Happy Saturday!

Thanks for checking in on us. We had Caleb's 15 month check up on Monday. He got shots. Enough said, right? I definitely would NOT want that job, but it is an important one. Caleb is still growing well. He is 25lbs. 10 oz., 33 1/4 inches tall, and has a 19 3/8 inch noggin. That puts him in the 66th, >95th, and 94th percentiles respectively. So, tall, skinny, and still top heavy. :) As always, we're thankful for a healthy child.

Today we've got a lot going on. Joye's got a baby shower and a "Scentsy" party to go to (separate events just in case you were wondering how that worked), and Johnny's going to play football sometime in between. This evening we're going to the Cheesecake Factory to help a friend celebrate her birthday - I know, sometimes you have to suffer to go out of your way for a friend. :)

Here are some pictures for you. We hope you're all doing well!
Love ya,
JJC

Mmmmm...toast.

"Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi..."

Apparently Lemons are the best thing since sliced bread.

Hey daddy, I have an idea. Why don't I put a basket on my head and walk around bumping into things? Why? Because it's hilarious!

It's been a while...

Yeah! We are finally updating our blog! I know, I know, it is long overdue, but here it is and here are some pictures and a video for you to enjoy. We hope that you are all doing well and are ready for fall, because believe it or not, here we are. :)

Today, Caleb turned 15 months old. Everyday is exciting with new challenges and brand new experiences in the Hampton house. Caleb is a little sponge absorbing everything that goes on. He doesn't seem to miss anything, nor does he want to. The middle of the action is exactly where he wants to be all the time. He is very active and is very fast! He lowers his head and it seems like gravity pulls him forward as he tries to keep up with his head. :) We have recently started using the baby gate less on the stairs. He pretty well manages himself up and down the stairs now with really no concern for him falling. Of course we watch him, but he understands "falling" and knows he needs to be careful.

His vocabulary is expanding and he's even got a little sign-language down! It is becoming clear that he really does understand quite a bit of what we say to him.

Mostly, Caleb is just plain fun. He has so much energy, but he loves to laugh and play. He likes to wrestle around and he'll come up behind us and tickle us looking for a response. He has such a fun spirit about him and he really lights up our lives every day.

Joye and I are doing well too! Life is full as usual, but Joye is still enjoying her job (of course it's still a job though) and the student ministry is always exciting.

Well, we hope you enjoy these pictures and this video. I'll try to give an update sooner next time! We love you all and hope to hear from each of you soon.

Love ya,
JJC

Wii got a new toy. :)

Joye's cousin Sally got married on Monday - that is why we're so pretty.

One toy is not good enough. Sitting on all the toys is better.

He LOVES brushing his teeth (all three of them)!

Yum, yum.

As long as no skill or style is required, this will have to do for now.

Hangin' with the homies. That is Alexander (Joe & Bekah Chapman's new baby)
& Miles (Jeremy & Melissa Mueller)

He loves to be "side" (Outside).

Good-bye Summer!

Hello everyone! We hope you're all doing well and enjoying whatever time is left of the summer - we can't believe it is nearly over. This summer was full of adventure for us and while it was a fun summer, we welcome its ending because that means life will be a little more normal for a while - whatever normal is.

Since our last post, we went to Alaska and spend about 10 days with family on the Azarel Fish Site. We fished for one day and the rest of the time we just hung out, read books, watched movies, played games, fished on the river, ate food, and watched "jumpers" make there way by our fish site. The fishing wasn't great this year, but for us it was a good time to get away from the usual grind and do something different. We enjoyed being with family and getting Caleb acquainted with some of his relatives who live in the land of the midnight sun. The trip went well and while we were in Alaska Caleb started walking full time. Running away from all those female cousins of his helped him develop his walking skills a bit. :)

When we got back from Alaska we were hoping to spend a day or so with Grandma and "Boppa" Hampton up at Silver Creek Plunge, but it just didn't work out. We were disappointed that we couldn't go, but they will be back in a few weeks and we'll get to spend some time with them then. However, we did get to at least say "Hi!"

We went away last weekend for our annual "Destination Unknown" with the youth group. We took 74 students and adults to Seattle for a great weekend. We watched a Mariner's game, went to one of the largest indoor malls on the West Coast, went to the Experience Music Project, watched an improv comedy group (kind of like the show "Who's Line is it Anyway?"), and spent time just hanging out with the students. It was a fun weekend. Our weekend also included one of our trailers being rear-ended on the freeway on our way to Seattle. It was a scary moment for sure, but God protected us and the driver who hit our trailer. No one was hurt and we were able to continue on our trip in no time. God is good!

Caleb is a little sick at the moment. He started to get a cough when we left for Seattle - a huge thank you to Joye's cousin and sister for being willing to watch a sick baby over the weekend! However, being a little sick definitely does not slow this little boy down. He is everywhere at all times - it's amazing. He is like a little ninja. Now that he's walking everywhere, it is harder to tell where he has gone or is going. I was in the laundry room and Caleb was in the living room on the other side of the house. I was just minding my own business doing a little laundry when I turned around to leave and - "GASP!" - there he was, just standing there looking up at me confused as to why I got so scared. He's a sneaky little sucker.

Well, that's all for now. Here are a few pictures from Alaska. Thanks for stopping by.

Love you all.

Peace,
JJC

Watching some fishing on the Kenai River.

B-E-A-utiful!

I wonder if he'll figure out he's too big to sleep that way.

TWO TEETH!!

Hey all! I don't know about you, but I can't believe it is the middle of July! We got to spend our fourth of July weekend at our church's family camp this year. This was the first time we were able to attend this with our church since we've been here and there is no doubt we'll try our best to make this a yearly trip. It was so much fun. I loved it mostly because I got to spend a weekend with my family at an event that I didn't plan or have responsibility at. We enjoyed ourselves hanging out with friends, eating really good food, playing Frisbee golf, making a family camp - family flag (as you can kind of see in the picture), playing games, and just relaxing. Caleb had fun (we think) playing with the other kids there and receiving much attention from people who think "he's just sooooo cute!"

The day we got back from family camp we discovered that Caleb finally had some teeth. They have been coming in for a while now with two little bumps, but they finally cut through and he now has two little teeth on the bottom row. They came in together.

He's walking most places now - what I'm learning is that when he crawls, it's usually to a wall or a couch to pull himself up so he can walk to where ever he is going. It is fun to watch him become more and more confident with his walking skills.

He has expanded his vocabulary by one word. He can now say "light" only it sounds like "ite." He loves to play with the light switch and say "Ooo" when the light goes on and off.

On Monday we had his one year check up and everything looks good. Here are his specs: he weighs 23.5 pounds (61%); his head is 19 inches round (90%); he is 31 inches tall (85%). So, since our last check up at 9 months this is what we know: he's gained a little weight, he's still tall, but slowed down a bit on the chart, and his head is still huge. :) We are so blessed to have a healthy boy.

Well, thanks for stopping by to catch up on us. We're excited for the next few weeks to see many of our family we don't get to see very often!

Peace,
JJC

We had some balloons left over from his birthday party and he LOVED them.

A tired little boy at family camp.

Saturday was a big day for our household! It started bright and early with Caleb's first haircut EVER! It was pretty exciting. His hair was getting long and as you can tell by the picture - ya, that's right, he had a mullet! Mullet Pride! We know the lady who cut Caleb's hair so it was fun to have her do it. Caleb did so well. He just sat in my lap and followed the sucker around. If she needed him to look down, I pulled the sucker down and his mouth followed. It was really funny. He wasn't afraid of the clippers and held very still for the scissors. She even put "product" in his hair to make it look like Johnny's.

We were totally amazed at how different Caleb looked with a hair cut - what do you think? He looks older to us and more like a big, little boy. He's pretty cute though and we're learning that he knows it! He's becoming quite the little flirt with the ladies and is learning to pose for the camera.

After the hair cut we got ready for Caleb's big birthday party. We invited friends and family and had a really good turn out. Thanks to all of you who showed up - there were about 30 people here who celebrated with us - and thanks to all of you who called or sent Caleb love through a card. As you may or may not know, Joye shares her birthday now with Caleb. So this year we celebrated Joye's birthday on her actual day and Caleb's the next day.

The party was a lot of fun. There were a lot of kids here roughly around the same age so they had a lot of fun together. We all hung out and played in the back yard and snacked on some food. We set Caleb up in his chair outside and had cake out there. As you can see from the pictures, he liked to wear the cake more than he liked to eat it. Actually, we're not sure if he ever took a bite - he wasn't quite sure what to think about it, but he had fun wearing it and he also helped some of the other kids wear it!

Caleb went straight to the tub for a quick rinse and we had fun trying to keep Caleb from eating the crumbs that fell of of him in the tub.

After cake and ice cream we all went over to the pool to cool off - and it was needed because it has been really hot here the past few days. It was fun playing around in the pool with everyone.

It's just hard to believe our little man is a year old now. He walked the farthest we've seen him walk today and is getting more confident with ever step he takes. He actually squatted down to pick up a toy and then stood back up without holding on to anything. Woohoo! Hey, you have to celebrate each milestone, right? That's what we do anyway.

We're pretty sure his most recent achievement is learning and saying the word "duck." It sounds more like "Duh," but he knows what a duck is from his toys in the bathtub. He seems to pick things up pretty fast as well. He got a cool little race car toy for his birthday (Thanks Wolfs!) that he loves. I spent some time playing with it with him (okay, so I was playing with it by myself and then I let Caleb play too:)) trying to teach him how it worked. He just kind of sat back and observed. A little while later Joye and I left the room and then came back to find him curiously trying to figure it out putting the cars on the track and pushing the button he needed to push - it was pretty cool to see his little mind at work.

Well, this has become quite the novel so we'll quit for now. Thanks to all of you for your love and support of our family. We really appreciate and love each of you.

Enjoy these pictures and have a great week!

Peace,
JJC

Business in the front. A Party in the back.




The sucker trick works pretty well - for the record!


What is happening daddy?!


You can do whatever you want, just give me that sucker!





Woah lady, what are you about to do?!




Waiting so patiently.


Nice "product."




One of many "interesting" faces Johnny will be sure to receive over the years.






Party time.




I don't know what to think about this.


Okay, I'll have fun wearing it.


Andi shouldn't have looked away.
Right after this picture he grabbed her hair and left a present in it.




Caleb and Cousin Spencer Kipp having a moment.


We wish all the cousins could have been there, but here are some of them.




They all played a game where they would get as close to Caleb as they could and then try to escape his hand trying to touch their face or clothes. Simple things amuse simple minds. Hey, we were all entertained!


This is his "Okay, I've had enough" face.