Popcorn Time

Afternoon snack can be tricky. If my children eat too heavy a snack, they won't eat dinner, but they still need a little something to carry them until dinner time. Solution: popcorn!

Caleb had never seen an air popper pop popcorn. He does NOT like loud, roaring sounds. He scream cries at the sound of a vacuum, and popcorn popper is just about as loud. So, this was a new experience for him. Watch his positioning as he watches the popcorn descend to the bowl.

Caleb, standing at a distance, watching with caution...

Getting closer with curiosity at this white, puffy stuff coming out of this machine... :)

Now, REALLY curious, and big brother cautioning Caleb to be careful up there!! :)

Oh, the joys of home entertainment!! :)

How to eat an Oreo...

I watched Rhys in amazement as he ate an Oreo cookie yesterday. He'd never, as far as I know, seen anyone pull the sides apart to eat one side of the cookie, then the other side.

I guess kids just instinctively know how to eat an Oreo cookie the right way. :)

Smart kid...

This post is dedicated to Uncle Chris. :)

Caleb - 18 months

Dear, Sweet Caleb, You are 18 months!!! Yay!!! You are at SUCH a FUN age!!!

You are learning SOOOOO much! A LOT from big brother!! Mostly good. ;)

*You are an excellent climber; mostly good at climbing down, but sometimes still going down head first...not fun after you 'bonk' your noggin. :( You'll get there!

*You're talking a LOT these days!!! Mostly babble, but throwing in some 'real' words every once in a while. You say, "Mama," "Daddy," "ba" (for 'ball'), and you definitely know how to say, "No!" even with some attitude, I might add...we're working on that, too. :)

*You know some sign language - 'more,' 'milk,' and I think you're trying to create you're own sign language for 'enough!!!' when you throw what's left of your food & drink from your high chair toward the end of meal time...yes, working on this one, too! :) Whew!

*Your FAVORITE thing in this world is your LOVIE!!! Actually, you currently have two, identical frog lovies. You sleep with these, you take them everywhere we go! We've replaced your lovies three times! You suck on them for so long that they stay wet. {Yeesh!!!} I wash them at least 2 or 3 times a week, soak them in vinegar, but they still get so gross!! I suppose we'll just have to take them away from you...I don't foresee you stopping this nasty habit, but I'll take a miracle if you'll so oblige!!

*You continue to get more and more teeth! Still awaiting some molars, which is totally normal! You chew GREAT with your teeth, and you have a wonderful, healthy appetite! You eat well, and you eat a good variety, thankfully!

*You still take a good 1.5 to 2 hour nap in the afternoon, finding a cat nap some time in the am's when we're on the go somewhere, usually 10 to 30 minutes. I'm so thankful to be free of that am nap!! :) You go to bed by 7:00 every night, sometimes even as early as 6:30! You are so pooped! You awake around 6:30, some days 7:00. I'm great with this schedule!!

*You LOVE to play OUTSIDE! Cold or warm, you love the outdoors! You'll be playing outside while Daddy's grilling, and if it's cold, you come back inside with freezing fingers. Rhys and I watch from inside...we're not fans of the cold. :)

*You enjoy room time, playing alone in your room, with music on and plenty of toys to keep you busy for up to an hour; you enjoy 'share time,' with is room time with Rhys and Mommy.

Your 18-month stats are as follows:

Height: 33 3/4 inch (75th percentile)

Weight: 23lbs, 9.5oz (10-20th percentile)

Head Circumference: 48.5 cm

Some pictures of you from the last month:

You LOVE bath time!!! I say, "Bath time!" and you go running to the bath tub, raise your arms for me to take off your shirt, and before I can get your pants, diaper and shoes off, you're climbing into the tub!!! :)

Everyone comments on these lashes!! They are LONG and gorgeous!!!

You like to play with 'ba' outside! :)

You like to look at books...

You enjoy wearing hats! :) Ball caps, toboggans, etc.

Sunday mornings are LONG for all of us! We're all awake by 6:30. We get to church by 9:00, and we don't get home from church until 12:30 or 12:45, and by that time you are EXHAUSTED! You usually eat a granola bar on our way home. Then, you go straight to bed for a good, long nap. Well, this Sunday morning, you couldn't even get through your granola bar! It was too cute to not snap this picture!! :)

Caleb, you are SUCH a JOY! Happy 18 months and growing!!! Daddy & Mommy love you SOOOOOO much and look forward to many more wonderful months with you! We are constantly praying that God will call you to be His follower as soon as He will! You are a strong, determined little guy, and I pray that we get to see you using those character strengths for the Lord very soon and for the rest of your life!! Amen!

Love you, son!!! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Man's Best Friend

Caleb has made a new friend. He was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tired last night that he was almost delirious. He started laying on Zeke, as if Zeke were his pillow. It was too cute to not shoot some memories!!!

Oh, the heart and mind of a child...so sweet, so adventurous, so playful and loving!!!

Blue Ridge Mountains, January 2012

We got to enjoy a wonderful family vacation to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia a couple of weeks ago with some great friends! We planned this vacation about a year ago, and we've been looking forward to it ever since! It was PERFECT!!!

I took some pictures of the THREE-story cabin for our memories. It was a HUGE place, but I'm thankful because we NEVER left to go anywhere the three days we were there! It was 18 degrees the first morning we were there! So, thankfully, we had lots of room and activities within the cabin to keep us entertained! Not to mention the good fellowship with our friends!

We truly spent most of our time here...in the kitchen! :) Eating toooooo much! :)

This is the gorgeous dining area with a breath-taking view of the blue ridge!

A view of the living area from above...

Becky brought all the fixings to make homemade chocolate chip cookies. I refuse to ask her for this recipe because they are absolutely DELICIOUS!!! :) She was making cookies all three nights we were there! Needless to say, we way over indulged during this vacation!!!

The kiddos hung out in the kitchen, too. :)

Ice cream floats were another dessert hit!

Then, we'd take the party to the basement, where we had our choice of ping pong, air hockey, pool, movies on a big screen TV, chess, checkers, or the amazing HOT TUB just outside! Whew! That was the best treat there!The kids had a great time together!!!

Then, we were off to the Chatanooga Aquarium!!!

Meet the Rogers: Jeremy, Becky, Anne Stewart and Hudson...Great people!!!

Who knew that butterflies feast on fruit!?!? They're healthy!! :)

Brave Anne Stewart! You go, girl, holding that butterfly so well!!

Everyone watching the stingrays. Miss Becky brave enough to reach in there!

Brave Caleb, too! Go, Caleb!!! You're more brave than your mama!!!

We praise the Lord for the opportunity to spend some vacation time in such an amazing cabin with some wonderful friends! Then, to top it off with a visit to the Chatanooga Aquarium! I hope we get to do something like this every two or three years! We all enjoyed it! Now, we're all working off all the chocolate chip cookies! :/ :)