He's 11 !!!!!!!!

The very happy birthday boy!

Yes that is Nathan playing his guitar next to Jacob - yikes! Do we have a basement rock band in the making?!!


Jacob turned 11 on Tuesday! He has been asking for a drum set for a very long time now. We've been putting it off as long as we could but decided that since he has been doing so well with band at school and since we are tired of him banging our furniture, siblings, car seats.... We did the deed and bought him his first "real" drum set. Ken spent last night putting it together and we have both moved high up in the ranks of "most amazing, awesome parents". He is just grinning from ear to ear and the child that normally requires dynamite and a forklift to get out of bed in the morning jumped out of bed this morning wanting to play at 6:45 am (completely dressed and ready for school)!!!!! Needless to say he wasn't happy when I reminded him that half of the house was still asleep and I wanted them to stay that way. He is actually pretty good but there is no quiet way to play the drums. New item for everyone's Christmas list - ear protection!

He can use a STRAW!!!!

Thursday Caleb got hold of my drink and proceeded to put the straw in his mouth. His eyes suddenly got wide and he sputtered a bit - he had successfully sucked through the straw!! We were both a little suprised and he decided that he liked his new skill. Several sips later he was happily draining my tea. Yet another big step for our little guy!!!!

Pumpkin Time

The boys still haven't carved theirs but at least the girls got theirs done Friday afternoon!

Boy or Dog?

Caleb has always loved Hershey but lately he has been trying to imitate his every move. He will eat the dog food, lap Hershey's water, sniff the grass, lick the flowers...no he hasn't lifted his leg yet but we're waiting for it!

October Fun

This year our church's harvest party was on Wednesday so my kids got to trick-or-treat, some for the very first time! We went to a friend's house and got to go out with a whole big group of kids. The trick-or-treat newbies (Anna, Sarah and Caleb) got the hang of it very quickly and my big boys had fun dressing up and hanging out with friends.

A couple more pics

When I was looking at pictures for yesterday's post, I ran into to these as well. These were taken a year ago today, October 30, 2007. Man I love this little guy!d It is also amazing how much the other kids have grown in a year - no wonder I'm tired!!

One Year Ago Today...

October 20, 2007
Taiyuan, China




October 29, 2008
Our bedroom (no, we don't let his sisters wear makeup like this all the time - we're getting ready for our harvest party at church tonight)



I couldn't let the day go by without this post. There is so much I could write about how far Caleb has come in a year and how he is securely wiggled into all of our hearts forever. He has gained 8.5 pounds and grown 6 inches in a year. He has learned to walk. He is starting, however slowly, to talk. He can now open door knobs, the refrigerator, climb the kitchen table, feed the dog the contents of said refrigerator and empty the contents of every bucket in the toy room - all within a 10minute time span. He gets so excited about trucks and cars that he wiggles and yells "whoa!!!" everytime he sees a big truck. He has the funniest prayer face - he gets so serious and wrinkles his brow as he folds his hands. He gives lots of hugs and kisses and has a heart for those who are hurting. He loves to wrestle and has the most impish grin I have ever seen. He is our little ray of sunshine and we can't imagine life without him. We love you Caleb and thank God for this day a year ago when you entered our lives forever!!!!