Mom or Dad??

Who do you think Caleb looks more like at one year old? Mom or Dad?

This is a poster that was hung up at the birthday party- but is hard to see Craig and Julie's 1 year old faces!!

TX/OU Party - October 17

On Saturday, October 17 we went over to an ADPi Sister of Julie's to watch the big game. It was great to see some old friend's, especially those that traveled far distances. Here we are this past Saturday......and here we were in 2002!

Party Like it's 1999 - 10 Year High School Reunion

During the weekend of October 9-11 we drove to Austin to celebrate Julie's 10 year high school reunion from Westwood High School. We started the weekend with a football game to reminisce about the good ol' days of Friday night football games and the joys of seeing the drill team (the Sundancers) perform at half-time. They did a cute fence routine and their outfits have changed quite a bit. Oh, the great memories of football season. Saturday evening consisted of the actual reunion part with many familiar faces, many unfamiliar faces, and good laughs. We were not very good at taking pictures but the one picture we did take (above) is Julie's fellow Sundancer friend, her freshman roommate, was in our wedding, and dear friend- Sara Tracey and fiance' JB.
Sunday was a more intimate gathering with just the Sundancers. It doesn't feel like 10 years has past but so much has changed in our lives!!! A few pictures of Julie's life in high school:

There was a bonus to the weekend...Julie's nieces' had a dual birthday party on Saturday before the reunion. We were able to celebrate Christalyn's 6th birthday and Sarah's 2nd birthday at a precious Thumbelina party.

State Fair of Texas - October 4

While Mimi and Papa were still in town from the big birthday party, we took them to the good ole' State Fair. It was their first time to go and what a day it was!

We tasted a few fried foods while we were there. We tried the 2009 Most Creative - Fried Butter (Garlic and Honey flavored), 2009 Best Taste - Fried Peaches and Cream, Twisted Yam on a Stick, Sweet Jalapeno Corn Dog Shrimp, of course a corn dog, and Julie's favorite Fried Snickers. We are almost embarrassed that we ate that much fried food but when you divide the already small portions into four pieces it really only equals a very tiny bite with a ton of calories. Oh well, we don't get to do this everyday. Mimi is about to enjoy Fried Butter below- which that is a horrible name it is more like a garlic bread or a dinner roll with honey!!

In between our Fried Food Chase, we stopped for a dog show. Below is Caleb's excitement at seeing the doggy's jump to great heights, soar through the air, and run around at top speeds. He loved the audience, the clapping, cheering, loud music, and the dogs!!

We could not make a trip to Fair Park without seeing Big Tex!!

Caleb did so incredibly well during the rainy, dreary day without a nap and very substantial meals. What a trooper he was!! He was so happy and very distracted by all the excitement at the Fair, not to mention the fun shoes we put on his feet for the first time in months and months.

And here are a few family photos- Craig took the first one and the kind gentleman that we had take the second one cut Caleb out of the picture - Lovely!! At least, between the 2 pictures we have both Craig and Caleb and the big Ferris wheel.

Now we are going to go detox and cleanse ourselves after all the food we ate!!

1st Birthday Party--John Deere Style

Finally, we have a moment to sit down and catch up on the crazy amount of blogging we have. Now that Caleb is a big 1 year old we think it would be more manageable to blog as we do certain things as opposed to having one big one once a month. So here we go for some serious blogging!!

On Saturday, October 3 we celebrated Caleb's First Birthday with friends and family - John Deere style! Here is the invitation that our sweet friend, Cori, painted.

As the kiddos came in we were able to take their picture on a real John Deere Lawnmower and boy was that fun to climb on a "real tractor."

Here is the birthday boy ready to par-tay!!

On to the cake but first a little kissy kissy from Mommy and Daddy!

Daddy had to help Caleb to realize the sugary delight at his fingertips.

That is better but first Caleb had to feel the texture of the slimy, oooey, gooey icing.

Caleb's friends/babysitters had to help him get messy! (These are 3 of the 11 9th grade girls Julie leads at church).

Now we have a happy camper with icing, a spoon, and all!

The attempt of getting 15 kids in a group picture.

Other cutesy details of the party that Julie went way overboard with but had a blast doing it all. We had a "Watering Trough" for bottled water, "Moo Juice" with milk for the kiddos (or adults), "Pony Rides" with a few stick ponies, "The Garden" for the kids to shovel, rake, and plant things, a "Farm Yard" a pack-n-play for the little farmers, and "Tractors for Tots" including an electronic John Deere Tractor Thanks Mimi and Papa!), a few sit-n-scoot toys (Thanks Mammy and MeDad!), a push car, and multiple other toys for the kids to play with. The entertainment was endless with the kids' imaginations.

Here is a picture of the "Grazing Grounds" with "Livestock" (Animal Crackers), "Pigs In A Blanket," "Haystacks," a "Fruit and Vegetable Garden," "Cow Chips and Dip" (Potato Chips), "Farmer's Favorites" (with a few of Caleb's favorite things- goldfish, Gerber puffs, cheerios, and raisins), and Southern "Sweet Tea."

Happy Trails, Until We Meet Again!!

Oh Happy Day!! One Year Old- September 25

What an exciting time this past year has been - our little guy is one year old! Oh, how our life has changed and continues to change with every new development Caleb has. Not only are we gearing up for the big birthday party next weekend, we have been enjoying the busyness of the "fall." We have begun a music class,Bible Studies, Meetings, Playgroups, MOPS, and Student Ministry is in full swing. Gotta love the fall! Caleb began to get into the sitting position from his tummy, crawl, pull up, and cruise around the coffee table all in about a weeks time. During that week, he managed to put a dead bug in his mouth, a small piece of paper, every cord in the house, and a few leaves. Needless to say, it was finally time to baby proof our home. It is so fun to see Caleb's little independence come out as he has found his new freedom. We also went to the urologist for the 6 week post-op appointment and received great news. Everything is looking great for Caleb and he wants to see us in 6 MONTHS!!! Yeah- Praise the Lord!! We will still be giving Caleb miralax and an antibotic to help reduce any possible infections. Thank you all for your prayers and support! This past month Caleb's cousins came to visit us in Dallas for a quick "Cousin's Camp." All the kids had a ton of fun playing together. We took the 5+ hour drive to Bay City, Texas (southwest of Houston) for Labor Day weekend to celebrate Mimi's birthday and Julie's Aunt and Uncle's 25th wedding anniversary. Caleb put his toes in the sand and ocean water. Maybe next summer we will get to actually swim in the vast ocean. Mimi's Birthday Sombrero looks good on Caleb too! First time at the beach! Julie's cousin, Lisa Clapping began this month- it is so cute to see Caleb's excitement for life through clapping! Bye everybody!! (Caleb loves waving- it is like he is in a parade)
Click here to see more pictures of Caleb's 11th month.

11 Months - August 25

Crazy how another month has gone by. Here we are with an 11 month old!!! We were talking about how this time last year we didn't have a clue what our little guy would look like, his little personality, his mannerisms, his voice, and all the love that he would bring into our lives. Every day is a true blessing and Caleb fills our life with so much joy, we can't even put into words all the emotions. This has been a busy month at the Wenning household. We started the month with Caleb's 4th little surgery. It was a quick day surgery to scrape out the extra tissue in his urethra. Caleb did great and bounced back really quickly from the anesthesia but he had a rough couple of days getting back to himself. We go in to see the urologist on September 1st and are praying to hear a positive report that we are all done with surgeries. Other activities that filled our days have been Stroller Skating, Spray Parks, Swimming, and enjoying meals with friends. All of which have been a blast and it is possible that Julie enjoyed it more than Caleb, especially the Stroller Skating that brought back so many childhood memories of skating in for hours and hours. Last weekend, Mimi and Papa came up to Dallas to keep Caleb while Craig and Julie went to the lake with the Student Ministry Leaders for relaxation, time with the Lord, and lots of fun in order to help prepare us for the upcoming year pouring into our students. Which by the way they are big 9th graders, can't believe how fast they are growing up!!! Caleb is not "crawling" quite yet but he is getting around in his own way. Every few days he has new noises, sounds, and looks. His latest thing is to shake his head with a big ole' grin and also squinting his eyes with a huge smile. Speaking of smiles, Caleb got his 5th tooth (the bottom right). We love playing with Caleb in new and creative ways- the above picture just so happened to be in a tiny book box and the below picture is of his wild and crazy rock star hair. (Caleb could use another haircut but it is just too fun.) To see more pictures of the month click here and we will see you next month as we celebrate 1 special year of life!