December

Wow...I can't believe it is already the end of December. This year has just flown by us. Here is a little bit of what we have been up to this month!

Cael got to sit on Santa's lap at the beginning of December. As you can see in the photo, he is telling Santa all about what he wants for Christmas. I just wish I could understand what he had say!:)


At our church, we have an annual children's Christmas program. This program has been put on for over 20 years! We all look forward to seeing the little ones act out the nativity scene and be able to sing the Christmas carols that go along with the story. This year, Cael made his first appearance as a little lamb. We had to wait until the middle of the program before he was to go out on stage. I was extremely worried before we went to the program because Cael was NOT a happy camper that afternoon. I was just praying that he would cooperate for this special program. So while we waited to go out on stage, he fell asleep in my arms! Good BOY!! :)


Here he is out on the stage doing his job!! :) I thought he did great!:)


Mason and Mallory come to our church from time to time when they are back on the weekends. We don't have a lot of little ones in our church so they asked Mason and Mallory to be a part of the program. Mallory was pretty excited about "her program". She was an angel and Mason was a star. They both did great as well! I think over all they had a great time. Now next year, we'll have to see how Cael does when he is a mobile lamb! That might be a new story! Stay tuned!


Now I think that the following picture sums up things! :)

I would be lying if I would say that the past two months have been "easy". It has been the farthest thing from that. Cael is getting better by the day and we are seeing some great improvements in his "personality". The crying spells are getting shorter and we are figuring out what works and what doesn't so we are getting along a lot better.
We are just in AWE of God and His creation as we look at little Cael. We are so blessed to have him here. Christmas is always a special time of year but it just seemed a bit different this year...a GOOD different. Pete and I reflected on how what a difference a year can make in your life. Last year at this time we were still kind of mourning the loss of the 2nd failed attempt at IVF and our hearts were just sad. We were finding ourselves just really lost at what our future was going hold and where we were to go from here. But as we look back at that, we see that God had his perfect plan all worked out for us. We are praising God that he provided everything we needed in that time to get us to this point this year.
We are so excited to see our little guy grow up. It will be so fun to see this life through his little eyes in the months to come. God has been so good to us. Cael is healthy (and well on his way to happy:) so we really can't complain about life these days.
I hope you're all found true delight in the celebration of our Savior's birth at Christmas and may your 2011 be filled with memories and joy as you seek His face this year.

I apologize..

It has been a long while since I have posted an update. I apologize. :) We've been a little busy or preoccupied. ;)
Here are a few things we have been up to.
Last weekend, my dear friend, Jill, hosted a baby shower for Cael. I am completely humbled by the number of people that came and by the over showering of gifts we received.

Mama and Cael ready to meet all of his new friends! :)


Mallory was being a good helper, for a while. She then felt the need to march around the gym performing a concert for all to hear! This is also the dress Aunt DD (I) gave her for her birthday.


This is my best friend Jill. We have been friends since we were three years old. She lived across the road from me growing up. In this picture she is giving a very heartfelt message before the shower started. It made me cry, of course. We love you Jill!! Thanks for orchestrating this event for us!


Pete's grandma Doris, Pete's mom Jolene, my mom Ann.


Cael was bright eyed for a while! Then towards the end he had had all that he could handle! He was ready to crash when we got home.


Mallory had a birthday on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. She turned 3! And of course we had to head to Hickory Park for a great meal and a free sundae! Oh yeah, and getting to be sang to is always fun too!


We hosted thanksgiving again this year. Now let me just say, I did not make all the food, by any means but we did offer our house. My mom and aunt pretty much slaved the day away making most of the food. My grandpa is always in charge of making the turkey which was delicious, as always.


After we ate our lunch and cleaned up all the food. Then we celebrated Miss Mallory's birthday. She loves to wear dresses so I thought this was a perfect gift for her. It was given to me by a friend's whose daughter is no longer using it. I think Mallory loved it.

Here is the pink purse cake and her daddy getting ready to pose for a picture.


So there is a quick update. I hope to post some more pictures and videos as Cael allows. :) He loves to be held so most days he doesn't leave my arms. He does a great job during the day, most of the time. He takes good 3-4 hour naps in the afternoons which allows me to cram what I need to get done in that amount of time. However most days during that time we brace ourselves for the night! He puts on a show most nights. It is a show that we wish we didn't have tickets to but unfortunately we are sitting center stage. The show each night last about 2-3 hours and merely exhausting for mom and dad. We do recognize after the show is over he is tuckered out so much that he sleeps for a good 5-6 hours at night. Daddy and I are ready to trade in these tickets for a new show at night. One that is a little bit quieter and a lot more low key. With all that being said we are offering tickets to anyone who needs entertainment in the evenings. Tickets are really CHEAP, too!!:)