cute kids in pjs

Celia and Cals...

We brought Caleigh to lifegroup in her pajamas to put her down to sleep there and it turns out that Bennett was wearing the same pjs.  (The ones Caleigh is wearing are the Kulps)  Bennett is still working on how to do rabbit ears so we will just say these are antlers. So cute!

walking and dancing

I think I would officially say that Caleigh is walking now.  She chooses to walk over crawling - but does still resort to crawling after the walking seems to be too slow.  She really is walking so much now - though I still wouldn't say it is a means of transportation yet.  One of the main things that is hindering her is that she doesn't think she can stand back up once she sits/falls down - she really can but doesn't realize it.  I figured out that it is really hard to get a video of her walking when you are the only one there to take it.  This was the best I could do for now but I will have to post some other attempts soon.

You can tell that we are moving into toddlerhood and mastering the big muscle motor skills.  Caleigh has recently taken to dancing which looks a little like bouncing up and down but you get the gist.  Notice in this video how she is so easily distracted from one task and how quick she is to try to find something else to do.

will smith!

On Thursday I had a doctors appointment and then visited another one of our friends whose 4 year old son was having surgery.  It just so happened that the same day, Will Smith came to Levine Children's Hospital (where I also work) to sign autographs and meet the patients there.  I tried to wait in line to get my picture taken with him but it was for patient's only - too bad.  I tried to snag some pictures though - 

We are pretty much best friends now... I love when celebrities use their fame for a good cause - way to go Will Smith.

getting tubes

On Wednesday we went to the hospital for Caleigh to get tubes put in her ears.   She hasn't really had many ear infections but she has had one in her right ear for at least the past 3 months.  She went through 5 antibiotics including a series of 3 Rocephin shots in a row but nothing cleared it up; after a meeting with a pediatric EENT specialist we decided that Caleigh would get tubes put in her ears.  We were glad to finally get it over with - to be done with the antibiotics, doctors visits, and her being in pain (although Caleigh in pain really isn't that bad - it is actually really hard to tell if she is ever sick because she is such a good baby).  We had so many people praying for us during the surgery and Adam and I felt a complete peace about letting her go.  We prayed Psalm 121:7-8 for Caleigh: "The Lord will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."  And we prayed Isaiah 41:10 for us: "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

Silky got to go with the silky-lover back to the OR.  Silky has really been around the block!  Caleigh didn't even freak out when we handed her to one of the OR nurses to carry her back there - she grabbed silky and laid her head on the lady's shoulder.  At some point we are really going to have to teach her not to go to strangers. :) They gave her some medicine to relax her a little before 8 am and by 8:25 she was in the recovery room.  The doctor said it went really well and that there was a lot of thick gunk in her ears that he drained out.  When she first woke up she was crying this weird psychotic cry and her head was rolling all around - it was a little bit freaky.  After some oxygen and some Mommy-time she perked right back up to her usual self by 9 am.   We were so thankful to all of our friends and family that took time to pray for us, send email updates, and for Pastor Dave who came and prayed with us at the hospital.  

stubborn goose

She got in there all by herself...

And then got stuck... and then eventually got out by herself... And then she decided to try to climb in there from another angle.  In case you are wondering just how stubborn Caleigh is and just how determined she is to do what she wants...

christmas tree from lowe's

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving we headed to Lowe's to pick out a Christmas tree.  After much searching we came up with a pretty good one.

(And yes... we did get the Lowe's employee to take our picture...)

happy thanksgiving from our family to yours

Happy Thanksgiving 2008.  Hard to believe that last year on Thanksgiving I was pregnant with Caleigh.  We headed over the my parents' house in south Charlotte after I got off of work for the day and had a great dinner.  Caleigh semi-enjoyed her first Thanksgiving meal but was thrown off by the strange meal time of 4:45.  She is also turning into a bird when she eats - she now picks at her food unless it is cheese, carbs, or any type of berries so that didn't help.

cals real bday 11/26

On Wednesday (Caleigh's real birthday) we celebrated with a day of games (for us) and lots of attention and playtime for her.  She got in lots of good time with her Uncle David who was here all the way from Keene, NH.  Here she is getting pushed around on a funny little toy that I played with when I was little - Caleigh enjoys riding on this and picking it up by its red hair.

She got to play with her new Jack in the Box... We made some really early 'Christmas' cookies - she didn't really get the concept but enjoyed playing with the dough and hanging out with Poppop and Gigi. Deep in concentration... And we took some obligatory real birthday photos - can't believe she is actually smiling with the birthday hat on. I'm one!  To the right you will see her now favorite pop up toy from Uncle David.  She thinks it is her mission in life to make sure the tops are always down.

happy 1st birthday, caleigh grace!

Happy Birthday Caleigh Grace! 

We are so thankful for the blessing of you!  It is crazy to think that a year ago today I was in labor with you.  It seems like ages ago but at the same time it seems like only yesterday.

caleigh's 1st birthday party

We had so much fun at Caleigh's 1st birthday party.  When the guests arrived we had burgers, hotdogs, chips, potato salad, baked beans, and apples with dip.  After we ate we had cake!  Caleigh had her own ladybug cake - Bennett helped her blow out the candle on her cake.

Caleigh had no idea what to think about the cake - Adam tried to coax her into the red icing. And I took the head of the ladybug off to try to convince her to taste it. She wasn't a fan until she pried the Oreo off of the side of the cake and got a taste of that.  Ritz crackers are one of her favorite things and what better than basically a chocolate cracker.  All that chocolate and icing was making her thirsty.  We caught her 'red-handed' at the party - and I actually said that. After cake we showed a short clip of pictures from Caleigh's first year and then opened some presents.  All in all we really had a fabulous time.  I wish I would have gotten some better pictures but she is so hard to capture on film these days.  I need to do a 12 month update soon - probably after the holidays.  But I will say that on November 18th she took her first couple steps - on her way to the coffee table to try and grab the remote.  Since then she has taken a couple per day but overall she is very cautious so it may take her a while to really take off.  Her first birthday party really was so much fun and we are so thankful to have had a year with her so far!

getting ready for caleigh's party...

Caleigh's first birthday is on Wednesday - the day before Thanksgiving so because of the holiday we decided to celebrate on the Saturday before.  We did a ladybug theme and had people over from 11:30-1 for a cookout and cake.  Making the ladybug cake...

The finished product - and a little ladybug all for Caleigh.

womens retreat

Over the weekend the dads got the kiddos and the women of Uptown headed off to Montreat, NC for a women's retreat.  These are the ladies from my prayer square and my roadtrip buddies for the ride up and back - Mary, me, Melissa, and Carrie.

While we were up there Henry experienced his first snow - can't you tell that it's snowing? We had a fabulous weekend!

charlotte in the fall

This is why I love Charlotte in the fall (yes, November is still fall down here in the south)... it is gorgeous.  Clear blue skies, changing leaves... and to think that this is only a taste of all of eternity - that even creation groans with the weight of sin.  Help us, Lord, to long for eternity with you.

And I love Caleigh Grace in the fall - dressed in her warm clothes enjoying an afternoon at the park. Beautiful...

avocado

Paint by avocado...

Is that avocado in your eye? Caleigh does love avocado, and cheese, as you will see in this first video... and Ritz crackers as you will see in the second video.  Really there is not a food that Caleigh does not like.  She likes tons of things that Adam and I wouldn't touch - let me see if I can same a few - avocado, green peas, broccoli (I hate broccoli but Adam likes it), sweet potatoes, hummus (ugh, the texture - worst ever), vegetable cream cheese, wheat germ, yogurt (Adam will eat this), buckwheat pancakes, squash, etc... If you are getting the correct picture it would seem that Caleigh is a normal eater and Adam and I are picky - Adam would say that he is not picky but I will admit that I am an extremely picky eater; I do not like to go 'out of the box' with food.  But somehow God has given us a child that will.

I recorded these videos to document something that Caleigh has been doing with her food that we think is hilarious.  She will put it in her mouth with one hand - usually her right - and then if she feels that it is not completely in her mouth she will use one of her wrists or arms to push it in.  It is so funny when she does it - I was trying so hard not to crack up in these clips.

**For some reason blogger won't let me upload the second clip but you get the picture.

welcome to the world henry dirks!

So this post is extremely late considering that Henry Lewis Dirks was born on Carrie's due date of October 7th.  Henry was 8 lb. 12 oz. and he made it into the world after Carrie had only been at the hospital for an hour or two... by the time she got there she was already 9 cm... my hero!  Here is a picture of Adam, Tyler, and Jake holding their sons - poor Adam only has a girl so Elmo had to sub in (is Elmo a boy?  I don't even know...).

Precious little (or big!) Henry... Can you see the excitement in this photo?  Maggie was celebrating and Caleigh was trying to figure out what all the commotion was about.

happy halloween

Caleigh was a cute little ladybug for Halloween.  Here are some shots from before we went out - the Dirks + family, the Hunts + family, and the our parents came over for some chili before we took our kiddos out trick or treating in Dilworth.  Caleigh was not to thrilled to get into her costume and I could not get her to smile 1 time with her hat on.

Maggie and Caleigh were dressed so much alike - though Maggie was a butterfly. Our little bugs... (and a cat in the background) Maggie: "Hmm, these antennae look really fun to play with."

Caleigh: "I am actually not that thrilled that you are touching the hat I hate wearing." - She looks very perplexed. Caleigh: "Please don't touch the antennae."

and actually trick-or-treating...

We made it outside and put Caleigh, Sam, and Maggie got into the wagon.  It was like there were at least 10 paparazzi there - flashes were going off left and right.  I think the whole point of Halloween with little babies is to take pictures.  

Is there an elephant in the room?

This would be the best picture by far of Caleigh for the night but it is blurry.  So sad. We had an entire entourage of people with us - 15 adults and 4 babies (including Henry who was in the sling). Daddy and his little ladybug - she really enjoyed playing with the candy all night. Did anyone actually get a good one of these - how do you get 1 almost one year old and 2 toddlers to look at the cameras while their moms do?  I have no idea.  Halloween was a lot of fun but we were so exhausted by the time it was over.  It took us about an hour to go to 6 houses so Caleigh's candy stash was not stellar.  We had a great time and cannot wait for next year!

last week

Last Sunday the Kulps invited us to the Panthers game against Arizona.  On the 6th row (which was actually the first row just above the tunnel where the players (Arizona unfortunately) run into and out of.  The Panthers pulled out a victory that seemed unlikely in the first half and we had a fabulous time.  Thanks Kulps!

Then on Monday Adam and I had some grilled chicken salads that looked so yummy I had to take a picture of them. I love it when Caleigh squats like this... She has been standing on her own a lot lately (just for maybe 15-30 seconds at a time).  Often she stands there playing with a toy but in this case it looks like she is reading a magazine or the paper. While I am in the kitchen Caleigh will often play in 'her' cabinet which is the one we keep all of the tupperware in.  She enjoys taking every single item out of the cabinet and recently has started climbing into the cabinet.  She takes a little slide in this video but notice how she is fine and doesn't cry until I ask her if she is okay.  Hence the reason why we hold our breaths when she falls and wait to see if she is going to cry before making a peep.