Marriage and School

Andy and I are slowly but surely figuring out this marriage thing. :) Both of us have very strong personalities (haha) and volative tempers and the oddest things set us off. So far we have managed to keep from yelling in front of the boys and hopefully we never will. As with most couples, stress sets things off so much quicker. Right now we are both stressed, Andy with his last semester of classes before he student teaches and me with my last couple of classes also.

Please be praying for me. I'm going to have to buckle down and turn in 10 Latin lessons in 3 weeks. This will be difficult, but I can do it. I just have to be able to remember everything I learned in order to take my final in February. I know I can do it, but it's just looking really tough right now. Probably won't see many posts from me this month. ;)

Christmas...

Life has been crazy since getting home so I haven't had a chance to post anything about Christmas. We spent Christmas with Andy's parents which means fun but stressful. All of Andy's extended family lives in Birmingham so we spend all day driving around visiting. See everyone is lots of fun but the boys are done by about 7. lol Christmas morning started with me waking up to find Andy and I bookended by the boys. Caleb had joined us at a point I don't remember making the queen bed very cosy, but they were both cuddly which made it fun. Presents time with family then breakfast with Andy's Mom's family. Thankfully the boys got full naps over lunch because then it was on to the Wald side where they got passed from uncle to aunt to cousin who all adore them. For dinner we went to Andy's aunt's house. Everything was lots of fun just a little more than I have always been used to since we don't live close to any family. Below are a few pictures from Christmas morning.

Caleb loved handing out the presents then opening his :)

One of his favorite presents: A Wiggles book

Stephen wanted to play with Calebs stuff

Opening his own presents... yes, we always stick bows on the baby's head :)

Just before family showed up for breakfast

Our family Christmas morning :D

Learning...

It's amazing how just a week will totally change a young child's maturity level. Just this week Caleb started really singing along with all of his favorite Wiggles songs and doing the motions. It was just precious. Stephen would stand at the side table, just watch him and giggle. My favorite though was last night. He was sitting in middle of the floor reading a book and started singing... dee an umm, dee an umm... and doing hand motions. It took me a second and I realized he was singing Deep and Wide. They had been singing it in Sunday School that morning and he remembered it. It was so cute and just makes me so grateful that our children grow up unable to remember when they didn't know about God's love for us. :D

I love pictures

These pictures have been sitting around just waiting for me to uphold them. lol

I love snuggling with a sleeping baby. :)

Caleb was trying to get Andy's attention.

He was a bear for our church Reformation Day party, see the tail?

This is the same costume Andy wore at his age.

My cutie pies!!

I have more pictures posted here.

Grandparents

Caleb does not speak English, that is to say he talks all the time, but in his own very expressive language. To the point that when Andy imitates him and doesn't get a sound just right, Caleb will sometimes look at him as if to say, Dad that was terribly inappropriate, how could you say that? lol There have been distingishable words like Mama, Dada, ball, tar (car) food, wa-er (water) etc.m, but it's been a very basic vocabulary. The last few months he's been gaining more of an English vocabulary. This was very obvious at Thanksgiving when he finally called all of my brothers and sisters by name. The funniest part was that my Mom's poodle also got a name and Caleb was fascinated by him. Pip-pi (Pippin) the dog is always tied to Pop-pop (my Dad).

It's really funny that the grandparents spent awhile picking out what they wanted to be called when Caleb was first born and now have completely different names. My Mom was Grandma, my Dad-Grandpa, Andy's Mom- Grammy and Andy's Dad-Pops. My parents really didn't care what they were called and just went standard to begin with. Mom changed first, we could tell that the way Caleb said things she was going to become Mam-ma and she couldn't stand that so she is now Nana and loves it. Dad became Pop-pop, which when you think about it is reasonable from Grandpa. Andy's Dad is currently E, from Deke which is what family was jokingly calling him last time we were there, it stuck so he's Deke. Andy's Mom is now Mimi, neither Andy and I could really get out Grammy, kept saying Granny or Gammy and Caleb finally just went with Mimi. She doesn't know it yet, because Caleb has only said it while pointing at pictures. I think she will be thrilled just to have a name. :D

Where has the time gone?

I can't believe that today is the last day of November. This year has been crazy, but through it all we can see God's hand on our lives. I was thinking about everything I have to be thankful for since last Thanksgiving and the list is too numerous to count, but I'll list the ones that really stick out to me.

1. My wonderful husband who has stretched himself thin to provide for our family and stay on top of his school so that he finishes next year. He is my rock and I'm thankful the Lord brought us together.
2. The opportunity to try a VBAC even if it didn't work, and with that for a doctor who know there was something wrong, saving Stephen's life and probably mine.
3. Our church, they have loved and helped us. Ladies came and took Caleb to mothers day out so I could rest and many other things.
4. Parks! Caleb loves slides and can spend a long time on them. Such a great place to meet friends for the afternoon too.
5. Hot Chocolate. Andy makes me a cup in the evenings when my hands are cold and it tastes wonderful.

I know some are funny and I could continue for a while with random things, but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. :D

Eating Solids

About a month ago I started trying to feed Stephen solids and it has been a chore. He is picky, but in a good way. Yes I know, doesn't seem possible. With Caleb I made the natural progression, starting with bananas and rice cereal then slowing moving up to table food. I never did the baby food in a jar because it was too expensive and I think it tastes nasty. Instead I have the baby food grinder pictured here and would just put whatever we were eating in it. Pork, chicken, spaghetti etc. Caleb would eat a lot at a time, but was happy with the blander foods to begin with and slowly moving up to real people food. He was about 10 months before I stopped grinding everything.
Stephen on the other hand acted like I was trying to kill him when we tried the baby cereal and would sit there and gag himself until he had spit everything out. He does not like applesauce and doesn't want his bananas mushy. At 7 months he already wants flavor and texture to his food. He loves vegetables and will eat any of them, but sweet potatoes and peas are his favorite. Last night I took someone's advice and handed him a pork chop that wasn't sharp and he happily sat there and gnawed the little bits of meat off it.
The most trouble I'm having is trying to keep some foods out of his diet until he is 1. My Dad is allergic to wheat, milk and peanut butter to name a few and I really don't want my kids to have those for awhile so there is a better chance they won't get the allergy. Stephen though will crawl around and eat Caleb's crumbs before I can get to them so I'm kind of stuck.
I just think this goes to show how different every kid is, even if it is in small ways.