ten things Caedmon is up to these days

1. playing by himself more - we're thankful that Caedmon is finally taking more time to play alone. not that we don't love to play with him - but MAN his energy level is hard to keep up with!
2. going to bed like a champ. he goes to bed well, doesn't complain about actually having to go to bed. that's nice!
3. READING - he can read. seriously, he has over 300 sight words and even read us an ENTIRE book the other day.
4. going to school and loving it. he enjoys being a part of ms lisa's k3 class. he especially loves show and tell. see my facebook for a video of him at school. its adorable.
5. making up stories - he loves to make up things that he "thinks" are true or wishes are true. for example, "i have that game (after seeing a game on tv), i got it at target. evee came over and played it before bedtime." hillarious....
6. getting hurt. he gets hurt or has little accidents allllll the time. he's so clumsy. he is always falling off chairs, bumping into things, and not looking in front of him while he walks...ahh!
7. lovin' a new boy band. his newest musical obsession is Hason and he loves BonJovi more than ever. Hason does have some awesome new music, yes the ummbop guys. he is always rockin' out to the ipod in the dock in his playroom.
8. asking santa questions - he asked who was dressed up like santa at church today. we told him it WAS santa. he then asked, "where's his sleigh." we said, "on top of the church roof. you can't see it." his reply - an innocent, "oh"
9. MEDIA obsession - he has a real obsession with media. he loves to watch movies, tv, look at videos and pictures on the computer, play with the ipod, our friends' iphones, etc. we're always trying to cut back on it, since he doenst get to watch much TV at all he craves it even more. this will be a battle for a loooooooong time i'm afraid.
10. he's so lovable. caedmon is so lovable to shepherd and us. he is always kissing and giving us hugs, and telling us how much he loves us. I just die when he says, " mommy, you'are a good mommy. a really good one." He always makes sure that we're "keeping shepherd."

we're very thankful for this amazing little 3 year 4 month old! he's still our joy!

another ten

10 things we love about Shepherd at 10 weeks

1. HE SLEEPS! yes, still! he sleeps so well. even if he doesn't take his long naps, his night time is great! HE goes to bed about 9 to 9:30 and only wakes up one time in the night and then in the a.m. before i got to work. THIS IS A GOD SEND FOR OUR FAMILY! HES AMAZING!
2. the chunk - we love the chunky wrists, thighs, belly...so cute!
3. THE SMILE! its so beautiful and he loves to smile at Caedmon, mommy, and daddy.
4. How you look at Caedmon. Shep loves caedmon, loves to pay attention to him, loves to see what hes doing, and he's always looking for him. even when caed is a little rough on him he's still happy.
5. your eyes - they are getting lighter, but have a depth to them that is so beautiful
6. how chill you are - we take you anywhere, make you wait to eat often because of many 3 year old interruptions, and you don't mind!
7. kicky-play-play : when you kick and play on the floor
8."strong man" i call you "strongman" beacuse you love to hold you head up and try and sit up and push up...all about up - mostly to get a better view of caedmon!
9. soft skin - i still kiss you so much and love those soft soft cheeks!
10. holding you - its still nice that shep is at the stage where he's not too heavy to carry around, he's just the perfect accessory! when i'm home with him i hate to put him down becuase i know how fast this time will go!

WE LOVE YOU SHEP!!!

christmas time is here! top 10 of 2010

wow! i am floored with the idea that 1. i have two kids 2. its' mid december 3. christmas i here

we are doing our usual events here: our annual christmas party *which was last night, putting up a tree, spending wayyyyy too much, eating wayyyy too much, and all the while trying to enjoy eachother and be thankful. We won't be travelling home to WI this year, but we'll be there in spirit and enjoying a true NE Christmas.
we are very thankful for this year

here's our top ten in 2010:

1. Finding out we’re having another one!
Feb 8, 2010 it was POSITIVE! we were pregnant again. This pregnancy was so different, but great. It went by very fast. It was fun to teach caedmon and train him to be ready for a little brother or sister.
2. Road trip to Pennsylvania/Ohio/Kentucky in April 2010
Spending time as a family on this road trip was the best part! we really enjoyed eachother and had the opportunity to visit the Creation Museum in KY. It was awesome.
3. Allie getting the opportunity to do photography
I finally put some of my passion to work this year being able to do some family shoots, senior portraits, and 6 weddings with Laura Wagner Photography. It was a great experience and hope to continue to do more with her and on my own.
4. Celebrating 5 years at Matthews Memorial Church
How the time has flown! we are blessed to be at Matthews Memorial and have grown very close to our church family here. This year we had an amazing VBS, a great Sunday School program, and the Stable coffeehouse is continuing to grow.
5. Best summer in New England– EVER!
We hit the beach a lot this summer, swam a ton, and enjoyed a very HOT beautiful summer. Caedmon loved being outside and enjoyed all the fun activities.
6. Ryan and Caedmon’s trip to Arkansas
The boys headed out to ARK to visit family. They enjoyed waterparks, seeing friends, and playing with Gramma and Pa.
7. Caedmon turning three…
His boy continues to amaze us! He is a music fanatic and has started to read! He's a joy to us every day and is so unique and special. We are very proud of our boy whos 3 going on 13.
8. Four years at Community Christian Academy
Ryan and I have now been with CCA for four years. We are very thankful to be apart of this amazing Christian school and ministry. This fall we started our 5th year; ryan as a bible teacher and Allie as school secretary.
9. Birth of Shepherd Thomas Reveley
October 5, 2010 at 7:48 a.m. our second son entered this world! After only 2 hours of labor his beautiful face made itself know and we fell in love! Shep is an amazing baby, very relaxed, mild mannered, and a good sleeper! Caedmon and Shepherd are already best friends and love one another so much.
10. Watching our family and boys grow
The greatest joy this year was watching our family grow. Spending time in MN with the Bablers was a highlight as well as using Skype to catch up. Another nephew is entering the picture this coming 2011 and we can't wait to meet him. We love our boys and we are thankful for every day with them and look forward to a great 2011.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!