caleb at 2 years old!!!

january 2007 it is seriously hard to believe that caleb is 2 years old!!! when i start to write down all the things he can do/say, i feel like he's such a big boy and time has just slipped away. but then i think of all the things that he has ahead of him and realize that he still is our baby boy and every day is to be cherished. caleb is very interested in learning. he loves to sit down and read with me and tom. sometimes, i ask him to read to me and he'll turn the pages pointing out things that he knows and telling me what they are, or acting out what the story asks him to do (i.e. smell the flowers, wheels on the bus go around, etc.). his current favorite books are: "brown bear, brown bear what do you see?" "the wheels on the bus," "big and little," and a book he got for free in a chik-fil-a kids meal (it has lots of words on the pages and he "reads" it by himself-won't let me touch it!). he also likes to work puzzles, build with his legos, and label things with their size and color. he currently knows, brown, green, black, orange, gray, and blue and uses big to describe objects. i'm pretty sure he recognizes yellow and red, but refuses to say the words. he also knows the answers to a few big questions. for example, i'll ask, "who made you?" and he'll answer "God." he also can answer, "how old are you?" with "two." and if asked if he wants to read his Bible, he'll say, "baby Jesus." some nights, we read 3 or 4 chapters in his Bible because he asks us for "mo" (more). he's doing pretty good with his manners. please and thank you are pretty common since he's realized that he has to ask nicely if he wants something. however, he still sounds like a typical 2 year old a lot of the time. a demanding "down!" followed by a quiet "please" is his idea of asking to get down from his chair nicely. he also has fallen in love with feeding himself with a spoon and fork. he does a really good job too. he manages to eat entire bowls of spaghetti, mac & cheese, cheerios and milk, oatmeal, mandarin oranges and the like by himself with very little getting on his clothes or floor. caleb has also developed a love of dancing! he's so cute. sometimes he just jumps up and down and spins and at other times, he does a little dance very similar to the one that bill cosby did on the cosby show...moving his feet very little (if at all) and moving his arms in a bent knee stance-hilarious! sometimes during the day, we'll take a music break and i will sing (i know, painful thought) and let caleb dance. he's really good at keeping up with "head, shoulders, knees, and toes." he'll point to all the body parts and even join in with a hearty "knees, toes." the other songs he just bounces and claps. acting more and more like a little boy, caleb loves to do whatever tom and i do. he'll sweep, dust, "fold" laundry (basically shakes it and drags it around for a little while), help daddy with chores, etc. if i think he can do it, i ask him. he loves having little jobs to do and it's good for his confidence and work ethic to be able to complete them daily. he's also getting closer and closer to full-blown conversation skills. he'll say expressions like, "all done," "oh no," "fall down," "go home," "tie shoe," etc. and his motor skills are growing like crazy. he can catch a tennis ball, take his coat and hat off, kick, run, slide, and do all the necessary little boy things. he also has his two bottom 2 year molars and is currently cutting his top ones...yeah! he still weighs in on the 10th percentile for weight at 24 1/2 lbs. and 30th percentile for height at 33 inches. however, i'm not believing the height because his pants are seriously short and ready for a 2T length wise. i could write all day about caleb, but internet time is almost over. hopefully, i'll be able to post again with pics from his two birthday parties!

24 week check up

on friday, january 9th, i went back to the ob/gyn for my 24 week check up. baby boy is doing well. heartbeat is good and i've gained a total of 11 pounds so far. i have to constantly remind myself that weight gain is good, normal, and necessary for a healthy baby. but is it ever hard to watch my face get rounder and rounder...you can't hide a fat face! on a more pleasant note, i go back on february 6th for my 28 week check up and glucola screening. shouldn't be too bad. they gave me the drink already, so i can drink it at home and just show up a little early to have my blood drawn. much better than with caleb when i had to wait in a doctor's office for an hour after i drank the stuff before i could have my bloodwork done. i do believe that we have officially picked a name for baby boy...asher. it's in the Bible in case you were wondering of its origins. however, we haven't settled on a middle name. we have 2 strong candidates and are basically waiting on me to make up my mind. tom loved asher as the first name, so i get creative license over the middle name :)

more Christmas and Tom's birthday pics

i have so many events to catch up on and so little internet time to do it, so...less talk, more pics!!! it's daddy's birthday...get excited!!! tom isn't really 321, my mom just didn't have two "3" candles for his gooey bars. you'll have to forgive her, all of her children are under 30...ooooooo, burn! who am i kidding? tom doesn't care. he had gooey bars for cryin' out loud! uncle adam and leo caleb and gran with his big dump truck caleb is ready for school with his bus and blue backpack :)

Christmas 2008

well, since it's almost february, i thought i'd blog about christmas. seriously folks, the lack of personal internet time has been killing me. all whining aside, we did have a nice christmas. we made the grand tour again, with stops in lynchburg and k-town. instead of boring commentary, i'm going to offer up pictures. enjoy! the agnew men: uncle patrick, papaw, caleb, and tom checking out papaw's made-by-hand furniture. caleb and uncle patrick what could make a 2 year old little boy happier on christmas morning than his own 4-wheeler and a sassy bulldog?!? watch out!!!

caleb at 23 months

it's hard to believe, but caleb is right on the cusp of turning 2 years old. and in some ways, he already embodies toddlerhood and the "terrible two's." he has quite a temper at times (poor boy, he comes by it honest), loves to try to do things on his own such as use a spoon/fork, comb hair, put things away, etc., and mimic mommy and daddy's behavior. he is also communicating in two word phrases and has added some new words to his vocabulary. we are working on three word phrases (i.e., daddy go bye-bye), but he still relies on two words for now. he also is running, jumping, throwing, and climbing his way around the house. caleb still loves to read. he will sit with me for a good half-hour and we'll read all of his favorite books--"good night moon," "no, no, yes, yes," and "the little mouse, the red strawberry, and the big, hungry bear." he also likes to look at new books and points to everything wanting me to tell him the name of the person/object. we bought caleb the little people nativity scene for christmas and he has enjoyed playing with it all season. he likes to point to the wise men's gifts and say "baby jes" (translation: gifts are for baby jesus)...too cute. caleb is currently cutting his two year molars and it has started impacting his diet. for the past week he has lived on drinkable yogurt and chocolate milk. hopefully, the other 3 molars will break through the gums and he can get back to eating normally...and we can work on weaning caleb from his paci ("my"). my plan all along has been to have caleb leave his my in his bed during the day and just have it at nap/bedtime after his second birthday. but if he's still teething, the my will stay...i'm not supermom and i'm not fighting a battle i can't win. caleb also pee-pees in the potty every night before bathtime and occasionally during the day. again, i'm not looking to potty train him before april and the next baby, i'll fight that battle when i know i can win it. not only is caleb learning, i think mommy is too!

PBF staff dinner

this past thursday, the staff of Providence Baptist Fellowship got to enjoy dinner at maggiano's restaurant in nashville. one word could sum up the experience...YUM!!! not only were we able to enjoy tons of wonderful food, but we had a great evening of conversation and laughter. tom and i are so grateful to be able to serve alongside such a wonderful group of men and their wives. if i had to add a caption to this picture it would read, "we who are about to die, salute you" (reference: the movie gladiator). look carefully and you'll see joe holding a squid...tenacles and all. the calamari was the highlight of the evening for joe, john, and brian. seriously, the number of squid that those boys put away was nothing short of impressive. good work guys.

sbts graduation 2008

on friday, december 12th tom officially became a graduate of the southern baptist theological seminary in louisville, ky. the festivities kicked off with a reception at the president's, dr. mohler, house. i was totally jazzed for the reception, however, my excitement was short-lived. the only chance i had to "speak" with dr. mohler was a brief handshake in a receiving line...boo! on the plus side, we did get to ride in a phat party bus and tour dr. mohler's personal library. his personal collection of books is impressive. it contains approximately 55,000 volumes...and yes, they are catalogued according to a dewey decimal system...i asked. the convocation was wonderful. dr. mohler delivered a poignant message and challenge to the graduates. caleb even enjoyed himself...after a short half-hour nap, he enjoyed grandad, gran, and uncle patrick's laps for the remainder of the service...and plenty of cheesey crackers. after the ceremony, we had lunch at buckhead grill across the river in indiana. that restaurant was where tom and i had our first date and we always try to make a trip there when we're in louisville.