Christmas cookies!

Last weekend we had a major cookie baking day at our house. Caleb was excited to help out..he did a good job with sprinkles and cinnamon candies (those kept going in his mouth, too!) .

Auntie "Dua"'s Birthday!

It was my sister's birthday last week...the big 18!! Hard to believe she is that old...after all, I remember life before she was around, and the day of her birth! It makes me feel really old. Caleb was SO excited for Dua's birthday, he just loves any birthday celebrations. He helped wrap her gift (with lots of tape) and helped her open presents, blow out candles, etc. I'm getting a little worried he might grow up thinking every birthday involves him somehow! He really loves it.

Snow!

It finally snowed a little here and Caleb was very excited to get outside. He didn't care one bit how cold it was! He helped Daddy shovel the driveway (except he was shoveling the grass) and he would've loved to play more..maybe if it warms up a little, it's been too cold!

Grandma put up her Christmas tree last weekend and Caleb got to help put some of the ornaments on the tree. He loves pointing out all the different santas, stars, snowmen..and even tractors on the tree. We are counting down the days now until Santa comes. I can't wait to see Caleb's face light up on Christmas morning. He is already so excited.

Grandpa got home last weekend from his long elk hunting trip...if you asked Caleb where he was he answered "really far away hunting at the farm" or "really far away hunting on a mountain" or "really far away hunting in Colorado!" He was happy to see his Pa when he got home.

Getting ready for Christmas!

We are getting excited for Christmas at our house! We put up our tree last weekend...Caleb had so much fun hanging ornaments on the tree. He kept running back and forth saying, "I need another one!" He really wants to get outside to play in the snow..so hopefully we'll get some soon! As much as I hate driving in the snow..I want to see Caleb get excited about it. He's been talking about Santa, too..we'll have to go see him at the mall this year. We hung our stockings up and Caleb said, "Santa is gonna put some toys in those socks?" I can't wait for Christmas morning.

Caleb and Dilan

Just wanted to share some pictures from when Dilan, Laura's "German", was here. Caleb really liked her (we all did!) and he asks where she is once in awhile. The last picture is just Caleb being his goofy self...not sure what he was doing in that picture!! Being 2, I guess. He's getting really good at acting his age.

Halloween pictures

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween with Caleb this year. It's the first time we've really celebrated with him. He dressed up as a gorilla (he called it a monkey) for Halloween...he had a party at daycare during the day and we went trick or treating at night. We only made it to 4 houses but he got plenty of candy! He loved saying "trick or treat" and "Happy Halloween!" We also carved pumpkins...this did not interest Caleb too much, but he liked looking at the "pumpquin's" scary faces. He has been loving all the candy..so much so that I've to hide it. I will post our Halloween pictures in a separate post.

The last two nights we've been back to having major sleeping issues. I am not sure where this is coming from, Caleb has been sleeping great for the longest time now. Starting Sunday night he woke up after sleeping for only an hour and he was just hysterical, crying that he wanted out of his crib. I was trying to console him and he kept crying "I want Daddy's crib!" I'm thinking he wanted to sleep in our bed, but he has not done that for a long time so I don't understand why he wants that now!! Everytime I left the room and tried to let him cry it out, he would scream "MOMMY"..it's so hard to listen to your baby cry for you. I couldn't stay out of his room. I really don't think anything is wrong with him except that he is learning how to manipulate me! He did the same thing last night at bedtime...the whole routine, brushing teeth, story, etc went fine until it was time for me to leave the room. Then he needed a hug from Daddy, he wanted the light on..just one thing after another to delay the inevitable. Both nights I have ended up staying in his room until he's sound asleep. The first night I laid on the floor with a blanket and pillow and last night I held his hand through the slats in his crib. It's pathetic. Well, I'm pathetic. Please think good sleeping vibes for us!

Dilan goes to the Farm!

Last weekend our family went up to the farm in Osakis, with Dilan, the German student. She's leaving already in a couple days..that time went by so fast! She's been so busy that we've barely had any time with her, so it was really nice to have her up at the farm. We drove up Saturday afternoon, after Dilan and Laura got back from Chicago. It was pretty chilly out but Joey made a fire and we sat outside for awhile. Dilan was not thrilled by the bugs..there were a lot of labybugs inside the house, it must be a bad time of the year for the bugs..they were ALL OVER.




Sunday morning Caleb was thrilled to run around outside for HOURS. He loves the farm ("yarm" in Caleb-speak)...all day Saturday before we left he kept saying "I want to go to the YARM!" He had a blast riding on the tractor, following the guys around outside, playing with "Ti Steph"...as long as he was outside he was happy.




Sunday afternoon we all went to my aunt and uncle's dairy farm. Dilan got to see a 'real American' farm, with the barn and cows and everything. Caleb had a blast there. We went inside the barn, saw some baby cows and even got to ride out into the pasture to see a newborn calf. It was a fun experience for those of us not used to farm life!! My cousin's wife and their son, Landon, were at the farm too, so we got to watch Caleb and Landon run around..they were cute together.