Our boys....

I've been meaning to blog for a while. Some of you may know we are fostering now....check out our other blog here for more info on that.
In this process I've been reminded how important it is for me to document and remember important milestones of our own two boys, as well as for our foster kids. So, here's me trying to start a habit of weekly (or maybe monthly...) updates!

Caleb
(I'll ask him most of these questions....but my answers, if they differ, will be in italics.)
Age: 3 years, 4 months
Weight: 35 lbs
Height: 40in
Favorite Color: Red
Favorite Toy: Thomas the Train
Favorite TV Show: Jake & the Neverland Pirates
Favorite Book: Jake & the Neverland Pirates - Birthday Bash
Favorite Song: Jesus loves me
Favorite time of day: Bath time
Favorite Food: Oatmeal
What I want to be when I grow up: a Bear (yes, he's serious), and a Pirate
I like it when mommy....is happy.
I like it when daddy....is home.
I like it when Daniel...is jumping on my bed with me.
I know these letters (can recognize):  A, B, D, T, O (and a few others but he quit cooperating...typical 3 y/o!)
I know these numbers: 1, 2 (again, he refused to finish...)
I can count to: up to 6, or down from 10...(thank you space episodes of Mickey and Curious George...haha! "BLASTOFF!")
New milestones: In the past week or so he's gotten very...well, brave. He used to be fairly cautious but now it's like the inner daredevil has been unleashed. We're talking climbing on top of the couches (like the very top part...) and jumping from one couch to the other, wanting to climb on top of our bar-height chairs/table to touch the ceiling, jumping on his (or our) bed, etc. No fear. Craziness. If we don't have to go to the ER before the years' end I'll be surprised.
Habits: Caleb definitely has some OCD tendencies. Some things have to be "just so" or he'll freak out. He's very much a schedule/advanced notice kind of kid. When we're in the car, running errands, I have to make sure to include EVERY stop we're going to make so he is in the loop...Now I don't want him to sound like he's a maniac if we go off schedule. But his personality is such that prior notice and/or an explanation in the moment definitely has better results than "spur of the moment".
Other notes: Caleb gave up his paci this past month (May 27 to be exact) at Legoland! He loved the park, and has asked several times already if we can go back. He only asked for his paci a few times after giving it up and has done GREAT since! We were a bit surprised. 
He's also finishing up a round of antibiotics and breathing treatments. We're going to be keeping track of this stuff....I believe it's seasonal allergies for him as he had the same symptoms this time last year. (When his Dr checked his Rx records it had been almost a year to the date that he had a round of antibiotics...)

Daniel
(Obviously I will be answering these on his behalf...he can't talk.)
Age: 11 months as of yesterday (*tear* my baby is almost one....eeekkkk!!)
Weight: 23 lbs
Height: I've gotta check....it's been a while since his last well visit and he's definitely grown since then
Favorite Toy: Anything his brother has. Haha. No really. But he likes pretty much anything he can put in his mouth, chew on, or that makes music.
Favorite TV Show: He has JUST started to pay attention to the TV. He's never cared about that thing, which isn't a bad thing...but he LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse now. He giggles when he sees Mickey. Cutest thing ever.
Favorite Book: He doesn't have a preference but he does love books.
Favorite Song: He just loves music, period. Christian, Worship, Country, Rock, whatever. He's not picky.
Favorite time of Day: He's very happy in the mornings, and loves bath time at night.
Favorite Food: Grandma's homemade bread is a favorite. He's not too extremely picky just gets bored with the same thing after a while (who can blame him?!)
I like it when mommy...cuddles with me.
I like it when daddy...plays rough with me.
I like it when Caleb...jumps on the bed with me.
I can say: Dada.....yup. That's about it. He laughs when I try to get him to say "Mama"....oh, but he just started saying "moo" this week. :)
Favorite activities: Climbing on/over EVERYTHING! This kid is fearless. And non-stop. Go, go go. Bed time has a whole new meaning for me now...
Car rides? Loves the car, especially since he's in a big boy carseat now (rear facing/convertible but he can now see out the window and look at his brother!).
Sleeping through the night? Nope. Still not...he gets up once (sometimes twice) for a bottle. We just mix it, give it to him in bed and go back to sleep. He'll finish and fall back asleep on his own. Thank you Jesus for that gift. I don't know what I'd do if I had to physically get him out of bed to feed him every night for 11 months....mama's who are still BF at this age, I feel for ya!
New milestones: Standing for a few seconds on his own; still doubts his own ability to do so, though. Waving hi/bye.
Habits: Sucking his thumb
Other notes: Finally seems to be kicking this junky cough he's had for a while. Poor kid's been on more antibiotics this year than I care to admit. This last round is almost done, and coupled with some various home remedies and oils I'm hopeful that it'll be done with for good.

It's a New Year!

I cannot even fathom how time flies these days. It feels like just yesterday we found out we were expecting baby #2 (which was, in actuality, in November of 2012!), went to Disney with our (then) only child for the first time (April 2013), had baby D (July 2013), and I could go on and on. Point is, 2014 is now here. And I know if I don't purposefully determine how I'm going to spend it, it'll be gone and 2015, or even 2020 will be here before I know it and I won't have anything to show for time gone by.
So, while this might be cliche, cheesy or even downright dumb, I'm going to post my goals for 2014 here, online, for whoever actually reads this (ha!) to see. Feel free to call me on these....I need the accountability ;)

In 2014 I want to....

1) Read the Bible through in its entirety. Yes, I am almost 26 years old and haven't done this. Shame on me. I mean that! It's something I should have done a long time ago.

2) Start - and finish!! - the Bible Studies for our church womens' ministry ON TIME. ;)

3) Have "Date night" with my husband at least three times a month. Every week might not be realistic (although I'd love that) with our schedule. But 3x a month is doable.

4) Create a weekly meal plan and stick to it. Purchase groceries from BOGO and other sales for the week. (We started this in October '13 and it's been GREAT! So much $$ to save!)

5) Make an educational pre-school "schedule" for Caleb from January thru June; do 3 lessons per week.

6) Take at least one mini-vacation with my husband...even if it's just to a hotel 30 minutes away.

7) Take constructive criticism well.....or at least "better" than I normally do. ;) I'm just not good at not being "perfect" (and I use that term very loosely because I know there's no such thing)

8) Loose baby weight accumulated from both pregnancies....this is hard for me to admit but I'm just gonna throw it out there. No further explanation is going to be given so don't ask ;) ha!

9) Blog more often. Not sure if anyone cares a whole lot to read what I have to say, but it's a creative outlet for me and I definitely need that "me" time once in a while. I'm not going to put a specific number on this because I have yet to figure out what a reasonable number would be.

10) Pray more. I used to think this was one area in which I was "ok"...but I have realized that is not the case. I need to pray more often, more purposefully, more genuinely, more determined, more deliberate and truthfully, if I'm being honest, with much more faith.

11) All of the other ideas that are swarming around in my head that I just can't put into words yet. I determine to do some of those as well.

There, I think I've covered quite a bit ;) I'd love to hear some of your goals for 2014! I do not like to call them "resolutions" because I feel like those are too easily given up. Goals are something that takes work. I think setting a "goal" includes admitting you're not there yet, you need help, and you are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. "New Years Resolutions" have such a bad rep - partially because most people don't keep them, or create such lofty resolutions without admitting it'll take a lot more than sheer willpower.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year!