July 4th, 6 Months and Carrots!

July 4th was a VERY big day for Caleb! Not only was it his 1st Fireworks day, but it was also his half birthday and his first day of solid foods!!!

Our day started out great. Since the heat was SO horrible, we decided to stay in for the day and just hang out at home and play. It was so nice that it was a Saturday and Daddy was home with us! We spent time playing and watching Caleb roll across the room in 30 seconds or less! This momma has got to start watching out or my baby might roll on into another room!

Lunchtime came around and we were ready to start some solid food! I had been feeding Caleb rice cereal mixed in his bottle for about a month, and in a bowl, thicker consistency, for about two weeks, so I knew it was about time to add some flavor to the mix. We picked carrots first. Experiment? Yes. Success? YES!! HE LOVED THEM! He was a little hesitant at first, but he kept opening his mouth for more. Before I knew it, the carrots, rice cereal and bottle were all gone! There are a few pics below as well as a video at the very bottom, of his carrot experience.

After lunch, we got him dressed in his 4th of July outfit and had our own little photo session on the couch. He's not quite sitting up on his own yet (we think he's a little too top heavy, I mean the child has a huge head...maybe this means he'll be super smart...), so we propped him up in the very middle of the couch, where the two cushions meet. It ended up giving him the support he needed to sit up long enough for us to shoot some pics.

That night, we were tempted to take him to the local fireworks show, but it actually worked out better to go over to some friends house (thanks Katie & Jarret for opening your home to us!) so that we could put Caleb down for bed and just briefly wake him up when the fireworks started. We had so much fun playing Spades with Katie & Jarret, and eating brownies of course! We stayed until 12:30am playing cards!! Once the fireworks started, we pulled up the chairs on the back patio and watched away. After about five minutes, I decided I didn't want Caleb to miss out on his first fireworks show, so I went and got him up, took him to the window right outside his room, and he got to see his first fireworks!! I think he must have really loved them because he was reaching for them, or maybe it was just the cool blinds on the window...I'm going to choose to believe that it was the fireworks though! After about a minute, I took him back to bed and he fell right back asleep! I know he will never remember, but this momma will never forget! After the whole Mother's Day fiasco (not a single picture of me and my sweet boy was taken on my first Mother's Day), I promised myself that I would never let him (or I) miss capturing any of his firsts, including holidays!

A couple things I don't want to forget about you being 6 months old...

1. YOU ARE GROWING WAAAYYYY TOO FAST!! I can't believe you are already half a year old sweetie!

2. You LOVE to roll anywhere. It is your movement of choice right now. You roll from one side of the living room to the other in about 30 seconds. You can now roll all ways, tummy to back, back to tummy, right to left, left to right!

3. You still love to eat. Somedays you eat three times a day and sometimes it's four, either way, you still consume at least 24-32 oz. of formula/rice cereal bottles + rice cereal in a bowl.

4. You are starting to make new noises and faces! Of course, I know this is normal, but it's still new to me, and you! You are beginning to start expressing yourself through the sounds you make with your mouth. Sometimes you involve your hands and feet as well, that's when it gets interesting!

5. You consistently take 2-3 naps per day, around the same time every day, that's super duper fun for mommy! Getting you more on a schedule has been great. I know in the end it benefits you more than anyone else.

6. You love it when daddy makes a certain popping noise with his mouth, it makes you go crazy happy!

7. Whenever you're overtired, you start shaking your head side to side really fast. It's almost like you are trying to keep yourself awake just a little longer. Usually it lasts only a minute or so and then you're out!

8. You like running errands with mommy and LOVE going to the store and seeing everything. You just sit so nice and quietly in your carseat in the shopping cart and just look around.

9. You are consistently sleeping 12-13 hours a night without waking up for a feeding! Sometimes you will wake up because you lost your pacy, but once I give it back, you fall right back asleep. This usually only happens before midnight, which is great since mommy and daddy have been going to bed later lately, so sometimes we're still awake when this happens!

10. You do great with strangers! This is WONDERFUL!!! Even Dr. C (peditrician) notices and compliments you. He's surprised everytime when you don't cry or even complain at all at your visits. Even when you get your shots you only cry for about 30 seconds and then you're fine!

11. #10 leads me to this one, your 6 month stats: 19 lbs. 12 oz. and 27 1/4 inches long! You're a big boy! In the 75th - 90th % for everything! Rock on honey, keep growing, we love you chunky monkey!!

12. You still LOVE bathime with daddy! AMEN to this!

13. You are fascinated with the picture slideshow that's on mommy's computer (it's all pictures of YOU!!). Seriously, you will sit and stare for a solid 5 minutes!!

14. You love music! We often sit in mommy's office together and listen to music and sometimes I think you're trying sing along because you just go on and on and on!

15. Your bald spot is gone! Your hair is growing, this is very exciting for mommy and daddy!

16. You love playing peek a boo with mommy. You sit on my lap on the couch and I look away really fast and then look right back at you and say peek a boo, you laugh hysterically, it's so cute!

17. You have your first two bottom middle teeth!!! You got them both within 12 hours of each other. Needless to say, it was the most difficult and emotional two days for this momma with you yet!

18. You have started this whole buzzing thing with your lips (see video below for example), it's hilarious! You look so serious when you do it! I LOVE IT!!!

19. You are always a great baby in the nursery at church, THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!

20. You are really showing your personality and it's so fun to watch you grow into it! You are a very relaxed baby, but sometimes really intense, just like mommy! And you definitely have daddy's sense of humor! You have me laughing so hard sometimes that in turn you end up laughing at me! Those are moment's I definitely don't want to forget!

Baby, I love you more and more each day! You are one of the biggest blessings the Lord has ever given me! You are more precious than anything else, and I want you to know that you can ALWAYS count on me to be here for you, to love you, to encourage you, to teach you and to support you! You are such a precious gift! I love you Caleb!! Love, Mommy

Notice in this video that Aaron was alseep the entire time! Hilarious!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Caleb Sitting

Aunt Karla, Uncle Dustin and sweet Haley got the chance to spend some quality time with Caleb last Friday night so that Aaron and I could go catch a movie and here's just a glimpse of the fun they had with him. I'm just in love with this little honey!!!

Thanks Dustin, Karla and Haley for loving on our little guy for a few hours so we could get an awesome date night in! For anyone looking for a good movie, PLEASE go see UP in the theater, it's totally worth your time and money!!

Memories for a Lifetime...

I'm Third, Four Square Life, The Blob, Waterskiing, Trampoline Class, "Free Time", F.O.B., Zipline, Treetops, Kickapoos, Themed Parties, MWS, SCC & DC Talk Concerts, Best Barn (or Cabin), "Friends" by MWS, and who can forget Kamp Koffe Kake (my reason for this entire post)!!

If you have no idea what I'm talking about here, you missed out on the best memories of your childhood, spending summers at Kanakuk Kamps in Branson, MO!

I've been wanting to post about my summers growing up there for quite some time, but the timing wasn't right, until now! Wow, so many of my greatest childhood memories stem from my summers spent at Kanakuk. Mentioned above are only a few select favorites from my 12 summers there. I would not be who I am today without Kanakuk. Becoming a believer at a very young age really meant nothing to me until I started my very 1st summer at kamp. I didn't fully understand, and still to this day am learning on a daily basis, what it means to follow Christ, to be I'm Third and to live a Four Square Life. You make friends that will last a lifetime, I can attest to that, I still keep in touch with quite a few from years and years and years ago. You learn, in simple and applicable ways, about the Love of Christ, how to share that love with others, and how to live a life full of compassion, grace, tenderhearted mercy, longing for the cross, and an overflowing of the joy of the Lord.

Kanakuk has such a dear place in my heart. I remember wanting to grow up and go to Baylor just becuase so many of my counselors went there, and I thought they were just the coolest people ever. I remember crying leaving kamp every summer, knowing that I had to wait an entire year to go back. I remember how we weren't allowed to have candy or soda, (unless you got the Sugar Shack at K-2). I remember how we took two showers a day (I now understand why). I remember how the girls were not allowed to wear makeup or fix our hair during the day, only at night. They were teaching us about inner beauty and I didn't even realize it at the time. I remember the solid biblical teaching, the teaching that helped form my view of Christ, and Christianity. How excited I was to be a believer. How awesome it felt to feel the Lord working on my heart. How filling it was knowing that only Christ could fill every void in my life, and there were many! Learning and truly grasping the truth that our earthly father may fail us, mine did, but that my Heavenly Father would NEVER leave me, no matter what I did, how I acted, what mistakes I made. Kamp made the truth of God's word vividly real in my everday life. I needed that. I'm so thankful to my mom for making the sacrafices she did so that I could spend part of my summer at a place like Kanakuk. I remember all the summers that she was the kamp nurse, just so that I could go to kamp for free. I remember how she would have more money taken out of her paychecks so that her tax refund was big enough to pay for me to go to kamp. The Lord always provided a way for me to get there and I still to this day thank Him for that.

Kanakuk has played a huge part in my life. It has taught me lessons that I will carry with me the rest of my living days. I remember telling Aaron before we got married, that no matter what it took, I wanted our kids to be able to go to Kanakuk. I want them to experience even a fraction of what I experienced there.

Ok, so on to the good stuff. One of my fondest memories from kamp was waking up every Sunday morning and engulfing the famous "Kanakuk Koffee Kake". To this day, I still remember the very first time I took a bite, 9 years old, sitting in the dining hall at K-Kountry. I can still close my eyes and picture myself there. It was the best thing I had ever tasted, and still is to this day. Yes, I may be crazy.

So, when I found out that a girlfriend of mine had the Kamp Koffee Kake recipe, I immeditaly BEGGED her for it! Who wouldn't want it, right?!?!?

Well, this morning, I attempted to make the infamous cake, and success!! While I feel it could have use a little more topping, as soon as I took that first bite, every kamp memory came flooding back into my mind, hence the long blog post you are reading! I had to take a picture of my first of MANY weekends to come with the kamp koffee cake so here it is! I have also added the recipe below, for anyone who has desperately wanted a glimpse back into the sweetness of their youth!

Enjoy, all you Kanakuk Koffee Kake lovers, as I know there are many of you out there!! And for those of you who are reading this post and saying to yourself, "This woman is absolutely out of her mind!", you are CORRECT in every way possible, for that's what Kamp does to you and I'm so sorry you didn't get to experience it!!

WORLD FAMOUS KANAKUK KAMP KOFFEE KAKE

1 egg
1/3 cup margarine (melted but cool)
¾ tsp vanilla
¼ cup Evaporated milk
3/8 cup water (equals 1/4 cup + 2 TBSP)
7/8 cup sugar (equals 3/4 cup + 2 TBSP)
½ cup of flour
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
¼ cup flour
¼ stick soft margarine

Mix topping ingredients with hands and sprinkle on top before baking.

Directions: beat eggs, vanilla, evaporated milk, and water. Add the melted but cooled margarine. Add all dry ingredients to the liquid mixture . Beat until mixture is smooth. Pour into a lightly greased & floured 8x8 pan. Sprinkle the topping on top and bake at 350 degrees for 25 ‑ 30 minutes.

Be Blessed & Encouraged!

A Weekend of Firsts...

So this past weekend was a weekend of firsts! Caleb's first swim, Aaron's first Father's Day andCaleb cut his first tooth!! What a great weekend it has been!

Saturday morning, after a night with my small group girls, Aaron and I thought it would be fun to introduce Caleb to the pool! We had a great time, even though we were only there maybe 20 minutes. Caleb seemed to like the water just fine, but he was already tired when we got there so it definitely didn't last long before he was ready for his afternoon nap. Here are some cute pics from Caleb's first swim!

This weekend was also Aaron's first Father's Day! Since we didn't get any pics of my first Mother's Day (I'm still a little bitter about this), I promised myself I would get at least one picture for Aaron's first Father's Day. We had already gotten home and put on our comfy clothes, but I was determined to get at least one pic, so here is it!

Our other fun news from this weekend is that Caleb FINALLY cut his first tooth! It's hard to see here because it just cut through the skin within the past couple days so it's not that far out yet, but you can definitely feel it and if you look close enough in person, you can see it too! SOOOO exciting since he'sbeen teething for the past couple months. I still can't believe my baby has his frist tooth and is almost 6 months old already! Time is going by too fast, you must stop growing Caleb!!!

Also, Caleb is in transition to only 2 naps per day. Some days it goes well, and then other days it's super hard, like today! His shorter nap has only been 45 minutes - 1 hour long, but his afternoon nap has been at least 2 hours long. He's been awake from about 4pm - 6:30 or 7pm.

And finally, Caleb is now into exercising his lungs! He has been doing this whole screaming thing for the past week or so. It was cute and funny the first couple days, now it's a little overwhelming. He's not crying or unhappy or hungry or anything, he just wants to scream. Aaron still thinks it's cute, but he isn't home hearing it during the week...Oh well, it's a phase and I'm sure someday I'll miss hearing it, so I'll try to enjoy it as long as I can!

I love you so much sweetie and am loving being at home with you and watching you grow!

Happy Father's Day honey! You are the best Daddy in the world and Caleb and I are so very blessed to have you leading our family! I love you so very much!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Caleb's Newest Trick...

So, I can't believe it, but I caught Caleb's newest trick for the first time on video this morning and am so excited to make this post!!!

Caleb can now roll from his back to his tummy and from his tummy back to his back!!! This is very exciting because he HATES being on his tummy and now he doesn't have to stay there if he doesn't want to!

I'll post more pics from our trip to Grandma and Grandpa's in a separate post after we get back to Dallas. Until then...

God Bless!

Jill

5 Months Old!

****WARNING...this post has MANY MANY pictures! Just wanted to warn you!!***

Caleb, you are now 5, FIVE months old! Where has the time gone?!? It still feels like yesterday that my contractions started at 12:45am. I miss those first days of holding you in may arms at a whopping 7lbs. 13oz. You now weight around 20 lbs and are massive! BUT I absolutely LOVE IT!! You give me a workout each and everyday! Here are some things tht I want to remember about you at this age...

1. You are rolling over from your back to your tummy! This started last week and it has been so fun to watch you continually do it. Now you just need to learn how to roll back, because you are not fond of being on your tummy!

2. You laugh, smile, talk make this really high pitched noise all the time! You are very vocal. At least there's something you got from your mommy!

3. Your hair is growing in!!! This is huge since you were nearly bald for so long!

4. You are really trying to sit up on your own, and you're super close! I can't wait to post that video!

5. You LOVE mommy and daddy and can't stand to be away from us most of the time (otherwise known as separation anxiety!)

6. You have been eatingrice cereal in your last bottle of the day for quite a while now and absolutely love it! I've tride spoon feeding it, but I think it's still a little too early. But I'm super excited to start you on fruits and veggies and get some crazy faces on camera!

7. You LOVE to be outside, no matter how hot it is. You love looking around and listening to all the sounds. SOmetimes you even turn your head towards a new sound and attempt to find it (ussally it's a bird hidden in a tree though!).

8. I LOVE coming in to get you up in the morning, it's when you are the happiest baby (most of the time!). You smileat me and/or daddy bigger than any other time of the day!

9. You like to watch Baby Einstein videos while mommy or daddy are tryng to get stuff done.

10. You don't like to move.

11. You LIKE your schedule the way it should be and are super fussy when we've messed it up!

12. You LOVE carpet (so does mommy too!!). You enjoy just laying on the floor during the day and playing with mommy. And mommy likes having a sft floor for you to lay on!

13. You are starting to get to know others, but mommy and/or daddy must be present and accounted for in order fo ryou to feel comfortable and not freak out

14. You "talk" in your sleep! I LOVE IT!!! Sometimes you wake me up in the middle of the night and when I walk in thinking you're rolled on your tummy or need your pacy, you are just laying there totally asleep and talking! It's the cutest thing! You still laugh and smile while sleeping to, just precious!

15. You are a big boy! I know I already said this, but you are and I LOVE all your cute rolls and chubby cheeks! I jsut can't get enough of them, and yes, I know I'm partial!! There's just more of you to LOVE!!!!

16. You like Patty Cake done with your feet more than your hands, and you like sucking on your toes!

17. We think you are cutting your first tooth/teeth. You are a drooling machine and your gums have become quite painful when you bite/gnaw on us. You particularily like noses (see example below).

18. You are fascinated with everything to look at when we go to the store. Even if you're totally sleep on the way there, as soon as we walk in the door, you are wide awake and looking around!

19. You are down to 4 bottle a day and sometimes I wonder ifyou'd go down to three. You go to bed around 7pm which is so nice for mommy and daddy because then we actually get some hang time of our own! Thank you for this! You also sleep through the night 99.9% of the time! This is such a blessing darling!!

20. I want to remember how precious you are and that the Lord created you and gave you to me to "borrow" and love and cherish as much as humanly possible! I often find myself tearing up just looking at you sitting on my lap, or hearing you laugh or talk or smile or even fuss because I know that I will never get this precious time back with you. You will only continue to grow bigger. You are a joy to my heart, every single day and I praise the Lord for such an amazing gift! I love you more than words can express, Caleb! Love, your MOMMY!!!!

Look at me mom!

Laughing here!

Getting REALLY excited!

Chillin'

smiling at mommy!

more big smiles!

currently the newest family picture

his froggy shirt that I love!

look at those chunky cheeks!!

What's up, Mom?!?

Chillin' at the park lookin' very cool in my avaitors!

More of just lookin' cool!

Hangin' with mom!

Doing serious work here people! Can't you tell with daddy in his robe and me in my footies?

More chillin'

Starting to fall asleep, the sun is so bright!

What a handsome little man!

"Really mom, must you ALWAYS have that silver thing in my face?"

Smiling for the camera!

Asleep at Julia's party, party pooper!

Eating daddy's nose!

"What is this stuff you keep trying to put in my mouth mom?" It's rice cereal honey!

"Oh, ok!"

"Yeah, it's kind of good!"

Don't worry all you other mommies! This is the only time I've let him sleep with his lovie and I made sure his face was not too close to the bumper. It's only a short nap as well. I just couldn't resist a picture, it was too cute how he was holding on to his lovie!

Fell asleep eating his dinner. He went down and we didn't hear a peep from him until the next morning! WE LOVE THESE KIND OF NIGHTS!!

My cutie, taken this morning after his early morning wake up call of 6:30am!

More smiles after a long, fussy night!

Reaching for the camera

One of my favorites!

Sitting up in his rocker chair

Just chillin'

Get ready to laugh, this is just too cute not to post!!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!

Overdue Blogging...

Well, as you can see my blogging is overdue! We've had a very eventful month. I'll see if I can catch you up. First of all, Caleb is 5 MONTHS OLD!! You'll have to wait for my next post to see pics and get caught up on his world though, I want to keep a seperate post for each month so that it will be easy to print off if I want to in the future!

Second, we have moved! We are all moved in to our new place and I am absolutely LOVING it! I have outlets in the bathrooms, I have carpet, I have kitchen cabinets that close all the way and I have TONS of natural sunlight that comes into the entire house!!! I will post more pics later once we get everything organized and situated.

Third, Caleb and I are getting ready to take our first airplane trip next week to visit Grandma and Grandpa Preuss! I'm so excited!! Caleb will get to meet his Great-Grandma Smith as well. This is very special for me because Grandma Smith played a huge part in my life growing up, so for her to get to meet my sweet Caleb will just be the icing on the cake!

Fourth, we bought a minivan! After looking at TONS of sedans and not finding anything within our price range that was worth buying, we did a search for minivans and found a Honda Odyssey! We're super excited and will pick it up in a couple weeks. I'll be sure to post pics of our newest family member soon!

Well, that's been our life over the past month. Keep your eyes peeled for more posts to come, with pictures, I promise!

Be Blessed and Encouraged!