Merry Christmas!!

I know it was a festive time of year, but unfortunately I didn't get a lot of pictures taken. Last year's Christmas was like picture overload, but this year I don't have hardly any. Well, I've got some from leading up to Christmas, but not many from from Christmas day.

Anyway, Merry Christmas everybody! It was a fabulous day for us; Caleb decided to let us have the honor of opening all his presents and he just sat in a circle surrounded by all his newly acquired treasures (thanks to Grandma and Granpa!). It was a lot of fun! Justin's family has a tradition of doing a Christmas EVE dinner, so that was fun for me to be able to do. Luckily, I had the help of him and his brother, Devin, and I was healthy enough to do it! That was fabulous! I was so proud of how it turned out (...you'll have to wait for that random picture...), especially my homemade dinner rolls.

I especially enjoyed Christmas Eve this year. We read the Christmas story, Caleb version, then we read it for real once he was in bed. We ended up singing hymns and reading other stories for about an hour. It was wonderful and I'm so grateful for the spirit it brought into our home as it reminded us of Jesus Christ's birth and why we celebrate Christmas. How blessed we are!

Christmas morning Justin made our now-traditional bacon quiche tarts and then Caleb decided we should open all our presents. It was all over within an hour and we finally put Caleb down for a nap about 3 hours after his normal nap time. Oh it was joyful!

We hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas wherever they were. Now we have the New Year's to look forward too!

We're Goin' to Okla-hio-ma-sota!

So, Amber and I woke up on December 1st to find acceptance offers from 4 dental schools! Hooray! We have been accepted at Ohio State, Case Western, University of Oklahoma, and University of Minnesota. Oklahoma and Ohio State were two of our top three. (The only one of our top choices that we have not heard from yet is University of Iowa.)

So, I was not actually expecting such a good showing from dental schools this early. I was always expecting to accept whichever school accepted me. Now we have the blessing (and curse) of choosing a dental school. So, any input? Where should we go?

Visual Update!

With some words, of course!

So, we've had Halloween with an adorable costume that a great friend gave us for Caleb! :) And while Justin was trying to find some things for the ward Halloween party we found the matching tiger costumes. Think it'll be good for our Christmas newsletter? lol
We've learned that Caleb really likes stickers. especially on his face.



We also had pumpkin carving time, playing in the leaves (Caleb LOVES leaves. When they were all over the place he'd just run around picking them up. Then when the wind blew and they flew all around...ah, he was in heaven!).
Then there was Thanksgiving! Caleb really wanted to help cook!

And of course, Caleb wants to be just like Daddy.

Caleb and I also took a trip to Disney World, as I mentioned a while back. It was fun, hectic, tiring, but oh so worth it! His favorite parts were
1) The giant Winnie the Pooh that he could hug; he liked Goofy okay, too.
2) the sidewalk that lit up
3)the fountains/faucets/waterfalls
4) airplanes

And now we are on the countdown to when the dental school acceptances will be coming in. Midnight tonight is the first official POSSIBLE time, but they could come as late as February. I'm so ready to be planning and organizing and getting things settled for our little family...we're totally on pins and needles!

That excitement on top of the holiday season, a bathroom being renovated, and a little boy who loves the Christmas tree, outside, signs but doesn't talk, pees like a waterfall...and we've kept ourselves pretty busy!

Finally, a break!

Justin finally gets a break. So do I, I guess.

He pulled nearly an all-nighter Monday night (2 hours of sleep) to finish a paper after taking a test.

He's been working like mad to get the tile up in the bathroom. That includes using a tile cutter outside when it's dark and so cold that there are ice crystals on the blade. Luckily, he's not sick! He's a rock!

I'm so excited for the bathroom to be finished. Ah, I want a bath so bad. Don't worry, we've still been bathing, just in a shower. Caleb especially misses splashing around! That'll be the best Christmas present for him! Oh, I love holidays!

I'm glad that he gets a break because now he'll actually be HOME when he's home. Is this supposed to be prepping me for dental school? When he's studying and gone and I really won't see him for a year? That'll be really tough if that's the case.

Anyway, we're happy it's break time! A break from school, from work, from teaching, from being sick...and Caleb is even communicating so well now! He signs and points and asks and oh! it's wonderful! I feel like my efforts are finally starting to have some sort of reward!

We have lots to be grateful for; too much for a blog post, so just believe us! :-) What are you grateful for? Especially if it's out of the ordinary train of thought?

A bit behind...as always!

So, I was playing with the new template options....and I just don't feel like I quite got it. Too many options, maybe??

I know I've GOT to have some pictures to put up, but I haven't uploaded from the camera in a couple of weeks! So, here's to a verbal update. Or something like that.

For starters, when did TRIX cereal become just colorful balls? Didn't it used to be little flowers and bananas and such?

Second, Caleb's first word was "thank you." It's sooo cute when he says it! Apparently we're giving him food all the time, cuz that's when he says it. We're still working on please. lol, one time I was trying to get him to say please when he wanted some pretzels. I knew what he wanted, but I wasn't responding. Well, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He picked up the pretzel container (one of those big ones that you get at a wholesale food store) and put it in my lap. haha, it made me laugh! He seriously eats more than I do!!

Third, Justin has now had 5 interviews: Case Western in Cleveland, OH; Iowa State in Iowa City; Minnesota in Minneapolis; Boston, in well, Boston; and Ohio State in Columbus. He has one more scheduled, and that is Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. We of course have our top 2 or 3...but what are your votes? We're not accepted to any yet. Dental schools have this agreement that nobody tells you "yes" until at least December 1. That way they all have a fair shot. I guess. So, we're still in limbo. And some of them can wait until February to let you know!

Fourth, I'm going to Disney World! With Caleb! I'm really sad Justin can't come with us, but so glad that we get to go and see my family and my new little niece! :-) My brother has an "internship" there so he gets us in for free. Pretty sweet. and my parents are helping us actually GET there...cuz, yeah, we don't have any extra money.

Fifth, Justin and I borrowed Hunger Games from my old roommate, Allie (thanks, Allie!), and we were hooked!! We drove to the most recent Columbus interview, and I read it the entire way there! Sadly, it only lasted us an hour on the way back! It is such a good book! When we started it, neither one of us was that impressed: "What's all the fuss about?" But by the time we were a couple hours into it, we'd run to the bathroom at rest stops so that we could get back to the truck and keep reading! We're ready to star the second one!

So, as you can see, we're keeping busy. We just had some changes made to our ward, and I'm really excited to go to church and see what happens with all the new families added to our boundaries. I'm also excited to actually GO to our ward; it's been almost a month!

Oh yeah...and be ready for some Halloween pics: Caleb's gonna be a doggy!! What else?

Caleb's 1 year pictures!

It happened over a month ago, already! But, we finally got his pictures taken yesterday at Target. Just as a side note, Target, JC PENNY, and SEARS all do free session + discounted sheets/discounted packages coupon deals. Well, I like Targets package deal: 16 wallets instead of 16 minis. Who knows what to do with that many minis anyway?

So, here's the link if you wanna check out our cutie pie!! They were so adorable, I had the hardest time picking one for the free 8x10...but I finally chose the one where he is standing. We love our little boy!


https://viewimages.targetportraits.com/sharealbum/sharealbumlist?rndId=1285460150&uId=1189702


I hope it works. Let me know if it doesn't and if you're still super curious.

Fair, family, and fun!

We've had a lot of fun the past month...

We were home by ourselves for a month while Justin's parents picked his brother up from his mission and took him back to BYU. It was a nice change to have the house to ourselves, to do the grocery shopping, our schedule, etc. But, it was made even more obvious to us that we depend on Justin's parents right now. We need their financial support, especially, cuz we just can't do it. We sure are blessed to have such a generous family, all the way around.

While we were by ourselves, Caleb and I played around the house; he helps me with the dishes a lot!

We went to a fair and Caleb got to pet some farm animals. It rained a bit and he was so tuckered by the end of it! It was a fun family outing!

One night we even stopped the ice cream truck and bought a push pop!! haha, Caleb LOVED it, though he needed some help with it at times.


Justin had an interview in Iowa. It was cheaper than flying so, we drove to Iowa. Yup, that's right, 21 hours one direction, 22 coming home. We stopped in Columbus to stay with my sister and drop Caleb off with Grandma who happened to be visiting...then Justin and I continued on to Iowa. It was really great to see the campus and the city. We liked it lot, actually. It wasn't too big, but just big enough. They're a little obsessed with their Hawkeyes though... We took a day break on our way home and Grandma treated all of us to the zoo! Thanks Grandma! It was really crowded and Caleb didn't get as excited about the animals...but it was nice to get out and see some of the city!

Now we're home!! This is what we did most of Monday (not really, but it sounds good, right?).

As for more updates, Justin has an interview scheduled with University of Minnesota, Boston University, and Ohio State University. That makes 5 in all! I'm so proud of him and his hard work. It's not gonna be easy to keep up his classes with all this traveling. It's so worth it though! He works so hard! We're excited about all the development and opportunity.

Caleb is so much fun! He gets into everything and loves to play hide and go seek, and that little squirt loves his cherry tomatoes straight from the vine.

Our Toddler

Caleb certainly has changed a lot since he was born; it's crazy how that happens!! haha


So, some funny things Caleb likes to do or has done:

1) He loves to push the volume button on the t.v. or the remote. That's fun too.
2) He loves crackers: as the left of the bottom right hand corner indicates.
3) Oh yeah, he loves Baby Einstein, especially the doggy puppet.
4) He LOVES dogs! We took him to the pet store at the mall, and he just squealed and screamed and
chased the little puppies around! So cute! We're excited for the day when we'll be able to get a family puppy.
5) He fell down the stairs: he hates it when he can't find me, so he was searching, moved the gate and fell down the stairs. We got a different gate. Now he's scared of the stairs without the gate.
6) He sure loves his Daddy!!

We love our little munchkin! He's a lot of work, really stubborn, but he's oh so much fun!

Caleb's Birthday!

It all started with a cake.


Lauren helped me decorate the cute doggy cake for Caleb's little birthday cook out. She's so good!
It was a lot of fun, and I must say, I think it turned out really cute!


Lauren made a special personalized cake just for Caleb...

And he showed his appreciation!
Happy Birthday my little one year old!

Laughing is Contagious!

While at Battleship Cove, we took lots of videos, but I don't wanna put them all up here at once, so here's what I think is the best one. Justin started pointing at things and laughing at them...and things just snowballed from there!

Up to this point...

We've been SO busy the past few weeks (months?). Shalon came to visit for a few weeks with her two boys and we WORKED so hard to get some things cleaned up her at the house. She has mad organization skills and boy...we were exhausted! We're still catching up!

Apart from the work, there were some smiles. :-)


So, starting from the top left, we'll go clock wise:

1) On his 11-month birthday, Caleb and Daddy enjoyed lots of ice cream!
2) Caleb sometimes likes to sleep with us in the morning. This particular morning (top right) he decided to use me as a recliner. :-)
3) Happy face after a satisfying nap.
4) Eating mashed potatoes! love it
5)When I came back from Arkansas, we went to a "free" ice cream fair at a public park (liars!); how we actually expected it to be free, I don't know. So we bought Caleb a balloon and it popped, so we went home. It was fun just to be together as a family again.

Same deal:
1+2) Flower Justin brought home for me on our anniversary; we went kayaking to celebrate! We went later in the day and because of possible inclement weather, we got both kayaks for $10 bucks! It turned out to be beautiful! I did get beached out in the middle of the lake and my paddle was all tangled up in the roots of the overturned trees...but no fear! Justin came to my rescue. My hero!
3) Caleb's a bit wary of the big bullets at Battleship Cove. Fun times with cousins!
4) Justin with Caleb and cousin A. They got to be such good friends; I was sad to see them go!
5) Caleb disgruntled face

things we didn't get pictures of:
1) Caleb taking his diaper off, eating his poo, throwing his poo, and Daddy frantically calling for back up.




Oh, but we did get a good picture of professional Justin to send off with his applications. As an update, we have our first interivew (I guess it's really just his, huh?) in about 2 weeks! We're hoping for more!

Left. Left. Left-Right-Left. (Thanks, Justin)

That's the new rhythm Caleb is marching to!

Yup, he's walking so much now, it's adorable! He still seems to prefer crawling over walking, but he loves it even more if we walk with him. I haven't been able to catch a video...he's camera shy, I tell you! But I love seeing him get so big and grow up; he's not a baby really anymore! He'll be a year in a month! CRAZY!

Funny thing is, we use the binky as motivation for walking too (remember how we used it for crawling?) lol I guess he LOVES that thing!

I think walking ranks up there in the top 5 favorite developments...it's so cool! What are some of your favorite developments?

Fun times in June!

It has been a busy month!! I am back in town and am busy getting unpacked and reorganized and of coursem updating pictures and blogs!


This is just before I left: Caleb's first popsickle! He loved it, as you can see! yay fir red mouths!


I had my birthday a few days before I left: Justin made me a soccer ball cake: such awesome resourcefulness (check the exact shapes and all) and great skill (just check out the piping...really?! c'mon!). It was a great surprise and even with how busy he is, he takes time and effort to always make me feel special and loved!


And WOW! How about that family reunion in Branson, MO?! So MUCH fun and food and laughs...Caleb really enjoyed meeting his other two cousins and spending lots of time with all 3 of them! Grandma and Grandpa certainly enjoyed getting some additional time with him too. I loved seeing my family and I was sad to say goodbye: next time I'll just have to make sure Justin can come with me!

As a side note, I took lots of videos: I'm working on making a collage, so stay tuned!
[Update: I can't figure out how to get videos on here directly from my camera yet...so in the meantime, check it out on Facebook.]

Back in the Game

We've been absent for a while, and I'm probably going to be silent for a bit longer...

I'm going to visit family this week! YEAH! I'm really excited to spend time with my family and to let Caleb spend time with his cousins. He's close to walking so I'm wondering if he'll start when we're gone. Justin's afraid he will. And that he'll miss it.

I read an article in this month's Ensign magazine, "Update Your Spiritual Status," and it really made me think about how I spend my time. So, I'm not saying I'm forsaking my blogging, but I definitely don't want to spend more time updating our blog then I spend with Caleb or Justin.

All in all, this month's Ensign is really great; it gave me lots of food for thought.

So, on that note, I'm one year older! :-) Justin made me a soccer ball cake and we went camping on Wednesday to celebrate. That was interesting!! It taught us a lot and we are looking forward to going for longer than just one day next time; it's too much work for just one day!! We did also buy an early anniversary present: the Kodak Play Sport. We wanted me to be able to take it on my travels so that I can record anything Caleb does. It will also be good for when Justin goes to interviews (*hopefully*) and can record the city and come back and show me. We've tried it out a bit, and are really excited to have it handy. Plus, it can go underwater!!

We'll keep in touch, so keep coming back.

Redemption

Remember all those pictures with poor baby Caleb crying? Well, we made it up to him. I used my allowance and bought us a cheap pool from Target (I told you, it's been getting hot here!). He has this super cute swim diaper and a sun shirt to match (his legs are actually getting quite dark from riding in the car...he might tan, but just to be safe).



This was our first outing. haha, I love how happy he is to be splashing arond in the water!! He loves water, if you recall, and this was so much fun! I'm excited to make it a regular part of our summer! :-)

Memorial Day

We love bike riding. We did it before we got married and we did it to and from campus in Utah...and here we've spent some money fixing up Mom and Dad's bikes so we can ride them. But, we now have a child. That child must come with us. This is why we bought a bike trailer. We got a great deal on it, really. Over half off, never been used...awesome! And it's a two person trailer.

We also bought a helmet. Just for baby. Here was our trial run.


As all the pictures show, it was not a success. The top left corner shows just how much Caleb loved it. We had to hold down his arms to get the helmet on, then he's squrim so much that it would detach from the velcro thus becoming smaller and it would fall down over his face, which made him even more unhappy. Sad. We were really looking forward to going. We kept trying, but we're just going to have to wait until he's older. (A sister in the ward said when her daughter was under a year she velcroed the helmet TO the chair...so the head couldn't wiggle...hahaha)

And then the dinner. It was a completely grilled meal: Justin was the chef! We had chicken marinated in two flavors, beef, peppers and onions, grilled pineapple, potatoes (sliced, yummy)...and we got to enjoy the beautiful weather outside! Caleb loved the deck (and there's that hickish smile again! lol)


And the other reason we made Caleb cry. We were on a roll we just couldn't stop! Like I mentioned, we gave him a hair cut. He hated it. The sound, being held, not being able to see what was happening...I like the second picture up from the bottom where he's just staring at the camera like, "What'd you do to me?". Let's see how long it takes to grow back!

Family, and Eating Out

And not just eating out for any ol' reason. We were celebrating! We went to Outback to celebrate Justin finishing the DAT. He did well, too...well enough to not plan to take it again. We're working on the application now and hopefully we'll get some interviews this Fall. Wish us luck!! And we'll keep you posted. :-) (Second collage)


Caleb tried some blackberries. He has 6 teeth now, so it's enough to have a hickish smile (the top left). And he's chubby. The top right is a picture as we're putting him to bed, and he's stuffed. His 12-month pj's come up over his belly all the time. :-)


The actual eating out. Caleb sat in the high chair and did really well considering we STARTED eating at his bed time. haha, he ate a LOT. He loves bread and French Fries (we know, we know...not the healthiest thing, but our food hadn't come yet!). He wanted to eat the menus and napkins, but we stopped him. It was so great to be going out to celebrate!

And just some cute pics of Caleb with his Daddy. Oh yeah, these are after Caleb got a hair cut (compare this collage to the one above). He looks so different and it's so sad to see it gone, but it's been hot. His head needed to breathe. Don't they look alike!? If only I had a dollar everytime someone said that...

FIN.

(my test is over that is)

Thanks to everyone that prayed, fasted, helped me study, watched Caleb, taught me chemistry over the phone. I'm glad it's over. I think I did fine.

Ohio 2

These next two posts really should be one...but somehow I couldn't figure out how to get all the pictures onto one post.

So, this might be an overload of pictures and fun, but here's the run down: The previous post is the drive to Kentucky with the beginnings of Gwen, Caleb and COSI.

This post is the rest of COSI, the zoo, and an awesome video!

We'll start with this picture: At COSI, they had this special section for kids under 5: just perfect my little 9 month old! He LOVES water and got a kick out of this water station where he could bang things together and see the water fly all around him. They even had a rain coat he could wear (it didn't help much). Aunt Elisa is also pictured helping him enjoy the cool water.

So, here's the zoo. It's a really good zoo in Columbus, like in the top 2 in the country. Very cool. And to add to the fun, it was raining! yay! It really wasn't that bad, and overall we had a lot of fun! Caleb decided he wanted to eat like a horse that day, so we were stopping all the time to eat. He ate ALL the snacks I had brought him! I even bought him a hot dog...and he ate that too! This is all after eating the leftovers of rice, chicken, and broccoli...and before eating half of my pizza slice at dinner!

As you can see, he made a friend while at the zoo. Oh, this also show how excited he gets about fish (this is important). If you look at the top left picture, he's looking the aquarium at Elisa's apartment. Then the top right is him smiling because he's so excited by them.

Will he be a swimmer? I don't know...


And this is why it's important that Caleb likes fish: while at the zoo, we went to the aquarium. A warm, dark place. Perfect. He went crazy!! He wanted to get as close to the fish as he could: that's why his face disappears in some of the pictures: because of how dark it was, the flash made him become part of the glass. It was really neat.

And I loved hearing him jabber, so I took a video of it. Enjoy!

Ohio 1: Picture Overload!

On our way to Ohio, we drove through Pennsylvania and stayed at a hotel: our first one, as I mentioned before. And the drive was VERY pretty.

Gwen and Caleb sure had fun together. Gwen was a bit faster and more advanced than Caleb, but he sure had fun chasing after her.

Okay, so this is the first bit of COSI (Center of Science and Industry). It was AWESOME! so cool. Here we've got a picture of this drum, that when you hold the handle it bangs the drum in beat to your own heart beat. Caleb's was really fast and it got faster when it started going. And this was even before we paid and got INTO the actual building. way cool!

Also, the DO-RE-MI thing is a musical pad (again, with the music) that plays the tones when you jump on them. Caleb wasn't heavy enough, so I held him and danced and he got a kick out of that.
Then, there's this water spitting thing that he had fun with. He kept trying to catch the water (again, he likes water).

And this is a collection of more of the KidSpace in COSI. Caleb had fun with the mirror, and these purple balls that balanced over blowing air thoroughly entertained him. You can see it blowing his hair. He would have stayed here all day, but I wanted him to try out some of the other things...so we found a color wheel, and then he didn't care for the color blocks at all.

And that was the first part of our trip (second half is the post above this).

Playing at the Park

Before we went to Kentucky/Ohio, Caleb and I took a trip to the park. It's a short walk and so much for him to explore and play with. Plus, it's a nice little break out of the house with a destination...and it's free!


He loves to play the piano at home, and he loves music in general. We sing to him every night and when ever he's helping me clean in my room, I always put on a CD for us to listen to. We even dance sometimes! So, these musically inclined pipes at the park were a sure hit with him! He loved to clang them and hear them vibrate. And then I went to the other side and he got a kick out of seeing me over there! haha

It was his first time in a swing (sorry I did it without you, Justin.). He enjoyed swinging out and swinging towards me..I think seeing my face get huge like that would be entertaining to anybody! He looks really funny in this picture...

"I'm from Kentucky...and You ain't!"

Okay, so neither one of us is from Kentucky, but it's a song someone sang at a Christmas talent show years ago when we were single. And it stuck.

This post is to catch ya up on what we've been doing, with particular high lights about dental school visits.

Last Thursday we started our drive out to Ohio/Kentucky. We stayed in a hotel Thursday night because we wanted to ease Caleb into the driving...plus it was fun! It was Caleb's first hotel night...first night away from home, really. And he was GREAT! He slept nearly all day (he'd been sleep-deprived) and then slept all night. It was so wonderful to sleep in! Friday we resumed driving and got to Elisa and Eric's around 7p.m. It's only a 12 hour drive, but with lots of stop for the baby, it makes for a very long day.

So. Saturday and Sunday were recoup days (Elisa, Gwen, Caleb and I went to COSI on Saturday and the zoo on Tuesday...but those'll be another post).

On Monday, we got up super early and drove down to Louisville, KY (3 1/2 hours). We didn't count on a) traffic in Cincinnati and b) car accident, so we were really stressed for time. Luckily, after verbal and non-verbal prayers, we accomplished an almost 2 hour leg of the journey in 45 minutes. Yeah. Go Justin! haha...and we found the school with no problem, accomplished diaper changes and potty trips without any hassle, made it to the room only to find---- we weren't the last ones! We were only about 10 minutes late and the Louisville school was so welcoming, understanding, and just overall inviting. They loved Caleb and we think we scored points with them by bringing him (and me?).

So, Louisville.
It's our top choice. We just feel so good about the school, the people, the area is beautiful...and being there made me feel so hopeful and confident about what we'll be presenting in our application. I feel so giddy when I think about going here for 4 years! (or more?)

Next. We had to book it out of Louisville because 1 1/2 hours away we had another meeting at University of Kentucky in Lexington. The drive was also stressful...and we ended up being about 30 minutes late but they TOO were very understanding. We got a tour of the school and relaxed and ate lunch.

We drove around a bit to get a feel for the city, then headed back to Columbus. I think we got in about 8:30. Again, a long day of driving.

Wednesday we drove home. All day. 15 hours in the car, including stops. It was long, but it was so good to be home. And Caleb slept so well. Overall, it was a very successful, if not hurried, trip.

Now, what, you ask? Well, Justin takes the DAT this Saturday. Pray for him. We are nervous, but excited. Justin's been studying VERY hard and has improved on his scores. So, we hope things go well this weekend.

Pictures and FUN stuff with Caleb and Gwen to come!

Mother's Day Reprise

No Mother's Day would be complete without the timeless wisdom of Mr. T.

Mother's Day

This is a busy week for posting.
I wanted to let everyone know just how awesome and amazing my husband is for making Mother's Day super special for me!
First, I had a rough night because Caleb decided he didn't want to sleep anymore. I was up bright and early at 5:30a.m. and was very bitter about it. I kept sarcastically saying to myself, "Happy Mother's Day!" Needless to say, I had a bit of a pity party to be up so early on MY day.

Then, I decided to pray for patience. and energy. and love. Of course, I felt the love for my baby return and even though I was tired, I was no longer angry at him---I felt so bad for being angry at my almost-9-month-old! He doesn't do it on purpose! Justin made me feel better too by saying that Caleb just wanted to spend more time with me on Mother's Day....to make me feel special. :-D

So, after the morning was normally underway, Justin made an AWESOME breakfast! I'm sorry we didn't take pictures of breakfast or dinner: bacon quiche tarts, with puff pancakes, strawberries, orange juice...AH, it was delicious!

Dinner didn't happen until after church, but it too was very good: Sun-dried tomato chicken with bow tie pasta, freschetta bread with bruschetta, yummy salad, and a deletable raspberry bar superb dessert.
I was so stuffed! But it was delicious!
Aside from all the food Justin made, he and Caleb gave me some AWESOME gifts:
1) Beautiful flowers that Caleb selected because they looked tasty. haha, complete with two-toned roses!
2) M-Cups!

We found these on a random site a while ago, and I LOVED them! They're nesting dolls that function as measuring cups. yeah, if you know me, and you know me and Russia, you know why I was so excited by them! I've been missing Russia a bit lately, just with pictures and such, so these were a wonderful thought! Now I just need a kitchen...

3) Rubber stamps! I'm also quite into carding, so a set of rubber stamps made my imagination go crazy! I just wanna send cards for fun (don't be surprised...) This isn't the exact picture of the ones I got, but they're close.

In addition to these material gifts, I received a wonderful reminder how blessed I am to be a mother. Caleb is a doll and even when I'm not the best mother or the most patient with him, he still LOVES me. And that is a gift.

Having a wonderful husband who supports me so much in motherhood: he makes me feel like I'm the best thing ever created! haha He gives me confidence to keep trying. And he loves me, too!

Happy belated Mother's Day everyone!

The Squshed Spider

Sorry it's so dark...but we wanted everyone to see how hilarious Caleb first looked when he started crawling. It was 2 weeks ago yesterday (wow, time flies, right?) and he's gotten better at it: He does more of the two-knees style now.

He still LOVES the binky motivation and will crawl for food. haha, he's started following me around the house and I LOVE it! It makes me smile!! I love my baby!

Do I see more of me in him?

Here are a few pictures of Caleb over the past month.


8 Months here: he looks like such a little toddler boy, right? I'm told that he has my eyes...does this picture witness to that?

He learned to stand up before he learned to crawl. And he loves bouncing.

I love this face! hahaha....it looks like he's making the elephant noise. ya know that noise, right? haha

Caleb wants to be a big boy!

Aunt Becky came to visit a little while ago and made it her goal to get Caleb to like her--a lofty goal since he's been a major Mama's boy lately. Well, it took her a total of TWO days!



As part of her tactics, Aunt Beck sat with Caleb on the table and just talked to him. Well, he found the fruit bowl behind him and really wanted an apple, but he couldn't turn himself around. He kept trying to pick up the apple with one hand...and then he did it! Then he did it again! I didn't know his hands were that big and strong and coordinated!

I just love how he tries to shove the entire apple into his mouth. We finally cut some up and he tried to put ALL of them into his mouth. He's just growing so big so fast! I love it!

We have a garden!

I just wanted to inform everybody that we have proudly planted our first garden together. :-) It's a fairly small one (I told Justin I didn't want to have to weed more). They are raised beds---so as not to leave too big a mark on the yard that has to sell--- and one is 4' x 8 ' and the other is 4' x 4'. In the smaller box we planted corn, green beans, and zucchini. It's an old Iriquois Indian trick. It's called the Three Sisters Garden.

Basically, you plant your corn and beans together, so that the beans (they have to be pole beans) will climb the corn, adding nitrogen to the entire plot; then the squash (we're using zucchini) covers the ground and acts as a natural small animal deterrent (because of the prickly leaves). We're not actually sure how well it'll work, but we're excited to work on it and see what happens!

We also planted peas, swiss chard, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, normal tomatoes (and we did these in one of those hanging planters....Topsy Turvy), green bell peppers, then we've got some rainbow sweet peppers that have to start indoors...I think that's it! Once (positive thinking) we have some green in the planters, I'll take some pictures so you can see. :-)

Wish us luck...!

By the way, anybody ever tried a homemade insect repellent for your garden? It's like soap and water, basically, but it's supposed to keep pests away while being safe to eat.

Do you have any experiences or suggestions for gardening?

Oh, Anne Shirley!

Anyone recognize this movie?
It's a classic. And I've rediscovered it this week. We've watched both Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea this week. And I cannot wait until we watch the third one. I've never seen it1

I also cannot wait until I get my shift key replaced. Caleb decided he wanted to look at it up close...and he broke it. and not it gets in the way of other keys, and it doesn't work properly (thus the non-exclamatory one's and many non-capitalized beginning of sentences). It's driving me crazy. I need it fixed. and it's on its way.

Anyway, Anne. She's my hero. She's kind of vexing as a youngster, but her ambition and kindness and constant search for "a kindred spirit" in everyone inspires me. I'd love to meet her. Her life just seems so simple; I love Green Gables! So much laughter, so many friends...it's fantastic!

I've lost sleep by watching these amazing movies...but it's been so worth it! I'm lovin' them all over again!

Anyone else have a soft spot for this red-headed girl? Or for her life? Or Marilla? Anyone?

Hope: A Personal Lesson Applied

Hope. Faith. Trust.

Lately (and by lately, I mean the past 6 months or so), I have been thinking about our future. Not just as a family, but as a country, as a world. Where will we be in 10 years? What kind of world will there be for Caleb? There is so much uncertainty, and I've never focused on it before, but lately it seems to be at the forefront of my mind. Maybe because I'm a parent. I don't know.

At any rate, it's been an amazing lesson for me. I feel like it was a real-life application of the principle that faith and fear cannot dwell together. I have been afraid. And who isn't afraid without faith? It's kind of a spiral. We start out afraid, we lose faith, we get more afraid, etc.

Well, I've been trying. I want to have faith, have hope, have trust. Not in myself, but in my Savior. A couple of verses have crossed my mind, but one in particular:

Moroni 7:41
And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.

That's it. That's all that we need to remember. No matter what happens, I have faith in Christ and in His power.

Then the next reminder came as I was reading a book Justin gave me last year:

It's written by President Henry B. Eyring. It's powerful. It's so true, too. There's so much goodness in it. He talks about repentance, the Atonement, listening and heeding the spirit, learning and teaching...wow it has it all! It's very uplifting!

Well, just today I read a part that asks (paraphrased), Do other people see in our faces and in our lives the hope that is offered through the promise of the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ? Do other people feel hope when they are with us?

bam. wow. Do they? Sometimes it seems like Caleb especially can tell when I'm feeling down and anxious. He gets upset. He cries. He just wants to huge me. Why? Because fear is not of God. This was the perfect statement for me.

Summary:
No matter what is happening in the world, I know what I am supposed to be doing. And I know how I can be happy. I know who I am, who I want to be, and how to get there. "I know in whom I trusted" (2 Nephi 4:19). I know Jesus Christ is my Savior and if I trust Him, believe Him, and have faith in Him, then come what may.

Best Friends

Is this not the cutest picture you've ever seen??!! Oh yeah, like father like son.

They are my best friends. I love them. And who couldn't? Look how adorable they are!

Boston, Easter, and Sunshine: Pictures

Here are the pictures to go along with the previous post:


Our trip to Boston was graced, luckily, by wonderful sunshine! Caleb fell asleep a lot. I love his squished face in the middle picture on the right.


We went outside to enjoy the sunshine. Caleb really likes grass...but he didn't realize it until i was ready to go back inside. Next time, baby!

And HAPPY EASTER! Caleb had a very stuffed basket, which he was put into after everything was unwrapped. I LOVE the blank stare in just a diaper and a hat...complete with the Easter Bunny in the background.


We went for a walk between General Conference Sessions on Sunday. Lovely weather and this little baby just LOVES to bask his legs in the sun! He keeps them straight out the entire time we're out walking...we'll see if he tans!