Pirates and Painting

Ever since receiving a Veggie Tales pirate ship and characters for Christmas, Caleb has LOVED playing pirates!  Sadly for Momma, Caleb is enamored by the bad guys and always wants to be the villain.  Hopefully "good will prevail" and he'll have a change of heart soon! :)  One week's "Special Caleb Activity" was a treasure hunt for Pirate Caleb.  He even dressed up to go hunting!

Here he is "reading" the second half of the treasure map that he had to follow.

"X" marks the spot!  Pirate Caleb found the treasure!

Here's a little video of the outcome.  Though Momma worked hard on creating this little game, Caleb was actually not interested in doing it OR in eating the spoils.  Not sure if he was just tired from his nap or what!  It did make me feel better when he wanted to play again and again later.

Eating the treasure!

Here is our sweet boy praying for us!  He can often be found with his hands "folded".

Here Caleb is reading a story to Ethan while Ethan looks on in brotherly admiration.

Kati's friend, Mary (and Caleb's godmother) came for a short visit.  It was GREAT to be able to spend some time with her and catch up.  She was also a huge help holding Ethan and entertaining Caleb while Kati and Mike got dinner together and a few chores around the house.  Thanks so much Mary!

Mike took his annual trip to Washington D.C. with his eighth graders this last week.  As a Special Caleb Activity and a treat for Daddy, we painted him a welcome home sign.  Caleb used his feet to paint the sign.  What a funny feeling between the toes!

This is what "smile at the camera" looks like to our four-year-old!

Completed sign in anticipation of Daddy's return.  (Kati and Ethan even got their footprints on the sign too!)

One of my favorite times of the day is lunchtime when it coincides with Ethan's "happy time" and Caleb's mealtime.  Ethan will sit in his little chair and watch Caleb intently and coo and talk to him.  He gives Caleb the BIGGEST smiles when Caleb actually looks at him or talks to him.  Ethan just adores his big brother!

A little tummy-time.  We can't stay this way for too long because Ethan is not a fan of being on his tummy.  I have to take the picture quick!

Here's Ethan rolling from back to side.  He won't roll all the way over, though!

G.G. (Caleb and Ethan's Great-Grandma and Kati's Grandma) came for a wonderful visit.  Both boys were excited to see her and Caleb loved showing her how to play some of his games.  Thanks for sharing some time with us!

Ethan at Three Months

Our precious boy is another month older!  He is so much fun to watch grow and learn.  It's even more fun to explain things to Caleb about what Ethan can and cannot do and see Caleb get excited by things.  Like the time that Ethan was on a blanket playing and grabbed a toy, Caleb ran to tell me and was so excited.  The brotherly love is adorable to watch!  At mealtimes Ethan will just watch and watch Caleb and if Caleb happens to look his way or say something to him, Ethan will smile and coo back at him.  There has even been occasional moments of laughter when Ethan will purposefully laugh at his brother's antics!

Ethan is opening his hands a lot more and not making little fists anymore.  He loves to hold his hands together and try to fit them in his mouth.  Of course, he'll even try to fit the pacifier AND both hands in his mouth at the same time.  So far, he's not been successful!  Though when he holds his hands like that Caleb is sure that he is praying.  Ethan would be the poster child for 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 since he can usually be found praying continuously.

Thankfully the swing is now a favorite place to hang out!  This gives Momma and Dada a little more freedom to run and do a few things without having baby hindering one of our hands.  Ethan will smile and coo at the mobile as he swings and listens to music.  It's really fun to watch.

He if finally able to hold his head up (for the most part) which has made Momma's life SO much easier!  I can hold him on my lap while I eat if needed as he watches every bite go into my mouth.  He'll even move his tongue like he's trying to mimic what he sees!  A newer development has been his rolling from his back onto his side.  He will pull his legs up into the air and let them drop over to give himself momentum to get on his side.  It's really funny to watch his eyes get real big when you clap and tell him "good job" for rolling on his side.  He's not quite sure what to make of all the fuss!

Ethan has decided to grow a goatee like his Daddy.  Though his is made entirely of bubbles!  If you can catch him with his hands away from his mouth, you'll see the spit in a perfect triangle hanging on his chin.  Pretty cute!

We still have a very easy-going baby who is so alert and eager to learn things.  We have been so blessed!  Thank you to all of you for praying for our family as we continually learn to balance the needs of everyone and for the great advice as well!  Keep the ideas coming! :)

April Doings

Not a whole lot of exciting things to say about the end of April, but since I have two very cute kids, I still have pictures to share!

I thought I would try and post a couple videos this time.  Below is of my two boys dancing!  We were having a dance-a-thon!

One of our special activities was playing with shaving cream on our table outside.

We took turns pretending to be the three pigs or the big bad wolf and retelling the story in the shaving cream.  Of course the best part was clean-up...Momma surprised Caleb when she sprayed him with the water hose to "wash him up"!  The look on his face was priceless!  He eventually did get clean, but it took some running back and forth in the yard.

Grandma Brandon requested updated pictures of the boys for her birthday, so we took a few outside in front of the pretty flowers Mike planted.  Some of them were hilarious as Ethan slowly slid down Caleb's arm and began to look very uncomfortable!

Here Caleb is "borrowing" our neighbors beautiful flowers as a backdrop for this picture.  Our neighbor has one of the most enviable yards I have ever seen.  It looks like it's out of a magazine!

Ethan wasn't very fond of being put on the prickly grass.  I don't blame him, poor thing!

This video is pretty typical of our evenings.  That small window of ten minutes where Ethan is done eating and is "playing" on the floor next to Mike and Caleb.  Watch Ethan's face as Caleb interacts with him...it's hilarious!

Ethan's just a cutie...it's so much fun just to take cute photos of him.  These are only two of a billion!

And now we are caught up!  As of today there are no more photos or videos on the camera!  Time to take more.

Sweet Sticker

Our pediatrician's office has a basket of stickers at the check-out desk for all the "good little kids".  Well, on out way out from Ethan's two-month doctor's appointment I told Caleb he could have a sticker for Ethan if he wanted.  He chose a sticker and took off the backing, but didn't put it on.  When we got outside he said, "Wait a minute, Momma."  And placed the sticker on Ethan's blanket.  What a great big brother!!

Ethan at Two Months

Ethan has quickly become a sweet little part of our family. We really can't imagine him not being here! He is absolutely in love with Caleb and follows him with his eyes and head wherever he goes. Mike often takes Ethan into Caleb's room for the nighttime routine and Ethan is so content until the moment Mike leaves Caleb's room!

We are falling into a pattern of mealtime, playtime, naptime and it's becoming easier to read his signals. He still doesn't coo a whole lot but his face is very expressive and he's definitely taking the world in with his alert and curious eyes! Ethan's beginning to open his hands a little more and will "grab" things in his fingers. It always surprises him when he pulls his pacifier out of his mouth using the ribbon on the pacifier clip in his carseat. He's almost holding his head up on his own all the time. It will happen any day now and he continues to be very strong in his legs and his little arms.

Bathtime is something Ethan is still figuring out. He seems to enjoy it, though it makes Momma laugh because every time you put the washcloth on him he sucks in a breath like he's surprised! It's so adorable!

My favorite development this month is that Ethan is now smiling! His beautiful smile lights up his whole face and completely melts his Momma's heart! What a cutie! Ethan is very social and refuses to sleep when we are out and about because he's too interested in what's going on. He's such a happy baby and very content most of the time. God has truly blessed us with such a sweet little baby!

Easter Fun

Easter weekend was filled with fun activities as we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, our Savior!  Our church's Easter egg hunt should really be called an Easter Festival because they go all out!  Not only do we do the hunt, but there are bounce houses, little carnival games with prizes, a car show, some animal races, and a free hot dog lunch.  This year Mike's mom, Debbie, and sister, Amy, were able to join us.  Mike and his dad, Kendall, even stopped work on the patio long enough to come for the egg hunt!

Caleb picking out a tattoo to wear with Amy's help.

Caleb and Daddy waiting for the egg hunt to begin.

Momma and Caleb waiting for the egg hunt (Caleb is too concerned with all the eggs to look at the camera for a picture.)

The Brandons are not fans of getting their photos taken, so I have to snap them while I can!  Here's Amy, Kendall, and Debbie watching Ethan while we wait for the egg hunt to start.

Caleb collecting eggs.  He was really good at it this year and filled his basket fast!

Ethan even found a few eggs too!  Poor kid, Momma wouldn't let him eat any of the candy!

Here's Caleb "fishing" for a prize.



Though none of the balls got where they were supposed to, Caleb was at least consistent and hit the same mark all three times!

This bounce toy was set up as the game Twister, but as the big kids hunted for their eggs, they let the little kids just bounce around.  Caleb had a blast!

Too much excitement for Ethan!

Picnic lunch, yum!





Ethan had a blowout of a diaper right after his catnap and we had the delight of cleaning and changing him in a very inconvient spot...the blanket!

After a much needed nap, Caleb went to work on coloring Easter eggs.  He had a great time making them all rainbow colors.

Checking his egg...over and over and over again.  That egg was a VERY dark blue when it was done!

Easter morning we went to the yummy Easter breakfast at church.  It was delicious!  Pancakes, sausage, bacon, fruit, muffins, juice, and milk.  Yum!  Afterward we went to a joyous celebration of our risen Lord!  What a fabulous service!  We swapped "photo ops" with our friends, the Davises.

Here's Caleb, Ian, and Christopher taking such a nice Easter photo!  Too funny!!

Before church Caleb got to hunt for his Easter basket and have a treat!  (Nope, not in the dryer this year either, Uncle Rob!)  After church he got to hunt for some Easter eggs in the yard.  Such fun!

Then we went inside and rehid the eggs a dozen times!  Ethan even participated.  Can you find the egg he's hiding??

Here's Momma's favorite Easter basket!  What adorable boys!