Happy New Year

I hope everyone has a great day today to start off the new year.

Ours has been very lazy so far. Charles got up and went hunting so it was just me and the boys this morning, and now they are both down for naps, still in their jammies I might add.

We're still working on establishing some sort of routine for Ethan, so its a very nice treat when their naps overlap.

Ethan has just now started being awake more often. Being 3 weeks early and having jaundice made him a very sleepy boy for the last 2 weeks, and while he still sleeps A LOT I've just, in the last few days, noticed that he's awake more. Unfortunately he is the most awake after his late night feeding at 11pm, and I still have a very hard time keeping him awake at all during the day.

Hopefully that will work itself out soon.

I'll try to post some more pictures of this cute little guy in the next few days.

2010 was a great year for us! Watching Caleb go from a baby to a little boy and then getting to meet Ethan, although we weren't expecting him until 2011. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in this next year!

Ethan Charles

Introducing our newest little man, Ethan Charles Clowers.

I was induced on Monday and after a very quick labor (thank goodness) we got to meet little Ethan.  He was born a few weeks early because of my pre-eclamapsia so he's a little smaller than Caleb was, but still a pretty good size.  He weighs 6lbs 7oz and is 19.5 inches long.

Things are going great so far.  He'a been sleeping and eating mostly (must be nice) and hopefully we'll get to go home in the morning.

Caleb isn't quite sure what he thinks about Ethan at this point.  At one point this morning he said he wanted to hold him, actually he said "yeah" when asked if he wanted to hold him, and got on the bed with me. But Ethan started crying and Caleb pushed him away, but we'll get there.  Caleb has enjoyed all the extra attention he's been getting the last few days, getting to spend the night with Nanny and Poppy and playing with all his aunts and uncles.  We'll see how things go once we're back home and he realizes that Ethan is here to stay.

Ok, now what you've all been waiting for ... pictures.

There will be many more pictures to come, but these will have to do for now, hope you enjoy!! And in case I don't get around to updating again before Christmas, I hope everyone has a very blessed Christmas.

Halloween

Before you read this, just let me say, I have nothing against Halloween and I'm not trying to offend anyone by writing this.  It's just one of those things where you have to decide one way or the other, and since Halloween is today, I just thought I'd share what we've decided.  I don't really think there's a right or wrong decision, just a decision.  And here's ours.

Halloween.  It's a fun holiday, right?  Dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, decorating with spiders, ghosts and witches.  There are alot of fun things associated with Halloween, and kids love it.  I mean, what kid doesn't want to put on a costume and travel around the neighborhood collecting enough candy to last the rest of the year? (although I'm sure for most kids it doesn't last nearly that long)

Everything I've said so far were my thoughts on Halloween up until this year.  I've always thought of it as a fun, no harm done, kind of holiday.  The equivalent of going on a Easter egg hunt for Easter, or getting presents from Santa on Christmas.  Just a fun thing for kids to do.

But this is the first year we've had a child old enough to participate in the holiday.  Caleb was only 4 months old last Halloween, so yes ... I did dress him in his little "my first Halloween" pumpkin outfit, but trick-or-treating wasn't really an option last year.  And he's still not old enough to know what's going on, but we needed to decide, as a family, how we were going to handle Halloween.

I dressed up, when I was a kid, for Halloween.  I went trick-or-treating around my neighborhood.  We also went to a Halloween carnival at the church I attended as a kid.  It was alot of fun.  Costumes, candy and games.  What's not to like?

My husband, on the other hand, wasn't comfortable with the holiday in general and didn't particularly want our children to participate in it.  I fought him on it.  Hard.  Our poor kids wouldn't get to trick-or-treat, or wear fun costumes or anything.  I brought it up several times over the last month, and every time his response was the same.  So he asked me to do some research on it.  Find out where Halloween came from, why it's celebrated, why the costumes and candy, why should we celebrate?

So I did.

And I can honestly say, I'm fine with our children not participating in Halloween.  Now, there are alot of fall carnivals (including the costumes and candy) and our church has a fall picnic with hayrides, cake walks and that sort of thing, and really, they're very similar to a Halloween celebration, minus the ghosts and goblins.  

Is there anything wrong with dressing up in costumes? Of course not.  Is there anything wrong with collecting a years supply of candy in one evening?  Certainly not, sounds good to me, actually :)  And  there's nothing at all wrong with celebrating Halloween however your family sees fit.  In my opinion, its a matter of personal conviction, and for our family this is what we decided ... we're gonna pass on Halloween.

But just so you know, while Caleb won't be trick-or-treating this year, he does have a frog costume that I will proudly dress him in and snap lots of little froggie pictures!

Pumpkin Pickin'

One of our fall traditions, if you can call it that after only one year, is to go to a local pumpkin patch and pick out some fall decor.  We took Caleb to this pumpkin patch last year, remember??

It's crazy how little he is, isn't it??  I almost don't remember him being this small.

Anyways, we had alot of fun.  Caleb was thrilled with all the pumpkins or "balls" as he called them.  It was quite a struggle to keep him from throwing all the pumpkins and busting them open as that was the ONE thing he desperately wanted to do.

He never managed to pick this one up, although not for lack of trying.  It probably weighed as much as he does, but after a ride out to the pumpkin patch ...

He found one just his size ...

So our little punkin' found himself a little pumpkin, and so the fall tradition continues.

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July weekend!!

We've spent the weekend eating, swimming and watching fireworks. Saturday night we went to some local fireworks and even though it was a late night for the little man, we had alot of fun, and he really enjoyed the fireworks. If it weren't for the noise I think they would have put him to sleep, he was one tired boy!

Playing with daddy - makes Mama a little nervous :)

I passed the camera off to Charles for a few minutes.


Love, love, love this picture. Typical Caleb ... all smiles.


Just relaxing, listening to the music, and waiting on some fireworks to start.


Happy 4th everyone!!

Happy Memorial Day

I hope everyone has a fun and happy Memorial Day!!

We're off to the pool after Caleb takes a nap, and I'll try to remember to take some pictures of him splashing in the water.

Everyone have a great day!

Easter Sunday

Caleb's first Easter was lots of fun. We headed to church this morning, Caleb sporting his new Easter outfit that his nanny (my mom) made for him, and let me just say ... He looked adorable! We rushed home after church so Charles could get ready to leave for his fishing trip, and Caleb and I headed to my parents house for lunch.



The weather was perfect, we got to see lots of family, Caleb was such a good boy and didn't mind being passed around all afternoon, and he really enjoyed seeing and playing with his second cousin, who is just a doll. She kept saying she wanted to hold "baby Cabeb" all afternoon, which she got to do sitting down, although Caleb is pretty much as big as she is.



We ate a wonderful lunch, hunted Easter eggs, took pictures, played outside and had a wonderful afternoon. The only thing that could have made it any better would have been Charles being there, but I know he's going to have a blast on this fishing trip.



What a wonderful day to celebrate our risen Lord, who indeed, is alive!!



I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

New Year's Day

We spent this New Year's Day with our families, mine and my hubby's. We ate together, laughed together, played games together, and had lots of fun.

This is Caleb's cousin, isn't he a cutie? He's 4 months, to the day, younger than Caleb. We love when we get to see him (and his mom and dad too). I know he and Caleb are going to have so much fun together when they get older.

And here's our little man. Also a cutie, if I do say so myself.
Just look at that precious smile.

I realized after Christmas, that we hadn't really taken any family pictures during the holidays. I always had the camera in my hands, so I was rarely in pictures. Thanks Rachel, for taking this picture for us.



And here's my two guys. I don't love anyone as much as I love these two.



I hope everyone had a wonderful first day of 2010!

We sure did!

A New Beginning

I love the beginning of a new year. I love how it feels like you get to start over. And I love New Year's resolutions.

Now, I'm not once of those people who make arbitrary resolutions that last for 3 days and are then forgotten. I put alot of thought into my resolutions and the things I want to change about myself in the upcoming year.

I could probably make a list a mile long of all the things I wish I could change, but that's not realistic now is it? I must limit myself, which being the list maker that I am is a struggle in and of itself. I only allow myself 3 resolutions a year, and trust me, that's plenty. It's hard enough keeping 1 resolution, let alone 3, and naturally I don't actually succeed in keeping any of them, but it's the things I try to work on and pray about all year.

Here is my list for 2010.

1. I will attempt to grow in my relationship with Christ. This one takes alot of prayer, and is one that seems to stay on my list year after year. After all, we can never truly get this prefect, can we? I will strive, by the grace of God, to study His word and spend time with Him daily. This is especially important to me this year, as I have a cute little guy studying my every move, and I want to set a good example for him.

2. I will attempt to be a better wife, specifically to respect my husband the way I am called to in Ephesians. I like to be in charge, and when I'm in charge, my husband is not. Not that he has to be 'in charge' all the time, but he is the head of this family and I need to respect that, and him, more than I do. This one too, takes alot of prayer.

3. My third resolution is not quite as important as the first two, but it is something I want to do. I have a tendency to get very excited about things for a few weeks and then kind of lose interest. I've always been this way, and right now, I am very excited about this new photography business I'm starting. Now I can see myself putting alot of effort into this business for a few weeks and then losing interest in it, which I DO NOT want to happen. So, my third resolution is that I'll keep working on this business until it happens, until I am actually working as a photographer. It could happen this year, it could take several, but as long as I stick with it, I believe it will happen.

Even as I type this I am wanting to add more things to the list, but I know I'm going to have a hard enough time as it is.

So there you have it, my New Year's resolutions. And realistically, I know I could make any of these resolutions at any point throughout the year, but there is something about having a new year, a new beginning, that makes it seem more important and worthwhile.

Happy New Year!

Christmas in pictures

Bouncing in his toy at "Honey" and "Pops" house.


Having a bottle with great-grandmama.


After opening presents with mommy.


Opening presents on Christmas morning. He liked the paper ... ALOT!


Wearing his new outfit at "Nanny" and "Poppy's" house.


Opening presents at "Nanny" and "Poppy's" house.





Sitting with Uncle David.


Loving his new high chair.


Laughing with Uncle David and Aunt Ragan.