Caleb the Photographer

I was having a discussion with my dad last night about what kind of professions my kids might enter based on what we currently know of their personalities. Caleb has always been into things that involved fine motor skills, and he's very creative. I was uploading pictures and I found a slew of pics that Caleb took. It actually happens frequently that I look at the camera and think, "Where did all these pictures come from?" And it's Caleb's doing. So today, I'm going to predict that Caleb will be a photographer, if these pics are any indication...


This is only a tiny selection, but as you can see, he likes all types: abstract, portraits, still life, and himself. It's quite a range, and obviously he's extremely talented...we'll see where that takes us. (Note: As I'm typing this, he's managed to turn on my cell phone camera and is taking pictures of his toys.)

Sleeping...I mean Swimming...at the pool!

We go swimming nearly everyday...and it has been fabulous. So much so that Bryce has already established a nap routine involving the pool.

Step 1: Get drowsy and slump over in the turtle floatie.









Step 2: Let Mom pull your legs out so you're reclining comfortably, while still sleeping.







Step 3: Get carried out of the pool and sleep in the floatie with a towel for an hour or so.







This system seems to work pretty well because it happens almost every time we go to the pool! And this is particularly amazing since he sleeps in his crib and in the car seat...and that's about it. It's nice so I can play with Caleb too. (Obviously Bryce requires a lot of attention at the pool.) Caleb is coming to love swimming too, and is getting much more comfortable with the water. But he's not quite as brave as all the girls he swims with... (He's the one with the blue swim shirt and round floatie, and notice he's still got his nose plugged...)


All in all we're having a great time, and Jon-Michael is getting jealous because he's always had a darker skin that me...but not now because he has to work and pay for all the fun we have! What can I say? I'm spoiled and I love my life!

Bryce is 1!

I can't believe my baby is one! I know I've said it before, but Bryce's first year went WAY faster than Caleb's first year. I'm pretty sure we just brought Bryce home from the hospital last week or so. But to prove (to me) that it really has been an entire year, here are pictures of Bryce celebrating every month of his entire life!

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 21, 2009

Still can't believe it...but I do know I have the happiest (and cutest!) one year-old ever! Happy Birthday to our little Brycie Boy!

Preschool Graduation...

I've never really felt compelled to blog, but all my friends are doing it...so I guess I'm just giving in to peer pressure. I'm perfectly happy to read everyone elses blogs, which I do daily, and I'm sure you all are dying to hear what I have to say about our family. So, lucky you...here we are!

The most recent exciting family event (if you can call it an event) is our preschool graduation. And it wasn't so much a graduation as it was a party signifying the end of school. And it wasn't so much a school as it was a bunch of moms alternating teaching the kids a letter of the alphabet and giving the other moms a two-hour break once a week. Well, that's not fair at all...it has been fabulous. Caleb has learned so much this last year, and I have loved the opportunity it's given him to be social and learn in a more structured environment.

I know I'm not the only mom in the world with such a "smart" child, but I have been thrilled with his progress. He knows all the letters of the alphabet, upper and lower case, mostly knows 1-20 (he's got the teens in the wrong order sometimes), he can write all the letters and recognizes the sounds the make. We're starting to sound out words, mostly just the first letter, but I know it's a great start on the road to reading. And Caleb has another whole year of "preschool," so I know he'll be ready for kindergarten. I just hope all my friends want to keep doing this when Bryce is old enough.

Yesterday we had our party at my house. It was pretty low-key, but the kids had fun making graduation caps and tassels. The graduation part consisted of them all standing together so we could take pictures. And then we went swimming! Now that's a summer kick-off party!

I have been so impressed with all the moms involved (Lindee, Maria, and Leah...you guys do so much better than I do, but thanks for letting me part of it anyway!) and the kids. They are so smart and so cute. Even though I know them because they're all Caleb's friends and kids in our primary, it has been fun to get to know their cute little personalities.

Congrats kiddos!
Back row (l to r): Dillon, Caleb, Dallin
Front row (l to r): Emery, Kylie, Lydia

A long overdue post

Things are good in the world of DeShazer Land. Here's an update:

Bryce will be 1 in the next couple of weeks. He's crawling and getting into all sorts of stuff, especially the toilet. He also learned to crawl up the stairs a couple of weeks ago. That's fine except he hasn't figured out the going downstairs part. We put a gate at the bottom of the stairs to prevent him from continually going up and getting stuck up there. He has a most unique way of expressing excitement. When he's excited, he takes little yet loud gasps. He's excited about 90% of the time about something, so we here him doing that all day. I think it's adorable. He's incredibly ticklish and out eats his 4 year-old brother. Often we end up feeding him Caleb's leftovers. He loves Cheerios and underneath his seat in our dining room, you can always find roughly 40-50 little Cheerios lying on the floor around him. We use our vacuum to clean it up daily.

Caleb is getting taller and taller by the day. He's taller than most kids his age and taller than those 1-2 years older than him in many cases. He's the worlds most picky eater and is testing his limits with Heather and I on a daily basis. He has decided he no longer wants to sleep in his bed at night, so he sneaks in with us on a nightly basis. We've had to wake up and put him back to bed numerous times. We're hoping he stops doing it in the near future, he's a major bed hog. Despite his growing pains, he's been as funny as ever. He's surprising us every day with some new expression or idea. He loves playing with his Legos and watching Pixar movies with me. I even got him watching some of the NBA playoffs with me a few times. He loves cuddling with me.

One such instance was a few weeks ago. Caleb was sitting with me watching the basketball game and Heather called for him to do something. He rather nonchalantly exclaimed while sprawled out on my lap, "I can't Mom, I'm watching the bassetball game with Dad." It was pretty funny. Unfortunately I can't think of other funny phrases. But he tells me on a daily basis that I'm his best friend. It is easily the highest compliment one can receive from their child.

Heather is keeping herself busy as Primary President and looking after our kids. With my long days at the office and out at night meeting with clients for my business, we don't get a lot of alone time. Recently we teamed up with friends at church to trade babysitting duties. There are about 5 families involved so we only have to babysit 1 every 5 weeks. We're going on a date for the second time in as many weeks for the first time since we became parents 4 years ago. We're both very excited at this possibility.

Anyway, that's the deal in the family right now. I will be better this summer about keeping this thing up to date.

Here's what I'm talking about (See Previous Post)

Here's a perfect example of someone who is taking this Jay Cutler trade too seriously. Here's the original article

""I don't understand why he'd go to a press conference wearing a hoodie," Mendelsberg said of McDaniels. "Jay Cutler showed up at his press conference (in Chicago) looking nice. He looked like he had a makeover - nice suit, nice tie, nice haircut. He even laughed. I'd never seen him laugh. It's like he had a new lease on life."

He doesn't feel the same about his beloved Broncos.

"I'm so bummed. What do I tell my kids? We don't have a quarterback; we don't have a defense," Mendelsberg said. "This did nothing to ease my mind.""

Ease your mind?! What are you going to tell your kids?!?!?! Did you get laid off? Did you cheat on your wife? Did you put the family dog to sleep and not tell anyone? Those are things that warrant, "What do I tell my kids?" Not "We don't have a quarterback!" I can see it already, his children turn into delinquents getting involved with drugs, stealing cars and eventually more heinous crimes. Finally after an 8 hour stand-off with police at Broncos Headquarters and turning the gun on himself after a rampage, the man once known by his father Ken Mendelsberg as "Little Joey" says in his suicide note, warped with the drying of many tears that fell as he was writing, "Dad said WE didn't have a quarterback!"

Secondly, who cares if Josh McDaniels wears a hoody!? He could show up looking like Tim Curry in the Rocky Horror Picture Show for all I care, as long as Super Bowl rings show up on his freshly manicured black nails.

Watch the following video, and replace Star Trek fan's with Broncos fans. William Shatner says it perfectly. I'm done.

SNL Get A Life

Jay Cutler Traded! My Life has Come to an End!

This whole Jay Cutler being traded has been quite amusing. Being a guy and a Bronco fan, I was tired of this whole drama as many of you were. The good thing is, it's over, but what I find amusing is how some people are really taking this trade personally!

Now for the voice of reason. I'm a huge fan of the Broncos, of the NFL, and sports in general. I have spent many Sunday afternoon's over the years enjoying the game with my brother Dylan or my father-in-law Russ. But one thing remains true. The success of my favorite team in no way should affect my mood or personality or how I treat other people! I have talked to people who's lives have literally come to an end because Jay Cutler is no longer a Bronco. I find it humorous.

Don't get me wrong. I was this way once. It was me sitting on the couch with tears running down my face at age 9 as Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins destroyed the Broncos for 5 touchdowns in the second quarter of Super Bowl XXII. Fortunately for me, my parents gave me added perspective and told me it doesn't matter in the long term and it's just a game. Those words hurt as I heard them, but they were right.

The Broncos are a great team to follow, but they do not affect how my life is from day to day. I don't wake up on Monday mornings after a Bronco loss feeling depressed about my life because my football team got crushed by the Chargers again. Let the players who get paid to do this feel that way. My life is much more interesting than the team I follow. In fact, if it isn't, I will do something about it so it is! Jerry Seinfeld put it best. He said with all the trades and personnel changes teams make over the years, we ultimately are rooting for clothes. Keep it in perspective people. If the Broncos with 11 games next year, this will all be an afterthought anyway. I hope this makes sense.

One last note, do a Google image search for Kyle Orton. about half of those pictures of him on there are of the embarrassing "MySpace" variety, usually with a cold one in his hand and a drunk girl in the other.