Stuck

When we went in to get Caleb this morning, this is what we found! He was just laying there, wide awake, sucking his thumb. A few tears were shed as we had to twist and pull on his leg to get him free. We are just wondering how long he was stuck for.

Garfield Park Conservatory

I think he looks like such a big boy in these two pictures.
So...he was really interested in the ferns...what can I say?
Today Caleb and i went over to the Garfield Park Conservatory. We walked through all the different rooms, felt the different plants and played in the childrens room. It was a great field trip.

A is for Apple

Here are some shots of Caleb eating his first apple. We knew he loved applesauce, but I didn't even think he would know what to do with a whole apple. I loved how little his bites were and how much he seemed to be enjoying himself.

The whole family

Whenever we are all together my mom makes sure we take a family picture. Pictures are getting a little tricky these days with three little ones wiggling around and crying, but it didn't take too long to get one we liked. Well...ok...we couldn't have done it without a digital camera and a few touch ups in photoshop, Erik actually had his eyes closed in this picture! We had so much fun spending time with the whole family.

Jenna and Caleb's Party

Erin and I with the cupcake cakes we made for the party.

Opening presents.

Singing Happy Birthday to Jenna and Caleb.
Caleb enjoyed his cupcake again.
Jenna was a very neat eater. She hardly had any frosting on her face...then Caleb decided he should help her!
Gramma, Poppa and their grandchildren

The Condaps are here!

Jim, Erin, Kira and Jenna arrived in Chicago on Thursday. It is so much fun to see the little ones "play" together. Jenna is 6 weeks older than Caleb, but she is much smaller and lighter. Here they are at the Children's Museum. Caleb and Jenna were really enjoying the water works exhibit until a huge splash drenched both of them (my mom has a video of that...I will try to post it later). Then Caleb put a marker in his mouth and everything started to go down hill. Everyone was in need of a nap, the two little ones were asleep before we left the parking lot!


http://media.putfile.com/water-works

Happy 1st Birthday, Caleb!

One year ago today we were holding Caleb in our arms for the first time. Sometimes it is crazy to think that a year has already gone by, and other times it is hard to remember life without him. Looking at this picture of Caleb brings back so many memories. I remember the first time I saw him...the first thing I said was, "You look just like your daddy!" He had so much dark hair then! (I am still not convinced that Caleb looks like either one of us anymore.) I remember that first night in the hospital, wondering if I would ever fall asleep. I didn't want to take my eyes off of him. I knew I should get some rest, but I just wanted to hold him and stare at him! And here we are today with a one year old. We thank God every day for giving us this wonderful gift. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB MATTHEW STROM...we love you so much! Eating sticky buns for the first time (a birthday tradition in the Mecher household).
When we brought Caleb over to Gramma's house this morning, this was on the porch, another Mecher tradition. Thanks everyone for calling and singing to Caleb today!

Today

This morning I found Caleb in the crate with the drinks!
Later we made loud music together while cheering on the Bears.

The Birthday Celebrations Begin!

Today we celebrated Caleb's 1st Birthday with some friends and family. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people. Below are pictures from the big day.

Caleb and Joel loungin'.

Caleb and Elsa taking a stroll.
This was while we were all singing "Happy Birthday" to Caleb. He just stood there looking around at all of our faces, not really sure what to do with himself. We had cupcakes, #1 cookies and ice cream for dessert. As you can see, however, Caleb enjoyed his very own mini-cupcake!


Birthday Boy and Grandmas!


Our little family.
Trying out Caleb's new bike trailer.

Future North Parker?

Here are some funny pictures that I meant to post this week but just didn't get around to. Caleb was very attached to the 'North Parker' this morning! He is evidently really excited to meet President Parkyn.
And then, after he got dressed picked up his teddy bear for a little snuggle.

Snippets

This afternoon I decided to take Caleb to "Snippets," to get his hair cut. While it was fun to go out and experience what they call "Chicagoland's premier childrens' hair salon," I can now say that I'm ready to go back to Papa Strom or Uncle Dave for haircuts. Caleb has always been a pretty squirmy little guy, so it was no surprise that it was difficult to get him to sit still (even with the cool toy car that he got to sit inside for the cut). The hard part for me was that I felt like the haircutter was getting annoyed by his squirminess. My little Caleb! How could anyone think he's not the best little boy ever!? Well, after a few minutes of trying to keep him still we decided to try to distract his attention with a lollipop. At first, Caleb had no idea what to do with it, but then as soon as his tongue got a taste of the sweetness, he sat perfectly still and enjoyed his sucker! Even then, as I was so happy that my little boy was sitting so perfectly content, the haircutter's mood didn't seem to change. That's when I realized I am a mom: I love Caleb so much and just want (or assume) everyone else to love him in the same way. Caleb is simply the most wonderful little boy in the world to me...even if the haircut lady doesn't say so! Being a mom, I'm beginning to understand a lot more about my own mom, about Erik's mom, and about moms in general. You have a love for your child like nobody else can. To you, your child is the best and you want the world to know it! And as for haircuts, Papa Strom, we'll take "Tony's Basement Barber Shop" over "Snippets" any day. There's that face again!
Our little Caleb...looking so grown up!
The lollipop saves the day!


Here's Caleb freshly trimmed up, relaxing after all the hard work!
Lately Caleb has been into crawling in and under things. We spent a few minutes this morning crawling through the chairs in our dining room like it was a big maze. The other day when Papa Strom was babysitting, the two of them were doing some "basic training" on the back porch by crawling through an old box. Maybe that's where he picked up this new hobby!

Cozy Coupe Video

This is a video of Caleb playing in the Cozy Coupe at Nana and Pappa's last week. Enjoy!

http://media.putfile.com/cozy-coupe-3

Sterling, IL

Erik went up to Covenant Harbor for the weekend for one of his business classes, "Developing High Performance Team." Caleb and I decided to go visit the Austins in Sterling, IL. We left early Friday morning and came back Saturday afternoon. Caleb had so much fun playing with Reiley and Luke, he also thought that they had really cool toys! Karina and I were able to catch up and just enjoy eachothers company. (Did you know that she is 17 weeks pregnant?!) She took us on a tour of Sterling and then we went to the High School football game. It reminded me of all the Iron River football games Erik and I went to with Chuck and Jane. There's nothing like small town football.

This is Caleb's new face...you will see it a lot in recent pictures! Not really sure where he learned it!

The boys took over this golf cart (sorry Bears fans...we were just using the Packer fan!) Here is a little video of the boys "workin' it" during the marching band...

http://media.putfile.com/Sterling-Football-Game