James, Tiare and Caleb Kelly. How we came to be!

We met when we were 16 and were friends who occasionally dated until we really started dating in November of 2007.

Tiare graduated from BYU in December 2006 and is currently teaching kindergarten at Twin Peaks Elementary.

James graduated in accounting from the University of Utah in May of 2011, and is currently working in the accounting department for Enterprise.

We were married in the Salt Lake Temple on July 18, 2008.

We had Caleb Scott Auali'i on September 14, 2009

We're expecting baby boy #2 on April 6, 2012

and we are continuing our amazing journey through life!



Sunday, January 23, 2011

Winter fun has just begun 2010!



A family pic at the reception at the old meeting house. Such a fun, beautiful night!!



Caleb LOVES his cousin Josh! Josh can make him laugh like no one else. I so wish that Tiffany's family lived closer. I can't blame them though, I would totally live in Kauai if we could afford it.



Cute nieces/nephews pic, but where's Caleb? Oh yeah, that's right throwing a fit, ha ha! Smart kid, it was frigid outside, and gave James an excuse to stay in, lol!



Such a happy, beautiful couple!!! My entire family is so ecstatic to have Kamber officially be a part of the family!! Now all 8 Banks kids are married :)



We love to go up to my parent's new cabin in Huntsville. I was a little skeptical at first, but it's turned into a really fun getaway. It's only an hour away, and it's got a gorgeous view!



Caleb looked so stinkin cute in all of his snow clothes. I can't get over his cheezy smile, either! He's such a poser for pictures, ha ha, I wonder who he got that from ;)



It's a blast to have 2 Christmases now. Caleb was definitely spoiled by his awesome granparents, aunts and uncles.



He was loving trying to ride on his giraffe!



Caleb was SO much fun this Christmas! He ran to the tree, automatically sat in his chair, mauled the giraffe, and started trying to open presents!! He was so happy, and made me super excited for Christmases to come!



Aw, gotta love the Christmas Eve pjs!!! I wear mine ALL of the time!



Caleb's very first hair cut on Christmas eve! I thought it was time to get rid of the mullet. His Aunty Kamber did a great job. We gave him a sucker, put on baby einstein and he did surprisingly really well!



Another tradition that every other Utah family has . . . . the lights on temple square! It was a perfect night, except for the crazy crowds. As well, it was fun seeing all of James' family and the Brown side. Grandma Kelly even brought yummy hot chocolate and donuts!



Man, I wish Caleb loved Santa! Both years now, he's been throwing a fit in the pictures. I can't blame the kid though, but still. This Santa was a little weird. He wouldn't take Caleb if he was crying, made James sit on his lap with Caleb, and gave us a 5 minute lecture about safety zones and kids. I was thinking in my head, "It's a 20 second picture, give me a break. He's 1 and will be over it in a second."



Kicking off the Christmas season right . . . . Festival of Trees! And yes, you better believe that's a Twilight tree! It was a little sad this year though, because I couldn't get over all of the trees dedicated to little kids that passed away, and the one made for my friend's dad, really got to me as well. They were all so beautiful, though!


So I began blogging once I had Caleb, so that I can have memories of him, and it's been like a family journal. I've decided to make an "All About Caleb" list at the end of each blog, so that I can remember the fun little milestones and quirks that he has. Since this is my first one, it's gonna be LONG :)

ALL ABOUT CALEB
*Caleb loves to give kisses! He'll make a sound with his mouth that sounds like a kiss and keeps his mouth wide open as he's doing it. He even just started to kiss all of the baby pictures in his books! It cracks me up!
*Caleb loves to climb on everything! This kid has no fear, which makes mommy on edge all of the time. He'll climb up on the bar stools, couches, on things in the pantry (to get to treats, te he), on his car, our 4 foot high bed, and will even move boxes and all sorts of things to give him a little extra lift!
*Caleb is very adventurous and fast. It's been a little hard living at my parent's house, because it's not very baby proof, and there are a lot of places to hide and things to get into (and he will get into them).
*Caleb loves babies and kids. He'll give hugs to kids and just adores his cousin Maya, and always goes up to the apartment looking for her. He even says her name like, "Aya!"
*Caleb makes the silliest sounds. He has this fake laugh that he must've gotten from Grandpa Banks, and it cracks me up. He's such a boy in all of his grunts and growls, and watch out for that scream of his. It seriously causes permanent ear damage!
*Caleb has become a total "Daddy's Boy"! Although I love it, it makes me a little sad, because it started when I had to go back to work. He freaks out any time James even picks up a coat or shoe, because he thinks that he's leaving. However, when mommy leaves, he blows me a kiss and waves bye. Even though I'm happy about it, I just wish he loved me as much. I'm the one that was pregnant with him for 9 months, went through labor, nursing, and woke up with him all night for the first year of his life. Oh well, our girl will just love me more :)
*Caleb loves to sleep every night and cuddle with Mr. Owl and his elephant blankie.
*Caleb is a great eater! He will even eat broccoli and seaweed strips!
*Caleb was completely weaned on December 23rd. It was a real bitter sweet for me, because even though I was relieved not to have to nurse, I miss the bonding time with him, and it made me realize just how fast he's growing up.
*Caleb loves to do somersaults, spin, and dance!
*Caleb LOVES bath time!! He plays with his bath boats, and loves to stick things in the fishy spout. After bath time, he loves his "Run around nakie time!"
*Caleb really likes to read books. His favorite book is probably "Baby Boo!"
*Caleb can turn on the blue ray player, tv, work the controller, play with our phones . . . . pretty much anything electronic. He really is his father's son.
*Caleb likes to play with balls, and to have me throw his beach ball on his head to bounce it off.
*Caleb's words are: mama, dada, bath, eat, grandma (maema), Maya (aya), ball, baby (bebe), Jesus (he thinks any picture is Jesus), no, and a few other random ones.
*Caleb HATES having his diaper changed. All I have to say is the word "Diaper" and he runs and hides and throws a fit the entire time.
*Caleb has consistently been off the charts for height and sometimes weight. When he came out, he had huge hands and feet, so we thought he might be big, but we had no idea how big. At his 15 month appointment he weighed 30 pounds (97th percentile), and was in like the 105th-110th percentile for height. He's been wearing 2T clothes since he turned 1. We have no idea where he got it from, because we both have small families, but at least he's proportionate :)
*For a week straight, Caleb has been sleeping from about 8:30-9:30. AMAZING!!!
*Caleb is a fun, happy, sweet, and cute little boy! He's growing up so fast, and I just feel so lucky to have him in my life!