Ten Months Old

Our little boy is ten months old today!

Caleb has changed a lot this month. He's growing too fast... ...and moving too fast! Sometimes I feel like I'm raising a monkey :) He's into EVERYTHING! His new favorite spot is the bottom of the pantry. It would be a lot easier to get angry with him if he wasn't so cute! He sure can make a mess. While I'm picking up one, he's started another. I spend most of my day trying to keep him from utter disaster. He also loves the stairs so I constantly have to make sure he's not climbing, or falling! And he's impossible to dress. This kid won't hold still for one second!

His hair is getting longer and more curly -- I love it!

He's a handful but we love him to death!

Caleb is learning to give kisses. They are usually pretty wet and slobbery. He leans forward with his little tongue hanging right out! He usually leans right in as soon as I pull him out of bed since I usually give him a kiss then.

He likes soft things right in his face. When we're on the way to bed he'll snuggle into his blanket on my shoulder. (But only for a minute, he can't stand staying that still!)

Caleb likes to pinch his mommy's skin. If I have a short sleeve on, he gets his little fingers out and it hurts!

Caleb continues to love eating. His favorite this month is Cheerios. He also really likes the squeezable baby food packets. He literally inhales them! He's starting to get a little more picky, though, and will spit something out if he doesn't like it -- usually when he's just tasted something better!

He's had a rough month with sickness. He gets a red puffy face, poor kid. He's also gotten two more teeth -- he now has 4 on the top and 2 on bottom.

Caleb has started enjoying books. His favorite is Goodnight Moon. He gets his little pointer finger out -- so cute!

He talks more and more every day. I think he said his first word. He says "hi" while waving. It's usually a sideways hand opening and closing. Lots of "dit, dat" which I actually think means "Daddy." Sometimes he puts the two together - "hi dat." Caleb LOVES his daddy! He's getting loud – babbling all the time, growling and even singing. If he hears music he starts singing along.

Caleb just keeps changing and we keep liking him more and more!!

Chicago Auto Show

Ever since we've lived here, we've wanted to make it to the Chicago Auto Show. This year, we made it happen. It was as crazy as expected and took us nearly an hour just to get into the parking garage and find a spot, but it was a fun little outing for our family.

All the boys -- man, am I outnumbered! We got Chicago Dogs for dinner -- Mmmm!

Lots of cool stuff to see

The boys loved anything you were allowed to climb inside

Pretty blurry, but you get the idea

Jeep had some fun kid activities. Dillon tried rock climbing again, although it wasn't quite as successful.

Dillon was a great driver...

Wesley on the other hand was kind of an embarrassment. He had no clue how to steer but just kept his foot down on the pedal. He kept taking out all the barricades. All the spectators were getting quite the laugh.

Lots of cool cars to check out. Sorry I didn't get good pictures of the super cars (Lamborghini, Aston Martin, etc.) The lighting was tricky for those of us who don't know how to work a camera.

"Wesley, see the 4 triangles? That means BMW. Say it with me B M W." Gotta make sure he's educated on Mom's favorite car!

Aaron would have loved to drive away in a number of the cars we saw.

They even had motorcycles!

And Mom's favorite truck!

Dillon just informed me that his favorite car is a Porsche, but the Corvette is his second.

Fun night to be with my boys, and I guess I kind of like cars too!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I changed the picture at the top of the blog in honor of Valentine's Day and my sweetie. Aaron is the love of my life and I'm grateful for every day I get with him. I'm so lucky to be married to such an awesome guy. As I get older I'm realizing V-Day is about much more than just your honey, but everyone that you love. It's so fun to share this day with three cute little boys whom I also love. Children make any holiday fun. So here's to love. Hope you all feel a little extra today. Happy Valentine's Day!

The boys presented my gifts last night. They were so fun!

They got tiger shirts for V-Day and Wesley was so excited to show his off. He was so super sweet today, telling everyone he saw "Happy Valentine's Day!" And I got lots of hugs and kisses. Love you Wes! I helped with Dillon's classroom party. Fun to be there.

My three favorite little boys on Valentine's Day!

Traditionally we do something like this for breakfast, but it didn't happen, so it was dinner this time around -- heart shaped oatmeal pancakes.

Two of my cute boys and flowers their daddy gave me!

Fun First Few of Feb

February started out with a bang with lots of fun stuff within the first few days. On the 1st we went to Disney on Ice. It's always more fun with some great friends along.

The second half of the show was all about Tangled. I'm mad I didn't have my camera out for the most impressive part of the show. Flynn and Rapunzel did some pretty amazing tricks with a huge ribbon coming down from the ceiling. Wesley kept yelling, "They're flying!" I was super impressed. It was also fun to see all the lanterns just like in the movie. And they let an audience member let the first one go.

The highlight for the boys was the horse, Maximus.

The next day Aaron's cousin, Janelle, and her kids came to stay for a few days. Our first adventure was to the Children's Museum. Dillon was fascinated with this contraption.

Caleb had so much fun crawling around...

...particularly in the baby area. Everything was just his size!

Wesley loved the water area and just being with 2nd cousin Trevor.

Dillon and Lynette are pretty good buddies too!

Anything that has to do with trains is always a hit with Dillon.

Cute little buddies!

We made a trip to the library and played at the house a lot too while they were here.

So glad they were able to come.

This past weekend Aaron and I went out for our Valentine's dinner at Chicago Cut Steakhouse. Mmm! It's already been a great month!

January

Traditionally, January is my least favorite month. There are usually some post-holiday blues along with a lot of cold. I usually find myself in survival mode until March or April. Originally I was going to title this post 'Surviving January', but this year, January hasn't been too bad -- mainly because we've had one of the warmest winters in history. We started the month AT THE PARK!

Being outside is good for the soul! We also had some inside fun, meeting up with friends at Monkey Bizness.

Caleb loved the crawling area!

We also met up with friends at Pump it Up. While we were there, Caleb clapped for the first time! So mad I didn't have my camera with video with me.

Wes loved the slides.

And he tried out the climbing wall.

Dillon did more than try it out, he did it over and over and over again

...and he kept getting about this high.

Then, right before it closed, and we were forced to leave, he tried one more time and made it to the top of the 20 foot wall!!! I was so proud of my boy for putting his mind to something and doing it. I wish I could have captured the smile on his face when he made it.

Dillon lost his fifth tooth this month. The best part was that he pulled it out on his own. I wasn't even around. I had run upstairs to get Caleb and when I came back, he was sitting at the kitchen table with a bloody tooth in his hand. My boy really is getting tough.

We also saw some snow this month. Caleb was fascinated watching white stuff fall from the sky.

Wesley loved getting out in the snow.

You should see him shovel!

Dillon made his own igloo and just laid inside for quite a while.

Just the right amount of snow for me. A year ago today was the beginning of the blizzard when we got over 2 feet of snow. And yet today we had temps in the upper 50s! Crazy.

So here's to a pretty decent January. Hopefully February doesn't stab us in the back!