There's no doubt that our dear little Caleb isn't loved to the moon and back. There are so many people in his life to give him love and we are so blessed to have all these people around. One of the people high on his list of favorites is Nana Pam. Pam is linked to our family through my cousin Ben, who dates Pam's daughter. She (and her whole family) are wonderful and we love that they are part of Caleb's life. Pam adores Caleb and Caleb adores Pam. We were lucky enough to have her watch him when I was back at work in the spring. Now she does not babysit on a regular basis, but does serve as our back up on days when Grandma Leslie or the other sitter can't watch him. When she hasn't seen him in awhile, she often gives us a call just so she can come by and "love on him" (as she puts it). There is no doubt that she is an amazing person who just loves our little boy to pieces. We are so thankful to have her in Caleb's life!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Nana Pam
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Six months already?!?!
We just can't believe our little guy is already 6 months old today! It's amazing how quickly half of a year can go when you're having so much fun watching an adorable baby grow. Caleb has become the love of our lives and we just can't imagine life without him. We've made it so far from those first few (very trying) weeks and feel like we really have this parenting thing down. Yep, we even talk about what it'll be like to have another one! For now, we're just enjoying the time we have with the four of us (Chesney is part of "us"). We can't wait to watch how much Caleb changes during the second half of his first year in this wonderful world!
And we must give a special mention to our birthday girl who is turning 4 tomorrow. Here are three pics to celebrate each year of her life with us (we got her when she was a year old). We love our little Chesney to pieces and also can't imagine life without her!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
No explanation necessary
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Happy 1st Grandparent's Day
To those other Great Grandparents who are no longer here to be with Caleb, we miss you especially on this day when grandparents are celebrated. Caleb would have been so lucky to meet you. We know our memories of you will carry on forever and be shared with him as he grows up. We love you Grandpa Ronald, Grandpa Whitsitt, Grandpa Bob, Grandpa Hy, and Grandma Billie.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Update on life in the Sturm home :)
Life has been VERY busy lately in the Sturm home. With Mommy returning to work and Daddy working like crazy, we've been so behind on the little things like blogging. I had a rough first week and cried every morning after dropping Caleb off with Grandma and the sitter he's with on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's not that he's not in good hands, it's just hard that he's away from his Mommy all day after spending an entire summer together. Fortunately, my class this year seems to be awesome and I've been so busy each day that I hardly have time to think about what I'm missing at home. On the flip side, it's been tough coming home to tackle the rest of life after a long day with very needy seven year olds. This time of the year is always hard, and it's even harder when I know that I can't just come home, kick my feet up, and relax all evening. There just doesn't seem to be enough time to come home, play, cuddle, cook, clean, do laundry, call people back, schedule appointments, blah, blah, blah. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who definitely lends a helping hand from the minute he gets home from work. Together, we're certainly able to make this whole situation work! It helps having three day weekends like we just had...I only wish there were more of them!
On a positive note, we've had two wonderful weekends since the whole back-to-school thing took place and I've realized that I am not missing out on too much. I still get lots of quality time with the two guys in my life and our little pooch. I've had to learn to let go of some things like being very particular about Caleb's schedule. With the type of personality I have, it's hard to let that go. However, I really can't control what happens during the week from 7:30-3:30, so I just have to go with the flow. I've also had to be less particular about keeping the house as clean and orderly as I prefer, but if it means I can spend more time with Caleb, it's worth it. Anyhow, this whole process is a huge learning experience and we're continuing to adjust each day. We'll take everything one day at a time and at the end of the school year sit down to decide whether we'll keep it up for the future. I can't imagine leaving behind a job I love and coworkers who are the best, but I have to remember that this job will always be waiting for me, even if I take time off!
Tyler has had a great few months at work and deserves a bit of recognition. In passing the other day, he said "I'm sure you don't care, but I'm the top salesman in the zone." I couldn't believe how casually he stated that and immediately responded with "of course I care...and how on earth did you make that happen?" I guess all of the hard work he's been doing has really paid off and I'm so very proud of him for this accomplishment. It's great that he wants to remain so humble, but every once in awhile a gal just has to brag about her guy!
I'd love to keep writing away, but I need to go upstairs and grade some papers before the busy week starts. For those of you who think teachers have such an easy job, just remember that 9 times out of 10 we're bringing work home at the end of the day and when we leave work, we're really just leaving the building behind...the rest of the job comes home with us! For now, enjoy the pictures of our little cutie pie. He turned 5 months on August 21...isn't time just flying by?!
Meeting baby Dash for the first time
Waking up a happy camper...he probably would've stayed in his crib all morning if we would've let him!
Breakfast with Daddy
Playing with his new toy
Chesney and Caleb are REALLY starting to gain an interest in one another
Monday, July 21, 2008
A Busy Week!
Caleb is officially 4 months old today! Time sure is flying by and we just can't believe how much he has changed since March 21. His last week as a 3 month old was very, very busy. Here's a recap along with a few pictures:
Last Tuesday, Grandma came over with a very exciting present for the little guy. He is the proud new owner of a jumper/swing that hangs in the doorway and provides a lot of entertainment. Caleb is a big fan of trying to stand and he loves to bounce up and down, so this toy is perfect. He also loves playing with the toys attached to the jumper. I'm sure this toy will get many hours of use...thank you Grandma!!!
The last time Caleb wore a pair of shoes was at his baby dedication in the middle of May. At that point, he wasn't aware of most things going on in the world...especially a pair of shoes! Well, things have changed quite a bit since then. Last week, Caleb wore shoes for the first time and this was his reaction (all we can say is how cute is that face?!):
Tyler was lucky enough to go on a short trip to Palm Springs for work over the weekend. That meant that Caleb and Mommy were left at home with not much on their agenda. So, on Friday we decided to take a road trip with Grandma to go visit Auntie Tracy in Champaign. She has a really nice, new apartment that we were very excited to see. We were also quite excited about taking Caleb to see the "place where it all started"...the wonderful University of Illinois...where his Daddy and Mommy met 6 years ago! Our afternoon started with a quick lunch on Green Street (which has changed so much since we were there as students). Caleb sat patiently while we ate lunch. Afterwards, we walked around campus and took some pictures. We certainly hope to be able to bring Caleb back to U of I many times before he enrolls as a student there 18 years from now!
On Saturday, we went blueberry picking with Grandpa and Grandma. Caleb slept most of the time, so we were able to focus on the task at hand and picked several pounds of blueberries...yum yum!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
A Busy July
It's hard to believe that we're already close to the middle of July! This summer is flying by. What's worse is that all the stores are starting to put out their back-to-school stuff already. It's like they just can't let us teachers enjoy a few more weeks of not thinking about anything school-related! Although I'm looking forward to being back at school with my great co-workers and hopefully an awesome bunch of kids, I'm really not looking forward to summer ending so quickly!
The month of July started off with Tyler and I celebrating our 3 year anniversary. It's amazing how much God has blessed us during these past few years and we just can't wait to see what else is in store for us as we grow in our marriage. The picture below was taken on our anniversary before we left for a lovely picnic, followed by ice cream, and then watching our wedding video (a yearly tradition). Caleb's Auntie Tracy was nice enough to babysit for the evening so that we could enjoy being just the two of us for a few hours!
On the 4th we were lucky enough to have beautiful weather and wonderful friends and family to spend the day with. My mom, dad, sister, and uncle all came to hang out. We were also joined by the Fuhrman gang (Keith, Kerri, Jacob, Cassie, and Bryce) as well as the McCarthy family (Dan, Brandy, and the soon-to-be-here Dash). We had fun hanging out and enjoying the awesome day. Caleb also seemed to have a good time on his first 4th of July. The fireworks didn't seem to bother him at all, and he amazingly slept through all the loud bangs that were going off until well into the late hours of the night. 
Chesney, on the other hand, did not enjoy the 4th of July. She found comfort by snuggling with Tyler and hiding under the covers. Maybe one day she'll get over her fear of fireworks, thunder, and anything else that makes loud noises!
The day after the 4th, Caleb began a new trend of being very difficult about napping. For about a month, he was doing a great job of napping at pretty regular times. He would usually take a nearly 2 hour morning nap followed by a 2 to 3 hour afternoon nap and then a final short nap in the evening. For some reason, he has now decided to completely change his schedule and we can't quite figure out what he's changing it to. He is really struggling to take a decent morning nap and that seems to throw off the rest of the day. The picture below is from July 5, when he absolutely refused to nap after about a half hour of trying to get him to go to sleep in his crib. When we finally decided to try and let him stay up, we put him in his bouncy seat and sure enough he fell asleep in a couple minutes...what a little stinker!
To make matters even worse as far as his schedule goes, we completely threw him off by taking a short vacation to Missouri to visit my Aunt Nancy. My mom, sister, Caleb, and I all drove down for a four day trip to Lake of the Ozarks. Caleb did great in the car on the way there and back...7 hours is a long time to be stuck in a carseat, but he was a champ! While there, he enjoyed spening time with his Great Aunt Nancy and Great Uncle Dave. He really enjoyed all the fun toys that my aunt had for him to play with. Caleb also loved going in the swimming pool. He seemed so relaxed and calm in the water. It'll be so fun next summer when he is able to really enjoy splashing around and playing in the water. Overall, it was a great trip. The only downside to the whole vacation was the fact that he continued to have a really hard time napping. Since I'm so routined and thrive on schedules (and yep, I'll admit that I'm a little too routined at times), it is becoming more difficult to accept Caleb's desire to change everything that a few weeks ago seemed to be going so smoothly...I guess that's just how this whole parenting adventure is going to be. As soon as I think I've got him figured out, he'll just find something to change!
Overall, the past few weeks have really been great. I'm really enjoying the time that I have to be with friends, family, and this awesome little baby. It's hard to believe that summer break is going to be over in a little over a month. Thankfully, we still have one more trip planned before reality sets in. Tyler, Caleb, and I are heading to Carmi for a long weekend and then we are going back the lake again for a week with my parents and sister. It might seem crazy to travel to the same place twice in less than a month...but you just have to go to understand. If you've never been to Lake of the Ozarks, I highly suggest you get there in your lifetime! I've been fortunate enough to travel there all throughout my childhood and now as an adult. Some of my best memories are from the times that I've been at the lake and I can't wait for Caleb to make hundreds of memories there too!
