Caleb's 1st Birthday in Charleston

After Caleb's party in Birmingham, a little sadness settled in as I realized that my baby was really 1, that a year had passed, and that he wasn't such a little baby anymore! My how time flies! And what a year it has been! Caleb was born on election day in which our fine president was elected into office--what a way to enter the world, Caleb! Anyway, he came out weighing 9 lbs, 4 oz, and was 22 in. long. The weeks just flew by as we entered the holiday season and adjusted to life with two! Before we knew it, Caleb was already 3 months, and we were putting our house on the market. Little by little, we prepared for our move to Charleston as Caleb learned to sit alone and eat baby food. Brian finished up his internal medicine fellowship at UAB, and Abby Grace celebrated her 3rd birthday! The month of June was filled with packing, moving, unpacking, traveling, and more unpacking! We finally arrived for good on June 30, and Brian began his GI Fellowship. Caleb continued to grow like a weed... learning to crawl, eat table food, and say his first words. Since then, we have been trying to settle in our new home and life here in Charleston! The kids have never really missed a beat and seem to like their new house and town, but more importantly, they really love and adore each other! Now that Caleb has turned 1, he has turned into quite the handful... climbing, talking, eating, crawling, and climbing some more! Not walking yet, but don't worry, he knows how to get around! Anyway, we feel so blessed for such a wonderful first year with Caleb and look forward to watching him and Abby Grace grow together.

ANYWAY... We celebrated Caleb's actual birthday at home with a wonderful spaghetti casserole and leftover birthday cake! The kids had their favorite: macaroni and cheese. Caleb thoroughly enjoyed opening all of his presents, and we all played with Caleb's new toys together as a family. That's what I call a perfect evening! Happy 1st Birthday, Caleb!

Caleb's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Caleb's 1st birthday with family and friends on Nov. 1, three days before Caleb's actual birthday. It worked out really well because we were able to come home and squeeze in the Auburn/Ole Miss game, trick-or-treating, and Caleb's party, all in one weekend! Anyway, the ball-themed party was at Grammy and Granddaddy's house on that Sunday at 4:00 p.m. The timing was kind of interesting for us since the fall back was the previous night, so 4:00 p.m. actually felt like 6:00 p.m. for us with the eastern time change. The kids adjusted really well though and had lots of fun! Caleb's cake was perfect! Abby Grace's MDO teacher at Hunter Street made his cake, and it was delicious! Caleb definitely thought so, and you can tell from the pictures! He was more interested in eating than blowing out his candle (of course, Abby Grace helped with that). In fact, he was already digging in as he was being sung too! Caleb also had fun opening all of his presents (and all of his cousins and sister did too)! I was surprised at how much he took in his actual presents, even more so than the boxes and wrapping paper. He actually wanted to play with each toy as he opened it! Anyway, it was a perfect 1st birthday party, and we were so happy that we were able to spend it with our dear family and friends!

Boo! More Halloween Fun...

Boo! That's Caleb's new trick... He likes for you to act scared when he says "boo!" It's really cute!

Abby Grace and Caleb at AGB's party at school.

On Halloween, we were actually in Auburn for the Auburn vs. Ole Miss game. We took the kids to the game, and they did really well! Caleb slept in my arms during the first quarter, and AGB napped during the 3rd/4th quarters. It's was a great game--thank goodness we actually came to play! After the game, we did a little trick or treating in Auburn. AGB stayed dressed as a cheerleader, and Caleb put on his Aubie costume.

Halloween Playgroup

Our Halloween festivities began with our playgroup... the event was going to be held at a friend's, and then she called me that day, saying her kids had the flu and wondered if I could have it at my house! So 1 1/2 hours later, the playgroup arrived for a fun costume parade and dinner. Abby Grace had lots of fun dressing up as a black cat and playing with all of her friends, and of course, Caleb joined in playing too as a dalmation puppy!

Callaway Gardens

On October 9, 10, & 11, we headed to Pine Mountain, Georgia for the Gettys's annual trip to Callaway Gardens. Brian took Friday off so we were able to make it in time to do the Wildlife Safari. Basically, you ride in this ridiculously old van through the "jungle" in search of animals. However, the animals are not difficult to spot because they come right up to your van because they have already know that humans=food. The kids thought that the ride was hilarious because their Daddy and Granddaddy were constantly fighting off animals that peaked their heads through the window. Some of the animals they saw included various cattle, zebras, pigs, giraffes, ostrich, bulls, sheep, peacocks, lions, and tigers (don't worry, they weren't able to roam freely). Anyway, it was fun and I would highly recommend it!

After the safari, we joined everyone for dinner and headed to the luxurious FDR State Park for our weekend stay. On Saturday we did Callaway Gardens and attempted the bike thing. I was pretty nervous about riding with Caleb on my bike, and he must have been nervous too because he basically cried the whole time! (Actually, he was just mad b/c his helmet kept falling down). Needless to say, biking became short lived! We had fun though doing all the park stuff, the picnic, and of course football. On Sunday, we eat lunch at one of my favorite restaurants of all time, the Bullock House, in Warm Springs, GA, and then shop around. It was great seeing the family and look forward to it again next year!

Some of the cousins: Caleb, Mason, Chrisavi, Abby Grace, Nolen, Carianne, Kayla

AGB at the Callaway Gardens Butterfly House

Enjoying the lawn (too much!) at the Sibley Center

You can tell they are related!

Some of the girl cousins: Chrisavi, Abby Grace, Carianne, Kayla

AGB & Carianne

The family football game at Callaway beach

The scenic overlook at the Country Store

All of the remaining pictures are from our trip to the Wildlife Safari.

I didn't realize at the time that my camera was on a black & white setting.

The expressions are priceless!