Wrapped

I'm having one of those moments. The one, where I look into those big blue eyes, staring right back at me, and I see everything that has been and hope for all that will be. I see such innocence and wonder from a little creature so small. I see a little piece of me and a little piece of Dave. I see such sweetness in this boy of ours and I just have a...heart squeeze. Where my heart fills like it just might over pour with such pure happiness.
He's staring at his Nani in the top picture. And when I look at it, I swear there is a picture of me when I was a little girl, with that exact same look. A little tentative. A little unsure. Our sweet little boy. With such a silly side, such a sweet side, tending to be more cautious in new places and with new people, and yet no fear when outside on his own exploring his world around him.

And the last one. Cause, I just can't help myself. Little toddler tushes might just be one of the cutest things ever as they toddle around still a litte unsteady and wobbly on their feet. Bending and turning, touching each little thing they encounter. Such curiosity.

Little boy in blue. We love you!

The skies opened up a rainstorm for us today

so we tasted the raindrops on our tongues, dipped our toes in the puddles, opened up our arms and tried to catch raindrops in our hands. We peered out the window and listened to the pitter-patter on the rooftop and smiled when big drops of hail pounded the pavement. We love our sunshine, but we love our rain too!

In Honor of the Love

Happy Valentine's Day!
To my sweetie. Who has given me more than I could have ever imagined the day I said 'I do'. I love you Dave. Thank you for loving and cherishing me every single day.

taken on our honeymoon

And to my little Valentine. I will love you always! Thank you for teaching me how to fall in love with life all over again through your eyes.
taken in december by auntie jen

And to our smallest Valentine. The one we have yet to meet. We love you already.
taken at my 11 week dr. apt
Littlest G due August 26th

We hope you all have a cozy and warm Valentine's day with your sweetie, or friend, or brother, or sister. Someone special to share a little love with.

Snips and Snails

I love this boy of mine. Who begs at the sliding glass door to be released to the outside. Who sits in the grass touching each blade and finding sticks and snail shells. Who wanders around chatting with himself as he stops and picks up rocks along the way. Who would happily play outside all day if I let him. Who stares and smiles at the birds he meets along the way. I watch from a distance. Smiling, spying and snapping pictures as he explores his backyard world. I soak up each ray of sun as it warms my body right to the bone. I smile at as this sweet child of mine, God's child, as he explores the wonderful creations put on this earth for him to rejoice and take joy in.

Harvest of the Month

Today Caleb and I went to Harvest of the Month at the local 'Moms Club' Community Garden. The Moms Club puts this event on once a month in the spring/summer time. They also have a garden club where the kids get to plant different things. This was our first time going since it has just started up again. And let me just say, it was so much fun! It was so educational and who doesn't like tasting a variety of fruit? Caleb and I are on board for that anytime of the day! The harvest theme for this month is 'citrus'. We tasted a naval orange, a blood orange, a grapefruit, and a pummelo. (I didn't even know what a pummelo was. It's so fun to learn things with your children. It brings about a new perspective) We examined with a magnifying glass some Mandarin oranges, limes, and a kumquat, and smelled a lemon leaf. We learned how great they are in Vitamin C among other things, and some interesting history on the different types of citrus. The kids even got to make juice. Caleb giggled while I squeezed the orange into the cup and he gulped it down happily. The kids got to examine the seeds and the rimes of all the different types and of course the best part was the tasting of them! Caleb ate the entire orange, didn't seem to mind the grapefruit, and thought smelling the lemon leaf was just about the greatest thing. They did a poll to see what ones were favorites. Even the 'non-verbal' chums were included in this. It was pretty obvious from their 'sour' face or 'devour' it face. Some children even enjoyed eating the rimes. Oh and did I mention the stickers? The orange 'taste tester' stickers? That pretty much made me want to pee my pants from the pure cuteness of it all. Yeah. I know I get way too excited about these things. But I digress. It was probably the most 'educational' event Caleb has been to and as we sat there in the sunshine with juice dripping down our chins, we both smiled happily and I thought, this is it. This is one of those moments I'll pull out and savor long after the sweetness of it has left us. A moment I get to share with Caleb on just an ordinary (Orange) Thursday afternoon.

16 Months

Happy 16 Months Caleb Lincoln!

This month you are:
Just about running all over the place
continuing to sign 'more' 'all done' and still learning new ones
new word 'hot', still saying; dada mama nana nini (banana) u (up) a da (all done) mm (more) 'hi' (we've heard it a couple times but not consistently yet)
wanting to climb on everything
you love playing outside and would do it all day if you could
taken a great interest in birds and watching them
learning new animal sounds 'hee haw' for donkey and 'cluck' for chicken (I don't know why these animals over others like dog and cat)and still making dinasaur, fish, and monkey sounds
you are really into dinasaurs, monkeys, and dogs.
New body parts you can point out are 'belly button' and hm. should i mention this one? 'peshadu' let's just say that's Italian for something he only finds at bathtime and diaper time...(still pointing to nose and head)
And when we ask how old you are, you proudly hold up your pointer finger and show us that you are 'one year old'
And lastly, in great need of another hair cut! Your hair is getting a little out of control again Caleb.
Recovering from another double ear infection :(
We are loving this stage with you Caleb. You are such a hoot squawking and shouting dadaaaa, raraaa, mamama, dididid, ninini, and other sounds/words we can't understand all day long as you wander in and out and all around the house/backyard. You have become so good at keeping yourself busy and entertained and we love watching you everyday as you discover and enjoy new things. We love you so much Caleb.

Monday Happenings

Just some Monday ramblings...
Our front yard is in bloom. I'm so thankful for this gorgeous weather we have been having. What was once a bulb is now in bloom. Dave planted this flower. It's amazing how different a yard can look within months. Everything brown and lifeless and then 'bloom' (haha. couldn't help myself) everything colorful and vibrant!

Can you ever have enough purple?

Beautiful weather and blooming plants are always a nice thing to have on a Monday.

Caleb has a double ear infection. Boo. But I am glad I followed my mom-intuition and called the Dr. His cold and cough were lingering. It's always better to be safe than sorry they say!

Tomorrow is Caleb's 16month. Wowzers. He is almost a year and a half! Eek. Where did my baby go? Pictures and stats coming soon.

And we are counting down till Dave's sister's wedding. Less than a month. We are so excited for Mary and Craig! I heart weddings.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Yard Update

We are in the process of 'tilling' our front yard and then the right side of our backyard. Pretty exciting stuff for us! Dave tilled almost half of the yard in an hour while Caleb napped. We are pretty good at managing our 'non-caleb' time these days. I weeded. He tilled. And we both gushed over how efficient the tiller was and the fact that one day soon we'll have a front yard with real grass! (Just to compare. We dug out the grass in our backyard with a shovel, left side, and it took months. If we had the tiller it would have been done within a day or two. And when I say we, I actually mean both of us. Dave would come home from work and do some digging, and while Caleb took his morning nap, I would put on my 'working boots' and shovel away outside. Yeah, I'm kind of proud of myself for that.)

This picture is of our whole front yard. Just to give you a starting point.
Then, just look at that gorgeous soil. ( I never dreamed I would one day be saying how gorgeous soil can look) It is perfect for growing crops, or, grass.
I had to take a few pictures of my weeding job.

Although you can't see it, there's a flower in bloom in this picture. Pink and pretty and it makes my smile every time I look out the kitchen window and see it. Hm, I'll have to take a picture of it.

I may have gotten a little carried away with the pictures.

Don't let the weeds fool you. As green and 'grassy' as it may look, the entire front yard is pretty full of weeds. Good bye weeds, hello green grass.

Just a typical Saturday Morning

Nothing better than spending a Saturday morning dancing in the kitchen to your neighbor's music. And talking to birds. Right? Random? Yes. Funny Yes. Oh Caleb. You are quite amusing at times!

Happy Friday!

We hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Pick me ups

Sometimes when a lot seems wrong, I remind myself that there are a lot of things that are right. I look and it's not hard to find simple little things that make me smile.

Pink buds blossoming on a tree behind our backyard. Smack dab in the middle of winter.

The two boys in my life who make up my world and remind me everyday that I have much to be thankful for.
Brown baskets and red flowers. Frames that whisper simple messages to my soul. Pictures of my family to put away in photo albums that hold stories and memories. Purple nail polish, just to add a little sparkle in my day. Blue Slurpees, cause sometimes slurping up sweetness makes me slurp it up in other ways too.
Bright colorful blankets, my barefoot boy toddling around and soaking up life; reminding me to do the same.
And all the randoms in between that keep me smiling and wanting for more. ( I have no idea what his plan was with this pink thing, he toted it around the entire backyard; but it put a smile on my face all the same)
Yes, the simple things make life grand. They make my heart feel lighter and my cheeks a little rosier with life full of living and soaking up every good ray of sunshine sent our way.

like a bad song you can't get out of your head...

Colds.
And here I thought we'd seen the last of them for awhile. Caleb was sick from October-December basically on and off with colds, ear infections, croup, etc. Then the holidays hit and although we were around people with colds, staying in the same house with them actually, he didn't catch one. I was amazed. I was expecting him to get sick. And then Monday night when I did my before bed peek in on Caleb I heard snoring...and I knew...it wouldn't be long before drip drip was knocking on our door. Poor guy has constant snot coming out of his nose and was up every two hours last night. I was having a blast from the past of his newborn days. How ever did we manage those nights? So now Dave and I are walking zombies with a sick boy and I'm just hoping it doesn't turn into another ear infection or worse. And my theory once again. Story time! We hadn't been from December till this past Friday and not sick at all. Friday we go. And what do you know! It seems like the past three colds Caleb got came a few days after storytime. Well, it's just my theory. We might be frequenting Barnes and Noble story time in Gilroy instead for awhile where it is way less crowded, clean, and a little more sanitary all around. Just my vent on something so trivial. It doesn't seem like a big deal but it means no playgroups or activities with other babes and moms for awhile and it means I go a little stir crazy. Walks and playing outside all day are in order this week!