Caelan's Third Birthday

Caelan Louis turned 3 on Friday! He went to lunch with his Nana and Grandad that day, then on Saturday, we had a birthday party for his at a local farm. Lots of his friends and family were able to attend. We had an amazing day!

Opening presents on his birthday morning...






Sentimental Mommy's required birthday photo shoot...










Lunch with Nana and Grandad...




FARM PARTY!
Feeding a pony with his friend Gracie...




Brushing a llama...


Petting a duck with his brother...


Hanging with Mommy, getting ready to ride a horse...


Horse time!






Tea party with his friend Kailee (they had a little playhouse and playground)...






Time for singing, candles, and cupcakes...










Baby cousins and little brothers are cute...




Last but not least, a hayride!




Believe it or not, we also had a barbecue with family and friends the next day to celebrate some more (both Caelan's birthday and the other exciting things going on in everyone's lives), but a lot of the pictures from that are on other people's cameras, so that will have to be a different entry on a different day!

Happy third birthday to my first baby boy!

On the day you were born the Earth turned, the Moon pulled, the Sun flared, and then, with a push, you slipped out of the dark quiet where suddenly you could hear a circle of people singing with voices familiar and clear. "Welcome to the spinning world," the people sang, as they washed your new, tiny hands. "Welcome to the green Earth," the people sang, as they wrapped your wet, slippery body. And as they held you close they whispered into your open, curving ear, "We're so glad you've come!"



Quote from On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier.

Sammy Sam Sam

Avery is a character. At 14 months, he is not particularly verbal but will say "No!" all the time, say "Map!" when Dora tells him to, and impersonate a jaguar regularly and on cue. He also knows every hand movement to every song we've ever sang, at home or in music class, that has hand movements to go along with it. He doesn't walk yet or even really pull up to standing, but his new goal in life is to stand up on his own from a sitting position, without pulling up whatsoever. It's hilarious and adorable to watch him try. He's really just an awesome little boy... always hugging and laughing, so loving and lovable.

Quick picture... he got a haircut today!

potty learning

Caelan is finally showing signs of potty readiness, so we've delved into the world of potty learning. He'd peed in the potty a few random times over the past few months, but suddenly he started saying "I feel like I could pee!" almost every time we took his diaper off to change it. Most times, he'd sit on the potty and actually pee. So we are now letting him go either completely bottomless or in just undies when we're home and have time to remind him to sit on the potty (and clean up the inevitable accidents). Last night, he both peed and even POOPED on his potty. Today so far, he peed once on the potty in the morning, then pooped in his James the Red Engine underpants later in the day because he was so engrossed in playing, then peed in the potty one more time before his nap. I was extra impressed with that last pee, because I had actually already changed him into his nap time diaper because I needed to get Avery to sleep and didn't want to worry about helping him with the potty/cleaning up an accident while nursing Aves to sleep. I put the diaper on Caelan and set him up with a show and a snack in our office. About 45 minutes later, after drinking a ton, I asked him if he wanted to sit on the potty before his nap. He said yes, so I took off his diaper and it was actually dry. He then peed on the potty like a champion! I know this will be a process and we'll have setbacks, but I'm very proud of his progress so far. I'm also glad we didn't push him earlier, because I can already tell this will be easier because he's self-motivated. A few proud pictures from last night... his first time in big boy underwear, excited because he'd just peed and pooped on the potty!

Welcome Maryn Christine!

Another welcome post! Andy and I have another new niece! My sister Janine and brother-in-law Kory's daughter Maryn Christine Snyder was born on August 24th. I was lucky enough to be there for her delivery, which was an amazing experience that I'll never forget. She's absolutely adorable. Caelan and Avery are both in awe of her! Welcome Maryn! We love you so much already!

the power of nursies

Avery, at 13 months, isn't talking yet, but he surprised me today. He was overtired and wanted to nurse to sleep, but I was trying to delay it for a little while, until Andy was home and could play with Caelan while I got Avery to bed for the night. I tried just cuddling with Avery on the couch, but he burst into tears, started grabbing at my shirt, and cried "Nur! Nur! Nur!" over and over!

Caelou

Caelan's new thing is wanting us to tell him about his day right before he goes to sleep at night. I did this for him while lying in his bed earlier this evening. It wasn't a particularly eventful day, but when I was finished, he sighed happily and said "It was a beautiful day. Good night, Mommy!"

New addition!

I forgot to mention here that we have a new addition to our extended family. Emma Grace Kreisher, the daughter of Andy's sister Lindsay and her husband Mike, was born on June 5th, 5 weeks early and weighing only 4 pounds. She was in the NICU for a bit but is now happy, healthy, and HOME with her mommy, daddy, and "big brother" Oliver, the family's adorable dog!















Isn't she beautiful? We're all very proud and cannot wait to meet her next month!

From my due date community over on livejournal - Happy Birthday to Avery Sam!

Avery Sam is ONE YEAR OLD today! He is a joyful bundle of trouble! He's crawling all over the place, causing disaster wherever he goes. He loves pulling things off of shelves, throwing aside things that are in his path, and destroying anything his big brother has taken the time to build. He has an infectious, albeit slightly maniacal, cackle and a true love of life. He says "Dada" constantly, "Mama" when he really wants something, and "Bi-bi-bi" when he's about to bite you! He can point to your nose, mouth, and sometimes other body parts. He has started pointing to things when he wants to go to them or know what they're called. He is a pro at peek-a-boo, loves rolling a ball back and forth with us, and enjoys any kind of toy involving stacking or putting items into containers. He waves "hi" and loves clapping for himself and others. He's still all about nursing but is getting more into solid foods, particularly any kind of meat and anything with a little zest to it, like guacamole. He's definitely more into savory than sweet. He's a little snuggle bug who loves giving hugs, especially to his big brother. I can't believe I've had a whole year with him. I feel so lucky to have him in my life and look forward to what the future holds!

Getting ready to go to the first of his two birthday parties, I had Avery and his brother Caelan pose together. This always leads to silly pictures like this one...


With Daddy at the party...


With Mommy at the party, while everyone was singing to him...


Birthday cupcake time!


We had a dual birthday party for Avery and his little best friend Lily, who turns 1 the day after him. Here's Erin (Lily's mommy), Lily, me, and Avery having cupcakes...


Avery particularly enjoyed making ME a mess!


The cake made such a mess that we stripped him for the rest of the party. Here he is finding my nose!


Happy boy with Mommy...


Finding Daddy's teeth...


Passed out after all the fun...


The next day, we had a small family celebration at my sister's house. Here are the Silly Brothers once again, getting ready to go...


Just the birthday boy, saying hello...


About to eat even more cake!


Yum!