A Girl and Her Hat

Julie has always enjoyed "borrowing" anything her older brother owns but recently she became very obsessive about his hats. Actually, she fixates on any and all hats but Jakey's hats were just the easiest to come by. Needless to say, she has been in hat heaven ever since I got her one of her very own. Maybe it's just my proud parent gene kicking in, or maybe it has to do with the fact that the hat hides her lack of hair but I do think she looks rather adorable in it.

Change

We recently saw a Blue's Clues episode on having a new baby. They sang a song that has been stuck in my head all day because things have been so different:

"Change, change, change.
How can we change?"

Ok, so the first change isn't a huge one but Jeremy went back to work today. All year he saved up his vacation days, sick leave, paternity leave, and any other time off imaginable so he could be available after Caleb was born. It was great having him home for so long to help out and the kids and I missed him quite a bit today. Don't worry, all three kids and myself made it through the day without a major injury or incident (I can't say the same for a carton of cottage cheese Julie got her hands on).


The next change happened recently, but it's still taking some time to sink in. I tried cramming 3 car seats in the back of our Taurus for all of a week before I pretty much forced Jeremy to buy us a new car (Jacob climbing on and over Caleb to get to his seat pretty much sealed the deal). Growing up I remember swearing that I'd never be a "Mormon Minivan Mom" but I'm eating my words! Doors that slide conveniently out of the way all on their own accord are priceless when you're trying to juggle a car seat and buckle in two toddlers. Yes, Jeremy let me pick the color - thanks sweetie.

The only way I could get Jeremy to agree to buying a new car was to sell him my soul. Ok, it wasn't that bad - I just had to agree to start doing CrossFit workouts on a regular basis. My first one started today which is the last big change for me. I'm already sore all over. In fact, my legs almost gave out on me while I was carrying Caleb down the stairs (scary!), BUT I'm doing it. Maybe after a few months I can dial in my diet like Jamie but for now this is a big enough change for me. Jeremy's been trying to get me to work out for over a year now and the smile on his face this morning almost makes this soreness worth it- then again, he might have been revelling a little too much! This picture is evidence that I actually did the workout, but don't look too hard because it also testifies to the fact that I am way out of shape compared to the other ladies there this morning. :)

Sibling Love

I was a little nervous on how Jake and Julie would react to having another sibling added to the mix. I think I was projecting my fears of taking care of three kids under the age of four onto them because they have literally embraced the arrival of their new baby brother.

Ok, Julie has her moments of jealousy where she tries to climb onto my lap while I'm feeding Caleb or steals his binky, but then she'll turn right around and give him a kiss. Whenever she hears Caleb cry she says, "Uh-Oh, baby!" and runs over to his bassinet.

Jake just loves his new brother to pieces. I swear he has his own special smile that only comes out when he talks about his baby brother. If it involves Caleb, Jake will do anything to be a big helper. Caleb can do no wrong in Jakes eyes. Even if Caleb is screaming at the top of his lungs Jake just laughs and thinks he's being cute. Wouldn't it be nice if Jake felt this way about his little brother all the way through high school and I never had to deal with them fighting? Don't laugh too hard - I can dream, right?

1 Month Old

I distinctly remember being in the hospital and counting down the minutes until Mr.Caleb was one week old. Now where did the last three weeks go? I'm afraid I might get a little redundant here for awhile in my posting because all I want to do is show off my little guy. But you guys don't mind, right? :)

New Baby

Caleb Elijah Stecker joined our family on 8/8/08! He is such a brave little guy. We love him so much and already can't imagine life without him. Newborn pictures always make me laugh once the kids have grown up a bit - they just look so squishy. :) To me, Caleb looks just like Jacob as a baby. What do you think?

Jacob right before being discharged from the hospital.

I couldn't leave out my sweet little girl - Julie right after delivery.

Bear Feet

While visiting Grandma Terri's house one hot day this summer, Grandma pointed out to Jacob that she had bare feet. Jacob quickly responded, "I have kitty feet. Meow!" Ever since, whenever he sees someone with bare feet he assigns them an animal, but always reserves the kitty feet for himself.

(images borrowed from dkimages.com and sportsmanhill.com)

We've got to Hand it to Daddy . . .

Jeremy officially gets the award for the worst timing ever. He went and decided to break his hand at the ward softball game last Monday. He broke the bone running to his middle finger and pretty much shattered the one running to his ring finger on his left hand when his glove caught on the ground as he tried to make a diving catch in center field (I'd be willing to be it wouldn't be "shattered" if he hadn't insisted on playing out the inning and making another catch with his injured hand). He had surgery on Friday and depending on how things heal this week, he might need a follow-up surgery to straighten out his finger.

At my appointment Thursday, Jacob convinced my OB to give him some gloves which came in handy (I know, I'm so punny today!) when he wanted to help fix Daddy's broken hand.