Family Portraits

Last weekend we cashed in Julie's Christmas present from Craig.  A Groupon deal with Joyful Portraits.  Please feel free to check out the link: to see Shadee's great work.  We had so much fun and enjoyed getting such beautiful pictures that will be cherished always. 

Let us know which ones we should get, since there are so many good ones to choose from.

Father's Day

The boys and I had a lot of fun making a picture for Daddy to hang in his office.  We wanted to show Daddy just how much he means to us.  He is truly the best Daddy and we love him so much.  It melts my heart and brings me the greatest joy to see Craig making our boys laugh.  Whether he is on the floor making up silly games, telling fun stories, singing goofy songs, reading books together, cuddling, and holding them tight.  I knew Craig was wonderful with kids when I met him but he has exceeded my expectations of how he is with our boys. 

This set of pictures make me laugh.  It looks like they are modeling!

These are just a few snapshots of Daddy being his playful, fun self! 

We love you Daddy and are grateful of you everyday! 

This is Davis a few months ago, but oddly enough I have him in this same onesie today "Daddy's Future Caddy" 

Caleb climbed into a tiny bag and of course, Daddy carried him all over the house! Great fun! 

A Father's Day can't go by without thanking to great Father's in our life.  Without them, we wouldn't be who we are today!  Thanks MeDad and Papa for your example in being such great Dads.  We love you both! 

Potty Trained

This post is long over due! Where do we even begin...we will start from the beginning. For at least the last 6+ months Caleb would go tee tee in his potty before bath time at night. It was just part of his routine. We decided that summer would be the time to actually potty train, so we read the books and started preparing "our plan," we set the date for June 4th to start. Well, around May 18th, Caleb started telling us when he needed to go potty and he would go and have a clean diaper. We made a big, exciting deal over him using the restroom (one time he accidentally went poo poo and was a little freaked out but we made an even bigger deal over this HUGE step). He would wear big boy underwear around the house but when we went out of the house, the diaper went back on. (Partly, because Mommy wasn't ready!) On our 7+ hour car trip to the Ranch over Memorial Day, Caleb went in the public potty with Daddy and had a dry diaper the entire time!!! This guy was READY! June 3rd, Daddy took the day off to give Mommy a little vacation and the actual potty training began (we said "no more diapers" except at nap time and bedtime). We did the Potty Training 1-2-3 and it went SO incredibly well. YEAH! It has been so easy. We set goals, such as when he stayed "Clean and Dry" for 2 days he would get a toy out of the attic. When he was "Clean and Dry" for 5 days he got to have some chewing gum (he swallowed it but this was a big incentive).  And sure enough it worked, and he has done great. We are so proud of our big boy!!! I don't know why I was so worried. We are now big advocates for when the child is ready, they will do it on their own without much stress!

Caleb proud of his completed sticker chart

About to eat some bubble gum 

Then we knew that going poo poo on the potty was going to be a different challenge since he would normally go first thing in the morning or at nap time. So, we made another reward system, that if he would go poo poo on the potty three times, he would get a toy from the toy store and he wanted Buzz Lightyear.

The proud owner of a Buzz Lightyear.  

Way to go, Big Boy!!

Memorial Day at the Ranch

We had a three-day weekend, so of course, we headed down to the Hill Country to enjoy the Ranch with Mammy and MeDad.  We stopped at Mimi and Papa's on Friday night to break up the drive and were at the Ranch on Saturday afternoon.  We had a quick day and a half of the beauty, fun with family, and exploring.  It seems like all of our Ranch Trip pictures are looking the same-riding the mule, taking hikes, and playing in the water.  Such fun and adventurous things to do in the middle of nowhere!

Taking a family hike with Daddy (Davis fell asleep in the wrap the first 5 minutes)

Cooling down after nap time. Caleb wanted to wash the truck. 

Love Daddy and MeDad relaxing on the porch

Something summery about drinking out of a water hose, especially when it comes out of a natural spring behind the house-yummy! 

A splash in the pool 

A few rides in the mule.  It was a tradition for Caleb to take a ride with Mammy and MeDad after breakfast all bundled up in a blanket!  Thanks for the memories! 

Getting stronger and more daring on the "Ip-Ine"

Playing on the tractors

Chillin' with Davis 

Two happy boys LOVING the Ranch

A cowboy tennis player 

Caleb's new thing: tennis

This little guy was all smiles at the Ranch-He LOVED it!

Mammy is feeding the bird-such a cute picture 

Caleb's photography skills-Not bad

    

Caleb was SO tired on the way home-this is how he slept and it is rare that he sleeps in the car these days and he took TWO naps during the 7 hours!

We just LOVE the Ranch and feel so blessed when we get to make memories down there.  Thanks Mammy and MeDad for making it so special.  We look forward to the next 3 day weekend (Labor Day) with Julie's Family.

4 months - May 31

Davis is now 4 months old! He has such a sweet personality, LOVES his brother (always looks for him), laughs/squeals all the time, is a WONDERFUL sleeper both naps and at night, is a joy to his mommy and daddy, great in the car/car seat, is fascinated with his hands and feet, and is so flexible/laid back.  He definitely is a thumb sucker during naps and night time but during wake time is covered in saliva and has his whole fist or multiple fingers in his mouth. 

He weighs 15 pounds (50%) and is 21 1/4  inches long (90%). 

(A little tribute to Daddy's school and the bright orange and purple-since this boy wears a ton of burnt orange.  Also, ignore the week 17 on this picture-had it on the wrong side)

Just love this little punkin! Thank you, Lord, for this miracle!