Beginning our Christmas Traveling

More posts to come, but this is the first part of our Christmas travelings so far. Just wanted to send a few pictures to keep you updated on what's happening. More pictures to come!

Normal got a terrible ice storm last Thursday. Everything was covered, but it was beautiful!

Christmas in Highland! Caleb liked ripping the paper off of his presents. He also loved helping Ryan play with his toys. (my camera makes me so mad I could spit!)

All of the Christmas cards we have received from friends and family. It's a tradition to hang them up on our door as we get them. It makes me very happy to see it fill it up as the days pass.

We celebrated my grandpa's 90th birthday on Sunday! All of the family made their way home for the celebration. We ate too much food, took a lot of pictures and had a great time!

Just wanted to give you the essence of the classy place we took Caleb to see Santa. :)

Add this to the classic Santa photos! Can you say terrified?

Would you like a dolly for that box?

So I went to the store yesterday to pick up my regular 15th of the month groceries for the next two weeks. However, in addition to my regular fare, I also needed to pick up items to make the famous Osterwisch peanut butter balls. Since December is crazy this year, I'm not able to get together with my mom and my sister to have our annual cookie-making extravaganza. We decided that we would each make one or two of our regular cookies for Christmas, and then exchange what we made when I see them this weekend. I offered to do the P.B. Balls, because 1. I love them, they are my absolute favorite and 2. no one else likes to make them because they're a bit of a pain. So I lucked out in only having to make one cookie this year, but also had to do all of the rolling and dipping myself. I've come to the conclusion that P.B. Balls are better made in the traditional assembly line fashion.

Anyway, back to the store. I had to get Rice Krispies for the P.B. Balls (that's what gives them flair). I'm perusing the cereal aisle, and spot Snap, Crackle and Pop immediately. Wait, surely there is a smaller box. Don't those people at General Mills know that I only need 3 cups of their beloved cereal. And while Rice Krispies are good, I'm probably not going to eat them when I've got a delicious box of Cinnamon Life in my cabinet. Seriously, not even the generic had a box smaller than this. What are people doing with all of these Rice Krispies? I guess I'm going to have to buy some marshmallow and take care of it!

Food Haze

Alright, put on your thinking caps and help me! I don't know why food, of all things, is the one thing that is really throwing me off when it comes to raising Caleb (at least at this point, I know I have so very much to learn!). For whatever reason, I am so hung up on what I'm supposed to be feeding him. Not when I'm supposed to be feeding him. If you know me, you know that I'm a planner, so scheduling fits into my personality. But I just cannot wrap my head around this - especially since Caleb turned 1. It's like the whole new world of absolutely everything has opened up and now I have so many choices, I don't know where to begin. I know that I want him to be eating healthy, that he should be getting a variety of things (remember the Food Pyramid from 3rd grade? - which has also definitely changed since I was in 3rd grade), that he should be eating what we're eating, etc, etc, etc. We've got the bread part of the pyramid covered - he'll eat anything that is in the family of bread (crackers, mac n cheese, bread itself)! I don't know, it's like, I want him to be eating what we're eating, but sometimes it doesn't seem appropriate. How do you give a 1 year old chili, or spicy chicken enchiladas? I feel like mealtime is the most stressful to me because I don't want to keep giving him crackers and little cut-up peaches.
So okay, moms, for those of you who have been through the 1 year old phase, what are good snacks and meals that I can add to my repetoire? When he was still eating rice cereal and baby food, it was so easy! Now he's all grown up and I've got to really think this out!

What Happens When...

Your parents buy you a new coat...

But you try to get out of your carseat yourself while still wearing it....

(stupid camera!)

And it's so warm that you sweat, and your hair always looks like this...

'Here I Am' versus 'There You Are!'

In a meeting I was in the other day, the speaker was talking about how we, as individuals, approach social situations differently. She posed the question, "Are you a 'Here I Am' or a 'There You Are' type of person?" I knew instinctively that I was not the one that I should be, even before she gave us the definitions. A 'Here I Am' type of person walks into a room and says "here I am" and prefers that everyone else come up to them and approach them in a social situation. A 'There You Are' type of person says, "Oh, there you are" and finds that other person, begins the conversation regardless of whether you're old friends or strangers. As I sat there listening, I began to wonder if there is a 'Don't Mind Me' type of person. The person who sits quietly observing and doesn't care one way or another, just as long as there is no attention being paid. I think I'm a 'Don't Mind Me' type of person. Of course, I couldn't ask the question - that would be hypocritical of my 'Don't Mind Me' personality, thus bringing the attention by asking the question. :)
As the meeting went on, she challenged us to be more like the 'There You Are' person in all social situations - church, the library, at the park, etc. To really be a welcoming face and voice in all places that we go and that even if we feel a little awkward, the other person will appreciate that we made the first move.
It's definitely a challenge - especially for me. But I'm willing to give it a go (baby steps). So which one are you?
P.S. Jennie Groezinger, there is no need to answer. I'm pretty sure you've never met a stranger in your life! :)

Happy Birthday, Caleb! (Part 2)

Caleb one year ago today
Happy Birthday!

Caleb's Birthday Bash:
We celebrated Caleb's 1st birthday on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's just sort of how it worked out - December is always a busy month! We were blessed to have almost all of our family in attendance, which made for a pretty full house, but it was great! Caleb got some great toys, books and clothes and of course, a little bit of cake!




We had a Curious George party - so we needed monkey cupcakes, of course!

Cousin Ryan is a party animal!!

Our Weekend - Part 1

We started our very long weekend with, what else, Thanksgiving! We headed down to Highland on Wednesday afternoon and then drove another hour south to Nashville to visit my grandma. We definitely ate like kings - more than once. However, since my grandma wasn't going to be able to make it up for Caleb's 1st birthday, she helped us celebrate a little early. Here are some pics:









Mmm, this roll is delicious!











My very clever grandma made Caleb a clock cake (because clock was his first word). Isn't she great!









She also got him one of his new favorite toys - he can't get enough!











A time to ponder and be thankful. :)