Don't push the button!

Today was such a nice day, we went to Oak Grove Farm Park. It's like all our other afternoon attractions/distractions (like the library, Richardson's Pond and Prospect Hill) about twenty minutes on foot.
Caleb was, of course, the smallest kid there. This fact, I delight in because in a round-about way, I still have a baby.
I'm glad we got out today, the rest of the week is suppose to be gloomy. Speaking of the rest of the week, the silver lining is General Conference.
I want to know what YOUR General Conference traditions are, if you have any.
Ours, of course, is food-related. We always buy snacks (for Mike: cheese-whiz (yuck) and crackers, salsa and chips, for me: I like celery and grapes). We always have cinnimon rolls for breakfast, we go out to eat in-between the Saturday sessions, and Saturday night I make a snack for Mike's return from the Priesthood session. We eat and talk about what he learned. The last tradition that I mentioned I learned from my dear friend Rachel's family. They are great, I love them... and their donuts. ;)
Have a great weekend. I'l be back next week with some great Conference one-liners, I'm sure!

Confection Carnage, Library Outing, Exercise

1. This past week was Caleb’s birthday. Being the Martha Stewart that I am , I made a round cake with cream cheese frosting ala Duncan Heinz, frosted it with white and blue and plopped a rubber duck atop.
Now, you can learn a great deal about a kid’s personality from how they “eat” (claw, mangle, obliterate) their cake. I was expecting Caleb to rip through the sucker.
WRONG. He tasted the frosting one finger-full at a time.



This says the world about Caleb… he is very unpredictable. I think this characteristic is what has driven me to the brink of motherhood insanity. I’m glad to say that during the first year things get progressively better, like everyone has always said. Caleb sleeps better, he plays harder, and can entertain or feed himself while I take a shower, or do the dishes.

Whew. It only took 12 months!

2. Besides being Activity Committee chair, Mike teaches one of the youth Sunday school classes. Between work, us, personal enrichment, and sleep he has little time to prepare lessons, so every Saturday Caleb and I drive to library to allow Daddy to plan a lesson in peace. At the library Caleb plays with trains, board books, puzzles, the wiry toys you often see at doctor/dentist offices (whatever those universal playthings are called, right?) and he sits in a chair for minutes without moving. Can’t believe it? Here’s proof!

3. Why is it that I never seem to finish my exercise routine anymore? If the weather is dreary we skip the walk and stay inside to dance, to perform sit-ups, fire hydrants, and bits of katas.
Whenever I begin my routine by lying down to do my sit-ups and cockroaches, Caleb will quickly scramble to climb on me. I’ve tried placing him in the kitchen with his tupperware drawer (yes, Caleb has his own kitchen drawer), and even though he is fully engaged, once my back hits the wood panel-
thump thump thump
goes the hands and knees.

Caleb's kitchen drawer.
Contents include: tupperware, funnels, lids, a wooden spoon, trouble,

and sometimes serenity

Happy, Happy Birthday, Caleb Dear

A year of…
Curiosity

Adventure

Learning

Errors

Blessings