Favorite Things of 2

My sweet boy has been growing and changing so much lately, and I am just loving him at this age.  I am so amused by him daily, and I really want to remember who he was at 2.  Since I am using this blog as his baby book I thought I would take the time to record some of my favorite things about him at age 2. 

• Whenever we say "I love you Caleb" you smile and say "Love me too". 
• You take your pillow, monkey, Elmo, and Scout dog with you all around the house.  You make multiple trips from room to room to make sure you have every thing. 
• When you come into our room in the morning you will have Scout or Elmo and you will hand them to me. You will them smile and hold your little finger up and say "be right back k?...get my "pillooo" You will then bring your pillow in and say "be right back k? get my monkey" etc. It is probably one of the cutest things I have ever seen.
• You named our Elf "Up", and you do not like it when he moves. You want him to stay in the same place he was the day before.
• When you want to watch Blues Clues you do the blues clues dance.
• You play guitar and sing to us now. You also love playing the harmonica.
• You get embarrassed by dada and I. If we dance or sing you always hold you hand up and say "Bop Bop" (translation Stop).
• You are talking all the time now, and you were able to name all your flash cards the other day for the first time.
• You still say all colors are blue, and you will argue with me to be silly if I tell you other wise.
• You love going downstairs to play with K.
• You can pedal your tricycle now.
• You always say please and Thanks Mom or Thanks Ga (dad).
• You are a good listener for the most part, and time out is usually all the discipline you need.
• You always want Kinlee to lay with you and you get sad if she will not listen.
• You like to cuddle up in my lap and have me feed you your sippy like a baby.
• You sleep with the lights on in your room now.
• You can draw a pretty good O. 
• You are obsessed with trains and cars.
• You always pretend to go bye bye and you have to give Kinlee and I a hug and a kiss first.
• You still pat our backs when you hug us.
• You love to have your back rubbed.
• You can "toot" when you want to now.  Lovely. You started doing it the other day and dada and I were laughing so hard we were crying. You would run up to me, toot, laugh and then run to daddy, toot and laugh.  I know we shouldn't have laughed because we were encouraging the behavior but it was so funny!!!!
• You can say Jesus, and God and Amen now, and you do when we pray. 
• You are still doing great with the potty. You independently go when you need to and then I help you wash your hands. 
• You call your blanket "please". I have no idea why.  I don't know if it is because I always say "do you want your blanket please"?  Anyway, it is the cutest!!! I think I will cry when you actually start calling it a blanket. 

I feel like there are so many more cute things that I am forgetting. I am in love with this age, and with all the new things that Caleb does daily. I wish I could bottle him up at this age forever!

Count Your Teeth

Yesterday Caleb had his very first dentist appointment.  I know I am a little late...by about a year...but at age one he only had 2 teeth...that is how I justify it at least.  I have to admit, I was super nervous about this first. Caleb hates to have you mess with his teeth. We always allow him to brush his teeth first, and then we take a turn. He always ends up screaming, and kicking...not a pretty picture.  I was positive he was going to freak out while there.  Mckinlee also had an appointment yesterday morning to have some blood tests done (results are back and she is fine..more info to come).  Anyway, Nick and I decided to divide and conquer the appointments. He took Mckinlee and I went with Caleb. 

Once we arrived at the dentist I filled out all the paper work, Caleb read some Bible stories, (He kept pointing to pictures and saying "There's Jesus...Hi my Jesus"...melt my heart), and then we played with toys for a while.  He loved all the cars, and the giant chalkboard.  After playing it was time to head back. 

Once we arrived in the dental room Caleb sat on my lap in the dentist chair.  The dentist was this little old man with the softest voice, and he was just talking away to Caleb, but Caleb did not acknowledge him because he could not hear him. It was kind of humorous.  Anyway, the dentist and nurse laid him back, Caleb started crying, and I was thinking "here we go".  However, they were able to count his teeth and do his fluoride treatment quickly, and Caleb never really got very worked up. They said he is still waiting on is 2 year molars, but that everything else looked great.

After all was said and done Caleb was allowed to pick out a prize. He said no thanks.  The nurse held up a monkey and asked if he wanted it and he said "no", she held up a duck and he said "no"....on and on. I finally chose a pig for him and we went on our way. 

It was a better than expected first visit.  The pediatric dentist office was clean and kind, but I wasn't overly impressed.  We may look for a new location for his next visit.  I was super proud of my big boy though. 

Our Adventure to Meet St. Nick

Saturday night we attended our towns Christmas Walk.  It was super cute, and it was a lot of fun.  They had a tree lighting (which proved to be a little less than amazing), a parade which was tractor/Christmas themed (insert Caleb's heaven here), and the town businesses were all set up with different Christmas activities.  The parade was super cute, and was just the right length to keep Caleb's attention.  We were able to view the inside of an old Victorian home that was decorated for Christmas, and it was gorgeous!! We also saw a live nativity, train models and lots of Christmas lights. 

 In our new double stroller for the first time. We almost made it through Mckinlee's entire first year without one.  It was a steal on zulily...89.00!

The last activity on the agenda that night was meeting Mr. Claus.  We have been reading lots of Christmas books this year, Caleb knows who Santa is and he knows that he says "HO HO". I thought we had a slim chance that he would actually sit on his lap for a picture this year.  While we were waiting in line I kept asking him if he wanted to sit with Santa and tell him what toys he wanted for Christmas.  He would politely say "no".  I kept encouraging and pointing out the other children sitting on his lap. Caleb still would say "no".  I was hoping once we got up to Santa that both kids would at least sit with him for one picture.....I mean the odds were a little against me since Caleb was saying no, and since Mckinlee basically screams if anyone else besides me dares to try to hold her....

Well, we get to Santa, Nick's mom has the camera ready for a picture, and we attempt to sit them on his lap.  Mckinlee surprisingly goes straight to him, however Caleb death grips me with his legs and arms and immediately starts crying....It was then that we decided to do a "Family" Santa shot.

Little miss however, surprised the heck out of us with her love for the man in red.  She smiled at him, touched his beard and cheesed it up for the camera.  There is no doubt that my usual stranger danger, cling to mama girl Believes.  On a side note when we lifted her from Santa we realized she had peed through her outfit...kind of like her brother did with the Easter bunny a few years back.  What can I say, my kids have a habit of peeing on our holiday characters.  The festivities, long lines, and absent diaper changing stations may have something to do with that though. 

All in all the night was a success, and even though I had no plans of taking pictures with Santa, this picture is a keeper.

Brittney's Baby Shower

Yesterday I had the honor to co-host a baby shower for one of my very close friends.  I have really formed an amazing friendship with Brittney over the past 2 years, and I am so thankful to have her in my life. I really wanted to bless her with a shower, and I loved finding all the great ideas via Pinterest to bring the shower to life. Girls from our Bible Study co-hosted with me, and we all divided the ideas we found for decorations and food in order to make them a reality. I was so pleased with how everything turned out.

The theme we went with was "Little Man", and we incorporated the colors orange, teal, and a chevron pattern into the decor.  As stated most ideas were found via Pinterest.

This was the diaper station. We had the guests write funny messages on diapers for Brittney to laugh at during middle of the night changes. 

 The sign in table. The guests were asked to write their favorite Bible verse in the baby's book.

 We included pictures of the baby and his big sister throughout the shower.

 I love this saying.  This was set up at the drink station.

 The beautiful cake. 

 I love the way this wreath turned out. 

 To determine the menu we searched Brittney's food pins, and we all picked one item to make. We had more than enough food and it was all so good!

 The food labels were a free printable that I found on Pinterest. I am really loving the world of free printables!

Some of our Bible study girls with the mama to be.

Brittney received lots of adorable stuff, and I must say that little man is going to be styling! I can not wait to meet and cuddle this sweet baby!

Our New Friend who has No Name

Last night we welcomed a new little friend into our home.  I had high expectations that Caleb would fall quickly in love with this little friend, and I think he has.  I also hoped that he would quickly give our new friend a name, but that has yet to happen.  Our friend may remain nameless until next Christmas Season. 

Our new little friend in the friendly scout elf from the book that has taken over the blog world, Elf on a Shelf. I first heard about this great tradition a few years ago, and I was so excited to begin it with Caleb once he was old enough. I decided this was the year. I know he does not fully understand yet, but finding the elf sure is a lot of fun...naming him on the other hand is a no go :(. 

I included the book in another Christmas tradition we are starting this year. I found the idea via Pinterest, surprise surprise.  Basically, the tradition calls for the parents to wrap 24 Christmas books and place them under the tree. Each night counting down to Christmas you open and read one book as a family.  I have my Christmas books under the tree, and the "Elf" book was the first book Caleb opened.  He had a great time opening the book, and he enjoyed the story. He enjoyed looking at the toys the Elf was playing with, but I do not think he fully understood that the elf from the story would be at his house the next day.

Last night the Elf made his appearance along with a note from Santa that read:

Hello Caleb, Ethan (boy I nanny), and Mckinlee.  I hope you are good today. Ho Ho Ho, Santa Claus.

This morning when Caleb awoke we found the Elf and he smiled and laughed while pointing at him. I then told him the Elf brought him a special breakfast all the way from the North Pole. (Idea stole from bringingupmadison).  He sat down and was thrilled to receive snow covered donuts and a candy cane for breakfast. I threw in some yogurt to add a little nutrition. He was ecstatic, and kept saying "thanks elf!".  Mckinlee was itching for a bite of the snow covered goodness, but Caleb was stingy.  She will get to enjoy it next year for sure. 

I am really loving our little no name friend, and the great memories I am sure he will be included in as my babies grow.