The Caprons

24 March 2012

Bluebonnets 2012

Every year, our play group goes to take pictures of the kids in the Texas bluebonnets. The last couple of years, there really haven't been that many flowers and we have gotten muddy and had to walk through thorny weeds to take our pictures. But, this year's blossoms are full and abundant, and we found a great new spot for pictures. It was fun to see how the kids enjoyed being there and had a look of wonder and awe at the sight of all of the beautiful flowers. Even Luke was smiling and super happy the whole time that we were there. I just sat him down in the middle of the flowers, and he pretty much stayed put while I took the pictures. I have a few observations that I made after viewing and editing the pictures: 1. Caleb's hair is at an awkward-in-between stage. Jon cut it one cut ago and it ended up really short. 2. Abby wore her new smocked dress for the pictures. She did come home with few grass stains on it and even a blue bluebonnet stain. However, I have already gotten the stains out, and I LOVE how pretty the dress looks in the pictures! 3. Luke's teeth are very silly looking right now! Also his hair always looks red in pictures, but I don't know that it will really end up being red. 4. Our older two can make some serious ugly faces in attempting to make me happy and smile, but they did try. I told jokes about Heidi the dog wearing roller skates to get some real smiles. Okay just had to write those down for myself! Here are the pictures!

This next one may be my favorite....silly but Abby is actually smiling in it!

18 March 2012

Caleb is FIVE!

Caleb is FIVE years old, and we have had lots of fun celebrating! Here are some pictures of each event:
Grandaddy and Tammy came to visit for Caleb's birthday. We enjoyed spending time together and of course enjoyed some birthday cake with the birthday boy!

Caleb had his birthday party at the Museum, and we broke away a tiny bit from his continued obsession with Thomas the train and Cars cars by having a lego themed party.
The Birthday Boy!

Lots of pictures of the party table. I spent WAY too long on the cakes. Let's just say that I didn't consider that fact that each individual cake would take the same amount of decorating time as one big cake would. I was a very tired mommy when I finally finished them, and I had to repeat to myself again and again "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!"

Caleb blowing out his candles and ready for his CAKE!

Our whole crew at the party

After all of the that partying yesterday, Caleb didn't understand why he wasn't five yet last night. Finally today was his real birthday, and he got to open all of his presents from family.

SMILE for the camera!

Caleb's big gift from us was an airport lego set. Jon and Caleb have been working most of the day putting it all together. It was definitely a daddy directed activity, but Caleb is loving playing with it all except for when the "big giant baby" is becoming a threat to homeland security!

Jon working away with his "helpers"

Love how Abby is trying to be a part of it all in this picture, her and her My Little Ponies!

Caleb got some other legos from family too. All told there were 1267 pieces that Jon and Caleb put together over the past several days! Happy Birthday Caleb! You are worth every single piece! We love you!

27 February 2012

Luke at 9 months

We have lots of milestones going on right now! One of them is that Luke is 9 months old. That's 3/4ths of a year! Wow!

Within the last week, he has done of bunch of new things. Here is a snapshot of our Lukers:
*Luke is crawling! This happened just within the last several days. He pretty much learned this weekend while we were in Albuquerque. He is gaining more and more speed each day! I have to say that these physical achievements are extra special for me because of Luke's foot.
*Luke loves to stand up. When I try to set him down, he always locks his knees and tries to stay standing.
*Luke is saying some words! Most of them he repeats when I prompt him, but he definitely seems to be trying to communicate. Lately he has said: hi dada, anda (Grand-da), uh-di (Heidi- No prompting for this one. He says this when Heidi enters the room and was saying it around my dad's dog too. I think this is probably his first word.), apple, banana, and more. Of course they don't really sound like those actual words, but I know he is trying to say them back to me.
*In addition to nursing, Luke is drinking a bottle of formula each day. He still wakes up a ton at night! We will work on that eventually!
*Lukes favorite food is bananas.
*Luke is a baby who likes toys. Abby was not, so it is nice to see him entertained by them. I get a little break every once in a while!

*Luke loves his brother and sister. They can make him laugh so hard, and it is so very precious to watch! He loves to play near them and to try to get to their toys, especially the trains and cars. Caleb is having to get used to saying, "A big giant baby is attacking the trains! OH NO!".

*Luke likes nothing more than to be held by his mama. However, lately he is starting to get squirmy and to want to be on the move on the floor!

We love you sweet Luke!

Our Little Singer!

Jon and I have enjoyed seeing the pre-K choir sing at FBCW since all the way back to my freshman year of college, and today Jon and I enjoyed it more than ever. I can't say that it didn't give me tears in my eyes thinking about our sweet Caleb and how things have changed in the past 14 years! I wouldn't say that they all sang, but they certainly all performed!

Friends!

I love my sweet mom friends! Here we are at Kristy's baby shower. Kristy is working on baby number !15! for our play group. I can't believe that three of those 15 will be starting kindergarten in the fall. Time sure does fly! I try to remind myself of that when I am up nursing Luke for the third/fourth time time in a night! We really need to work on sleep training! Anyways back to the friends... pictured above are Jennifer, Emily, Brooke, Kristy, Michelle, and me. These ladies (and others) sure do help me keep my sanity!

Abigail is THREE!

Our sweet baby girl is THREE! When I call her my baby girl or my little girl, she will always correct me. "No mommy, I'm not wittle. I'm a BIG girl." She will always be our little girl, but she is growing up so fast. Here is a look at Abby at three years old:
*She loves to be a little mama. She will turn everything into a family. Whether it is her dolls, Caleb's trains, or the peas on her plate, I often hear her talking about the mommy, the daddy, and the kids.
*She will hardly ever smile at anyone! This is especially true of strangers, but she even gives our friends her serious looks. I think that this may have started as shyness when she was a baby, but now she knows that it gets her attention! People are always commenting on the faces that she is giving them.
*Abby loves to dress up. She has several pairs of NIKE tennis shoes (of course with her daddy being a track coach!), but she likes to wear her "ballet" shoes all of the time. These are a pair of pink shoes that I bought for her to wear with dresses to church, but she wears them with jeans and play clothes nearly everyday. I have to talk her into wearing tennis shoes when we are going to be walking a lot. For Abby's birthday, Aunt Katie gave Abby three pairs of play dress-up "princess shoes", and that night Abby slept with one pair on her feet and the other two in her arms.
*She loves to pretend. We play dance class, school, family, restaurant, and airport. She points her finger in the air and says "Okay, now you go over here and you be the kid."

*Her favorite show is Dora.
*She is a good eater (at least in the PM part of the day) and likes savory foods. She also still LOVES milk. She asks for it first thing in the morning.

*Abby and Caleb play together for a good part of the day. They play with both the girl toys and the boy toys. I love that they are such great pals. I am scared that the transition of Caleb starting Kindergarten next year will be a tough one for both of them.
*Abby is calm and sweet most of the time (as long as she has eaten!). We love her so much!

21 February 2012

My Wife

The Wife of Noble Character

10 A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
(from Hobby Lobby)
and works with eager hands. (and spray paint)
14 She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar (or HEB)
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family (Luke) and portions for her female servants. (Abby)
16 She considers a field (or Dresser see above) and buys it;out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. (or rose bushes)
17 She sets about her work vigorously; (with an electric sander)
her arms are strong for her tasks. (moving furniture when I'm out of town)
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night (because she leaves the lights on)
19 In her hand she holds the distaff (camera)
and grasps the spindle with her fingers. (sewing machine)
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; (we're in Waco)
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
(Red looks funny on Caleb and I)
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple (that she got on sale!)
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. (He's not that old)
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
(or party invitations)
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
(because her husband is so funny)
26 She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.(because the kids wont let her)
28 Her children arise (early) and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; (though she has both)
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Footnotes:
10-31 are an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

18 February 2012

Abby's 3rd Birthday Party

Abby is THREE! We had a combo birthday party for her and her friend, Selah, at the jumping place. Abby pretty much just spun around with Selah and ran all through the jumping area. She did very little actual jumping, but she definitely knew that it was her special party and seemed to have a great time.

The birthday girl!

Abby still uses her tongue when she drinks from sippy cups or straws (like when she nursed). It always makes me laugh. In this picture, she is so very very happy with her Kool Aid drink. She would live on a liquid diet if I would let her!