Final Deposit

November 30th was my dad's last day of work. After over 40 years in the banking industry, he is officially retired.

I'm not going to lie, it's a weird feeling having both of my parents retired. But it's also exciting that they are going to be even more available to do things with my kids. My kids are so, so fortunate to have both sets of grandparents close by and involved in their lives. I hope they realize one day just how good they have it. I would have loved to have this as a kid.

One special thing that Beth and I used to do when we were little girls was count out the money from our piggy banks and take it to "Daddy's bank" where we would help fill out our deposit slips and proudly present them to the tellers. So many of my dad's coworkers were so sweet to us. I remember when he used to work near downtown Dallas we would drive down around lunchtime and then go eat at Mama's Daughter's Diner; it was such a treat.

My dad was in the industry for over 40 years but for the past 27 he was basically with the same bank. Not exactly because it was bought and sold a few times, but he survived all that. Off the top of my head I can think of six name changes the bank went through; he retired from BBVA Compass.

After Luke was born, I was excited to pass on the tradition of going to now "Boppa's bank" to deposit his money from his piggy bank. And just like me as a little girl, he loved going to see Boppa at work. He loved counting out his money and presenting it to the teller. And Dad loved being able to show him off.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, November 25th, Mom, Beth and I went to Dad's bank for the last time; Luke went to Boppa's bank for the last time; and Caleb went to Boppa's bank for the only time. Luke made his last deposit at Boppa's bank and we all tried not to get emotional about it...but I'll admit to shedding a few tears when we walked out of there the last time.

This was the only time Luke helped fill out his deposit slip.


Boppa and the boys.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving Day. There's just so much to be thankful for! Our day consisted of sausage, egg & cheese tacos for breakfast, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, gingerbread men, lots of cooking, and family time in the country with Nate's side.

Funny story from watching the parade...during the Spiderman performance, at the beginning when Peter Parker was still Peter Parker Luke kept saying, "Where's Spiderman?" Well then he showed up in costume and danced and flipped all around. Luke's mouth dropped and he said, "Whoa." Nate and I were dying laughing.

At Nate's parents Luke started learning how to ride his bike without training wheels! He did great his very first time - until he fell down. After that he would pedal two or three times and then stop. He hasn't quite figured out he has to keep pedaling to keep from falling. He'll get there, though. He hasn't had much time to practice at home thanks to illness and the weather, but I have a feeling it will click soon.




Caleb showed off his new sitting skills for the family.


While in Emmett I went with Nate, my brothers in law, and two of our nephews down to the stock tank to shoot some turtles. I really just went to witness it because it sounded fun. (And they weren't sweet innocent turtles; they were alligator snapper turtles who were eating all the fish in the tank!) While we were down there, I shot a gun for the first time in my life. AND I shot a turtle. It was exilerating. Nate is now looking for a gun for me and is planning our family deer hunting trip for next year. I told him to hold up, because that will NOT be happening! ;)

All in all it was a nice Thanksgiving, especially with having a baby. Luke's first Thanksgiving was a NIGHTMARE but Caleb did great. And it will just get better from here on out.

Green Beans

This morning I gave Caleb his first taste of green beans. Yes, at 9:00 in the morning. I figure that the whole "fruit with breakfast, veggies later in the day" thing is learned. Why would he know the difference? He had squash yesterday morning.

Anyway. It was C's first experience with a green veggie. It was also the first thing that he has NOT enjoyed. It was pretty funny. We'll try again and keep our fingers crossed that he'll learn to like them. If I have another eater like my husband or my oldest, then I will lose my mind.

Caleb's 6 Month Well Baby Visit

Weight: 18 lb 7 oz
Height: 27 1/2 inches



A great appointment for lil C! He's on track (a little ahead actually) development wise. He charmed the pedi with all of his grins and giggles. He was so happy and such a good baby until it was vaccine time. Poor thing. But all in all we're so happy that he is healthy and thriving!

I Love Them.

All I wanted was a quick picture to send to Nate at the deer lease. Nothing fancy. The boys were in their jammies. I was using my phone, not expecting a quality picture.

This was the result:


While it's not perfect, I love it. It has me feeling very sentimental. Looking at these two, I'm overwhelmed with emotions. These two are the most precious gifts that God has given us, and I'm so thankful that we have been entrusted to raise these boys to be godly men, and that we get to love them for the rest of their lives.

It's going to happen fast, I know. I'm going to look back and wonder where my little children have gone. I already look at Luke and wonder how he's gotten so big so fast. I pray that when I'm looking back, I'm looking back at wonderful memories and not at lots of regrets.

Caleb's Laugh

I had to post another video of Caleb to prove that we are not always trying to make him cry.

Tonight while getting ready for bed, he was in a laughing mood. Just in the last week he has started laughing even more, and I just love it!

Mean Mom Alert

There have been two instances this week where I have delighted in torturing my children.

The first one was Wednesday night. I was feeding Caleb sweet potatoes. Luke had walked over and was watching. He scrunched up his face and drawled out, "Eeeeeewwwww, that is sooooooo grooooooosssssss."

At this point I was pretty fed up with the kid and his pickiness, so instead of sticking the spoon full of sweet potatoes in Caleb's mouth, I stuck it in Luke's mouth when he wasn't paying attention.

His reaction was priceless. He was gagging and spitting for at least five minutes. Nate and I were rolling with laughter. I still crack up just thinking about his face and the gagging. Oh, how I wish I had it on video.

{He did learn from this, though. Yesterday Caleb was eating pears and Luke commented, "Wow, Mom, that looks good!"}

********

And now for the second occurance.

This afternoon Luke's BFF Quinn was over. Caleb went to sleep right before Quinn got here and slept almost the entire time he was here. He woke up right about the time we were getting ready to take Quinn home, perfect timing. Well as I was getting Caleb ready for the trip (we walked since they live less than a half mile away from us), Luke and Quinn started laughing about something. The sound of their laughter scared Caleb and he started crying his "I don't know what that is but I DO NOT LIKE IT!!!" cry. So, of course, that made us all laugh.

Now do I insist that the older boys quit laughing in order to calm my baby down? Yes, I do. They stop and he quiets down and we're all happy.

Until I grab my phone to take a video, and request that the boys laugh again. Just to get Caleb's panic attack on video. Mom of the Year, right here.

See for yourself...it's funny, right?!?!

6 Months!

Six months already...how is this even possible?!?!

I haven't done that great this month of tracking new accomplishments and milestones with him. He's been sick most of the month with cold on top of cold, add in some teething (although there are still no actual teeth) and it's been an interesting month. He was diagnosed with his first ear infection last Thursday and the antibiotics have resulted in the worst diaper rash I've ever seen. We actually kept him home from church and RidgeMoms this week just because of his diaper rash...I couldn't make some one else change his diaper when I didn't even want to deal with the screaming.

He did start eating solids...there was a blog post about that. I started making him some food, too; something I never did with Luke because the few things I made he wouldn't eat. I think it was a sign. So far Caleb has eaten everything I have fixed him - apples, bananas, and sweet potatoes. Bananas are his favorite so far, although he really seemed to enjoy the sweet potatoes tonight.

His new favorite toy is the jumperoo - he goes wild in that thing. He loves it and it's so funny to watch him in it. He also loves to just scoot around in the floor. His favorite thing to "crawl" after is either Lily's bone or my phone. Of his own toys he likes the crab rattle and the little All Star baby stuffed doll.

His face when Luke gets back in the car after school is priceless. I love to watch him in the rearview mirror through his own mirror, he just stares at Luke with the biggest grin on his face. It's like he is thinking, "where have you BEEN?!?!"

One thing we learned in the last two days is he does NOT like it when Luke makes sounds like he's in trouble. One of our favorite things to do is a tickle attack on Luke and he will squeal and thrash around like we're hurting him (even though we're not). Well Caleb will burst into tears whenever he hears Luke make this sound. It's kind of sad.

Fall Pictures

These are Luke's school pictures for this fall...what a handsome boy!





(they are scans from the professional pictures so the quality isn't that great.)

Snuggles

Sometimes it works out where Luke goes to bed before Caleb. Luke always asks for snuggles before bed, so the other day I was going to snuggle with both boys. But when I put Caleb down he was SO excited to be in Luke's bed that I just took some pictures instead.

Halloween 2011

The Halloween celebrations started on Thursday, when Luke wore his costume to school and had a Halloween party.

Is anyone surprised at his costume, considering his love for the Texas Legends?


Fast forward to Saturday, when we went to Mansfield's Fall Festival. It was a chilly evening at the football stadium, but it was a lot of fun.


Luke has been obsessed with all things fire safety related since they had a fire drill at school about a month ago. He was pretty excited to get up in a fire truck.


We tried to get him to take a picture with the front of it, but he didn't want to. Instead he wanted to give a fireman a fist bump. {no pics of that, though.}

We met our neighbors up there...here are Luke and Reese riding the "train."


The big kids in the wagon. {from my phone so bad quality!}


The puppet show from WRBC was there...Luke loves it and we ended up watching it twice. The first time Caleb was awake and I looked back to find him staring at the puppets - it was so funny!


Our next party was on Sunday at the 2nd Annual Hadash Fall Festival. Our friends put on an amazing carnival in their backyard...it was probably the highlight of Halloween for us. Lots of kids...lots of families...lots of FUN.


And finally we end with Halloween day. We cooked out with the neighbors and then took the kids around to trick-or-treat in a big group. The dads stayed behind to pass out candy.

Davy Crockett, a Fireman, and a SWAT officer
{Luke} {Joshie} {Coy}


Me and the boys. I was a broken-hearted Rangers fan.


Davy Crockett and a little penguin. Love.


We tried getting a group shot of all the kids...but when it's time to go trick-or-treating, the last thing they want to do is pose for pictures!




Out and about...




Caleb came along for the ride, too.


And that's IT! No more Halloween. I'm glad it's over. Bring on the TURKEY!! :)

Cereal Time

For weeks Caleb has been extremely interested in what we have been eating. If he's in my lap during dinner, he's doing his best to get whatever he can in his hands and therefore in his mouth. I was trying to get as close to six months as possible before introducing solids to him. We made it to five months, one week, and three days. :)

His very first taste of oatmeal cereal was on October 25th and it did not go well. I mixed it up using the directions on the box, which made it sooooo runny - basically like I was just giving him formula on a spoon. And that infuriated him. So the next day I mixed it up using a lot less liquid to give it more consistency. That did the trick! He was so excited to be sitting up, eating like a big boy. Thankfully the booster seat we ended up getting when Luke was a lot older works for Caleb now so we don't have to deal with a high chair taking up space.

It's almost been a week since we started and he is doing well. I haven't introduced anything else, just taking this process very slowly. Mainly because I don't really remember a lot of when Luke started eating solids, except for the fact that it did NOT go well. I'm just letting Caleb lead me right now and not pushing it. I am looking forward to adding in some fruits eventually, though. Hopefully Caleb will let me make his baby food and not be so picky like big brother, who chowed down on Gerber but turned his nose up at the homemade stuff.





SUCH a happy baby!




Video: