Zachary & Auntie

So my sister and my mom left yesterday....:(....I'm very sad.... To recap, the week was a whirlwind of crash cooking (and cleaning) lessons from my mom (and sister) and so many trips to the mall that I think that I've fullfilled my shopping quota and won't be wanting to go near any stores until Christmas.

We had Heather, Brandon and Zachary over for dinner one night and afterwards, Caleb and Zachary decided to go out for a ride (with Heather hovering watchfully of course) in the backyard. Those too look like they'll be up to no good if we left them alone long enough...;)

Michelle took tons of pics....so I'm sure I'll be posting a huge blog entry later once I get those from her...

Caleb got REALLY attached to Auntie while she was here. Those two were inseperable....if she was vacuuming, he was vacuuming, if she was making dumplings, he was in her lap the whole time watching her. If she took Daisy out for a walk (we were dogsitting for the Wallaces) then he was out there holding on to the leash. Can everybody keep reminding her that NC's a great place for a person with a PhD in her field!!! :)

Caleb at Bastille Day

My work had a fair for Bastille Day (we're french owned) and this is the pic that was taken with him all dressed up for the celebration.....:)

Still My Baby

Caleb is just amazing me every single day. His words and the things he's learning is astonishing and he constantly surprises me by saying things that I didn't know he knew how to say. Everywhere we go, people tell me how well behaved he is and how 'good' he is....which of course makes us proud although I think that it's more in his ingrained personality than an example of our superb parenting skills.

And then there are moments like this....when he's asleep with just the tiniest furrow in his brow....and I think to myself, "you may be growing up quickly, but you're still my baby"...no doubt, I'll probably be STILL saying this when he's 30...:)

The Vacuum....

Caleb's favourite new toy is this Dirt Devil vacuum that Daddy got him. It actually does suck things up which is funny and it detaches to become a little dust buster....so now Caleb 'cleans' whenever we're cleaning....(ok..to those who know us,...it's whenever Daddy's cleaning)....and whenever there's a mess (usually that he's created himself) Caleb's first on the scene to try to vacuum up the mess.

He's quite the domestic toddler. Soon I'll have him doing laundry and loading the dishwasher ;)

A BunkBed A BunkBed!!

We have finally found (and saved up enough for) a bunk bed for Caleb's room! It now looks like a real bedroom. The bed has a single bunk on top and a full on the bottom. Yes yes,....we're still co-sleeping but now we have a place for our guests to sleep. We are eagerly anticipating the visit of Grandma Stella and Auntie Michelle in July...I can't wait to see my mom's face when she sees how much Caleb has grown....talking now with little two year old attitude....exclaiming constantly that things are 'mine!!'....no matter what it is.

Virginia Beach (part three)

More pics from our beach trip.......wish we were still on vacation! Oh well....back to normal, and now we can look forward to our next trip.

Virginia Beach (part two)

Day two of our vacation, we spent the entire day the beach and let Caleb just run amuck in the sand. The water was freezing but it didn't seem to deter him. The weather was a perfect 85 degrees with lots of wind to keep everybody cool. We rented some beach chairs, an umbrella and with our cooler stocked full of cold drinks, we were able to stay until the late afternoon. We then headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap (for everybody).

VA Beach Trip (part one)

Here we were on our first mini-vacation during Memorial Day longweekend at Virginia Beach. Caleb had a ball and just LOVED playing in the sand. Whenever we left the hotel, he would try to steer us towards the beach and say "There! Beach!....Go There!" and then we would have to tell him that we're not going there (again) and that were were going for dinner....or some touristy activity.

We stayed at the Sheraton on the oceanfront (thanks to residual hotel points from my PwC employment) and we got to enjoy some very much needed R&R with the whole family. Those of you who know us know that Jay works many nights and most weekends so time together is a rare and precious thing. We loved our vacation and we are hoping to be able to plan more as time (and finances) permit.

Caleb's so Smart ;)

Caleb and I were reading yesterday right before bed and he surprised me! He was able to tell me what all the things in the pictures were doing and was able to name a whole bunch of stuff that I wasn't aware that he knew! Jay and I just sat there with our mouths open...it's such a great feeling when your kids exceed your expectations! I know that it may not seem impressive to you, but it was the level of detail that shocked us. Either we're doing something we weren't aware we were doing or watching all that 'Noggin' tv has really expanded is repertoire.

We went out for Kristen's birthday yesterday to Bisque Art paint-your-own-pots pottery studio. He was soooo good (and all without a nap) he played by himself for almost 3 hours without throwing a fuss! I'll post the pics as soon as Aylin sends them to me.

Jay & I are really excited for our upcoming Virginia Beach holiday this weekend. It'll be our first (mini) vacation since Caleb and thanks to PwC's hotel points, we will be staying at the Sheraton right on the beach!

Random Family Pics

This was just me and Caleb goofing around in the garden after I got off work and picked him up from daycare.

The picture below was taken right before we went out to dinner (for our 5 year anniversary) and left Caleb with Kristen to babysit for us.

Caleb the Ham

Caleb has become quite the ham now when the camera comes out.

This age is SOOO much fun for me. Everyday he surprises me with new words and I'm always astonished and how much he picks up. Parenting just gets more and more fun as he grows up....maybe I'll read this later when I'm pulling my hair out and remind myself how sweet he is. :)

Playing with Daddy

Caleb and Daddy were in the yard playing (see Michelle? The bike!) and I thought it was so cute...

Caleb's favorite thing lately is "Blues Clues!"....I went on ebay to get him some VHS tapes and some board books. It's so cute when their personalities come out and they start deciding for themselves what they like and don't like.

Like: Blues Clues, Rice, Elmo & Ernie

Dislike: Mommy giving kisses when she has a facemask on....he starts backing away and says "no!....No kisses!"

Look At My Converse!

Doesn't Caleb look like he's just all grown in this photo??? We got him a set of these little chairs and he drags them all over the house to sit on them. For some reason with the outfit, the short hair and the converse sneaks he just looks all grown up! Where did my baby go???

And his words and sentences are just multiplying exponentially daily. It'll surprise me when he's talking to me and understanding that I'll have to do a double take after he's walked past me satisfied that the conversation was complete and done and then I'll realize that it was!

Strutting....

This photo makes me laugh....I guess all kids love to play dress up and try on shoes...but it just makes me laugh when he's wearing my heels and walking around all proud of himself.

He even had that little 'strut' going...Daddy will love this one ;)

Caleb on the 'Rides'

Here's Caleb on the 'rides' at the mall....he cried when I had to finally drag him away. If you look closely, you'll see Elmo....he still likes to drag Elmo around with us wherever we go...

Heather's Birthday

This was taken at Heather's birthday lunch. It was so great to be able to see the girls and catch up with everybody's news.

Mommy Kisses

I just can't resist those cheeks.

Group Shot

We are forever trying to get a good family photo...no matter what we do, somebody's face always looks funny....we'll just have to wait till my photographer sister comes down to get some good ones of us....until then, this was as good as it got.

I'm thinking of getting some family portraits done for Father's Day....(this will show me how often Jay reads this blog) ;)

Quiches & Oranges

So I made this Paula Deen recipe (Easy Bacon Quiche) and I was so proud of it....I presented it to Caleb and he wasn't even curious about it....instead, he was amazed at how you cut up an orange and he sat on the counter and munched away on a whole orange while my quiche sat untouched.....:( I still think that my quiche turned out beautiful if I do say so myself. ;)

I have become quite the Paula Deen fan. Jay's favourite is her butter cakes which we make anytime somebody comes over. My internet recipe search go to is first Paula Deen on food network.

Easter Egg Hunt

On Easter we had Caleb's first Easter Egg Hunt. He had a ball with his little basket and we 'hid' the eggs all over our patchy green lawn. We were doggie sitting Daisy so she was helping Caleb find the eggs as well.