Child Labor

Don't get too carried away with that title..... it's just a joke. Starting this last couple of months Isaac and Julia have had their own set of chores to do each day. They have been doing things to help out around the house for awhile, but have not had daily chores until now. I know I should enjoy this age, because they actually want to help and most often (not always) are excited to do their chores. Isaac does things like gathering and taking out the trash, dusting, and feeding Oliver. Julia gets to clean the bathroom mirrors and sinks, dust, and also helps to feed Oliver.


The other day Isaac and I were talking about being humble and doing something for another person that they would rather not do. He asked me what my least favorite chore was..... without hesitation I answered "cleaning the toilet". Isaac immediately wanted to learn to clean the toilet. And who am I to stop him. I taught him the basics and he went to work. I must say he was mighty proud of himself, as was I. And to prove how much my children enjoy doing chores, last week when they were "soooo bored" of playing with their toys, I pulled the... "well if you are so bored I can find you something to do" - totally referring to putting them to work. My little plan backfired (or did it?) and they got excited to be put to work. Isaac went to sweep out the garage and Julia cleaned a toilet (she wanted to be just like big brother!!) I know one day I will only hear moans and groans with the mention of the word chores, so for now I am relishing every minute.


Gabe and I don't give our children an allowance for doing chores. We want them to help as part of this family without expecting to get paid for it. Doing things to keep our household in order is just what we do as a family. Everybody pitches in! On the flip side of that, we want our children to start learning from an early stage the value of money. So my question is, what do you do? Do you give an allowance for chores? How do you handle teaching your children about the value of work and the value of money?

Love Creek Orchards Pumpkin Patch

This was our 5th consecutive trip to Love Creek Orchards in Medina. Our first trip was when Isaac was a few months shy of turning 2 and I was a few months pregnant with Julia. Now here we are with Isaac nearing his 6th birthday, Julia is 3 1/2, and Caleb has joined our family. Lots of memories made at Love Creek.

Isaac's first trip to Love Creek

Oh, how he has grown!

The weather was gorgeous on Saturday. Little too windy and sunny for Caleb's liking, but for the rest of us it was quite pleasant. We enjoyed hay mazes, hay rides, pumpkin patches, ponies, petting zoo, music, picnics, pumpkin painting...... let's just say it was a fun filled day for all.

Julia's first trip to Love Creek

Oh, how she has grown!

We had to get the annual pumpkin pictures of the kids. Isaac and Julia hammed it up for the camera. Caleb, on the other hand, was not too fond of being laid out in the bright sun and blustery wind. He was none too happy about our pursuit of a cute pumpkin picture of our newest little pumpkin. Oh well, there is always next year!!!

Caleb's first trip to Love Creek

Here are some of the pictures from this years trip to Love Creek Orchards....

If you hover over the pictures, there are captions on some of them. Enjoy!

One on One Time

Just hanging out with Mommy .....

and Papa

Everyone needs a little one on one time!

6 Weeks and Very Blessed

Caleb is 6 weeks old today. It is at this point with each of my babies that I really count my blessings. Most Moms are going back to work, handing off their baby to a caregiver. Before Gabe and I were even engaged, we talked about our expectations and desires for when we had children. From the very beginning we both agreed wholeheartedly that I would not work , but instead stay home with our children. One of the best decisions we have ever made. It hasn't always been easy living on one income. In fact there were years when Gabe worked for a different school district that I wonder how we even made it. But I know how. God. He provides for all of our needs and then some. For years I barely had to buy clothes for the kids because we had so many hand-me-downs given to us. We are just now getting to the end of that supply and Isaac is almost 6 years old!!! We always had enough food to eat and enough money for the bills. It has been tight and probably always will be. We are comfortable knowing that we will never be rich or have a large excess of money. We are okay with that. The alternative for us is not worth it. I would give up all the riches of the world to spend my days with our children, loving on them and watching them grow, learn and change. They are my riches. And in my opinion, my riches far outweigh any amount of money.

So with all of that said, my baby is 6 weeks old today and I am blessed beyond measure to be at home holding him and loving on him. Caleb is growing very fast. He is smiling and cooing, sleeping through the night (3 nights now), and loves to look around at his world. He is becoming very observant and gets a kick out of his mobile. He recognizes our voices and turns to look at us when we talk to him. Isaac is still so fascinated with him. It warms my heart that Isaac is already so protective and loving towards him. Julia (when she takes time out from playing) is so sweet and gentle with Caleb. Such a little Mommy!! But I can see that Julia still needs to be Momma's "baby" sometimes. She needs me to hold and cuddle her too. But once she gets her fill, she is off to explore and play like a big girl.

I wonder sometimes what I did to deserve such beautiful and precious gifts. And of course the answer is... I did absolutely nothing to deserve them. They are gifts from God. Gifts that I cherish and thank God for everyday. Can you tell I love being Isaac, Julia, and Caleb's Mommy?!!!

Big Smiles

Proud Big Brother

Proud Big Sister

Oh and one last thing.....

First Tub Bath

After a rather muggy walk with Isaac and Caleb last night, we came home all sweaty, icky and in need of baths. First up, Caleb got a bath in the baby bathtub. This was his first tub bath. Why you might ask? He is almost 6 weeks old, right?! Well, for some odd reason my kids have very thick and deep umbilical cords. With each baby their cords took forever to fall off. Caleb's just fell of this past weekend. He absolutely LOVED the bathtub. As soon as I laid him in the warm water he immediately started smiling and cooing. And of course, as with most every baby, he "sprung a leak"! Isaac got a kick out of that!! Caleb just kept kicking his feet around in the water, loving every minute of his bath. He looked so big in the bathtub sling as you can clearly see in the pictures. I am curious to see how much he weighs now,but our next appointment is not for a few more weeks. I should do what a friend of mine does. She weighs her babies in the produce scales at HEB - then prints out a sticker with their weight on it. :) Can't you just see me doing that? Hilarious!!

After Bath Bliss!!

This picture shows how big Caleb is getting.

Best Day

I have never regretted quitting my career as a teacher and becoming a stay at home Mom. Quite the opposite, I feel blessed beyond measure to have the opportunity to be in the presence of my little ones all day everyday. Granted that can be hard to remember on days when I have battled strong wills while watching mounds of laundry and dishes grow right in front of my eyes. There are some days that I fall into my bed at night and wonder what I actually accomplished. Then the thought occurs to me.... the laundry and dishes will always be there, did you love on your children today? Did you spend special moments with each of them? Did you make lasting memories? It is the little things that make a big difference in a child's life. I know my standard for being a great Mom is pretty high and I never quite make it to that standard. But I try - and that counts. I know I have made a million mistakes and will make a million more. I pray often that God would protect my children from my mistakes. I wonder what they will remember as they get older - all the good stuff or all the not so good stuff. I hope and pray that when they look back they will think they had some of their best days with me because I know without a doubt my best days are with them. I saw this video the other day and let the tears fall. I want to look back at our videos one day without regret and know that I did what I could do to cherish each moment with my children, that I taught them, that I held them when they were hurt, that I showed them love in every possible way .






**That's as small as the video gets - SORRY**

Grot

Grot - the state of being better than great.

Sunday afternoon was grot! After a stinky weekend of sickness, God blessed our family with a fun and relaxing afternoon. Gabe and the kids came home from church on Sunday with Rudy's BBQ in hand ready to build a fire in the fireplace and watch a movie.After the movie we dug out all the supplies and made s'mores. So FUN and yummy of course. Isaac enjoyed it so much he invented a new word! I asked him what he thought of his s'more and he replied, "It is grot!" "What does "grot" mean Isaac?" "It means better than great" he answered. And yes indeed, the s'mores and our afternoon were definitely better than great!! After our tummies where full, we all settled down for a cozy and warm nap. Gabe, Isaac, and I all chose a couch in the living room and snoozed the day away in front of the fire. Ahhhh, I love fall! The cooler weather, the fire in the fireplace.....just what I needed!

You will notice in the pictures below that Julia is "absent". She stubbornly refused to eat her lunch, so she could not partake in the s'mores. : ( Where does she get her pickiness for food?! My family is laughing hysterically now. I am wee bit of a picky eater myself. Julia had to go take a nap while we made s'mores. So sorry she had to miss out on all the fun! By the way, Julia got up from nap complaining that she was hungry. After a bit, she ate what was left of her lunch. Wish she would have just done that to begin with.

Last night as I was putting the kids to bed, I hugged Isaac and told him he was grot! He grinned and asked with wide eyes... "You mean you think I am better than great?!" "Absolutely, Isaac. you are far better than great"

What Caleb thinks.....

This is what Caleb thinks about his Mommy being sick with fevers and mastitis this weekend....


He was not a happy camper Friday when he had to be separated from his Mommy just in case it was the flu and not mastitis. Our content little guy cried more on Friday night than ever before. Poor baby didn't know what was going on, didn't like the bottle, and definitely missed his Mommy. That last one is more for my comfort than anything else because I sure missed him. It tore my heart out that I couldn't go in there to comfort him. :( But once we knew for sure that we were dealing with mastitis I was actually relieved. I have never been more happy to have mastitis. With the flu outbreaks and the seriousness of the H1N1 with infants, I was a bit worried about my 5 week old getting sick.

My temp got up to 103 on Friday night. One word.... MISERABLE! I do not get sick often, especially with fevers. I forget how absolutely horrible having a fever is. I was well taken care of. Gabe was a trooper and took great care of me as did the kids. The weekend wasn't a total loss though. We ended it with a special day spent together as a family. Pics and details in a post to come!!!

Overheard at the Landes House

Julia is sitting at the table drawing pictures in her journal from our day at Landa Park. One of the markers is dried out due to a missing cap. She said... "Some little boy (said with dramatic flair) I know forgot to put the lid back on this marker" "Oh yeah?! Which little boy would that be?" I said (totally expecting and waiting for her to blame Isaac) "Caleb" was her answer. Wow - Caleb is barely 5 weeks old and he is already getting blamed by his sibling!

Julia can be quite the stinker... cute stinker... but a stinker nonetheless!!

Crazy Hair Night

Last night was crazy hair night at AWANA. Can't do much craziness to Isaac's hair but we gave our best effort. He thought it was fun having spiky hair for the night. Of course, he promptly came home and brushed it down!! He is not one to live on the wild side as far as his looks go:) everything else is fair game!

Visit to Aunt Karen's

Caleb and I made the very rainy trek to visit my sister, Karen, last Saturday. She is at home recovering from surgery so we thought some company would brighten her day and help the healing along. Plus, Karen insists that her doctor prescribed a nice dose of holding her newborn nephew to help with her recovery!!! I would like to see the doctor's note on that one ;)

Update: Karen came through and actually "produced" a note!! Hilarious!!

It was a great day spent with Karen, her hubby Bobby and sons Kendall and Jared. It was Bobby and the boys first time to meet Caleb. There is nothing like seeing a grown man and a teenage boy snuggling an infant. As always.... great memories!

This was Isaac, Julia, and Caleb's message to Aunt Karen!!

Caleb Doodle

Our kids have had to put up with various nicknames, and funny enough they actually answer to them. Isaac has always been Isaac Dooglas Booger Booger Booglas. Julia is Ju Ju Bean, sometimes Ju Ju Beanalicious. And now Caleb is our little Caleb Doodle. This is where I expose my ultra nerdy side.... I have made up a song to go with Caleb's nickname. Here it goes.....

Caleb Doodle
I love Yoodle
Yes I Doodle

In fact I make up songs for most everything. My sister had a grand idea that I record my silly little songs and post them here. HA - that's not going to happen!! I may be nerdy, but I am not going to torture you with my... let's just say - VERY off key singing voice. Which is fine for children 5 and under, but not so much for those of you visiting my blog here.

Anywhoo....... I mentioned in my last post that Caleb has started smiling. I sort of captured his smile the other day. It is hard to get a picture of his smile because he doesn't make eye contact with a camera and definitely doesn't want to smile at one. So I had the camera off to the side hoping it was pointed at him while I got him to smile. That is why the picture is a "little off". Caleb Doodle has a precious smile. First smiles are one of my favorite moments with my children.

This is the beginning of his smile....


.This is his full, adorable, cute as a button smile....


I hope to get some better quality smiling pictures, but this will have to do for now.

One Month

Caleb is one month old today and doing GREAT!! (has it already been one month since our precious baby boy was born?!!!) He is just a delightful little guy, very content, and laid back. I can truly appreciate his temperament. It's all about perspective!!


Caleb has been sleeping great at night. He has been sleeping in his own room for two weeks now. I have never moved my babies to their own room so fast, but we tried it one night and everyone slept better. Lately, Caleb has been sleeping in two 5 hour chunks.... 9 to 2 and 2 to 7!! Not too shabby for a newborn!


He also sleeps great during the day - eat, wake, sleep cycle! As long as he is wrapped up in his Miracle blanket he goes right to sleep. Even when "unwrapped" he still soothes himself to sleep, He just doesn't sleep as long without it because those pesky flailing arms keep waking him up!


Gabe and I are convinced that Caleb has started to genuinely smile. Isn't that the best?! Yesterday at MOPS Caleb smiled and all the ladies behind me that saw him collectively said... "ahhhhh" at the same time. :) I have yet to capture it on the camera but I will keep trying and post a picture when I get it. He has also started to coo just a bit. I love all these blessed little milestones.


Apparently Caleb is still "Super Baby" Remember this picture from the day we brought him home from the hospital?!

One Day Old

One Month Old

He is most definitely our Super Baby!!! God has abundantly blessed us with this little guy, Isaac, and Julia. I am awed and amazed every day that God chose to give us such wonderful gifts.