I am proud to announce that JD finally made tiny crawl movements FORWARD today, on several occasions.  He’s been on hand and knees, going backwards, going to the sitting position, and even pulling up, for a while, but forward movement had eluded him until today. Go, JD, go! By the time we arrive in Alabama for our visit, I bet he will be all over the place.

I recently mentioned that I do not have many digital baby photos of Joshua. Right away, both sets of our parents dug through their old email files and forwarded me beautiful digital photos of Joshua.  Thank you so much!!!  While my mom was working on that, she came across this old email (from my pre-blogging days). When I wrote it, we were preparing for a move, Joshua was 2, and Caleb was a 10 month old. This is so deja vu it’s crazy!!

“Caleb is growing up.”

Big week for Caleb! He’s crawling a little (just enough to get him to something he can pull up on), pulling to sit ,and pulling to stand.
He just practices over and over and over….especially at nap time. Here are some pictures of him in action!
Things are really in gear for the move! I showed the house to potential renters today and again tomorrow.
Tomorrow morning is our traditional “we are moving” yard sale! Next weekend is closing. The weekend after that we have 3 farewell parties.
Then that last week of May, the movers and packers arrive, and the boys and I head down south.
I’m hoping by the time we move Caleb will be all over the place. They will have a blast with all the moving boxes!
April

So really I should be sweating none of this.  I am simply repeating the past.  Wow. I wish I had taken more photos of JD on all fours this week.  I feel like I’ve failed him in that regard. So here’s a mix of all the boys mastering the ultimate challenge: MOVEMENT!!

Joshua:

Caleb:

Our first three boys all learned to crawl in Alabama. The first two were at our house, and Daniel was at Granddaddy and Nana’s.

Daniel:

and JD:

I am ashamed. His face doesn’t even show. I vow to take a GOOD JD crawling photo this week!!!  Tomorrow, in fact!!  Look for it on my Stories of Our Boys Facebook page.

One last similarity that made me smile!

You see Caleb standing in his crib, with his devoted older brother in the crib, bouncing around behind him.

This is such an adorable phase:

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John David is now 9 months old, so I figured it was time for another “remember when” kind of post.  Check them out!!!  This collage has each of my boys, at 9 months of age.  Can you tell which baby is which??

Isn’t it funny how people think JD is chubby????  He’s our thinnest baby ever.  ; )

You can definitely tell which boy is so old that I don’t have very many digital pictures of him.  I did have a digital camera back then, but I didn’t have Facebook or Snapfish yet, so those photos perished with whatever computer they were stored on.

Don’t worry.  I faithfully printed ALL of Joshua’s baby photos.  The other boys, especially John David, aren’t quite so lucky…

Ok.  That was the 6 month collage.  I wish I could’ve found a nice, clear Joshua picture this time.  If you happen to have a clear digital Joshua at 9 months, feel free to send it my way.  Thanks!

I know you’re not supposed to compare your babies, but rules were made to be broken, so let’s compare!

Let’s look at them at 9 months one more time!!

Do you remember how Caleb’s hair always stood straight up like that?  I just loved it

Earliest Crawler:  Joshua at 9 months

Earliest Walker:  Joshua at 12 months

Earliest cruiser (walking around holding onto furniture):  Joshua at 8 months.

I literally did nothing but dote on Joshua all day and encourage him to stand and walk.  Ha!  The others haven’t gotten that kind of undivided attention.

Earliest talker:  Caleb……Was he ever NOT talking?  He was born talking.

Chubbiest Baby:  Daniel

Tallest Baby:  Caleb and John David

Heaviest baby:  Caleb, BY FAR

Lightest baby:  John David

Most adorable dimples:  John David.  I’m so in love with his smile.

My only little red-head:  Daniel  : )

Baldest:  JD

I can’t wait to see what else is in store for these darlings.  I’m amazed at how much they change every single month, even Joshua and Caleb.

My best advice to moms of young children:  Never despair if your child is behind in something this year.  NEXT year, he could be better at that same thing than all of his friends.  I’m amazed at how they simply mature at different rates.

The boys earn belt loops for their accomplishments and extra curricular activities in cub scouts.  We couldn’t help but notice that Caleb’s are all one color, for academic achievements, while Joshua’s are all silver for athletic achievements.  I can’t wait to see how all of this unfolds through the years.  There’s really no telling.

I just love watching their personalities unfold as they grow in maturity.  The sky is the limit, children, the sky is the limit.

**Cute quotes from this week**

The boys were discussing which college they are going to go to, a surprisingly frequent topic of conversation at our house.  That probably has something to do with the high-pressure area in which we make our dwelling…..

Joshua:  I’m going to live in Maryland because I’m going to play football for the Navy Academy.

Me:  Oh, yes, that is impressive.

Caleb:  I don’t really know where I’m going to be.

Joshua:  I hope you’re going to be in Maryland, because you’re going to go to the same school as me, right!  Caleb, please, you have to go to the same school as me!”

Me:  That would be nice, if you went to the same school.

Caleb:  All right, all right.   Sure.  I’ll go to the same school as you.

(I was so happy.  I might have had just small tears of joy.  I hope this lasts a long, long time!)

******

While walking to school yesterday:

Caleb:  Yes!  The garbage truck is going by.  I changed my mind.  I’m going to be a garbage man when I grow up.  I want to be the one that pushes the button to empty the can.

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