I love....

...when I go to get Caleb out of his crib in the morning or after a nap and his whole body shakes with excitement at the sight of me!

....that Casey and Caleb love to be with one another

...when Casey and I read books together and he can recite the entire story

...how excited the boys get when daddy gets home from work

...how Casey says "sweet!" when he puts pieces of a puzzle together

....that I get to spend so much time with my precious children

Over the past 2 weeks we have been spending lots of time at home as a nasty cold has hit our household. I have loved the extra cuddles and play time as we focus on trying to get better. It has really made me realize how very lucky I am to be a stay at home mommy!

Dedication Sunday

Despite Caleb being sick on Sunday morning, we were still able to

dedicate him to the Lord at our church.


"We, the parents, commit our child Caleb into the loving hands of our eternal Father. To Him be all praise and thanks for the privilege of parenthood, however short or long, however joyous or trying. We desire, by the grace of God, to bring up this little one in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. May our child Caleb, like Christ Himself, grow in wisdom and in stature and in the favor of God and men."

one step forward, two steps back!

Do any other parents out there feel like you are constantly taking strides forward and then something happens and you feel like you took a few back? That is how I have been feeling lately. When this happened when Casey was a baby I got very stressed out. Now the Lord has blessed me with a sense of humor when it comes to parenting and I can laugh about it or nod my sholders and say "oh well".

We were so excited a couple of weeks ago when we had finally transitioned Caleb and Casey into sharing a room. The first week was great, so we thought. Then we noticed a trend, Casey was extrememly cranky and Caleb was waking up 5-6 times per night. We came to the conclusion that Casey wasn't sleeping as well as we thought he was and Caleb was getting nuked every time he woke up so why not scream? Since then we have put Caleb out in the front room so that all can sleep again.

As soon as we were getting a descent nights sleep Caleb got sick. So the last few nights we have been up a lot with our sick baby boy. He has pink eye in both eyes and a terribly nasty cold. Poor baby can't breath. I am trying to think positive and cherish the middle of the night cuddles because I know that before long he will be as big as Casey.

The only thing I am going to say about potty training is that we are still in training. Who knew that pooping on the potty would be such a hard thing to get a child to do?!

Despite the sickness, dirty pants and lack of sleep the Lord continues to give me patience and guidance. Thank you Lord! I wonder how I would make it through the day without prayer and my devotions. It gives me the strength and energy to get through the day with my beautiful boys.

6 MONTHS!

Caleb at 6 months
Casey at 6 months

You can definitely tell they are brothers but they each have their own cute look.

Our little baby boy is 6 months old today. He truly is changing every day. I would have to say that the biggest change that I have noticed over the last couple of weeks is how much stronger he is becoming. He can now roll from tummy to back, sit up without support for brief times periods, and he uses his legs to support his weight more and more each day. A couple of weeks ago we were a bit worried because he seemed so lazy! I guess he showed us! Here are some recent pictures of him playing. Isn't he precious?

Casey quotes

Casey is really adding some humor to my days lately. Here are a couple of his recent funny comments:

Last night at church Casey made a wise man crown. When I came to pick him up he said, "mommy I'm a princess!"

Matt has a tattoo (that he hates) on his arm of two swords crossing. Casey says that daddy has an airplane on his arm.

Lastly, when he was pulling up his pull up today he claimed to have a wedge!

The boys

If you would have asked me 6 months ago how I would feel if I were to have another boy I would have said "I will be happy to have a healthy baby". I did mean that but secretly I really wanted a little girl!

When Caleb was born I was both shocked and nervous. I didn't think I could handle another little bundle of energy like my Casey! As soon as I held Caleb in my arms and spent just a few short minutes with him I could tell that he was different from his big brother. This was going to be the calm baby that I had prayed for (yes God answered my prayers).

Over the past week I have watched my boys interact in a way that has touched my heart as a mommy. Late last week we decided it was time to move Caleb into Casey's room. For the most part it has been a success. Casey was so excited to have his brother in his room with him. The next morning when they woke up they were both excited to see one another across the room.

Unfortunately Caleb is cutting his first tooth and so he isn't sleeping all that great right now. So depending on the day, he may sleep in the pack in play out in the front room. The first night we removed him from their bedroom Casey cried because he wanted Caleb to sleep with him!

Now that Caleb is reaching out to grab things he is really into touching those who come close enough to let him. Well, Casey sure does that! This morning Caleb was reaching out for him and Casey gave him a big hug and kiss...it melted my heart.

They also have started to play with one another too. Casey will attempt to share his trucks with Caleb who really just throws them on the floor. I love it when Casey and Caleb lie together under the play mat and make all kinds of fun sounds.

My favorite moment happened yesterday during nap time (before I removed Caleb). Both boys were in their beds and Caleb was crying. I tried to give him a few minutes to see if he would settle on his own. Well, I guess Casey wasn't as patient and got out of bed and went over to his brother's crib and was petting him through the rails and telling him "it's ok Caleb, don't cry". How sweet is he?

Monkey Joe's

Today Casey had his very first dentist appointment. Basically they just let him sit in the chair and the dentist took a look in his mouth. I got some helpful hints and it was done. Casey was a really good boy and seemed to enjoy the experience.

Afterward we met up with Auntie Leah and her kids at Monkey Joe's in Waukesha. Grandma Jill and Auntie Nikki met us there as well. It was really busy but the kids had a blast jumping and sliding. They even played a few games and earned some tickets. Casey picked out a car with his tickets. The kids worked up an appetite so we went to Wendy's for lunch. What a fun day!

Merry Christmas!

It was so fun to experience the excitement and wonder of Christmas with our big boy this year (and our little boy). What a difference a year makes. Last year he could care less about the gifts and really didn't have a clue what we were celebrating. This year Casey sang happy birthday to Jesus and had birthday cake (more than once), was taught that we give and receive presents in celebration of Jesus' birth, and of course left out milk and cookies for Santa. Here are some highlights from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Here we have Casey and his cousin Noah playing a Christmas duet

Caleb enjoyed snuggling with Auntie Leah while the kids were opening giftsThe big kids had their own Christmas feast at the "big kid" table

Hannah and Casey getting ready to tear into their gifts

Caleb with the learning chair that Santa brought

Casey with the garbage truck he got from Santa

The train that

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Today was the big day...Jesus' birthday party. I have been planning this party for the children of the ladies in MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) for about a month. It was originally planned for Friday but with the snow storm we had to reschedule. Even though it was snowing yet again today we had a nice turn out, about 20 toddlers!

The party consisted of story time, pin the flame on Jesus' birthday cake, create an ornament, decorate a party hat, and we ended with a birthday parade and cupcakes. It went better than I expected (probably because of all the help I got from my friends). Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the day.

Here is a group of kids creating a baby Jesus ornament

Here the kids are decorating their party hats for the big parade



Casey enjoying his cupcake (as usual)
My good friend Gretchen and her kids (Lilly and Calvin)

Last, but not least my friend Karen and "baby Allie"


Thanks to every one who helped make this party a success. Happy birthday Jesus!

Christmas with my family

On Sunday we officially started our Christmas celebrations at Spring Creek Church. They had one of their Christmas Eve services. Casey and Caleb sat with us as we celebrated the birth of our Savior. They both enjoyed the music very much. I did however take Casey in the hall during pastor Chip's message. He was starting to get ants in his pants. Let me tell you, he really enjoyed all of the new open space! We went back in just in time to hold up our lights and sing Silent Night. As we are enjoying a beautiful moment Casey says CHEERS! and clinks his light with Matt's. My mom and Grandpa got a kick out of that one. Classic toddler moment.


Later in the day we had my mom, brother Andy, and sister Leah and her family over to celebrate. Originally we were going to host brunch right after church but plans changed. We decided it would still be fun to have brunch for dinner. So we brought up our long table and squeezed everyone into our cozy kitchen for a yummy dinner.
As the kids are getting older they are really enjoying time shared playing with one another. The girls seemed to enjoy Casey's train table almost as much as him. They could hardly finish their food because they wanted to get back to playing. So half our meal was a bit chaotic (with kids) and the other half was peaceful (kids downstairs playing). Once it was time to come up for story time and presents the kids forgot all about poor Thomas the Tank Engine! Here are Casey and Hannah getting ready for the fun.
My family went a bit overboard as usual and spoiled the boys. They both ended up with some wonderful gifts. After we opened gifts we brought the kids into the kitchen to sing happy birthday to Jesus and have some Cake. What fun!