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Stuffed Stockings Christmas

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Stuido pics

What a beautiful boy!  4 months old and he finally got his first studio portraits taken!  He actually had a smile in a few!  We were very impressed!

4 months already

Caleb turned 4 months old last week!  What a big boy!  He weighed in at 13 lbs 12 oz (28%) and 25 inches long (55%).  He celebrated by having his first bowl of rice cereal!  He wasn't really sure about it so the next day we added a bit of apple juice to thin it out.   He licked it off the spoon!!!  He has now moved up to green beans. 

I think I like it!

What a mess!

He giggles and laughs with his big sister.  He loves to watch her and she loves to be silly for him.  She can be so loving and kind to him and at times be very protective.  It makes me kind of sad to realize how fast it is all going!  We just want everything to go in slow motion since we know he is our last.  What blessings God has given Stephen and I! 

Pumpkins!

Here are a couple of pics from Halloween.  We had a great night with the kids trick or treating and spent the day before in Hereford visiting family.

Caleb aka Pumpkin

Alyssa aka Dorothy Gale

Fall 2010

I love this season.  The weather gets a little cooler, the leaves begin to change, all of my favorite holidays are just around the corner.  We have been enjoying everything about fall including football and pumpkin patches. 



Enjoying the Football Game



Alyssa just finished up her second year of flag football.  She had such a great time playing with her school friends..  One thing I can say about her..she is not afraid to try and do anything!  What a great quality to have.  I know fear keeps me from doing many things that I would like to do.  I hope that remains with her through life.



Flag Football 2010 "The Saints"





The Cousins



We had a great time this year at the St. Mary's Carnival.  It was a new experience with 2 kids rather than just one and Stephen called in reinforcements to help out while I worked our volunteer shift.  Alyssa was excited that her cousins got to come and play with her this year.  Alyssa is "Dorothy Gale" and Caleb is a pumpkin.  Can't wait for trick or treating!



Dorothy Gale



Pumpkin





She also had First Reconciliation...for you non-catholics that is confession.  She studied really hard and had to learn quite a few bible stories and learn the meanings behind them, as well as certain prayers, etc.  Her favorite was Zacheus (you know the wee little man).  She then had to interview with the priest and show that she had learned the material.  She was really nervous, but she did EXCELLENT!  I was very proud of her.



Pretty darn cute!



We recently went to the Pumpkin Farm and had a great afternoon...just the 4 of us (man, that sounds weird!).  Alyssa and Caleb both got to pick a pumpkin and we went through a maze.  They had so many fun things for Alyssa to do.  Even Caleb had some fun!



A great day at the Pumpkin Farm



Loving her brother!



On the farm....

Last weekend we celebrated Caleb's Baptism.  What a great time to see family and friends and have them there to celebrate with us.  Caleb was so good...he did not even cry.  Even Monsignor complimented him on his good behavior!



Such a Good Boy!





Grandparents, Godparents, Cousins,etc...



This weekend is Halloween and we will have 2 days of trick or treating between Hereford and Amarillo.  We still need to carve our pumpkins.  Usually this is done while watching the classic "The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" or "Garfield's Halloween Special", but now that the World Series is starting I am not sure we will be able to do it.  On that note...Go Rangers!

Random

Thought I would check in. We have been soooo busy busy busy! Alyssa has started ballet again on Saturday mornings and has also decided to play flag football again this year. Yes, Football! If you know my daughter you would not be surprised at all..and if you know her you would also know she thinks she is the best football player in the world! Pictures to come! School is going well and Alyssa LOVES her teacher this year (which is a blessing since she isn't that fond of learning).

Caleb is doing great. He went to see the cardiologist yesterday for his heart murmurs, and now weighs 13 pounds!!! He has gained 3 pounds in 4 weeks!! He is a great eater, like his momma and daddy! Heart is good too, by the way. He is adjusting to day care and sleeping better at night. Mom and dad are sleeping better to which means we are all happier. :)He is holding his head up really well and has discovered it is okay to lay on his play mat on the floor. It is amazing to watch him discover and examine new things.

I keep waiting for life to get back to normal, but I am realizing this may be our normal and that's okay. I wouldn't change it for anyhting in the world. Love my 2 beautiful children and my wonderful husband. I promise to post some new pictures soon!

New Beginnings

Summer is officially over at our house. Alyssa finished up the summer by going on vacation with my parents to Ruidoso for a family reunion. She had a lot of fun with her cousins and got to ride a horse. She spent most of the time outside picking up pine cones and enjoying the nature.


She came back and started school. She is now in the 2nd grade and is super excited. She loves her new teacher and was excited to see all of her friends.





Caleb also started daycare last week. It was harder on mom than it was on him. He seems to be doing well there. He went in for his 2 month check up and now weighs 10 1/2 pounds and is 23 1/2 inches long! What a growing boy. He is hungry all the time (up to 6 ounces and is still hungry every 2 1/2 to 3 hours!!!) so we are now adding a bit of rice cereal to his bottles. He is sleeping much better at night and has almost mastered sleeping through the night. Won't that be exciting when he does!

Here are a few pictures from his 2 month birthday...







Stephen and I are adjusting to life with 2 children rather than just one. It is so hard right now trying to balance our time between them both. It is definitly much harder to have 2 children than just 1! Hopefully we won't fail to miserably and we will end up with 2 happy, healthy, and well adjusted children!

Wow! The past month has flown by and now it is time to go back to work, Alyssa back to school, and Caleb to his first daycare! Caleb is now 7 weeks old and has grown so much. He has had his 6weeks shots and we all survived.


He is more alert and awake these days and he loves to sit up and look around. He will mimick us when we stick are tongues out at him. It is amazing how quickly they learn and change in the first few months. He lost the baby hair on the top of his head, but it has quickly started to grow back in. Dad is a bit jealous of that.



Alyssa has really grown to love her baby brother. She loves to talk to him and help with anything she can. She misses him when she is gone and calls and asks about him and how he is doing. It is amazing how naturally she has grown to love this little being that has soooo changed life as she knew it.



Alyssa will start the 2nd grade this week (It has gone by soooo fast!) and we are all ready to get back into the swing of things. I am a little nervous about how I will manage in the mornings now with 2 children instead of just 1, but Alyssa promises to be helpful and get ready in the mornings. She has lost one of her front teeth and the one next to it is now loose. She may be singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth", by December.

That is pretty much all we have been up to the past month. Everyone has been working at adjusting to our new way of life. Caleb goes back to the doctor in 2 weeks for his 2 month check up. More to report then....in the meantime, here are a few pics.

Alyssa and Caleb






Uncle Shaun's tye-dyes




Alyssa and dad's guitar

New Blog

Well, I finally gave in and decided to start a blog to keep everyone up to date with what is going on with our family. I can not promise to post weekly, monthly, etc. but I will try to let you know the big events of our life.

Speaking of BIG EVENTS, Caleb arrived 3 weeks early on June 27th. He rushed into the world (not sure why he was in such a hurry??) and to his mother's dismay without time for an epidural. I woke up at 5:45am with contractions and within 15 minutes decided to wake dad and big sister for our trip to the hospital. By 6:30am we were in the triage room of labor and delivery. I was only at a 4 and the nurse was waiting for the doctor to call back to see if they wanted to admit. By the time the doctor called back, mom was in terrible pain and wishing for some pain meds! Within an hour I was moved to the Labor and Delivery room and was checked again. I was at a 7 and was not going to be able to get an epidural. They called the doctor back and told him to come to the hospital. Within the next 15 minutes, I was checked again and was already at a 9. Caleb made his way into the world with one push at 8:41am!

He weighed in at 6lbs 4oz and was 191/2 inches long.

His big sister was very impressed!

After a few crazy days in the hospital we got to come home. Alyssa stayed with grandma for a few days so we could get use to having a baby around again!

Caleb went on his first road trip to Hereford on the 3rd of July since Aunt Susan, Uncle Shaun, and family were in town. He was introduced to his great-grandma's for the first time.

Caleb and Grandma Angel

Caleb with Nanny and Pop

Alyssa also got to play her with twin cousins Autumn and Bailey! On the 4th of July, we hung out at the house and Alyssa shot her "fireworks" off in the backyard. She would not know what to do if she got to actually shoot off real fireworks! We went to the fireworks show in Amarillo that night and Alyssa got to play with sparklers.

Caleb is now 2 weeks old and weighs in at 6lbs 11oz and is 201/2 inches. Alyssa is slowly asjusting to having to share attention with her new baby brother, but she did admit she did not want God to take him back because she "has feelings for him". Stephen and I are slowly adjusting to the sleep deprivation, but I know it will get better. We are so blessed to have 2 wonderful children who are healthy and happy!