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Stories |
9/2/06- This evening, we went out to see a fireworks display in Kimball. They had a big festival throughout the day and then a fireworks display at night. We didn't go to the festival, but we watched the fireworks from Grandview Hospital in Jasper. Aaron took us to Dairy Queen to get ice cream cones before we left, and then we sat on a blanket on the grass by the hospital and waited for the fireworks. Caleb had fun being chased by Aaron and Daniel had fun watching them and trying to crawl after them on the blanket. The fireworks were good, but Caleb couldn't understand why we couldn't hear them! We were a few miles from them, and we could see them just fine, we just couldn't hear them. It was a fun night...
8/31/06- Today we went to Aaron's school to have lunch with him, because the next few days he has a lot going on and will be home after the boys go to bed. It was neat to see him and meet some of his teachers and see the school while kids were there. We were there for about an hour and left before the buses came. It's always crazy at dismissal time.
The boys and I went to a park in Chickamauga so they could play and then just drove through the Chickamauga Battlefield. The history there is so neat. It's so interesting to look at the fields and picture the troops out there.
8/28/06- We have another tooth! So much is going on with this baby! That other tooth that cut through on the bottom is still working it's way in, but I noticed today after Daniel's morning nap that the tooth right next to it on the bottom is cutting through. He did fine throughout the day, but then he was a little fussy during dinner. You could tell it was his teeth, because when I gave him his cup, he'd just rub that rubber part over his gums again and again.
Over the last week, I've started making Daniel's baby food, instead of buying it at the store. I've always had a hard time buying things when they're not on sale and also without a coupon. Well, this week, Ingles (my grocery store) did not have baby food on sale, and I used on of my last good coupons (buy 30 jars, get $3.00 off) the week before when they were on sale. So, we've been using the food processor a lot and chopping things up very fine. It's actually been going pretty good, it's just time consuming. Some things go better in the food processor than others. But, so far we've done mixed vegetables and chicken, peaches, pears, broccoli and chicken, peas, strawberries and bananas, applesauce, and mashed potatoes and beef. So, he's basically eating what we're eating; I just run it through the food processor before we sit down. Some of the other things he's been eating for a while now are: bits of cheese, plain yogurt, crackers, pieces of bread, rice (he loves rice), cooked egg (yoke only) with bits of bread and cheese cooked in (my mom used to always make this for me when I was little), and Cheerios and Rice Krispies. He loves picking up his food off of his tray and eating it. It's so cute to watch him.
8/27/06- We have a scooter! Daniel's been scooting/crawling around the last week and he is EVERYWHERE! He's not doing the typical crawl on hands and knees, but he scoots around on his belly and pushes off with legs and moves on his forearms and elbows. I have a video of it that I will post soon. It is so cute to watch him! He just smiles at what he's doing, and his face lights up when he peeks around a corner and sees me. Daniel, you're just adorable!! I love you so much! I just love kissing your chunky cheeks and watching you smile. You are such a joy...
And my sweet Caleb. You were EXCELLENT at church Sunday night! (Sunday morning was a different story:) ) You led the prayer for the little kids class and did such a great job. Then, you sat so well during the song service with Mommy and Daniel while Daddy was up front the whole time. You turned in the songbook to the song we were singing and sang along, and you turned in your Bible when a scripture was being read. It was so sweet. Thank you for being such a sweet boy. You have your moments, but I know you can be a sweet boy when you want to be.
On the way home from church, Caleb told us that he was good in church and that he looked sang and prayed and looked up scriptures. I love how Caleb says, "scripture." It is too cute!
Mommy loves both of you boys SO MUCH!!!
8/26/06- What a great day as a family. We had to go and clean the church building today, but first we went to Erlanger hospital in Chattanooga to visit one of our members who has been in there for a few weeks with terrible back pain. We enjoyed visiting with her so much. She is such a neat lady and she had so many great stories. We really got to learn more about her and she's had a very exciting and interesting life. The boys were pretty good, considering we were just sitting in a hospital room and it was close to nap time. But, they were adorable, dressed up in their cute John Deere outfits. (We took the pictures that are on the front page before we left) We were so glad we went to see her- very special lady...
On the way over to the building, Daniel fell asleep and I hoped that he would stay asleep and nap at the building, but he decided not to do that today. Oh well! He screamed and cried while I tried to get things done on my classroom and clean up the downstairs of the building. Aaron was mowing the grass outside. I tried to get Caleb to take a nap upstairs in the nursery, but he was downstairs only 15 minutes later saying, "I woke up in a great mood!" and I could tell he hadn't slept a wink. So, it was a little bit difficult trying to get things done, but we made it through.
When we got home, Aaron said, "why don't we just order from Raphael's tonight?" I was so glad!!! We've been so careful lately and haven't been out to eat in so long, and it was nice to just order from our yummy, inexpensive Italian place. We had a nice relaxing evening, eating our dinner and watching the race on TV. Everything worked out just fine...
8/25/06- Another library day! Caleb is just loving the library. We get 3 books and a video for him, and then Mommy gets what she wants. Caleb loves picking out his books and he's always excited if they have a Thomas the Train video. While I was picking out my books, he spotted a John Deere tractor book on display and in a loud whisper said, "Mommy! There's a John Deere book! Can I look at it?" So, I put it on the table and told him to be REALLY careful turning the pages, and he was. He looked at it for a long time and it was so cute to watch him look at it.
In the evening, we went to a football game at South Pittsburg High School. It was PACKED, but we were able to find a seat in front of some people we knew and we got to see SO many people throughout the game. It was neat to catch up with so many there. The boys were great throughout the game. Daniel did even better this week- he didn't cry at all. I think because Aaron was there and we took turns holding him. He even sat with Coach Webb, our good friend who Aaron coached basketball with and helped me with chorus last year while I was pregnant and off with Daniel. She just said he was the best baby. He gets that a lot! He is just so laid back and easy going and such a happy baby. Caleb got to see his little friends from daycare and he LOVED that. It was neat to see him and the 3 other boys playing in the stands together. It was a great night...
8/24/06- Well, needless to say, somebody was very sad this morning when he got up and Grandpa Collins was already gone. I had already planned on going to a park in Chattanooga to make him happy and get his mind off being sad about Grandpa Collins being gone already. So, after he cried for awhile, I asked him if he wanted to go to the water fountain park in Chattanooga and have a picnic. Of course, he said "yes!" So, we got ready and packed a lunch for our picnic. We headed to Coolidge Park in downtown Chattanooga- what a great park! They have these water fountains that come up from the ground, and all the kids love going through them. Before we went over to the water fountains, we went through some of the shops that they have right along the main road. They had some really neat shops and Caleb loved the toy store the best.
After the shops, I fed Daniel, then we found a spot on the grass and had our picnic lunch. Then, after Caleb asking several times, "can we go over to the water fountains now?" we headed over! He had a blast and so did Daniel. Caleb went all over and around the different fountains. I held Daniel just close enough to get wet and he loved it. They were both so cute! We stayed for a good while and then got dried off and changed the boys, and then we went to Clumpies and got some Mint Chocolate Chunk ice cream. I had never had Clumpies ice cream before- oohh, so yummy! They are a hometown ice cream place and I've always heard great things about them. You pay by the ounce, which is kind of funny, but that way you get as much or as little as you want.
We all had a great day and I'm glad we were able to go. It's so fun staying home with these boys- I'm enjoying each of them so much...
8/23/06- It's Wednesday! The day Caleb's been asking about for over a week, because he knew that on Wednesday, Grandpa Collins was coming to visit. He had a truck he had to drive up to Cincinnati, so he planned on spending the night with us on his way up there. He was very excited when he saw the big truck pull up in the driveway. He met up with Aaron in Chattanooga and then followed him home. "Grandpa Collins! Grandpa Collins!" Caleb went up in the truck for a little bit and then when Granpa came inside, he got to hear, "Grandpa Collins, do you wanna play with me?" After Grandpa got a shower, he played with Caleb and talked to Aaron. He brought some things for Aaron, like newspaper clippings of events that Aaron was involved in when he was a kid. It was fun to look at.
We went to church and then after church, we all went to Cracker Barrel. Daniel was just as cute as he could be sitting in the high chair, eating his little rice krispies and smiling. Caleb was just as funny as he could be, eating his Corn Flakes out of the bowl with 2 spoons. At first he didn't think anyone was watching, and I whispered to Aaron to look at him. Then, after he realized that we were watching him, he made a big thing about it. He'd dip both spoons into the bowl to get 2 spoonfuls of cereal and milk, and then he'd take a bite with the right spoon, and then left spoon. It was so funny!
On the way out of Cracker Barrel, Caleb pointed at the John Deere stuff in the window, and Grandpa asked him if he'd like a little tractor. Of course, Caleb said yes, with a big smile. So, the two of them went back in and Grandpa got him a little tractor. He came out of the store with his own little bag and pulled the little box out and held it up so we could see it. It was precious...
We had a good and quick visit, and the boys both slept in Daniel's room and Grandpa slept in Caleb's bed. Everything worked out great!
8/22/06- How much can we do this morning? Well, we ran to the bank, and then we went to the library to return and get new books. I renewed the scrapbook book that I got last week, because it is SO good! I'm really enjoying it- it's very inspiring. Caleb wanted to pick out a Thomas the train video first. He saw them last time, but I told him we needed to get books the first time and we'd get a video the next time. So, he picked out his Thomas video and then we looked for some books. He's been on this kick about starfish and humpback whales- I still have yet to figure that out! Last time we were at the library, I couldn't find any books on humpback whales, but we did look at some that had starfish. Well, this time, we found a book just about humpback whales!!! Caleb was so excited!!!! So, we got that and another book about sea creatures that had starfish in it, and then a book about freight trains. Then, I looked for me! I found a neat gift craft book and then I looked at the video section. Wow! They have such a selection! But, I was looking for one in particular. Cast Away with Tom Hanks. It was on TV the other night as ABC's Saturday night movie, but once again, I missed the whole beginning!! I have never seen the beginning of Cast Away. I always end up seeing from the time he ended up on the island to the end. I cry every time I see the ending. I know it's just a movie, but it's such an emotional ending. So, I was excited to get the movie so I could finally see the beginning.
After the library, we ran by the grocery store to pick up a few things and then headed home. Both boys had been fantastic. I knew Daniel was ready for a nap, and sure enough, he fell asleep on the way home from the store. Caleb and I looked at our new books and of course, Caleb wanted to watch his Thomas video.
After the boys took their afternoon nap, I loaded up the car with the rest of the yard sale items I had left over from last month when I had the yard sale. We took them over to the Goodwill store in South Pittsburg and it was so nice to get them out of the garage. I took the boys over to the park in South Pitt. Caleb had so much fun playing. Daniel liked going on the swing. After the park, we ran by Wal-mart to pick up Aaron's medicine and then it was time to head home and have dinner! It was a busy day, but we had lots of fun.
8/21/06- Cleaning day!! Today I spent a lot of time cleaning the house and working on the boys closets. I've been going through Caleb's fall baby clothes for Daniel, and I'm finding that he's NOT going to fit in much of Caleb's fall/winter 6-9 month clothes. He's going to fit in Caleb's 12-18 month fall and winter clothes!!! I cannot believe the size of this child!! But, Daniel has been able to use a lot of Caleb's baby clothes, even though they were born in different seasons. He's been able to wear most of Caleb's summer 12-18 month clothes, which I didn't think (when he was only 3 months old!) he would be able to wear! But, it's worked out well. When I put Daniel in an outfit that Caleb wore, it just makes me think of what Caleb was doing when he wore it, or where we went while he was wearing it, and it's just so cute to see Daniel in it! Sometimes, he looks just like Caleb when he was younger, and other times, he looks like himself- just sweet and adorable Daniel!
I am just in love with these boys. They are so wonderful and I'm just so thankful for them and my great husband...
8/18/06- Today was a BUSY day, but a very fun day. We got up early and went over to my school to return a videotape to a teacher and give Lisa her birthday present. It was fun to see some of the kids and teachers. When we got back in the van, Caleb said, "are we going to go by my school and see DeeDee and CeeCee?" We were right there, so we went by and Caleb was very excited to see them, and they were so excited to see Caleb and Daniel. They couldn't get over much Daniel has grown! We stayed for a little bit and Caleb asked if he could play with the toys. He enjoyed playing with things he had played with over the years there.
We said goodbye and headed to Wal-mart to pick up something before we headed over to Chattanooga for another birthday. This one was for one of the girls my age, so all of us were getting together for a brunch. It was fun to be with all of them and the kids had fun playing together.
After the brunch, we headed to Chickamauga to get Aaron. He had some problems with his truck and had to take it to the shop, so since I was over that way, I told him I'd come get him and take him to get his truck. The boys fell asleep on the way over and the principal and secretary were disappointed they didn't get to see them awake. They are great people; Aaron is really enjoying working there. The principal had a cupcake for Caleb, so I knew he'd enjoy that when he got up from his nap.
We were planning to go to a Whitwell's football game in Sequatchie County, so we all headed home, baked a pizza in the oven really quick and got ready to head to Whitwell. We went to Coach Green's house first, and then Aaron rode with Coach Green, and Sherry, his wife, and their two kids, rode in the van with the me and the boys. On the way up there, Caleb started saying, "Mommy, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I have no idea where he learned that, but I couldn't get over him asking me that! Then, he started doing his "Woody Woodpecker" laugh, and the two other kids could not stop laughing when he did that! So, of course, Caleb kept doing it! It was so funny.
It was a good football game. Daniel did pretty good during the first half, for his first football game. He got scared and cried when everyone screamed for the first touchdown, which was in the first 2 minutes. But, then he was okay. Well, then, everyone got really loud again later in the 2nd quarter, and Caleb got scared and started crying! I'm glad I was sitting with Sherry- she was a big help with the boys.
I didn't know if the boys were going to make it through the second half of the game, but Aaron was up in the press box helping Whitwell with plays, and he couldn't leave until the end! So, we just walked around. I got the stroller for Daniel and Caleb played with a football with some of the boys. Then, around 8:40pm, Daniel had it. He was ready to eat and go to bed. So, I went to the van to feed Daniel while Sherry kept an eye on Caleb while he was playing. After Daniel ate, he was much happier, so we went back over for the rest of the game, and thankfully Aaron came over to us right before the end so we could get out of there quickly.
8/16/06- Today, Caleb's friend, Lorence, spent the day with us. She is the daughter of my good friend, Lisa. They were so excited to see each other and play together. We made a lot of neat things and they really had a good time. Naptime took a little while, but once they got settled, they were out for 2 hours. Lisa came to pick her up after school and Caleb was sad to see her go, but we're hoping to get together soon.
8/14/06- I took the boys to the Jasper Public Library today and both Caleb and I were able to get library cards. Caleb enjoyed going through the library and he picked out his 2 books and then looked at some other ones. We looked at some books with starfish, but we couldn't find any humpback whales. I picked out a great book on scrapbooking and another book on child's crafts. I want to get into the routine of going to the library once a week. They are going to start a story hour in September on Wednesdays for 3-5 year olds, so that will be a great thing to go to. Caleb will enjoy that.
8/13/06- This morning the boys and I went to bible class at North Terrace, since I'm teaching this quarter. We met up with Aaron for worship service at Sweeten's Cove at 11am Central, but let me reflect on bible class. This is the third time I've taught this quarter, and each year I've done a "summer theme" with fish and waves and suns, etc. So, some of the stickers I have for the attendance charts and memory verse charts are various sea creatures: starfish, sharks, whales, shells, etc. After the kids put up their stickers, Caleb announced to me that he likes "the starfish and a humpback whale." What? "I like a starfish and a humpback whale." I have no idea where this came from, but I started thinking about the episode of Little Einsteins cartoon that he had watched in the morning. They had whales on there when I passed by the TV. So, I guess he just picked up on that and then likes starfish as well, so now he keeps saying, "I like a starfish and a humpback whale!" I wonder how long this will last...
The rest of the day went well. Aaron and the boys took naps and I got things done that I needed to get done. We went to the congregation up on Monteagle Mountain and Aaron preached. It was a good day...
8/12/06- Today we had a nice family day. We packed a lunch and went to the Nickajack Lake Park and had a great time. The weather looked "iffy" when we left our house, but just a few miles over to the park, the weather was great! Daniel was doing much better, so it was nice to just get out.
Caleb and Aaron went down to the docks while I put lunch on the table and fed Daniel his baby food. We had a very simple lunch, because I hadn't been grocery shopping yet, but everything worked out fine.
Caleb wanted to go in the water, so Aaron went with him in the shallow area. Daniel just enjoyed watching everything that was going on.
We got back home and gave the boys baths and then laid them down for their naps. I ran to the grocery store once they were down. Sometimes, that's just what I need is to go grocery shopping by myself. I can just take my time and not worry about the boys. I picked up some catfish nuggets in the meat department that looked really good. I looked for a batter for them where they could be baked, instead of fried. We've really been trying to watch how and what we eat. Aaron cooked them up when we got home and they were SO good!
After dinner, Aaron was singing that "Life is a Highway" song from the movie, "Cars," and then Caleb started singing it, and he was just so cute the way he was getting into it! I grabbed my video camera and started taping (you can watch the video). He just has so much energy. It was so cute to replay the video- I couldn't stop laughing!!
8/11/06- Today was a rainy day so we just stayed in and did some art and craft projects. When we were at the Choo Choo the other day, the had a cute little shop that had scrapbooking stuff and they had these cute little paperbag scrapbooks that I had actually just seen on an internet site. It was neat to actually look at a real one and I planned on playing around with making one sometime. Well, today was the day! Caleb just loved it. We both made one, and they're so easy to make! You basically take those little paper brown lunch bags and fold them to make the book and then punch some holes and tie ribbon through them to keep them together. Caleb had fun putting stickers in his. I got more fancy and decorated my pages with lace and ribbon. Caleb said all throughout lunch, "I like my scwapbook, Mommy!"
8/10/06- This morning I got a call from the man who is taking my place while I'm off for the school year. He had some questions and invited me to go to lunch with him and some of the other teachers so we could talk and visit- AND he said he'd buy! Okay! So, when Daniel got up from his morning nap, I fed him and headed over to South Pittsburg to the little cafe. It was good to meet him and visit with some of the other teachers. I saw a bunch of other people there, like parents and kids, and other members of the community, so it was good. This guy is going to be great. I'm so glad! He has 2 daughters around my age and a little grandson about Caleb's age and he lives in Chattanooga. Caleb and Daniel were SO good while we were there. Caleb was a little nervous and shy at first, because there were so many people there in a very small place, but thankfully, he opened up and started talking to everyone. Daniel was so good, you almost didn't know he was there! But, he's just so cute and he just smiles when you look at him, so everyone knew he was there, because of that sweet little face!
Some of the questions that he had for me were where certain things were, so I offered to go back to the school after lunch. It was good to go over to the school. We got to see some people and they enjoyed seeing the boys. Caleb and Daniel were FANTASTIC while I went over some things in the music room with Mr. Mathis (the man taking my place). They played on the carpet with the Boomwhackers and Caleb played with some blocks from the closet. It was great to talk with Mr. Mathis and find out what he was planning to do this year with the kids and for me to let him know some things. I know he'll be great with the kids and they will have a great year with him. He will teach them a lot.
We finally left the school around 2:30pm- WAY past nap time, but like I said, they were GREAT! I was so pleased. He even said several times that they were so well behaved- that's the best thing to hear as a parent! We made it home and the boys took naps (Daniel fell asleep on the way) and it had been a great afternoon.
8/9/06- Tonight we headed to church and came to a standstill on the interstate. Of course, it was right in that section where there are NO exits for almost 15 miles for you to get off and go another way! So, I called Aaron, because I knew I wasn't going to get there in time, even though we left a good 45 minutes early. We inched along and Caleb kept asking, "what's going on, Mommy?" And I'd tell him, "there's a wreck or something." Then, I tried to prepare him that we were going to be late and not get to have a long Bible class. Well, we finally got to the building 5 minutes before the bell rang for class to get out! Caleb just didn't understand- I felt so bad for him. He was so disappointed that he didn't get to have Bible class. Then, I found out later that some of the members were asking Caleb what was wrong, because he had this really sad look on his face. He kept telling them, "Mommy had a wreck," and they had heard about us getting to the building late, but not all of them were sure if I actually had a wreck, or if there was a wreck that made us late getting there! What a boy...
8/7/06- Today we went to Chattanooga so I could pick up my ring from the jeweler (I had to take it in again, because it was loose!) and to run by Michael's Arts and Crafts. They had those photo boxes on sale that I've been wanting to get, so I was so excited! I'm planning on getting all of our pictures organized so it will be easier for me to use and find when I scrapbook. My ring was supposed to be ready around noon, so since we were a little early, I let Caleb play in the playground area there at the mall. Daniel had so much fun watching all of the kids play. I told Caleb it would only be for about 10 minutes, and when Mommy said it's time to go, he said, "it's time to go!!" After 5 minutes, I told him he had 5 more minutes to play. Then, when there was about 1 more minute, I told him to go on the last thing he wanted to go on. This works so well for him, giving him these times, because when I tell him it's time to get his shoes on, he comes right away and doesn't throw a fit at all. I watch so many of these parents let their children play in there, and then say, "okay, it's time to go!" And they're not ready! They haven't been warned! And what's the result? A complete fit! We went through fits with Caleb, and he still has his moments, but we find that this is a good way to prevent a fit.
After the mall, I had planned to go to downtown Chattanooga and take Caleb and Daniel to the Chattanooga Choo Choo. We had a blast!!! Caleb loved it and so did Daniel and I! They have so many cute little shops, and of course, they had Thomas stuff. They also had this Model Train Museum, which was a huge model of Chattanooga and the whole rail system throughout the city. You could see Lookout Mountain, and all the tunnels. It was so neat. We got some ice cream and sat right by the trains, it was just a great day. It's days like this that I'm so glad I'm staying home with the boys.
8/5/06- Daniel is 8 months old today- where has the time gone? I can't believe that he is almost a year old. It has just gone by so fast! Some of the things he's been doing are saying "da-da." He says it ALL the time! He said "mama" first about a month ago, but he says "dada" all the time. He is working hard on cutting teeth. He's been a little more fussy than usual, but we're getting through it. Hopefully the teeth will cut soon.
Today, Aaron and I and the boys went to the church building to clean the downstairs and for me to work on a few things in my classroom. That went well, and afterwards, we went over to Aaron's school for me to see his office. I'm still getting use to the fact that he's an assistant principal! I am just so proud of him- he's come so far, and he just keeps going.
On the way home, we stopped by Wal-mart so I could exchange Aaron's pants for a different kind and size, and pick up some school supplies, like pens, pencils, glue sticks, etc.- things we're running low on at home! When we got home, I fed Daniel and then ran out to the grocery store while Aaron watched the boys. We had BLT's and squash and spinach salads for dinner. We're really trying to eat better and exercise more and we're feeling great! It was a great day to spend together.
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