2 year update

I got Caleb into the doctor for his 2 year check up.  What a big boy.  He stood on the big scale for his measurements and let the doctor check him out completely.  Once doctor was done examining him Caleb says to him "I want a sticker".  He is so funny.  Of course he ended up with 3 stickers because he was so charming.  My big boy is 29 lbs and 34 inches tall.  According to the height formula chart my Mom used when I was growing up, Caleb is only going to end up being about 5'8 or 5'9 which is pretty ironic considering that is the exact same height Isaac is going to end up being.  Then of course they say you can double their height at 2 years and it comes out to about the same.  Isaac is going to be short like his birthmother and Caleb is going to be short like me.  No basketball players in this family! :-)

We took Caleb to JCP to get his pictures taken.  He was quite the ham and we got a lot of good shots of him.  We had Isaac along and tried to get their picture taken together.  However, Isaac was having no part of it.  By the time we had Isaac convinced Caleb was done.  So the only pictures of them were one where Caleb is frowning in the background or the two of them fighting over a bat and Isaac crying. It's pretty funny but I already spent enough on the cute Caleb pictures I decided not to get any of the boys.  Maybe we'll do better when Isaac gets his pictures in October.

Oh sleep where have you gone?

This too shall pass...this too shall pass....this too shall pass.  That's what I have to keep telling myself over and over and over again. 

Isaac has been having a terrible time sleeping and we don't know if it is related to his enlarged tonsils and adenoids, sleepwalking, dreams, nightmares, or what exactly is causing this disruption.  He was a good sleeper starting at 2 1/2-3 months.  He slept all night long and slept until 7:00 or 7:30.  Around 18 months he started waking up once in the night which still wasn't that bad.  Right before he turned 2 he started throwing fits when we put him to bed.  He would shake his crib, yell, scream and throw long drawn out temper tantrums.  Once he finally got to sleep he would sleep all night.  THEN he learned how to climb out of his crib and he climbed out over and over and over again.  Needless to say we had to put him in the toddler bed.  It took a couple weeks to get him accustomed to falling asleep and not getting out of bed .  There is also a twin bed (guest bed) in Isaac's room so after a couple months of sleeping in the toddler bed we would find him in the twin bed in the morning.  What a stinker.  Well this past month has been very BAD for sleeping.  He throws terrible temper tantrums.  He bangs on his door, runs around the room, yells, screams.  I hate listening to it.  I feel so frustrated and helpless.  We've tried letting him cry it out and he used to finally give in after 20 minutes or so.  Not anymore.  He will literally cry for hours on end.  I'm not sure if it is a separation anxiety phase or not, but it seems like if we're laying beside him or near him he's fine but the minute we leave he freaks out.  Neither Ross or I were getting much sleep and we had to do something.  We thought he might be comforted by having Caleb in his room so we set up the 2 toddler beds in Caleb's room.  That did not work at all.  In fact, I wasn't prepared for this, but Caleb wanted to be in the toddler bed.  He's been there for about a week now and he sleeps all night without getting up.  What a big boy.  Okay back to Isaac.  So then he moved to the floor of our room a couple nights and now is in our bed. 

It's one thing for him to go through this separation anxiety phase and refuse sleep, but he's also a very restless sleeper.  He is constantly moving, snores, grinds teeth, sleepwalks.  It's quite the time.  The only one getting adequate sleep is Caleb. 

We began wondering about Isaac's behavior.  It's hard to say whether he's the typical toddler going through the terrible 2's or if something else is going on.  His behavior did get worse when he stopped sleeping well so I am thinking now that sleep has A LOT to do with it.  Isaac gets his tonsils and adenoids removed on August 6th and after recovery is through we'll try working on the bedtime routine again.  In the meantime Ross and I take turns sleeping in the bed with him or twin bed in his room. 

So if I could ask, please say a few extra prayers for Isaac in the upcoming weeks.  I pray his surgery goes well, that recovery goes well and that his normal sleep pattern returns.  I know what I feel like when I don't sleep well, I can only imagine how he feels.

Family Vacation 2010

We took our very first vacation with the boys.  Overall we had a wonderful.  We could do without the 9 hour car ride, but it was still a great experience for all of us. 
Thursday, July 8, 2010

We left home around 8:30 or so and headed to Missouri.  We had told the boys we were going to see Aunt Erin but that it would be a long car ride.  About an hour into the ride Caleb said he wanted out and wanted to go swimming.  He started to get a little irritable so I kept him occupied with snacks, books, coloring, stickers until he fell asleep.  I think the boys were too excited to sleep because throughout our 9 hour driving time, they only slept about 90 minutes total.  We stopped 3 times on the way.  The first time we stopped for almost 2 hours which allowed them time to run run run!!!!  We even stopped at the train museum in Council Bluffs.  Lunch was at McDonalds and I knew it was starting off to be a bad day when Caleb dropped his sippy cup into his container of ketchup and it ended up in my hair, on my face, shirt and pants.  To top it off I had a couple different guys at McDonalds tell me things about my parenting styles.  I may not be the best parent, but honestly why do people actually have to say something?  The first man was walking to his seat.  I had just picked Caleb up and was turning around to walk back to the counter and he says to me "maybe you should watch your children".  The next man was sitting across from us while eating.  Ross had told the boys to stay with me while he went to get more pop.  Umm yeah that didn't happen and when they got up the man says "well they listen well now don't they".  I think my only come back was "excuse me, they are two years old".  Yeah the first day didn't start off too great for me ha ha!  After many hours in and out of the car we finally arrived in Arnold, MO at Aunt Erin's house a little after 9 pm.  We let the boys stay up until about 10:30 because they were way to hyper to go to sleep anyways.  Caleb slept in his pack n play (he barely fit) and Isaac slept with us.  In a way it was good to sleep with Isaac because I got a good feel on how his sleeping patterns are.  They aren't good.  He tosses and turns ALL NIGHT LONG!  He snores, sleeps with his mouth open, coughs, and rolls all over the bed.  What a time we had with him in bed with us.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Erin had a class she needed to go to in the morning so Ross, the boys and I went out on our own.  We went to Grant's Farm which has the Clydsdale horses for viewing along with many other animals.  We got to ride the train a couple times.  We saw all sorts of animals, turtles, goats, ducks, geese, birds, etc.  We even bought tickets so the boys each got a ride on the carousel, a sno cone and 2 bottles of milk to feed the baby goats.  We had a blast!!!!  We headed back to Erin's at dinner time and let the boys take naps.  Then Erin joined us and we went on the Budweiser tour.  Isaac hated being in the stroller but wanted to be carried.  Ughh.  Oh well, overall it was fun.  After that we went over to the Arch.  We took some pictures outdoors and went inside and looked at the displays.  We did not go up into the Arch because the wait was so long and we were not sure the boys would sit still long enough.  That night Erin made us supper and we had grilled fish and sweet corn.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Today we went to Six Flags.  What a fun/stressful day.  We got there around 11:00 or so and we were there until 6:30.  The boys got about a 30 minute nap in the stroller so Isaac was quite crabby but we dealt with it.  I think Ross and I rode 2 roller coasters.  The 2nd one I did not like.  It appears that Aunt Erin tried to give away Isaac while she watched him and Caleb as we rode the roller coaster.  Ha!  I guess Isaac threw a fit and wanted me the entire time.  That's okay, Erin experienced a little glimpse of what we go through as parents.  Isaac's favorite thing was the tree house where he could climb so high and go down all the slides.  He also loved riding the train.  Caleb enjoyed all the rides he went on.  We went on the ferris wheel, hopper, helicopter, boat, mini train, swings, cars, etc.  Isaac only liked a few rides.  He enjoyed the train, helicopter and cars.  Everything else he seemed afraid and didn't like to go fast or that high up.  He did good though, he's a trooper.  That night we went to Fozoli's and had some italian food. 

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Today we skipped church because we knew the boys would not sit during service and they would require either Ross or I to be with them in the nursery.  We went out for breakfast.  Then went back for naps and then hit the zoo.  They loved the animals, especially the elephant, lion, zebra, giraffe, gorillas and monkeys.  Aunt Erin bought us tickets to go touch the stingrays.  The boys put their hands in the pool but wouldn't touch them.  They thought it was cool that Mommy and Daddy touched them though.  After a few hours of fun we went and had pizza and then headed back to Erin's. 

Monday, July 12, 2010

We loaded the van and headed out around 8:15 this morning.  We made good time and kept our stops short and made it home by 7:30.  We had to ask Uncle Nolan, Grandma and Grandpa K to come over to visit.  The boys missed them all so much and loved to tell about their vacation.

Boys sitting outside the Arch having fun on the steps

Isaac at the park in Council Bluffs~ captured him without a hat!

Caleb watching some of the rides at Six Flags

Isaac feeding the baby goats at Grants Farm

Caleb riding the carousel at the zoo.  He loved it!

Isaac climbing the tree house at Six Flags

Caleb enjoying his ride on the swings

Daddy and Isaac watching the penguins at the zoo. 

It had been raining outside and was freezing where

the penguins were inside.

Mommy and Isaac watching Gorila Joe at the zoo. 

We went through our "Goodnight Gorilla" story

as we watched him.

Aunt Erin and Isaac outside the Arch.

Aunt Erin and Caleb at the zoo

Outside the Arch.  Caleb has the cutest little wave.

Inside the Arch at the baseball scene

At the park in Council Bluffs

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CALEB!

Dearest Caleb,

You are 2 years old.  These past 2 years have been wonderful watching you grow.  You are the sweetest, kindest little boy.  It feels like you literally went from baby to big boy overnight.  Mommy gets sad when you start growing too fast.  Sometimes I want to freeze time so I can cherish the little things as long as possible.

Some of your favorites-

~Tractors, trucks, combines, trains, farming
~ Books, books and more books
~filling buckets, cans, jars, and dumping them out
~filling your dump truck up and driving around the house
~lining up all of your trucks, tractors and trailers
~stacking all of Mommy's cans and knocking them over
~swimming in the kiddie pool

You are a very smart little boy.  You're already talking in 5 and 6 word sentences.  You've been attempting to use the potty a few times a week and have even pooped in the potty once.  You can pretty much count to 10 except you seem to skip over 5 almost every time.  You are learning your colors but sometimes think everything is red.  You love to read books.  You could read books for hours on end. 

Your best friend is your brother and you two have so much fun together.  The only person that can make you laugh so hard is your brother.  You are a clown and love to joke around and tease Mommy and Daddy.  You try to get your big brother in trouble but it doesn't always work to your advantage.  You are still a laid back boy.  You have a personality like your Mommy but you look just like your Daddy.  You talk a lot but when it's someone you don't k now that well you won't say a word.

Happy Golden Birthday Caleb.  We love you very much.

Mommy, Daddy & Isaac

Caleb Benjamin~ 1 day old

3 months old

6 months old

9 months old

12 months old

18 months old

2 years old