What a Weekend! O-H-I-Oooo my goodness...

I don't know what we were thinking, but we did an Ohio car trip this weekend. Actually, I know what we were thinking. We were thinking of family! Life is too short and Caleb is only this age and phase of life for only so long...we had to go! We combined both sides of the family in visiting Josh's family in the Butler and Columbus areas, and then attending my cousin's wedding in the Dayton area. We did it...so glad we did, but I am exhausted! Outside of the 30 hours driving, here's what we did Friday-Saturday!

We hit Ohio Saturday morning with great joy and anticipation for family time! Caleb traveled wonderfully, but we were still eager to get him and our legs out of the confines of our vehicle! We met Grandma and Grandpa Miller at Dutch Heritage (Amish cooking). Grandpa Richard was having a high school class lunch. Caleb was a big hit. He even sat at the head of the table. He ate his sweet potatoes with pride in front of the adoring audience. Grandma later said she was glad we made it in time for lunch, so their friends could meet Caleb:)

Then we went to Grandma and Grandpa's in Butler, Ohio for some much needed relaxation. Caleb got up from a quick rest with rosy cheeks and the desire to be held by his Great Grandma. She was thrilled to meet the need! Great Grandpa got in on the smiles too!

Great Grandma with Caleb

Caleb and Great Grandpa

That evening we headed to the Columbus area to see Caleb's second cousins, Annabelle and Addison. They are identical twins born at the end July. Annabelle has just been home for a couple weeks. The family is thrilled to be home together! The girls looked great and so did the proud parents. Then Caleb's other second cousins, Liam and Brady joined the fun. We even got a fun cousins picture!

Great Uncle Larry, Caleb, Cousin Addison, & Cousin Josh

2nd cousins: Liam, Caleb, Brady, Addison & Annabelle. Caleb is falling on Brady. Love the expression!

3 months and 6 month babies!

We got home late from the cousin fun and got some good sleep on the comfort of a bed instead of a car seat! Alleluia!

Saturday morning we woke up to some more snuggle and play time with grandparents and Great Uncle Jim. He looked liked, and sounded a lot like Caleb's Papa Miller. He gave Uncle Jim a couple double takes:) Josh and I enjoyed Creamed Eggs on Toast for breakfast! Yum, Yum!

Caleb and Great Uncle Jim

Great Grandma and Caleb

Unfortunately we had to start packing up after breakfast. Sometime in there Caleb had the most explosive diaper I have seen yet! I giggled the whole time Josh and I changed him. Josh thought it was more disgusting than funny;)

I heard Great Grandma Norma Miller say numerous times, "I wish you lived closer!" And I think Caleb was thinking the same thing! They had a ball together! After lunch we sad our goodbyes and Caleb smiled his last heartwarming grin as we pulled away.

We headed to a chapel in Xenia, Ohio for my cousin Cheryl's wedding. She married Jack Fitzgerald. Cheryl Fitzgerald has quite the lyrical line to it. They are a beautiful couple! Caleb was hitting his wall before nap time as the ceremony got started. He wouldn't just fall asleep and so Daddy had to take him in the back to swaddle and sway him to sleep. He fell asleep finally during the recessional. At the reception we were seated at the COUSINS TABLE. It was Josh, Caleb, Briana, David, Meghan (David's girlfriend), Kyle, Amy, and Eric. We had a great time!

Cheryl and Jack Fitzgerald: Exchanging of rings

Our Table: 6

Oma (my mom) and Josh

Mommy and Caleb

Great Aunt Tina and Great Grandpa Bill

Uroma and Great Grandpa

Daddy and Mommy

Father and Mother of the Bride: Jim and Tina

Great Aunt Cheryl and Great Uncle Tom

Captured a dancing kiss

We danced, we laughed, and ate good food. There were cheese and bread platters for snacks between the ceremony and dinner. YUM! That's all I need! But dinner was great too! They also had a photo booth! We had a great time taking pictures there too! The reception was beautiful! They way I enjoy weddings has definitely changed. Instead of catching up with others, I'm busy keeping my son entertained and happy, or reveling in someone else doing the job.  Caleb was again a big hit though! What a blessing Josh and I have on our hands! Caleb was such a great traveler, as well as a great guest and cuddler with everyone!

Caleb sandwich!

Caleb with Great Aunt Tina

Caleb with Cousin Heather

Caleb with Cousin Amy

Family Picture

Caleb had the winning golden leaf chocolate in his favor. He got a Beta Fish = C.J.

Married 55 years this November

Oma and Caleb

Doing the Electric Slide

Sisters

Sisters dancing: Uroma und Great, Great Aunt Bitto

Daddy and Caleb

In this picture, Caleb is showing us what the entire family felt by this point in the weekend:)

IT WAS WORTH IT!

Thanks for the angels watching over us, God.

Bonfires in the Fall!

Caleb is lucky to have a fire ring at both grandparents houses. He's had a bonfire each weekend.
Last weekend we were at the Millers. There was a slight drizzle but we didn't let that stop us. Caleb was bundled and we had an umbrella too. Smores...yum! Afterwards we went in for bath time!

Auntie Carrie, Avery, and Caleb playing in the bathroom mirror

Caleb and Avery having a staring contest

Nana gives a good bath!

Snuggling up with Nana

This weekend we were at the Monson-Alms Farm and Caleb was bundled up again for the fun. He fell asleep even. Everyone loved how cute Caleb was and wanted their picture with him:)

Caleb and Auntie Krista

Uncle Garrett & Caleb

Kisses for Oma

Caleb loves the bonfires, but especially the time with family!

1/2 year old!

Caleb is 6 months old! I can't believe it! Time has flown by and my baby is a BIG BABY!

The last two weeks have especially been quick! Every night was something. We keep busy with ECFE on Monday nights and then I taught Ready! for Kindergarten classes to parents of 1-2 year olds. As I taught the classes I saw where Caleb is headed and it is pretty exciting! Already he is watching where his toys go when he drops them and he is flipping his wrists around. He is now considered a supported sitter. He is starting to sit on his own but doesn't have the side to side stability yet. He's been up on all 4s a couple times and you can tell he wants to be mobile but hasn't quite mastered it yet.

Caleb has a really cute pair of PJs that we love him in too. And he loves his toes!

Daddy (Josh) is in Canada duck hunting for five days over the MEA break. I'm glad to have had the time off and be home with Caleb, but after being used to tag teaming with Josh, single parenting has left me exhausted! I think I need a rest after this "Break." Caleb is such a blessing, so I don't like to complain...but he's a lot of work! I'm used to getting things done and caught up during a school break. I was luckly to keep even this break. Laundry is running right now. The dishes are clean, but the dusting, lesson plans, and mail have yet to be done. One day left...I have a lot to do. Hopefully Caleb is up for it tomorrow:) Today Nana, Papa, Boogie, Michael, and Josie watched Caleb while I went to school to at least clean up my desk. They had lots of fun!

Caleb went swinging for the first time on Thursday, Oct 20th. A big SUCCESS!

What a beautiful fall we have had and we are excited for the next season too!

A wonderful warm fall!

We have been blessed with a gorgeous fall in Minnesota and I wish we had more free daylight hours to spend outside. Luckily Caleb gets to be outside at daycare. They go out in the mornings now and stay inside in the afternoon due to the little black bugs (no-see-ums) that like to bite.

Sunday, October 2nd, Josh took Caleb to Nana and Papas so that Mommy could have some alone time. I had a list of things that I wanted to get done, but in the 100 minutes I ended up having, I got the dishes washed, changed a load of laundry, did computer stuff for 20 minutes, showered, dressed, and got a gallon of milk. Not the productivity I had been hoping, but the gesture was still appreciated.

Nana and Papa got to feed Caleb his sweet potatoes and rice cereal and then snuggle him to sleep. I came and unfortunately snatched him up. We then took a beautiful drive to Oma and Grandpa Gene's house. We had lunch there and Caleb sat in the high chair at the table. Then Oma fed him and read to him. What a luckily guy!

Then we went outside for a photo shoot. Here are the highlights:

Do you see the eyebrow raised?

Hmm...I'm going to taste it again after Mommy told me it wouldn't taste good.

We exhausted Caleb and he recovered with a nap. Meanwhile Oma and Mommy got to work. We took out the apple peeler/corer and made two apple crisps. Oma had picked their apple trees earlier and the Miller family loves apples:) I was only too eager to make some apple crisp. Caleb took a 45 minute nap and then had to be part of the action too.

Awesome contraption to help the process go more quickly!

Caleb had to be part of the action

Apple Crisp Extraordinaire!

Grandpa Gene played with Caleb on the kitchen floor

Finished product

What a perfect fall day!

Come on you Gusties!

9 years ago I walked into Co-Ed on the Gustavus campus and met my roommate, Megan. 9 years ago! 9 years ago I met most of my college friends that are dear to me today! I had my 5 year reunion today during Homecoming weekend. Where has the time gone? Walking around campus the memories and lingo came flooding back. A pit stop by Echo Circle, The Caf, Co-Ed, and the Dive. Even though I haven't spent much time on campus since graduation, it still felt like home and a place I belong!:)

Caleb and I got onto campus at 9:45am and we left at 5:00pm. I didn't anticipate staying so long, but hanging out on campus feels so natural that the time passes quickly. We started out at Mattson Hall in the Education Department. While at Gustavus the Education Department was first in Old Main and then moved to Mattson Hall. Sounds like they will be moving again to a more permanent home in a couple years. After some great conversation with Ed Major friends and professors, Caleb and I headed to The Bookmark. The Bookmark is the college's gear and bookstore. Caleb didn't have any Gustie gear yet so we had to find something his size. Lucky for Gustavus we found an adorable zip up "Gustavus Adolphus" sweatshirt. Then we walked by the new Football Field! Nice place!

We then walked over to the new academic building, Beck Hall. Wow! What a great building! And Gustavus is working on become water bottle-less, so they have Brita filtration systems built in! So cool!

Caleb also fell asleep in his first college classroom. What a scholar!

Daddy, Josh, joined us and we stopped by Grandpa Mark Monson's tree. Caleb thought it was the prettiest tree on campus. He wore his new Gustie gear for the picture.

Tree plaque: Give in Memory of Mark Wallace Monson

 '76

Then we headed to the reunion tent. We saw lots of friends and they all got smiles and giggles from Caleb. They even had Frost Your Own Cookies! This was a great initiation for Josh and Caleb. YUM!

Three of my dear friends have had babies in the last year as well. Leah had Lydia, Andrea had Hudson, and Marit had Soren. So fun to have the blankets, carriers, and strollers around. The babes were all sleeping or eating at different times though so we didn't get a picture of the babies. Leah, Andrea, and I quick snagged one pic though.

Then my friend Anna and I spent some time in the cafeteria. Oh the dear old Caf. We had some pizza and I think Gustavus officially has the best pizza! Yummmm! Anna had fun with Caleb too. He was such a great boy all day!

But all good things must come to an end and we had to head home. I think Caleb's first excursion to Gustavus was a big hit!