One Year Old

This sweet little baby...

 ...turned 1 year old yesterday!

Caleb has changed a lot this month. I feel like he went from a baby to a toddler over night. He's suddenly walking everywhere and climbing on everything. He can get up the stairs real fast and is getting good at coming back down too. He loves to explore and check out everything.

He likes to mimic, so we've seen him fold his arms at prayer time and help pick up toys when his brothers start throwing them into bins.  He also likes to join along when someone starts singing.  Wesley is the best at getting him to do it.

He's developed a new little "oh" face.  He makes an O with his mouth and raises his eyebrows way up.  So funny.

He's gotten more snugly in this last month. I LOVE IT!

He has a special little bear and blanket.  He likes to take one of them out of the crib with him when he first wakes up.  So sweet!

 Man, is he cute!

 Now that he's more mobile, he's been able to play with his brothers a little more.

 He likes to do things like carry around shovels and stuff :)

 And eat at the "big table."

As for the mom, well this is what I looked like a year ago -- YUCK!

And this is my baby and me a year ago - moments after he was born.

 Here we are showing off our new outfits this last Sunday. (40 lbs less of me) This boy keeps me hopping.  He really is a full-time job.  You have to watch him constantly to make sure he's not in the garbage, or unrolling the toilet paper, emptying the pantry, or climbing the stairs.  But I love him to death.  I made up another silly song "Nobody knows you like I do..." How true that is, nobody knows him like I do and nobody could possibly love him as much as I do.

 Except maybe this guy.  These two bonded immediately and this last year has only strengthened that.   

Caleb loves his Daddy. He lights up when he's around and it's so fun to see them play together.

Caleb likes his brothers too.  This is them a year ago.

 And here's the best recent shot I have of the three of them - it's hard to get all 3!

We had a little party for him with presents...

 ...and cake! 

We let him get into the cake, but he didn't put on much of a show. He was really worried about getting messy.

 You can see the little tears on his cheeks -- kind of traumatic, poor boy!  He just wanted Daddy to feed it to him so he wouldn't have to get dirty.

We sure to love our Caleb and are so grateful we've had this year with him.  I can't imagine our family without him.  It's fun to see him become a big boy and get his own little personality. Happy Birthday Caleb!



Easter Fun

Man, have we had a fun week! I've been running around trying to get everything ready for Easter. I nailed it on this creation...peanut butter cookies with Cadbury Mini Eggs. The cookie recipe turned out AWESOME and then adding a little chocolate was the perfect finish -- thanks for the idea Amy Jo! My new favorite cookie

We took them with us to the Easter Egg Hunt at the church.

Caleb enjoyed himself and got his hands on his first jelly beans! The kids loved finding the surprises inside.

Go Wes! I mean "Tiger Boy!"

On Saturday morning we had a nice little set up for the kids. I really just needed the excuse to get them things they need. With a lot of help from a friend, I made them church bags so they can carry their own books, etc. My bag is just not big enough to do the trick. I think they turned out super cute, don't you?! Thanks for your help Becca!

The boys were pretty excited to follow the jelly bean trail down to find their baskets.

The big boys both got new hats and shirts. My adorable friend heard me complaining about finding the right shirt for Wesley and surprised me with the perfect one! Thank you Sara!!!

After waffles, we went to the Easter Egg Hunt for our village. But the boys weren't really interested in the egg hunt. Last year there were just too many kids, and I think they each got one egg. They just wanted a quick look at the Easter Bunny...

...and a little play time at the park.

Today was a beautiful Easter Sunday. It was nice to have Aaron home in the morning. He and I sang as part of an octet "He Sent His Son." I love the primary songs!

After church we finally got around to Aaron's favorite activity -- coloring eggs.

And then our friends came over for a nice Easter dinner. I think all the food turned out great.

And these kids always have so much fun together!

Tonight we watched a couple videos about the Savior's death and resurrection on the church website. http://www.lds.org/ We were able to help our boys better understand what Christ endured for us. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to stop and reflect upon our Savior who lived and died for us so that we too might live again. I know that He lives and He loves us and I am so grateful for that knowledge. And I'm so grateful to be able to spend this special time with my sweet little family!

Happy Easter!

Trip to the Shedd

Last week was Spring Break. We had a couple extra play dates and a trip to the library, but the highlight for sure was the trip to the Shedd Aquarium. Dillon was in heaven! He LOVES sea animals, especially sharks, so this was right up his alley.

It was hard to get a good picture since we had to keep the flash off, but I tried. Dillon went crazy with the sharks. A girl did a little presentation and Dillon kept raising his hand to ask questions or just announce how much he loves sharks. It was so fun to see him so engaged. Jellies! Wesley's favorite was the sea horse -- closest thing to his favorite these days. He always says Dillon likes sea animals and he likes land animals -- the favorites being horses, lions and tigers.

Little boat ride.

My favorite part was the belugas. We stayed there quite a while.

It was Caleb's favorite part too. He was so cute pressing his nose up against the glass. He was just talking and making friends with everyone around.

Love my boys!

The penguins were fun too. Caleb LOVED getting right up there. There was one penguin that kept swimming right in front of us. Caleb just kept giggling.

The boys tried on penguin outfits too. It was hard to get a decent shot with all the kids running around but I managed one of Dillon.

I can't get enough of these two! Notice the white sided dolphins behind.

Here's an attempt at a group picture at the aquatic show which turned out to be very disappointing. That used to be our favorite part, but they've changed it and it's really gone down hill. I made sure to leave a comment.

The cool part about the aquatic show is the view. It looks right out over the lake!

And here's our attempt at a family picture. Do I look frazzled?!

How about here?

All in all it was a fantastic day with great company.

Check out my little newscaster:

That same newscaster has some great commentary at the end of this one!