Happy Birthday Caleb!!!

Caleb is 9 years old today! He is very happy about it - me not so much (more about that later.) It seems like we have been celebrating his birthday off and on for the past few days. My mom and grandma were in town this past weekend so they took him to Toys R US on Friday after school. They gave him a set amount that he could spend. To most kids that would be awesome. For Caleb, it took forever!!! He was so indecisive. (Due to the fact that we are "professional garage salers" it made it hard for him to spend real money on things. Even though our main goal for garage sales is to buy to resell on ebay, we almost always find awesome deals on things we need/want. People are usually so amazed at some of the things we get.)



Sunday was Caleb's friend party. This year he wanted to go Bowling. He had a great time! Here are a few pics of him and some of his friends. Somehow there were some kids I didn't get a picture of, or only got the back of their head.

I thought this picture of Caden with her daddy was so sweet.

Cali did great at the party. She slept for the first half, but then was content to just sit and people watch.

Yesterday on Memorial Day we did nothing for a change. This was the first year we didn't have family in town and have a cookout. We decided to do nothing. Over the past few weeks Caleb has done a massive cleaning out of his room and we have tons of toys he wants to sell at our next garage sale. Yesterday he also decided that he wanted to sell some of his N64 and PS2 games on ebay. I told him that with all that money he gets from the toys and the video games that he should save it all up and he can buy himself a Wii. He LOVED that idea. (Chris actually had several before Christmas that he got at Wal-Mart, but they were selling so high on ebay that he sold them all) So Caleb brought in stacks and stacks of games for Chris to list. If they all sell he will have enough to buy a Wii in just a week or two!

We have a little tradition of taking the kids out to breakfast on their actual birthday. Caleb picked Cracker Barrel. So we were there at 7:30 this morning. Before we left we gave Caleb our present. Here he is reading the note.

It says something like. "we didn't want to get you any more toys since you have too many already so for your birthday you have to give away all your toys, just kidding. . . . we wanted to get you something you could enjoy for more than a few days. . . for your birthday we are giving you and daddy season passes to Frontier City and White Water Bay." He was really excited about the water park!!!

I can't believe he is already 9 years old. I can remember so clearly 9 years ago when he was born. I remember being so excited and so scared all at the same time.

I had wanted to go back and find some of my favorite pictures of him over the last 9 years but there are just too many. The interesting thing is that most of my favorites were not the adorable professional ones - like this one below.

Here is Caleb at 17 months old. I LOVE this picture.

Most of my favorites were the ones that I took when he was doing silly or weird things or just being a boy. Even though the camera wasn't the best or it wasn't taken with the best lighting or angles etc, I love them because I remember how happy he was at those moments. I remember what was going on in our lives at that moment.

Caleb has always had a love for frogs and lizards. Here is Caleb when he was almost 4. He had so much fun playing with frogs (still does).

Here is another set of pictures that I just love. Caleb had just turned 3 years old and Chris was cleaning out and filling up Caleb's little pool in the back yard. I was able to get these funny pictures. Caleb asked to be sprayed with water. I just love the expressions he has on his face in these pictures.

He is trying to get away.

This one below is one of my favorites of the set. He was trying to get away but knew he was trapped. His body position and facial expression in this picture just cracks me up. He was enjoying himself though.

He is completely drenched in these pictures and he is LOVING IT!!!

These pictures almost bring me to tears. I know the days of him wanting to be around us are numbered. Right now I have the best of both worlds. He is very independent and sometimes it seems like he really only needs me as a chauffeur. However he still wants to be around me sometimes. He will still indulge me at times. He lets me hug him and will kiss me if none of his friends are watching. He still likes to cuddle, wrestle and play games with me.

Caleb (at 4 months) and daddy pouting! Caleb 2 months ago.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!!! I love you SO MUCH!!!

Funny Website

Check this out!
Manbabies

I got this from my friend Kim's blog. Her husband Peter thinks it is disturbing, but I think it is HILARIOUS!!

Cali's New Tricks

She is sitting up! She can only do this for about a minute before she reaches for a toy or gets excited and falls over. I just love how her fat stomach lays over her diaper.

Her second trick is this! Look at her cute little tongue sticking out. This is the first time she got it out that far. (Hey Chrissey, in this last picture with the tongue she reminds me of Kellan)

The Grand Canyon

The other day Caleb asked me who made the Grand Canyon. Before I could answer him he said "was it some guy named Pecos Bill?" I laughed so hard.

I LOVE BEING A MOMMY!!!

Happy Belated Mothers Day to all my mommy friends!!

I love being a mom. It is hardest job in the world, but the most rewarding as well. I am so emotional when it comes to my kids. I can't get through the first sentence of a mothers day card from my kids without crying.

Here is a picture of me and my kiddos on Mothers Day. I wish I could be organized to do the color coordination that Lesley and Chiara do for their families. I am sure this picture would look a lot better if I did!!

I finally gave Cali rice cereal for the first time last week. She loved it!!!

Cali is VERY MOBILE for a 4 1/2 month old who doesn't crawl yet. She is always at the other end of her crib every morning. She is also never in the same spot on the floor when I lay her down to play.

The picture below (taken about a week or so ago) is the result of what happened when Chris left her on the floor to put the kids to bed and came back ONLY 10 min later. He originally had her laying on her back under that toy with her feet at the green side.

So not only is she now on her belly but she is facing the wrong direction and she went backwards. I have no clue how she did this. Doesn't she look pitiful in this picture?? It makes me laugh anyway!!!

Sonshine School Program

Caden's Sonshine School program was a week ago and I am just now getting around to blogging about it. Here are a few pics. They are not very good quality. I am going to blame it on bad lighting and distance instead of user error.

Here is her class on stage. I am not sure why the rows aren't even. I didn't notice it at the time. I was very impressed with Caden this year. She always does well on stage. She never seems scared, but last year when she was 3, she pulled her dress up and 2 years ago, when she was only 2, my friend Kim got a picture of her picking her nose.

Caden looks REALLY tall in this one. She is a little tall for her age, but not this much. She is just standing in between 2 of the shortest ones.

Here they are singing the "The Monkey See the Monkey Do" song.

Great picture huh with everyone having the possessed eyes.

Here are Caden and Molly with Ms Laura and Ms Aubrey. (Kim I am sure the picture you took is much better than this, so please send it to me.)

They are such great teachers and Caden really likes them. We have been so blessed with having great teachers. Caden attended there 3 years and we never had any problems. We have all wonderful memories. It is sad to think in a few weeks she will be done and off to public Pre-k next year.

Great Weekend filled with Cake, Blood and Vomit

We went to Arkansas this past weekend to visit Chris's brother Ryan, sister-in-law Sharla and their family. Their daughter Mckenna was having her third birthday party.

Look at this adorable ladybug cake and cupcakes that Sharla made.

This is the only picture I got with all the cousins. It is not a great picture, but oh well. Here is my kids with Mckenna and Laney on Sunday after church.

On Sunday afternoon before we left Uncle Ryan gave Caleb a ride on the motorcycle.

The party wasn't until Saturday afternoon so we had time to visit and play games etc with just family until he party started. The kids had fun playing on the swing set and just being outside in general. Ryan took Caleb across the street to play with Brody, a neighbor kid and they also eventually hooked up with another neighbor kid named Alex (I think). Caleb is the only boy grandson on both sides so he was really enjoying getting to play with boys. He was having fun all day riding bikes, his scooter, playing football etc and at one point he told Chris, "This is the best vacation or whatever!" GREAT! I am glad he had fun, but why did we just spend thousands of dollars last summer at Disney World if he had just as much fun going to Arkansas and playing with strangers.


At some point in the morning Sharla noticed blood spots all over her kitchen floor. We didn't have a clue where they came from, but she cleaned it up and we kept getting ready for the party. About 20 min before the party was supposed to start Caleb and the two neighbor kids came in from the backyard and accidentally let the dogs in. Ryan and Sharla have a small dog and a black lab. The neighbor's dog from across the street happened to be "visiting." This dog happens to be a GREAT DANE and he is HUGE!!!! His head almost comes to my armpits. Anyway while we had those 3 dogs running through the living room and into the kitchen we finally figured out where all the blood was coming from. The HUGE DOG's foot was bleeding. So now there are new spots all over the kitchen floor and living room. Sharla had been back in her bedroom and walked into the living room while this was going on. I saw the panicked look on her face. Chris is holding a towel up to the dogs foot trying to stop the flow and to see exactly where he was bleeding. I am trying to get Caleb and the other kids to go outside so we can clean up all the blood. Apparently I wasn't fast enough because Alex puked on the kitchen floor. I get them to the garage and he pukes again, then out into the yard and he pukes again. I then yell for that kid to go home!!! Poor Sharla!!! I really thought she was going to have a breakdown. So at this point Chris is cleaning up blood from a neighbors dog and puke from a another neighbors kid in the kitchen and I clean it up from the garage. Overall it was a great party!

Get off your butt and EXERCISE!

Or in a nicer tone . . . it would be really good for your mind, body and soul if you would kindly get your lazy self off the couch (or for some of us girls - off the computer) and hit the GYM!!!

My friend Elizabeth at http://www.mommymizfit.blogspot.com/ is giving everyone an exercise challenge starting next Monday. For $20, you will get 20 workouts to do, and the goal is to exercise for 20 minutes a day. (or more if you are already exercising regularly.) You can earn points for extra things, getting people to join in, or doing more than just 20 minutes, etc. The rules are on her blog. You can click on the above link or under Mullin's on my friend's list. If you are interested mention my name when you contact her. You don't have to live here to participate.

I actually just recently started going back to the gym on a regular basis but I am always up for a challenge. I still have 8 lbs from being pregnant that don't want to go away, so hopefully this challenge is the extra motivation that I need to lose the rest.

I am sure for a lot of people it is not just a matter of motivation it is a matter of time. For me, with 3 kids, one being only 4 months old and an 8 year old with baseball taking up so much evening time, it is hard to find the time to put exercise into your already full schedule. However knowing how much your spouse is going to love you shedding a few pounds I bet they will be supportive. You never know, they might start helping out more around the house!

Funny Faces

These pictures are so funny to me. These were taken at my mom's house a few weeks ago. She loves playing on her stomach and usually makes really funny expressions. In some of these she looks like she is trying to fly, trying to do the breastroke or pounce like a cat. I love her facial expression in the last one. It is like she is up to something.