19 Months

Happy 19 Months Caleb Lincoln! We love you so much and are so proud of you every single day. I hope you always know how much we love you.
What you've been up to this month:
Beginning to string together two words. Mostly Hi dada, hi mama, hi nani, hi grandma, hi laura, hi jenny, you get the idea. Hi to everyone...
Signing and pointing to everything.
You have been asserting your independence a lot lately. While this is a good thing for you, it sometimes is a little challenging for us. You want everything your way and it has caused for a few melt downs as you learn that you can't always have your way. You certainly know how to work it though and butter us up.
You are so helpful! You love to bring us our shoes when we go out and help us put them on our feet. You put them right there on our toes. You bring things over to us when we ask you to. You throw away garbage, and put your clothes in the hamper, you help clean up, and just about your favorite thing to do is sweep the floors for us, Caleb style.
You are really into sorting things right now. You take out and put in different objects and food into everything, bowls, cups, and your plate.
You are sleeping so good for us. 12 hours at night. 7pm-7am and these past few days you have been sleeping in till 8 or 9! And napping about two to three hours usually 12-2 or 1-3 ish. You wave goodbye and blow me kisses as I leave your room at nap time and bedtime.
You are such a sweet boy with such a silly side and we love you more and more each day! Happy 19 months Caleb.

Happy Mother's Day!

Before I was a Mom
Before I was a Mom -
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.
Before I was a Mom -
I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life
so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.
Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

To my sweet little man. You have made me a mother and have taught me patience, strength, and wisdom, each day. I will love you always.

To our own Mothers. Who have been here for us, every step of the way. Our biggest fans. Thank you.

And to Caleb's Grandma and Nani. Who have given him what we cannot. Who love him more than he'll ever know. Thank you.

And for our own Grandmas and Nani and Grammy, for Caleb's great grandmas, and every mother. May she always know how special she is in the life of her child. We love you!

A perfect beach day with my boys

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The sun was shinning. The air was warm and balmy. We saw dolphins playing in the water. Caleb played in the sand and splashed in the waves. We ate fresh fruit, watermelon, cantaloupe, and strawberries. Sunblock was on our skins filing the air with summer. Sand squished between our toes and our lips kissed the sun. The day could not have been better. Especially the way it started. With Caleb sleeping in till 9 am. I can't remember the last time we got to sleep in on a Saturday with Caleb in the next room! 14 hrs of sleep for our growing boy! It was a perfect day with my boys.

Diggin the Sand Video

Happy Friday

We made it through the week! And we're all doing much better. Caleb's even sleeping in for his mama this am!
Excited to spend the weekend at home with my boys; soaking up the sun, going to the beach, and just relaxing. We hope everyone has a beautiful weekend! And a special shout out to our mothers and grandmas. May your Mothers Day be filled with love. Thank you for your presence in our lives! The world is a much better place thanks to each and every mother who has touched the life of her children in ways that continue to spread quietly and greatly through the world.

Is it Friday Yet?

This week has felt long and challenging! First a fever for Caleb, then extreme fussiness on top of teething, and just when things started to get better...A toy gone wrong situation. Caleb has a timer that he was playing with, didn't realize it was glass! Hello. It broke, shattered, blood everywhere. Needless to say trying to stop blood from a glass cut on a finger isn't exactly easy with a toddler. Especially when that toddler doesn't like band aids. Let's just say there was a whole lot of blood, a lolly pop, and an hour later somehow bandages were on. And while all this was happening I happened to notice a rash all over Caleb's back and tummy. Not sure what it's from. My first guess was Roseola, a childhood illness that results in fever for few days then disappears and results in a rash all over back and stomach. But his fever was never that high and the red dots don't like that red, his eczema has never looked like this...
Poor Dave has received many a frantic phone calls from me this week. Sometimes I feel like I'm just not cut out for motherhood. I am not a calm person by nature and trying to remain calm for your one year old while on the inside just in a slight panic is what happens to me. Thank goodness for Dave. He is my calm in the storm. He gently reassures. It could be that I'm extra hormonal, but I've just felt so stressed lately, as though a big brick sits on my shoulders weighing me down. I pray, excerise, and try and have my 'me moments' which help. But sometimes I just wish I wasn't such a worrier! It is one of the biggest things I wish I could change about myself.
Anyway. Just want my little guy to be all better! And as for me, a nice warm soak in the tub and massage from the hubs tonight may be in order!
Here are some pics of our little guy. The ones with his Daddy make my heart melt. It is those moments that make all the ups and downs of parenting worth it!

Monday

After a wonderful weekend away. Just Dave and I. We are back to reality and back home with our sick lil guy who has had a fever since Saturday :( Not sure what's up. He's still playing and acting silly just warm and can't seem to kick this fever. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me over the weekend, but we enjoyed a beautiful wedding and a night away to ourselves. Caleb hung out with Nani and Pops. And they somehow were able to take a picture of Caleb wearing a hat. Not sure how that went down. He usually takes them right off. They must have worked their magic. Caleb's eating frozen yogurt in this pic. One of the few things he's been eating these past couple days. Not much of an appetite with his fever. At least Caleb's drinking a ton of water and staying hydrated and sleeping good at night and during nap time.
Hopefully this fever goes away and we can get back to our normal activities. I hate it when my lil guy is sick. I'm sorry to say this is not the happiest of Mondays...