Caleb's Letter to Santa

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

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.

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.

X-Wing Fighter

Here is the completed X-Wing Fighter that Caleb got for his birthday.

Jedi Training

Star Wars. The Lost Episode.

It is a time of turmoil in the galaxy.
Five years ago a baby boy was born. His name was Caleb, and he was strong with the force. Hidden away on a remote planet called Earth, Caleb's Jedi training has been progressing well. But now the Sith have learned of the boy and seek him diligently. To overcome this threat, Caleb will need the help of others, so a call is sent out for other brave younglings to come and learn the ways of the Jedi. Only with their strength and courage can the Sith be defeated and the Jedi order preserved.

Caleb decided that he wanted the theme of his 5th birthday party to be Star Wars. He has been obsessed with all things Star Wars for quite some time. We invited his friends over using the wording above on the invitations, which was borrowed from here.

Each child dressed as a padawan for their Jedi training. That training consisted of reflex testing, target practice, teamwork and attention testing, thermal detonator throwing, and light saber use. The light sabers were a huge hit as we expected. I made the light sabers out of painted pool noodles, PVC pipe, and duct tape.

Caleb thoroughly enjoyed his party and undergoing Jedi training with his friends. You can see more photos of the party here.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to a local pumpkin patch for story time. While there, the kids had a great time playing on the haystacks with friends and picking out pumpkins. I had trouble getting a good picture of both boys together, but I did get a few of them by themselves. We picked out some small pumpkins for the boys to paint and one large one to carve.

Spider Web

I made this spider and web for the October contest in the Lisa Gentry group on Ravelry. The web is made with glow-in-the-dark yarn. Caleb really likes the spider and web and has claimed them for his own.

Captain Eli

Eli has never been a big hat kid like his Bubba. He doesn't like things on his head and prefers wearing sunglasses. But ever since we got Caleb's new Captain Rex costume, Eli has been obsessed with the mask which stays on with an elastic band. He tries putting it on himself. When he can't get it on, he finds one of us and begs with a "peeeese!" It is so funny to see an 18 month old who loves Star Wars.

Star Wars Costumes

I got the boys' costumes for Halloween today. To no one's surprise, Caleb decided that he and Eli ought to be Star Wars' characters. He decided on Anakin for himself and Darth Vader for Eli. As soon as I got home from shopping, both boys insisted on trying their costumes on. They looked great.

I think it is going to be a fun Halloween!

Edited to Add: Caleb's Anakin costume was way too big, so I took it back to the store to exchange it. Unfortunately, they did not have it in a smaller size. He decided to be Captain Rex instead.

Bye Bye, Uncle Tom

We were sad to see Uncle Tom leave today. It was great spending time with him this week. I know he was sad to go but also happy to get home to Aunt Bev and Boo. We look forward to the day they move to Florida so that we can see them all the time.

Fourth of July

Uncle Tom came to visit today for the first time in ages. He had not been down in over a year, so we were very happy to see him.

The Riveras invited us over for a Fourth of July cookout. As we walked over to their house (I just love having close friends as neighbors!), I took some pictures of Uncle Tom walking with the boys. I have similar pictures of Uncle Tom walking with Caleb, so I wanted to recreate those with Eli, too.

After the cookout, we came home and lit some fireworks that Daddy had bought. This was the first time Caleb did sparklers, and he really enjoyed them. It is too bad, though, that he didn't get to see how cool they look at night, but bedtime these days comes before the sun goes down completely. The colored smoke bombs were Caleb's favorite, though, of all the fireworks.