The Bug's list of Summer Accomplishments

This is my second child, so I should know. But it always surprises me....how is it that overnight it seems like they "just know things?!" Just 8 short weeks ago he didn't even know how to walk...and now, well now...

The Mama's Top 5

(followed by everything else in no particular order)

1.Makes appropriate "vrooming" & related reving noises when playing with cars, motorcycles, etc.

2.Gives "bonks"--the new universal greeting or goodbye for our family & friends. When he's not in the mood to give hugs or kisses, he gives the "bonks" which is exactly as it sounds. He "bonks" his forhead into yours. Very sweet.

3. The open-mouthed kiss, and if you're lucky he'll lick your face!

4. Covers mouth and exclaims: "ooohhhh" from the very back of his throat. When something especially exciting has happened.

5. Throws up his hands in an "I don't know" gesture and turns his head from side to side when someone asks him a question that he doesn't know the answer to or when he can't find something.

*High 5's * understands directions* "shares" * hangs from the stove handle * smiles when disciplined * wrestles his brother * throws everything in the garbage (we are pretty sure this was the fate of lovey lamb #1 & lovey giraffe #2) * kicks a soccer ball * hits puck with hockey stick * plays fetch with the dogs * says: yeah, hi, dog, dad, mom * baby signs: please, drink, all done, more*

And he really, really likes the bath. And this is him yelling at me to "put down that darn camera, stop smiling at me like a living fool, and put my rear in the tub"

Bustin' a mean move with his "boom box" (aka crazy Leap Frog toy that plays music). That would be rad if we could teach him how to hold it on his shoulder, no?

Ok, so this was a total post for posterity's sake...I'm not sure I even know exactly what that means...but I think I've heard a smart person say it in a movie before...could one of you intellectual types let me know if I indeed used this in the proper context (this would be assuming that there are 'intellectuals' that read my blog)

How Dogs Get to Heaven

Several weeks ago Caleb and I were discussing the death of a friend's dog. He wanted to know the usual....will they bury him?...will he go to heaven? Yes to both and the questions usually stop there. But not on this particular day, our guy is getting very intuitive and this is the conversation that ensued:

Caleb: But, HOW will he get to heaven?

Me: Don't worry, God will come get him.

Caleb: Will God FLY down to get him?

Me: Not exactly, see God is with us all the time.

Caleb: ALL the time?

Me: Yup.

Caleb: God is in this room with us...RIGHT NOW?

Me: Well, really, it's His Spirit (just now realizing that this convo has gotten a tad deep for my audience)

Caleb: (runs to look behind the couch) Mom...you are FREAKING me out!

Me: (awkward silence) well....ummm....yeah..........................so ya wanna cookie?

In retrospect, probably shoulda just answered "yes" about the flying bit somewhere around 10 questions ago. My luck he'll go to school and tell his teachers and the 15 other 4 year olds that "God lives behind his couch." Not quite sure this is what Pastor had in mind when he gave the sermon on "spreading the GOOD NEWS!" Let's just pray that next week he doesn't ask where babies REALLY come from.

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And since many of you (including my hubby) think no post is complete without a picture....you may feast your eyes on The Sweeties with Nonni Donna!!

Randomness from the Past Week

I have almost finished my Christmas shopping--hallelujah! And no I have not wrapped one present yet...all you people who have had your presents bought, wrapped and under the tree since the day after Thanksgiving! This year I actually did quite a bit of online shopping...and I love it! No lines, no dragging around kids/husband, etc. You get the picture I'm sure. I am down to the nitty gritty, the last couple people on my list who I did not have specific present ideas for...which means RANDOM SEARCHING. Now sometimes I do not mind random searching, but this year I don't really have the patience or self-control for it.
For me RANDOM SEARCHING = EXTRA PURCHASES FOR MY BOYS. I just happen to see things that are too cute to resist and then they are on sale, so of course I BUY! This year we are not doing the big present thing for our immediate family, because we are going to California with Chip's family from the 25th through the 30th (so we are saving our $ to spend down there on all the goodies that the tourist attractions of Southern CA offer). Anyways, that last 2 paragraphs of rambling leads me to these two pics of Caleb in his newly purchased "guess it doesn't have to be for Christmas" vest that I got at Kohl's for 50% off! Yay!

I cannot resist the puffy vest. I think it makes him look so grown up & stylish!

The bear he is posing with is "Buddy Bear" He gets to come home from school with each of the kid's and then they write about the adventures they had together! This is Caleb's 2nd time and we get him for the WHOLE weekend this time...big stuff!

The pic above is Caleb showing me how Buddy Bear is going to ride on his shoulders into the hockey game tomorrow night! (this is how Chip carries Caleb into the games most of the time)!

Caleb & Drayson both "playing" with their hockey sticks. Caleb just can't wait until Drays is big enough to play with him!

Last night Caleb did not want to finish his dinner in a timely manner, so we left him at the table to finish the job before he could come join us. After a good 20 minutes and no complaing Chip went to check on him and this is what he found....

And for you curious people, the answer is NO, he will not wake up in the middle of the night hungry, he will more than likely just eat an extra bowl of cereal for breakfast the next morning!

Couldn't have a post without a picture of Mr. Drayson Pants. He goes in for his 6 month well-baby check in 2 weeks, but I took him in so the Dr. could check out a rash Drays had been rocking for several days. Apparently nothing to worry about on the rash, but the nurse weighed him and Butterball weighed in at a nice even 17lbs! We celebrated the occasion by purchasing Size 3 diapers! He has gotten this eating off the spoon thing down and is loving his rice cereal feedings that we have added right before bed.

Excited for the weekend. Caleb has his last hockey practice for this session Friday night, followed by an American's hockey game. Saturday will be some random chores, shopping, Christmas prep and family time. Then there is another Ams game Sunday night, followed by a Skate with the Americans. Caleb is very excited!

While the Gals are Away the BOYS Will Play!

Drayson and I finally returned home from Spokane late Tuesday night. It was so wonderful to be able to spend time with my sister and Mom right after Parker's birth! But as much as I enjoyed being there, I figured I had left my men to struggle long enough on their own. Caleb enjoyed every minute of his alone time with Daddy...going to football practice and even getting to be the ball boy at one of Chip's games. They even went to the grocery store together...where Chip turned to Caleb's expertise on what kind "mommy usually buys." They did pretty good. Mom stayed with Jamie and Trav to help them through this first week, so I have been juggling kidlets so that I can help Dad out at the shop, since we left him flying solo. Apparently, he is doing more than fine and is really getting into this "grandpa" thing...as you can see from the video clip and picture below.

LOOK what Papa bought Caleb...

Does he look ready or what? Every time we go to Joe's Sporting Goods, Caleb is always eyeing the little dirt bike out front...I have to practically drag him out to the car. Papa Kev-o's reasoning is that all 3 grandboys will eventually get their turn at it. How much fun is the cabin going to be this summer?!

In other Caleb news: last Wednesday Caleb made his first trip to the PENALTY BOX following a scuffle at hockey practice! HA. Of course he did! The only saving grace in this whole story is that at least he didn't start it...but lets just say he sure did finish it (nothing a good cross-check doesn't take care of)! So off the 2 of them went to the box...2 minutes for roughing. I wish I could have gotten a picture. You should have seen these 2 little guys sitting on their bums in the make-shift box. HILARIOUS! Funny thing is he sat there without a fuss and served the time for the crime! I'm gonna have to start calling the time-out mat the "box" at home and maybe he wouldn't pitch such a fit at me. We always knew that we would have to deal with some of this with such a strong willed boy...but I just didn't think it would start so soon. Your prayers for patience would be appreciated!!!! :)

Of course I can't leave out the little man...though I'm not sure we can call him little anymore. Aunt Jamie has dubbed him "butterball." And Caleb referred to him as "our big monster" the other day. The pics speak for themselves.

Isn't he just adorable?! He has found his tongue in the past couple days and keeps hanging it out of his mouth, trying to see how many different noises he can make. Though they can be a handful, I always find myself thinking how boring my life would be without them to entertain me!

The 4th and what we've been up to

Caleb had an absolute blast at the cabin. He was of course the center of attention and had everyone wrapped around his finger! He apparently quoted sayings, such as "you're killin my Smalls," from the Sandlot movie all weekend and was super stoked when they made smores (you put the "mallow" on the "graham"). If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you definitely need to re-watch the Sandlot (though I would not recommend watching it 2-3 times in one day as our son thinks he needs to)!
Caleb also discovered Spiderman 3 last week, and promptly announced that he wanted to be the "black" spiderman because he "wants to be bad!" (yeah great!) Grandma Jane surprised him with a black spiderman costume that she brought back from Montana with her (I think she must have called and/or went to every store in Billings to find that thing). He loves it....as you can see in the pic it is pretty cool.
The rest of us laid low over the 4th...I actually missed the fireworks completely as I was asleep! I felt pretty yucky and had a terrible headache for like 5 straight days before I finally went to the doctor. Turns out I had mastitis, which is a bacterial infection that you can get when you are nursing, and basically makes you feel just overall icky (kind of like the flu). They gave me some antibiotics and I am already feeling better! Chip started morning football practices and weight lifting, so he has been getting up early and his body is having to adjust.

But as you can see, Drayson is doing great and we are enjoying our time together at home this summer.





"BAD" spiderman








first bath



this is what caleb thought chip meant
when he said "hold his head" haha.

looking more alert everyday

kisses for brother

caleb, papa kev-o & guss at the cabin

caleb at the suspension bridge
(don't worry, this is actually over ankle high water)

New Pics!

Here are some new pics, as promised. I was just having a terrible time with my computer, USB port, etc. So no time for editing....i was about to give up on the whole thing completely, but continued on for the sake of you all. haha.

This past week was great. Spring break (kind of). Caleb went to soccer camp with Chip all week, and loved being with all the other kids. He woke up Saturday upset because camp was over. We all spent some quality time together. Chip actually had a soccer free weekend (shocking)...and we were able to get a ton done around the house and yard. Yeah!!

This weekend is a big game for Chip's soccer boys. And Mom and I are going to try and really get some stuff done on the nursery (i've been saying this for months, but I realize that I am starting to run out of time). This coming weekend will be hockey and soccer filled, which pleases the boys to no end.

The weather was amazing this weekend, getting into the 80's! Chip and Caleb are already brown! (if we all tanned that easily). But the weather during the week and weekend is supposed to dip back down another 20 degrees, so I guess we'll just have to wait out the really nice weather for a couple weeks yet.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week. Love you all.





Caleb in his hockey gear

Swim Lessons

Lil Kickers

In his army uni from uncle john

The belly

Finally...another post!

So, I have decided that I am officially the worst blogger in the entire world. I'm pretty sure the idea of a blog is to make posts....I know, I know, it has been like 6 weeks. I have been waiting because along with being a terrible blogger, I haven't been taking any new pictures to post for you all. But have decided to give you an update even if it includes no new pics. I know, very sad.

Caleb's swim lessons have been going great, he should be a fish by summer. Chip took Friday off so he could come watch for the first time, and Caleb was totally showing off for Dad. We are wrapping up his Lil Kickers session tonight, he has been loving it....loves scoring goals (and is all about the celebration)! He is hilarious, he loves it when someone besides Mommy or Daddy comes to watch (he thinks he has fans then). haha.

We have been busy watching Southridge boys soccer. Chip is extatic, the boys are having a break out season after last year. They are in first place right now. The league is very competitive, with only a couple points seperating the top 5 or so teams. Season is half over, so we are just about to start going back through and playing all the teams for a second time. Chip is on Spring Break from school this week, but is running a youth soccer camp during the days with his soccer boys and still has practice and games during the week...so not a real "break."

I am 7 months pregnant now and actually have an ultrasound and check up tommorow. I have been feeling good, but am starting to get bigger, and it is getting harder to sleep comfortably now. Can't beleive we will welcome the new little one is just 2 months! I really need to start getting everything in order. These last few months have really snuck up on me. I am starting to get "nesty" as Chip likes to say. I have decided to take an extended maternity leave, through the summer and fall, since I will still be doing soccer in the fall.

I will try really hard to get some pics and post them...maybe even one of my stomach for all of those that have been asking!