleb

Daddy and Olivia!

Mommy's turn!

Smiling boy.

Time to go!

We had so much fun. Hard to believe it's January around here!

Caleb at 9 months!

I can't believe our baby boy is 9 months old already! He's growing so fast. He's such a handsome boy...

Here he is, all dressed up for church. My little preppy boy. ;)

It's as if he's saying, "why can't I reach it? Get it!"

He's very good at standing now, if he has something to hold on to. He "cruises" (walking while holding on) very well! We keep finding him walking along the walls, holding on. He can get from one end of the room to the other in no time flat, even without crawling. I keep expecting him to let go and just walk on his own but...not yet!

We went for a walk the other day and decided that Caleb needed a hat...he looked so cute! I should have taken a picture of him in the stroller with the hat on, because it blew away the other day and now we need to find a new one...

Caleb's likes:

playing with Olivia

chasing toy cars across the floor

knocking down blocks...or anything else stacked up

Food! as long as there isn't meat in it - makes him gag.

looking at his board books - he can turn the pages by himself now

Caleb's dislikes:

doors that are shut

not eating when we're eating

We love you, Buddy Bear. You have brought us so much joy in the short 9 months you've been here. It's amazing to watch you grow so fast and to learn so much. You are teaching us patience all over again, in new ways. 

Caleb - 6 months!

Okay, so I'm a day behind...but I also missed posting pictures from the last few months so...I guess a day isn't going to matter much.

I can't believe our baby boy is half a year old! Where has the time gone? I look at older pictures of him and can't believe how big he is now...

First week home - our little stink bug

6 months! Such a big boy. He had his 6 month checkup (with four shots, OUCH!) and he weighs 17lb 11oz now. Olivia weighed about 18lbs when she was a year old...

Calebs Likes at 6 months:

-playing with Olivia

-reading (okay, eating) books

-talking/squealing

-baby foods!

Caleb's Dislikes at 6 months:

-being by himself

-riding too long in the car

...that's about it! he's a very happy, mellow baby.

 

What Caleb's Doing at 6 months:

-crawling!

-sitting by himself

-babbling

-sleeping through the night (mostly. Finally!)

 We love you, Buddy Bear! You're growing too fast but we're so thankful to be a part of it.

Caleb - 3 months!

My how time flies! I can't believe our baby boy is 3 months old already! He's growing so fast. Such a happy, mellow child. He's sleeping through the night already, which is awesome! He is doing much better at daycare - we found a bottle he likes so he's eating better, and he's doing lots of fun things every day! He has lots of fun doing tummy time...

Especially in front of the mirror:

Who is that handsome guy? That's my friend! :)

He is doing so well with head control now - even gets to sit in the Bumbo chair at times! 

(Yes, it is a purple Bumbo chair. It was Olivia's, like 90% of his stuff...at least he has boy clothes! Look, there's a truck on his shirt!)

Caleb smiles all the time now, and is starting to "talk" more to us. He gets distracted by brightly colored things and still loves to watch the ceiling fans.

Caleb's Likes:

-talking to Daddy

-his lions

-playing in the baby gym

-sucking on Mommy's shoulder

-when Olivia reads to him

Caleb's Dislikes:

-being put down

-riding in the car!

We love you!

Caleb - 2 months!

Our sweet snuggle bug...cannot believe he is 2 months old already! He has grown so fast, and changed our lives even faster. Life with two kids is definitely harder but definitely worth the effort.

Caleb is so different from Olivia at that age: calm while she was noisy, big while she was tiny. For two babies that look so much alike (see last post!) they have very different personalities so far.

Caleb's likes:

-sleeping on someone's chest

-his legs swaddled

-playing with his hanging lion & frog in the bouncy chair

-watching his mobile in his crib

-sleeping in his swing

-Olivia to play with him (but not with her hair in his face)

-breastfeeding

Caleb's dislikes:

-RIDING IN THE CAR 

-daycare

-drinking from a bottle

Caleb has his own room now, decorated in a jungle theme. He loves to watch his mobile or stare at the monkey decal on the wall. He sleeps in his crib every night because he outgrew the bassinet already. He wakes up once during the night and once in the early mornings to eat, which is pretty good!

We love you, sweet boy. 

Snuggle bug. 

Monkey #2. 

Little Man. 

Buddy bear.

:)

Two peas in a pod

From day one, we have been amazed at how much Caleb resembles Olivia...it's like they are twins but 4 years apart! There are several pictures that highlight this, and we're glad that the outfits in them give a clue to gender because otherwise in 20 years it may be hard to tell who is who!

Olivia's birth announcement photo

Caleb's birth announcement photo

Olivia looking over Daddy's shoulder

Caleb looking over Daddy's shoulder

Olivia smiling for Mommy

Caleb smiling for Mommy

Am I right? The resemblance is amazing. Except for the eyes. Olivia's were always a hazely-brown (now pure brown) and Caleb's are a definite blue-grey.

And simply because I cannot resist...a few extra pictures of the two of them, now:

So, so sweet! I have several of these poses and I love them!

Olivia is very good with him. And he loves looking at his big sister when she stays still long enough for him to focus on her.

Playing together

Caleb getting manhandled by his feisty sister

Up next...Caleb at 2 months! :) Stay tuned.