Big Helper

The older Caleb gets, the harder it is to keep things clean around here. If I'm putting clothes away, he's probably in the closet pulling my shoes off the rack. While I'm trying to make the bed, you might find him shredding the toilet paper or playing with the water in the potty -- you might even hear it flush a few times. I may get all the toys picked up and organized on his shelf, but when I turn around, there will probably be a pile of books from where Caleb has pulled each one to the floor in a pile around his feet.

Caleb is a good boy though and tries his best to help Mommy and Daddy clean up messes when he can. He's also become quite the little copycat, imitating so much of what he sees us do. He watched Daddy throw clothes in the hamper, so now Caleb helps by throwing his shoes and toys in there to be cleaned as well. When Dave is crawling around the floor cleaning the food Caleb dropped (or threw down), Caleb gets on all fours and makes his way through the mess too. One day when Dave used a rag to wipe up the floor, Caleb decided to grab one to help too; unfortunately, his "rag" was the dress shirt Dave had taken off after work and hung up nearby. Other times, Caleb decides there's no need for wiping up the floor; he just squats down and picks up a few pieces for a post dinner snack.

He makes sure to assist me when I need it too. For example, sometimes he helps me unload the dishwasher by putting the silverware on the floor or moving it to the washing machine for a second wash. When I need another set of hands to fold laundry, Caleb is up for the job. (The only problem is he's a little confused about if he's supposed to fold it or unfold it. ) There are also occasions when he thinks I need help brushing my teeth, so we get the job done together, both grasping the handle of the toothbrush.

Oh, and any time the Swiffer vacuum comes out, he assumes it is his job to push it around the room.


He's pretty much got the hang of the broom and dustpan as well. He'll actually sweep into the pan just like he sees me do.



While some of the tasks mentioned above are a bit of a challenge for such a little boy, he does do a great job of helping to pick up things and put them back in their appropriate box or tub. So, when he dumps out my scrapbooking materials on the floor, we sit together and he follows my lead as I pick up each small piece, placing it back in the plastic container.

He's getting there slowly but surely....

Meadowbrook Farm

My Uncle Greg and Aunt Julie own Meadowbrook Farm. Now that the weather is nicer, I thought it would be good to take Caleb out to visit, especially since he loves animals. However, so much has been going on that we never got around to making the short trip to Huntly, VA. Fortunately, last night my mom called and said Dad thought it would be nice if we could all visit today. Dave stayed home to work on a Bible study he will be leading soon, but Caleb and I decided to join my parents for a fun-filled Sunday afternoon.

We started our day together down by the pond with a little fishin'.

Who caught the biggest fish, fellas?

Caleb tried his luck fishing in the bucket.

He was splashing more than the fish, of course.

"Oh my! They have lots of rocks here. I love rocks."



Enjoying the view with Grandma Sharon

Time for a boat ride?

Caleb kept trying to run into the pond.

Every good fishing trip needs a little beef jerky.

Then, we headed over to the stables to check out the animals.

Granddaddy carried Caleb over to the stables.

The first stall had a baby miniature pony. Unfortunately,
they said the baby pony liked to bite so Caleb couldn't touch him.

He found some other bigger horses to pet instead.

Then, he spotted a chicken...

...and decided to chase it a little.

"Bock, bock, bock," Caleb tried to say.

Caleb spied some horses in the field, and reached for them.

Grandma helped him get a better view.

Finally, we headed up to the house to visit with Aunt Julie. Caleb loved exploring all the rooms in their new house. The cat and dog were also a great source of entertainment; he just squealed and giggled as he played with them.

We may have to spend some more Sunday afternoons at Meadowbrook Farm.

Your favorite post?

This past Wednesday marked one year since I started McKinstry Moments. Fifty posts later, I'm thrilled so many memories have been preserved already. While I may not have time to scrapbook everything I want right now, at least I can journal a bit online and put up a few pictures to help remember some of the details of life I might otherwise forget.

Not only do I enjoy blogging because I know the pictures and stories are being stored for our family to look back on down the road, I also like sharing with those of you who aren't near enough to enjoy the everyday special moments of Caleb's life as he's growing, learning, and experiencing so many firsts. From what many of you've told me, you enjoy reading and seeing pictures of Caleb as much as I enjoy posting. From glancing at the stats blogger.com provides, I know there's a wide variety of readers checking in on what we've done this past year. Since it started, McKinstry Moments has been viewed over 4,000 times. Not only is it followed by many of you living here in the states, but we've had readers from Canada, Moldova, the Philippines, Germany, the United Kingdom, Romania, Austria, and Japan. It makes you even more motivated to write when you know there's an audience who wants to read and view your photos. So, thank you for your encouragement, and hopefully you'll see many more posts soon.

To celebrate the previous fifty posts and to start this year's posting off right, write a comment to let me know what you've enjoyed the most about McKinstry Moments. What was your favorite post? picture? story? video? What would you like to see more of this year? What made you smile? Or, laugh out loud? A writer always loves to know her work is being read and appreciated so please don't be shy; let me know you're there. Click on the comment link below so I can preserve your favorite McKinstry Moments memory.

Rocks, worms, skinned up knees, and.... flowers?

What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Frogs and snails
And puppy-dogs' tails,
That's what little boys are made of.

In the past month, we've see more and more of Caleb's little boy characteristics shinning through in his play. It's bittersweet seeing him become more independent, but there are cute surprises everyday as we watch the new things he does. From pushing the fire truck my cousin Addie gave him around the room to stacking blocks on a train to using my hair brushes and the toilet lid to create a drum, I see more toddler and less baby everyday. I find myself wanting to blog about it all so I won't forget anything but there is never enough time to record it all. Since my parents "kidnapped" him for a few hours today, I'll try to share a few stories before he gets back and has me on my toes again!

As the weather warmed up, Caleb has a undying desire to be outside constantly. Any time the door opens, he heads straight for the opening and often tries to shoot down the front porch steps to see what he can find. Here are some outdoor memories we've made so far:

1.) ROCKS: I wouldn't say that we live in the boonies, but our house is in the country. That being said, we don't have a paved driveway. Luckily, this has been a great source of entertainment because our child loves rocks! Just sitting at the edge of the sidewalk or even plopping down right in the middle of the driveway gives him access to as many pieces of gravel as his miniature hands can grasp. One day while walking around barefoot, I expected Caleb to stop and simply pick up a few rocks as he approached the end of the sidewalk; instead those soft baby feet just kept padding along right through driveway. While I have to walk slowly and cautiously myself on gravel, Caleb wasn't phased a bit. Maybe that country boy side is coming out already.

Another day, he was walking along the sidewalk picking dandelions and pulling off the little seeds. Caleb would lay the yellow flowers on the porch steps and then pick them up again. (He loves to have something small to carry in each hand.) Then, all of the sudden, he saw the rocks. He threw the flowers to the ground and quickly replaced them.

After playing in the driveway a few times, Caleb's found a massive piece of gravel. Small rocks are great and all but when you find a big one it's pretty awesome. And, if you're like Caleb, you give it a lick for good measure to see if it tastes different from the small ones.

He loves bringing the rocks into the house when Mama makes him come inside too. A minor meltdown usually occurs after I have to pry the rocks from his fists to take them back outside. :(


2.) WORMS: While at Granny's the other day, Caleb got out the door barefoot again and began walking around the house exploring. As he climbed the brick steps to the front door, I noticed the stairs were crumbling slightly. So, when he bent over to pick something up, I of course assumed it was piece of brick since he loves rocks. As I bent down to examine his fingers, I jumped as I saw a worm draped across his palm. I guess I should just be thankful it wasn't a snake! After making Caleb put it down, I threw the worm back in the soil to save it from the sun and we finished our walk. (If you saw my Facebook status from yesterday, you already know that he also found a dead stink bug yesterday somewhere in our house and was carrying it clutched in his fist. --- Boy, oh boy!)

3.) SKINNED KNEES: Caleb started walking at about ten and a half months old, so he's pretty good at it by now. However, the grass throws him off sometimes, especially if it's getting tall. The sidewalk is more level, on the other hand, so we tend to stay on it. Unfortunately, pavement + shorts season + a boy who tries to run faster than he should = skinned up knees. The first skinned knee happened a week and a half ago at our house. By the next day, he scrapped the other one up on Grandma and Granddaddy's patio chasing the cat. Both times he hardly cried a bit; once I helped him up, he just kept trucking it.

Skinned knee #1

"Grandma, will you kiss it?"

Double skinned knees
(Oh, and don't miss the lilac in his right hand. :) )

If only I could slow down time....

Wagon party!

I'm about a month behind on this post so you'll have to bear with me as I try to catch up! It is also the longest blog post I think I've ever done! But, after all the talk about Caleb's wagon-themed birthday party, I bet some of you are interested to hear how it turned out. Well, I've finally gathered all the pictures from our friends and relatives that I needed, so I can share with those of you who couldn't be there to join in the festivities.

The weekend started out with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa McKinstry. They were so much help by entertaining Caleb so we could take care of the final details. Grandma McKinstry also washed a ton of dishes and helped with the food prep as well. My mom also came over to help prepare the food and the house for his party.

Grandma McKinstry and Caleb are trying out a new toy.

The morning of, we finished getting the food together, set up everything, and decorated. With everyone's help, we were finally ready for our guests.

In keeping with the theme, I tried to set the plates up to look like
a wagon. We also used the toy wagon from Aunt Amy to hold the utensils.

There was a special table with snacks just for the little ones.
Gerber cookies anyone?

And, of course there was a cake table! Aside from the wagon cakes,
there were regular size and miniature cupcakes as well as plenty of
party favors and gift bags to go around.

All of the preparation is in vain though if the people you love aren't there to join in the celebration. Amazingly, we celebrated Caleb's first birthday with THIRTY-NINE friends and family members!

Caleb's Great-Aunt Brenda's family was among the first to arrive.

Friends from our old church in Maryland as well as from our new
church in Virginia joined in the fun. Caleb's little yellow wagon
full of blocks was a hit!

Dave's former roommate/groomsman Sid was there with his
family, as well as my former roommate/bridesmaid Andi (pink shirt)
and her family. Their daughters (Emilia and Celeste) are enjoying a snack
at our new picnic table. They all had to drive an hour or more
to be there and we were glad they did. I was also thrilled my cousins
Addie (blue shirt) and Stephanie (purple sweater) could make it.

Everyone piled in the kitchen to fill up their plates and their bellies.

Great-aunt Susie and her family ate their fill.

Of course Caleb's best bud Max was there.

As well as his twin cousins Daniel (blue vest) and Anabella (far
right). His big cousin Lexi is joining all the babies on the carpet as
they check out the toys.

Emilia (right) and Anabella (left) became quick friends.

The kids weren't the only ones meeting new people.
We had such a wide group of friends and family that many of
them were meeting for the first time. On the other hand, some
of our guests reconnected with friends they hadn't seen in quite awhile.

Jason (Max's dad), my cousin Diane, Amy (one of my closest friends
since third grade), my cousin Stephanie, and I spend a little time
around the cake table chatting.

Our friend Joe from our Maryland church family and his daughters
made quite a trip to be with us too. We've missed them so
much! We were more than happy to have a little quality time
and see how the girls had grown.

After socializing and filling our bellies, the games began. It was a bit challenging to find games for babies and toddlers but I stumbled upon or created a few that were appropriate.

Uh oh, Daddy! Caleb's eating the game pieces.

Caleb trying to pin the handle on the wagon

Celeste gave it a shot too.

Next, we had a baby race. The mom's knelt on one edge of
the rug while the dad's held the babies at the opposite end. Caleb,
who loves to run anyway, was starting to get cranky at this point
and really wanted his momma. Needless to say, he won the race.

We also found a cupcake themed pull-string pinata. All of the kids
tugged the strings while Grandma McKinstry held it.

Get some candy for your bag, Daniel!

The candy was really for the older ones,
but the babies enjoyed collecting it too.

Yay for candy!

We also a jellybean guessing contest since Caleb was born the
day before Easter! (I wanted to do red and white to go with the theme,
but you wouldn't believe how much Jelly Bellys cost these days. I
thought gas prices were high...good thing we don't have to fill up our
tanks with these!) Congrats to Sid Bennett on his jelly bean guessing skills!

And the the part you've been wondering about....the cake! This time around the cake came out like I wanted it. I even made a miniature wagon cake for Caleb.

When we finally gave Caleb his cake, he was very interested in all the different parts of the wagon. He had to dissect it piece by piece. (Future engineer? Well see...)

First, he wanted to hold a thin mint in each hand.

He was really checking them out and licking them occassionally.
Then, he went for the graham crackers rails and
eventually the black licorice handle.

Finally, after we took all the pieces away, he started tasting the cake.
He thought Mommy needed a taste too and kept trying to offer me some.

Everyone enjoyed this new experience with Caleb.

Anyone want to kiss the birthday boy?

Have a taste, Granddaddy.

Wondering why he's in a new outfit? The hat says it all!

Grandma Sharon sliced the big cake!

Grandpa McKinstry and Granddaddy Eddie liked it too I think.

Finally, it was time to open presents. Caleb had more toys and outfits than any one-year-old could ever imagine!

The wagon was overflowing.

There was a classic milk wagon toy from Grandma and Granddaddy
Vaught to go with the theme!

Thank you for the push toy, Grandma and Grandpa
McKinstry and Grandma Swan.

I like this thing, Mama!

Several of the kids were interested in Caleb's presents.
Isabel was so helpful handing them to us.

We were glad to have you all and missed those who couldn't join us. I apologize to anyone I missed in these pictures; I tried to get everyone in at least one even if only in the background! You truly made this party one to remember.