Caleb's 6th Birthday!

This year we celebrated Caleb’s sixth birthday. If I thought Isaac is so old, it amazes me that our strong-willed “baby” is school age!   Life has been interesting since day one with Caleb. He came into the world by C-section because he was breech (a surprise on his birth day). He has marched to the beat of his own drum since that day—choosing to not take a bottle, not sleep through the night, and not eat baby food. I am thankful for Red Robin French fries—the first solid food he willingly ate. (I know that is sad, but at that point we were desperate. J)

On a positive note, though, we see how Caleb has taken that strong-willed personality and used it to do his own thing and be okay with it. He is a kind friend and is a go-getter. He has an uncanny memory for names and numbers and knew every preschooler's birthday and which days of the week each student attended (much to his teachers’ delight/dismay when they needed clarification or heard about it if they got a date wrong).

For his birthday Caleb had a Hot Wheels cake with the number six as the race track. He decided to celebrate at Chuck E. Cheese for games and then pizza at home afterwards with our friends. He loved celebrating with everyone and enjoyed opening every single present.

Lego Star Wars is a big hit with both boys

Cashing in his tickets

Facetiming with Gpa and Gma N. 

Caleb still loves playing with his toys by himself but does a good job playing with others.  His favorite toys from this year still include his football guys and his baseball guys. He loves playing with cars—especially all his Cars character cars--and has recently gotten into Legos with Isaac. He is definitely a sports nut—wanting to play ball (soccer, football, basketball, and baseball) and imagining the actual game he plays. He also watches whatever is on TV (ball games, Nascar, golf, tennis, skating, etc.)  His favorite sport is whatever is in season, and he rotates his baseball and football guys depending upon the season. His favorite football team is “every team,” and his memory on different plays, players, and scores for a variety of games is uncanny.  “Go, Padres!” (He insisted that we include that.)

Caleb enjoyed being in preschool this year (once he bought into the routine of rest time).  He loved his little friends and was especially close to one buddy, Gideon, about whom he talked all the time. He liked to play with the different centers they organized but usually was extra excited on the days that the cars were out. He liked eating lunch with his friends. His favorite days were half days so he did not have to stay for rest time. He loved visits from Looney Dooney and the special days when they had a bounce house or other visitors. He is our resident planet specialist since he soaked in everything they taught during the unit about space (outer space, that is).

With Mrs. Shari, the preschool director

With Mrs. Michelle in front of his cubby

Caleb is a happy young man who is full of life. He brings great joy into our lives every day. He makes us laugh and keeps on our toes since we don’t always know what to expect from him. He is still independent but is learning how to work with others and think about others.  We are so thankful for the gift that he is in our lives every day!  

Isaac's Birthday

Isaac turned eight years old in May. When he was a baby and we were sleep deprived and sometimes overwhelmed, I secretly rolled my eyes at the people who told me that time would fly by and that he would be all grown up before we knew it. Eight years later I understand since it does seem like a blink of the eye is all that has passed since he joined our lives. I remember our leaving the hospital with him and feeling like the world rested on our shoulders and that every car on the road was out to take out our car and injure the newborn baby within.  J

For his actual birthday he decided to celebrate with our good friends one last time before they moved to the Midwest. We had birthday cake and singing right after school and then headed to the bowling alley.  The kids all bowled and enjoyed pizza while we adults just talked (and also enjoyed pizza).

Giant b-day cookie at Tavern-n-Bowl

He loved opening presents (who doesn’t?) and is enjoying playing with all of them.  He went with a Star Wars theme this year having the Millennium Falcon as his cake and Darth Vader and storm trooper rings and light sabers on his cupcakes for his class treat. (Kudos to Paul for baking cupcakes and for decorating them at school before Isaac passed them out.)  At school he enjoyed being sung to in his classroom and at the Friday singing time and also got to be line leader. Caleb made Isaac a birthday crown from the preschool and gave it to Isaac after school. (I love seeing how much the boys care for each other…most days. ;-)

He also had his first birthday party with school friends this year. He invited the boys in his class for a party after school got out. They spent part of the time swimming and the other part of the time playing games and eating snacks—root beer floats and rice crispy bars. 

Looking back over this year, we see how much Isaac has grown and changed. He started first grade reading very simple things but now is reading chapter books confidently and passionately. His favorite books include The Magic Treehouse series and The A to Z Mysteries. He started doing Accelerated Reader and absolutely loved the challenge of getting enough points to earn a Slurpee or $ from Dad. In class he loved getting “Prize Box” for good penmanship and neat pictures. He had his first spelling tests and focused on getting the bonus words correct each week. He still loves math and “sprints.” Recess was a highlight, and he loved playing soccer, foursquare, and going on the swings. The field trips enjoyed were a horse ranch and the zoo. His teacher was Miss M. who encouraged Isaac to become a more independent and confident learner and who also introduced them to the world celebrating the Chinese New Year and Chinese culture with them (Isaac discovered he loves orange chicken!), and she taught them so many other things Isaac really enjoyed this year. He also wanted to be the first one to Miss M.’s class each morning by beating two other classmates who are also teachers’ kids. 

Where have these eight years gone?!? It has been a joy watching Isaac grow into the boy he is today. We are thankful that God blessed us with him and entrusted the care of his growing up to us. 

A Very Angry Bird Birthday

Caleb turned five in May. He has grown up so much both in actions and height this past year. His personality is still big and makes us laugh more than we should sometimes. 

In front of his birthday sign

The boys get to choose what kind of cake they will have (flavor and looks). He decided to have an Angry Birds cake like the one he saw at the grocery store. (I was actually excited because that meant simply frosting the cake green and putting little angry bird guys on top of so one of his gifts was the Angry Birds game.)

Jill, Mark and the girls visited and helped us start the celebration early. The girls got to help Caleb blow out the candles, and they all had fun trying to get the relightable candle to stay out. The boys have really enjoyed playing the new angry birds game, and Caleb has spent full mornings playing with it alone while Isaac was at school.

On the actual day of his birthday, he had a fun time opening presents. His camper lantern was perfect as a nightlight for super slumber party night.

Besides Angry Birds, Caleb loves anything sports-related. He and Isaac play a lot of ball games in the backyard, but he does not let Isaac's being at school stop him from starting a game by himself. Most days Caleb will entertain himself in the backyard with a game of baseball where he is the pitcher, batter, outfielder and announcer. It is quite entertaining to watch him talk and play his way through an entire game of ball and even run the bases. Besides baseball, he likes playing soccer, shooting baskets, going bowling (real and Wii), and playing the sports game on the Wii. 

He not only likes playing sports but also loves watching all sports on tv. Lately, he has been tuning into Nascar and even recognizes many of the drivers' cars as soon as the race comes on the tv. One of the first questions he has when he wakes up (either from an afternoon nap or in the morning) is, "Who won?" (either the race or game, depending upon what was on tv when he lay down). His favorite sport is whichever one is playing on the screen at the time. 

Caleb also loves riding his bike in the street.  He still uses the training wheels on his bike and tends to ride around on his three-wheeled scooter a little bit more since he is a little more confident and has a little more speed on it. For his birthday this year, he got a big scooter and has loved using that and is already flying around the cul de sac.

A big scooter!

He chose Red Robin for his birthday dinner. When our waitress asked if he wanted his birthday sundae, he said no because he did not want them to sing. She very kindly delivered the sundae with no fanfare, and Caleb immediately ate the cherry off the top of it before I could get a picture.

It has been a gift watching Caleb grow up these past five years. He has such a vibrant personality and cracks us up regularly with the things he says and the way he says things. One minute he talks in a little kid voice and the next he says something that is eerily pre-teen. He likes doing what Isaac does and tries so hard to draw and be creative like Isaac. In the last few months he has spent a lot of time sitting at the desk in the playroom writing things (especially notes to Isaac and Paul for when they get home) and doing his artwork.

He loves going to church--both on Sundays and with me during the week when I work. On Sundays he cannot wait to go to Jr. Trailblazers (remember, that was his main excitement about turning four last year) and tries so hard to be the first person in line each week. (The first thing he says in the car on the way home is which person was first in line that day.) I guess he has a little bit of competitiveness in his genes, too. While I work at church, he sets up his football or baseball guys on the office floor and plays games by himself. He still loves playing with his cars and has been on a major Cars kick this past year since the second movie came out. He actually lines up his cars to be spectators at his baseball and football games. One has to step carefully in our house since there are usually cars lined up somewhere in the walkway.

Although he has a big personality and says some of the craziest things, he is often shy in new situations. We are working with him on responding to people when they talk to him and looking people in the eyes. He is very strong-willed, though, and likes to decide when he will do things and how (another thing on which we are working ;-). He likes to help me in the kitchen, and just the mention of our baking something sends him to the cupboard to pull out both our aprons.

His favorite bedtime buddy is his yellow lovey, but he has advanced to having it only at bedtime. Paul took the picture below the night of his birthday and commented to me that we know he is growing up when he chooses to snuggle with something other than his lovey at bedtime. 

Ditching the lovey (in the background) for the angry birds

It has been a privilege and a joy helping Caleb grow these past five years. We love you, Caleb, and have loved the surprises and laughs you bring to our lives each day. We pray that you continue to grow to know and love Jesus in this upcoming year.

Super Seven!

Isaac turned seven years old in May. I cannot believe my firstborn is already seven years old, yet at the same time I cannot imagine his not being seven since he is so grown up in the way he talks and acts. 

He is a hero to his little brother who loves to do whatever Isaac does. Isaac can pester the snot out of Caleb like it is nobody's business, but then he will turn around and stand up for him in such thoughtful ways. (At a party a couple week's ago, Caleb spilled all his bubbles, and Isaac immediately ran over to their friend's mom to ask for a replacement bottle. He came to me and said, "Well, Mom, he was so sad. I think he was going to cry.")

A bit intense about their Pop Rocks

He is very competitive and loves to win games. He is learning how to graciously lose games but usually wants a rematch immediately. When he talks about P.E., he always talks about who was the fastest and who won the game and who was able to sneak away from others. At the same time, though, he usually is happy for those who win even when it is not he. There are days when I can see his struggle with wanting to win but also being happy for others. (A good example was the day he found out the mini-olympics results. His team did not win, and he was quick to say which kids in his class won and was so excited for them. But then in the next sentence he made a comment about their team cheating on something--at least that is what he heard via the elementary rumor mill. When I asked him if he was sad that he did not win, he immediately said, "No...," but then added, "Well, maybe a little bit. I wanted to win.")

Trying to figure out how to blow out the relightable candles on his cake

It has been such a joy watching him grow up this year and learn so much in kindergarten. He absolutely enjoys everything about school and rarely complains about anything that happens during the day.  Of all subjects, he LOVES math the most. He took all his artwork, papers, and books home from school this week. He started working on filling in the empty pages in his math workbook before we even left school. When I mentioned possibly buying him a math workbook to do on our trip across country, his eyes lit up with glee!

He is very sensitive and attentive to doing things just right especially when it comes to schoolwork. When he gets something marked wrong on his paper, it really bothers him. (He has actually cried when I marked a word wrong on his spelling practice test. And he has had melt-downs while working on homework when he could not get his letters to look a particular way.) He has learned to read this year and continues to improve daily. He loves to read, but he does not want to take the time to sound out words most of the time. It cracks me up (and drives me nuts) watching him read because he is constantly looking at the pictures trying to use them to guess at what the words say rather than think through it. (I guess it is good that he is using context clues already...but it still drives me nuts.)

It has been such a gift having him at a Christian school and having a teacher who shares Jesus so freely and in such a meaningful way with him. He is not quick to summarize what he learned in school by giving us the play-by-play that we might get if he was a girl, but he will say things that lets us know that he is learning so much and is really thinking about how much Jesus loves him and what it means that Christ is his Savior.  We have enjoyed learning his memory verses with him each week. (The little pistol would practice with one of us pretending he just could not get it and then proceed to rattle it off with no problems or hesitations for the other person. He was proud to have "no helps" all year long.) He is compassionate and kind to almost everyone, and we are constantly amazed at the patience he shows to those around him. He did a nice job this year befriending and helping those who were having tough days which is great to hear as a parent. (We know he does not do that all the time, but we do treasure those times when he gets it right.)

Celebrating with cousins a little early

The making of the ninja cake and the final result

His birthday dinner choice--McDonalds Happy Meal

Ice cream cone for dessert

Love my new Legos!

Happy 7th Birthday, Isaac! We love you and are so thankful that God blessed us with you!

Celebration

The boys and I spent a couple days at Mark and Jill's house to celebrate Mackenzie's birthday. As part of the celebration, Jill made a ribbon piñata and let the kids decorate it before they pulled out the ribbons to open the box and get to the candy.

Decorating the piñata

Jill also treated the kids to an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese. We had a blast playing games and then figuring out how to spend the tickets. 

Before going inside--so excited!

Mackenzie spent most of her time with this guy

Sharing a ride together

Even Katelyn seemed to be having a good time with all of the festivities though you can't totally see that in the first picture below, and we enjoyed some snuggle time (as much as she would let us since she has gotten so big!).

Happy Birthday!

Paul turned “21” yesterday. He started the day with our singing “Happy Birthday” to him and then his opening presents. The boys helped me pick out his gifts and did a great job of not telling him what was in the gifts…that is, until Paul started opening gifts and Caleb loudly whispered to me, “Is this one his Wii game?” Paul just smiled—we were so close to having a complete surprise for his opening his gifts.

At school they sang to him during the Pre-K through fifth grade singing time. Thanks to a certain kindergartner, all the kids knew how old he was and found great joy in telling Paul his age. J To celebrate Paul, school had a half-day, and he is now on Christmas break!

After school we headed up to Redlands for the unveiling of Children’s Cancer Foundation’s calendar in which Maddie was Miss February. After the unveiling, she sat at a table and signed people’s calendars. We were impressed with her patience in signing hundreds of calendars…she was the last one in the room finishing up calendars (even the foundation people had left).

Mark took Paul to Hangar 24 for a birthday beer while the rest of us headed back to their house. After dinner we sang to Paul, watched him blow out the candles on his cake, and then enjoyed the cake. 

Caleb playing with Katelyn who doesn't mind the sock he put on her head

I am thankful for my husband. It has been a joy to have him in my life these past 15 years! God has blessed me over and over with a man who is not only a fantastic father to our boys but is a patient (and he needs a lot of that with me) and loving husband to me. Happy Birthday, Paul!