The Growing Caldwell Family

N Sarah Graves' pre-k class has been studying about the states. Each child was assigned a state to create a poster about. SG got Louisiana! She included pictures of crawfish, a pelican, magnolia, Tiger Stadium, the capital building, and Mardi Gras! We had fun placing the beads on it and LSU cheerleader stickers! She did a lot of it herself and felt very proud of it!

I went to Baton Rouge last weekend - by myself! It is the first time in nearly 3 years that I left the kids overnight. I was looking forward to catching up with my high school classmates at our reunion and the chance to see family. We gathered for drinks on Friday night. Fun to see my friend Jeremy and his wife Meghan. They have two precious boys similar ages to Sarah Graves and Charlie. Saturday night we had a fun party with a catered dinner, band, and photographer. Thirty out of the 79 who graduated together were able to come. Many of us live out of town and it was great to catch up in person. We are friends on Facebook, but fun to talk in person! Sharply by and Alexis were friends of mine all through high school. I stayed at Alexis' mom's house and had a great time catching up with her and her mom. We spent a lot of time just sitting in the kitchen talking about people we knew and telling stories. It was so good to see my maw maws! I had lunch with them Friday and Sunday. Su...

Sarah Graves requested dinner with Lovie and Pops on Tuesday night. It turns out Nay was off that night, so we went back to our new favorite Mexican restaurant. As the kids get older dinner out on a weeknight has become more doable. SG couldn't wait to play Barbie with Lovie! The kids love baby Olivia! Charlie says in a high pitched voice, "she's so tiny!" I think she likes them too as her eyes light up big watching them. Charlie loves his Lovie! Tried to get a picture with Olivia and she seized the opportunity to really grab hold of SG! SG loves for everyone to be together and I love how much she values family!

After a busy Saturday we had a lovely, lazy Sunday morning. It was the kind of time that I want to remember having with my kids.  Aaron went out for doughnuts, which was a crowd pleasing treat! Charlie got his coffee cup from the play kitchen so he could have coffee like Daddy. I had so much fun dressing up with this precious girl. For herself she picked a mermaid costume and high heels. For me she selected a tiara and queen's cape. We bounced on the trampoline, played Barbie, and really enjoyed ourselves! Charlie dressed as a police officer and joined in most of our play, but he didn't want any pictures! I love time like this to be with them, let them lead the play, show their imagination, and just enjoy them for the people they are.

When this boy is in a good mood, the joy is infectious! Love him so much!

Saturday night we went out for Mexican and were so happy to sit outside and enjoy the great spring weather we were having. Lovie and Pops with SG and Char Charlie fell in love with eating rice off my plate! Sarah Graves got a big kick out of beating Lovie at tic-tac-toe! Livy got lots of love. My sweet buddy. Livy and Nay Nay got Charlie laughing. The food was really tasty, kids were behaved, and we really enjoyed being outside in beautiful weather. It was a fun night!

On Friday I took the kiddos for well-visits. Sarah Graves was due for her 5 year old checkup and she is in good health. We saw Dr. Stokes and I really appreciated how she listened to me explain what we are doing to address her eating habits. The moment you say she doesn't eat fruits or vegetables, a flag goes up. She let me explain and agreed that we had a handle on the situation and Sarah Graves is growing steadily. Sarah Graves weighs 41 pounds (54th percentile) and is 44 inches tall (72nd percentile). Sarah Graves bravely offered to go first to get her shot because she is older. I offered to go for a treat after as a reward for getting through the shot. She received the MMR vaccine this visit and did it great. She and Charlie chose to go for ice-cream! A sweet treat for brave kiddos.

On Friday, I took the kids for well-visits. Charlie loves the aquarium in the waiting area and was adamant he was not getting a shot! We saw a doctor we haven't seen before, Dr. Stokes, and I really liked her. She spent a lot of time talking to me about Charlie's troublesome sleep. He is in great health and doing all the things a 2 1/2 year old should do. Charlie weighs 32.4 pounds (74th percentile) and is 36.25 inches tall (54th percentile). Charlie received the Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B vaccines this visit.

Sunday we had planned to end spring break week with a trip to the zoo. The weather was kind of rainy, so we opted instead for a trip to the movies. This was our first time going as a family and we had a fun time! Sarah Graves and I saw the preview for this movie Home and thought it looked cute. It was a great choice! Charlie wanted a doughnut instead of candy! He ate every morsel. Charlie really enjoyed his first movie theater experience! He sat the entire show and after he said, "I went to the show and I had fun!" I think he was really proud that he got to go! Sarah Graves knew how this movie thing works and quickly settled in with her snacks.

During spring break camp, the older school age kids put on a carnival for the pre-k kids. There was a costume parade earlier in the day, but who doesn't want to stay dressed as a princess all day? They put together the activities, made signs, manned the games, and made it a lot of fun. They were having such a good time doing it for the little ones. Sarah Graves had her face painted. They created a photo op There was a bubble station. We played bingo and enjoyed snacks! She was quite fond of the snow cones they made!  Glad that I could spend a fun afternoon with my big girl. I am savoring these last months having her in the same building with me every day.

Last week was Sarah Graves' spring break. We stayed in town, but we did do a couple of fun things out of our normal routine. On Tuesday, I picked her up for lunch and we went with Lovie, Nay, and Olivia to Tellus Science Museum. We had never been, but a co-worker of mine has been taking his kids there and they love it. Mine loved it too! There was a fossil "dig" where kids use brushes to uncover fossils and get to take home a small "fossil" of their own. It was a hit with Charlie for sure! There was also panning for gemstones. Charlie, a trough of water, and a pan to scoop it with - what's not to love! This mirrored exhibit made for lots of fun! Charlie wanted to check out how light makes a rainbow with Aunt Nay. Livy was a rockstar and the kids loved on her. SG with the propeller. Charlie and his Lovie Nay and Sissy had some fun playing Barbie in the back.

The hit of the Easter basket were play-doh surprise eggs! Plastic eggs with a treat, ours had a my little pony inside, wrapped in play-doh! My two little bunnies! Charlie was in love with the chocolate in his basket. It is always a challenge getting ready and breaking away from the basket to go to church, but we managed to do it smoothly and have smiles. Charlie with their Easter bunnies and his baby Jake! Sissy with some pretty flowers. Flowering the cross at church. Sissy was eager to do the egg hunt at church. Theirs works a little different than some. They put out tons of eggs each numbered from 1 - 12. The kids have to find all the numbers, then turn their eggs in for a prize!  Charlie abandoned the effort quickly and just wanted to play on the playground! Livy with her basket from Lovie and Pops. Sissy with her basket from Lovie and Pops. Charlie wearing his new hat from GG while he goe...