Shots & Suckers

We found out today that if you bribe a two year old with a sucker, the shot doesn't seem so bad. That is what happened today when we took Caleb in for his two year check up. The nurse was smart. She had a sucker in one hand, a needle in the other, and a two year old with his eyes on the prize! It worked! She jabbed him. He flinched, said, "What tha?!" (not really), and then lunged for the sucker - put it in his mouth and he was all smiles. Much better than the 125 decibels we've experienced in the past. :)

Caleb is in great health according to the doctor and is as normal as can be for a two year old. He's shed a few pounds in the last several months, but that is likely due to him being SO active. He's weighing in now at 33lbs putting him in the 91st percentile. He is also 35.5 inches tall putting him above the 95th percentile, and his head...well, his head is still HUGE! 20.25 inches make up our son's noggin. When the doctor showed us the chart with the lines on it, Caleb had his own line above the scale. So, we still have a tall, skinny, and big headed child. :)

We are always shaking our head wondering, "Did he just do that?" or, "Did he just say that?" It is so fun. He basically repeats our sentences now which makes for an interesting time trying to get Caleb to respond with answers to our questions or responses to our comments.

Today for lunch Caleb had a sandwich. I ran upstairs to grab something and on my way down I heard, "Choooo, choooo, choooo, train, chooo chooo...." So I slowed down to see if I could sneak up on him and peaked around the corner. He had his sandwich lined up in pieces on the table like a train and he was pushing them along. It was priceless. I went to grab the camera and of course the moment he saw me he moved on to something else. Those are the kind of moments we are having with Caleb these days - so fun!

Here's a little video of Caleb at the Zoo Boise. We went last weekend with the Mueller's and their son Miles. The two boys had a great time and it turns out that the Zoo Boise is actually pretty cool - even if they have prairie dogs and llamas on display. :) The last part of the video is Caleb eating one of his favorite meals - spaghetti!

Have a great weekend!
Love you all,
JJC

Happy Happy Birthday Birthday!

Last Saturday was both Joye's and Caleb's birthday - happy birthday to both of them! Caleb turned two and Joye turned...well, she's still in her 20's!

We can't believe our little man is already two years old! I was gone for a week and a half to Orlando with part of our youth ministry and missed their birthdays. Joye got her actual birthday day to herself with one of her sisters and a good friend Albre while Grandma Deakins watched Caleb for the day (Thank you!). So, we threw a party for Caleb today and had a bunch of his cousins and friends over for a little BBQ and a pool party.

It was nice to be with everyone even in the midst of a chaotic party for a two year old. We had burgers, hot dogs, beans, salad, and then cake and ice cream. We topped the evening off with a swim at our neighborhood pool. It was lots of fun!

Our good friend Albre Davis worked really hard and made Caleb a special cake. Caleb was awe-struck by the cake and I wish the picture could capture it better, but he was a little freaked out when he realized that he was eating his furry red friend. Elmo wasn't laughing back this time. He was confused and so the resolution was to throw his fork and cake off the table. What can you do, right? I mean that's a lot to think about for a two year old. :) The cake looked amazing and it tasted just the same. Thanks Albre for being an awesome friend like that!

Here are some pictures of the party and a short video for you. Enjoy! Have a great fourth of July - stay safe!

Love to you all,

JJC

All the fixin's!

Some of Caleb's cousins and his friend Miles sneaking in back there too. C's friend Ty Davis was also there but he didn't make this picture.

Looks like it came from a magazine huh? She's good! And I hear she's open for business?? :)

If you listen closely in the video below, you can hear a couple of the girls saying, "Ooooh, I want the eye ball!"

He was seriously speechless!

This was the point where he began to get really confused. Shortly after this picture was taken he got frustrated that he was eating Elmo and threw his fork and cake everywhere.

Tons of fun in the pool!

Is it summer yet?

It's nearing the end of June, but for those of us who live in this neck of the woods, it really hasn't started to feel like summer around here yet. It has been raining and stormy off and on a lot lately, and we're ready for summer! Oh well, if that's the worst of our problems right now, then I guess we'll be okay, right?

We thought we'd post a few pictures and say a quick hello to everyone who checks in on us once and a while. We're all doing well and our little man Caleb is doing great! It is hard to believe that he'll be two years old next week! Unbelievable how fast time is going by.

We promised ourselves that at the two year mark-ish, the binki goes bye-bye. So, in the next two weeks or so, you can be thinking about us, either praying for us our laughing at us, but either way that this all goes well. At daycare, he walks in and his teacher says, "Okay Caleb, put your binki away." He walks over to his box, and puts it down. How does she do that!?! We say the same thing at home and he says back to us, "one chocolate?" :)

Anyway, we hope you are all doing well. Enjoy the pictures and hopefully we'll see you soon!

Love ya,

JJC

Stylin'

If you didn't know, Caleb absolutely LOVES tomatoes. He DOES NOT get this from his father.

This is Caleb's "deep breath in and hold with anticipation" face.

This is the front of his birthday party invitations this year (he's actually not crying in this picture, just being a loud boy and making a funny face at that moment).

If Albertsons goes out of business...I'm sorry.

So...as you may or may not know I have become quite the Coupon lady. I like to refer to it as "couponing" I don't think it is a real word because there is a red squiggly line under it, but I like it, so I am going to use it. My BF Albre and I have been up many a late night at Albertsons scoping out the deals and today.....we hit the mother load!  We saved 90% on our groceries today! All of this stuff would have cost us over $90!!! We paid $9.10!!! That's right folks...do the math...that's 90% savings...wait, right??! I am terrible at math. I think that's right.

It is so much fun for us and we usually have many laughs! Albre's son Ty had the distinct honor of going with us today...he was not quite as excited as us...until we got him FREE mini oreos. uh huh. that's right I said FREE!

So, if you live in the Nampa/Boise area and you ever get coupons...NEVER throw them away..I will take them..I will use them...I may even double them and get free stuff! 

In case you can't see it all:

5 cases of Root Beer, 1 box of Wheat thins, 2 bottles of coffee mate creamer, 1 box of graham crackers, 1 bottle of salad dressing, 2 bottles of shaving cream, 1 bottle of tabasco sauce, 1 pack of marshmallows, 1 6pack of chocolate candy bars, 1 bottle of BBQ sauce, 1 snack pack of mini oreos, 1 bottle of McCormack hamburger spice, 1 jar of peanut butter, 2 boxes of triscuits, and 2 bags of toasted ritz chips!

Gardening, Running, and Tooting

Hello!  Well, the warmth is finally here and it is actually starting to feel like summer.  

Joye is doing well being an amazing mamma to Caleb, oh, and that's aside from working too - she still loves her job!  She has also recently started dabbling into the world of gardening.  We've posted some before pictures below and in 60-90 days we'll post some after picture to see how it went. :)  This year we are trying cherry tomatoes, strawberries, and watermelons.  If all goes well, we have a perfect spot on the side of our house for a bigger garden.  If you have any suggestions, resources, or ideas, please do share - we are definitely rookies at this "grow your own food" thing.

Johnny is busy gearing up for a full summer, but has also been maintaining a strict running schedule - no reason other than just to feel better and whip himself into shape a bit.  Maybe if he actually follows through on it, he'll consider doing a race and see if he can pull his competitive juices out of quarantine.

Caleb is, well, he'll be two next month - 'nuff said, right?  He is so fun!  Talking in 3 or 4 word sentences now, he keeps our attention every time he speaks because it has become a fun game to try and be the first one to understand exactly what he's trying to tell us.  We're starting to understand him more and more, but we're also realizing it is because we're around him all the time.  When he says something while someone else is around and they say, "Huh?"  We tell them what he said as if, "Duh, he was perfectly clear, can't you understand him?"  He's quite the little character too as he is learning how to tickle, tease, and even says, "tooted" with a laugh when his mama...okay, when his dadda toots (come on - that's the stuff that makes life tolerable at times isn't it?!?).

We're looking forward to this long weekend.  It will be busy, but fun with BBQ's and family and friends.  Wish we could see family and friends we haven't seen in a while - we miss you all a lot!  Here are a bunch of pictures for you.  Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Love you all,

JJC

Caleb's two buddies, Miles Mueller (left) and Alexander Chapman (right) during Miles' birthday party - he's two now!

This is how he rolls.

Joye was working on the garden and accidentally sprayed Caleb, he loved it and she thought, "Ah, who cares!?"  They had fun!

I thought about giving Caleb a machete to hack down the jungle that was growing in our back yard, but...

...we decided to do this instead - we'll see how it goes.

Cherry Tomatoes

Watermelons - have faith...if you build it, they will come.

Strawberries