My little Stinker Caleb

Caleb has been a VERY different baby than our first 2. Braeden and Elli were both very easy babies up until they turned 3 and hit the terrible 3's. When they turned 2, I thought that maybe they would skip being"terrible" forever, but those days didn't happen until 3 for them. Caleb was the PERFECT baby. He would sleep and not cry when we put him to bed, he was always content, even when Braeden & Elli bugged (which was too often), he hardly ever fussed about things. He was AMAZING..... until he hit 1. He turned into a screamer and whiner over the littlest things. Definitely the Terrible 1's for him. But he does have a VERY TENDER side to him. When he's not being picked on, or not hungry or tired, he is the happiest, most content little boy. He has a KILLER smile and will almost ALWAYS smile at me when I look at him. He just has his days of being completely stubborn and naughty.... like today actually.

These pictures were taken a while ago. Elli was crying over something... probably something she didn't get, but wanted. So Caleb went over to her and started kissing her cheek.

And then he played with her face for a little bit and this completely made Elli happy and even forget why she was sad.

Even when he is being annoying, he still gives me a smile when it's all said and done. He has that healing power I need as a mom. He is so forgiving when I am frustrated with him. There are days when I can't handle him because he screams when I leave him for a second to get him more food or he'll throw his body on the ground when he doesn't get what he wants. He KNOWS what he wants and is very smart. He figures things out that I didn't know he was capable of figuring out. He is also very independent in a lot of ways. But we love and adore our little CHUBS. The good DEFINITELY outweighs the bad. He is my little buddy and I love giving those cute cheeks kisses multiple times a day. I am very lucky to be able to stay home and be with him.

On Toros On...

I just have to say this before you read this.... I am TOTALLY past High School. I really went to the greatest high school there is in Mesa. I know many will disagree (insert clearing my throat.... Melissa), but I loved it. And I think it is so cute that Braeden plays flag football and he's a Toro. And he loves it too.

He could hardly wait for his first game on Saturday to come. He woke up really early and couldn't go back to sleep. So he made signs for us to hold while he played. He put our names on the back so we knew which one was ours to hold. When he found out his cousin Caden could come and watch him play, he quickly made one for him too. He's such a funny and cute kid.

What a stud out there!!

He was quarterback for a little bit. He did so well. He threw the ball twice to the same boy who caught the ball and ran for a touchdown both times. (Reggie Bush & Matt Leinart)

Here's video of one of the plays they made. If you look closely and the very end on the left side of the video, Elli is holding up her sign Braeden made for her. What a cute sister!!

I just thought this was cute of him sitting on the sideline waiting for his turn out on the field.

Like in my days of High School Football, the Toros beat the Warriors 24 - 18 (or something like that, I don't remember the score, but they won)

Cute Cousins

I watched my SIL's kids for a couple hours yesterday and got the cutest picture of Elli, Sarah & Logan. They have 6 kids total and they say they are done having kids. Logan is #5 and Sarah is #6. Logan is my little buddy. I want to take him home with me every time I see him. He will come give me hugs and tells me all kinds of stories. For Halloween, he is going to be Cak-can Cook (which means he is going to be Captain Hook) And Sarah will be Tinkerbell. I love her rolly polly body. Squishy babies are my favorite!!

Pretty Girl

Elli felt really pretty when we got her ready for school. She wanted me to take a picture of her.

But what is so funny is that Elli has found her future husband. Her preschool teacher told me that Elli has found a new "friend" and they hold hands and are very cute to each other. When I was asking her about it, she told me that she got him to marry her. Just today when I was picking her up, her "friend" said, "I'll miss you Elli." Then Elli replied, "I will miss you too." Way too cute. Mark wasn't too happy to hear about this though.

Melting your Momma's Heart

Just this morning, I was in our office trying to clean out drawers and get somewhat more organized. Well Caleb came in and grabbed my shirt. He was pulling on me to get down to his level. Sometimes he'll do this and he'll hug me.... which is amazing! Or he'll start running towards me and I'll get down to his level and he'll jump in my arms and hugs me for a second. This time, as I hugged him, he grabbed my face and kissed my lips. Awwww, what a little lover he is. I didn't want to forget this moment. I tried to kiss him again and he turned around and ran off. But I'll take whatever he gives me.

What I've Been Up To Lately....

If you've been wondering what I have been up to these days, here's a video. I'm the last girl chasing the bike and hopping on. It's been a lot of work, but it's easy once you get the hang of it!

Chuck Wicks

Mark and I went to the Chuck Wicks concert out in Queen Creek last week. Chuck is the guy who was on Dancing With The Stars last year and his partner was Julianne Hough (who is his girlfriend) Anyway, it was a really fun concert. And he's not a bad looking guy either.

Before it started

He has a really good CD, I love listening to it.

PS, just a little plug in for Mark's band. They are opening up for Phil Vassar on December 5th

Go here to check out the detail!!

Legally Blonde

The girls on my side of the family went to the play Legally Blonde at Gammage. It was cute, but I don't think I will be going back to see it again. The music wasn't that great, Warren had an amazing voice, but he only sang one song, two guys kissed (wasn't a fan of watching that....sorry to offend anyone, but it's true)

The best part DEFINITELY was the UPS guy. They really did a great job with him. But it was a fun Girl's Night!

FHE

This is what we did for family night one night. Braeden was making his own creation of LEGOs, so we all joined in. But I couldn't help but take pictures of our kids adoring their Dad. They LOVE when he gets home.

Caleb started it all by being this cute. This is what made me get my camera out.

Elli HAD to get in the picture too

Then Braeden joined in.

I love how much our kids LOVE their Dad. It's hard not to when they have a pretty COOL DAD!!

His Favorite Thing

Caleb's new thing now is "watching a movie." If you ask him that question, he grabs a blanket or pillow, runs to the couch and sits with the blanket or pillow on his lap because he wants to watch a movie. It's usually the Baby Einstein movies because those seem to hypnotize him. Even Braeden & Elli still watch those movies. This is perfect for me when I am trying to get ready or clean up, because he usually follows me everywhere I go.

He gets so excited that he plays peek-a-boo while I'm turning on the movie.

And...... awwwwww..... he's mesmerized from the second he hears the music.

But in all reality, it only lasts for about 10-15 minutes. He will get up and walk around. If I'm lucky, he'll stay in the family room for a while. But he's usually destroying something after his 10-15 minute hypnotized mode. But I'll take it!!

A Little Highlight

My sweet sister Kara is my Hair Stylist. She always does a great job. I love it!! This time she did my hair, Elli wanted to join me. I told Mark that if she came with me, she just might come back with highlights. He's not a big fan of that for Elli. Well, Elli came with me and Kara had some left over color. Lucky for Elli! I'm pretty sure that I'm setting myself up for a girl who loves to be pampered. But her hair was so cute!

When Elli was watching me get my hair washed, she told me my hair was purple. She knows that is my favorite color so she was excited for me to have purple hair.

Awwww, see what I mean...... her hair was soooooo cute!! Thanks Kara!!

It's Only Just Begun....

That's right, USC Football Season has started...... thus our Saturdays are filled with football. Luckily my husband isn't a football bum and sits on the couch watching EVERY football game all day on Saturday. It's mainly just USC he watches. He'll catch up on the other games at night.

Caleb with his cousins Eli & Carter. All within 3 months of each other.

Brian & Carter, Mark & Caleb, Brigham & Eli

The kids keeping busy while the Moms chit chat and their Dads watch the game.

FIGHT ON!

Cute Story..... Don't want to forget!

Since my sweet little Caleb decided to break my glasses, I went to the eye doctor to get another pair. While I was trying on some frames, Elli did too. She really wanted me to buy her pair. They had some really cute ones for her, but that girl doesn't need them. When we were walking out the door, she begged me for a pair. I asked her if she could see or if things were blurry for her. She of course said yes and tried to convince me she really couldn't see. When we got closer to the car, she started walking to another car. I said, "Elli, our car is right here." Her response, "I can't see though."

I love my little kiddos!! Always so funny!!

Grandparent's Day

A couple Fridays ago, Braeden's school had a Grandparent's Day lunch. So my mom and I went to Braeden's school and ate lunch with him. He loved it and had fun having us there. We picked up some Sonic and enjoyed our hamburgers and popcorn chicken..... as much as we could enjoy fast food hamburgers and popcorn chicken.

Braeden and his friend Caden.

Braeden's fan club!

Thanks Grandma Harper for joining us on Grandparent's Day!! Thanks for being such a fabulous Grandma, our kids LOVE you!!

Continued....

So after I wrote the post from last night, Mark and I headed to bed. Well, I saw all these papers by Braeden's door. Since Braeden took a nap yesterday, he couldn't fall asleep. So he was writing and drawing on paper. The cutest part is what he wrote and drew on the paper.....

"I love you Mom and Dad so much." (Picture of Mom & Braeden hugging and picture of Dad & Braeden hugging.)

"Mom & Dad are cool."

"I had fun today so much fun!" :)

"I have fun."

"Life is fun with you Mom & Dad." (picture of the family.)

Braeden and Elli had a ton of fun yesterday before he got a headache and didn't feel good. They played all morning before church and after. But recently, he hasn't been loving the idea of playing with Elli. Because she's a girl, he hasn't been wanting anything to do with her. So we kept saying to him yesterday that they have been so cute together and he can actually have fun with her. He agreed with us. He even told me before bed that he doesn't always need his cousins, he will have Elli to play with. He's excited for Caleb to get bigger too. I'm not sure what changed, but I love that it did.

I love our little Braeden!! We love you too and DEFINITELY had fun with you!!

For My Records....

Braeden got a headache after church today. So I gave him some Tylenol and he laid down. But a half hour later or so, he came to me not looking very good and saying he still didn't feel good. Well, he threw up a little bit. (Too much info.... I know) So Mark got him situated and had him lay down. He fell asleep even though all of his cousins were over. When he woke up, it was like he was ever sick. He ate dinner and played like crazy.

Tonight while we were getting the kids ready for bed, Braeden told me a sweet story. He said this..... "I think I would still be sick if I didn't say a prayer while I was in bed after I threw up. I sang my favorite primary songs and it reminded me to say a prayer. So I'm glad I said a prayer so I wasn't still sick." Oh how I love the sweetness of kids. When I worry about how Mark and I are doing as parents and stressing whether or not my kids are actually understanding the importance of staying close to our Heavenly Father, it's moments like these that reassure me that our kids are listening. They pick up the littlest things. Even in Primary when I think Braeden isn't listening, he is. He is such a sweet boy and very tenderhearted. I love these kind of moments. So much that it can't go unwritten.

Kara & Ryan......

My sister is engaged!!! We are so excited for the 2 of them. Ryan proposed to her last weekend in California...... with a ring pop. Kara was so excited about getting the watermelon flavor!! But the real ring wasn't ready until tonight!! They both came over to show us the ring and let me tell ya, it is BEAUTIFUL!!!

They don't have a date yet, but will soon!

Congrats Kara & Ryan!! We are so excited to have Ryan join the family. He is so perfect for Kara and we love his sense of humor! We are glad our family didn't scare you away!

If you've ever wondered what happens.....

Twice a week, my little sister Kara and I will go to my older sister Lisa's house to do a little exercising. I have always called Lisa my trainer just because she has always loved to exercise and told me what I should be doing. But now she really is my personal trainer... and quite a mean one too!! :) She just makes us do some pretty crazy things, but that's because I need it.

But anyway, her little gym is in the garage and we usually just let the kids play outside or in the house. But this is what happens when you leave them all by themselves.....

Braeden said they were having a contest to see who could be the funniest. He said he got 1st place. Well, Cade got 1st place too, but Braeden got the highest 1st place. (whatever that means)

BOYS.....

When it rained last Saturday, my kids spent a ton of time outside enjoying the cool weather. They love playing outside when it's a decent temperature outside. Caleb on the other hand would play out there all day if I let him... even in 110 degree weather.

I decided it was time to get the kids ready to go watch some USC football at our cousins house and I walk outside to find this.....

They decided it was OK to play in the mud and also cover Caleb in it too. Notice how the older kids have hardly any mud on them. The little stinkers kept piling the mud on Chubs. But Caleb didn't mind. He just kept walking around with mud in his eyes and mouth. It was even more fun for them to be sprayed down with the hose. There was mud everywhere, but they were so cute.

It was actually impossible to get a picture with him holding still. These were the best I could do.

Baby Mozart

Caleb is very busy. He is constantly looking for something to get into or even mess up. But he has discovered his love for the piano. He has learned what "soft" means and won't pound on it. He gets mad at me when I take him off the piano. He just sits there for a while and plays.

I kept trying to get him to look at me and smile, but since I interrupted him, this is all I got.

Preschool....again!

I was so bummed when Elli had to go to preschool again. She is so ready for Kindergarten, but those darn January birthdays. But she loves Miss Glenda and just begs me everyday to go to school. She loves it there.

She is so stinkin' smart. After the first day, Miss Glenda told me that she picked up right where she left off before summer. She is blending words and reading so well. We are so proud of her.

He LOOKS so innocent

I was in my room on Saturday and I knew the kids were playing in the playroom / office / exercise / sewing / everything else room. I heard Caleb playing in there too and talking. The other two kids left the playroom and usually Caleb follows them wherever they go. But I still heard him in there. He started talking louder and I could hear the light switch turning off and on. So I decided to check on him. I found him sitting on the desk, peeking out the door. He couldn't get down, he was stuck up there. It was so cute. I have never seen him up there. But ever since then, he is always up there throwing papers on the ground and destroying everything. Yet, this picture shows the face of an innocent little boy.... just look at that smile!!

Just yesterday, I was in the kitchen cleaning up after lunch and Caleb was walking around and then all of a sudden, he was in his high chair. And this happened only within 2 minutes. He climbed there so fast. I don't know how he did it. But he is climbing on counters and pretty much anywhere he can. I have a feeling I'll be making a trip to the ER for a broken bone one day. Hopefully not though.