Caleb's Letter to Santa

This is Caleb's first letter to Santa. The drawing is of a Lego Anakin.

Cousins at Brevard Zoo

Today we visited the Brevard Zoo with Gran, Aunt Nikki, and Wesley. We absolutely adore this zoo, so we had a great time as always. Here are some highlights of our day.

Exploring with Gran

Petting a snake

Feeding giraffes

Petting a giraffe

Christmas Cookies

Instead of battling crowds and traffic to go shopping on Black Friday, it is our tradition to make cookies. It started when I was a child, and Gran has kept the tradition alive. Caleb has been doing it every year since he was old enough to, and today, Eli got to do it, too. The boys had fun rolling out the sugar cookie dough, cutting out different shapes, and decorating them. Their favorite part was eating them, though.

Step #1 - Roll out the dough

Step #2 - Use cookie cutters to make different shaped cookies

Step #3 - Consult Gran, the expert cookie maker

Step #4 - Smile at Mommy taking pictures of the whole process

Step #5 - Begin decorating the cookies

Step #6 - Meticulously create patterns on the cookies you decorate.

Step #7 - Admire the decorated cookies before cooking them

Step #8 - Eat your yummy handiwork

Thanksgiving 2008

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Gran and Pop Pop's house this year as we normally do. Here are a few highlights.

The picture we will use for Christmas cards this year. Thanks, Nikki, for taking the shot!

Getting our grub on

Mommy and Caleb

Caleb and Wesley

Off to Gran and Pop Pop's We Go!

We drove to Gran and Pop Pop's house today to spend a few days together celebrating Thanksgiving. Since it is a two and a half hour drive, I set up the DVD player for the boys to watch. They both happily put their headphones on and watched movies the whole way there.

Silly Faces

Try not to laugh at these silly faces!

Strange Visitors

We had some strange visitors today. Two ducks waddled their way into our backyard and up onto our patio. We aren't sure how they figured out how to get back there as the majority of our yard is surrounded by fences, but they did. I am guessing they were looking for food. Eli was tickled to see them and kept quacking at them which was really cute.

Go Seminoles!

Daddy took Caleb to his very first Florida State University Seminole game in Tallahassee today. They had a great time, and Caleb cannot wait until he gets to go again.

Ready to hit the road for the four hour drive

Daddy and Caleb in front of the Sportsmanship statue

Marching Chiefs

Daddy and Caleb enjoying the game

Dinner at Gordo's which made Mommy jealous

Ready to head home

Fast asleep

Handsome Men

Our good friends Johnny and Eunice got married today. Caleb was their ringbearer. He looked so handsome in his tux. Daddy cleaned up pretty well, too. Unfortunately, Eli was sick, so he and I stayed home. I was sad to miss the wedding, but I hear it was beautiful.

Halloween 2008

Today did not turn out quite how I anticipated, but I guess that is okay. This morning we carved and painted pumpkins. Like in years past, Caleb drew a face on the large pumpkin that I then cut out. The boys both painted little pumpkins. Caleb decided to make his look like Spider-Man. I helped with the eyes.

We were supposed to go to a Halloween party, but Eli got up from his nap late. I tried putting him down early, but as Murphy's Law would have it, he would not go to sleep right away. He probably talked and played in his crib for an hour and a half before finally falling asleep. Once he was awake, we were still going to attempt the party, but then we couldn't find Caleb's Captain Rex mask. We turned his room upside down looking and never found it. By this time, I was beyond aggravated and knew that it was too late for the party. I found out that the Riveras were headed to the mall to trick-or-treat, so we joined them. Caleb was a good sport and decided to wear his Spider-Man costume instead with no complaints. The boys had a lot of fun with Nathan, which I was grateful for. It certainly wasn't the day I had planned on, but it turned out okay after all.

Edited to Add: We later found the missing mask in a pile of leftover Jedi tunics from Caleb's birthday party.

Markers!

The boys have been coloring and drawing with markers quite a bit lately. Michelangelo, watch out! Here are some pictures of them in action.

And here are two pictures that Caleb drew. The picture on the left is a knight guarding a castle. The picture on the right is a doctor treating a patient with spots at the hospital.