The Growing Caldwell Family

Saturday afternoon we met my friend Sarah and her husband Pradeep at a spray ground.  Sarah and Pradeep are expecting twins boys around Thanksgiving and it was a lot of fun to talk babies and kids with them!  Our kiddos certainly painted the picture of how busy and crazy life with kids can be!  They loved the spry ground and had a lot of fun darting in and out of the water.   It was a lot of fun to catch up with my sweet friend and her husband!

Charlie discovered these rain boots that once belonged to SG and fell in love!  They are Elmo boots from Grancy.  They fit him perfectly right now, too.  The only problem is that he lost one and we can't find it anywhere! He happily puts on the one that we can find and goes around looking a bit like Gossie from his favorite book.

here Charlie is showing off his silly side.  He is really into his hats lately.

Sarah Graves woke up really early Saturday morning.  She did stay in her room, but she put on a very loud performance of "Let It Go" and "Roar".  We were so tired that we did manage to continue dozing through that.  A while later, (felt like hours, but probably was minutes) I started hearing chatter from Charlie.  He wasn't crying, so I stayed there in my sleep deprived coma.  Finally, it was around 6:30 and I could still hear chatter, so I decided to go get them.  I went to Charlie first and found that Sarah Graves had climbed into the crib. This was a first! She happily told me that she heard Charlie and didn't want him to be lonely.  When she came into his room he told her that he dropped his baby, so she helped him out with that and then climbed in to keep him company.  Their love for one another is one of the most affirming things for me as a parent. Surely, we have done something right if they can love each other so well. The camera flas...

A trip to Target resulted in new shoes and some very happy feet! Charlie took one look at these Spider-Man flip flops and proclaimed, "I buy it!  I buy it!"  I was worried they might not fit his foot very well, but there was no telling him that he couldn't have them.  Amazing enough, he keeps them on too! Sarah Graves was not in the market for new shoes, but felt that if Charlie was trying them on, she should too.  She checked out cowboy boots, tennis shoes, and finally landed on these.  She likes the bright colored beads the best and has worn them since she got them!

Dear Charlie, I just watched you fall asleep while nursing and nothing fills my heart with more love for you than watching you relax and drift off to sleep like that.  You look like an angel when you sleep.  I love you at this age and sort of wish we could stay this way longer, but it is quickly passing us by and you are growing more and more independent. You have discovered Elmo and Caillou and love to watch them.  You request them pretty much first thing in the morning and watch for a while before you move on to other activities.  The kitchen is still one of your favorite things to play with.  You make us all sorts of pretend treats and like to wear a chef dress up outfit!  You also love to play with Play-Doh (your sister got you hooked on that) and you are becoming more interested in coloring.  You recognize many animals, including giraffes, zebras, monkeys, elephants, ducks, cats, mice, dogs, bears, and alligators.  You learned zebras beca...

We had a fun adventure on July 4th!   We started with picking blueberries.  Fresh and sweet right off the bush!  The weather was great!  It wasn't too hot and there was even a light breeze.  So great to be outside having fun! Daddy showed Sissy which ones were ripe and she loved filling her bucket!  Her biggest complaint was that Charlie kept grabbing them and eating them! The red tractor made us think of Tech, one of the beloved programs on Baby First TV about a red tractor. We left the farm and came upon a snowball stand!  We were excited to find this tasty treat!  Charlie had already fallen asleep, so no snowball for him.  Aaron and I told Sarah Graves stories about enjoying snowballs when we were kids! We passed by a July 4th festival in a park and Sarah Graves was intrigued by the bounce houses!  We convinced Aaron that we could buy an ice chest to keep our blueberries cool while we checked it o...

Play-Doh is definitely the most requested activity in this house!  Play-Doh sweet shoppe for Easter increased the fun and the mess.  After scrubbing play-doh out of the rug for the millionth time, I declared it was an outdoor only activity.  Our patio is now littered with specks of dried up play-doh that in case you are wondering, does not wash away with rain.  That's okay because it isn't in the rug where I have to see it constantly!  Storing it outside in a deck storage box has made it much more convenient because we don't need ten trips in and out of the house to set up and put it away.  Play-Doh makes them very happy and entertains them both for a long time!   It is also a chance for them to be creative on their own level.   As the leader of Play-Doh games, Sarah Graves generally establishes what we are all going to be working on making.  As the little brother, Charlie tries to take any item Sarah Graves has decided to focus her effort...

This boy is just delighted to run any time he gets his diaper off! I love that he picked his hard hat to wear while nakie!

We are enjoying the swim club that we belong to and the water is starting to get almost comfortable!  Last summer it was so cool and rainy here that the water never quite reached that really comfortable temperature, but we are almost there this summer!   The kids love having Pops and Lovie live so close that they can join us for a dip!   Charlie insisted on carrying the beach bag all by himself!  He came up with the plan to put the straps on his shoulders and was so proud to do it himself!

Sarah Graves' friend Raani turned 4 and we were invited to her Cinderella/bounce house party.  Her family is very kind and let Charlie come too!  There were multiple bounce houses and slides to play on and the kids were like a blur bouncing around and going to the next one!   Raani and SG became friends in Early Preschool, then they were in the same Preschool class.  Raani has switched to a different school and Sarah Graves was very excited to see her again.   I think Charlie may have had as much fun if not more than Sarah Graves!  He was thrilled to be there, kept saying, "Happy to You!", and made friends with Raani's extended family!

Last Tuesday, Sarah Graves fell down at school and got a deep cut.  She and several girls were on the playground dancing to "Dynamite" on Kidz Bop, they did a jump, somehow Sarah Graves fell down, and when she came down her chin hit a rock.  It was a very innocent thing that was really just an accident.  She wanted to blame it on a friend of hers, but I think it was just one of those things that happens to kids.  I got the call that she had a deep cut and may need some stitches, so I dropped what I was doing and went to her.   She was so brave sitting on a teacher's lap applying pressure to the cut to help the bleeding.  As soon as I saw her I scooped her into my arms and I felt her body relax against me.  For a moment, it was like holding her as a small baby; just feeling her melt into me.  I assured her it would be okay and we gathered her things to go see about this cut.  I wasn't sure if I should take her to her pediatrician, urge...