Caleb Asher is Three

Happy Third Birthday Caleb!

I am in complete denial that we are here....three years with Little Asher.  Wow, just wow.  Wasn't i just publishing blog posts sharing my struggles about my disgruntled baby...who ended up being in pain the whole time?  Didn't I just celebrate his victory over reflux and ultimately the end of his medications?  I blinked.

The Stats

Weight:  38 lbs 6.4 oz (94%)
Height:  39.8 inches (93%--I actually think this was a little tall based on watching them measure him standing)
Clothing: 4
Shoe: 9

Sleeping:  He still takes an afternoon nap.  Some days he tries his hardest to keep himself awake and others he is asleep instantly and is asleep until I have to wake him at 4 pm.  His nap starts arounf 1:15 or 1:30 and he must stay in bed a minimum of 1.5 hours but often I am waking him after 2.5 hours.  He is in bed for 12 hours at night, but much like Addison at his age, he is talking for a while before falling asleep.  It is a phase.

Potty:  We trained him in late march and while it was a little early in my opinion, with a new baby coming and Matthew being gone for 2 months we wanted it tackled before all that.  He struggled a little in the beginning but I am thrilled he is all successes all the time!  We do not night/nap train.  I follow their lead totally.  So that will come eventually.

Eating:  This continues to be a challenge; he has texture aversions much like his daddy.  We have NEVER  enforced a "clean plate" notion so we ask he try two bites of everything.  Generally he complies after a little dilly dallying.  Should he request seconds on something, he has to take a few more bites of the lesser desirable item.  While I prefer he be eating everything with ease, I am proud he at least meets the minimum expectations each meal.  It is sort of amazing he weighs as much as he does----especially considering his milk has 1/3 the calories of the milk most boys his age drink!

Learning:  This is a slow going process for Caleb....he wants to be on the move rather than sit and learn colors or numbers or letter sounds.  I am discovering even more ways to incorporate learning into the mundane moments throughout the day and how to make learning ACTIVE.  His imagination is astounding though.  He prefers to play using his imagination and be active--that is his jam and that is perfectly fine!!!  I am SO glad he will be old for his grade---this gives him a chance to be totally ready for school!

Vocabulary:  Caleb, much like Addison, is very articulate and always has been.  This is surprising considering he is 1) a boy and 2) second born.  He strings together complicated sentences with a variety of tenses and pluralization (sometimes correctly, sometimes incorrectly).

Disposition:  BIG.  That is how I always have and always will describe him.  Everything about him is big....BIG happy, BIG smiles, BIG tantrums, BIG hugs, BIG crying, BIG falls, BIG love....BIG!  Caleb has a very loving nature about him but definetly has a strong will.  The threes are in full swing with lots of "opportunities" for boundary and virtue training.  Everything is "but I want this instead of this" or "I want to do this instead of this" or "no" or whinning or emotional outbursts.  All typical threes behavior.  But when this boy is sweet MAN he is DARLING.

And interview with Caleb.....

• I am Free years old...
• The best show on TV is....Veggies Tales
• My favorite thing about school is....playing outside
• The thing I am best at is...playing on the Ipad
• If I could change my name it would be....Olaf
• My favorite color is...black
• My favorite toy is...jack in the box at our home
• When I grow up I want to be...teacher
• I like to take these to bed with me at night...teddy bear
• My favorite book is...Junior Battles to do his Best with Veggietales
• My favorite movie is...Frozen
• My favorite season is...summer
• A food I really like is...crackers
• My favorite animal is...monkey
• My favorite sport is...roll down the hill
• My best friend is...Addison
• My favorite thing to do ever of all times ever...play ipad
• My favorite thing I did this year was...watch a movie on the airplane.
• What does daddy do for work?  Plays freeze ball
• What does mommy do for work?  Get in a workshop
• How old  old is Daddy? Three
• How old is Mommy? Four

My Darling Caleb,
My heart is so full each time I think of you; a smile is creeping up on my face as I type this.  I am so proud of the little boy you are becoming.  Blythe is so well loved because of the hugs and kisses and stories and toys you shower her with each day.  You know how to love and even protect your baby sister--you will make a wonderful husband one day, much like your daddy.  You even comfort and protect your big sister too.  Any time she is feeling anxious about anything, you give her sweet reassuring words.  Your comforting words seem to speak to her heart in a special way.  I see you trying so hard to do all the things your big sister does and I can imagine that not keeping up gets frustrating at times.  You do so many things so well though, I hope you see that soon. For example, you have an amazing imagination that draws in AJ; that is one area where you really excel!!!!  Caleb my dear, I hope you forgive me when I lose my patience with your lack of listening.  I am working on it baby, I promise.  Thank you for teaching me too, Caleb.  You have taught me how to love well; you are so good at loving others.  I also love your excitement...you get excited about everything.  I love surprising you because you LIGHT UP every time.  I am thankful for you Caleb.  So thankful.  I am thankful that EVERYDAY I have the honor to be your mother.   I am thankful that I spend my days with you.  I am thankful that I get to catch your contagious laugh and smile all day long.  Thank you for being my Darling Caleb.  To quote you: "I love you......actually I love you too much".

Pictures and Videos

 One Month

 One Year

 Two Years

 

Three Years

 

Three Year Addison

October 2014

Had to hug his bear for a pic

 

 October 2014

Grant Gang Trio

October 2014

So similar, I love it!

 September 2014

  September 2014

June 2014

June 2014

 May 2014

  May 2014

 April 2014

April 2014

 March 2014

 

March 2014

 

 February 2014

January 2014

 

December 2013

 November 2014

 November 2013

 October 2013

 October2013

October2013

Videos

Caleb Writing

VeggieTales Theme Song 

1 John 4:10 

Grant Gang Band 

Hill Rolling 

I will Hasten

Happy VeggieTales Birthday

Caleb love veggie tales. I mean LOVES; it just to happened that the veggietales live show was in our area a month before his birthday. Instead of a party (which he won't remember but I love throwing) we decided to take him to the show with Addison and our dear friends daughter's (his future wife) to the show!  He LOVED it!!!!!!

Matthew and I made a veggie tales themed cake and packed a picnic to all enjoy before the show. Of course it rained so we had to picnic and song happy birthday and blow out candles in the car 😂😂😂. But ya know what? He loved every second of it. I am so glad we celebrated our Caleb this way!

 I love how Caleb always gives BIG reactions!!!

 Sweet sister giving him a bithday hug!

Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom: One Year Later

It happened one year ago today. I remember what I was wearing.  I remember who I talked to that morning.  I remember the words of the doctor like it happened yesterday.  I remember the dinner that was brought to us that night.  One year ago today I was laying on a table, alone, in my MFM's office watching the screen knowing something was wrong. That was the day I knew for certain my Olive was waiting for me in heaven. Olive had a heavenly, eternal purpose and so went there sooner than his precious sister Blythe.  I suspected a week or two before that something was wrong, but I tried to shrug it off as being paranoid.

If you ask one of the few people who knew we were expecting twins before this post 39% Downloading, they will tell you I tried not to get excited about having twins or the pregnancy in general. It wasn't until the week before October 15, 2013 I got excited. I am not sure what changed that week but I finally was excited. Finally. And then to have my excitement crushed was....well....crushing.  The pain of losing Olive hurt me so much deeper than I ever imagined.  

As the tech whirled the wand around I saw one baby....and she kept whirling.  My heart started beating faster.  She kept whirling.  Now my heart was pounding.  She whirled more.  My lip started to quiver.  I knew she was not "supposed" to tell me any "results", but I needed to know something.  She whirled faster.  I swallowed hard....."I know a baby is gone, please do not make me wait for what will feel like an eternity to hear him say it.  I know the baby is gone."  She hung her head "The other baby is gone."  Tears poured down my cheeks, silently while they finished.  I felt terrible they had to watch me lay there crying while they worked.  As I waited for the doctor all I could do was text Matthew---I physically could not say "We lost the baby".  I could not form the words in my mouth. I simply texted "we lost one baby.  the other is fine for now."  When the silver haired doctor walked in, he said nothing.....he just gave me hug, "I am so sorry.  I am so sorry.  I know this is not the news you hoped to get today, especially without your husband.  But the baby that is there is healthy on all accounts.  I am so sorry."  The rest of the visit is a bit of a fog except for my departure.  Walking out of the office that brisk October morning, I will never forget the expectant moms in the waiting room watching me leave, tears running down my cheeks.  They all looked at me with compassion and fear all at the same time.  I can imagine many of them hoped they would NOT leave the office feeling the way I looked

I never hoped for twins. I never dreamed for twins but when I saw those two heartbeats, I was in love. I was so thankful God entrusted me with two lives (not to mention the two I already had in Caleb and Addison). I was filled with so many exciting hopes and dreams, namely all the kids in our family would have a buddy!!!  Addison and Caleb are only 18 months  apart and are best friends and I was thrilled we would have 3 and 4 "close" together.  Blythe may not have a buddy like we originally thought, but I can tell you one thing---she is well loved.  This whole family is smitten with her sweetness.

It's strange. Seeing twins even today brings me back to that moment I knew Olive was gone. It's more nostalgic than sad. But when I hear complaints about "having to have twins", the pain cuts me so deep I can hardly breathe. I want to shout "well I won't ever know will I!!??" Or "want to trade feelings on the subject of twins?" or simply " SHUT UP".  We all need to vent, I know but when the complaint is framed as a burden it is a little more than venting.

Today will be a day I always reflect on what we have lost, but also a day I celebrate the gift we were given, Blythe.

Interview with Addison (4.5 years)

Addison is so funny these days.  Here is a little interview with her....

What do you want to be when you grow up: Doctor

Hero:  daddy

How old is daddy: 31

How old does daddy act: 32

How old is mommy: 31

How old does mommy act: 21

Favorite number: 100

What does daddy do:  work; catching bad guys and putting them in jail

Best friend:  Alexis, Caleb, Blythe

Favorite color: pink and purple

What does mommy do: pay groceries

How many kids do you want one day: 33

Favorite thing to do: sleep

Favorite food: cake

Favorite activity: duck duck goose

Favorite book: bob books 

Favorite bible story: Nahman; that he got better from his leprosy

Favorite clothing: skirt

If you could go anywhere in the whole world where would you go?: Disney world

What do you want your husband to look like: daddy, curvy toes, blue eyes, eat lots of desserts

Favorite animal: snakes

Favorite song:  Jesus loves the little children

Happy 5 Months Old Blythe

Blythe Juliette is 5 Months old; I cannot even believe it!

The Stats

Diaper: 3

Clothes: 9 months

Other Fun Facts

Swaddle:  We tried not swaddling for naps for about two weeks and she was not making it through her cycle changes well.  We will try again in a month.  For now she is swaddled for every sleep time except for her third/final nap (cat nap) of the day.

Eating:  GIRL LOVES TO EAT FOOD!  Shes eating lunch and dinner right now--I am holding off on adding breakfast as long as I can because that will throw a whole new level of complexity on school days.

Paci:  Suddenly this month she decided she loves the paci---YAY!  She can keep it in most of her nap now---YAY!

Mobility:  She is rolling back to tummy immediately after you lay her down on her back.  Her rolling ability is why I stopped swaddling her for a while, but once she started taking the paci I stopped worrying so much about her rolling over in bed.  She hasn't rolled over in bed yet though.  She does not roll from tummy to back very often, if at all.  She is pushing up on her toes and spinning around when she is playing on her tummy.

Sleep:  She has made HUGE improvements!!!!!  Although maintaining the sleep training was incredibly hard with Matthew gone, I am glad we kept with it.  I tend to question myself when Matthew is not around so it was challenging for me to listen to CIO when he was gone, but I am glad we stuck with it!  She takes three naps a day now and sleeps about 11.5 hours at night.  Her schedule is a lot different than my first two because of preschool three mornings a week, but she is going with the flow well.

745 am:  Nurse, get dressed, start day

745-915/930 am:  Wake time (MWF she does tummy time until 835 when we leave for school and then is in the car seat the rest of the time, poor thing'; Tu/Th/Sat she does tummy time until the bigs are done with breakfast then does her jumper)

915/930-1115/1130 pm:  Nap

1200 pm:  Nurse, solids

1200-115/130 pm:  Wake Time (sibling time, books, tummy time)

130-400 pm:  Nap

400 pm:  Nurse, solids

400-545 pm:  Wake time (bumbo outside, bouncy seat while I cook, high chair while we eat)

545-630 pm:  Cat Nap

630-730 pm:  Snuggles with mommy while we watch the bigs play

730 pm:  Bath, lotion, pjs

745 pm:  Nurse, straight to bed

1030/1045:  Dreamfeed bottle (5 oz breast milk)

Disposition:  She is such a sweet and happy baby.  She lives up to her name which means care free---she is easy and now that we have reflux and dairy issues in check she is simply a JOY to be around.  Our entire family just dotes on her--its cute!

Separation Anxiety:  My poor friend Jenn watched Blythe the other night and Blythe was a little upset when she realized I was not around.  I was hoping baby three would miss the separation anxiety genes, but I guess not.  Least I had a break from it between kids this time!

Church:  By now my other two kids had been in the nursery at church for months, but Blythe (unlike the other two) will fall asleep in my arms.  She barely makes a peep during the service so I hold her and she takes a 45 min snooze in my arms,  Obviously it is not the usual 2 hour nap, but when the nursery is too much fun and she wont sleep in there.  I am relishing these days she will sleep in my arms because as soon as she wont---it is to the nursery!

Please Excuse my silly high pitched voices---its the only way to get her cuteness on camera!

My darling Blythe:

You will never know the joy you bring to our family.  You were (and are) the most perfect addition to our family.  Your brother and sister love you more than anything and daddy and I cannot stop talking about your sweet nature.  You are truly a precious gift from God, our little survivor!!!  Every time I look at your big beautiful green eyes I am reminded of the giving God we serve.  I pray that you will find Jesus at an early age.  I pray you will serve and follow him above all things.  Learn from your siblings.  Watch your brother and you will learn how to be loving, care free and how to light up a room with your joy.  Watch your sister and you will learn how to be compassionate, intentional, nurturing and determined.  Watch your daddy and you will learn how to have a servants heart.  I love you my sweet little Juliette!