Weird Playing Spots

I often find Elyse and Caleb playing in weird spots throughout the house, like closets, behind furniture, etc. Playing under the kitchen table is by far their favorite. They tend to play together there for a long time so I do not complain, instead I sit back and enjoy.

Any of you moms experience this? If so, do you have any other suggested fun places my kids can play?

Only God Can Do

ELYSE:

CALEB:
KALLEN:

More Kallen newborn/1 month pictures to come :)

Bike Helmets

Last night, Nate and I took the kids to Blaine's Annual Youth's Bike Helmet Fitting. It's a great program put on by the police and fire departments. I highly recommend any parent in the Anoka County to take advantage of this. The departments specialize in making sure your child has the correct size bike helmet for only $12.

Now to the funny story of the night...the police put a 3+ year old helmet on Caleb and the helmet was way too tight. She then put on the next size, 5+ year old helmet and it fit perfectly. Ironically, it was the same size as Elyse's helmet, yet the police said hers was a little loose but the 3+ would be too small. Well we are hopeful we won't have to buy Caleb a new bike helmet for a few years ;)

Couldn't Resist

Just before Kallen was born I came across two identical shirts in both Caleb and Kallen's sizes and totaling under $3, so it's no surprise that I couldn't resist not buying them. I don't plan on always matching my boys, but I also know this will not be the last time I do it. It's one of the many reasons it's great to have two children of the same gender.

Tot Time

Almost every Monday and Tuesday, our local YMCA hosts a "Tot Time" for kids under five. It's a great activity that involves an open gym with trikes, tents, tunnels, cars, balls and other gym activities. It's open for two hours and only costs $2 per child. We often join our friends which makes it even more enjoyable. I would really recommend attending a "Tot Time" if you live in Anoka County.

Elyse spent most of her time playing with the buckets, bouncy ball and running around.

It's no surprise that Caleb spent most of his time in the cars :)

And Kallen spent majority of this time doing what he does most, sleep

Brother and Sister Love

First off as you can tell, no arrival of baby boy yet. He has not even given me a tease of making an appearance. I feel fine and don't even feel over 40 weeks pregnant, but would not mind his arrival sometime soon so he won't get too big.

Anyway, back to the purpose of this post...Nate took out the eighth seat in our van and then rearranged the other ones yesterday. This resulted in Elyse and Caleb being right next to each other. I thought they were going to drive each other crazy, but instead they decided to ride to church holding hands. It was so adorable!!! I apologize the picture is blurry, I quickly captured it with my phone, but you get the idea.

A Sleepover Every Night

For just about a week now Caleb has been sleeping not in the nursery, but what was known as Elyse's room. We found Elyse an adorable sleigh twin bed and turned her old toddler bed into a little floor crib for Caleb. The transition has had a few earlier mornings than normal (still later than most children sleep), but for the most part it has been super great and successful. Elyse LOVES having him sleep in the same room as her. In fact, she does not talk or look at him because she knows if he does not sleep, then we will have to move him back (even though we really can't do that). Ironically, I think the hardest thing to do was add Caleb's blue stuff to a room of only pink and brown, and make it look good for little to no cost. I think we did a okay good job though. Plus we only have to deal with it for a year or so because we plan on rooming the boys together and redoing the nursery. Until now our two kiddos get to have a little sleepover every night.

Kiddos right after I opened the door to their room this morning

Caleb smiling in his new bed and room, such a big boy

On the Move and Way Overdue

So for the past few weeks, Caleb has made humongous strides in walking. He is now walking with more confidence at common locations and random places. We find him walking more than crawling these days, especially at home. He would probably do it 100% of the time if he could just get himself up to a standing position from any location. Overall, we are super proud of him and super excited he is walking more. In fact, last night we took the kids to the MN Caucus (long story) but he was wanting to walk down the school hallways and got fussy if we picked him up. I was one very happy Mama :0)

After Dinner Silliness

One Nap

So this handsome fellow below is officially down to one nap and I couldn't be more excited! He not only takes a three hour nap all afternoon, we are now able to get out and enjoy our mornings. Elyse also has said how happy she is now that Caleb only takes one nap. We have had play dates this week, went to the library, MOMS and shopping, so much fun! Sadly I only have less than eight weeks of this before our schedule gets all mixed up again :)

Rockin' Out

I don't know if I would really consider Elyse and Caleb to be rockin' out, but that's what they think they are doing. Their keyboard and microphone has to be one of their favorite things to play with, especially together. Not the best video, but you get to hear their "beautiful" music that I hear everyday, enjoy :)

And yes, Elyse is wearing her gloves, scarf and hat. She didn't care it was -2 out without windchill, she wanted to go get new books at the library. Therefore, we trucked out in the cold today and honestly, it wasn't too bad. She just decided that she wanted to keep it on as accessories. My own personal, "Fancy Nancy".

Bubble Bath Fun

Playing in Nate and my bath tends to be a rainy day activity in our home. However, with today's temperatures being only in the single digits I did not have the motivation to bundle the kids up to go outside. The sun looks beautiful, but sure is deceiving. Therefore, I asked Elyse if she wanted to play in our tub today as a special treat; she obviously said "Yes" and asked, "Can we have bubbles too, please?" I could not resist the nice manners. Caleb was so excited that instead of signing "more" during lunch (for his second serving like he usually does), he signed "all done" and "bath" over and over again. Needless to say, they had a blast and it sure made an hour fly by today. I know this activity will be a common occurrence now that I let it take place on a sunny day, oh well.

Head Over Heels For Shoes

I remember when a good friend would share with me stories about how her one year old son loved playing with shoes. I just laughed and thought, what boy likes shoes? Well ironically, our son. That's right, if I turn my back I can guarantee to find Caleb downstairs playing in all the shoes. In fact, yesterday he was there for at least five minutes, and today, it probably would have been longer if we didn't have to get out the door so soon. He does not eat them (thank goodness); he just enjoys playing with the zippers or shoelaces and throwing them. I sure do love my silly boy!

Paci Free

Guess who is no longer using a paci at bed and nap time?

That's right, Caleb lost all his pacies yesterday when he decided to bite through his third one. Which told us that his 10-12 teeth are using it more as a chew toy than comfort. Therefore, we cold turkey took them away and without shedding a tear, our big boy is adjusting just fine. Overall, we are very proud of him and excited to be paci free in our home for a few months at least :)

Birthday Celebration

This past Friday, Caleb had his birthday party to celebrate turning 1. Even though the party was really low key, in my opinion, it turned out perfectly. Caleb LOVES balls, and so having a sport ball theme only seemed appropriate. Caleb was blessed with having his Nana G, Grandpa, Grandma and birth family (Mariah, Rande, Judy, Monica and Malachi) come celebrate with him. Oh yeah, his cardboard Uncle Steven, Aunt Kim and cousin Chloe also made an appearance. He got lots of great gifts and after slowly sampling his cake, he ended up devouring it quite nicely.
BEFORE: AFTER:
Special thank you for those who were able to attend as well as those who sent or gave gifts.

Love you big boy and hope you had a very Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

One year ago this very day we got a phone call that brought so much joy into our lives. Caleb William Klauser entered the world and was gently placed into our arms forever. Therefore, today, our little boy turns 1, and I can't believe it. Happy Birthday Caleb, we love you so much!!! This entire year has flown by so incredibly fast. Words can't describe how encouraging and fun it has been recently to watch him change daily; whether it's in communicating, playing, learning or moving. Overall, we can't thank God and Caleb's birth mother enough for giving us such a beautiful gift.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY CALEB! We love you so much and always will!

Pajamas and Books

Most of our mornings play out very similar, I read the kiddos a book or two, they hurry to get dressed and then run downstairs to eat breakfast. However, this beautiful Friday morning was not like the rest. The kiddos decided to spend over thirty minutes in Caleb's room, having me read or them look at books on their own in their pajamas. It was so peaceful, enjoyable and relaxing. Hoping for more mornings like today in the future.

Caleb is 11 Months Old

Caleb turns eleven months today and I just can't believe it. Our baby will be a year in one month, so bittersweet. He is growing up so fast and changing everyday. I can't believe how active he has become within the last few weeks, and I am so excited to see what month eleven has in store for him. Overall, we are overjoyed to celebrate Caleb being eleven months old today.
Caleb, we love you so much and hope you have a wonderful last month being a baby before you officially become a toddler.

Prefers His Two Feet

Caleb has spent the last few months army crawling. As of now, he has no interest what so ever in crawling on his knees. He does love to climb the stairs and pull himself up onto things. Although, his favorite thing to do by far right now is use his two feet. As of yesterday, he spends his day doing this, pulling himself up onto his walker and cruising the room. Only thing we need to work on now is learning how to turn it, because it makes it a long activity for me. Very proud of him and hope he gets the confidence he needs to start standing and walking on his own.

Overalls

One of my favorite reasons to have a little boy is being able to put them in overalls. I am not saying that dressing girls in overalls is wrong; it's just that personally I am not a fan of them on girls. However, I do think boys, especially Caleb, look way too stinkin cute in them!