End of 2009 Update

Fall Birthdays and Christmas

So it's been a while since I have updated our information. In September we celebrated our 7 yr anniversary. I can't believe it has been that long but at the same time that seems very short. Stacey, Cody, and Kevin came up Labor Day weekend and we went to the zoo to see the huge white tiger they had this summer. That was a lot of fun and of course Stacey loved it! =) Kevin and Jordan slept a lot of the time.

We carved some pumpkins with the boys in October and Aaron and Tyler had specific requests for how they wanted their "faces" to look. They posed for Daddy so he could see how to make them. =) There is a picture in the folder titled Fall 2009. Jordan just wanted to eat everything. He didn't even care about the pumpkins when we put candles in and turned the lights off. For the last weekend in October, David, Melisa and the girls all came up. Friday, Oct 30, we went to church for the "trunk or treat". Aaron and Tyler had a lot of fun with that even though it was quite cold. Aaron was dressed as a lion, Tyler as an elephant, and Jordan as Pooh. Then we went inside for some refreshments. Saturday night the boys got dressed up again and the girls dressed as princesses and the dads took them down the street for a little trick or treating. It was really cold so Melisa and I kept Jordan and Grace home. I think the kids had a fun time even if the dads didn't! =)

Beginning of November brought Jordan's first birthday! I just made cupcakes for his cake (simple and easy). He loved it and dug right into his. He had no clue what to do with the
gifts even after his brothers showed him but he really enjoyed the toys once he could see
them. I can't believe how big he is and yet still so little compared to his brothers at his age. It's a good thing he is smaller though because I can still lift him when I need to despite my growing size! =) My parents were here for Jordan's birthday so I also made a cherry pie to celebrate my dad's birthday. For Thanksgiving we had our yearly church dinner a few weeks before the day. On Thanksgiving Day we stayed home and just had a quiet time together. We read about the story and meaning behind Thanksgiving to try to teach the boys the true meaning of why we celebrate it. I did not make the traditional meal ...too much work for me at that time!

December 1st was Tyler's 3rd birthday. It was also our first snowfall and Tyler thought that was the coolest thing that it snowed on his birthday. we celebrated the weekend before when Aunt Heather and Uncle Zeb were here. I made a cake with Curious George on it cuz he just loves to watch that show. Since we celebrated and opened presents the weekend before..he was able to go outside and ride his new bicycle since it was fairly warm. He had been wanting a "big bike" like Aaron's not just his tricycle so now he has one and he loves it. He is 3 but he still acts and thinks so much older so it seems he has been 3 for a while now. One of his favorite indoor activities is doing puzzles. He is very good at them and does them much above his age level. Once he has done it once, he will keep doing the same one getting faster and faster each time. Of course that is the only time I can get him to sit still..otherwise he is up and moving constantly.

I was very busy during most of December with a Christmas musical in our church. I was doing the sign language for the songs. The story took place in an ER and had many funny moments. However the message was about telling your friends about Jesus and what He means to you before it is too late. The lead role was a girl named Jenny who had an accident and went to the ER. Her friends came to visit but couldn't see her until their number was called so spent the whole night waiting. They had only heard rumors and didn't know what really happened to her. It turned out she only had sprained her wrist but in their imaginings she could be dying and they had never spoken about their faith to her. It was a very fun musical and also very convicting. We performed that the weekend before Christmas.

The kids had a few "Christmases" to celebrate. A few days before Christmas we went to Grandma Caballeros house to open gifts with her. Then we had our own little Christmas the
next day. Finally for Christmas day we went down to my parents in PA. We had a great holiday time but I am so glad for it to be over and calm down a little now before the baby comes.

Aaron is almost 5 and always reminds us. He cannot wait to go to school "when he gets 5." He counts off the days on his calendar and asks almost daily if the baby is here yet because he can't have his birthday until she is here. Everytime I go to the doctor he wants to know if she is going to get the baby out now "cuz it is taking so long!" I can't believe how grown up he acts now and he is still our best helper. He helps me so much during the day..getting things upstairs for me and helping put things away. He helps a lot with Jordan. He will be such a great help with the new baby too I'm sure.

So now we are down to 4 weeks until due date (Feb 6). We did find out that it was a girl this time. I really debated if I wanted to because once I know it is so hard to wait and I won't have the surprise at the end. But I wanted to be able to be ready for her if it was a girl and give my sister my "boy" stuff to keep for Kevin. So we found out and for all you wondering...I would rather NOT know! It is so much more difficult and now I don't have that surprise to look forward to. So take my advice and keep it a surprise! =) We do have most everything ready for her including a name (which is a secret) so now we just wait...and wait..and hope she's early!! I would like a January baby.

Enjoy the pictures (click the link at top to get to the online albums) and we will update
more after our little girl joins the family! A late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all and hope this new year is great for all!