Caught in the act!

Zach looks like he knows we will disapprove, but that he just can't help himself. (1/23)

He often nuzzles his hands against his face and tries to suck on fingers/toys that approach his mouth. This is the first time we've actually caught him sucking his thumb, though. We'll be watching you, kid! ;-)

Even MORE Zach

Zach sleeping away on the couch (1/22). Love the stripes. Oh...he is so peaceful.

Zach in yet another cute outfit. I really do like brown/cream on a boy (1/25). Ummm....in full discloser there is a reason why these last two pics are taken on the changing pad. Just as I went to take pictures of him in this outfit on the couch, he had an explosive poop running 1/2 way up his back and the whole outfit had to be changed. He was quite the sport waiting around all messy for a couple minutes so I wouldn't miss the photo op. What we (or is it just me?) put our kids through for posterity! ;-)

More just Zach

Laying on Mama, sleeping soundly.

In another sling.

In from the cold porch (the swing -- not Zach)! Mama wised up and brought the *amazing* swing into the warm house. It made an immediate impact -- Zach was amazed and appeared to like the contraption.

Caleigh remembers most every toy, but she is doing pretty good at sharing.

Play Doh

Caleigh with Christmas Play Doh – thanks Grandma (esp. for the suggestion to only do this in the high chair!).

Mama spelled out her name, in case you thought we had a prodigy on our hands. ;-)

Caleigh in Purple

Caleigh in purple hat, coat and scarf ensemble from Oma -- thanks!! We've decided she runs a little bigger than the patterns Oma is using to make stuff. She'll probably add a row on either side of Caleigh's sweater...to cover the cute little tummy! ;-)

Caleigh surprises Mama by putting the hat on by herself and running around. Looks like she has purple curly hair at first glance!

Zach

In a cute little yellow outfit on 1/15. He likes his colorful caterpillar & laying in his pack 'n play.

And then on 1/20, just some SO CUTE faces from our boy. He has so much to tell us, I'm sure.

January 28 update

It seems I just can't catch up on the pictures and there is so much *new* to report. So.....

Zachary loves watching Caleigh. He follows her or her voice with his eyes and sometimes appears to smile at her (or maybe it's a bit of fear as an arm or foot flies close to his head ;-). Caleigh still requests to hoooold baby Zach quite often. She likes to verbally emphasize what she really really wants to do.

He's 7+ weeks now and growing out of his 3 months clothes and size 1 diapers. And he is a wise child. Dan and I like to think we learned something about raising a kid with Caleigh (perhaps even that she was our "experimental" child ;-) but, really, we know that kids just come out a certain way. Of course, we are molding and shaping and training them up. But it's not just our doing that translates into how our children behave. We are blessed. And so happy that our kids are fairly well behaved.

For the past few nights, Zach has been happy to cluster feed in the evening (but when has ever NOT wanted to eat!) and go to sleep at 11:00 P. I've been trying to rock him a little after feeding him and then put him in his bassinet awake w/o the paci (because it invariably falls out of him mouth and that upsets him). He's done great! Some moving around and little grunts, but he's asleep by 11:15/20. Last night he was up to eat at 4:30 A and again at 8:30 A. We still feel tired, but really can't ask for much more from Zach right now. Oh, and that he goes immediately back to sleep after feeding him in the middle of the night is a huge praise!

He is cooing more and doing that cute little gurgling sound as he flails his arms and legs. He looks like he wants to tell us so much, but we are content to hear him "ahhh" and "ooo" for now. The cutest thing for weeks has been to see him hold his neck up straight with those big eyes looking all around when he's being help up on a shoulder. He is enjoying his rattles and the multi-colored toys we show him.

I "found" the swing on the porch a little over a week ago. What took me so long to remember it!? If I really need to assist Caleigh, get supper going or (perhaps) go to the bathroom it's a lifesaver! ;-) He also tends to be awake at dinner so it's nice to all be together in the dining room while not trying to eat with one hand w/o dropping food on his head. A hearty recommendation for the soothing swing. And he really likes looking at the bears overhead, too.

As Caleigh is nearing two, we wonder if he sweet little demeanor will alter, and it probably will. But for now she is still taking two naps/day on the days we aren't out and about. But she is doing measurably better on those days, getting just one nap. She tells me when she needs a diaper change, and I'm bolstering strength to attack potty training her soon. She loves to "read" books -- she is much better at sitting still and listening to a long story but hilarious reading us a book. Even as her vocabulary grows she reverts back to nonsense sounds when reading, with the occasional description of what is actually in a picture. She asks us to read "Bible books" (like "David and 'Liaf") and when reading them to us usually says "God told Noah to build a big boat." ;-)

Like most toddlers, she likes repetition and knowing what comes next (like filling in the blanks when we sing songs or read familiar little books). I'm amazed at her memory for details. She knows most of her letters to sing the ABC song, but she really knows the letters from "P" on. She likes to tease us by counting to 10, always leaving out 8 (but she KNOWS it comes after 7!!) ;-)

Her favorite activity is "play kids!" (playing with kids). I'm glad we have so many opportunities for her to do so in safe & secure places (during church and my Bible studies). How long has she been hopping on two feet – four months? Who knows, but over the weekend she jumped toe to toe – 12 inches! A whole kitchen floor tile. We have a track STAR on our hands! ;-)

Caleigh is FAST and agile – she can run full tilt, narrowing missing the edge of the end table, swerving to miss the barn on the floor, and over various terrain (carpet, hardwood, tile) – all to reach Zach before Mom when he is crying…then looking back at me, saying (with her head tilted in a knowing manner) “probably need a paci” or “Mama need to feed him.” Love it! We do discourage Caleigh from jamming the paci in Zach's mouth, though. ;-)

More pictures soon! Thanks for reading.

Making Cookies!

A new tradition for us is making & decorating cookies. Daddy made the cookies and iced them, Caleigh decorated (notice the "mess" on the cutting board and not a lot on the cookies....;-). Mama got to hold Zach in her new (thanks Kami!) sling. Zach slept, but only after gripping the sling for dear life. We all had a great time!


After lots of fun in the morning, we left for Floyd for Christmas week around 2:00P. That is, after we got rid of most of the cookies by presenting gifts to our neighbors. Caleigh enjoyed walking down the street and greeting Rhonda and Helen.

Hanging out at Grandma and Papa's house

Here is Caleigh enjoying measuring her height against the height of Papa's tractor. Again, with the moose hat and moose gloves. ;-)

And here is Zachary sleeping away while we pile toys and snowmen (watching down on him) around him to get a good picture. ;-)

Christmas Eve

Caleigh and Zach got all dressed up to smile pretty and pose for the camera. Zach actually had a "more formal" brown and blue outfit on later.


Here is cousin Tracy holding Zach and
aunt Judy looking on.

Cousins Holly and Taylor helped Caleigh read her new book (with flaps!).

Great-grandma holding Caleigh. And aunt Judy holding Zach.

We all had so much fun talking, playing with new books and toys, and (of course) eatings yummy food (shrimp, cheese ball...good stuff!).

What a blessing to be able to bring our 2 week old "home" to Floyd for Christmas. While we enjoyed spending Thanksgiving with family & friends at our house in PA, it just wasn't the same. I'm sure we'll start new traditions as our lives continue to change, but for now we'll continue to plan on spending Christmas the same way Lori *always* has -- in Floyd.

Christmas celebration with Kenneth's extended family

We all enjoyed celebrating Christmas with MORE family!

That's Grannie (Kenneth's Mom) and the matriarch of the bunch. It's a lot of fun to fellowship (and eat!) with the 60+ relatives we've been blessed with now for a year (since Mom an Kenneth's marriage).

Here are Mack and Caleigh with Papa (Kenneth), and Caleigh being very intrigued with Mack's tractor. He was nice enough to share!

It was great fun to visit and get to know family better. The guys tried to get Dan to go out shooting with them in the backyard. He declined...as there was a discussion about him being a Yankee. ;-)

Caleigh Grace

Caleigh absolutely adores holding Zachary. She requests the privilege often and we now have a little routine for it. She climbs up on her stepping stool (or runs and gets it from the dining room), positions herself on the couch, usually laying back on a pillow on the end of the couch, and then holds her arms out to Zach. ;-)

Caleigh and Logan really enjoy playing with one of Logan's old toys at Grandma and Papa's house. And Caleigh, of course, loves to sit beside Great-Papa, telling tales and eating snacks. She's a happy camper!

She does not want for attention no matter where we travel (she gets attention in restaurants too -- mostly older people happy that she is eating so well or they just tell her she is a cutie ;-)

More Christmas celebration with more family!

Mama and Zach (sacked out from all the excitement!).

We enjoyed spending time with Janice, Charles and C.J. (in the red hat) along with Matthew & Mack (and Kelly and baby Krey -- just out of the picture). Granny (Kenneth's mother) also attended the festivities and held her newest great-grandsons, Zach and Krey.

We enjoyed yummy food (again!) and opening Christmas gifts. What fun to see kids at Christmas. Caleigh is still talking about playing with C.J. and Mack! She laughed and laughed and ran around "fast fast" with the boys -- no fear!

Caleigh and Mack on Christmas

Mack came by to say hi on Christmas morning, and Caleigh enjoyed having someone her size to play with. He could only stay a little bit before heading back home, but they got a hug in in front of the Christmas tree for good measure. ;-)

Christmas Day

A good day for a stroll outside -- cold, but what a view! A little exercise (even if just around the house) is always good! Caleigh requests to wear her 'moose hat' (which around Christmas also gets called a 'reindeer hat') quite often. She gets lots of compliments and enjoys showing it off. ;-)

Here's Caleigh in her red Christmas outfit, playing with her coveted barn -- WITH animals! Thanks Great-grandma and Great-grandpa!! Back story -- she has had a doll house and barn to play with since she was born (thanks Angels in the Attic) but neither came with any accouterments... So this is a real treat for her! ;-)

Here are Grandma and Papa holding Zach and enjoying watching Caleigh open gifts. What fun we had being together and seeing Caleigh slowly enjoy opening gifts and playing with each one. A special Christmas, indeed.

And here are Logan and Ciera holding Zachary. It's great to be able to spend time with them, too, as they are both so busy with work. We take every chance we can get to hang out with them...and play some cards! ;-)