Zangus

Apparently I’m not a blogger…

zangus — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 01:39:00 +0000

I thought I would do well with this blogging thing… and I think I did for the first couple years. But now that I have a VERY BUSY 17 month old son, a full time job which includes a classroom of busy 1st graders, and the rest of the things in my life, I have little time left for other endeavors, such as blogging. So that is my apology for my lack of consistency.

We’ve been in school for almost 6 weeks now. Time is flying and I feel like it will be Thanksgiving before you know it. My class keeps me on my toes but I am so grateful for a job that I love. Brandon is also in school and is busy with his classes. Caleb is getting so big and is hysterical. He LOVES balls, trucks, birdies, Jersey, bubbles, bananas (all words he can say too). His latest words are “no” and “uh oh.” He’s obsessed with brushing his teeth and asks for his toothbrush pretty much anytime we are upstairs near the bathroom. He also LOVES bath time and practically throws himself into the tub when the water starts running. He’s developing his sense of humor and cracks himself up. He is such a joy and we are so thankful for our little guy.

16 months…

17 months…

blessed

zangus — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:52:05 +0000

With the start of a new school year less than 3 weeks away, I have been thinking about our summer and one word comes to mind: BLESSED. Our summer has been very busy – full of traveling and visits with people we love. We’ve been swimming, hiking, camping, and relaxing at the beach. We’ve seen God’s goodness to us and are awed by His love towards us. We certainly are blessed.

Caleb mastered the art of walking early this summer so he is on the go! We are so grateful to have a happy, healthy, active boy. What a joy it has been to watch him discover the world around him. His favorite things are balls and cars/trucks. He babbles away – from the moment he wakes up – and loves to point at things. His vocabulary includes: ball, beep-beep, woof-woof, mama, daddy, nana, Jersey (our dog), and thank you. He loves to hum and sing and is starting to sing the tune for “ABCs”. He signs “please” and “more” — especially in regards to food! Caleb is a wonderful eater. We have yet to give him a food that he does not like.

Here are a few snapshots of our summer…

In June, a good friend from New Jersey came to visit us. We did Pittsburgh “touristy” things that we don’t often do and had a great weekend with him. We went to a Pirates game, ate lunch at Primanti Brothers, walked around the PPG Place, and went to Phipps Conservatory.

Caleb and Uncle Ron

Hanging with Mommy

Now THAT’S a cool garden!

Caleb and I traveled to Cincinnati in June via the Megabus. Unfortunately Brandon was stuck at home while taking a summer grad school class. What a great trip for $4.00 (roundtrip!). All 3 of Caleb’s great grandparents also made the journey to Cincy and we had a great week of family time. Another blessing!

Caleb and Grandmom

Grandy and his “lil’ bit”

Walking with Gram

Learning to grill from Grandpa

Snuggling with Grammy

And… last but not least… swimming naked!

My parents as well as Taylor came to visit for the 4th of July weekend. We saw fabulous fireworks and enjoyed being together.

Uncle T

Such a big boy!

Hand in hand with Daddy

Brandon finished his summer course at the end of July and then we were Florida-bound! What a perfect way to celebrate the end of a grueling 8-week class.

Caleb and Pap

Exploring

Nana and Caleb — happy to be at the beach!

My two boys

What a wonderful vacation!

Our most recent adventure took us to Rocky Gap State Park in Maryland. We planned a halfway point between us and Taylor and had a sibling camping weekend in August. It was nice to be in the woods, enjoy some good hiking, dinner over the fire, and a swim or two in the lake.

Group shot

at the campsite

Swimming in Lake Habeeb

Riding in his new backpack! Great birthday gift from Grammy and Grandpa!

On the trails…

Taste and see that the LORD is good!

Psalm 34:8

No longer a baby!

zangus — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 00:07:38 +0000

Our sweet baby boy has now gone from “baby” to “toddler” – when did that happen!? He is in to EVERYTHING, babbling quite often, and just this week, has started really walking. This morning he walked across the living room to me! He loves anything with wheels – cars, trucks, fire engines – and often pushes them around the room making a “vrooooom” noise as he goes. His sense of humor is showing as well as his little personality. He is a very happy boy. Caleb also now eats practically everything. He has a great appetite and loves his food! I am home for the summer and am loving every minute with my little peanut!

I neglected to blog about his first birthday bash… a bash it was! We had about 80 family and friends join us for the event. Caleb had a great time and dove right into that birthday cake!

8, 9, 10, 11 months old!

zangus — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 16:39:37 +0000

I figure some of you might like to see some recent pictures of Caleb. He is a growing boy… 11 days away from being 1 year old!

Here are some of the monthly pics from 2011:

8 months…

9 months…

10 months…

11 months…

Caleb and Jersey… best buds! :)

Wow, am I behind…

zangus — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 19:36:40 +0000

It’s practically March and I am just now getting around to writing about Caleb’s first Chistmas… a bit behind, I’d say. I guess that is what happens when you try to balance being a wife, mother, teacher, sister, daughter, church member, mentor, etc… Such is life!

To be brief, we had a fantastic Christmas full of many blessings. We actually spent Christmas morning in our own home (which has never happened!) It was fun to wake up and do our own Christmas morning here with Caleb. He, of course, had no idea what was going on but was happy to be plopped in front of the Christmas tree so that Mommy could take a bunch of pictures. What a willing subject. :)

Caleb was also willing to wear this spiffy Christmas outfit that his great grandma gave him… so sharp!

We had a peaceful morning at our house opening presents and enjoying our first Christmas as a family of three.

Afterwards we went to Brandon’s parents’ house for Christmas brunch and more presents. :)

Caleb’s cousin Elizabeth seemed very interesed in “Baby Caleb.” :) She’s 9 months older than him but there are only a few pounds difference in weight between the 2 of them!

A few days later we packed up and headed to Cincinnati for a second Christmas with my family. As always, it was a wonderful time. Caleb was spoiled with more presents and got to spend some time with his great gram.

The month of December was filled with many “firsts” for Caleb. Of course his first Christmas… but here are some others:

First Santa:

First Christmas tree hunt with Mommy, Daddy, and Jersey (She didn’t make the picture… she’s there. I’m holding her leash):

First time in the big bathtub! My parents got him a “bath ring” for Christmas. It is the best! Bath time is such fun and Caleb LOVES sitting in his ring. :)

We are blessed!

happy baby

zangus — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 14:10:37 +0000

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

zangus — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 04:12:26 +0000

It certainly is the most wonderful time of the year! While we were in Cincinnati for Thanksgiving, we participated in the Knight family tradition of finding and cutting down the perfect Christmas tree. Caleb was in on the adventure this year! What fun! :) It was a frigid day but we were all bundled up and were successful in our mission. What a great family tradition! Brandon and I did this as well last weekend and now have an enormous tree in our living room. Somehow it looked smaller in the field… ha!

Here are a few pics of our baby all bundled up! Too bad they don’t make things like that in adult sizes!

Where does time go?

zangus — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 01:45:49 +0000

Well now that I am trying to juggle being a teacher, a wife, and a mother, time seems to be flying even more than it has before. I cannot believe Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we are on to the Christmas madness.

Caleb continues to be a sweetheart. He is such a happy baby. I have been taking pictures like crazy and am very grateful to live in the digital age! I am blogging from my parents’ house, where we came to celebrate Thanksgiving. We’ve had a wonderful time of good food and even better family time. God is good!

I’m going to attempt to choose some of my favorite recent pics. I have taken so many that this will prove to be a challenge, no doubt. But enjoy anyway!

Sweet boy.

Halloween 2010: Cow meets Yoda

6 month photo shoot:

Thanksgiving 2010: Look what Daddy found in the pot!?

Love our little man!

Outdoor adventures

zangus — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 03:05:54 +0000

Brandon and I love the great outdoors… maybe me even more than him. I actually spent a lot of my childhood wishing I was a Native American Indian and could live in the woods. Ha! Anyway, naturally we bring Caleb along in all our outdoor endeavors… here’s to camping with a 4 month baby! He was angelic and probably got the most sleep out of any of us!

Warding off the mosquitoes:

Family photo:

Super Baby!

Babies really are incredibly strong. Holding out your legs like that takes some serious abs!

Camp chair chillin’

Even Aunt Heather and Jersey Girl were there to join in on the fun.

precious

zangus — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:15:02 +0000

Our life is full of precious moments. There have always been precious moments, but now we have even more with Caleb in our lives. He is such a doll. Such a source of joy for us. He continues to bless us immensely and I can’t thank God enough for allowing us to be his parents.

Life has been crazy busy lately (hence the reason for my lack of blogging). I have started back to school — teaching 1st grade at a local Christian school. I am very grateful for the job and am enjoying my class of little ones. 6 and 7 year olds are super fun! I’ll admit that it is really hard for me to leave Caleb for the day. He is in good hands, but as I’m sure you moms reading this know, it’s rough to leave your baby. I can’t wait to get home and spend the evening with him. I guess it just makes those evenings even more special!

Just a few of my latest favorite pictures…