Playing in the Country

This weekend we headed out to the Stroder land to hang out with some of our friends, the Romberg family and the Hadash family. We had so much fun! Luke was thrilled to show off Nana and Daddy Matt's to his friends; and I think his dad felt the same way. Our mission was to take the kids fishing at the tank, but we also planned to feed cows, cookout, and just let the kids play and have fun.

We headed to see the cows pretty quickly after we got down there. They live on the 42 acres and Nate and I own across the dirt road, so the kids piled in the bed of the truck with Jamie, Michelle, and me while Josh and Victor drove the mule. When we got down there, the cows were nowhere to be found, so Nate jumped on the mule with the guys to go down and round them up. After what felt like an eternity trapped in the bed of the truck with seven antsy, hungry, thirsty, hot kiddos, they showed up with two cows. I guess the other three decided it wasn't worth it. The kids took turns getting out to feed range cubes with the help of their dads. Michelle stayed in the truck while Jamie and I took pictures. :)



Victor helped Sarah feed a cow.



She was so excited when the cow took the cube from her.



Luke thought he would show off and fed all by himself. He's done this before.





The kids were over the back of the truck when we decided to head back, so they climbed in the mule with Josh and Victor.

We played back at Nate's parents for awhile and then cooked hot dogs for dinner. The kids all rode their bikes and scooters, and Caleb walked around in his walker. He is a wild child in that thing! He was all over the place, off roading and everything. The part that I will never forget is when he was doing everything he could to get over the bump that separates the driveway from the sidewalk. He almost fell over, but he righted himself before he stood up, picked up the walker himself, and stepped over the bump. My jaw dropped. We're in trouble with this one, that's for sure.

After dinner we drove over to the tank to fish. It was Luke's first time fishing, ever! He was so excited. The guys had gone to Navarro Mills to get minnows {or minnas if you're talking to Nate} to use as bait, and the kids were mesmerized by them.





Eva's face is priceless. I don't think she liked when Nate stuck the hook through the poor fish.



Luke and his like-a-little-sister Eva. Aren't they so cute?!



And the first line is cast!



He held on long enough to get some pictures, then handed over the pole so he could go play. I don't think he quite grasps the patience part of fishing.





The group!



Reese, however, showed us all up and caught the first fish! Nate was helping her, which turned into some really cute pictures.







Michelle and Sarah.



And, Reese caught two more fish. She lead the group with three. I kept trying to get her to just touch my pole, but it didn't work. This fish, she and Sarah held the pole together. At least, I think they did. I know they were next to each other.



Eva caught one, too!



All of a sudden we realized it was after 8 PM and all the kiddos were slowly starting to melt down. So I handed the pole to Nate so he could reel it in and put it away. Seriously, five seconds after he took it, there was a bite. Story of my life!



Since technically Luke didn't catch one, Nate let him hold this one. {He did end up holding a pole throughout the night; in fact, he got one bite but we didn't reel it in fast enough and it got away.}



Holding it all by himself. Gross!



Letting the fishie go so, as the Wild Kratts say, it can "live free and in the wild."



So it was a super fun day! I think it might rank as one of my favorite days in Emmett. I can't wait to do it again!

Luke Funny of the Day

A month ago, Nate and I attended the Love and Respect video conference at our church. It was an eye opening experience for us. We've been blessed with a pretty good marriage, not that there aren't rough patches here and there; but for the most part we have been happy for the past almost eight years. However, it showed us that there are things about each other that are simply how God made men and how God made women, so it has made us be more understanding and compassionate with each other. The basis of the conference is Ephesians 5:33 - "However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." Men don't have to be told to respect because it comes naturally to them, just as women don't have to be told to love because it comes naturally to them. But a woman needs to feel loved by her husband, just as a man needs to feel respected by his wife. It's a {not-so} vicious cycle.

Anyway, the conference has also altered the way we are parenting our boys. Since the respect part will come naturally to them, we are teaching them to be more loving; hopefully, they will learn this now and their future wives will benefit. {And that is all I'm going to say about that!}

So here's the funny part...we were eating dinner tonight and my iPhone was on the table. We were talking about making sour cream, so Nate grabbed my phone and started Googling how to make it. While he had my phone, some emails came across and I was asking him to hand it to me so I could check them really quick. Well he was teasing me, of course, and didn't hand me the phone.

Luke pipes in, "Daddy, you aren't being very loving to Mommy." We burst out laughing. Then he follows with, "I've got my eye on you, Dad," and does his fingers from his eyes towards his daddy's eyes. We were laughing so hard. It was hilarious, and totally out of the middle of nowhere! I guess he has been listening to us, though!

Another note about the conference...we definitely recommend it to anyone who is married, or anyone about to be married! It was a great experience for us, so if you have the opportunity to attend a video conference - take it!

On a Walk...

Taking advantage of the walkway behind our house...



...and wearing these kiddos out before bedtime!

Playing Outside

We spent some time in the backyard this afternoon. It's the first time I have put Caleb down to just crawl around out there. The grass is finally starting to grow back fromn last year's drought, and I had just picked up all the dog poop, so I let him go.

He immediately headed to the play area to see what the big kids were doing up in the fort. He started off at the rock climbing wall, and then went around to the ladder. When he couldn't figure out how to get up either of those, he went to the slide.

I do wonder how long it will be before he is climbing these things. He is getting too big, too fast.





Then he gave up and headed back to the porch. He was playing with a ball and I looked away for about 2.5 seconds to check on the big kids, only to turn around to find this.





He is going to be ALL boy! Luke didn't want to touch dirt, much less play in it, until this past year!

How Caleb rolls

When we're on a marathon trip to Target, all he can do is just sit back and chill.

Luke's first baseball season!

Luke's first baseball season is officially over!

The Angels' last game was last night. What a fun season this was for our family! And it was a little stressful considering Luke was the only four year old on a 6U team. But he did great, and we are so proud of him. He absolutely loved it. I won't say he loved every minute, because we did hit some rocky patches in the beginning. We went through a "I'm scared of the ball" phase after the team had two weeks off between spring break and a week of rainouts, and since then he hasn't been able to hit a ball off the pitcher. {Except for the one game when his daddy had to pitch. He did get a hit that game.} But by the end of the season he was getting really good hits off the tee; including one that went over second base and to the outfield last Saturday! During the "I'm scared of the ball" phase that lasted a week he didn't want to play at all, including practicing in the backyard. He normally loves that and I was devastated thinking that we had ruined his love for baseball because we had pushed him too hard. So it's a huge relief to watch and listen to him now. Just last week he announced, "Mom, I just LOVE playing baseball!" When I told him that I love watching him play, he responded with, "But Mom, it's more fun to play that watch!"

So I'm pleased to say that at the end of the season he still loves the game.

Last night was Luke's last game with the Angels. They move up to 7U for the fall, and we don't feel like Luke is ready for that yet. It's really sad that he won't be playing with Joshua and Coy and the other friends he has made, but hopefully our next team will be fun.

Here are a couple pics from after the game. I hadn't taken any of their after the game talks, so I wanted to do that last night.

Saying Goodbye

Last Wednesday, April 18th, my neighbor Josh got home from work while Jamie and I were sitting outside with all the kids. First thing he said to me was, "Beck, I heard Pudge is retiring on Monday as a Ranger."

I'm pretty sure I didn't react at first. I checked the Rangers website, ESPN, Facebook and Twitter but didn't see anything posted yet. He explained that they had just announced it on the radio as he was driving down our street. Josh and Jamie teased me, asking if I was going to cry about it. I laughed, because I hadn't reached that point.

It hit a few minutes later when I went inside to fix dinner and I saw the first article posted on Twitter. Seeing his picture brought all the feelings and memories back, and I cried the entire time I was cooking.

I've been a little removed from Pudge the past two years. After he left the Rangers again and went to the Nationals, I stopped really tracking him. The Nationals never played the Rangers in 2010 or 2011, and there were never any games on tv that I could watch.

But hearing that he was retiring? And that I would never see him play again? Ugh, that is devastating to me.

I spent the next few days looking up every article and old video of Pudge I could find. There are just so many good memories there. I've loved Pudge since I was 12 years old. I remember sitting up in the third level of the Ballpark with my binoculars, watching his every move with commentary from my dad. Pudge was my idol and best example of a catcher. And you could tell he played with such heart and that he truly loved the game. He had the best smile, and my favorite part of watching him play was seeing him flash that smile every time he threw someone out trying to steal on him.

When I heard that the Rangers would be signing him to a 1 day contract so he could retire as a Ranger, and that they would be honoring him in a ceremony before the game on Monday, April 23rd, I knew I had to be there. It didn't make sense to pay for the whole family to go, and Nate really didn't want to be seen with me there because he knew I would be a basketcase and it would embarrass him. So my best friend Michelle stepped up and said she would go with me. Since the Rangers were playing the Yankees, the best tickets we could get were third level in left field. {Translation: really crappy tickets!} But it didn't matter...the only thing that mattered was being there to pay tribute to Pudge, and to thank him for an amazing 21 year career.

I took a box of Kleenex with me to the game. The bag checker laughed at me and asked if I was planning on crying. I said, "Yes. The Pudge ceremony. That's why I'm here."

So Michelle and I made our way to the top of the Ballpark, to our seats in the sun, and I cried my eyes out during the ceremony. And then practically bawled when he went out to make the first pitch, and ended up behind the plate to throw one more time down to second base. I'm such a freak!

It still saddens me to think that he's done. I know that he's 40 years old and has had a great career...but I'm still sad. He will always be my favorite baseball player.

Thanks for all the memories, Pudge.

11 Months

What is there to say about my 11 month old?

Caleb Michael is a spunky little pistol. Everyday he gets funnier, sillier, and more of a temper! He is such a fun addition to our family. But wow, the Wrath of Caleb seems to get worse as he gets older, so we're a little nervous for the months ahead.

This month Caleb got strep throat for the first time, POOR BABY. Luckily other than a cold and now a snotty nose that is most likely teething or allergies, we've only made the one visit to the doctor for him this month. :::knock on wood::: He is STILL toothless, but we can see six teeth under his gums. He doesn't seem as bothered by them as he was a month ago, though; which is nice.

He's turning into a little copy cat! Two weeks ago, we were eating dinner and Nate kept coughing. Caleb started copying the sound of his daddy's cough. He loves to copy sounds that we make, too. It's so funny!

He loves, loves, loves his big brother and his big brother's room! If Luke is in his room, it doesn't take Caleb long before he hightails it to find him. He could play for hours in Luke's room. He also has a fetish for all things corded...playing with cords is one of his favorite things that he is not allowed to play with. But other than Luke's room and cords, Caleb's absolute favorite thing to play with is a ball. He's not picky about which one, but he loves to throw a ball and chase it around. {This has saved us at Luke's baseball games!}

Eating wise...he's still drinking 18-24 ounces of formula each day. I just purchased the last two cans, so we will begin the transition to whole milk soon. My plan is to start mixing formula with whole milk once we get to the last can. I'm so excited to not have to buy formula anymore!! He drinks GREAT out of a sippy cup, so that's a relief. His favorite food is bananas. He eats one every morning for breakfast. He still eats almost anything we put in front of him, which I'm hoping continues.

His main method of transportation is still crawling...the kid is fast!...but he has taken a step here or there. He acts like he wants to walk, but just doesn't have the confidence in himself yet. However, if he has something to hold on to, then he will walk as fast as he can. He loves to walk in his walker outside!

Sleeping is going a lot better...he takes 1-2 naps a day. Usually it's two, unless his morning nap ends up lasting a really long time. Like today he slept from 11 AM - 2:30 PM, so by the time he's ready for another nap it will almost be bedtime! We try to get him in bed by 7 PM every night...sometimes it is earlier, sometimes it is later. He's almost always awake by 7 AM. Again, sometimes that varies.

One thing about Caleb...the only thing you can count on is for him to surprise you. There is no real consistency to him at all! (Except that he loves a banana for breakfast!)

All in all, he is a great baby (even with the Wrath!). We just love him so much! I can't believe he is almost a year old, though; it makes me want to cry!

Our photoshoot today was after he woke up from his nap. He had just finished throwing a huge fit about me changing his clothes. He was not very excited about sitting on the couch and being photogenic.


Giving me a hint of a smile...he is SO handsome!


I love his tongue in this picture.


Finally I made Luke stand behind me, hoping to get some classic Caleb grins. Of course Luke could get him to smile!

Easter Sunday

Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where he lay.
Matthew 28:5-6


Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Easter is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays. I love the message behind it...all about love. It blows my mind that Jesus would endure all the pain and suffering that He went through just to save us, so that we could have a personal relationship with Him. I'm so thankful!

Our Easter Sunday began with our traditional egg hunt in the living room. Instead of doing a bunch of little things in the boys' baskets this year, we decided to get them one "big" thing. Luke got a Razor scooter and Caleb got the Leapfrog Fridge Farm (since Luke's broke).



Luke rode the Razor all over the house.




Caleb found two baseball eggs filled with pennies and loved them more than his new Fridge Farm.




Traditional Easter pictures at Nana and Daddy Matt's...our first year with Caleb!