Friends, Foals, and Tractors

This weekend we had a good time visiting with friends. Nathan had his second to last day of school this Saturday...whoo hoo, and that afternoon we visited our good friends Jason, Megan, and their son Ben who is almost 3. Ben has gotten so big since we last saw him and he has turned into such a sweet and well-mannered little boy. He shared his toys so nicely with Caleb, and they had fun playing together. We had dinner at their house, took a trip to the playground, and enjoyed some ice cream. Caleb was pooped by the time we left! Jason and Megan were so kind to give us lots of clothes, toys, and a carseat  that Ben outgrew. We are so appreciative for the baby stuff. We had such a good time catching up during the evening that I forgot all about my camera in the diaper bag and did not get a single picture!

On Sunday, our neighbors Matt and Michelle took us to Michelle's dad's farm. Michelle has been wanting to take us for a while, and recently one of the horses had a foal, so it was an extra bonus. It's a beautiful farm about 20 minutes from our house and the barn was full of horses.

Caleb liked the horses and dogs running around, but when we got inside the stable to see the foal he was a little unsure of them. Ironman is 3 months old, and he was so adorable. He and his mom are still stabled together, and they are supposed to separate soon. It was so sweet to see the mom with her baby horse, I imagine it is an adjustment for both mom and baby to make the separation.

After visiting the stable, we headed out to the tractors. I think little boys are genetically wired to like tractors and trucks. This little boy sure did!

And of course his favorite part of most activities is playing in the dirt...

Let's just say it was not wise for mom to wear a white shirt to the farm...

Caleb made a couple of new friends

After a fun afternoon at the farm, we ate delicious Mexican food on the way home. Thanks Matt and Michelle for the fun Sunday!

Children's Museum with Auntie Marissa

This weekend, Caleb and I met Marissa for the day in Baltimore. It rained all day, so we had a mostly indoor day. Baltimore has a great Children's Museum, and it was Caleb (and our) first trip to one. The museum has multiple floors of hands-on exhibits for kids of all ages...even kids in their 30's -:). For the little ones, they had a neat area of water themed exhibits, mountain/trails, and trains. Caleb had fun crawling all over the toys and watching the other kids. I had my zoom lens with me so I did not get a lot of good pictures, but here is one of Caleb playing on the trains.

After the museum, we had lunch and walked around.  Caleb was a little off sorts after the museum, maybe it was all the excitement, and while he napped Marissa and I found a nice cafe to get dessert and reminisce and laugh about things. I love that laughing with good friends never gets old, no matter how much time lapses between visits. Thank you Marissa for the fun day and being the wonderful friend you are. I love you! Next time we will bring our awesome midwest hubbies. It is fun to get them together and hear stories about how they grew up. Marissa and I always joke about how two Florida best friends go so lucky to find our sweet midwest husbands.

One year checkup....and loving food!

Earlier this week, Caleb had his one year well checkup. He is a little guy, but doc said he is growing great. Don't let his size fool you, he eats like a kid twice his size and is on the go, go, go till he crashes for a nap or bed. Here are his stats at one year:

Weight: 17lbs 1.75oz - less than 5th percentile

Height: 28.5 inches - 15th percentile

Head: 50th percentile

We are so thankful for our healthy and fun one year old!

Birthday week with Grandpa Art and Grandma Sue

After celebrating Caleb's first birthday party with both sets of grandparents last week, my parents stayed this week and got to love on Caleb.  Early in the week, I had a sonogram scheduled, so they came along to see their newest grandson. When my mom was pregnant with my brother and I, sonograms were rarely given, so this was a real treat for them. Here is our little guy at 27 weeks, weighing 1lb 4 oz.

Later that day, we went to a farm that is close to our house. Caleb is starting to express interest in animals, and he enjoys watching the chickens, goats, mule, and ducks.

The next afternoon we went to a local vineyard. We tried some wine and enjoyed sitting outside. Unlike last week when it was in the 90's to 100's, this week we had a cold front...in the 80's and it felt good. I did not get any good pictures of the vineyard, but Caleb was in good spirits...and we didn't even let him taste any wine!

The next couple of days, Caleb was a little under the weather. Last week he was getting over a stomach virus for the first couple of days with grandpa Mark and grandma Betty, and this week he came down with a small fever. We thought it was teething at first, but a couple of days later and a trip to the doctor, it turned out to be croup cough. I knew the humidity would be good for something, doc said it was the best thing to get him feeling better.

                                    

He laid low at home with grandpa and grandma for a couple of days, and they said it was a real tough job having to cuddle and take naps with him. That week happened to be especially busy for both Nathan and I, between work and school, and we were very thankful that they could give Caleb the love and care he needed, and that they got to spend so much quality time with him.

Saturday was Caleb's 1st birthday! After a quick trip to the doctor to get diagnosed with croup cough, he was ready to party and enjoy the day. Grandma and I took him to get a cake for that evening...that's one happy one year old! That evening we had another mini birthday celebration with my parents and Caleb enjoyed some ice cream cake -:).

During the day my parents, Caleb, and I headed out west while Nathan was in school taking midterms. We went to Sperryville to our favorite restaurant, Thornton River Grill. It is a tradition for Nathan and I to eat there after hiking Old Rag Mountain, and we love opportunities to share the good food and atmosphere with others.

After lunch, we visited the Manassas Battlefied. We walked around the visitor's center and checked out the old cannons and wagons. Caleb feel asleep on the way over and slept through the entire visit!

That afternoon, we played inside and outside, and enjoyed a nice birthday dinner.

As a side note, our garden is growing, growing, growing...getting lots of blooms, food should be coming soon -:).

My parents left early Sunday morning to head back to Florida. We had a great week with them in town and were so thankful and appreciative of all of their help this week, and for the time they got to spend with Caleb. We love you!

Caleb is one!

Dear Caleb,

Happy 1st birthday sweet boy! This time last year your daddy and I were in the hospital anxiously awaiting your arrival, and at 8:56pm we welcomed you into the world! We loved you before you were born, and fell even more in love the second we saw you. All of our family and friends were so excited to hear of your arrival!

You have grown so much this past year! From 5lbs 13oz at birth, you have more than tripled your weight and have been growing like a weed. You have at least 6 teeth, and I think you are working on a couple more, but you won't let us near your mouth. You wear size 4 diapers, size 6-9 month pants, and 12 months everything else. You are a great sleeper. Most recently you started sleeping from 7:00pm - 6:00am, and you take 2 naps a day. You crawl and furniture walk anywhere you can, and use your walker a lot, it's only a matter of short time before you will be off running on your own.

You are incredibly loving, smiley, playful, and fearless. You love playing with daddy and chasing him around the house, getting tickled, heights, climbing and sliding at the playground, swinging, being outside, reading, playing with your kitty, waving, using everything as a phone. You understand daddy, mommy, book, kitty, Mickey Mouse, shoes, bath, bottle, and night night. You say dada, momma, baba, nigh nigh, hi, bye, c sound, and babble a bunch of other words that we will figure out over time. You love food and will eat anything in front of you. You mostly eat regular food, we rarely buy baby food for you anymore. Some of your favorites are cheese, any fruit, veggies (yes, you have not refused them yet), chicken nuggets, and mac-n-cheese. You drink water very well out of a sippy cup, and still like your milk from the bottle most the time.

You have changed our lives forever in wonderful ways, and we could not imagine life without you. We feel so blessed that you are such a special part of our lives. We love you Caleb,  Happy 1st birthday sweet boy!

Caleb's First Birthday Party

This past Sunday we celebrated Caleb's 1st birthday! Both sets of grandparents were in town for the weekend, so it was a great excuse to celebrate his birthday one week early. It is hard to believe that almost one year ago we welcomed Caleb into the world. We have been blessed with such a sweet, loving, fun, and playful little boy.

Look how big I am!

My mother-in-law prepared delicious side dishes and homemade chocolate ice cream, and my dad was the master grilling chef for the birthday BBQ. Thank you for the delicious spread!

Caleb had a fun time playing with everyone and showing off his new toys.

Enjoying a birthday lunch of pasta salad, cheese, and fruit. This little boy can eat, eat, eat! And then it was time for dessert...

 

Caleb had his own smash cake too...

And smashing he did well. He was a little timid at first, but quickly got the hang of it....

Grandma Sue got a good video of him demolishing the cake...you  made us proud big boy!

Grandpa Art and Grandma Sue

Grandpa Mark, Grandma Betty, and Daddy

Mommy and the birthday boy, ready for a post-birthday bath

A bath and clean clothes makes for a happy boy.

Caleb received a lot of very nice gifts, and his cousins from far away made a special appearance! He was more into playing with the paper than opening the gifts, but he did enjoy what was inside. Thank you everyone!

Loving on our neighbor/party photographer, Michelle



Shortly after, Granpa Mark and Grandma Betty said their good-byes and began their drive back to Illinois. Caleb (and us) had a great week with them. We really appreciate all of their help...and the extra sleep!

Grandpa Art and Grandma Sue just arrived for the week, and we are looking forward to the fun week ahead.

We had fun celebrating Caleb's first birthday. You are so special to us, big boy. We love you so much!