The Growing Caldwell Family

Before we had kids, Aaron and I enjoyed playing with the Wii quite a bit.  We thought that it quit working and had discussed getting rid of it, but felt bad to throw it out.  A few weeks ago, Sarah Graves noticed that our Wii was lighting up and indicating that it could work.  We gave it a try and like magic it was working again!  She has really enjoyed the bowling and boxing games for Wii Sports.  She is pretty good at it and was able to beat me in boxing!

Last Saturday, I had the chance to have some one-on- one time with each kiddo while I got some things done.  Charlie and I had lunch at Costco and picked up groceries, too. He was so proud to sit on the bench rather than in the buggy!  He was also very happy to eat almost an entire slice of pizza and still had room for some samples.  He was not happy when I refused to let him take Hello Kitty panties out of the package! Then, Sissy and I spent some fun time baking a cake for Father's Day!  She may have taste tested it too! We had a good time getting things done and being together!

Here are videos of them singing their sweet songs!  Such a joy to see them light up with excitement over God.

This boy loves to drink water from an open cup!  He is obsessed with it!  He asks for more water please so cute!  I can't even get annoyed with all the water that is spilled because he is just so cute about it!

We had a low key Father's Day with a delicious breakfast at First Watch, then church, followed by lunch at Lovie and Pops', and we topped it off with swimming!  It was relaxed and fun; kind of like the two awesome dads we were celebrating! Waiting for breakfast can be hard ;) She was so proud to eat the chocolate cake she made! Proud to give Daddy her gift. A little snack at the pool. These two love to swim!  Another mom asked if Charlie had always liked the water and I said, "Yes, I guess it may be because he was born in the water.  It feels like home."

We have been getting to the pool when we can so that Sarah Graves can practice her skills and it's fun for all of us! Wearing Sissy's goggles and her Puddle Jumper it is a little hard to tell this is Charlie and not Sarah Graves a couple of years ago!

Sarah Graves loved Spirit Week last year and had been looking forward to going back this year!  Volunteers were needed, so Lovie signed up to be a shepherd and Charlie headed to the nursery.   We were pretty nervous about Charlie going to the nursery, since his prior experiences resulted in him crying and clinging to me so that I just stayed with him.  We started talking it up the week before and telling him the names of the caregivers he would play with; plus, I sent LOTS of good snacks in his bag with instructions to keep feeding him as much as he wanted!  That seemed to do the trick and he arrived the first day saying the name of he caregiver we knew well from Sarah Graves' days in the church nursery and he never looked back!  He seemed pretty happy even when he saw Lovie going up and down the hall shepherding kids to activities.   Sarah Graves had a wonderful time being with her friends, Greg and Allie.  She enjoyed the crafts and Bible stories a lot!  Lovie reported that

Sarah Graves has a good buddy, Greg, at church.  I have been wanting to have Greg over for a play date and just don't make the time for it.  Finally, I had the idea to have Greg over to help his parents out while they worked to get the decorations for Spirit Week finished at church. Sarah Graves was so excited to have her friend over!  She had lots of ideas about what they should do and some of them were a bit too girlie for Greg's taste, but he was a trooper for most of it. These really are sweet friends and I so hope that it continues as they grow.  

The Music Together program has 9 sessions spanning 3 years and Sarah Graves just completed the 9th one.  She has grown so much over those 3 years and she shows us regularly that she has learned to make music a part of her every day life.  This program has meant a lot to our family creating an activity that is for all of us to enjoy on our own level.  Ms. Jennifer has come to feel like a member of the family knowing about favorite songs, grandparents, lovies and blankies, and of course sharing the joy as small babies learn to make rhythms and sounds that become music.  I highly recommend this program. Our last class was a lot of fun bringing out the parachute!  SG was like a whirling dervish and came out like a blur!  Charlie paused long enough to be photographed!

Dear Charlie, Boy, we have been busy.  Some days I am not even sure what has made us busy, but we are!  One of the most exciting things was getting your cast off!  I was so excited for you to be free of it and you were cautious at first, but have become confident without it.  Your finger still pulls a little and you need to wear a splint to stretch the tendon in it.  Despite numerous attempts and efforts at different contraptions, you will not leave the splint on.  You take it off in your sleep and when you are awake!  I continue to stretch your finger, but can't get you to leave the splint on.  I guess you may end up waiting until you are older and can understand better. You and Sissy came on a work trip with me to Chicago.  You are great on an airplane and an all around good traveler.  You happily sat in the Ergo close to me.  You are getting taller, but you still rest your head on my chest and seem quite content to be there.  I think you would make a great city baby enjoying s

Sarah Graves was super-excited for her dance recital and she did not disappoint!  The theme was sugar and spice and her opening tap routine to "Good Ship Lollipop" fit it perfectly! Not sure you can get cuter than 3 and 4 year olds in tutus! You could not have asked Charlie to be a sweeter baby during the show.  It lasted for about an hour and a half and he patiently sat on my lap the whole time.   She was very brave when she got on stage to accept her trophy.  I couldn't be more proud of her for getting up in front of an audience! She was excited to take her flowers and greet her adoring fans!