Compassion International

Several of the authors of the blogs that I read are currently in India on a trip with Compassion International. They are writing about their experiences each day.
http://livingproofministries.blogspot.com/
http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/

If you don't already know much about Compassion or even if you do, these stories are pretty amazing. A sponsorship is really just a minor detail in our lives, but it completely transforms a child's life. Compassion is the real deal! I encourage everyone to get on the Compassion website and choose a child to sponsor. $32 a month will be so worth it!

http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm

Caleb is the slowest eater on the planet! He has been working on his lunch for 45 minutes now. He has been pretty much eating the whole time, but he is also pretending with his food. First I heard him saying "ring, ring" and holding a carrot up to his ear. He had bit out part of the middle, so it did look like a phone. Then he was holding two half eaten carrots saying, "shhh, shhh, Mommy sleeping". I guess that this is what Jon tells him when they get up in the morning before me. I don't quite see how the carrots looked like me sleeping though. Finally he is pretending his quesadilla is a car. They are sure cute at this age!

UPDATE: Still eating- err really just playing in high chair saying "gobble, gobble" while holding pear and "train, train, train" as he moves a piece of tortilla around the top of the tray.

Keep scrolling down... four new posts.

Don't forget to vote for your favorite egg!

More Baylor Pics and More Bluebonnets

Caleb- our little bear cub!

The Sieverts

The Paces

Even More Easter Pics

Caleb in front of Pat Neff. We went on a family walk around campus.

Katie, Jason, and Merek

Our family!

More Easter Pics

Aren't they a good looking bunch?!

Caleb shows off the Easter eggs he found!

The Easter bunny brought Jon a new grill brush.

The Easter bunny hid my Easter basket way up there. Then the "Easter bunny" had to help me get it down.

Caleb was SO excited about a new train!

Miss Abby- not happy about the photo session!

Little Miss Abby in her bouncy seat!

Little Miss Abby in her other seat... She just started holding her head up enough to be able to sit in it.

Big brother Caleb in Miss Abby's seat. He has been holding his head up for a long time and been able to sit in this seat since this post.

Caleb and Abby checking each other out.

2nd Semi Annual Easter Egg Competition

Please vote to settle family squabbling. Here are the entries from left to right.

Top Row: Alaska, Pretty Pastel, Red Menace, Cruces Verde*, Spring Fling

Bottom Row: Sand Dollar Sea, Space Odyssey, Sunset Clouds*, Grimace, Baylor Hippie

Happy Easter!

Nine pictures was about all I could get out of our crew today. Above shows them all. Below shows the best one. We will have to try again later! :)

Happy Easter!

Abby at 2 Months

Abby will be two months old tomorrow. I guess that means that she is no longer a newborn but rather an infant. She definitely has lost that just born look. She is starting to interact with us lately. She will make a cooing noise, and I will repeat it back to her. She continues to coo and seems quite happy talking back and forth with me or Jon. She still likes to be held and entertained quite a bit. However, she is starting to laying down and show a bit of interest in her play gym and her mobile, which is such a nice break for me. At night she is sleeping about 6 hours, waking up to eat, and going back down for 2-3 hours. We have had this schedule pretty consistently for about two weeks, but I know that things change often with this little babies. So I am just hoping that she keeps it up and doesn't go backwards! During the day, Abby wants to be held a lot, and she doesn't like to sleep in her crib. I find myself trying to lay her down for naps in the crib over and over and over again without any success. So lots of times, she sleeps very contently in her bouncy seat. We are starting to let her cry for up to 10 minutes at naptime and bedtime. That is definitely still a work in process, but I want her to learn how to go to sleep on her own. Also I don't want to have to keep going in and rocking her to sleep like 10 times before it sticks (no exaggeration there). Sometimes it takes us 2 hours to get her to go to sleep at night. I am enjoying the fact that Abby is starting to interact more and more. Thinking about all she will learn to do in the first year is amazing, and I can't believe 1/6 of that first year is already over. It has flown by! We are excited about getting to know this precious gift more and more as this first year continues.

Easter Egg Hunt

Yesterday, we took Caleb and Abby to an Easter Egg hunt at Baylor. It began promptly at 4:30; we arrived at 4:29 and saw tons of people leaving with baskets overflowing with eggs! That was a disappointment! I guess we will arrive much earlier next year. Caleb was not having a good afternoon as you can tell from the pictures. He was just getting over the biggest meltdown since he's been two. I have no idea what he was upset about, but he has had a cold that must be to blame. We are happy to say that today he seems to be feeling better though.

Caleb with a grouchy look on his face, Gianna enjoyed some dirt covered candy

Jon's artistic picture of Caleb with Pat Neff in the background. For those non-Baylor readers, when Baylor wins a football game, the green tower lights are turned on for all to see.

Caleb pointing out something to Jon- not sure what.

Selah and Abby enjoying their first Easter Egg hunt. Boy will it be different a year from now!

See post below...
Mom and Dad team score a point! Caleb is asleep in his bed with a diaper on... Thomas undies are "watching" him sleep from the railing of his crib! HA! Challenging, but never a dull moment!

Caleb doesn't want to go to bed b/c he will have to take off his new Thomas undies. I am the parent here. I am in control. I can handle this... here goes....

Too bad our fancy camera doesn't have a button to make little boys put on their best smile!

Conversation with a two year old:

"Mama, miilllk."
"Caleb, say 'Mama, please can a have some milk?'"
"Miilllk, peeeease."
I proceed to pour milk into his normal sippy cup.
"No, no mommy!"
Based on past experience I guess that he wants a different cup. I pull out a different one...
"NOOOO, mommy!"
I pull out a third type of cup...
"NOOO, mommy!'
I pull out a cup that is the same as the original cup that was rejected.
"Yes, mommy!"
I pour the milk into the new cup and give it to Caleb. He sets it on his high chair.
"Eat, mommy!"

We are working on the concept of having to wait for some things in life. I guess that applies to the adults around here too.

"Beans, mama! Da beans. Beans da beans da beans.. ummm!"- Caleb standing at door watching Jon fix hamburgers.

Our Days...

We spend a lot of time doing this...

Then I have to admit there is a little of this...
and this...
But the best moments are like this...
and this...