Hats make him so happy...

Caleb loves it when Justin leaves his hat somewhere where he can get it. He puts it on and walks around wearing it with such joy all the while saying "My hat" in his tiny little voice.

A good arrangement...

Today Asher said "Mom, maybe I should pull up my own underpants so you have more time for other things."

I said "Thanks, Buddy, that sounds good."

He then clarified "Unless they get stuck, then you or Caleb can do it."

Oh, I had a good laugh!

The sweetness of little boys...

Today they were bringing me lots of rocks that they so carefully dipped in water first. I suggested that we make shapes with them, so we made a square and a circle, a long line and a heart. After we finished the heart Asher said "Mom, this one is for you." and Caleb agreed "Yep, heart mom."

They might have more energy then I know what to do with, and they might feel the need to push and nudge each other when I'd really rather they didn't, but when it comes to being sweet to their mama these boys have it just right.

They're always bringing me little "gifts" to show me how much they love me. Now, it's not that I just dream about handfuls of dirt and sand in my pockets, rocks dipped in rain puddles, or even 9 wilted dandelions by the end of the day... but it is what they dream about and they are sharing them with me! They are also so thoughtful when they tell me I'm handsome, bring me their rubber duckies and floaty toys when I say I'm going to take a bath, and always make sure I get to use the pink plate at lunchtime.

Thank you, Asher and Caleb, for being so sweet to me.

Early morning show off session...

I love it when the boys wake up cheerful and ready to show me all their cool tricks. Caleb's trick is actually to get into this position and then walk his little legs and scoot his head all over the floor. It doesn't look even a little bit comfortable to me, but he sure thinks he's pretty cool.

Look, Mom, no hands!

August 16th, 2010...

Caleb's outfit of choice = Elmo boots and a birthday crown from Nursery.

My second born...

So, today I let Caleb skip his morning nap and instead run around and play while I took pictures of him. He is two years old today! Caleb came into this family seamlessly. It wasn't hard to love another baby. It wasn't strange to include him in my thoughts. He fit.

Caleb's personality has really started to shine through in the last few months. He is talking more and more, and has such a sweet little voice. If you ask him a question he doesn't just say "yes" he says "Oh yeah, uh huh, yep-o."

He likes to sing, and snuggle. He loves to hear stories and wrestle...

...but most of all he loves to wear hats. The firefighter hat has been his favorite lately.

Caleb also loves to eat. He's usually the first to start and the last to finish. Sometimes when I'm preparing a meal I'll look and Asher is just playing then I think "Wait, where's Caleb?" and he's already in his seat at the table just patiently waiting for me to bring him food.

Caleb's kind of a tough guy. He loves Harley's and trucks and I wouldn't challenge him to a wrestling match unless you mean business. He even bites (we're working on that... ). But, he's also the most fun-loving and happy kid I know. I'm so proud of him for learning and growing and trying to do what is right. I've just got to say, I'm sure this kid is going to do great things in his life!Dear Caleb,

I love you. You always make me feel happy.

You're just so much fun to be around, and I love you.

Your laugh and smile make me want to kiss you forever because I love you so much.

I love, love, love being your mommy. I'm so glad that's a forever job.

Love,

Your Mom.

I hope you've had a fun birthday, Mr. Sweetie-sweets!

My silly little Caleb is 2...

Asher wanted to read Caleb their favorite book as a birthday present this morning. It was adorable and Ash did a good job because he has just about the whole book memorized.

Then I asked Caleb for a picture of his birthday face and this is what I got. We love that goofy thing he does with his mouth when he knows he's being funny!

Happy Birthday, Lubs!

More water fun in the backyard...

They love it! I love seeing how unbelievably huge diapers get when submerged. Someday I'll invest in swim diapers :)

The wading pool...

We took the boys to a little neighborhood wading pool...

Asher liked jumping in...

Caleb liked floating on his back...

...and they all really, really liked the Oreo's afterwards.

Today...

I did. I locked my kids out in the backyard.

When I opened the door again Asher said "Oh, mom, good job at fixing the door. I thought we were going to have to sleep out here tonight."

We've got a copycat in the house...

The last few days I've noticed that Caleb has been looking over at Asher and then trying to imitate what he's doing, especially sucking his fingers. This morning I looked over at them and they were snuggling on the couch waiting while I made breakfast. Caleb was sucking his fingers just like Asher, and he'd even found Asher's look-a-like extra blanket so he could be just like him.
The funny thing to me is that I can tell he doesn't like to suck his fingers. He barely even puts them in his mouth. He is 100% just doing it to be like his older brother. So cute.

I love these silly boys!

If ever I leave the room...

...when I come back this is where I find Caleb.

Good morning!

Sunday mornings are my favorite again. We get to spend them together, have a yummy breakfast and play before we head to church at 1:00. One o'clock church doesn't even stress me out anymore because the boys take early naps and are happy and ready to go by lunch, and they both love going to nursery! I don't know how long this bliss will last. Probably just until the baby is born or until Justin gets a calling at church that takes him away in the mornings again, but until then I'm loving it!

My little Asher is so smart, observant and creative. This morning they were eating pancake/nutella tacos - heathy, i know ;) - and we were just talking when he looked down and said "Hey, it's a Noster-rister" what he calls a rhinoceros. And it totally looks like one! Can you see it?
Of course Caleb wanted to do it too. He said his looked like a doggy and said woof.

Then, the men built this awesome fort...

...and read a few stories before naps.

They even said I could come in too :)

Have a great sunday!

Fun in the sun!

We were invited over for a play date with a new neighbor this morning. The boys loved every second of it. They were practicing being fish and swimming around on the carpet for about half an hour before we went.
Then when we got there and they saw the slide set-up they were really excited! They did great.

Hope you had fun today too!

What made me laugh today was...

...that Asher calls the obnoxious character from "Cars" Chick Mix, and every time I say that I think his name is Chick Hicks he looks at me like "who is this lady and why can't she say his name right?"

Oh, and this old picture of Caleb with underpants on his head.

We're going to the ballgame...

So, we decided to go to a baseball game. I'd seen a commercial that I thought said it was $1.00 friday family night. After we decided we would go and the boys got really excited about it we found out it was actually still regular price to get in, but the food was only $1.00. Humm, not quite what we were hoping for. The game didn't start until late and it started sprinkling rain, so it wasn't looking too good. But the boys were set on watching some baseball, so we went to see what we could come up with. It actually turned out perfect! We went to the game and just found a spot that we could park our car and watch from a distance. So, we ate dinner and watched about 3 innings of baseball without getting wet from the comfort of our minivan. It was a lovely evening.

Pretty sure Asher was in heaven. What a funny boy with his giant Pooh bear hat. He loves that thing!

Asher yelling "Go Baseball"

Caleb wanted to say it too, but I didn't know his mouth was full of string cheese:{

I'd tried to teach him the song "Take me out to the ball game" but I like Asher's version better!