A Howell Family Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with the Howell family on Sunday evening. Nana & Papa had us over to their house for dinner, socializing, and presents. We had a great time and I think Caleb enjoyed all the wrapping paper and toys.

Papa, Caleb, & Nana B

Caleb and his Papa

Nana got an Amazon Kindle for Christmas.

She was very excited!


Uncle Barrett
Aunt Amy
Caleb

Aunt Amy helping Caleb open his Christmas present (a basketball goal)

Aunt Amy & Caleb opening his Leap Frog Dog (who sings and talks to "Caleb")

Aunt Amy & Uncle Barrett recently went to Paris.

They brought back a hand puppet for Caleb.

He loves his toys.

Unc Unc (Uncle Barrett) showing Caleb how to dunk the ball.

Thank you for the fun new toy.

Braden, Caleb, and I feel so blessed to be able to share the holidays with those we love. We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas.

I'm in Love

I am seriously, completely, head over heels in love with my little man. He brings joy into my life everyday. When I am SO tired and hardly have the energy to get out of bed in the morning, all I have to do is look into his crib and he smiles and I remember I have all the reasons in the world to motivate myself. Caleb has been a huge blessing in my life and I thank God for him every day. I am so lucky to have an amazing child.

In addition, I fall deeper in love with Braden every time I see him with Caleb. They have a Daddy/Son bond that is so sweet, it melts my heart. I look forward to watching our children grow up together.

Caleb loves to give sweet (open mouth) kisses

If you look closely, you can see that Caleb is not just biting my nose, but pulling my hair too.

Such a sweet baby boy!

Doctor

Today Caleb had to go to the Doctor.
Why you ask??
Well, when I picked him up from school last night he was running at 99.4 temperature. I immediately assume it was because he is teething. I was not worried because even though the school says he is running a slight temp, he is not displaying any other signs of being ill.
BUT, it is the schools policy that if a child is running a temperature (even slightly) that he can not come back to school without a doctors note. So, Braden took Caleb to the Doctor today to check him out.
I guess the school has to be extra cautious even though I personally felt it was a little crazy to make him go to the Doctor for a temp of 99.4

Caleb loves the paper that lines the exam table in the Doctors office

Weekend in Pearland, TX

This past weekend Caleb went on his second flight to Houston. He was a complete angel on both flights (to & from). I could not ask for a better traveler. I just hope he continues to be a great flyer so we can travel more in the future.
Caleb and I flew to my parents house for the weekend so I could co-host a baby shower for a friend I grew up with.
Caleb had a great weekend playing with his Aunt Jennifer, Grandma, & Grandpa. He is already excited to go back for Christmas in a little over a week.

Caleb is starting to get curious and pulling up.

Let the baby proofing begin. First on the list, adjust his crib at home to make sure the mattress is low enough that he can't climb/fall out.

Grandma took Caleb to Build-A-Bear to build a Snowman for Christmas.

Pre-Filling of the Snowman

Caleb watched as the Snowman was filled with love and fluff.


Caleb & his Snowman (which he named Frosty)

After a weekend with his grandparents, Caleb was a tired little boy.

Snowball Express

Yesterday, I had the amazing opportunity to be part of the Snowball Express at DFW. Snowball Express is a charity for the children of our fallen military heroes. It was started in 2006 with a simple idea: Provide hope and new memories to the children of our fallen military heroes who died while on active duty since September 11, 2001. EVERYONE who participates volunteers their time (pilots, flight attendants, bus drivers, hotels, etc).

My division at work decided that instead of a Christmas Party this year we would go out to DFW to greet the families as they arrived for their fun weekend. It was a wonderful experience and the participants were very grateful for our time and cheers.

Dallas will be home to Snowball Express for the next 3 years. I hope to be able to participate again next year.

I forgot my camera :(

But, here is a photo from my IPhone of the people coming off the plane.

Random Pictures of Caleb Reid

I came across these great photos of Caleb that I had not posted yet so I wanted to share my sweet little pumpkin.

Drinking some juice in the Walmart shopping cart, leaning against a pack of toilet paper.

Playing on the floor


My sweet baby boy

Playing outside under the tree

Happy baby

Caleb loves being outside

Just chillin' with his toys

While my mom was in town, she took Caleb shoe shopping.

Caleb in his hedgehog hat.
Got to keep those ear warm on a cold day.

My big boy

Christmas Tree & New Teeth

I have to give a great big THANK YOU to my wonderful husband who got the tree out of our storage closet AND put it up all by himself. Now I get to do the fun part ..... decorate!!
Our first two ornaments have been hung on the tree. Thank you to Nana B & Papa for the new ornaments to commemorate this special Christmas.

First Christmas as a Family of 3

Caleb's 1st Christmas Ornament

My sweet baby boy has been a little bit crabby lately. But, then again you would be too if you were cutting FOUR new teeth. I tried to get a good picture but Caleb is very protective of his pretty new teeth. So, this is the best I could do.

4 Teeth on Top

This morning on the way to work I heard some commotion in the back seat. I turned around to see this ..... Caleb has pulled his sun shade on his carseat down from over his head and is playing with it. He is turning into a little trouble maker, but I love him