Caleb Turned 1!

He did it!! To be honest I didnt think the day would ever come. Ive enjoyed my year with my precious boy, dont get me wrong, but it was a challenging year. He was a perfect baby starting out, but his sisters threw us for a loop. I didnt know I could be so angry with someone I loved so much. It was a constant struggle with a beautiful 3 year old at the time. Both girls underwent tonsillectomies and potty trained. The youngest beat the oldest by a long shot but who is keeping score? Caleb sucked his thumb throughout the night and slept 9-10 hours between feedings. He had reflux but as long as he had his meds he did allright and it really bothered him during the daytime more than at night. He wasnt so good at getting 8 teeth in 2 weeks but seriously who would? I honestly never knew adding a third child would be so hard on Scott and I. Yes I mean Scott and I. Scott has struggled just as much as I even if in different ways. When we added the 2nd I was relieved to have more to do. I was so bored with only one. I played with that girl so much, which explains the only child syndrom she seems to have even with 2 siblings so close in age! haha. I look back to who I was one year ago to now and realize God has been changing my heart. I saw parts of me come out I didnt even know existed during this last year when things were difficult. It was eye opening. Ive spent so much time in prayer asking for more help and more wisdom and asking God to truly help me be more and more like him everyday. Im relying on Him so much more than I did a year ago. Ive realized that being a great Mom who loves Jesus is really hard to do, but with God's grace and help it is possible. For what seemed like a long year I can hardly remember life with Caleb as an infant so it must have been incredibly fast. I wish so much that I couldve enjoyed it all so much more! So yes I wish I wouldve waited a little longer before having Caleb but I know if I wouldve Caleb wouldnt be the boy in the next room. It wouldve been another treasured boy or girl, but my heart wouldnt be the same. God knew Caleb was perfect for our family and therefore allowed me to carry him into this world. Caleb is crazy! He is into everything and extremely stubborn. He knows what he wants and isnt afraid to let us know. He loves his family! Know one smiles as brightly as he does when he sees anyone from his family. He loves to be held and walked with around new places. He points and squeels and hollers constantly. He has some kind of asthma problems and bad reflux at one year of age and working on his next set of 8 teeth! He thinks climbing chairs to stand on tables and brushing his teeth is the best life yet! If he could have anything to eat it would be a dum dum sucker. If he could have anything to drink it would be anything as long as it is in Bekah's sippy cup. If he could play with one toy it would be something with wheels. If he could be anywhere it would most definitely be outside. Doors are a huge nuisance in this boy's life! If he could play in any water it would be the closest toilet. If he could learn something new quick it would be walking all alone. If he could do anything his sisters can it would be coloring with markers. I think this boy is going to do a lot in the next year and change again so quickly only this time I pray I will be able to stop and enjoy it a little more than I did this last year! I love my "little man!"

Love Fall!

Fall has been a great time for us so far even though it doesnt feel like fall here at 85 degrees! Owell that makes it even more enjoyable I guess. We have been super busy with many activities during the week and soon to add all the fun Halloween/Fall activities on the next 3 weekends. Ryan started back up in her speech therapy 5 weeks ago and already has shown great improvement again! She is so excited to be speaking more clearly. When she gets a new sound correct she lights up. Im so proud of her for how hard she works at her speech. The girls and I joined BSF (bible study fellowship) on Tues mornings and all of us love it! The girls talk about their classes all week and cant wait to go again. I spend almost an hour 3-4 nights a week studying my lesson because I enjoy it so much! Wed nights the girls and I go to church for sunday school classes which they love too! They get to be in the same class together which they think is so special. Bekah loves being big enough to go on Wed nights since 2 yrs olds arent technically aloud but since she is potty trained they are letting her come too. Apparently, she even sits still which I find very hard to believe. Ive never seen her sit still for more than 3-4 min at a time! I guess it is the environment. Thurs mornings all 3 kids and I attend story time at the library. That is not my favorite activity, but the kids really like it. If I could get rid of something library would be it. However, they do learn a lot and love it so I guess Ill keep sticking with it. Wed and Fri mornings we have school at home. Bekah has officially started the curriculum I made up for Ryan at the same age. She loves it! I never thought she would start as young as Ryan did, but she was asking and showing some signs she was ready to do more than we were. Ryan has really come a long way on her phonics and has begun to read some words. Weve been very slowly working on some stuff without her really knowing it and when I realized some of it was finally sticking it made me feel pretty good to be honest. It is so neat watching your own child learning to read. Very rewarding! It took me a while of trial and error to figure out how she wanted to learn to read, but I think for know what we are doing is helping her. She is also doing her Kindergarten Saxon Math and loves it! She is flying through it as well. We did her assessment last week to make sure she was ready to move on and afterwards she told me this was too easy! I guess she is more of a math brain. That's my girl!! On Sundays, we attend church in the morning and a small group in the evenings. All this to say, we are having fun doing a little bit each day but not too much. Since we've begun all of these activities the girls behavior at home has been much improved. We were home way too much this summer and I think they were getting bored. The rest of this month should be a lot of fun as we go to the pumpkin patch, 3 halloween events, the train show, and zoo boo!