First Birthday Party: Sock Monkey Style

Caleb's 1st birthday party was so much fun!  I will have to be honest, if it weren't for my sister and mom coming over the Wednesday before the party on Friday, none of this would have come to life! I had dreamed up the sock monkey theme when he was just a little baby.  I got a few ideas from Pinterest, and voila!  The party was complete!

Decorations:

Food:

We enjoyed pulled pork and chicken barbeque, ribs, potato salad, and baked beans for supper.  Then we had small individual cups of Banana pudding (my Daddy Vell's recipe).  The root beer barrels and monkey vines were really more decoration than anything else!  A friend of the family made the large cake and Caleb's smash cake.  The sock monkey on top of the cake was made by Aunt Margaret. 

 

Presents:
Even though it was just a small group of immediate family and one little friend, Caleb was a little overwhelmed at all of the hype.  It took him a good supper, and some time to adjust, then he was ready to play!  He honestly got stuck playing with the little jungle toy below and was done! Dylan helped him open gifts.  He had been looking forward to that all week long!  Caleb shared a really sweet moment playing with his Daddy Vell.  I cherish watching Caleb play with his great-grandpa!

Family:
Caleb was lucky to have his "favorites" at the party!  Of course, his brother makes him laugh like no one else can!   Top to bottom: Aunt Janell traveled all the way from Atlanta to be here for his big weekend.  We love her like she was truly "family".  Guess that is what happens when you have known someone for 27 years! Mawmaw and Pop were there too!  Caleb loves his motorcycle from them.  He already knows how to push all of the buttons, and he can scoot it backwards! Daddy Vell and Mrs. Kathleen were able to come.  We are so thankful they could share in the memories! Uncle Craig & Aunt "Cawul" love these boys so much.  Blessed to have them so active in their lives! Nana & Pawpaw love to snuggle Caleby!  He reaches for them everytime he sees them!
Thanks everyone in our family for sharing in this special time with our ONE year old!  You only have "one" first birthday!  It is super special!

Friends:
Caleb invited one buddy to his party.  We were so glad that Beau got to come!  Drew and Lindsey have been some of our best friends since high school and it is fun to watch our boys grow up so close to each other!  Caleb kept trying to pat-pat Beau's head and kiss his cheek.  They crawled after each other and would just smile.  I didn't expect the huge amount of interaction that they showed with each other.  They were a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e!

Cake:
Sweet doll baby Caleb was NOT a fan of the cake.  We all sang Happy Birthday which was led by his big brother.  Aunt Carole and Dylan both tried to help him get started.  He kept giving it the one finger poke.  Daddy even dug into the cake to get some actual cake for him to try.  He made a pretty awful face and then just started to hand pieces over to Daddy.  It was a lot of fun to watch.  He was the total opposite of his big brother, who dug fiercely into the cake and had it EVERYWHERE!  Note to self: maybe how the experience their first birthday cake correlates with their budding personalities! Ha!

Lil' Red:
So my sister and brother-in-law outdid themselves once again.  They made Dylan a wooden rocking horse for his first birthday which is still going strong today.  Well, here is Caleb's handmade present.  My sister saw one in Fayetteville at Parent's Weekend and of course, the wheels started turning.  Craig hand-crafted the Razorback, rockers, and...wait for it....he hand-painted EVERYTHING!  I was in awe of his handy work.  It was definitely the talk of the party.  Caleb was a little unsure of it on his party night, but since, I have gotten some very cute pictures and videos of him on Lil' Red.  He will even rock every so slightly now.
Thanks Uncle Craig for your time in crafting this neat gift for Caleb.  I know it was a labor of love and it definitely shows me how much you love this little boy!  Thanks Aunt Carole for always coming up with ideas and crafts for my boys.  You amaze me with your abilities.  (The sock monkey applique on Caleb's birthday outfit was made by Aunt Carole).  You are the best sister I could ever ask for in my life!

Play:
Pawpaw pulled Caleb in the wagon at the end of the party.  Aunt Janell would hide behind the couch and play peek-a-boo with him as he passed by in the wagon.  He would just cackle with excitement!

And here is the birthday boy: one year-one day old.  Isn't he just a little doll baby?!?

Caleby, we love you to the moon and back, forever and always, no matter what!

Our doll baby is ONE!

It is truly unbelievable how fast this year has gone! It is amazing how Caleb has become the best "new" addition to our family and now we can't imagine life without this doll baby!

Stats: 

20 pounds 8 ounces - 30 1/4 inches - size 18m clothes - moving to size 4 diapers

 Personality:

laid back until life isn't going your way-snuggly-grumpy when you first wake up-sweet-adoring of your big brother-a lover of your Momma-delightful-joyful-

 Vocabulary:

lots of jibber jabber- a bah (ah boo)- di duh (Dylan)- bi buh (Bible)-just lots more connecting current vocabulary with its real meaning

 Accomplishments:

you transitioned to whole milk like a champ-regular crawl everywhere but you are not interested in walking-walking more while holding our hands-bang your head on the floor or buck backwards when things aren't going your way-wave side to side for "Hi!"-started riding in your big boy car seat-you dance to music by bouncing up and down- you do anything for a laugh- you shake your head no and roll your eyes back in your head to be silly- you love to mimic every noise and movement we make!-you love to point, you point to things you want or places you want to go-it is your newest way to communicate with us!- you take 2 naps a day- you are ready for bed by 7:15-7:30 and you sleep for 12 hours which is GREAT!

*Fun story: Pop came over to see you and brother.  You reached for him and he picked you up.  Then, you pointed towards your new cozy coupe car and rattled off a mouthful of jibber-jabber.  We cracked up!  You were telling Pop about your new toy and you needed to show him!  It was priceless!

 On your actual birthday, we ate lunch with Pop, Mawmaw, Daddy, Mommy, Dylan, Aunt Carole & Uncle Craig at American Pie Pizza.  You LOVED the pizza and the sugar cookie for your birthday treat.  It was your first cookie, and you were very territorial over it.  You held it with both hands and would NOT let go of it for one second!  

 Mommy, Daddy, and Dylan got you a Cozy Coupe Car for your birthday.  Your big brother saw it in the garage and really needed to check it out, so we gave it to you that evening.  You LOVE it!  Your favorite feature is the door.  You love to open and close it.  You can move it backwards with your feet. Dylan thinks it is fun to ride on the top.  We try to discourage that idea.  You are DELIGHTFUL!

Stay tuned for the Birthday extravaganza post!

Pumpkin Patch 2012

We went to Motley's Pumpkin Patch on October 21, 2012.  Both sets of grandparents were able to join us.  Dylan had been talking about going to the Pumpkin Patch for weeks!  The actual "patch" was already a little picked over, but he wanted to pick a small pumpkin "just my little size", so it actually worked out perfectly.  It was not a huge place, but was very clean and had plenty of activities!

Caleb enjoyed pat-patting the huge pumpkin, riding on Pawpaw's lap during the hayride, and taking a break in his stroller with Nana watching him!  I love this lil' punkin!

Dylan enjoyed the slides, the train ride with Daddy, riding in the wagon with Pawpaw, and feeding the goats with Pop.  He LOVED feeding the animals!  

These two bring me laughter EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Decent family picture!

Caleb enjoying Pawpaw and Nana!

Dylan cheesing with Pop and Mawmaw!

A horse is a horse, of course, of course!

 Happy Fall Ya'll!

St. Louis Family Trip

We spent the first weekend of October in St. Louis with our boys!  We wanted to take Dylan to the St. Louis Zoo.  He loves our zoo so much and we had heard that the St. Louis Zoo was great!  We drove up Thursday afternoon and made it just in time for bed.  Ha!  We stayed at the Embassy Suites right across from the St. Louis Rams stadium.  It was a great downtown location and a very nice, new hotel. We knew rain was in the forecast for Friday, so we planned "indoor" activities.
That morning, we went to the City Museum.  It is an indoor playground/climbing/crawling/cave/slide mecca.  Hard to describe if you haven't ever been there.  By far, my eldest son's perfect place!

We spent all morning there.  Caleb was a great baby.  He took a nap in the stroller for most of the morning, and then just watched all the kiddos running around.  

After naps back at the hotel, we headed to the Magic House.  It is just a huge version of Museum of Discovery.  It has 4 stories of hands-on fun.  Water tables, a baby zone, tree house, pizza parlor, bubble room, etc.  We enjoyed it, but all decided we would skip that on our next trip and maybe opt for Grants Farm (pending it is not raining!)  Caleb absolutely loved the Baby Zone.  He loved the baby in the mirror. :-)

Saturday morning we got up and headed to the zoo at 9:30.  It was 45 degrees outside.  We bought the boys hats at Target the night before and we were very glad that we had them with us!  They were experiencing a cold front!  It was definitely cold, but it didn't stop our fun.  We had a blast and spent 6 hours there.  We saw every animal possible.  When we left, we asked Dylan to tell us his favorite animal.  He paused, and then just said, "They were all my favorites!"  We totally understood.  It was animal palooza!  How could you pick just ONE favorite?!?

The hippos were amazing!

Caleb watching the hippos!

All tuckered out!

The penguin exhibit was amazing!

Blurry, but I love this shot!

Sleepy Caleby on the carousel!

Train ride!

Snuggles on the train!

Checking out the camels with Mom!

Mr. Owl loved the zoo!

Lil' bear was cozy and happy!

After our big day at the zoo, we at supper within walking distance of our hotel at a local Italian spot, Charlie Gitto.  It was awesome! My boys tore up some spaghetti!!!!  Sunday morning, we were up early, so Dylan and Daddy enjoyed the indoor pool and jacuzzi.  

We headed home around 9am.  Vacationing with two little boys is a lot more work than relaxation, but we made so many memories and were already brainstorming about our next little getaway!  We love doing things with our family of four, even if the adults are worn out by vacations end!

It's the Simple Things

Happiness is...
 Acorns.  Squirrels.  The Outdoors.  

Dylan learned about squirrels and acorns at Mother's Day Out this past week.  He was proud of his acorn that he found on their walk!  So much so, that we searched for acorns the next morning while Caleb took his morning nap.  The teacher in me gets so fired up when those "teachable moments" continue way past their starting point!  My big boy loves to be outside.

Happiness is...
The comfort of knowing your child is being nurtured.
Dylan is doing so well in his Mother's Day Out Program.  When I decided on this one, I went with my mother's instinct and I am so happy that I did.  My sister says a mother's instinct is God nudging you in the right direction.  I would like to think that is true!  Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Alisa nurture my baby to pieces.  They hug him, tell him "I Love You" and take care of him from 9-2, two days a week.  Ladies, if you ever make it to this blog, know that you are very special to our family.  Honestly, it has built our mother-son relationship already.  He LOVES his school, and I get to spend time with the baby one-on-one.  I am also ready and excited to go pick him up and hear about his day!

Happiness is...
A good nap.

If you venture back to one of my previous posts here, you will see that Dylan has struggled for a while with naps.  I was pretty certain that he would not nap at Mother's Day Out.  He naps for me at home great, and he will nap at my mom's house, but I wasn't so convinced.  Well. I am so proud to say that Dylan is taking naps at MDO!  AND, he is falling asleep by himself, no rocking needed!  Let's just say, this Mommy's heart was jumping for joy!  And when I picked him up, he was SO proud of himself.  That made it even better!  I think he feels comfortable and that is why he does so well!  Mrs. Kelly was pretty proud of him too!


It's the simple things.
Acorns.  Squirrels.  Nurturing.  A good nap. 
I'm going to relish in the simple, happy things in life.
Care to join me?

Sweet boys

I just had to share the silhouettes we had done of the boys yesterday. I was amazed at the detail and craftsmanship in these pictures! They were cut using small scissors,freehand, in less than10 minutes each! I can't hardly wait to frame them and get them up in my house. I love the perfection of both boys hair! One boy with tons of body and one with sweet curls! He captured them both so well! We may have to do it again in a few years!

Here is a plug for Mr. Tim Arnold. You can email him profile pictures and he will creat a silhouette for you. We were able to do it in person at a children's shop in town. Neat experience!
www.silhouette-man.com. Go check it out!

Just one month and....

this little charmer will be one year old.  BUT, I am NOT going to talk about that right now!  

I am going to tell you how much fun this little guy has added to our family!

 He does absolutely love his activity table.  Dylan did not have one, so his Pawpaw and Nana got him this one for his baby shower.  I am so glad they did!  Now that he pulls up on everything, he is really enjoying it!  He loves to open and close the computer, and do some "head-banging" to the music!

He also loves the toy above.  It is a little jungle gym that has a ramp to drop balls on and an elephant where you drop balls in his ear and have them come out of his trunk!  Pop and Mawmaw got this for him for Christmas and he loves it!  He also does his little "head bobbing" jig to the music and he knows exactly where to put all of the little balls.  It is so fun to watch him play and clap after he does it!

I must say, Caleb is going to be our curly headed little boy!  That makes this Mommy just smile from ear to ear!  He has the sweetest curls around his ears and at the nape of his neck.  And I have already warned his Daddy, that I will not be cutting ANY of them for a very long time!

We took some pictures outside for a project for my Dad for his birthday.  While the Hogs are not doing much to impress on the football field, this little boy was pretty impressive with his football skills!  I love his chubby little cheeks!

Caleb, here are your 11 month milestones:
-20lbs. 4oz.
-You sit yourself back up from your army crawl position.
-You are pulling up on everything!  The very first time you pulled up to your feet was 9-15-12
-You will walk alongside the couch, ottoman, bathtub, etc.
-You decided to crawl the "normal" way, but still move your quickest with that army crawl.

-You have a budding vocabulary: see above.
-You want to be right where your brother is, playing with his toys, and laughing at his crazy antics!
-You still are very attached to Mommy (insert Mommy giggle)
-You have the most beautiful dark blue eyes.  Strangers comment on them!
-You are still so laid back and you love to cuddle.
-BUT, you have a little attitude that rears its head usually around milk or meal time when we aren't fast enough!
-We are just in awe of how much we love you little baby boy!  I think Mommy and Daddy will call you "the baby" for the rest of your life!  Caleb William, you are the best thing that has happened to us since your big brother and we look forward to many milestones to come.  I have a feeling the "walking" one is not too far around the corner!