Kevin, Tami, Kyler, Jordan, Caleb Scott: February 2009

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Our little Rosie! Can a stuffed animal be considered as a tax deduction?

Caleb is obsessed with stuffed animals. He absolutely loves them, and treats them like family members. He has a few favorites, but lately Rosie the Chipmunk has been at the top of his list. For well over a month Rosie has gone everywhere with him. She's been to church, the dentist, shopping, and most recently to Chicago.

Caleb had a minor heart attack last week when he realized he left Rosie at our Chicago hotel. We went back to look for her that afternoon, but couldn't find her anywhere. We called the hotel and asked them to be on the look-out for a rosy cheeked chipmunk and luckily Rosie turned up the following day. Apparently, Rosie decided to see what it was like to be a maid for the day. The staff at the hotel was kind enough to box her up and send her home to us. I have a feeling she wasn't much help to the hotel staff so they decided to give her a pink slip. Too bad for them, she's pretty cheap labor!

Rosie showed up in the mail today, and after all the hugs, kisses, and happy dancing, Rosie was promptly placed in a long time-out. Caleb reprimanded her and made sure she understood she was NEVER EVER again to be a stow-away in a strange hotel without her family to protect her. He most definitely did not appreciate her trying to extend her vacation longer than the rest of us by hiding under the bedspread while we were checking out. I'm crossing my fingers she got the message because I'm not sure we could get through another week without our Rosie!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Happy Birthday Caleb!

My baby turned 4 today! It doesn't seem that long ago that I went into labor with him 3 weeks early. It was a great surprise for Kevin and I especially since all my babies have been born on scheduled C-section dates. Caleb was still born by C-Section, but on HIS time-table rather than the doctors (which of course meant we had to call in the entire team of doctors and nurses at 2 a.m. Needless to say we were surrounded by quite a few blurry eyed people that night!) Caleb is a terrific little boy. Stubborn, but sweet. Energetic and full of love. Curious and independent. Happy and loved by so many.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

Your family is so lucky to have you here.

We started off his birthday celebrations on the 3rd of February after our little preschool gathering. Since I was the teacher that day we just had everyone stay a little longer to enjoy lunch, cupcakes, and games.

Aaahhh...The Cake! I'm not much of a decorator, but I can throw stuff on top of a cake like the best of them! Just keep me away from frosting bags....horrible would be the best word to describe my talent with those. Caleb was intent on having a Construction Truck Cake, and luckily this turned out to be pretty easy to make.

A little game of stick the nose on the lion...or giraffes foot depending on your preference.

Logan S., Caleb, Logan M., Kaylie, Abigail, Kara

Even with that big of a blow notice that the flame isn't even flickering? It took a few tries, but I think that must mean extra wishes!

How old are you Caleb? F-O-U-R!!

For whatever reason Caleb's biggest wish this year was to get a garbage truck. I'm not sure why, but apparently Santa forgot to bring one on Christmas morning so his big brother Kyler managed to find him one for his birthday. My son has such high aspirations!

Me and Kevin's $7 post-Christmas find. Alright, so truth be told I got this more for me than for Caleb, but I remember having one growing up and it brought back good memories. Caleb has been playing with it all morning though. He sets up all his stuffed animals around Teddy Ruxpin and has them listen to stories as if they were at the library reading time. Of course Caleb leaves the room to play with his garbage truck, but so far no animals have complained.

Caleb's excitement when he first realized his garbage truck was tucked away in that package.

This was his other highlight of the night. My parents got him this little camera and before bedtime he snapped over 100 pictures. Mommy will be checking out the delete button a little later while Caleb is napping.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Happy Birthday, Nonny!

What a weekend it was. My grandma Ruthie (Nonny to all of us grandkids) celebrated her 84th birthday this past Sunday. My Uncle Frank and Aunt Donna graciously opened up their home to the 27 relatives who all gathered to party with her. We had a massive feast, cake, presents, and a wonderful time catching up with each other during the time we spent there. My mom, Brooks, and Kelcee even flew out from Utah!! What a treat it was for my family to see them again.

Warning to all of you...I let my little man Kyler have the camera and he took quite a few pictures.
(However, he somehow missed any good pictures of my cousin Frank with his wife Cheryl. The only one turned out dark. Not to mention the fact that Cheryl was strategically concealed behind a vase of tulips...hmmm, coincidence on her part? Kyler took a bunch of me too, but I had the delete button at my disposal! I would have gladly hidden behind a vase or two all afternoon if possible.)

Kyler discovered a little too late that there was not 1, not 2, but 3 full tables of people in the Scarpino household that day. He did a good job though so here are a bunch of my relatives on my mom's side of the family.

In hind-site, as I scroll through this entry, I probably should have made a slide show to showcase the photos. Since I already uploaded the pictures though I decided to just go with the flow. Don't let your finger get to tired as you scroll down looking for an end to this seemingly never-ending blog posting! I was having a little too much fun looking back through all the pictures.