Santa Claus and Caleb 2010

As you see, Caleb did not think too fondly of Santa Claus this year! I knew he was at the age where it was going to be questionable and low and behold it was immediately BIG tears as soon as I placed Caleb on Santa's knee. Maybe next year buddy we will like Santa a little bit better. Who can blame you though.....I don't want to go sit in the lap of a big man that I don't know either! For anyone that is wondering about the moose in the background, we drove to the Bass Pro Shop in Lawrenceville to see Santa. They give you a FREE picture and you can also take pictures with your own camera. No big mall fees! I thought he looked like a great Santa as well. To top it off we were able to see the fish in the aquarium and every other kind of stuffed animal you can imagine!

BIG Brother!!!

Just a few days before Thanksgiving Josh and I found out we were going to be parents again and that Caleb was to be a BIG brother! We are very excited and anxious to see if Caleb is going to have a little sister or little brother. We did not find out the sex with Caleb, but I think we will find out this time so I am that much more anxious to know now that we are just weeks away from that answer. It was a blessing to find out before Thanksgiving so we could share the good news with family over the Thanksgiving holiday. We found the BIG brother t-shirt for Caleb to wear and did not say a word until someone noticed what it said. And believe it or not it took a few minutes for everyone to catch on since Caleb is a busy bee these days he didn't stop very long for anyone to read it. Caleb will be two years and three months old when this new baby comes. Caleb you are going to be the BEST BIG brother and your little sister or brother is going to love you very much!

Caleb is 18 months old!

Where does time go? I feel like I was just posting on Caleb's first birthday party! Happy half birthday my darling Caleb! You are growing like a weed and learning new things daily. I love your sweet heart and your precious smile. You now will tell us "love you" back and give us kisses. You will blow kisses to your friends. Your favorite place to play is in our side yard where there are sticks, leaves, a slope and Georgia red clay. You love to go to Chastain park to see the horses. You have had two haircuts and could use your third, but mommy just loves your hair long and shaggy. You have a full set of teeth and are cutting more teeth in right now (evidence of lots of drool and waking up during the night). I love to watch you wrestle with your daddy. I love to watch you try to ride Aspen like a horse. You have great manners and will say please and thank you. You LOVE to climb on tables, chairs, the couch and anything else you can find. You are my precious, sweet boy and I love you very much! Thank you for bringing mommy and daddy so much joy!

Tagged.....

So I was "tagged" by my friend Sherri to answer the following questions, so here goes :)

1. What's your most embarrassing moment?
Do I really have to share this?!?! I have tried to forget :) OK so I do have several, but one that immediately comes to mind is in 5th grade while walking back to a friends house with her and 2 boys our age that we liked I "expelled gas" (as my mom would say) LOUDLY from laughing in which I tried to blame it on my shoes which were unfortunately in my hands so clearly it couldn't have been my shoes so I just had to take the teasing and deal with it! Why is farting ALWAYS embarrassing, but also so funny!

2. How did you meet your husband/fiance?
Josh and I met at our church Buckhead Community Church through a new singles gathering. We began to hang out in a large group (often) and then he asked me out on the churches Labor Day retreat for singles at the beach in Destin under a sky full of shooting stars. God really set him up perfectly for a romantic setting to ask me on our first date! We went to Twist for sushi and had the best time....5 months later we were engaged :)

3. What is one thing you would change about yourself, if you had the chance?
So there are a couple of physical things that come to mind, but one thing that isn't physical would be my fear of public speaking. I wish I was more comfortable talking in front of large groups of people.

4. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Easy.....Smacking!

5. What's your favorite word?
Not sure????

6. What is your favorite place in the world? Be specific.
I love a great beach...(St. Simons with family, and Santa Rosa/Destin area with friends, Pebble Beach for the views), a close second would have to be Italy--I would love to go back there and experience it all over with Josh.

7. If you could re-name yourself, what name would you pick?
Growing up I always liked the names Alexis and Ginger....I would not choose to change my name now, but thought that would have been fun as a child!

Summer to Fall

As Summer ends and Fall begins, I am reminded of some of my favorite days with Caleb this Summer....

Daily visits to the pool


Caleb melted my heart in this bowtie!


Enjoying the sprinkler on a hot summer day


Enjoying Pebble Beach in his PJ's


Chick fil A (a weekly favorite)

Pebble Beach, CA

Labor Day we returned home on a red eye from an incredible week long work/vacation in Pebble Beach, CA. We went with Josh's parents (Grammie and Pappy) for a golf tournament and had several days to enjoy off the golf course as well. The trip started off with a bang....what was suppose to be a 7:30pm flight from GA to CA didn't end up leaving till 12am GA time which had us landing around 4am and with an hour drive to the hotel it was 7am our body time by the time we arrived. With all that being said we were some sleepy travelers.
Once we arrived at our hotel (Spanish Bay at Pebble Beach), we realized it was all worth it! This is one of Josh and my favorite trips we take (4 years running) and just love our views from our room, eating Ghiradelli (almost daily)

and strolling around in Carmel/Monterrey. It is also kinda cool there which was great to get out of the GA heat! The flowers are magnificent everywhere probably because of their incredible weather. We enjoyed watching Caleb run around at the beach and also enjoyed watching Pappy play great golf! We visited the Monterrey aquarium for the first time and it was another highlight of our trip. Caleb RAN through the aquarium and was so excited as he saw fish, sharks, penguins, flamingos, jelly fish and more!



We are almost back on track with GA time, but it has been a challenge for us (especially Caleb). He has been staying up late and sleeping in.

Daddy caddying at Pebble Beach!

Josh and me enjoying the fire pits they had outside our hotel room overlooking the ocean.

Pebble Beach will always have a special place in our heart because it is where we found out we were pregnant with Caleb and told Grammie and Pappy they were going to be grandparents!

I do have to mention that Caleb had his first x-rays...and first visit to the ER after going down a slide with mommmy and getting his leg turned backwards. After 2-3 days of being off his feet he is back at it and running. Turns out there were no broken bones (Thankfully) and what appears to have been a strained/pulled hip. I just hated seeing my baby so hurt :( Hard to believe by this picture though!

15 months old and counting....

On August 2nd, Caleb turned 15 months old! Where does the time go? I know we will be celebrating the holidays and then his next birthday before I know it, but for today I am so blessed to have Caleb for the 15 months we have. If I had to give you one word to describe Caleb right now, that would have to be BUSY! Yes, I have heard boys are busy, but I had no idea just what I was in for :) Caleb loves to go back and forth at the pool we go to from baby pool to big pool (back & forth, back & forth). He loves the water which is great, but has no fear of it either. Caleb will dive head first into the pool (hoping we catch him at some point--which we do ofcourse). At his 15 month appointment, he was 32 1/2 inches long
(90%) and weighed 23 lbs and 15oz (45%) which means he hasn't gained any weight since his 12 month appt. In fact he lost a few ounces. This is totally normal especially with such an active toddler so I've heard. The Dr's. first words when she came into the room to check Caleb were "Is he an active child". At that moment I thought, you have no idea :) So fortunately, she wasn't concerned considering how active he is. Caleb is talking a good bit more and has lots of words including (mama, Dada, ball, night night, pool, berries, moon, pizza, choo choo, hot, juice, please, thank you, ho ho, hop, up, bubbles, pee pee, poo pooh, diaper, shoes, cheese, bye bye, Elmo, Gigi, and hi. It is so much fun every time he repeats or grasps the meaning of a new word! Caleb enjoys getting out and will tell me bye bye when he is ready to go somewhere and do something. He is also telling me most of the time when he has a dirty diaper! Does this mean he will potty train early--one can only hope :) Caleb loves to be chased and will do a sideways step until you catch on to play chase with him. He is not much of a mall shopper so I have begun taking him in his wagon full of toys so I can do some shopping every now and again. So if you see a crazy lady in the mall pulling a wagon please don't make fun...it is me and for just this season of life I had to get creative! I could go on and on about my favorite little person, but for know the laundry is waiting while sweet cheeks sleeps. I love you Caleb with all my heart!

Caleb's First Haircut

I finally broke down last week and decided it was time for Caleb to get his first haircut. I am not sure why that first haircut is such a big deal, but I think it has something to do with his growing up and moving from the baby stage to a little boy/toddler stage. Needless to say after being called a little girl for the umtenth time I thought I better get Caleb's hair cut. He did a great job sitting for his first haircut. I didn't let her take too much hair off, but just a shape up/trim.


$18 later.....(I think Daddy will be cutting Caleb's hair after this--seems a little expensive for a little clip!) But how cute am I now!!!!!!!!!

Chastain Park

Sunday night one of my sweet friends, Suzanne, invited me to join her and a couple of girls for a concert at Chastain Park. I had been to one other concert there, but this time we had a table which totally made the concert. We had all kinds of yummy food and were able to sit and enjoy good music at the same time! It made for such a great evening and I had a couple hours without sweet cheeks pulling at me and saying "up"! Although, I thought I would know more of the music from Counting Crows....I think I recognized just one song. Oh well, it was so much fun regardless....thanks for the invite Suzanne!

Aspen is back!

We were so excited to welcome Aspen back after six long months from being away on summer camp down in FL! When we dropped him off we had no idea it would be six months later picking him back up. He and Caleb have quickly become best buds and it is so cute to watch them play together. If you can believe it, Aspen has grown just in the last six months. We are guessing he weighs in the neighborhood of 140-150. He is a big boy, but as I like to say "Gentle Giant". I told Josh last night that I didn't realize how much I missed Aspen till we got him back. He brings so much joy and love into our little family. I sure do sleep better at night after having him back.

Aspen and Caleb playing a game of tug of war. Notice how hard Caleb is pulling and Aspen is so relaxed...I am guessing he is thinking can't you pull harder than that!

St. Simons

Caleb and I just returned from a really fun trip to the beach with my mom, my Aunt Brenda & Uncle Louie, cousin Daphne and my sister Andrea and her family. We had the best weather and such a wonderful vacation. I grew up going to St. Simons and love to return for visits. It is so quaint and charming. Caleb enjoyed his second visit very much and looks forward to going back!

Caleb loved playing in the ocean and the sand as well. He liked the sand so much that he tried to eat it on multiple occasions!

We went to the pier every night to see what was being caught and to let Caleb's cousins go crabbing. We saw two baby sharps being caught one of the nights we were out on the pier.

My cousin, Daphne, and I prior to eating seafood at The Crab Trap. I grew up going to eat at this restaurant and I cannot go to St. Simons without eating there.

There were ducks in the pond where we stayed and Caleb loved feeding and chasing them everyday. We were also fortunate enough to be there while 2 (yes I said 2) ducks were sitting on the same nest with 17 eggs below waiting to hatch!

Independence Day

We had a great 4th of July weekend up at Lake Rabun with some of our favorite friends! Caleb came along to entertain the crowd and prepare our friends that are expecting for parenthood. We had lots of fun floating in the lake, eating lots of yummy food and what girls do best talking....talking....talking. I decided to ski on Sunday before we can home and enjoyed all 7 minutes of it. I realized I had not used some of the muscles that are required for skiing in a long time and was sore for the following 3 or 4 days! This mommy is getting older than she'd like to admit and it is harder to recover after activities I use to do for longer periods of time and with less pain :)

Six years later......still in love!

Today Josh and I celebrate our sixth anniversary! We just returned from Hilton Head where we celebrated early and were able to get away just the two of us for several days. I had never spent any extended time in HH and just loved my time there. We stayed right on the beach and were able to soak in the sunshine (which was very hot, but perfect). We ate at some delicious restaurants (Salty Dogs, The Oyster Factory and on the bay at Harbour Town). We enjoyed sleeping in late....which I hadn't done in such a long time. It was just wonderful! Today I want to take a minute to list my top 6 reasons why I love my wonderful husband and they include:

1. Josh is one of the most gracious people I know. He extends grace when often undeserved and is quick to forgive. Thank you ,Josh, for extending me grace day after day!

2. Josh loves to play. This is one of the first reasons we really connected. We both love playing games, sports, etc. You are my favorite playmate Josh with Caleb pulling a close second :)

3. Josh loves Jesus! This is so evident by his passion to serve the Lord and others. He is eager to honor the Lord with his life. I have grown so much in my walk with the Lord because of you Josh....thank you!

4. Josh is my knight in shining armor. Not only is Josh still opening my doors, but he is also still as good looking as ever (even with a little less hair)!

5. Josh is a dreamer and keeps my life exciting. I admire and love this about Josh because he keeps me on my toes (and sometimes this may even involve moving out West).

6. Josh loves me. I am confident in Josh's love for me and that feels really good. Thank you for loving me unconditionally Josh!

The list could go on, but for six years you just get six reasons :)

Josh, I love doing life with you! Happy 6th Anniversary!

1st golf lesson

OK Caleb, grip the club like this....

OK....I got it Dad...

MR. INDEPENDENT

Did you see that shot????

Zoo Atlanta Grrrrrrrrr

Today Caleb and I went with "Papa" Sapp to Zoo Atlanta. We had such a great time and had perfect weather to visit with the animals! Caleb tends to growl at most animals, but began making other noises as he continued to realize that not all animals growl. One rather large bird was showing off with his loud coos and Caleb preceded to "coo" back at him--it was quite entertaining. We went during a great time of the day (mid morning) and most animals were up and about and easy to view even by a 1 year old. My favorite were the gorillas who apparently were having some problems with one another and were putting on quite a display of aggression/territoriality while we watched. We finished our day with the Panda bears which were so cute and cuddly. Papa, thank you for a wonderful trip to the zoo! We had such a great time!

One year old appointment

Caleb had his one year old appointment and checked out well according to the Doc. He is 24lbs (approx. 65%) and 30" long (90%). We dropped the bottle cold turkey the day after he turned one and he has done well. He is drinking whole milk out of a sippy cup and looks like a big boy carrying it around on his own. It makes me kinda sad! He is walking everywhere now and practically refuses to crawl. Occasionally he will still fall, but walks around like a champ. In fact, I am preparing myself for him to start running soon! Caleb is eating 3 meals a day with snacks in between. A typical day of meals would be the following:
Breakfast:
Milk
Blueberries
Yogurt
and maybe a
Slice of toasted bread w/ jelly or pancakes

Snack:
Cheerios
Juice

Lunch:
Cheese
Fruit cup
Turkey (deli meat)
Veggie--offered not being eaten much now unless it is sweet potato fries

Snack:
Juice/Water
Animal crackers

Dinner:
Lasagna
Bread
or
Spaghetti or
Pizza
or
Beans/Rice

Caleb LOVES balls (bouncy balls, golf balls, basketballs--any really)! He takes two naps a day that usually each last around an hour. He has never met a stranger and loves laughing, smiling and has become quite a talker. He knows several words like bird, ball, balloon, lights, sky, duck, horse, and dog to name a few. He can say several words also like "Ma ma", "Da Da", "Ba" (ball), "Boon" (Balloon), "thank you" (not crystal clear), "juice", and "cheese". Caleb loves bath time and doing anything outside.

Caleb, this year has been an incredible year for your mommy and daddy! Thank you for giving me the most incredible and challenging job I have ever had. I love you more than I thought was possible. You make me light up when I get to talk about you or when others compliment you. You bring so much joy into my life and days. I am honored to be your mother and will always love you no matter what!

Caleb is a 1 year old!!!!

Caleb turned one May 2nd and being that Cinco de Mayo is one of Josh's and my favorite holidays we decided to have a Dos de Mayo party for Caleb. We were so excited when we found a poncho and sombrero for Caleb to wear (which he would not wear the sombrero, but did not mind the poncho with his name on it)! One of Caleb's favorite foods is beans and rice so we thought that was another great reason to have a Fiesta for his first birthday. We had his party at a park on a sunny, but very windy day. Other than the fact that the wind blew some of the sombreros off the table and some of the picture frames down it turned out to be a great day. Caleb had a little personal cake, but did not really dig in like I thought he would. I wanted to have his first party on his actual birthday since it fell on a Sunday and that will not always be possible so we had it at 2pm (which is usually nap time for Caleb). This I think influenced him digging into his cake since he was a little bit sleepy. We all had a great time though especially Caleb's cousins playing pin the tail on the donkey and hitting the pinata for candy! Josh and I made all the food for Caleb's party including the cupcake cactus you see below. Happy 1st birthday Caleb we love you so much!

Caleb with ("Gigi" Sapp & "Gramma" Nelson)

Caleb's cousins picking up candy after the pinata busted.

Caleb and mommy hitting the pinata!

Savannah

Caleb and I drove down to Savannah with Grammie to watch Pappy play golf this weekend. I was fortunate enough that this trip also aligned with my family reunion which was not too far away. We have had a great time and Caleb was able to ride on his first boat ride along with his cousins Ariel & Coby, Aunt Jessica and Grammy.

While here in Savannah, Caleb has started doing some serious walking. He has taken 15 + steps in a row, but will find himself going too fast and in evidently take a spill. I am so proud of him and so happy his knees are getting a little break from the beaten they have been getting.

Today I put shoes on him for the first time since he is wanting to get down more and practice his walking. It is bittersweet for me because I feel like he is growing up so quickly.

Friends

Yesterday, we visited with some of our sweet friends Dave & Laurie that recently moved to FL and we miss them so much! They have a precious little boy, Will, that is just a few months older than Caleb and they had a great time playing together in the mall playground. As you can see, the daddy's are very proud of their boys!

We also have been fortunate enough, while here in Tampa, to see our favorite furry friend Aspen. Aspen has been living at his breeders house while we were on our golf adventure out West. We are hoping to bring him back to Atlanta this summer after we get settled in our own place again. If you can believe it, he has had yet another growth spurt! He is quite the beast!