The Libby's

Time Flies!

2011-09-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

Boy how time can fly! I cannot believe that this is my last week at home with my babies! As much as I have loved this time at home, I am very ready to get back to my kiddos at school. Some people may call me crazy, but I am not cut out to be a stay at home mom. I love my babies with all my heart, but I need the structure of work (not to mention the adult interaction!). For all you stay at home moms out there, I commend you! And for those of you that feel like I do, know you are not alone and through all the comments that have been made to me, I know that I am not a bad mom by being ready to go back to work. In fact I feel that I am a better mom by going back to work. A very smart lady told me yesterday that "It's not about quantity, it's about quality". I don't have to spend all day with my babies (quantity) to get all of the quality time that we need!

And of course I can't post without a couple of pictures of my babies!

Brother and Sister

2011-09-02T14:06:00.000-07:00

One of the questions I get asked all the time is "How is Cale doing with Madelyn?"

I am so pleased to say that he is doing awesome! He loves his "little sister" as he calls her. He constantly wants to love and kiss on her. And I promise that I cannot leave the room with her without him right behind me!

He wants to hold her and feed her too. Mommy just has to be there to help him because when he is ready to move on, he is done. He is too funny!

I love these shirts that I had made, but hate that I didn't get a picture of both of them together wearing them!

It's official

2011-09-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

After 2 long years, and more hours of work than I would ever care to add up, my reward arrived in the mail this week. It is funny how one piece of paper makes all of the time and effort worth it!

Cale's 3rd Year photo book

2011-09-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

I have worked on finishing Cale's 3rd year photo book while I have been home. And then I took advantage of all of Shutterfly's specials going on (20% off books, $10 off a $30 purchase and free shipping!). So I got it for $21 :)

Click here to see it.

I hope to start on his year 4 book and start Madelyn's year 1 book too before I go back to work. I am very sad to say that I only have 2 more weeks at home....wow the time has flown! I will be back with more picture soon!

Meal Planner

2011-08-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

Being home for another month, I am hoping to do better about cooking. For the past 2 years I have been working on my masters degree, which meant I was not home 2 nights a week. This made my cooking hit-or-miss. I saw a cute "Meal Planner" on pinterest, and took the idea and made my own.

If you have a google account, you can download it here for free. It has been uploaded to google docs and you can save it to your account :)

Hopefully it will help me get my meals in order!

2 week check up

2011-08-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

Madelyn had her 2 week check up yesterday at Carithers. I took both kids with me for our first real outing. Her appointment was the first one of the day so I knew it would be quick. Plus poor Cale has been left (some days kicking and screaming) for all of Maddie's blood work last week, so I knew he was feeling a little left out, bless his heart! So I decided that I had to bite the bullet at some point and take them both. It was an easy trip (I hope they stay that way).

At the doctor we saw Dr. Wendy Sapolsky. Love her :) We have seen her once or twice before with Cale and always liked her, but we usually don't request a doctor, we just see which ever one is available. We have liked all the ones we have seen so far and will continue to do it that way until we find one we don't like.

So baby girl weighed in at 8 lbs 8 oz. That's a whole 1/2 pound over her birth weight, so Dr. Wendy was pleased with that :) and was 21 inches long. She is in the 75% for both height and weight! While we were there she made a BIG present for Dr. Wendy! She pooped EVERYWHERE!!!!! It was coming out the front, back, and sides of her diaper! I think the thermometer in her little hiney is what prompted all that! But Dr. Wendy was awesome and she changed her and cleaned her all up so she could finish checking her out.

I am proud to say that the jaundice is all cleared up! She does have a little bit of a thrush infection in her mouth, but we got some meds and after just one day's use it is already clearing up! She is eating like a champ! I have been pumping for her, but have had to start doing 1-2 bottles of formula (usually at night) because she is eating more and I can't keep up with her. Yesterday was her first full bottle of formula and she did well with it. She did spit up some, but she does that with my milk too, so no biggie there.

I am glad to say that we have worked out a schedule so that she is only getting me up twice a night. We are able to feed her between 10-11 before I go to bed. Then she is up around 2ish and again around 6ish. Sometimes if I am lucky (like today) she gets up about the time Bryan is getting up and he will feed her. But I am not lucky enough for that to happen very often. She usually waits until right after he leaves before she decides to get up :) But then she goes back down until about 10. So I get to go back to bed until Cale gets up. And he will usually come and watch TV in our bed for a little bit, so I am getting to at least rest until 9 or so. It seems to be easier with her at night then is was with Cale, so I am grateful for that!

Well I think that is enough rambling for now. I will leave you with a picture :)

Madelyn Ruth has arrived

2011-08-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

Thursday, August 4th, started like any other day. I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon and was hoping for good news, but trying not to get my hopes up at the same time. Bryan dropped me off for my appointment and he headed out to his last knee appointment. It just so happened they were only 30 minutes apart so he had to miss my appointment. I was nervous waiting for the doctor. I was 2 cm dilated at my last appointment, and I had been having lots of contractions over the past week. I was hoping she would check me and say "it's time!". But of course that didn't happen!!!

Once she checked me, I had only made it to 2 1/2 cm. I was disappointed to say the least. I think Dr. Walsh could see it on my face! She knew that we were an hour from the hospital, so she wasn't quite ready to send me home, but she also wasn't ready to admit me into the hospital either. So she told me to shop and walk for a couple of hours and then to head back to the hospital to let her check me again.

Since Bryan had his appointment, mom picked me up from my appointment and we hit up several stores and walked for a while. I was starting to hurt so I was glad my time was up and we headed to the hospital. When she checked me this time I was now 3 cm. With slight progress she wanted to hook me up and monitor me for an hour. If I made any more progress in that hour she would admit me, if not she would have to send me home.

I knew my contractions were coming more often, so I was praying for progress! At the end of the hour I was at 4 cm, so it was time to have a baby!!! I finally got admitted and checked into a real room. By this time it was about 6:00 and I was starving!!! I have not had anything to eat since about 11:30 that morning. But, unfortunately I still couldn't eat!

My mom took Cale to her house to hang out with Poppy. We knew it would probably be a while before Madelyn actually arrived so there was no sense in trying to keep him entertained at the hospital. Bryan made the call to his family and they headed to the hospital.

With it being late and no sight of baby actually arriving in the near future, we only had our immediate family at the hospital.

This is us waiting for Maddie to make her appearance.

I got my epidural and we all tried to settle in and get some rest.....yeah right! I didn't sleep at all. Everyone else was able to get some sleep, not much, but a little is better than none. My epidural caused my blood pressure to bottom out, which was quite scary for me. I got really light-headed and thought I was going to be sick. Luckily our nurse was in the room when it happened and she took awesome care of me! So she was in and out all night continuing to monitor my pressure, so sleep was not possible.

Dr. Walsh broke my water a little after midnight and from there things progressed fairly quickly. They checked me the final time at 5 am and I was 10 cm and ready to start pushing. The nurse called for them to set up the room and she did practice pushes with me through 2 contractions and said it was time to get the doctor. I pushed through 3 contractions with Dr. Walsh and we had a baby at 5:26!!!! It was such an easy labor for me this time and I was so glad!

Madelyn Ruth Libby - 8 pounds - 20.75 inches - born at 5:26 am on August 5th.

Trying to burp for the first time.

I could kick myself because we did not get a picture of all four of us!!!! But here is one of the 3 of us.

Proud Nana :)

Holding his baby sister for the first time!

On Saturday they had to put her on the phototherapy light for her jaundice. Luckily it didn't get high enough to have to do it at home.

Finally getting ready to go home!

We are all home and settled now. It is hard to believe that I was not supposed to have her until yesterday. I am so glad that I didn't make it that long. I can't imagine what she would have weighed if I had not had her 10 days early!

Party Time!

2011-07-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend we celebrated Cale's 3rd birthday party! Although his birthday is not until the 31st, with me being SO pregnant, I decided it would be best to do his party a week early. He wanted a Woody party, so Toy Story it was. I must say that I was completely exhausted by the time that the party started, so I didn't get many pictures. I am sure Nana and Granny did, so I will post more once they forward them to me.

Here is the birthday boy in his birthday shirt!

Because it is July in Florida it was HOT! So we set up a slip-n-slide for the kids. They didn't really slip or slide, but they had fun playing in the water!

I didn't do a cake this year. We had rainbow cupcakes instead. Cale loved being sang to and did great blowing out his candles.

Thank you to everyone that made it to the party! A good time was had by all :)

VBS

2011-07-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

Cale participated in his first VBS this past week. He had such a great time! Everyday he was excited to get to go to "church" as he kept calling it. Their theme was "Beach Blast" this year so their crafts and snacks and song were centered around that theme. On the final night, they invited all the families to come watch them perform their Beach Blast song (with all the motions). I had caught a sneak peak of it when picking him up one night, but I didn't know how he would do on the stage. Usually he just stands there any time they perform in front of the church. NOT this time! He did the whole thing and was SO proud of himself! Momma was just as proud :) I took a video of it on my phone, but I am not sure how to load it from the phone onto the blog. I will fiddle with it this week and see if I can get it up here. For now here are some pictures of my big boy!

Baby Showers

2011-07-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Bryan and I have been blessed with wonderful friends and family! We were given 4 baby showers for Miss Madelyn! My fellow second grade teachers gave me a shower at work (I forgot my camera that day!). Then my family gave us a shower (I took my camera, but mom ended up taking all the pictures on her camera....you can see them here.)

Next our sunday school class gave us a shower at church (finally have pictures!). We are so blessed to have a great church family that loves us like they do!

Cale was putting on a show!!!!

Finally, Bryan's mom and sister gave me a shower. Again we feel so lucky to have such great people in our lives that love and care about us.

Cale ooohhhed and aaahhhed over everything! He was hilarious!

Mallory is due just 2 weeks after me, so we thought we would compare bellies!

4th of July

2011-07-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

Every year we load up and head to Mom's for the 4th. This year was fun because the whole family was there. We ate and played in the pool all day. The little kids had a blast, but I think the big kids had just as much fun. They played pool volleyball for 3-4 hours! I, on the other hand did a lot of eating and watching :)

What I did most of the day! I did move into the shade to watch the pool fun :)
Too cute! He didn't last long in them though.

Boys against girls!

My sweet boy. He was fairly timid in the pool until the last hour or two. Then he finally was brave enough to move away from the steps.

He even let Daddy throw him up several times.

After lots of eating and playing, we head over to my Aunt Chris's house on the beach for fireworks. Cale is scared of fireworks so he and Bryan stayed in the condo while we all went down to the beach to watch the fireworks.

First Beach Trip of the Summer

2011-07-08T18:18:00.001-07:00

We FINALLY made our first trip to the beach this past week. Yes I know, we live in Florida and most Floridians have been to the beach multiple times by the beginning of July, but I had my reasons. First off, I am 8 1/2 months preggo. Not exactly flattering in a bathing suit! Second, Cale was TERRIFIED of the beach last year. It is way too much work to go to the beach if he isn't going to like it. And in my condition, I cannot pick him up and that is what he would want if he had been scared.

But I finally decided to suck it up and go. My friend Heather was in town staying with us and she was excited to go to the beach too, so I had help! Plus Mom, Daniel, Jessica, and Caleb were all going too.

So we loaded up and headed to the beach. As we got there, he just wanted to slowly take it all in. He was a little anxious as we moved closer to the water, but it was low tide so we were able to stay back from the water a bit and he was ok with that.

He ran and played in the sand for a while.

Caleb, Daniel, and Jessica were playing in the tide pool. After watching them for a little while, he decided he would join them. As soon as he sat down he was so excited!

Laying back to get his hair wet :) Then Daniel, Jessica, and Caleb moved down to the water. Well of course Cale had to check it all out. He certainly didn't want to be left out, but he wasn't too sure about joining in yet either. He and Heather moved closer to the water where they stood and watched for a while.

Then Uncle Daniel came over and talked him into jumping waves. It was all over from there....he was hooked and would have jumped ALL day if someone would hold his hands!

After a bit he even let Uncle Daniel take him out further in the water. All-in-all I would say it was a great first trip to the beach. Now I won't be so hesitant to take him back, but I still won't be going by myself!

Swim Lessons

2011-07-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Cale took his first round of swimming lessons this summer. He did great for the most part. We had a little melt down on the last day, but he still got in the pool and swam. His teacher, Miss Kristin - or Sara Gayle's momma - as Cale calls her, was wonderful! I think that it really helped that he knew her.

He learned to talk to the fish (blow bubbles), listen to the fish (put his ear in the water), scoop candy (use his arms), kick, and put his face in the water. I am very proud of him and what he learned. We will be using Miss Kristin again next year to develop his skills even more!

Tow Mater

2011-07-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

Tow Mater has made a trip to Hilliard! He is staying at Seldomridge's in town. Bryan and our friend from Tennessee, Heather, took Cale to visit him last week. I was taking my certification test, so I wasn't able to go, but from what I hear, Cale LOVED it! He told them that he wanted to take Mater home with him :)

If you have little ones, you should definitely take them to visit Mater!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T06:01:00.000-07:00

Wishing everyone and safe and happy 4th! We are celebrating with a pool party at Mom's and fireworks on the beach. Stay tuned for pictures.....

I'm Back!!!!!

2011-06-23T06:05:00.000-07:00

I know that I have been MIA for quiet a while! But as summer is here, I am finishing up my masters....can we say WHOOOOHOOOOO!!!!! That has consumed the majority of my life for the past two years, not to mention being a mother of a two year old, a wife, a teacher, and part time cake decorator! No wonder I have had NO time for extras like blogging. And to really add to it all, I am currently 8 months pregnant :) That is one big reason I want to get my blog going again!

In the past month I have been working on creating a photo book for Cale (since I never was able to make his scrapbook!). I got the idea from a sweet friend, Jobeth, to do a book a year. She does a page with pictures and narrative for each month. So I took on the job. Well, Cale is almost 3 now and remembering all of the details of his first and second year were almost near impossible. That's where the blog came in! I was a faithful blogger back then and it really helped me finish Cale's books. I want to be able to do the same thing for our next little one.

So starting today, I am making an honest effort to post to my blog once a week! Here are a few (and I mean a few) belly pics of my pregnancy so far. The old "you never take as many pictures with your second child" is already ringing true for us. I only have a few belly pics this time. Maybe because the second pregnancy doesn't feel as flattering for me as the first!

Miss Madelyn Ruth is expected to arrive August 15th!

15 1/2 weeks

22 weeks

28 1/2 weeks

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas Card 2010

2010-11-29T19:12:00.001-08:00

Peppermint Dots Christmas Card

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Can we say SLACKER!!!!

2010-11-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

Although I have been a SLACKER when it comes to blogging, it is not because I am being a slacker! My list of daily "have-tos" is entirely too long! I am looking forward to finishing up this semester of my masters, Christmas break, 2 weeks off of work, and quality time with my baby boy. Hopefully in that time I can do some blogging. For now, here are a few sneak peaks of what I have to blog about.....

Look.....they are FREE!

2010-11-20T19:03:00.000-08:00

I love the word FREE and I love Shutterfly! So when I saw that Shutterfly was giving away 50 free Christmas cards I was all over it! I have used Shutterfly for many years for all of my prints. I have always been pleased with anything I have ordered. I also love to order a yearly calendar from them too! So for me it is a no brainer to order my Christmas cards from them!

They have tons of products to choose from. Like....

For all of the coffee drinkers out there....this would be a great gift!

Or maybe you need a graduation announcement for your college grad!

They have tons of birthday prints to choose from too!

I am thinking of doing something cute like this....that is if I can get us all together for a picture :)

To get your FREE cards just click here and sign up! You will not be disappointed...I promise!

My baby boy is 2!

2010-08-09T14:20:00.001-07:00

Cale turned 2 on July 31st! He is growing up so fast! We had a train party and brought Mickey and friends along for the ride. Cale got lots of great toys and had a blast! I spent most of my time visiting and enjoying the guest and didn't take a lot of pictures. Luckily my mom and mother in law got some good ones for me!

July Catch up!

2010-08-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

We always spend the 4th of July at Mom's. We play in the pool, eat, and go to the beach for fireworks. This year was no exception. The only difference is that I spent the day relaxing and enjoying myself and didn't take many pictures! Cale did not like the fireworks at all! So he and Bryan stayed inside and watched them on tv :) while the rest of us enjoyed them on the beach!

Here are the pictures of Cale's big boy room! He loves it and it only took a couple of nights for him to settle in. He has always slept good, but he sleeps even better in the big bed!

July was busy for us, but not in fun, enjoying ways. We spent most of our days back and forth to the doctor and the lab for blood work. Praise God, that everything has worked itself out and I am finally back to me!

June Catch up!

2010-08-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

As we entered June....we were looking forward to so many things....
Here is June in a nutshell!

These are the sweetest pictures to me! I love it when Bryan will grab the camera to capture these sweet moments. These were taken in the last few days of school.

Here Cale got ahold of the camera...and instead of Daddy taking it away - they both played with it!

Cale loves all things "BOY"! Any kind of ball or car or other boyish toy. He loves to get this football helmet that we have in our house for some unknown reason, and play with it! It is way too big, but he doesn't care!

I just love this one! My mom found these adorable rain boots on sale at Target this spring and bought them for Cale. They were intended to be worn in the fall, so she bought them big. Well as I was cleaning his room one day, he found them in his cabinet and insisted that he put them on! He is so funny in them because they are still too big for him and he can barely get around in them, yet he has been wearing them ever since!

Also, you may notice that he is in big boy undies!!!! One of my goals this summer was to potty train. I am very pleased to say he did fantastic! After about 3 days he had the hang of it. We are still struggling to poop in the potty, but I am sure that will come in time.

My cell phone decided to die the end of May, so since I "had" to get a new one, we splurged and got an Iphone. Best decision ever! I don't know who plays it more, Cale or Bryan....and it is supposed to be my phone :)

In June we also celebrated Jason's birthday. As a tradition, we always go out to eat. It was great this year because Jessica and Caleb were able to join us. Here is the best picture I got of the birthday boy with all the little boys.

While Jessica and Caleb were here, we met up at the zoo. I bought a membership pass in the spring and we were able to use it for us and only had to pay for Caleb. The boys had a blast! Cale loves the animals and of course we had to ride the train!

While they were here we also spent some time at Mom's in the pool! Here are Cale and Caleb in their matching swim suites. Cale just wanted to get in the pool! He has done so good in the water. He is, however, deathly afraid of the beach!

With potty training came a big boy bed (look for it in the July post). I had my eye on a bedding set at Target for a while. Lucky for me, the put it on clearance right before we switched his bed. I was so excited it! I was able to get all of his bedding and accessories for 50% off! With his bedding I found the cutest piggy bank. He just wanted to hold the pig at first until we showed him that you put money in it. Now any time he sees money, it has to go in his "money pig" as he calls it!

It's been too long!

2010-08-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

While being out of work for the summer I had BIG plans of catching up on EVERYTHING! Well you see how far I have gotten :) Although I was out of school for summer break, I have continued taking classes for my masters. On top of that I have had way too many trips to the doctors and labs for blood work to even think of having any free time!

Needless to say, my big plans for an uneventful summer were thrown right out the window! With my medical situation back to normal and a break from classes for a few weeks, my goal is to get both of my blogs (personal and cake) caught up before going back to work in just another week! Wish me luck!

Cale's 2 year Pictures

2010-08-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

To say that I love Cale's pictures would be an understatement! I was beyond pleased with the quality of the work done by Julie Paisley! There are so many good ones, but here are a few of my favorites!

Washing the Car

2010-05-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

Cale loves to be outside! So when Daddy is washing the car, Cale has to be out there. He was good the whole time....until.....
The car was already washed and dried when Bryan looked over and saw that Cale was laying on his belly in a puddle of water! Of course I wasn't out there, and by the time I made it out there with the camera he was up. I never could get him to lay back down, but he did continue to play in it!

Beach Day

2010-05-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

We have managed to make it to the beach a few times already this year! Cale is still very unsure of the beach though. He wants to be held or sit in your lap for quite a while before he is even ready think about getting down a playing. Hopefully he will warm up to it the more we go!

Sweet Boy!

2010-05-10T09:58:00.001-07:00

First Zoo Trip

2010-04-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

Over Spring Break we took our first trip to the zoo. I was a little nervous about how Cale would react. He loves animals in books, but is scared of them up close. I was hoping that he would be fine since most of the animals are far off. He was a trooper and did great!

He was leaning over to see the giraffe. There were a lot of people at the giraffes and he just wanted to see, so Bryan got him out and held him up.

"Cheese!" He is good at saying it, but not always looking at the camera!

I love this one!

He wanted to ride the merry-go-round, so we paid and Bryan took him on, but he wouldn't sit on any of the animals!

His favorite part of the day....the TRAIN!!!! He is obsessed with trains!

I am so glad that he loved it. We bought a membership and plan to make many more trips in the future!

Easter Recap

2010-04-11T17:59:00.001-07:00

Warning....This post contains A LOT of Pictures!!!

Easter weekend was a very busy and fun weekend for us. My sister-in-law Jessica, and nephew Caleb, spent the weekend with us. They came out on Friday afternoon and it was fun to see the boys play so well together. They live in Japan, so we don't get to see them very often. Last time we saw them, Cale was just starting to stand up by himself. Anyway, back to Easter. We started our weekend by decorating cupcakes with jellybeans and coloring eggs on Friday night. Cale was a trip! He would put the jellybeans on the cupcake and then take it off and lick the icing, and then he would try and put it back on the cupcake! I think that he ate more than he put on the cupcakes :) Then when we moved on to the eggs, he kept saying "egg bath". He thought the eggs were taking a bath, which make since because we were putting them in little tubs of colored water!

The finished product.

Our next adventure was Saturday morning at our church's annual egg hunt. They have it at a local farm. Cale loves animals in theory and in books, but as soon as we walked up to the barn door, he was crying! So needless to say, we did not go in and see the animals. However, Caleb and Jessica did. Cale was very uneasy until they came out of the barn!

After the animals, we ate, went on a hayride, and then heard the Easter story. Lastly, it was time to hunt eggs! Cale was funny. It took him just a minute to catch on, but then he was ready to go!

Here is Caleb with all his eggs! Cale wouldn't stand still for a picture :)

Trying to get a picture of the boys, but Cale wouldn't stand still!

After the church egg hunt, we stopped through the drive thru and hit the road towards Green Cove Springs, to my Aunt Joyce's house for our family reunion and another egg hunt. The boys lasted through lunch and about half of the hour plus trip before they both crashed!

This time around for the egg hunt, Cale took the lazy route! He climb up in the car and made Bryan push him around to the eggs :)

After the egg hunt we got Granny together with all of her great grand kids.

Granny and Cale, Trevor, and Conner.

Sunday morning the Easter Bunny left presents at our house.

Can you tell that he was excited? His cars made noise and he loved that!

Sweet boy!

After breakfast, we all got ready and headed to church. After a great service at church, we all went to Bryan's parents for lunch. We took pictures outside first, but Cale wanted no part of it. He was fine as long as he could get down and play, but he did not want to be held.

He is growing up too fast!

Our attempt at a family picture. Cale was not having it!

Cale and Caleb. Again Cale wanted no part of it! He is very stubborn!

After lunch there were more Easter baskets to open from Granny and Papa and from Aunt Valerie and Uncle Wayne. I told them when he gets older they are going to have to knock it off because they bring better presents than the Easter Bunny!

Then it was time for another egg hunt. By this time, Cale had the hang of it!

To wrap up an already great weekend, we had my family over Sunday evening for homemade pizza! Nana and Poppy brought more Easter baskets! At least I know that my child is loved!

I was really looking forward to this Easter and it did not disappoint!

My 2 Boys!

2010-04-11T17:55:00.000-07:00

Cale some how got to my camera one night. Bryan caught him with it and this is was came out of the whole ordeal :)

Daddy's Chair

2010-03-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

Cale loves to play in "Daddy's chair" as he calls it. He was so funny on this night because he was starting to get sleepy and that is when he often gets silly. He was testing us because we don't let him stand in the chair, but he kept doing it because Bryan would pull his feet and make him fall and he thought it was a game :)

Playin Outside

2010-03-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

With our weather so up-and-down, Cale loves the afternoons when we get to go outside! That is his all-time favorite place to be. There are many days that I cannot even go inside when we get home because a certain little monster wants to play. I love it though! I have been able to take him to the park a couple of times in the last few weeks. He has learned how to slide and thinks that he is big stuff! I can't wait for summer to get here so that we can go more often.

Here are a few pics of Cale and Bryan playing on the porch...

Wordless Wednesday!

2010-03-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

Potty Time!

2010-03-07T18:36:00.000-08:00

Cale has been showing some interest in the potty. Mostly by telling us "pee-pee" when he has wet his diaper. So I decided that it might be a good time to introduce him to the potty. He know what the potty is because goodness knows that I can't go to the bathroom by myself! He seemed really excited about it! We sat him on it twice today and he sat there saying "pee-pee" but he never actually peed. I hope that I can use the next few weeks to get him used to the potty. Then I am going to try the 3-5 day potty training method during spring break and see what happens. If it works, great. If it doesn't I am not going to fret over it. He is only 19 months and I had originally planned to potty train over the summer. But since he is showing interest, I am going to try it and see how it goes. Wish me luck!

Showing off

2010-03-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

Cale was up this morning at 6:00! Bright and early! Needless to say we knew that he would be ready for a nap about 10:30, so we decided that it would be best to stay home from church so that he could go down for a nap. He is too busy at church and wont nap in the nursery. And making it 2 hours past nap time without becoming a pill is impossible! So about 10:45 he was ready for a nap. He fussed a little, but before long he was out. Within an hour he woke up. I knew that an hour was not enough sleep, so I quickly went in a began rocking him. It took a few minutes but then he was out again.

At about 2:30 I had to make a quick Target trip. I really thought he would be up by then so we could all go, but he wasn't so I left him at home with Daddy. It was really nice to go and not be rushed or distracted though. While I was there I found Cale some croc's. I have been wanting to get him a pair but can never find them in his size. When I got home I tried them on him to make sure they fit. I think that he liked them because he would not take them off. Even when I cleaned him up and changed him into clean pjs (yes he had been in his pjs all day!) he made me put them back on! Too funny :)

Here he is showing off his girl scout cookie. I asked him to come to me so I could try on his shoes and he comes with the cookie pack in one hand and a thin mint in the other! What a rotten tail!

His new shoes!

Saying "cheese"

Daddy's Boy

2010-03-07T18:13:00.000-08:00

Cale is not a Daddy's boy or a Moma's boy. He is both. It just depends on the day or the hour. This day he was definitely a Daddy's boy! Here he is wearing Bryan's shorts. He was so proud!

Sorry they are so blurry. My setting on the camera got changed and I didn't realize it.

Happy Birthday Granny!

2010-02-27T09:13:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we celebrated my Granny's 80th birthday! We drove to Green Cove Springs to my aunt's house to celebrate. As soon as I asked Cale if he wanted to go bye-bye, he went for his back-pack. Then he insisted that I put it on him. Then he grabbed the keys and was ready to go! He is so funny:) and he is getting so big!

Here is Granny's cakeGranny was very happy to see all of her grandkids and great-grandkids. We are planning a family reunion in just a few weeks that will include our whole family (all except Daniel who will be in Japan). We are all looking forward to seeing everyone.

Granny and some of the great-grands.....Cale was trying to give Conner some kisses! He is such a lover!

Granny and some of her grandkids.

I'm BACK!!!!

2010-02-27T09:08:00.000-08:00

So I know that it has been FOREVER since I last posted. Well I have a good reason....I am SUPER BUSY!!!! I am currently working full time, taking 2 classes for my masters (which is kicking my butt this semester) and I am starting a cake business on the side - Tasty Oven Cakery!

So now you know where I have been. Since my family ever-so-gently know that I have not been updating my blog, I am going to make and effort to do better. While I have been so busy I must say that I have been slacking in the photo taking department, but I will do better! So look for some new posts soon!

Looking Back at 09 and Ahead to 10

2010-01-03T12:11:00.000-08:00

Wow is it really 2010 already! Boy how the time flies. This has been a year of lots of firsts for us. We have been blessed with a beautiful little boy that fills our hearts with joy everyday.

Here are a few of our firsts....
....haircut
....big boy car seat
....crawling
....eating real food
....pulling up
....walking
....lots of talking
....holidays - Valentine's, Easter, 4th of July
....1st Birthday!

Take a look at our year in pictures. It was hard, but I only picked one for each month...

January

February

March
April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Looking ahead to the new year, there are many things that I want to strive for. I don't want to call them resolutions, because they are on-going goals that will always need work.

My goals.....

....read Cale a Bible story every night before bed

....read myself a Bible story every night before bed

....show my husband I love him everyday

....pray like I have never prayed before

....enjoy Cale more

....slow down and play with Cale before he doesn't want me to play with him anymore

....live and learn from my mistakes

....take time to relax and read more books....that I enjoy - not school books!

....sell my house

I am looking forward to what the Lord has in store for us this year. I know that He has a great plan and I can't wait to see what it is.

Cruisin'

2010-01-03T11:48:00.000-08:00

Right before Christmas Bryan and I went on a cruise with our friends from TN. We left on Thursday from Jacksonville. The weather really didn't want to cooperate with us! Thursday night and all day Friday it was rainy. The weather was so bad Friday that we could not make our port. So we traveled on to our next destination, Nassau, Bahamas.

Saturday we were free to get off the boat and check out the city. The sun was out and the skies were clear, but it was so windy that it would almost knock you over! We checked out the sights for a little while and then headed back to the boat. The weather may not have been great, but that allowed us time to just be lazy and sleep. I think we took at least 1 nap everyday! Sunday was our day at sea....but it was freezing! So again we were lazy all day :)

The best part about the trip was our company and all the food! We ate all day long! It was wonderful!

Even though the seas were rough and the weather was bad, we still had fun and can't wait to do it again....just not in December!

Merry Christmas

2010-01-03T06:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was a lot more fun! Cale was able to get excited and open his presents by himself...for the most part!

Santa was good to Cale this year :)

He got this brand new toy box that even had his name on it!

But the best part is that he put toys inside of it!

He also got this really cool race car step stool....that will be very useful in the future.

Cale wasn't so sure at first, but once we showed him the toys inside the toy box, he wanted to do nothing else.

Then we tried the stocking. He took his race car out, but wouldn't go for anything else in it :)

So we decided to let him play while Bryan and I did our gifts. Bryan got some clothes, a x-box game and a new cell phone. I got my red kitchen-aide mixer, some Mary Kay, and a book :)

Then we were able to get Cale to open his gifts. I tried to consolidate so that he only had a few to open. I knew that there would be a lot more to open that day so I didn't want to wear him out.

After we did everything at our house, we headed to the Libby's for breakfast and more presents. Let's just say that it did not take Cale long to spot his first present and he had to get on it! He loved his 4-wheeler from Aunt Valerie and Uncle Wayne! And it didn't take him long to figure out how to make it go :)

At the end he got to open his big present from Nanny and Papa.....

Then we had to take them both outside to let him ride.

Uncle Brett's present was a big hit too....he just didn't know that he was going to have to pick Cale up a million times to let him shoot it!

After lots of playing and a good lunch, it was time to go to Jason and Jenny's for Christmas with my family. I am very ashamed to say that I took no pictures over there! So as soon as Mom or Jenny send me some pictures, I will add them.

Jenny hosted Christmas this year, now that she has 2 kids, it was here turn :) Plus it helped out mom because she had to work that night. Everyone helped out by bringing a dish and we had a great meal!

Then it was present time. Our family is rapidly growing so opening presents takes a while! We decided to let the boys open all theirs first so that they could play with their new toys while we did our presents. The plan worked well.

After all the festivities, we had one tired little boy. So we headed home and Cale was in bed by 8. What a great day. I love spending time with our families so Christmas is such a fun time. I know that next year will be even better as Cale starts to truly understand the meaning of Christmas!

Dear Santa

2010-01-03T06:44:00.000-08:00

We took Cale to see Santa just a few days before Christmas. I was afraid that the lines would be terrible because we waited so late, but Cale had been sick and I did not want to take him out. We got to the Town Center and to our surprise, there was not much of a line at all. Our wait time was about 10-15 minutes.

So we made it through the line and it was finally our turn, and what does Cale want to do....PLAY! He walked right up to Santa, but as soon as Santa reached for him, he turned and ran with that little grin on his face. He was tired of being restrained and wanted to go! We sat him with Santa and he sat just fine with this blank look on his face. That is why we opted for the sweet picture of him and Santa looking at each other!

Christmas Eve

2010-01-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve is still a tender spot for me. This was when we always did our Christmas with my Daddy. Now that Daddy is gone, we still get together on Christmas Eve. It is nice to still spend that time with family. So we had Jason, Jenny, Brody, and Trevor over this year. We ate dinner and then the boys played.

Here is Cale showing everyone his favorite ornament. It is a race car that makes noise....go figure :)
My Granny was out of town this year for Christmas, but she had my Aunt Joyce bring over the boy's presents from her. We decided that it would be fun to let them open their gifts from Granny. And of course they were excited.

Cale got a base ball game

Brody got some game that had lots of little marbles....needless to say we had to keep Cale away because he likes to put everything in his mouth still.

And Trevor got a glow-worm. I did not know that they still made these, but he loved it!

After many attempts and much help from Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jason, we were able to get a picture of Cale in front of the tree.

Then it was time for bed. We all had to get ready for Santa Clause to come see us :)

Daddy's Shoes

2009-12-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

Why is it that kids always want to wear their parent's shoes? Is it some fetish we are born with? I know I did is as a kid. And Cale is no exception. Except maybe that he has extra large shoes to fill.....size 14! But at the rate his foot is growing he will be there in no time :)

My Latest Creations

2009-12-03T18:58:00.000-08:00

I just finished my third cake decorating class. The more classes I take, the more I love decorating the cakes! I am thinking about quiting my day job to do cakes! I wish! Maybe one day though. For now I would love to do it on the side and if I can build a business out of it that would be fantastic :)

For now, here are my latest cakes!

Cake Course #3

2009-11-15T18:54:00.000-08:00

I started course 3 in my cake decorating classes! In this class we are introduced to fondant :) Here is my first experience working with fondant. I thought it turned out beatiful for my first go-round!

Air Show

2009-11-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

This weekend we went to my mom's at the beach to watch the air show. I was afraid that the loud noise would scare Cale, but he did great.

Here he is walking. Yes he is now officially walking. It took him long enough but he has finally figured it out.
Playing catch.

Loving on baby Trevor

Watching the planes

Jason and Brody watch the planes "put on a show" as Brody kept saying :)

The Blue Angels

More Cakes...

2009-11-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a cake I made for my friend Trudy for a wedding shower that we gave her at church.

Halloween

2009-11-08T13:52:00.000-08:00

I know I am a little behind but they always say that it is better late than never!

This year Halloween and the Florida / Georgia game fell on the same day. We always go to Jason and Jenny's for the game, so that plan was still in effect. Out dilemma was what to do about trick-or-treating. Since Cale is still young and doesn't really understand the concept we were not sure what we were going to do. After talking to Jenny, she said that they were all going to go up to FBC Callahan for their annual fall festival instead of trick-or-treating. That sounded good to me.
We got Cale a puppy dog costume to wear, but since it was 85 degrees on Halloween, we decided that we couldn't possibly put him in it. So he went as Super Tebow instead!

Here are Baylee the Butterfly, Brody the tennis player, Trevor the tennis ball, and Cale as Tebow.

Sharing his sucker with Daddy!

Cake Course #2

2009-10-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

I just finished my last cake class for course 2. I really enjoyed this course! We learned how to make about 8 different types of flowers. It was a lot of fun to be able to make something so pretty and have it turn out like it is supposed to! Here are some pictures of my final cake that had all of my flowers on it. Starting course 3 next week!

This is what happens when you let Cale feed himself!

2009-10-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

Fair Time!

2009-10-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

As a kid I can remember looking forward to the fair every year! It was always so much fun. Even as an adult I always enjoyed going, not for the rides, but for the food! This year I was excited to take Cale. We took him last year, but he was still too little to do anything. He couldn't ride much this year either, but the Merry-go-Round was just enough!

We started out with the animals. Cale is very cautious of any animal. He likes them from a distance, but not close up. This was no different. He did great until we got to close. He did like the "babbits" and the "burds". Both the chickens and rabbits were in their own cages and I guess that made him feel safe.

After that we had to stop and let him "drive" the golf carts.

Then we were off to ride. Cale was so funny. He never got excited at all, but he cried every time we had to get off the rides!

Papa and Granny insisted that Cale had to win a prize. So they picked the duck game so that Cale could just grab a duck and win a prize. Well, Cale wanted to play in the water instead of grabbing a duck!

Here he is with his prize (that is deflated already!).

Playing another game...

It was starting to get too cold, so we decided to head out. On the way out we stopped to see Aunt Valerie at her booth.

In the truck and out of the cold!

Catch-up Time

2009-10-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

I have decided to make myself sit down and catch up on my blog today! I feel like such a slacker with my blogging! I can say though that I am not slacking because I am lazy, I am slacking because I am so BUSY! I am trying to manage it all and still stay sane!

So today is all about catching up. On my last post I said that my little man was taking steps....well that was short lived. Who needs to walk when you can ride? His riding toy is his new favorite. It took him a while to figure out how it worked, but now he is everywhere. He can get on and off by himself and he even knows when to go backwards or turn around to keep from getting stuck. He is a mess!

Occasionally he ends up on it backwards, but it doesn't seem to bother him!

For the last Gator game we went to Jason and Jenny's. We had not seen them in about a month and thought it would be fun to let the boys play. Cale loved the tunnel. But playing peek-a-boo in it was about all the playing he would do with it. Even though Brody showed him how to crawl through it several times, he never got brave enough to try!

Well folks....that is all the time I have for today. I will be back again soon!

Taking steps....

2009-09-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while and if you knew my schedule you would understand.

Tonight my baby boy is no longer a baby! He is walking! Not all over the place yet, but he is definitely putting his steps together. For the past week or so, he has taken a step here or there, but tonight he was taking 4 or 5 at a time. Usually we have to stick out our hand for him to reach for, but not tonight. He would just stand up in the middle of the floor and take several steps until he lost his balance. He is getting too big! We tried to video it and hopefully I will get it posted soon, but I cant make any promises!

My big boy

2009-09-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

Cale is growing up so fast! While I was in the office working on some school work, he wanted to join me. He can climb up on the futon all by himself. And he is proud as punch when he does! Since I haven't been good with the camera lately, I decided to snap some shots of Cale and his adventure on the futon.

He is in just his diaper! After church Bryan usually takes off his church clothes and puts him down for a nap. Well, he decided not to put anything on him when he woke up. So he was lounging around in total comfort all afternoon!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

Menu Plan

2009-09-07T06:48:00.000-07:00

Since I have the day off today, and I am planning on going to the grocery store....I decided I would post my menu plan for the week. I always plan my meals before I shop. It saves lots of time and money!

Monday:
Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir-Fry
Hot rice

Tuesday:
Quick and Easy Sausage Rotini
Salad
Bread

Wednesday:
I have class so no cooking for me! Bryan will eat with his parents and he always brings me a plate home :)

Thursday:
Quick 'n Easy Sausage on a Bun

Friday:
Football game for Bryan, so no cooking for me! Cale and I will probably eat leftovers.

Saturday:
Crispy Chicken Salsa
Mac and cheese
Steamed broccoli

Sunday:
Sunday School Lunch at the Seeley's

This week I am using one of the "1 Bag, 5 Dinners" ideas from kraftfoods.com. I will let you know how everything turns out!

Recipe Sharing!

2009-09-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

I know that several of you are sharing your menu plans for the week. Well, to be honest with you, I just don't have that kind of tome on my hands. I do plan my meal out before going to the grocery store, but I don't always have the time to share them.

So...today I am going to share some of my new found favorites!

I will start out with Kraft. I had heard that Kraft.com had some great recipes, but had not checked it out....until today. On their website the have a 1 Bag, 5 Dinners section. It is fabulous! I just printed out 2 weeks of recipes using this. I cant wait to try them!

My first recipe is a Paula Deen recipe
"Chicken Boudine"

Ingredients
2 cups cooked egg noodles
2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
3 cups grated sharp cheese, your choice, divided
1 (2 1/4-ounce) package slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup drained, chopped pimentos
1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
Salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, toss together the noodles, soup, broth, and sherry. Add the chicken, 2 cups of the cheese, the almonds, pimento, mushrooms, and salt and pepper, to taste, and toss gently to combine. Transfer the mixture to a greased 13 by 9 by 2-inch casserole and top with the remaining cup of cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

(I copied this from foodnetwork.com and can't figure out how to get rid of the green dots under the words!)

Next up is another Paula Deen creation...
"BBQ Pork chops"

Ingredients
Pork chops
1 tbsp vegetable oil
14.5 oz can whole tomatoes, crushed
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tbsp Worcestershire
2 tbsp mustard
1/2 tsp salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350
Brown pork chops in oil. Drain and place in a 9x13 baking dish
Combine all other ingredients
Spoon over chops
Bake for 45 mins

This dish is to die for!!!! The first time I made it, I fixed it before church and I only baked the chops for 30 mins and then turned the oven off and left them in there while we were at church. We didn't even need a knife to cut them. I have also baked them the full 45 mins, and they were good, but not as tender as the first time. So if you have the time, bake them for only 30 mins then turn off the oven and leave them in there for a couple hours before you eat!

My last one for today is
"Fiesta Chicken Casserole" from the Campbell's website

Ingredients:
1 package (15 ounces) refrigerated pie crust (2 crusts)
1 jar (16 ounces) Pace® Chunky Salsa
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1 cup sour cream
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)
1 package (24 ounces) frozen whole kernel corn
2 cans (9.75 ounces each) Swanson® Premium White Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained
1 can (about 15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:
Let the pie crusts stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or until they're easy to handle.
Stir the salsa, soup, sour cream, cheese, corn, chicken and beans in a large bowl. Spoon the chicken mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.
Unfold the pie crusts on a lightly floured surface. Lay the crusts side-by-side so that they overlap by about 3 inches in the center. Press the seam to seal. Roll the pie crust into a 14 x 10-inch rectangle. Place the pie crust over the chicken mixture. Trim the excess crust from the edge. Cut several slits in the crust.
Bake at 400°F. for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

I hope you enjoy and I will try to share some more another time!

Cale standing up

2009-08-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

My brother and his family came in for a surprise visit from Japan 2 weeks ago. On their first day here we were all sitting in Cale's room letting the boys play when all of a sudden Cale stood up! I was so happy, proud, excited, and shocked all at the same time! So of course I had to run and get the video camera.
So I turned it on and started filming.....but you guesses it....he wouldn't stand up! As soon as I turned it off, he stood up! Little turkey! So I started recording again until he finally did it again. Lucky for you, I edited the video before I uploaded it! I think Caleb was just as happy about Cale standing as we were!!!

Cale on the phone :)

2009-08-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

Cale loves the phone! So when Bryan got a new phone, we gave Cale his old one. A couple of nights ago he was just a jabbering so I took some video of him! Enjoy :)

Catching Up!

2009-08-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

It has been forever....I know! But we are still alive! Just extremely busy!

Bryan and I have both started back to work. That was not easy, but my body is slowly adjusting. It has been a week full of learning for me. I moved from teaching 5th grade last year to teaching 2nd grade this year. Talk about a big change! I am getting more comfortable with my new grade and I will get it all figured out soon enough.

Bryan is teaching PE and world history this year. He is also coaching football. They had their first game last night so it was just Cale and I at home. I took the opportunity to write my first of many papers! Yes you read that correctly. Along with changing grades at school and being a mommy, I have decided to get my masters!

Our county has teamed up with UNF to form a cohort. That basically just means that they are coming to our county to teach our classes. It is a 2 year program and is currently being held in Yulee (25 mins from home). They mentioned that after the first semester they may move it to a different part of the county depending on where the majority of people in the cohort live. We are hoping they will move it to our side! I am going to class 2 nights a week. We are so thankful to have parents that are willing to help us out! My mom is going to keep Cale on mondays for us. And Bryan's mom is going to keep him on wednesdays. Once football is over, Bryan will be able to get him, but for right now it is 7-7:30 before he gets home.

We enough about us, lets talk about Cale. My baby boy is growing up too fast!!!! He is talking more than ever. He can say, momma, daddy, ball, bye-bye, juice, ball, Bam Bam (Brett's dog), vroom vroom for any vehicle, woof woof for any dog, and plus a lot of jibber jabber that I cant understand :) He is growing so fast. He is not walking yet, but he will stand up by himself. He is getting pretty good at getting his balance, so I am sure that it wont be long. I am not pushing him because I know once he starts, it is all over!

Now that I am back to work, I have really tried to get back into the routine of cooking several nights a week. Not only does it save us money from eating out, but it also gives us lunches to take to work. While I was attempting to unload the dishwasher the other night, Cale decided he would help! And me being the mom that I am, instead of getting him out....I ran to get the camera. He loved it! His job was the silverware. And most of them got any extra rinse :) He just had to put them in his mouth! He is learning how to use his fork and spoon at dinner, so he was just practicing what momma has been teaching him!

For all of your recipe sharers out there....I have a few to share. I will try to get them posted soon. As for me, I am going to do my best to get back to posting on a more consistent basis!!!

Cake Monster!

2009-08-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

I have to first say thank you to Kristi for the pictures! She tried several times this week to email them to me, but the file was too big and it wouldn't go through. So she saved them to a disc and brought them to me this morning :) Now I feel bad for being so impatient!

There were a lot of pictures to choose from, but I mostly wanted to share the cake pictures. My man loves to eat!!!! And he loves sweets! So this was right up his alley!

Cale's Party

2009-08-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

I was trying to wait until I got all the pictures before I posted this, but I am tired of waiting. Being the mom at the party, you are too involved to take pictures. Nana took some for me on my camera, but I am waiting to get some more from others that were at the party that have promised to send them.

The party started off with lots of food. Then we moved into presents and finally CAKE! The kids all played well and I think everyone had a good time!

Cale LOVED his cake. He was into it before I could even set it down on his tray. I didn't get many pictures on my camera. Like I said, I am waiting to get them from friends.

Slacker

2009-08-10T06:26:00.000-07:00

I know I have been a slacker lately!!! But I have a really good excuse :) Last week was CRAZY!!! It was like a sickness roller coaster ride. Thankfully I am feeling much better and will catch up on my blog soon. I know you are all waiting for pictures of the party and that will be my first post!!!

Welcome Trevor Mason

2009-08-04T10:15:00.001-07:00

I am very proud to welcome the newest addition to our family...Trevor Mason Singley!

Trevor made his grand entrance yesterday at 8:19 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 2 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. After a VERY QUICK labor, both Mommy and Trevor are doing great.

I say very quick, because it is one of the fastest deliveries I have ever heard of. After some back pains and consistent contractions for about an hour, Jason and Jenny decided it was time to make their way to the hospital. We got the call that they were going, but were going to wait until they got there and found out exactly how far along she was before we decided to leave.

No too long after the first call, my mom called and said that she was just checked and was 7 cm dilated and her water had broken. So much for me being able to get a shower before we left! We immediately loaded up (leaving Cale at his Granny and Papa's) and were on our way to the hospital.

From the time the put her in the bed, it took a whole 12 minutes to have the baby! He was here long before we made it to the hospital! But I told Jason that he could not announce what it was (they didn't find out) until we made it there. They waited on us and we found out it was a BOY! They still had not picked out a name because they wanted to get to know him a little bit first. So we all stayed in the waiting room while they spent some time together as a family and while Trevor got to feed.

Finally we made it in to see him! He is beautiful and looks a lot like his big brother Brody :)

Congratulations Jason and Jenny! We are very happy for you!

Cale's Birthday Cakes

2009-08-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

I am very proud of the way both of my cakes turned out!!!! They were a hit because they were both gobbled up!

More party pics to come later......

Birthday Boy!

2009-08-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that it has been a whole year since we first welcomed our little man into the world! He is such a joy and pleasure and has brought so much happiness into our lives. They grow way too fast! Our baby is no longer a baby....he is a one-year-old!

We took him yesterday on his actual birthday and had his pictures made. They turned out great! Here are just a few of the many we had to pick from!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Wordless Wednesday....a day late

2009-07-23T11:02:00.001-07:00

I passed!!!

2009-07-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

I officially passed my first cake decorating class!!!! I had a lot of fun and cant wait to take course 2! Here are my creations from the last 2 classes.

First are my wonderful cupcakes....

Cale enjoyed the clown one. He went straight for the head first :)

In our last class we decorated a cake with a combo of all our skills....including the dreaded rose! I had the hardest time with those darn roses, and I still never got it right, but hey at least they look like flowers!!!!

And they got smash from the stupid cake carrier!!! I made it all the way home with the cake and as I went to get it out of the car, the lid popped off and hit the cake!!! I was so MAD! So that is why they are a little smashed...

Now with all my cake decorating knowledge, I plan to decorate Cale's 1st birthday cake next week....we will see how it goes :)

4 years today!

2009-07-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Today is mine and Bryan's 4 year anniversary! How quickly does time pass. I love my life and wouldn't trade it for anything! I love you Baby and I look forward to many more happy years!

Here are a few shots from our special day 4 years ago....

(yes....we had a huge wedding party!!!!)

Ace of Cakes....move on over!

2009-07-13T18:14:00.000-07:00

In being the ambitious first time Mom that I am, I decided that I would decorate Cale's first birthday cake. After looking online for the perfect race car cake pan, I came across the Michael's craft store website. They advertised for "Wilton" cake decorating classes. I was very excited! But I knew I did not want to do it by myself. So, after some careful thinking, I had the perfect partner in mind....Tina!!! Of course it didn't really take much to talk her into it because she loves crafty things. She also thought that her sis-in-law Mandy would love to join in the fun too!

Well, we signed up and were off! The first week was mostly intro and just watching, but today was all about the cake!!!! We had to come to class with a cake that was already iced (with home-made butter cream icing, might I add!). Once we were there......after our frantic rush to get everything in the car and make it on time....we got right to business.

We started off practicing on our practice boards. Today we learned how to do stars, wavy lines, tight zig-zag borders, writing, and started learning how to do a rose. After much practice, we were turned loose on our cakes!!!

Here are a few pics from today's cake....

Not sure why it is sideways????
Here are my stars

Tight zig-zag border and a star border on the bottom

Writing....not as easy as you would think!

Here is the whole cake (right-side-up!)

Make sure to check Tina and Mandy's blogs to see their cakes too!

We are having a blast and plan on doing the next course too!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

4th of July!

2009-07-08T07:04:00.001-07:00

It is tradition for us to spend the 4th of July at my Mom's house. We spend the day eating, playing in the pool, and eating some more. This year was no different. With all the pool fun, I didn't get any pictures! I was too busy playing myself to worry about the camera. It was a great day of pool volleyball. It was fun, but boy was I SORE!!!! I felt it for days!!!!

After the sun goes down, we always go to my aunt's house on the beach. From there we can see several sets of fireworks, including all the amateurs on the beach. Cale was very intrigued at first. Then the loud noise from the up close ones started to get to him. He lasted a little while, but then Bryan took him inside.

It was another great 4th! I look forward to next year....maybe Cale will like the fireworks better then :)

Universal and Islands of Adventure

2009-07-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

While we were in Sebring, we had planned to make a trip to Universal. For the past several years, Universal has sent out free tickets for teachers. This is not the first time we have taken advantage of them, and I am sure it wont be the last either.

When we got there, the sky was very gray and threatening to rain. So we decided to go to the Dr. Seuss section first and let Cale ride a few rides. I didnt know how long he would last before he was ready for a nap, so I thought he should ride first. He rode the merry-go-round first. He loved it!

Here are Cale and Daddy waiting to get on....

Within a few minutes the rains arrived. We made a mad dash for the nearest restaurant for shelter. Inside it looks like a train that goes all the way around the restaurant. Each of the train cars is a booth to eat at and then there is the drivers seat at the front. Well of course Cale had to drive!

After it slacked off, he wanted to ride the merry-go-round again :)

Before long it was a steady rain. We decided it would be best to get a poncho to put over the stroller. Well Cale wanted no part of that. He didnt like that he couldnt see. Every time we put it up there, he would pull it off. At one point, Bryan put the poncho on Cale. That was hilarious. He hated it, so it didnt last long!

It rained off and on until about 3:30 or so. After that it cleared up and it was great. We were able to visit both parks while we were there. It was a full day. We arrived at 9:30 and didnt leave until about 9:30 that night. Cale was such a trooper! He did great. We made it all day on one nap and no melt downs :)

Of course we had to stop in front of the NASCAR Cafe on our way out!

Cale made it until we were about 30 seconds from the car and then he crashed!

All-in-all it was a great day. The rain was probably the best thing that could have happened. It kept it from being way too hot and miserable. We will definitely take this trip again.

Vacation in Sebring, FL

2009-07-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

WARNING: This post contains A LOT of PICTURES!!!!

The day that we returned from the lake, our dear friends from TN, Chad and Heather came down. After some unpacking, repacking, and loading the truck up, we were ready to hit the road. This time we went south to Sebring, FL. Where is that you ask? Because I had to ask too....it is about an hour and a half past Orlando. Since we waited so late to try and plan a trip, we had to take what we could get. It turned out to be good though. It was a nice condo with a pool....what else could you ask for?

Since Chad and Heather will not be able to be here for Cale's birthday, they decided we should celebrate a little early! Here he is opening his first gift.

He wasnt sure about the bow...

But he wore it on his head for a long time!

Trying to eat the paper

Sweet boy!

Swimming in the pool was nice. Cale loves the water, so he splashed and played for a long time.

One afternoon, Cale got into his diaper bag. In there he found his favorite puffs. No biggie. Then he figured out how to open them! He thought he was something else! Needless to say, he got himself a snack :)

Cale loves to read. Here he is reading a book to Aunt Heather.

Time for more presents!!!!

Then it was time for Cale's favorite part.....the CUPCAKE!!!! My child loves to eat, so he was all about this part. He didnt even hesitate about grabbing it and digging in!

Do you think he liked it?????

Let's just say, that I had to bath him twice. Once to get the cake off, and then once for an actual bath!

Here is Cale asleep on Uncle Chad's lap. He laid right up there and went to sleep. Too sweet!

Playing on the floor with Aunt Heather and his new dump truck :)

Playing in the bath with his new boats!!!

We had a great time. It was really nice to see Chad and Heather and spend some time with them. We wont see them again until Thanksgiving :( So we always make the most of each visit!

Lake Weekend

2009-07-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

We were invited by the Pickett's, along with Daniel and Ashlee Davis, to go to the lake for a weekend get-away. We had a great time together. With life as busy as it is, especially now that we all have kids, it was wonderful just to get away and spend good quality time with each other.

It turned out to be a beautiful weekend for us!!!! We ate, played, swam, rode jet skis, boated, ate some more, and had a large time!!!! I was able to get a ton of great pictures.....as you will notice, I am in only one picture because I was behind the camera the whole weekend!

Harrison Ray

Cale playing in the sand

He was playing with his reflection in the window.

Cool Dude!

Sweet boys

Riding the jet ski with Daddy

Here is my one photo :)

Chillin' in the swing

Jesse and Harrison

Dirty 1 and Dirty 2 with their boys (Dirty is thier nickname for each other)

Harrison on the jet ski

Lounging in the swing. They both loved it!

Just woke up after a nap

We're home!!!

2009-07-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

After 8 days of being gone on 2 separate vacations....I am proud to say that we are home! I have tons of pictures and stories to share. I will update soon!

Let the painting begin

2009-06-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

When Bryan and I bought our house it was almost 4 months before we got married. It worked out great because we were able to do a lot of work to the house to make it ours. Well at the time we had no furniture, so all of our rooms (except the kitchen) got painted a neutral color. The living room, hallway, and office all got the same shade of ivory.......BORING!!!!

Well it has been 4 years later and I was over it. We have done a lot to our house since moving in, including hardwood in the living room. So I took my inspiration for the new wall color from my area rug. It has the new color, "summer solstice", in it.

Here is one corner of the room.......

BEFORE:

AFTER:

One summer project down.....a few more to go!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

Happy father's day out there to any Dad's that read our blog (I can only think of one or two!).

Today was a bittersweet day for me. It included many firsts....some I looked forward to, and some that I didn't.

*This was the first Father's Day without my Dad. I have been overwhelmed this whole past year with thoughts of him. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about him. I knew this would be a tough week, because Thursday was one year since he has been gone. I can remember that day like it just happened. It is crazy the details your brain remembers. So I have had a double whammy of a week, but with God's grace and mercy, I have survived!

*On a happier note....today was Bryan's first Father's Day as a Daddy! It was really fun to plan and celebrate with him. Cale bought him a grill a couple of weeks ago (so B could pick it out), but of course we had a gift for him to open today. I was able to order him a photobook through Shutterfly that was full of pictures of he and Cale.

*I also did a little cooking :) Yesterday while Bryan was gone playing football, I baked him a cake - chocolate bundt cake (his favorite). Then this morning I cooked his special order breakfast - bacon, grits, and eggs! It was yummo :)

*Then it was off to church....where we had nursery! I heard it was a great message though!

*For lunch we went to the Libby's to eat with the family. Then came home and took a nap (since Cale got us up at 6:00 this morning!!!).

All-in-all a bittersweet day. I miss my Daddy dearly, but am very grateful to be surrounded by people I love and that love me!

Happy Birthday Jason!!

2009-06-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday was my brother Jason's birthday. It is tradition in our family to go out to eat for everyone's birthday. Jason picked Carrabba's. It was yummy!!!

Jason and Jenny came from work, so I picked up Brody on my way. He and Cale had a large time and great "conversation" on the way. Let me just tell you....Brody is a smart little boy! As we were crossing the Dames Point bridge, I asked him if he could see the water. His response was "that's not water, it's a river". Well then, smart boy! Nana had told him that was the St. John's river the last time he rode with her. Shows you that they soak it all up!!!

It was a great time and great food. It was the last birthday dinner that we will have before the new addition arrives. Jason and Jenny are due in August with a ..... well we don't know what it is yet :) But I can't wait to find out!

Daddy's boy

2009-06-20T14:55:00.000-07:00

Last week, Bryan went and got the lawn mower so he could cut the grass. Well, as soon as Cale saw him out there, he wanted to join him. We thought it would be fun to let him ride, so Bryan turned the blades off and took him for a ride. Cale grabbed onto the wheel and he was in heaven. Bryan rode him around for a few minutes and then tried to bring him inside so he could get the grass mowed.

Ummm......THINK AGAIN!!!!! My sweet little boy, pitched a MAJOR fit! Bless his heart! He was so upset. Bryan decided to stay in so that maybe he would calm down. It took a little while but he finally settled down.

Bryan was able to get the grass cut, but not until several hours later. Cale and I watched from the window :)

Wordless Wednesday....fudge-pop style

2009-06-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

New pool

2009-06-13T11:41:00.001-07:00

While I was in town this week, I found Cale a new pool. Check out the before pool and the after pool!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

(Daddy stuck all his numbers to him!)

Trip to Nana's

2009-06-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

Cale and I made a trip to Nana's house this week. Bryan had a workshop on Thursday and Friday, so we decided that would be a good time to go to Nana's to play in the pool. He has been in the pool one other time, but on this trip, he loved it! He was squealing and talking the whole time. Unfortunately, I was in the pool and didn't get any pictures. Mom did take some video though, so I will try and upload that later.

Since Mom lives minutes from the beach, we headed down there Thursday afternoon. Cale did not like it. He was fine if you were holding him, but he did not like the water. We will try again next time :)

After the beach, it was bath time! Nana has a picture like this of all her grandbabies, so we could not leave Cale out!

Cale spent a lot of time following Poppy around while we were there. He even picked up a few of Poppy's habits!

We had lots of fun and plan to do it many more times this summer!

Mommy's Little Helper

2009-06-10T12:19:00.001-07:00

While I was folding clothes today, Cale thought that he should help. His version of helping was to take the clothes out of the basket. From there they either made it to the floor or into his mouth!

Wordless Wednesday :)

2009-06-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

First day of summer break....

2009-06-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day of summer break! I am so glad that school is out. Now I just wish I could relax. My sweet, loving baby boy has been replaced by a cranky, whinny, cries all the time teething baby. For the past week - week and a half, he has woken up at least one time per night screaming! On top of that, Saturday and Sunday he was up at 5 am!

Today was supposed to be a relaxing and enjoyable first day off of work. But not so much. Luckily my husband has been here to help. He did let me sleep in (kinda). I didn't get out of bed, but I was in and out of sleep because I could hear Cale's cries. We take turns having to get up with him. Bryan did 2 am, I did 5 am, and then Bryan did the final wake up call around 7.

When he finally did get me up, breakfast was ready! How sweet was that :)

Hopefully, the rest of my summer posts will be more exciting and include pictures! Have a great week :)

Wordless....Friday

2009-06-05T13:07:00.000-07:00

I tried to post this on Wednesday for my Wordless Wednesday post, but for some reason it would not load my pictures. So here you go.....

Rain, rain, go away!

2009-05-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

These were taken on Wednesday afternoon. I sure wish we could have a few days with NO RAIN!

Pool Days

2009-05-30T12:45:00.001-07:00

For Memorial Day, we went to my mom's house to play in the pool. It was Cale's first time in the pool and he loved it! The water was quite cool, but he didnt seem to care :)

Cale and his puppy

2009-05-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

Here is one more video of Cale playing with his puppy (that Daddy is controling). Several times while they are playing he gives kisses and hugs to the puppy. His Granny taught him how to do that. It is sooooo sweet!

Cale's new trick

2009-05-24T17:26:00.001-07:00

Cale has started this new thing with his mouth. He blows air through his teeth. He is so funny. Here he is somewhat doing it....

Playing with Daddy

2009-05-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

Here is some video of Bryan and Cale playing with the ball the other night....

Pool video

2009-05-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video from today!

Splish Splash

2009-05-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

Cale received a little splash pool for Easter, and we finally broke it out today! I filled it up about 30 minutes before we brought him out, so that the water could warm up a little. It was still cool when he got in, but he loved it. We started out in the sun, but he would not keep his hat on, so we moved him under the shade. He had lots of fun, so I am sure that we will be doing this more often!

I love this one....he was laughing :)

Wordless Wednesday

2009-05-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

Cale's Dedication

2009-05-11T13:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday (Mother's Day), we had Cale dedicated to the church. Nana, Poppy, Granny, Papa, Aunt Valerie, and Uncle Wayne were all there to watch. He was so sleepy before the ceremony so I was not sure how he would do, but he was a champ. He made it through the ceremony and crashed once he got to the nursery. He is growing up too fast!!!

Girls Night Out....

2009-05-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

...plus Cale!

Friday night I went out with all the girls from dance. It was the night before recital so we all went out to celebrate, plus we had 2 girls going away to college, so it was also a goodbye dinner too. It was fun, and Cale did great all night. He ate so much food! Not only did he eat his baby food, but I also ordered him some mashed potatoes and he had some pasta and of course chocolate cake for dessert :)