Puerto Rico Vacation

On the afternoon of February 25th we left Dallas for our first family vacation with Caleb.  We boarded what we thought would be a 5 hour plane trip to Puerto Rico arriving at 8:20 pm but we sat in the airplane for about an hour and a half in Dallas before even departing.  We were definitely a little worried about how our very active 17 month old was going to do confined to a small area of a plane...Caleb did SO well on the plane and we could not have been more proud of him.  There was one time he threw a large lego over the seat and hit the lady in front of us.  Our sweet boy did not sleep one wink on the plane but still did so well.  We finally arrived to a very warm Puerto Rico at 9:45pm.

Fun with Dadda in the airport.  He loved the parked golf carts!

Some of our friends from Stanford live in Puerto Rico and graciously hosted us for part of our vacation.  Carrie and Juan Carlos have a beautiful home and cared for us well from Thursday evening to Sunday afternoon.  They were quite the tour guides taking us to the beach, to a yummy Puerto Rican restaurant in Old San Juan, to their church, to a happy hour to meet their friends, to a park in their neighborhood, and to El Morro (which is a beautiful historical fort from the days of Spanish rule.) We attempted to fly a kite on the huge, hilly grassy areas surrounding it.

Carrie and Juan Carlos have two beautiful children, Carter (5) and Caroline (2.5).  They were so sweet to Caleb and I think by the end of the trip Caleb had "fallen" for an older girl, who was quite the flirt.  She affectionately called him Cable. 

We are at the park near Carrie and Juan Carlos house.  Caleb loved the park and was so tired of playing hard that he sat down for a little water break.

On Sunday afternoon we went to our hotel with our very shabby car seat for Caleb.  We prayed a ton for the safety of our child in the rental car seat and the reckless drivers of Puerto Rico.  We arrived safely to our BEAUTIFUL resort at Rio Mar and had an excellent room, a perfect spot for Caleb's crib, and great view of the pool/ocean.  We tried to cram in a quick swim in the pool and ocean before we called it a night.  Caleb loved the ocean, he would point and laugh as the waves would come and splash up on him.

El Morro

Caleb and Caroline playing a little tickle game

Craig is about to enjoy a Puerto Rican cuisine, Mofongo (mashed plantains, garlic, meat)

Monday morning we drove to El Yunque, the only rain forest in the U.S National Park system.  We saw some beautiful waterfalls but did not venture too far on to the trails since we didn't have a good stroller to "off-road." 

Caleb is so excited during his walk in the rainforest, especially when he sees the car.  Even on vacation there is a little time to play with the hazard button.

We then went to the pool at our resort and fed the iguanas.  At 11 am they have a special feeding for the iguanas where at least 25 iguanas came out of their "homes" and would chow down on lettuce.  The iguanas inhabited the pool area and the palm trees surrounding the pool.  It was pretty fun to be that close to huge lizards.  It didn't even phase Caleb.

Caleb had a great 3 hour nap and then enjoyed another afternoon of swimming, after driving to see a few sights outside of our resort.  We think Caleb's favorite part of the entire trip would have to be the hour we spent sliding down the water slide with him.  He loved it slightly more than his parents!!!

Above is the collage that shows a progression of pictures, but it just doesn't quite capture Caleb's pure excitement. 

We packed up and headed to the airport at 6 am in the morning.  Caleb did amazing on the trip home, with a little help of a tiny bit of benadryl he slept for 2 of the 6 hour flight home. 

A few pictures of our beautiful resort, the iguanas sun bathing, the pool/ocean view, and a picture at night.

Overall, it was a fabulous trip but very different having our little one with us.  We look forward to our next family vacation!!

Caleb loved playing on our bed, especially this giant tube pillow...Be Well!!

Month 17 - February 25

The word of this month is creativity.  We wish we could say it was a creative month with something artistic but mainly creativity with entertaining this very active 16 month old.  This past month we have had a variety of different weather conditions.  We would be at the park on a beautiful, sunny afternoon one day and then would get caught on a walk in the rain the next to a blizzard on the next day.  Gotta love this Texas weather and playing with a little boy indoors!

One of Julie's neighborhood playgroup friends saw us at the park and took this amazing picture of Caleb.  Chrystalyn is so talented and such a beautiful artist.

Playing in Mommy's car (while parked in the garage) is fun.  Especially pushing all the buttons, locking the doors, pushing the hazard button, climbing over the seats, all while passing at least an hour of our day.  (Unfortunately, to this 16 month old it has caused a few confusions when he wants to play and we actually have to buckle up and go somewhere).

This kid doesn't crawl into the shower anymore...he steps in and has so much fun opening and closing the door.  A great activity while Mommy is trying to get dressed in the morning.

This is Caleb at our fun Super Bowl Party that one of Craig's Small Group Families hosted.  Caleb really was having a ball playing in this basket of balls (despite his tired, worn out face)!!  Caleb always says "Ba-Ba" and he will even throw anything that he gets his hands on.  (And might we add that he has quite the arm.) We would love any tips for helping him know what he can and can not throw. 

Since he is now walking...Caleb loves to play basketball with Dada.  Dada "shoots and scores" by putting Caleb in the basket.  Then Caleb wants to be just like his Dada and puts his puppy, Scoop, through the hoop!!

Another indoor activity that didn't go so well...Finger painting!! Unfortunately, Caleb did not want to wear the make-shift smock (nor does he want to wear bibs at meal time anymore).

We left the attempt of painting, cooled off with a game of basketball, didn't put the smock back on, and presumed with a beautiful piece of artwork (a Valentine's Day Card for Dada).  This activity only kept Caleb's attention for all of 1 minute.  Maybe, next time he will enjoy it more.

One cold and rainy day we needed another activity and this was SO much fun.  Mommy would push Caleb around the house and he would point and say "Please" (in sign language) and would carry yet another awkward toy around the house.  In the picture below Caleb is caring a rake, a music box, a cart of markers (which are just a few of his favorite toys).  This was good for both Mommy and Caleb because she got her exercise, cleaned the house, and entertained Caleb all at the same time.  Could this boy be any happier?!?

Work Out Time: Daddy showing Caleb how to do push ups.  We keep some dumb bells under our bed and Caleb often times rolls them out and plays with them.  This particular day our little body builder managed to lift the 10 pound weight by himself.  And lastly a few chin-ups can't hurt anybody, especially if you are getting a little assistance. 

Caleb is discovery the joy of coloring.

Maybe we should get Caleb a real golf club since he is already learning to hit balls with sticks.

A fun yet messy activity is finding the hidden treasures in the tub of rice.  It's all fun and games until Mommy is constantly sweeping and vacuuming up the little morsels of rice from every nook and cranny in the house.

Random picture of Caleb carring around toothbrushes, paint sticks, pens, and markers-all while wearing one of Mommy's house slippers.  Too Cute!

One of our dear friends from our Community and the best co-leader to our 9th grade girls had their baby boy a few weeks ago.  Cary and Cori named their precious 5 pound 14 ounce baby boy Samuel Christopher.  We were trying to have a Surprise Baby Shower for Cori at Small Group for 2 weeks Cori was unable to make the "party" because of Sam coming early.  So, we finally took the party to her for just a few minutes of hugs and gifts.  We are so excited to have our 7th child in our Community!!!

Feel free to leave a comment with any suggestions for any indoor activities that you enjoy doing with your child (or outdoor activities).  We are running out of ideas for entertainment!

3rd Snow Day of the Season - February 11-12

On Thursday morning we woke up to a beautiful morning of snow dusting the ground with about 2 inches of snow. Julie and Caleb played outside in the snow but he was just enjoying walking around in the fluff and stomping in the puddles of slushy snow. The snow continued to fall all day long along with the temperature. The sky was incredible. It was bright with a pinkish/purplish hue glowing and reflecting against the snow. We woke up to even more snow (about 8 inches in our front yard). We played in the snow, Craig built our very own snowman, Craig had a snowball fight with some other neighbors (it was cute to see 4 grown men acting like kids). He then shoveled the drive way and drove into work with no problems. Hope you enjoy these beautiful pictures as much as we enjoyed playing in it (well most of the time.)
Caleb is not quite sure about all of this on Day 1 of snow... Caleb is much happier when our family is together playing in the snow on the second day of snow 
The proud architect, builder, and decorator

Julie's Little Snowmen

We forgot to take a picture of the front of our house on Friday (this is the farthest away we get-isn't beautiful) Notice the difference in this picture and the one at the top of the page.

A few night pictures of our backyard (the pictures don't do the sky any justice)

















A picture of our patio before it begins to melt :(

Community Retreat

This past weekend we were so blessed to be able to take a few days away from the busyness of life and enjoy a cold weekend with our Community at an incredible lake house. We have been hanging with this group for almost 3 years and luckily we have been able to have a getaway weekend every year. Our Community is great at laughing a ton together, whether we are playing Wii, watching TV, playing games (the boys are cheaters), or sitting around talking about the past. These four couples have impacted our life and it is a true joy to "live life" with them. Thank you Mimi and Papa for keeping Caleb! It was nice not to think twice about how much love you two would give. Thank you!!