More Firsts

                                        Practicing Hard
                                     Caleb's first school program
                             Dancing Machine
                                         Handsome boy 

We had an eventful week in our house, full of new "firsts." It started with our first experience of having 3 kids sick at the same time! After 3 doctor visits and buying out the pharmacy, everyone is on the road to recovery. All 3 kids had pink eye. Caleb and Isaac also had a sinus infection and Cardale was starting an ear infection. Unfortunately, I have gotten sick over the weekend. Hopefully I recover in the next few days without a trip to the doctor.:) 

Caleb was in his first Christmas program this week! I was so proud of him. He stood up there and sang his little heart out while doing the motions. My parents and sister also saw him perform and he loved it. 

Another first, Cardale got his first haircut! We have been waiting for this event since he moved in with us.:) His Mom gave us permission to cut it and it looks great. I think the haircut makes him look older. Cardale will enjoy not having to sit through hair combing sessions anymore.  

We're looking forward to a relaxing Christmas. We'll go to my parent's house for Christmas and to Chicago for the weekend. Other than that, no big travel plans. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Happy Birthday Cardale!

Yesterday was Cardale's 1st Birthday! We celebrated at home with our kids. Cardale actually tried to eat some of the cake, which I wasn't sure he would do. He seemed to like the frosting. The cake itself was a sorry affair. I practically cried over the result. We were super busy this week and basically it came down to the fact that I didn't have time to make a cute cake. I decided to use a can of frosting which was a mistake, there wasn't enough frosting to cover the cake and there were crumbs in the frosting. It looked horrible! I was ready to throw it away. But, Nate reminded me it would still taste good and Cardale doesn't care what it looks like. So, I swallowed my pride and served the cake. Cardale also had fun ripping wrapping paper. A fun birthday overall!

I thought I would share a few thoughts about Cardale.

Dear Cardale,

We celebrated your 1st Birthday. We didn't know you one year ago, we had no idea you would join our family. We don't know the circumstances of your birth or what you were like the first couple months of life. We don't know which characteristics come from your Mom or Dad. However, we do know you. We've learned alot about you in the past 6 months. We know you're a light sleeper, that you can imitate sounds well, you don't listen to "no" very well, you love to dance and cuddle, you don't like having your hair combed, and you love playing in water- to name a few things. I apologize for the times I don't love you like you deserve. Having you join our family has challenged us to expand our understanding of what it means to love unconditionally. These past 6 months have not been easy, but they have been good. We do not know where you will be living at your next birthday. However, we do know that you are a child of God and He has a plan for your life. We pray that you continue to grow healthy and strong. That God blesses your life wherever He places you. You are a wonderful boy Cardale and we love you!

Back from the East

Getting a drink before the reception with Janna and Jason

Suzanne and Erik newly married

Grandma D watching a video with the grandkids. Caleb and Britta were very tense.

Britta and Caleb are 4 months apart in age. They play really well together.

The Box, Smith and DeMaster kids. Why do my kids freak out about pictures?:)

So we're back from our trip to NY. We had a wonderful, relaxing time. The boys enjoyed having Gpa and Gma DeMaster to themselves for a couple days and then playing with their cousins. We also drove out to Ballston Spa to visit our friends. We haven't been back there since we moved away 3 years ago. We saw our old house, which is for sale. The house looked the same, although they took out the pool in the back. We stayed with our friends overnight and had fun catching up with lots of people. It worked fairly well to drive thru the night. The boys didn't sleep as well as desired, but they weren't crying.

Cardale did great with the other family for the week. He was learning to walk before we left and now he is walking everywhere. No more crawling for him.

We completed our vacation with me making a whirlwind trip to Chicago for Suzanne's wedding. The wedding was beautiful and I'm glad I could go. I had fun hanging out with Janna and Jason.

Now we are back into the swing of things. The first day of reality is always tough. Can I rail against Walmart for a moment? I had to go to the store today so I took Cardale and Isaac with me. I need the double seat carts and of course all of those carts are outside covered in snow. This is not the first time this has happened to me at Walmart. So I raised the issue with the cart person again and proceeded to push/pull two carts around Walmart. Not a fun job. As I am leaving Walmart I saw they brought in 6 two seater carts. Hopefully the next people can benefit from it.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!