Caleb's first cold

Caleb got his first cold yesterday. I started feeling sick last week already and he was doing great...until yesterday. His little nose is running and his eyes and cheeks are red. He is a little more cranky and I can just tell he doesn't feel quite right. Thankfully he has his 4 month doctor appointment tomorrow, so the doctor can check him out and make sure it's just a little cold.

As I was holding him in my arms tonight, I couldn't help but feel terrible that he was sick. I just felt so bad that his nose was running, and I wanted desperately to take the cold away from him. Then I suddenly remembered back to all the times I had been sick as a child and my mother would always say to me, "I wish I was the one who was sick. I wish I could take it from you." She would crawl into my bed in the middle of the night and brush my hair and sing me to sleep when I didn't feel well as a little girl. She would pull the couch out into a bed in the living room so she could be closer to me in case I needed anything when I was in grade school. She would take me into the emergency room and pay twice the money to see a doctor when I had an ear infection in high school. She would drive 5 hours to Dordt to get a hotel room for me when I was puking for days straight in college. And through all those times, even with very bad sicknesses, she would always say, "I wish I was the one who was sick. I wish I could take it from you."

I never understood how she could say that when I was feeling so miserable. How could anyone wish they had what I had? Why would anyone love me and care about me so much?

I'm beginning to understand now, Mom. Thanks for taking care of me all those years.

Family Weekend

I know Thanksgiving isn't for a few more weeks, but our family got to celebrate a little early by being thankful for all being together. My brother-in-law Shane didn't have to work on Tuesday for Veteran's Day, so their family decided to drive out to Minnesota for a long weekend. My parents came up from Pella and my brother Scott came over from Sioux Falls, so we had the whole family together under one roof. Now getting everyone to fit under one roof and having enough food to eat was a little bit of a chore, so I was very thankful my mom came up a few days early and took care of Caleb and helped make meals. :) We were also very thankful we were moved into our new house so that we had enough beds for everyone!

My mom with Caleb before the whole gang arrived. She is such a huge help and I really appreciated having her around a few extra days.

My dad arrived Friday night, and Jody, Shane, Erin (3 years), Kate (9 months), and Scott all came on Saturday afternoon.  Shane and Erin hadn't met Caleb yet, so I was very excited to finally have the whole family together!

Caleb was not so excited to see Kate. :( Thankfully they warmed up to each other throughout the weekend.

Shortly after everyone arrived we went to take family pictures. It was a bit chilly and the children were not extremely excited about the event, but we did manage to get a good enough picture for a Christmas card.

 The Van Zanten Family 2014.

 Grandpa & Grandma with the grand kids.

Our family. 

After pictures, we headed to the gym to play some basketball and then relax at home for the night.

 Uncle Scott reading books to Erin and Caleb.

 Playing with toys in the living room.

Auntie Jody reading books to Caleb.

On Sunday morning my parents stayed home with all of the kids because Kate wasn't feeling so good, so John and I and Jody and Shane got to enjoy a church service without our children. Then we went to Chandler for Sunday lunch to see all of our aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandparents. It was great to have such a big group together!

 Grandma, Erin, and Grandpa getting some quality time Sunday morning.

 John, Caleb, Shane, and Kate. We thought Caleb was going to look like a shrimp next to Kate, but he didn't. He is growing up way too fast!

 Grandpa and Caleb sporting their Minnesota gear.

Jody, Kate, Caleb, and I after church. Crazy our babies are only 6 months apart! I don't know what I would do without her parenting advice and friendship.

We also tried another grandparent/grand kid picture...it was a slight struggle again. :)

 We love you Erin! :)

Caleb was excited for the picture. :)

On Monday morning I had to go to work, and my family decided to come check out the school so Erin could see where I taught. It made the day a lot more fun to have them as visitors!

Jody, Shane, Erin, and dad raising their hands in class. 

The rest of Monday night was spent hanging out, taking baths, and just enjoying being together. I feel like I never get to see my sister and my nieces, so I was loving every minute of having them around.

 Me walking with Kate. She is crawling but hasn't taken any steps on her own yet.

 Jody giving Caleb a bath after one of his blowouts.

 Caleb loved having his auntie around!

 Our happy boy. He did great with all the company and was full of smiles as usual.

The weekend went great, and we had a lot of fun playing with the kids. We think they had fun too...at least part of the time. :) We are already looking forward to Christmas when we can be together again!

Date nights

John and I have been blessed to have a few date nights this past month. His younger sister had a tournament volleyball game that he had to drive bus for, so I ride along. Our awesome friends babysat and we took the bus to a cute restaurant for supper and watched the game together.

 

It doesn't get much better than riding in a school bus on date night :)

John got his parents to babysit last Friday and he took me out for supper to Olive Garden, to the mall to pick out new shoes and khaki pants, and to cold stone. I was one happy birthday girl.:)

Although date night doesn't happen as much as it used to, I definitely appreciate it more now!

Costume Party

On Saturday night our friends got together for a costume party. Although none of us are really in to Halloween, we though it would be fun to dress up. So we made the rule that you had to dress up but couldn't spend any money on your costume. We had a pretty fun week brainstorming ideas of what to wear, and finally settled on being Southwest basketball players with Caleb as our basketball. We borrowed some old jerseys from the school and found out from my mom that she actually wore those jerseys when she was in high school.

John and I with our little basketball.

The whole gang. 

After eating way too much good food for the first part of the night, we enjoyed some minute to win it games that the hosts of the party had planned. It was hilarious.

 Kirk & John stacking cups as fast as they could.

 We had to blow up a balloon and then knock over cups with the air--I struggled.

 Trying to get candy out of the bottom of panty-hoes without using your other arm to help--a struggle as well. :)

 Preparing to knock over water bottles with a ball in panty-hoes tied around your waist.

 Trying to eat a cracker by sliding it down your face.

John did slightly better than me at all of the games and got first over all. I came in somewhere slightly above last place. :) Even with my poor performances, it was still a lot of fun. The costumes definitely added to the entertainment. There is such a big group of young couples in Edgerton, and we have been so blessed by some great friendships since moving here. We know it can be hard to find couples where the husbands and wives both get along, and we are so thankful we have so many of those right in town.  Two of our friends are pregnant and we can't wait for Caleb to get to hang out with them. We decided this had to be an annual party, and we are already looking forward to next year. :)

Sleepy Baby

Caleb is a great sleeper. Ever since we took him home from the hospital, he has loved to sleep. In his first few weeks of life I would have to wake him up to feed him. He slept through the night at 8 weeks. He sleeps 10 1/2 hours at night and still loves his naps. We have learned that when he is tired and  wants to sleep, there is almost no stopping him. Pick him up, walk around, talk to him, turn on lights, he doesn't care. And I LOVE it. :) It makes him easy to take places because he will sleep almost anywhere. I have been taking pictures of all the random places he falls asleep so I could share them with you all...

 In the pack and play.

 In the bassinet.

 

On his stomach in the living room.

 Next to dad on the couch.

 On my legs.

 In the moby while I mow the lawn.

 In the carseat next to the beach.

 In my arms at the lake.

 In the car while driving.

 On the ground next to the lake.

 On our spare bed in front of the TV.

 In the middle of the living room floor.

 In  my arms on the couch.

 In the gym during bball open gym.

His favorite place of all...dad's chest.

We hope Caleb keeps sleeping like this for the rest of his childhood. And even if he doesn't, we sure are enjoying it right now. :)

Top Family Fishing

Saturday was a perfect fall day. It was warm, there was lots of sunshine, and there was hardly any wind. This type of day does not happen that frequently, so we decided to take advantage of it by...going to the lake of course. :) This fall has been great weather for fishing and I have loved getting to see the beauty in God's creation on all of our fishing trips. The colors this fall seem to stand out in a way that I don't remember from the past years.

 John's parents had his two nephews for the night, so all the grandsons got to go fishing with grandpa and grandma. Although Caleb and I did not catch any fish, the guys did get three keepers. We had a great time grilling, fishing, and just hanging out together outside.

 J.T. and his nephews Ethan. I can't wait until Caleb is old enough to fish with his dad.

 I have been begging for a fall family picture...so this is what I got. :) No pretty fall leaves or nice clothes, but we did get the lake and our fishing pole.

 John's little sister Tianna with Caleb. 

J.T., Ethan, and Andrew with their walleyes.

Grandma Top with her grandsons...Caleb is once again avoiding looking at the camera. :)