Fall is in the air!!

This past weekend Uncle Mark, myself and the boys (dad was in TX at a conference) went to Gull Meadows to pick out pumpkins, eat yummy doughnuts, drink hot cider and play in "pumpkin lane" where they have fun slides, trains, corn mazes and all sorts of fun things for the kids. This year I was able to talk Ethan into riding the train which is pulled by a tractor. At first he was not so sure, I had to walk next to him, but it did not take long for him to fins out that it was more fun than scary. We had a fun time despite the cold weather!!

See...not so sure at first, but I promise you that he loved it by the end just like a knew he would!

5 months old!

Our little Caleb is five months old already and time seems to be flying by! He is definitely a mama's boy and LOVES his big brother (he loves his daddy too!!) If I need Caleb to stop crying, I just stick Ethan in front of him and he starts to giggle right away - so cute! He loves sitting up in his bumbo seat now, he can roll over and he is eating some applesauce, avocados, and even some banana, which is gulps right down! He is a great eater. He is sleeping well , getting up once maybe twice to eat and go right back down. He always has to be where the action is and is never happy in one spot for a long period of time unless he is in mama's arms. He is getting lots of hair, his eyes are dark and I have found out that he HATES flashes on cameras and is just like his dad and closes his eyes in a lot of the pictures that I take:) He is our Caleb and we love him!!

Last weekend grandma and grandpa Jastifer and Aunt Keri came down for a visit. We had a nice dinner and it was great to catch up! Thanks for coming! Grandma and Ethan checking out the blanket she made him before he was born - he goes nowhere with out it!!Aunt Keri and Caleb :-)

Happy Birthday Grandma and Grandpa

Happy birthday grandpa Biener (10/3) and grandma Sowerwine (10/7) we hope that you had a great day!! Love you!

Ethan reading to Caleb

Bear Love

Ethan is very attached to his bear (and blanket!) and it looks like someone else is getting attached to it too!:-)

September Pics

There were too many to choose from...

"Time to Snuggle with Caleb on mama's bed."

This is what Ethan said to me today and he climbed into our bed with Caleb and covered them both in his blanket. It was the cutest thing ever!!

Ethan takes good care of his brother!

Mom and her boys!

I usually am the one taking the pictures so I do not get in them too often, but I love this one of the boys and I - I sure do LOVE being a mom!! Oh yeah....what do you think of my new glasses?

To my wonderful husband....

Thank you, thank you, thank you for watching the boys TWO nights in a row for me while I did my girl thing! I know that it was stressful with one screaming and the other wanting your attention and I thank you from the bottom of my heart! A mom just needs to get out every once in awhile- you are an awesome husband and father!!! Love you!

Renovations

Jim and I (okay mostly Jim) have done a lot of renovations to this house since we have moved in. This summer we did the landscaping in the backyard, tiled the kitchen, and finished the basement. It is now all complete and Jim did a great job! We had a lot of help from Jim's cousin with the kitchen and most of the basement, and Jim just finished up the painting and trim. I finally have all the toys downstairs and Ethan loves his new playroom and so does mom! No more toys in the living room (well there are some, just not as many now)!

Thanks Jim, you made a wife very happy!

Here are some before and after pictures:

The basement before (not our stuff-previous owners)....

.... and the basement after!

Here is the kitchen before......and after! Bye-bye 1960's red brick!

Reunion

Yesterday we had our great friends from high school out for a BBQ - it was a blast! We all have kids (including our friend Beth who now lives in TX who we missed dearly) born in the last 3 three year or so. Three of them were born in the last 7 months and the other three range from 1-almost 3 years old. We just talked and caught up, it was the perfect birthday present for me:) Thanks for coming out guys!

The boys: Cole (4 months- 2 days older than Caleb), Caleb (4 months), Henry (7 months)

Caleb 4 month check up

Yesterday I took Caleb for his four month check up. He did a great job and seems to be right on track. He was a great sport when he had to get five shots (poor guy!), it did not take long to calm him down. Here are his stats...

Height - 26.25 inches (90%)

Weight - 16 pounds 6 ounces (75%)

Head - 44cm (75-90%)

Jumper - for Caleb or Ethan??

Last week I got out the jumper for Caleb to play with since he has good enough head control now. He had a lot of fun playing with it and just hanging out. After I got him out of it, I realized that it was a new toy for Ethan too. Not sure who had more fun with it Caleb or Ethan!:)

Work n' Play

The boys chilling on the chair at the cottage.

Uncle Mark caught some fish in the lake one morning.

Uncle Mark and Caleb

Looks like a good spot to rest...
Little Cutie sitting up like a big boy!

Ethan found some funny glasses in the cabinet:)

The boys and their great-grandparents!

Lots of time playing with grandma!

Caleb and Poppa Dick

While my poor husband worked ALL weekend, the boys and I headed to Indiana to my grandparents cottage with my mom and brother for the weekend. We had a fun time hanging out and relaxing. The bugs were pretty bad so we did not get to play outside as much as we had hoped, but we still had fun and of course missed daddy.

The Boys

Jim is working a ton since we got back from vacation and it is showing no signs of slowing down. He spends as much time with the boys as he can when he is not at the hospital. I feel truly blessed that my boys have such a great daddy in their lives!

While Jim has been working, the boys and I have been hanging out. Ethan loves being a big brother and can't seem to get enough of Caleb (which is a good thing). Ethan is transforming into a little boy right in front of my eyes. Today I was watching him "read" himself a book while I was feeding Caleb and I was listening to him-it was the cutest thing. The book that he was reading was a counting book that goes up to 20. We have been reading this book pretty much every night because it has become his favorite book. He says, "Lets count the flowers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10" and I thought that is cute, he counts to ten all the time but he kept going "11,12,13,14,15".....I never in my life have heard him count past 10! That is just one example of how fast he is growing up on me.

Caleb is also growing - getting bigger by the day, he is now in 6 months clothes! He started some cereal just recently and he LOVES it! He is a great eater just like Ethan was. He is playing in his excersaucer now and has great head control. I see him trying to sit up in his car seat a lot these days. He is sleeping well, getting up just about one time a night to eat and is starting to take longer and less frequent naps. He is grabbing at toys, loves putting his fist in his mouth and as I mentioned in the last post, he is getting teeth! Not long from now, he will be the one counting to 15 on me!