Vacation to the UP

Playing in the water
Caleb all snuggled in his wrap
Four-wheeling with the grandparentsFalling asleep while four-wheeling with grandma (he did this often)Making cookies!The view of our lake one cold morningGrandpa taking Ethan for a boat rideGrandma and grandpa on the shipwreck tour
Asleep again! (Apparently he is not ready to give up naps:)Our little man bundled up!More fun with grandpaGrandma and the boysEthan dipping his feet in Lake SuperiorThis is how Caleb liked to be carriedCaleb smiling at grandma

We just got back from a wonderful, relaxing vacation to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Jim's parents rented a cottage on a lake in Munising and it was the perfect place to sit back and relieve ourselves of the business in Kalamazoo. We were able to go on lots of hikes to see waterfalls, play in the lake, go four wheeling, charter fishing (see posts below), a shipwreck tour, ate lots of good food, and even visit our old stomping grounds of Marquette! The boys did great and Ethan loved going on "cation"(vacation) as he called it. He played with grandma and grandpa going on boat rides, making cookies, going four wheeling, and whatever else Ethan asked them to do! Most of the time he just ran around finding rocks and throwing them in the lake, he thought that that was the coolest thing ever, along with peeing in the lake! Caleb did well too, the first couple days he was fussy and come to find out, he had sprouted three teeth! He did a lot better towards the middle and end of the week. Grandma watched the boys one day so that I could go fishing in Lake Superior, which I was very thankful for, it was a ton of fun! It was great to get back up there, I had not been up there since we moved to Kalamazoo. Thanks grandma and grandpa for a great vacation!

Ethan hiking

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

Happy 27th birthday daddy! We hope that you have a great day! We love you!

The master angler of the day

Nice fish

No comment

Nice Form

The yoop

I am sure Laurie will have more to add about our trip to the UP but I think I owe her this post. She out fished me.

The ride out

About half of the the bounty (lake trout)

"Look mom, bubbles!"

Yes, there were lots and lots of bubbles in my bathtub tonight! My little wild child decided to grab the full bottle of bubbles and dump nearly the entire amount into the bathtub while I left for a quick minute to grab his brother. I left and there were none and I came back to this...

Looks like a guilty little boy to me!.

This was a full bottle of bubbles. All I could do was laugh though, why are kids so darn cute when they are in trouble?? :)

So then when I was cleaning the bubble mess, I put Caleb in the only safe place
he has in the house. After I was done cleaning, I did not hear Ethan, which is never a good sign. I found him...in the crib with Caleb! Guess it is not so safe anymore!

My "little" cutie!

Our little guy is not so little anymore! He is getting so big! I love his pudgy cheeks and the rolls on his wrists, it is the cutest thing. He is such a good sleeper for his mommy at night, far different than what Ethan did. Ethan was getting up 2-3 times a night until like 8 months old, so the once or rarely twice that Caleb gets up is great and unexpected. Caleb loves his crib and being wrapped in a blanket while he sleeps. When get him in the morning, he always has a huge smile for Ethan and his mommy, quickly followed by hunger sounds. He is a great nurser and eats well, but that is obvious by looking at the kid! He had to go to the doctor the other day (no BM for three weeks!) and weighed in at 14.8 pounds at three months old. He spits up quite a bit, like Ethan did, but it is not affecting his growth, so it is nothing that we worry about. Ethan did it too until he was about 6 months old. I have to warn people before they hold him that he may spit up on them (and he usually does and they have to go and change their shirt). He is starting to sleep longer stretches during the day, which helps me get stuff done that I have been neglecting during the past few months due to lack of time. I have decided that all moms need about 10 more hands for all the stuff that they need to carry! My back and wrist are really taking a beating! All worth it though. Lets see.....he loves batting at toys and watching TV (way more than his brother who will not watch even 5 minutes to give mommy a break!). He is a pretty happy boy most of the time, but when he gets fussy- watch out, scream city! Usually mom is the only one who can calm him down. It is funny how they get to know how a certain person holds and talks to them. His big brother is doing great with him. He loves to give him pacifiers and get mom diapers, wipes, burp rags, you name it. He is such a great helper. He does get jealous a couple times a day if I am holding Caleb, he will usually start whining and say, " Mommy snuggle me!" I always find room for both on my lap:)The worst part for him is when he wakes up from a nap and I am holding Caleb - that is Ethan's favorite snuggle time. So I usually make sure that he gets it, unless Caleb really needs me. I love having two boys and know that they are going to keep me on my toes, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Being a mom is the best - I feel so blessed!

One brave boy

Ethan has been terrified of tractors and four wheelers for a very long time now and we can't even get him close to one without him screaming! As I mentioned in the previous post, he won't even ride the pony at Meijer. One time we went to Sears and I was trying to show him that sitting on a tractor was not so bad by doing so and he ended up having a panic attack and started screaming and getting all blotchy because I was sitting on one. Well, we might have cracked that fear the other day at grandma and grandpa Jastifer's house....see for yourself!

Ethan won't ride the horse at Meijer because it is too scary, but he will do this???

Gangster Boys!

One of my favorite pictures...

Our Boys!

Here are some precious pictures of our boys! I think that I am going to use these as blackmail when they get into arguments later on in life:)

Family Time

The past couple of weeks my sister (Aunt Kelly) has been here and was finally able to meet her newest nephew! We also spent some time in Indiana with some of my family for our annual reunion (over 100 this year) , it was a great time! Here are some highlights...

Picture taken just for Aunt Keri

Aunt Keri always gets the boys skydiving shirts and I want to let her know that they really do wear them....here is the proof!:)

5 years!

Last Thursday marked our five year anniversary! We feel so blessed and have so much to be thankful for, at the top of that list is our two precious boys!!!

Spening time in the UP in our college years! This was taken our freshman year of college (2001)My birthday- September 2001

Just as in love now and we were then:)

Aunt Kelly is coming!!

We are so excited that Aunt Kelly (my sister) is coming into town today for two weeks! She lives in California and has not seen Ethan since Christmas and has yet to meet her newest nephew Caleb. Have a safe trip Aunt Kelly, can't wait to see you!!

Two Month Check-up

Today I took Caleb to the doctor for his two-month check up and here are the stats:

Height: 25 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 13.1 pounds (85th percentile)

He also was showing off for the doctor and rolled over from his tummy to his back while she was checking him out:) To top off the visit, he had to get SIX shots (one was oral, but still!!). The poor little guy in miserable and has been sleeping and eating all day since we left the office, but he is healthy!

Someone is smiling!

Someone loves wearing shoes.....

Ethan, those shoes look to big for you.... or maybe not???