Caleb's Birthday

Caleb turned two last month! He's such a big boy and we love him so much.

(The crazy sounding toddler in the background would be Corinne....I swear she really can sing...she must of been feeling a little crazy that day!)

Caleb

Caleb, you just turned 2 last week and are such a sweet little boy. Your blond curly hair makes you look angelic, but of course that's not always the case!

You love your blankie(s)- you have about 6- and you call them your Bs. You HAVE to have one to sleep and usually snuggle with it for a while every morning when you wake up and after your nap. We're glad you have so many blankets because there always seems to be a clean one around.

You are so active, climbing, jumping off things, playing, but you also love your sleep. Most days go you to bed at 7:30pm and sleep until 6:30am. You take a nap every day for almost 3 hours! Thee are many days when we have to wake you up!

You adore your sister and go along with all the activities she plans for you. You love to kiss my belly and say "baby come out" but I'm not sure if you really know what you're in for. You always make me pick you up when you see me holding other kids, so I'm sure there will be a little jealousy!

You are always talking and can speak quite clearly in pretty sophisticated sentences! I think it's because Corinne is constantly talking and teaching you new words.

You love to be naked and many times we find you completely naked in your crib either fast asleep or just waking from your nap. We've had to change your sheets MANY times because you pee on them after stripping off your clothes. You want so badly to be potty trained and go on the toilet a lot- but mommy is not good about consistently putting you on the toilet- so we have a lot of accidents! Potty training is hard work!!

You bring so much joy to our days and we thank God every day for such a special blessing!!

OK...I give in!

I love to spend time reading my friend's blogs (and blogs of people I don't even know!). I always think it's interesting to read about other families and the milestones their children meet as they grow older. As I learn about all these milestones (again...on some kids I don't even know!) I often think, why don't I write about our children and their milestones???? Then I usually get distracted and find something else to do.

Now that we're about to meet our third child, I think it's time I start documenting some of our daily adventures as well as special days. I have a feeling the days will start to blur together with 3 children three years and younger! I know I'll be glad to have more than just my memory to rely on during the times I feel like reflecting on how our children have grown.

So- He goes my first attempt at summing up our children.....

Corinne- at 3 years and 8 months you amaze me every day. We have been through SO much with you which is part of the reason I have a special bond with you that will never be replicated with anyone in the world!

You have such a kind heart (with the exception of bullying your brother every now and then), and make friends very easily. You love to go to new places and usually end up with a friend within the first few minutes of being there. You also love playing with your brother and have taught him so much. Some of my favorite times in the day are when I see you and Caleb playing hide and go seek, or playing house, kitchen, giving Doctor exams, reading together, riding the power wheels or whatever it is you're doing together. You guys truly love being together.

You're a very bright girls and LOVE learning. You go to the high school early childhood preschool program twice a week right now and think it's really fun. But because you love learning so much (and I think your school program is more about socializing) we're doing a home school preschool curriculum too. Every day you ask when we're going to do school together and you say it's you're favorite time of they day. I really love teaching you and you're such a good student.

You're already reading, writing and so much more.

You're so excited to meet your new baby brother or sister and love to kiss my belly and feel him/her move each day. When we sing the months song each day, you always get excited to sing November because you know that's when the baby is coming. You're going to be such a great big sister.

I could go on and on....we love you SOOO much and can't imagine a better gift from God!!

Next entry...Caleb...

Family photos

My sister Maddie took some awesome photos for our family when we were at the lake this summer. I loved so many of them that I couldn't just post a few!

North Dakota

We went to North Dakota for two weeks in July and had so much fun! We're so grateful that my parents let us stay with them in their lake house for so long! We did SO many things while we were there. Much of our time was spent having fun on the lake.

Corinne loved driving the boat.





Corinne's first smores...and of course she loved it!
I loved mine too!
Caleb and Corinne got to watch Daddy and Papa scuba dive.
Corinne had a blast playing dress up with my cousin Carleigh's daughter Brielle. We're so sad they live so far away.
We got to spend a little time with my Grandma Johnson which was fun!
We also got to spend lots of time with Grandpa and Grandma Great.
Corinne loved helping learn how to make my grandma's famous cinnamon twists.


YUM!
Jennifer, Todd, Blake and James came to visit us in North Dakota. We had so much fun!

Todd was a pro a knee boarding!
And of course Jennifer and I were great at tubing!
We can't wait to go back again next year!

Michigan

We've been on vacation for a week now and are having a great time! We started in Michigan where we had a great time with our good friends Jennifer and Todd and their little guys James and Blake. The weather was great and of course the company even better!

Relay For Life

Relay for life was last weekend and we had such a great time! We had a fantastic team that together raised over $4500 in just two weeks, making us the number 4 team out of 66! We are SO grateful to all of the people who donated money to a cause so close to our hearts. Our local event raised over $100,000! Now let's hope and pray all that money can help find a cure!
I proudly walked the survivor lap with Corinne

Daddy and Caleb cheered us on!

Corinne was very proud of the luminaries with her name on them.

We camped out (Corinne too!) until 3am when a storm arrived. We quickly packed up and got home just before the rain hit. Regardless of the weather, we enjoyed our time remembering those who lost their lives to cancer and having hope for those currently battling.