Kelly & Theo's Wedding (July 5, 2014)

We were so blessed to witness the wedding of Tim's sister, Kelly, and her new husband, Theo. They are such a great couple and Theo just fits right into the family. Caleb and Sonya were asked to be the ring bearer and flower girl. They did a great job and looked so stinking cute!!!

These are some photos (mostly posed/formal ones) from the day. 

    

A special day for a special boy

This year, Caleb had to share his birthday with his aunt Kelly's wedding day. I don't think he minded too much. In fact, I think he was even more spoiled than usual. Since we weren't going to be in Wisconsin for his actual birthday, we let him have an early birthday party with friends in May. So he technically got to celebrate twice!

Two days before his birthday, we drove down to IL to help prepare for the wedding. We had a lot of fun spending time with Tim's relatives - his siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. There was a barbecue picnic at the park for the wedding reception on the night before the wedding/Caleb's birthday. And since it was the 4th of July, we played with sparklers and the park shot off a beautiful display of fireworks.

On Caleb's birthday, the pastor that was presiding over Kelly's wedding specifically pointed out Caleb and gave him props for sharing his special day with his aunt. He was so cute standing up front as the ringbearer. (I kept trying not to make him laugh when the ducks were quacking on the pond in the background... hehe).

The man of the hour

During the dance, the DJ played the Star Wars theme song and had EVERYONE sing Happy Birthday while Natalie, one of the bridesmaids, brought him a homemade Star Wars cake. It was amazing!!

Caleb with Natalie

Star Wars cake with lightsabers on top

Caleb and his aunt Caitlin

After eating cake, everyone went over to the pond and watched fireworks that were put on by the wedding venue. It was so beautiful. The night ended with kids and adults alike playing with sparklers.

It was a wonderful day, but I think Mr. Birthday Boy was ready for bed by the time we got back to the hotel.

A tired boy

8 years of Caleb

It's amazing how quickly eight years can go by. Caleb is growing up into a wonderful young man. He loves school and is still pretty smart for his age. He's a good friend and always wants to help (at least at school -- at home is a different story).

My little boy has a heart for Jesus and sometimes asks his friends if they know who He is. Caleb has also invited friends to iGnite at church so they can learn more about God.

About a year ago, we introduced Caleb to Star Wars and he's been a fanatic ever since. His favorite thing to do is build Star Wars ships and make lightsabers. He's actually quite talented when it comes to building things and artistic stuff.

My favorite thing about Caleb is his cute smile and his snuggles. He's never too old to give his mom a hug. Also, he LOVES to be tickled. So it's fun to get him giggling. I can't wait to see what another year holds for my dear, sweet boy.

It's kind of fun to see how Caleb has changed over the years -- so here's a glimpse of him at every age:

July 5, 2006 -- Just born -- lots of hair!

A week old and very alert

1 year old!

2 years old!

3 years old

4K school picture (age 4)
*Still need to scan an unwrinkled one of these*

Kindergarten (age 5)

1st grade (age 6)

2nd grade (age 7)

July 5, 2014 (age 8)

Zoo, Caverns, & the Dells 2014

For Spring Break, we went down to St. Jacob/Troy, IL (a stone's throw from St. Louis, MO). Tim's parents live there so we figured it'd be nice to visit them. Plus, it didn't hurt that the weather would be significantly warmer there than in Wisconsin.

Day 1 -- Tim took a half day of work and we pulled Caleb out of school early. So we grabbed a quick lunch, finished loading up the car, and were off. We stopped just before Springfield to enjoy a picnic dinner at a rest stop. The grass was GREEN!  I was pretty amazed since we left Wisconsin in a state of mud brown. We arrived at our destination around 7pm. The kids were excited to see Grandma and Papa as well as their Aunt Kelly and the animals.

Day 2 -- We surprised my mother-in-law, Michelle, by having an early birthday celebration since all of Tim's siblings were able to be there that weekend. There was a "Happy Something Day" cake, plans to have our family photo done the next day, and a trip to the St. Louis Zoo.

Day 3 -- The weather was a little overcast, but that's supposed to be perfect weather for taking photos so we all drove over to the park to do those. There was lots of laughter and Tim's siblings were being quite silly -- acting like the big kids that they are. The kids got to feed the ducks and swans. (See Nikolai Family Photos 2014) In the afternoon, since it was a little rainy out, we all watched "Frozen."


Day 4 -- It was a nice lazy day to just relax and not do much. The kids colored some Easter eggs and played with their Aunt Kelly a lot.

Day 5 -- Tim, the kids, and I went on an adventure to tour the Meramec Caverns in Missouri and also went hiking at Meramec State Park. There were lots of cool caves to explore!

Day 6 -- We visited the Cahokia Indian Mounds museum and climbed the many steps leading up to the top of their tallest mound. It was pretty windy up at the top. Later that night, Caleb finally pulled out his loose tooth that had been wiggly and dangly for months!

Day 7 -- Grandma and Papa joined us on the trek back to Wisconsin. We stopped off at Starved Rock State Park to have lunch and then headed on towards Wisconsin Dells where we would spend a few days at Mt. Olympus.

Day 8 -- We spent the morning at the indoor water park (didn't take a single photo since it was so humid in there and I didn't want to wreck our cameras). The kids actually went down one water slide a piece which was huge compared to last time we were there. They were more content just hanging out in the big pool and running around on the pirate ship. For the afternoon, we ventured out to the outdoor theme park where the go karts were up and running. So much fun!!! We also, took a ride on one of the Dells Ducks.

Day 9 -- We rode a few more rides in the indoor and outdoor theme park. Caleb tried out a gravity drop ride and we hit up the go karts again. Then it was time to head home so we could sleep in our own beds for the night.