Potty Training

Our family has been spending some serious time in the bathroom these days…potty training. The first few days were pretty rough. We’ve gotten the hang of it, though, and are pretty good with #1. We had our first successes with #2 today. We throw a huge celebration when that happens. Kaleb gets to pick whatever he wants as a reward, which is why Ann and Kaleb were in the freezing cold pool at 7:30 am this morning.

We’ve been graced with the company of Barb (Nick’s mom), Luke (Nick’s brother) and Jess (Luke’s girlfriend). The kids had orientation at MSUM today. They are getting pretty excited to start school, and we are getting pretty excited about having them in town. Kaleb sure thinks they are pretty fun!!

Next weekend we will be down in the metro area for the wedding of Nick’s friend, Eric. It will be nice to spend some more time with Grandma Barb and family.

Farewell...

I write this post with a heavy heart… We are currently on the aircraft on our way home from our wonderful week in Florida. Kaleb is sleeping on one side of me while Ann is trying to sleep on the other side. I just got elbowed and told to move my arm out of her seat (FYI, my arm wasn’t in her seat, it was on my half of the arm rest) and then she proceeded to move half her body into my seat, so now I have about a quarter of a seat to sit on… gee, thanks! We are sad to be leaving family that we love so dearly and that bring so much joy into our lives. Stacy’s husband, Cliff and I have so much in common. I feel as if we are long lost brothers! Thank you Steele’s and Butner’s for the great week. We forever treasure our time spent with you and can’t wait for our next opportunity to be together.

We started Sunday off with worshiping our Lord and Savior. It’s always an honor to be a part of Narcoossee Baptist Church, the church that the Steele family serves. Brother Dave is an amazing man after God’s heart that has a gift for preaching the word and not to mention, a beautiful voice. Cliff, Jane and I all felt that Dave’s message was for Ann. Sometimes God wants us to do things we don’t understand, like moving to Florida. Ann didn’t agree… can you imagine that?

After church, all nine of us piled in the “New Big Red Church Van” (Sarina’s words) and headed to Melbourne Beach. It was our last chance to spend time at the beach. Kaleb was so excited to go, he kept saying, “I go to da beach!”

The ocean was beautifully blue and warm. The rip tide was very strong yesterday with the waves breaking very close to the shore so we didn’t get a chance to boggie board. With the waves breaking so close to shore, it made for a perfect opportunity to search for shells. There were literally thousands of shells within the first ten feet of the ocean. Kaleb didn’t care much about the shells, while every shell that Sarina found was “pretty,” so we went home will all kinds of “treasures.”

The rip current was too strong for Ann and Stacy so they stayed close to shore with the little kids much of the time. The adventurous ones, Cliff, Sam, Savannah and I choose to dive for shells. It was quite interesting with the strong currents. One minute you would be swimming against the currents that were forcing you up and towards the shore and then a few seconds later you would have to swim opposite so that you could overcome the rip current that was forcing you down and pulling you out to sea. It was quite interesting; you just hoped you didn’t get slammed into the ocean floor while scouring for shells.

Stephen tried to skimboard, but didn’t appear to have much luck as the photo will attest to.

It was a great week filled with sun, fun, sun, and more fun and sun. We are so thankful for family and hope they enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed them. We love you Dave, Jane, Stacy, Cliff, Stephanie, Stephen, Samuel, Savannah and Sarina, Sarah too even though we didn’t get to see you.

Thank you!

Florida - Day 6, Cocoa Beach

Yesterday we spent the day with Stacy and her husband, Cliff. Stacy is Ann’s cousin. We spent almost five hours on Cocoa Beach. Most of the time, Ann and Stacy were working on their tans while Cliff and I played ball, a little frisbee and a little bit of boogie boarding. For the most part the waves weren’t that great for boogie boarding. While the beach was a little crowded, we still had a ton of fun! After four and a half hours in the sun, skipping lunch and relying on McDonalds for breakfast, Ann started to feel the effects of the heat.

We decided it was time to leave the beach, get changed and find some good food to eat. Stacy and Cliff took us to Fishlips, which was a really great restaurant in Cape Canaveral right in the cruise ship port. While we were eating we were able to see a Disney cruise liner float past us and out to sea. I understand the concepts, but I still marvel at how such a massive hunk of steel can float in the water or how an aircraft can float in the sky…

After our dinner we roamed through Ron Jon’s Surf Shop for a few minutes. Stacy made the mistake of telling Ann that there was a GAP outlet in the area. After an hour’s drive we were at the GAP outlet and soon thereafter walked out spending $140. Our suitcases weighed 43.5 and 47.5 pounds on the way here. Do you think we will make it home with both suitcases weighing less than 50 pounds??

Kaleb’s new favorite auntie, Auntie Jane, watched him all day. Periodically throughout the day we would get texts and photos of him eating and doing all kinds of things he’s typically not allowed to (Bottle lollipops, cake, hot tubin’…). No wonder she’s his new favorite.

"Hi Mickey, Hi Mickey, Hi Mickey, Hi Mickey!”

We spent all day Friday at Disney World with Stacey, Cliff, Sarina and Stephen. We had such an amazing time. We tried out their new ride Soarin’. We all felt that was the best ride of the day. Kaleb got to go on the Nemo ride, Buzz Lightyear, Merry-go-round, Teacups, and It’s a Small World. After every ride he said, “More!!” I personally loved “It’s a Small World”. My grandma Peg took me on that ride when I was 5 years old. It brings back wonderful memories of Peg and Norm…their love for me and their guidance in leading me to Jesus as my Lord and Savior.

I think Kaleb’s highlight of the day was seeing Mickey. Last August he was terrified of him. This year he ran right up to him and hugged him. We tried to take a family picture, but he wouldn’t take his eyes off Mickey. He kept saying “Hi Mickey” and was not impressed that Mickey wouldn’t say hi back.

When we got to the car yesterday to go home it was 100 degrees out. Kaleb kept saying, “I so hot. I so sweaty.” Even with the high temps, it was so enjoyable. This morning when Kaleb woke up I asked him if he had fun at Disney. He said, “YEAH! Mickey give my hug!” So priceless!!!

Nick, Cliff and Stephen left us for a couple hours and went on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Today we are going to the beach with Stacy and Cliff. Kaleb is staying with Auntie Jane all day.

I’m sure he’s in store for no nap, lots of junk food and probably lots of fun!

Florida - Day 4, Hanging Out... again

We spent Thursday hanging out around the Steele home again. We swam, did a little shopping and played games. Despite it being a zoo around the Steele home, we’re having a blast! You know… I don’t think I have been in a Loscheider home that isn’t a zoo?!?

Kaleb fell in love with Sarina’s Barbie car. All we heard yesterday afternoon was, “More Dora car!”, even though it wasn’t a Dora car. The first thing he said when he woke up this morning was, “Go outside, my drive Dora car!”

Later this evening I’ll post some photos from our trip to Disney.

Florida - Day 3, Hanging Out

We spent much of the day just hanging out at the Steele’s home. It was in the high 90’s much of the day. We spent some time in the pool. Despite Nick getting stung in the head by a wasp, it was a fun time.

Nick and I, my cousin Stacy and her husband Cliff, and my cousin Stephanie and her boyfriend Jason enjoyed dinner as three couples at the Cheesecake Factory last evening. I had the best dinner of my life there. We sat and chatted for hours.

Where was Kaleb through all this you may ask?? With my aunt, Jane, eating ice cream, cookies, fries and ketchup. Oh, and I should also mention staying up until 10:00?!? I had a small panic attack, but we all survived.

We are having a blast…Friday it is on to Disney!!

Kaleb's Prayers

Every night when putting Kaleb to bed we say prayers. This is how our prayers went last night:

Daddy: “Dear Jesus."
Kaleb: “Dear God.”

Daddy: “Thank you for family.”
Kaleb: “Tank you fo famwey.”

Daddy: “Thank you for our safety at the beach.”
Kaleb: “Tank you fo da beach.”

Daddy: “Thank you for save travels.”
Kaleb: “Tank you fo my mommy.”

Daddy: “Thank you for your love.”
Kaleb: “Tank you fo my mommy, AMEN!”

I’m not sure he’s thankful for me, but we now know that he’s thankful for his mommy. Kaleb is blessed to have an amazing mom that loves him beyond all understanding and shows that through everything she does for him and with him.

Kaleb and I are forever thankful for you mommy!