THE CHANDLERS

Our Adoption Process

2011-07-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

Since I blogged about it last, we have offically been approved by Gladney (our adoption agency), finished our homestudy, been pyschologically evaluated (we're sane), been fingerprinted twice, and completed a mound of paperwork, gotten documents signed notarized, corrected, and done again. We are getting to the end of the paperwork phase. We are now gathering the last few documents for our dossier (the paperwork that goes to Honduras) and we are waiting on an approval letter from CIS (citizen immigration services). Once the approval letter comes, then we will go to Honduran consulate and receive the last document for dossier which will then go to Honduras and then we will breathe a huge sigh of relief. Are you still with me? Hopefully these last steps will happen in a timely manner, so our physicals and various letters do not expire and have to be redone. We are making progress though, and that is good.

In, the meantime we are thinking and praying for our little girl who may or may not already be born. I also have done a little shopping to help with all this waiting. Oh man is little girl stuff fun to shop for! I've done good though, I've mostly shopped garage sales. I got this smocked Strausburg dress for $1 and that adorable dollhouse for $10. And until we bring our little girl home, buzz lightyear and batman have been putting that dollhouse to good use!

Colby

2011-07-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

just love this picture of my little Colbs

3 years old!

2011-06-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this little boy is 3. He can't either. Well, really he just refuses say he is 3. The night before his birthday he prayed to God that he would just be 2 again on his birthday. We are working on it. He did however love his 3 year old baseball birthday party. Here is our little birthday boy...

The boys with their matching baseball shirts

Hanging out in the hammock with cousin Luke

"Happy Birthday to You"

And what is a 3yd old birthday without a little meltdown?

and a visit from the cops.

HAM

2011-05-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

This kid is so funny and so animated. Here is just a typical night a dinner...he makes these faces all the time and he's got many more! My sweet Colby will do anything for a good laugh. Love him!

Easter

2011-05-04T18:43:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from Easter (a little late) We needed to take some family photos for our adoption paper work and so we made both sides of the family do the dreaded self timer family photo. Speaking of adoption paperwork there are about 60 pages on our kitchen table ready to be mailed to our agency. (yeah!) We've done our 1st out of 4 interviews for our homestudy. We are getting there...
It was sweet this year teaching Caleb about why we celebrate Easter. We read a book over and over about Easter and Caleb can tell you "jesus died and we were sad, but he didnt stay dead...he's alive!" And my favorite quote from Easter...After Caleb went to sunday school on Easter, he announced "mommy, Jesus died without his shirt on!"

the Rechtzigel's

and the Chandler crew

Bedtime snuggles

2011-05-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

Chad and Colby snugging before bedtime...

This face is his "I'm so stinking cute and I know it" face

Tybee Island

2011-04-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the boys from a couple of weekends ago when we went to Savannah. Both of my boys love the beach and that makes Chad and I so happy. This is the first time Colby has been since he could walk and it was so fun to watch him explore. And that's Caleb down there running in and out of the waves in his whitey tighties (silly me for thinking it was too cold to get in the water).

Adoption update...

2011-04-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I realize I am a little behind blogging on adoption news, I just wanted to make sure....so anyway we have officially switched programs from Ethiopia to Honduras. Right after we turned in our application for Ethiopia their government came out with all sorts of changes and there were lots of unknown in terms of how adoptions would be handled. Since we were so early in the process, we decided to explore other programs and landed in Honduras. We got the process started and now have a mound of paperwork .Seriously, there is ALOT of paperwork. We also are begining our homestudy. I'll try to be better about updating, but most likely we'll be in the paperwork phase for a few more months.

Baby Animals

2011-04-04T06:05:00.000-07:00

we had the coolest oppportunity yesterday. a couple from our church owns a petting farm and had all the baby animals available for picture taking. Caleb just loved them! He was so sweet and gentle with the animals and held them close and kissed them. Colby liked them too, though he hasnt learned how to be quite as gentle and by the end of the afternoon thought the ducks were meant to be stepped on (luckily they were much faster than he). It was a beautiful afternoon and we got some sweet pictures.

look colby!

this is Colby laughing at the little chick

i wasnt gonna let little colby hold one, he doesnt know what gentle means, but i looked away and he just grabbed the little fellow. he was fine.

when we asked caleb what his favorite animal was he said the baby duck

New Do's

2011-03-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

We made our first trip to the barber shop this week (uncle josh has done it up until now). Both boys were fabulous and sat so still...really surprised us. Both haircuts were free too (Kennesaw Barber does baby's first haircut for free!) And just a little disclaimer, though the boys were definitely in need of haircuts, the way the ladies combed their hair for the before pictures is a little ridiculous. i didnt do it like that!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

just because

2011-03-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

took these pictures yesterday and thought they were fun...

feel like this picture pretty much describes our life

just being sweet

Just look at those big baby blues! He looks so sweet, but I'm pretty sure he is trying to figure out how to get away with something naughty...I also love that he's got a bruised forehead and sweaty hair...gotta love boys!

Firetrucks!

2011-03-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

When you Pop is a retired firefighter you get to do special things. Caleb and his buddy Luke got go to the fire department and touch and feel everything and run wild....a dream come true for a 2 year old boy. These two had a blast checking everything out. And just before we left, the firefighters got a real call and we watched the truck turn on its lights and drive away. So fun!

two little boys and a big truck

Luke and Caleb

driving the truck

wearing a the helmet

Pop & Caleb

Colby liked it too!

Let the Journey Begin.....

2011-02-24T20:36:00.000-08:00

On Caleb's first birthday, I knew I was pregnant (didnt take the test and tell chad until a few days later, but I knew). Now that Colby has turned one, we are expecting again! I'm not pregnant this time though...we are adopting! Chad and I decided a few months ago to adopt, to take God's command to care for the orphans seriously and bring home a baby that needs a family. Well it took a few months of research and prayer to figure out how and where, but we've put in application and we are on the path to get a baby from Ethiopia. More to come on why Ethiopia and how our hearts were led here. We are excited about this and hope you join us in praying for our baby.

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."

James 1:27

Pancakes & Pajama Party

2011-02-08T17:39:00.000-08:00

We had a pancake and pajama party for Colby on Saturday. All of the family made it and we celebrated my little man. I'm sad I didnt get a picture of all the kiddos, but all the cousins were there.

Colby's monkey cake (the rest of us had monkey cupcakes)

no hesitation...he dug in & loved it!

this stuff is good!

I love the sheer joy on his face...the boy loves balloons. He also loves cake and his family...put them all together and you get a fun 1st birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2011-02-07T20:26:00.000-08:00

Happy first birthday to my sweet Colby! This last year has flown by and at the same time it is hard to imagine our lives without Colbs. He is the sweetest little boy and oh, so silly too. He loves to snuggle and loves to make you laugh. And when he knows he is being funny he crinkles up his little nose and throws back his head and laughs at himself. Colby adores his big bro and wants to be anywhere that Caleb or cousin Luke is. He started walking shortly after he turned 11 months and now he is all over the place! He has figured out how to open the gate on the stairs and loves to try to sneak up. He absolutely loves a bath and is quite the eater too. Meat is his favorite which is funny b/c we cant get Caleb to eat any meat other than a hotdog. He says mama, dada, uh-oh spa-o (spaghettios), jyes (yes), no, ba (ball), a-da (all done), and a few more that i'm forgetting. We love our Colby so much!!!

and here's one of Caleb because he's looking pretty sharp in his tie too!

just reading together

2011-02-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

Caleb and Luke have been too cute together lately. Here they are "just reading together" on Caleb's bed. They really get along well and their conversations lately are pretty funny. Just the other day Luke came over early and they just hugged and then Luke said "glad to see ya Caleb" "Glad you came over to my house Luke....watcha been doing lately" "Ohhh, just hanging out." Way too grown up for their own good!

Snow Day

2011-01-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

This is the first time I've ever seen snow on my birthday and there was lots of snow to be seen. We decided it would be fun to be snowed in with others and so we packed our bags and went to Pop and Gigi's house Sunday night and just came home this morning. It's been a fun 3 days filled with birthday cake, sledding, of lots of Toy Story 3. Here are some pics of our winter wonderland....

Lately....

2011-01-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

I got a new camera for Christmas :) so happy....here are a few of my favorite pictures from the last couple of days...

Christmas

2011-01-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas just staying in town and seeing both sides of the family.

Christmas eve with cousin Luke

A new Christmas Eve tradition, staying up late watching Polar Express and eating popcorn

silly boy

Colby loves the keyboard Santa brought

Brooks and Caleb rocking out

Thanksgiving

2010-12-05T21:42:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving in Savannah and on Thanksgiving morning we got up early to run the Turkey Trot. They had a fun run for the kiddos and Caleb did a great job running it. He was very proud of his medal!

A huge highlight of our Thanksgiving trip to Savannah was seeing Santa. Caleb was soooo excited about seeing the big guy this year (big change of heart from last year). He did not hesitate to sit in his lap and tell him want he wanted and he stayed and chatted a while (there was no line).

Colby liked Santa too!

Botanical Garden

2010-11-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

Last week was a busy week -so when sunday rolled around we decided we needed a little family time and went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. The fall colors were gorgeous and we had a great time...Caleb loved being able to run around and he enjoyed the children's garden as well as the Christmas choo-choo!

Yay!

Momma's boy

This statue "Frog Baby"(a naked boy holding two frogs) reminded us of Caleb

Caleb's hair made us laugh!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-04T19:11:00.001-07:00

We has a super fun Halloween with lots of friends and food and trick-or-treating, but somehow only managed to get a few pictures...

Captain Lightning & the cutest zebra ever

Two Buzzes

Here is Caleb at the Young Life Halloween party...he was soooooooo excited to see the "a-biens" from his movie (note: he has NEVER posed for a picture so still & willingly...guess that is what 3 teenage girls will do for a boy)

Rachel's birthday

2010-11-04T18:54:00.001-07:00

My great aunt Rachel just turned 95 and we spent the weekend at Kentucky Lake to celebrate.

All the great-great nieces and nephews with Aunt Rachel (except emory)

Rachel reading to Caleb

Colby & Emory

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

The boys and I met some friends at a pumpkin patch to get our yearly pics.... Colby is still and cooperative- so got way better picture of him than Caleb. And then of course there is the group picture which is always a challenge and usually comes out pretty humorous....

8 months old

2010-10-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Colby is 8 months old! He is proficient in army crawl and can get wherever he wants. He can also pull up now which he is so proud of. He can wave and say mama and dada. He has two teeth. He makes lots of silly faces. He adores his big brother. Colby is a such a sweet bundle of love!

Hilton Head

2010-10-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a week on Hilton Head with the Chandlers. Despite some rainy weather and a yucky stomach bug that went through our house we managed to have some goos times. Here are a few highlights of our trip....

sweet brothers

chasing the kite that daddy was flying

Colby loved it. He ate handfuls of sand and loved splashing in the water

smiling for the sunset picture

more sunsets

Little cousins on the playmat

Big cousins reading magazines

Caleb and Colby's sweet ride to the beach

overjoyed at the candy. we let caleb pick out 1 candy almost every night at the little general store near the beach house. it was a chocolate baseball every time.

Two Little monkeys

2010-09-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

These little monkeys had so much fun jumping on the bed yesterday!

Cowboy Colby

2010-09-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

Caleb was at Gigi's this morning and so I had fun dressing up Colby in Caleb's cowboy hat and boots and took a few pics. Sweet Colby is so much fun, just smiles and snuggles always. He's been scooting around the last week or so and during our little photo shoot he got on all four and took his first little crawling step. I would post the picture, but there may be dangling parts. Lesson learned...if you want your baby to crawl, get him naked and put cowboy boots on him.

Game Day

2010-09-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

It was an exciting day in our house Saturday...Chad got Caleb so excited about football. We started the day at home Depot making a football holder and then the rest of the day was spent watching football on TV. oH Boy

Sharptop Cove

2010-09-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

The boys and I went along with Chad to his staff conference at Sharptop Cove last weekend. We just love being at Sharptop and had a great time. A few memorable moments....

Fishing with Daddy

Caught one!

Colby a big fan of the swing

Hatcher and Colby

Taking a bath...this very well may be his last bath in the sink

St. Simons Island

2010-08-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend in St. Simons with my fam...wonderful vacation, just not long enough! here are some pictures

Cousin Luke and Caleb, buddies

family photo

Anna and Josh

John-John and Grammy

wiped out after a long fun day at the beach

6 months old

2010-08-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe Colby is 6 months old. I feel like i always say that but seriously, when did he get so big? 6 month stats.. 18.1 lbs (57%) and 26.75" (58%). Colby is sitting up great, rolling over both ways, loves to stand and jump and he does this crazy thing with his tongue where he sticks it out and curls it up...often. He spends the better part of his day watching his big brother who he clearly adores.

Yard Sale Finds

2010-07-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Buzz Lightyear costume - $5 = hours of entertainment (please excuse the sideways video. can't figure out how to rotate it. anyone know? just tilt your head to the left and enjoy!) Caleb the other day wouldn't answer to his name and would look at us and say "It's Buzz"

Wooden rocking chair - $3 plus a $2 tube of paint...
Love it...i've been wanting to find an old kids chair to paint a bright fun color to make an interesting place to plop them for pictures and here you go.
Super lucky day at the yard sales for me!

Brotherly Love

2010-07-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

just about every morning, caleb likes to watch about 15 minutes of a movie on our bed while he eats cheerios and drink his milk. lately, he has been including colby in his morning ritual. it is the sweetest thing. he is still calm this early in the morning and they are so sweet to each other. caleb wathces his movie and colby watches caleb...here are just a few pics of the past couple of mornings.

Baby Hatcher

2010-07-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

Hatcher Charlton Chandler is here!

Hatcher was born July 6th. We are so excited to have a new nephew/cousin. He is so little and sweet. Caleb has already given him his first nickname, he calls him "Patch."

Five Months

2010-07-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

Colby is 5 months old and getting so big so fast! He went to the doctor this week (for pink eye) and weighed 17.2 lbs! He has started solid foods and rolls over like a champ. He is a really good and happy boy.

Playing with Daddy at his first Braves game

Being sweet on mama

One of his favorite things to do is sleep in his swing

Playing with Cade

2010-07-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago when Chad was gone for a long 10 days to Colorado, the boys and I went to spend some time with a dear friend of mine, Shilo and her adorable little boy, Cade. Here are a few sweet pics Shilo sent me of the boys playing...

Caleb LOVED Mr. Matt's boat

Bathtime is always more fun with friends

Caleb playing cowboy

Sweet Colby had fun too!

swimming

2010-06-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

Just a few fun pictures from the pool...

Right before Caleb jumps, he says "to infinity and beyond!" and then does it again and again and again....

I didnt actually get a pic of Colby at the pool, but here he is waiting to go to the pool. Despite the bottom lip, he is quite happy!

Caleb's Party

2010-06-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

We had a little party for Caleb last weekend. A few friends and family...a pool, pizza, and cake. What else do you need? We had such a fun day!

Here are the boys eating pizza (Brooks and Luke G. on the left and Caleb, Luke O., and Matthew on the right)

i love pizza

check out Luke in this picture...too funny!

i love cake!

Being Two

2010-06-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

It's hard believe Caleb is two! He is full of energy and full of fun! He talks A LOT and says the funniest things. He LOVES baseball, well any sport with a ball, but especially baseball and even sleeps with his baseball glove. Caleb loves to make Colby laugh and give him wet sloppy kisses. My favorite time of the day is probably bed time when Caleb snuggles and tells you all about whatever is on his mind. He says the sweetest prayers at bedtime too (things like "thank you GOd for daddy and airplanes and cookies"). We love you so much Caleb!

Aquarium and Strawberry Pickin'

2010-05-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

just a few of the fun things we've been doing lately. it is always an adventure with a toddler and a baby , but we always have fun.

checking out the jellyfish

Looking at the "fishies"

look what we picked

sure are yummy!

sweet dreams

3 months old

2010-05-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe our boy is 3 months old today. Colby is a laid back and happy baby. It has been a wonderful 3 months and it is hard to imagine life without Colby.

Home Depot

2010-05-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

Chad and Caleb met their buddies Andy and Luke at Home Depot on Saturday for the free build it workshop. Caleb was proud of his "bam-bam" skills and here he is showing off what he made. (Caleb takes his baseball glove everywhere with him these days)

Boys

2010-05-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

Caleb is singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Colby (I started videoing after the twinkle twinkle part) and then he get sidetracked by Colby's cute features. I love watching them together.

Fish!

2010-04-30T15:15:00.001-07:00

This is was proud moment for Chad when Caleb caught his first fish. We were at Sharptop- Caleb had no reservations about holding the worm or the fish. He is his daddy's boy

Here is sweet Colby. He is smiling and cooing a lot these days and spends a better part of his awake time staring at his fist. He is precious!

Captain Lightning

2010-04-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend at Sharptop Cove for family camp. We had a fabulous time. Chad did program and dressed up as 'Captain Lightning'. Caleb had never seen his daddy doing program before and so it was really fun to see Caleb's reaction to him, He had no idea that it was Chad. Even after I told him it was Daddy and he took off his mask and showed him, he was a little weirded out...Then he got used to the idea and thought it was pretty cool to have a superhero for a dad. He even dressed up a superhero himself.

And for those of you who have never seen Chad do program, here is a little video clip from the finale dance (Chad and the guy in black spandex are the superheros who saved the day for the green girl and the big guy with the beard was the bad guy, but he turned good and since the superheroes were on their way to a dance competition when the green girl called them for help they are all dancing together. makes sense, right??? anyway it was fun!)......

Brothers

2010-04-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

Caleb at six weeks

Colby at six weeks

Easter Fun

2010-04-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

We got to spend time a lot of time outside on Easter Sunday enjoying the beautiful weather, here are a few fun pics...
Brooks drove Caleb around on the tractor. I love the look of sheer joy on Caleb's face...or is that fear?
Caleb loved the new bubble machine at Gigi's house
Here is sweet Colby on Easter Sunday.

Broke Nose

2010-04-11T11:48:00.001-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen Chad lately, here he is. At Tuesday's softball game he caught the softball with his nose and it landed him in the ER. Luckily though, he just has a broken nose. Poor Chad.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Caleb got the bunny ears for his first Easter and so it's only fair that Colby get them too.

soooo behind....

2010-03-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on blogging. I guess that is what 2 kids under 2 and a reaaaaallllly slow computer will do to you. Here's a quick update of what been going on.....

Here are some updated pictures of little bit. He is almost 2 months and almost 10 pounds. He's quite a bit smaller than Caleb was. He is still a really good baby. He has started smiling and cooing and he loves to snuggle.

Here we are at the St. Patrick's Day parade in Savannah. Caleb had so much fun at the parade. Everyday he tells me "i member the prade mommy" I think we may have to make it a tradition to go every year.

Last Saturday, we went to open house at Turner Field which was awesome. We toured the dugout, Caleb ran the bases, hit in the batting cage, and got to pitch the ball in the cage (i'm sure theres a name for that)and it was all free. If you know Caleb, you know he looovves baseball and so this was the coolest thing ever!

Kisses

2010-02-14T12:58:00.001-08:00

Caleb has done so well with Colby at home. He gives him about 100 kisses a day and is very sweet. Caleb is so active that it is really hard to get a picture of the two of them...this is my favorite so far.

Snow Day

2010-02-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

Even Colby got out to enjoy the snow. Now, we're ready for the sunshine!!!!

Sweet Sweet Colby

2010-02-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

Here is our sweet baby boy. He has been so sweet and so quiet. We are truly blessed!

Meet Colby!

2010-02-06T02:32:00.000-08:00

Colby Matthew Chandler has arrived! He was born Feb. 4 at 1:00 pm weighing 7 lbs. I went in for my doctors appt. thursday morn and little guy was still breech and I was 6 cm so they sent us straight to hospital for c-section. Colby is absolutely adorable and so far just an angel baby. Caleb loves his little brother....for now. He has come up to the hospital to see us and wants to give his baby hugs and kisses. Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes. Everyone is doing great!

Trip to the zoo and waiting on Colby....

2010-01-26T17:57:00.000-08:00

Here is a sweet pic of Caleb and the panda at the zoo from the other week. We were the only ones at the panda exhibit and the baby panda came right up and was "playing" with Caleb. It was very cool.....
On baby news....he is almost here...i think. On Friday, I went to the doctor and she said I was 4 cm. dialated and sent me straight to the hospital. After an hour or so there, they said I wasn't in active labor yet and sent me home, but said I would probably be back very soon...and so here we are still waiting. I'm having tons of contractions, but they are painless and irregular. So for now, I'm just taking it easy and waiting on baby Colby.

Caleb's 18 month photos

2010-01-08T12:24:00.001-08:00

I am so behind on blogging!!!! We had these photos taken by my friend Carrie Tabb over a month ago. She is so talented and got some really great shots of Caleb and us together. Here are just a few favorites. If you need a great photographer that is good with the kiddos, I highly recommend Carrie...her website is http://carrietabbphotography.com/

O'Clause

2009-12-02T02:02:00.000-08:00

He's not a fan. We took Caleb to see Santa (or O'Clause as Caleb calls him) at Bass Pro while we were in Savannah for Thanksgiving. On the way home, Caleb kept repeating "O'Clause, hold you, waa-waaa (fake cry)". I just hope we haven't traumatized the boy for life.

100 acre farm

2009-11-21T04:46:00.000-08:00

We got to go back to the 100 acre farm last weekend (where we got married in Madison, GA). Chad married some friends of ours there and we got to spend the weekend on the farm. It was so fun to be back in Madison, see old friends, and enjoy the country. Caleb LOVED the chickens, goats, and horses. Here are a few pics of the little man on the farm.

Halloween

2009-11-21T04:18:00.001-08:00

I'm way behind on blogging...but here is my little guy all dressed up for halloween.

Little Clown

2009-10-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

Caleb and I went by Chad's office the other day. Before we left, Caleb and I had a little fun in the skit closet. Whenever I show Caleb this picture on my camera, he totally cracks up at himself.

Pumpkin Patch Playgroup

2009-10-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

Playgroup met at the pumpkin patch last week. Here is our attempt to take a picture of the 6 kiddos. ..Caleb, Lyla, Ava, Maddy, Luke, and AJ.

It's a boy!

2009-10-19T10:54:00.001-07:00

I'm a little late posting this as we've known for almost 2 weeks, but anyway we are having another boy! The doc. is guessing he is going to be a big one. We are very excited about having 2 boys. I've been reading Caleb the book "My new baby" and trying to prepare him. He points to my belly when you ask him where the baby is and gives it kisses. But I'm sure he really has no idea what's coming

Little Picasso

2009-09-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

Rainy days are perfect days for painting. Here is Caleb's first time using the fingerpaints Aunt Anna got him for his birthday. I think he's a natural!

Happy Birthday Luke!

2009-09-12T07:13:00.001-07:00

Baby Luke is 1 year old. I guess I cant call him a baby anymore. Happy Birthday Luke (or as Caleb calls him "Gook")!

Aunt Anna is married!

2009-09-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

Anna and Josh got married in Savannah this past weekend. It was a beautiful wedding and we all had a great time. Caleb got to stay out past bedtime 2 nights in a row and had a great time at Grammy and Big John's house.

Bat Ball Incident

2009-08-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

Caleb loves playing "bat-ball." We've got quite a few videos of him blasting the ball, but this is by far the funniest. Though it does not show Caleb's sweeter side, it sure does make us laugh.

Words

2009-07-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

Caleb is saying all kinds of things these days. This is my attempt to capture his sweet little voice on camera.

Braves Game

2009-07-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

We took Caleb to his first Braves game and he loved it! He was so good the whole time and just watched and clapped. The next day he kept saying "bay-ball-gay"

Look what we caught!

2009-07-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

Chad was so excited when we were on a walk in Savannah and we saw this snake. Caleb was probably equally excited and just kept saying "ssssssssssss." I wasn't all that thrilled, but was happy to take pictures of Daddy and Caleb's first snake.

Caleb and Mary Kate

2009-07-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post this sweet picture of Caleb and Mary Kate. For the week we made it in Colorado Caleb loved playing with Mary Kate. I know he has missed playing with her!

Farewell Frontier

2009-06-28T10:29:00.001-07:00

We are coming home from Frontier earlier than expected. We have been dealing with an outbreak of the swine flu here and it hasn't quite been contained (for more info see the YL website). Since I am 6 weeks pregnant, we feel the wisest thing for our family is to come home. We will miss Frontier, but are confident in our decision. As far as camp... please pray families who are staying don't get sick as well as the campers coming. We pray this flu doesn't take away from kids hearing the gospel and having the best week of their lives.

St. Elmo's

2009-06-28T10:25:00.001-07:00

I think Caleb was expecting a furry red guy when we told him we were going to St. Elmo's, but really it is a cool little ghost town near camp. The coolest part is the chipmunks they let you feed them right out of your hand. They crawled all over us and Caleb had fun trying to bop them on the head (and suceeding more than once). My camera died shortly after we got there, but I got a few pictures.

Wild Wild West

2009-06-27T14:52:00.001-07:00

A couple of nights ago was the camp night where we all dress like we're from the 1800's. I think the cowboy hat suits little man well.

Frontier Ranch

2009-06-23T14:37:00.001-07:00

We are in Colorado at gorgeous Frontier Ranch. The mountains are beautiful, the camp is fun, and we are having a great time so far. Chad is a head leader here for a month, which basically means he is making sure camp runs smoothly for the 400-500 campers that will be here each week. While he is busy running around doing important stuff, Caleb and I get to play.

Guess What?????

2009-06-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

Caleb is gonna be a big brother! We just found out about a week ago that we are expecting our second child sometime in February. We are very excited! I always wanted my babies close together, so here we go... We told all of our family by putting this t-shirt on Caleb and letting them figure it out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CALEB!!!!

2009-06-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

Caleb is one year old! I can't believe my baby is one! The year has flown by and been so much fun. I never knew I could laugh or love so much until Caleb came into our lives.
We had a low key celebration on Friday where we went to Chick-fil-A to eat nuggets and ice cream. And then all of Caleb's friends came over on Saturday for a party...which was super fun. We had baby pools, watermelon, presents, and of course cake. Caleb played his little heart out and had a great time. Thanks for everyone who came to celebrate with us. More pics to come...

Beach Trip

2009-06-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

I finally filled all the disk space on my computer with thousands of Caleb pictures and so it has taken me a while to post these of our last beach trip. Caleb had fun playing in the ocean, he is not one bit scared of the water. He is much harder to photograph these days, now that he is constantly on the move and this is why I only have pictures of him from behind. Good thing his tush is cute!

Surgery

2009-05-14T11:51:00.001-07:00

Caleb made it sucessfully through surgery today (to correct an undescended testicle). He was a champ. He was in a great mood all morning even though he hadn't eaten. He ran around the hospital like it was disney world and made friends with everyone. After surgery wasn't quite so happy, but after 30 minutes of groggyness he was pretty much back to himself. He's pretty bruised and swollen, but as the doctor put it "the groceries are in the sack" and all is good. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!!!

Pre-surgery.... We thought the tiny hospital gown was so cute.

Still smiling...pre-surgery

Post-surgery looking like" Do you know what they just did to me???!!!

poor baby!

Caleb in the Kitchen

2009-05-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

This is the cabinet I cleared out for Caleb in our kitchen. Until the other day he only put his toys in it. This is way more fun.

Snuggles

2009-05-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

Caleb was so excited when he woke up this morning and Luke was here. All he wanted to do was snuggle. Here lately, Luke has learned to tolerate affection from Caleb, which includes, but is not limited to hugs, kisses, eye pokes, and ear pulls. Caleb was pretty gentle here...

Emerald Coast

2009-05-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to some very generous donor, we headed to the gulf this weekend with all the other GA/AL YoungLife staff for the spring staff conference. This was Caleb first beach trip since he has been mobile. He really liked the water, but was not such a big fan of the sand. He had a great time running around with all the other kids. We had a really fun weekend and can't wait to go back in 3 weeks!

Comfy?

2009-05-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

This is how the little stinker wanted to eat lunch the other day.

Fun at the Park

2009-04-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

Just a sweet pic of Caleb playing at the park. He is getting so big and is fearless. He loves to climb through this tube thingee, push himself down the slide, and swing high.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

We went to the Easter egg hunt at our church Saturday. Actually, we missed the hunt...Caleb was napping.... but we got to seee some friends and jump in the big bouncy thing. Much fun!

Maddy, AJ, and Caleb

Savannah

2009-04-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

The whole Chandler crew headed to Savannah this weekend to stay with Kristin's parents and see the town. We had a really fun weekend. We did River Street and rode the ferry, played at Forsyth Park, and even went to the beach.
Here we are at Forsyth Park.

Here are the boys posing in front of the azaleas.

Daddy and Caleb at Mrs. Wilkes, the best Southern food ever.

Caleb walking with Big John and Grammy. Caleb wants to walk everywhere!

He's Walking

2009-03-31T18:08:00.000-07:00

Caleb is officially a walker! He's been working at it a while....he took his first step on the day he turned 8 months. Since then he's just gotten braver and steadier and for the last week he has been doing really good. Here's my little guy in action, and yes, that is baby Luke he trips over in the end.

Sweetest Boy

2009-03-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

Seriously, could he be any sweeter????

Costa Rica

2009-03-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

We just returned from an amazing week in Costa Rica. We went with a group of Young Life leaders to do mission work in the town of Alajuela. We stayed in the home of a Costan Rican family who were wonderful to us. Part of our group worked to rebuild a house with major earthquake damage, while the other part worked at a local park to restore a basketball/futbol court in a community where Vida Joven is trying to start a club. Grammy came with us to take care of Caleb while we worked. Caleb was amazing. We were nervous about bringing him, but God truly prepared our way and things couldn't of gone better. He loved all the attention from our leaders and the Ticos (costa ricans). The Ticos all commented on his white skin and blue eyes. Caleb made many friends in the park who came to see him each day. He learned to say "hola" (actually o-lalalalala ) and he even got a little tan. Here are a few pics from the week...

Here is Caleb with one of his Tico friends, Esteban.

Here are Grammy and Caleb hanging out in the park, which they did every day from 8-4.

Caleb and Daddy are hiding under a huge leaf called an Indian umbrella

Here is Caleb with Jose, Nela, and Natalia (part of the family we stayed with). Caleb loved the Pacheco family and bonded especially with Jose who held him and played with him every morning while he cooked breakfast.

Drop It Like Its Hot

2009-02-25T12:50:00.001-08:00

Ladies Man

2009-02-22T07:42:00.000-08:00

Caleb proved to be quite the ladies man at my cousin Emily's wedding. He soaked up all the attention he got from the adorable flower girls and from the beautiful bride.

All Dressed Up

2009-02-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

Here we are all dressed up ready to go to my cousin Emily's wedding. Caleb was quite the hit in his pint sized tuxedo.

Caleb and Aunt Anna at the church. Check out the new ring on her finger! Congratulations Anna!

Here are Caleb and Luke with Grammy and Big John.

Caleb, Luke, and Jack. This is the best picture I got of the three little boys.

Our Little Cowboy

2009-02-17T16:36:00.000-08:00

Playing with Matthew

2009-02-17T16:20:00.000-08:00

Fun Times with Cousin Brooks

2009-02-06T17:30:00.000-08:00

Bathtime is always fun, but it is even better with cousin Brooks! Caleb didn't mind when Brooks decided to play cowboy and mount him like a horse. He played along well until he decided the extra weight slowed him down a bit too much and he bucked Brooks off and went on his way.

Baby Cade

2009-02-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

Caleb and I got to spend some time with Shilo and baby Cade yesterday. Cade is 11 days old here and the sweetest, quietest little thing ever. Caleb looks so big next to Cade!

Look No Hands!

2009-01-31T07:03:00.001-08:00

Caleb's latest feat is standing up with out holding on! It feels like everytime we turn around he is doing something new. He also loves his playing with his daddy's hat.

Super Baby

2009-01-27T19:23:00.000-08:00

We always knew he was super, now he has the costume to prove it.

messy boy

2009-01-27T19:18:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when the jar of baby food accidentally gets left just within reach and mommy turns her back for 2 seconds. What a mess!