Double the Trouble - Messes and Rubble

This past weekend was my "drill" weekend. Its the weekend that really isn't a weekend for me. I was elated to get home and enjoy a little relaxing time with them. Little did I know, or any of us for that matter, what we were up against and the messes that would follow.

I walked in the door to find Caleb fast asleep and burning up with a furious fever under a blanket. He woke for brief periods to talk to us and Aunt Marla who was visiting and over for dinner. Other than that he was out like a light for most of the evening. After he woke again, before heading to bed, his temperature continued to rise and he felt like he came straight from the suana. He was complaining of an upset stomach and didn't feel like eating a whole lot. Out of nowhere I realized that he needed to throw up. We raced from the family room into the kitchen where we managed to make it to the sink so he could take care of his business. After the incident his fever started to break and he was feeling a bit more like his old self again. The only thing that bothered him was the unpleasantness of his stomach's upheaval.

Shortly after that he decided it was bedtime. For one who likes to stay up as late as possible it was great to hear him say it was time to go to sleep much earlier than usual. I ended up changing the little stinker into his pullups downstairs and got him some apple juice for his sippy cup. We both affectionally ran up the stairs chasing and teasing one another. As we reached the top of the stairs I immediately knew something was wrong with Katie. We went into the master bedroom and found her leaning over the bathroom sink having tummy problems of her own. She ended up getting her B6 vitamin lodged in her throat and she had the same sudden disaster that Caleb had just a bit earlier. She was alright and just needed to really catch her breath by the time we arrived.

As the two of them crawled into bed I was left with the task of cleaning up another icky mess. I went downstairs, grabbed a plastic grocery bag and some paper towels and went to work. I was able to soak a lot of the liquid out of the sink but everything else managed to clog the sink. After I returned from a panicky rush down the stairs and out to the garbage can with everything in hand, Katie told me the little conversation that had transpired while I was outside. It went sort of like this:

Caleb: "Where is Daddy going?"

Mommy: "He's going to apply for sainthood."

Caleb: "At the garbage can?"

We couldn't stop laughing for the next little bit after that. Thankfully, in the end, we all slept soundly that night after all the aftermath of those events. Before we went to sleep though I had noticed water in the garbage can in the guest bathroom. I asked Katie what had happened and how it got there. She shrugged her shoulders and pointed at Caleb and laughingly said, "Ask him." I did just that and here's the response that followed...

Daddy: "Caleb, why is there water in the garbage can in the guest bathroom?"

Caleb: "Because Dezi was thirsty and needed a drink of water so I filled it up for her."

Another memory to fall asleep laughing to. Especially knowing that Dezi, the dog, does not have a neck like a giraffe which is what she would've needed to get the water at the bottom of that can.

To top it all off I went and bought Maximum Strength Drano at the store yesterday and cleaned up the leftovers in the sink and unclogged it too. Pretty disgusting things that had to be done by all of us... either throwing up or cleaning up the mess but plenty of memories and laughs had to always remember that Sunday night.

Mr. Clean - Age 3

For anyone that knows our little man, he is a very sweet and kind hearted kid. He has a wonderful trait in him that will be useful, hoping he holds onto it, in the future. He loves going around the house to find things that he can clean all by himself. Yesterday was one of those days...

Earlier in the day I found him in the bathtub with a Clorox wipe trying to clean up after one of his messier/dirtier baths. When I found him he was singing a song to himself with toilet paper in one hand and a Clorox wipe in the other. What worried me is that I saw him playing with some of the chemical sprays/cleaners we use around the house. After we cleaned the bathroom up I told him that he couldn't use those cleaners because it could affect him in negative ways and do him harm. That sunk in... for the next five minutes. *sigh* What do you do with a self-propelled three year old trying to do his best to help clean up around the house?

For the next few hours he was appeased by hanging out with his mom, dad and dingy dog. We watched television and played around finding ways to keep each other constantly entertained. Constant wasn't the right word after a while. Caleb grew tired and went to watch Caillou on the computer and, later, sneakily snuck up the stairs to wreck havoc on the house again... unbeknownst to us.

Suddenly Katie calls from upstairs as I hear a child running down the hall with the loud *thump thump* that his feet make when he's off in a huge hurry. What I found next didn't make me too happy but I still find him the biggest sweetheart for doing his best, with his know how, to clean up. He had opened one of the spray bottles, Carpet Resolve for Pet Stains, and tried cleaning the stairs. Before he used it it was nearly full. When I got hold of it the bottle was completely empty and I felt like I was walking through the best smelling swampland in the world. The stairwell and upstairs smelled great. The only problem was taking the Bissell to the carpet and cleaning up the spilled contents for the next 15 or so minutes while Caleb and mommy had a talk at the top of the stairs. There was a huge puddle of spilled content on every step that I had to clean up. Good times. What made it all memorable is what Caleb said to his mommy before she called me to let me know what had happened.

Katie saw what Caleb was doing when she went up the stairs and said, "Caleb, what are you doing?" Remembering the earlier conversation between himself and daddy his eyes opened wide, he dropped the empty spray bottle and as he ran into the nursery to hide he was heard saying...

"I have to go hide now!"

What a little goober. I hope these cleaning tendencies continue on as he gets older. He'll be a great asset around the house... but he's a great asset even now too. =)

Marchin' Off to School

Today is a new chapter in Mr. Caleb's life. This was his very first day of preschool!

He is/was such a happy camper anxiously awaiting to scoot off with his new pack to make new friends and learn new things. What makes it even better is the fact that his classroom is literally just down the hall from Katie's 5th grade class.

Subject of day one: How to become smarter than your parents.


- I've got a feeling he's already nipped this one in the butt. I'm sure he's just formulating his masterplan of taking over the school, our home and then... THE WORLD!

I can't wait til he gets home with mom to report on his first day and how everything went. He was excited when he went and I believe he'll be just as excited to talk about it tonight. Hopefully friends made will be the #1 topic at the dinner table.

What I love even more about this preschool is that it is set up as a special needs preschool too. Not that Caleb is but he'll begin to understand at a very early age that not everyone is the same. Hopefully he'll have a better understanding as he grows up that everyone offers plenty of strengths and weaknesses no matter who they are, where they come from or what they look like.

I love you kid! Have a great time.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Just the other day Caleb and I went to the store to pick some stuff up for Katie. She got to spend some time at home since she was feeling under the weather and enjoy some quiet time while the boys went out and gathered the dinner materials.

The afternoon was a bit blustery and Caleb was outside with a hooded sweatshirt on. As we were loading into the car I told him to drop the hood so he wouldn't get too hot in the car as we drove away. His response... "No Daddy! Leave it on. I don't want my hair to blow away!" Somehow the concept of hair being rooted to your head hasn't dawned on him yet. What an adorable little guy.

"Kids say the darndest things" - Art Linkletter

Dabbling in Thoughts of Photography

I've been tossing the idea around for quite some time now about getting into photography. Its something that can certainly create a decent income (even starting out) and, more than anything, its really something I enjoy doing. At the moment, all I have is our 5 megapixel point and shoot digital camera. I'd need to invest in some PhotoShop equipment but I think that should be quite doable. I will post pictures of things I've taken both past and present and I would love to hear thoughts about what anyone thinks of it.

The first is a picture of a beautiful waterfall, Shoshone Falls, in Twin Falls, ID. Katie, Caleb and I went to see it while we were visiting her family last summer. Its part of the Snake River and a beautiful part of the country to see some great photography opportunities.

The picture on the right is of Katie and Caleb. It was taken early last summer at my little brother's wedding in Los Angeles, CA. There was a small drizzle coming down and Caleb wasn't liking the idea of getting wet. With that in mind I took off my coat and draped it over Caleb to prevent a lot of the rain from landing on him. I should have thought of a little hat too. As soon as I saw the coat on him I couldn't resist the photo opportunity because it was just so adorable. Caleb, as he always is, turned out to be quite the handsome fellow and happy to have the extra layer of warmth.

This is one of the bigger jumping rocks at Sand Harbor beach. The day was obviously a bit overcast which made for a more beautiful color on the lake. The young man about to jump could be doing many things... checking before jumping, looking at distant horizons, enjoying the beauty of Lake Tahoe or a miriad different things.

My little monster, on the right, with a cute little party hat on his head. He was having a good laugh with it on but the opening was so big that it kept slipping down over his little head. He kept reaching out trying to get some help before he realized he could just reach up and brush the whole thing off. He certainly made for great entertainment for quite a while though.

These are just a few of my wonderful pictures. I would love to find more but I'm running short on time tonight and can't find some of the folders that contain my other pictures of both people, things and places. If you have access to my profile on Facebook you can scroll down and access my photo album of Tahoe shots as well.

I hope you've enjoyed these pictures and a small part of my life as much as I have. I would love to hear any constructive criticism about these pictures and the possibilities of doing this as more than just a hobby. Also, I would love to hear your comments about the name of my future business... Crescent Creek Photography. I'd also like to find an artist who would be willing to help me create an amazing logo too. Anyways, enough babbling and off I go to enjoy some family time...

Really?! Yes, REALLY!!!

No, thats not a Q-tip. Its actually a newer version of the wish making 8-ball but it only answers in YES and NOs. Its exactly what you think it is and its the exciting news we've been anxiously awaiting for! Need I say more?

For those of you reading this I only ask one favor... PLEASE (if you are family) do not reveal this exciting news to anyone. If they choose not to read the blog than they will happily be in the dark until Christmas when we all gather together to throw snowballs at one another, drink hot chocolate and watch all the little ones do silly things! Can't wait to see y'all at Aspen Grove in just a few short months.

Here's the news: Katie was starting to show signs of her previous pregnancy shortly after I got home. Heightened sense of smell (which isn't always great), urge to eat unusual things she normally doesn't get on a normal basis, a ton of body discomfort, thankfully no constant sickness/illness this time (so no morning sickness yet) and many other signs. Last week I went to the store to get lost and constantly call Katie to figure things out but to also buy a store bought test kit. Last Saturday morning around 0630 in the morning I remember waking up to poking in my shoulder. Sure enough, what you see in that picture was no more than mere inches from my nose when I rolled over and looked up. Katie was beaming, as she ought to be, and I was elated. I told her I was excited, congratulated her and rolled my elated body over and knocked out again. Caleb is so excited about being a big brother! I don't think he quite knows what it entails but he'll have a lifetime to figure it out in just under nine months. What an awesome surprise to have after shortly returning home from training for nearly a year. We'll keep you all posted as we start finding more out. The due date is set for Caleb's birthday (April 5) but likely won't happen because of blood pressure issues so we're thinking a March baby sometime.

Also, keep your fingers crossed for us... we are hoping for a girl. We've got names picked out already whether its a boy or a girl. Whoohoo! Family of four here we come!

Toddling Photography

Some of the simpler and more mundane things in life really seem to look different from the perspective of a child. I don't think Caleb realizes it yet but he's a man on a mission waiting to do great things with photography. Half the time I can't even hold on to the camera when I want to take a picture because he's dying to get his hands on it and have fun with the button pushing technology.

Caleb was more interested in Dezi's hair than Dezi herself.

The detail is plain hairy!

Quite the rainbow of colors that happily sat in the sun for quite some time.

I'm thinking he decided to eat little and play photographer more.

Who do those little piggies belong to?

Why aren't they painted pretty colors like they are now?

Can you spot the passing photographer here?

Here's a hint: He's the smallest shadow in the picture!

Caleb made one of many friends while feeding the geese in Idaho.

I think they'll get along just ducky. Just don't goose them.