don't tell Casey....

When Casey was asleep yesterday mommy and Caleb played with his toys! It is so nice when I am able to spend one on one time with either of the boys. Yesterday it was Caleb's turn. We had a good 30 minutes of playtime. Here are some pictures and a little video clip.



Today I put on one of Casey's old outfits and I thought that Caleb looked just like Casey in it. Can you tell who is who?



The one with the purple background is Casey and the one with the white background is Caleb. TOO CUTE! My grandma was over today and commented on how Caleb is looking more and more like Casey everyday, especially when he cries!

Al's Run

Matt participated in the 8K (5 mile) Al's run on Saturday. He raised money in honor of his cousin's 2 1/2 year old daughter Kaylee Buntrock who was diagnosed with Leukemia recently. He was able to raise about $600. Thanks to all of you supporters!

My mom came with to help me out with the boys. It was a gorgeous day and the boys were on their best behavior. We hung out and enjoyed watching all of the action while awaiting Matt's arrival across the finish line.

Matt ran the race in 38 minutes 32 seconds. He placed 491 out of 3324 racers. I am really proud of him! He hopes to do a 1/2 marathon on the spring.

Here is Casey anxiously waiting for daddy to cross the finish line.

Here are Matt and his friend Tim crossing the finish line and posing after the race.

My brother Andy (white band) and my brother in law Nick (half naked) also ran that day.

Caleb slept most of the day and missed daddy crossing the finish line.

Here daddy enjoys a break hanging out with Casey at the celebration afterwards. What a fun day!

MY BOYS ARE TOO CUTE!

Grandma Jill bought the boys a couple of matching outfits from Babies R Us. Casey thought it was so funny that Caleb had the same outfit as him. It created some giggles yesterday.

These two are my favorites. Their faces are too precious!

Can you tell I was acting goofy? They are both giving me the same, "oh brother" look!


This is me attempting to get Caleb's smile on camera. I sort of captured one here.

Family

I feel very fortunate to have my immediate family live within driving distance from me. They are able to be a major part of Casey and Caleb's childhood. Every family member is special in a different way.

Grandma Karen (my mom) is able to see the boys at least once a week and helps us out babysitting quite often. She is the goofy one that makes Casey giggle. Casey loves staying over at Grandma's house. She has a piano that he plunks away on and special toys for him to play with. Every Wendesday night Caleb and Grandma spend some time together while Matt, Casey and I go to AWANA at church. I'm sure he will be giggling at her soon as well.

Then there's Grandpa Lew and Grandma Sheryl (my dad and step mom). They live about 2 hours away so we don't get to see them as often. Just about every time we do though they have some special present for Casey that they found at a rummage. This week when they came for dinner they brought Casey a Thomas the train sleeping bag. They were amazed that Casey could say every train's name that was on that sleeping bag. When we go to their house they have tons of fun toys for the boys to play with.

Great Grandma Shirley is only hear for the warm WI months so we try to see her once a week. She has been coming over once morning a week to cuddle with Caleb and play trains with Casey. Today she was teaching Casey how to make sand cakes outside. He really loves his great grandma!

Then there are the Reeds. My sister Leah, her husband Nick and the three princesses...Hannah, Hailey and Riley. These folks are the first people on Casey's prayer list every night. He loves his cousins! We usually try to get together at least once a week. This week my sister brought Hannah over and the kids played in the basement so nicely. Hannah doesn't put up with Casey's nonsense!

My little brother Andy moved back into town last year after being at school in Eau Claire and then in Minnesota for a year. We get to see him here and there too. He hasn't offered to babysit yet though....hmmm.

There are so many other relatives I could talk about...these are just the ones that we have spent some time with in the past weeks. It is so nice to share quality time with the people that you love! I hope that Casey and Caleb develop a close brotherly friendship in the years to come. Just look how cute they are snuggled up at this stage!

2 months old!

Casey is such a proud and happy big brother!

We decided it was time to teach him how to change diapers!

Our little prince is 2 months old today! I can't believe how time has gone by. He is growing and changing so much every single day. It is so fun to compare and contrast the boys. They are both so different in so many ways. The one thing that is for sure, they are both the cutest boys in the world!

Casey was a big helper at the doctor's office today. He really liked the fact that he wasn't the one getting shots and being poked and prodded. It was fun to see how Caleb and Casey compared in weight and height. Can you guess who was the bigger of the two at the two month check up....

CALEB! He weighed 12 pounds 5 ounces. Casey was 12 pounds 3 ounces at 2 months. Caleb was also a 1/4 of an inch longer. Very close, but Caleb is a bit bigger.

Here are their pictures so you can compare and contrast yourself. Who is who?


Casey is featured first in both shots. I just love the towel pictures! Casey's face is a bit rounder wouldn't you say?

As far as personality goes Casey is our more passionate child. He was also more smiley at this age (between the screaming fits). Caleb is very laid back and a bit more serious. Both sweet boys though. This is so much fun!

First day of school!

Yes this is my 3rd post of the day. It is hard to keep up these days!


Today was Casey's first day of preschool at the Children's Community Center in Menomonee Falls. It is about 15 minutes away from home. After doing a lot of research I found that this one was the best fit for Casey. Two families from our church bring their children there and highly recommend it. Casey has two teachers and about 8 classmates. They do group activities, exploratory play, music, art, snack and gym time all in the 3 hours that he is there. He absolotuely had a blast. In fact the entire ride home he was shouting for me to turn around and go back to school! I bet he wishes he would be going there more than one day a week!

Tonight we will be cheering on the Packer's as they kick off the season....GO PACK GO!

young love!

Last night we had dinner at the Seiler's home along with a ton of other friends from our Sunday school class. We met to discuss upcoming studies and events. The kids had a blast playing in the basement and eating ice cream for dessert. It is getting harder to find a place big enough to hold all of our growing families!

Anyways, the Seiler's have three children that are extremely close in age to our kiddos. Their oldest son Tommy is 4 and would have been close in age to Madi. Then there is Samantha who is weeks apart from Casey and their newest little girl Allison is only a few weeks older than Caleb. Here are some pictures of Casey with Samantha and Caleb with Allison. And of course I had to include a picture of a picture with the whole gang!

family time

I just love spending time with my 3 boys! On Saturday we spent the morning at the ZOO together. You may have noticed that this is one of our favorite places to go with Casey. Caleb loved riding in the baby bjourn with daddy. Casey of course enjoyed running around checking out the animals. It was farm weekend so we had some free milk and enjoyed learning about different animals. We spent a lot of time in the buildings as the weather was a bit chilly for Caleb. Here are some pictures from our fun adventure at the ZOO!

During nap time the weather started to clear up and it became a really nice afternoon. So Matt and I decided it would be fun to pack a picnic and head to the park for the evening. Caleb spent the majority of our visit filling his pants while Casey played and had a great time. Let me tell you, nothing is easy with a newborn!
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Lucky mom

I had a couple of mommy moments today. The first one actually happened at the YMCA this morning. I dropped Casey off at the kid care and strapped Caleb in the baby bjourn for a walk on the track. The rain was coming down outside and people looked tired and worn out...including myself. As I began my walk I turned on my IPOD and listened to some worship music for a little pick me up. As I was listening to the music I began to look around at the different people working out and I noticed that when they caught sight of me and Caleb they smiled at us. This happened at least a dozen times. The sight of God's precious new creation brings a smile to people's face even on a rainy day. I looked down at my precious little boy and smiled myself. How lucky am I to have been given this gift!

My second mommy moment happened as I was putting Casey down for nap. Everyday we squeeze into his yellow chair to read his library books. Right in the middle of the 2nd book Casey starts squirming around and declares that it is his turn to sit on mommy's lap. He jumped up onto my lap and I realized that he hadn't sat on my lap for a really long time. He must have realized this as well. I was sad when the last book was finished because I just wanted him to snuggle there for a bit longer. He is getting so big, it won't be long before he will won't fit on my lap...sniff, sniff.

It is nice when we are able to slow down and think about the little things in life that mean so much. Things like a smile and a cuddle. Both of which brightened my rainy day.

Cousins

Casey just loves his cousins! Hannah is almost exactly a year older than him. They get along great and have so much fun together. Hailey and Riley are five months younger than Casey and they love to follow him around and play with whatever he has got his hands on. When you get the four of them together it is crazy. On Friday we met at the park in Waukesha for some fun. Then we had a family dinner on Sunday night and the kids played in the pool. It is so great that we live close enough to spend so much time together. I can't wait to watch them all grow up together.