Catching up

I’m so frustrated with myself for neglecting this blog for so long. I just seem to get so busy for a few days which turns into a few weeks and then all of a sudden a month or two (or three) passes. By that time, the thought of catching up seems so intimidating and overwhelming that I just put it off another day. So here I am on an early Sunday morning with Jason and Caleb still asleep and I’m gonna get caught up!! I do keep a calendar and try to jot down funny little things or milestones so I don’t forget when they happened. I’ll be starting with the most recent and work my way back to where I left off.

Santa came!!!

Merry Christmas!! Santa came last night!!! Now I realize that it isn’t Dec 25, but we had a deal with Santa. We would get ready for him to come early so that Caleb could open his presents at home and we wouldn’t have to worry with finding extra space in the car on the way back from middle TN. We put the tree up before Thanksgiving, all of our presents are wrapped, and I managed to get the house cleaned. The Christmas cards are ready except for stamps and the pictures. So Santa came and brought lots of fun presents for us. Caleb finally woke up around 9:30 (he’s a night owl) and he remembered that Santa was supposed to come. He said “santa…presents…tree?”. We got him up after a few games of “where’d he go, daddy? Where’d he go, momma?” (I’ll explain later). He walked into the living room right past the presents and almost walked right into his new train table. I don’t think he really knew what that was but he stood by it, patted and said “table? One…two tables!” (the second table is the one in the kitchen). Then we pointed him toward the presents and he said “oh wow! Presents!”. I don’t think he understood that he was supposed to open them because he just looked at them at first. I handed him one and told him to open it. He started ripping small pieces of wrapping paper off that put my paper shredder to shame. I tried to show him how to tear it open with one big rip. He finally got to where he could see what was in it, a little red car, and said “help! Help! It’s stuck! It’s stuck!”. We helped him open it and he couldn’t be happier with what Santa brought. He played and played with his car and I look around at all of the other presents under the tree and thought…hmmm, Santa brought him way more than he needed and unwrapping those things was going to take forever! We finally got them all opened and I made some Christmas tree muffins for breakfast. I knew Caleb would not sit down and eat anything because he would be too excited. Caleb was sitting beside the Christmas tree as Jason showed him the muffin and he pointed to the muffin and the Christmas tree and said “two trees…one…two”. Then he took a bite out of the top of the muffin and looked at it with a horrified look on his face and said “oh-no!”. Now I know you are thinking those must have been some nasty muffins, but they were good. He said that because he damaged the Christmas tree muffin. After Jason got him to eat most of the “birthday muffin” (adding birthday in front of any food automatically makes it a fun treat that Caleb will try…hmm, wonder if birthday broccoli would work), we got ready to go to the movies....Caleb's first movie.

We took Caleb to see Madagascar Return to Africa. We were a tad bit late which we thought would be perfect to miss the previews. Unfortunately they were having sound issues and started the movie late so we had to sit through that mess. Normally I don’t mind them, but there were previews I didn’t necessarily want my two year old to see. Jason and I kept trying to cover his eyes or get in front of him. Of course, that made him want to see it more and he would lift himself up a little further in his chair to peek those big brown eyes over our hands. One preview was a movie about aliens vs. monsters. Yeah, nice, huh? It was actually an animated movie so that makes it ok, right? Aarghhhh!!! I mean, it really is a kid’s movie, but a bit much for a 2 year old that doesn’t understand sarcasm. Then there was another movie preview about some kids that rescue dogs. It seemed like it would be scary for a little kid that, again, didn’t understand sarcasm. I guess that’s what PG means, huh? I was disappointed in the movie. My friend warned me about the “butt” jokes and the potty humor. I was ok with that because that isn’t something that Caleb would catch on to right now. (Don’t worry, I know that’s coming soon.) The parts that bothered me were the scary parts in the beginning and the part where the old lady and the lion are fighting. I whispered to Caleb something about hitting being a no-no and he told the lion “no, no, no hitting”. When we first sat in the seats and Caleb saw the movie on the big screen, he looked at us with a big smile on his face and wide eyes and said “more…more” while signing the word more with his hands. It made my heart so happy to see him so excited.
Caleb sat in his chair for most of the movie but started getting antsy toward the end. He finally stood up and proclaimed “ALL DONE!”. A bag of goldfish crackers, fruit snacks and a sippy cup of milk bought us a few more minutes. I tried to bribe him with some raisons but they were buried at the bottom of my bag and I was having a hard time trying to find them while trying to keep him from slipping into the fold of the chair as he was trying with all of his might to stand up. Thank goodness there was no one on our side of the movie theatre and only a handful on the other side. Jason took him out, thinking he just needed to run around a bit. They came back after a few minutes and Caleb was none the quieter. We both left this time and tried to watch the last 10 minutes from the exit aisle. It would have worked except Caleb bolted away from us and stood front and center of the screen and started dancing and shouting “ohhhhhhh weeeeee!!!”. Then we grabbed him and hurried out.

After the movies, Caleb and Jason both got haircuts. Caleb sat still while I told him a story about Santa Claus. The barber was very impressed with how well he sat still for her. She complimented him on his good behavior and I smiled and nodded like it was nothing out of the ordinary for him to be so well behaved. Little did she know that I was holding my breath the whole time wondering when he was going to get restless and proclaim “ALL DONE” as he did in the theatre.

The rest of the day Caleb spent playing with his new toys, eating very little, and even got a long nap in. It was really a fun, wonderful day. I think this will be our tradition. I love that Caleb gets to open Santa’s presents here at home and we don’t have to worry about being anywhere at a certain time. And I love that we will still be able to celebrate Christmas with our families later in the week. It made me sad to think about not visiting our families at Christmas and at the same time, I really wanted Caleb to wake up on Christmas morning in his own bed and run to find out what Santa had left for him. I got to thinking more about it and the whole reason we celebrate Christmas is to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. We celebrate on December 25 but we don’t really know the exact date of his birth. So for all we know, December 20 is really Jesus’ birthday. So Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

Oh, and Santa forgot stockings at our house. Silly Santa. Maybe next year he will remember. Thankfully, Caleb doesn't understand about stockings yet or Santa would have been in big trouble. Or maybe Santa did it on purpose. Maybe if Caleb is a little bit nicer next year, he will get a stuffed stocking. Or maybe Santa is waiting until Caleb comes home after Christmas with our families to bring his stockings. Oh, the possiblites of what Santa can do. See, another advantage of having Christmas early.

Oh, and we had Burger King for lunch and homemade pizza for dinner. I love being a grownup and making traditions for our family. :)

Santa Claus!!

We went to see Santa at Wolfchase Mall today. Caleb ran straight to him, jumping and skipping the whole way, so excited to see "Santin!!!". And then.....didn't want to sit in his lap. Santa gave him a candy cane and I talked him into giving Santa "knocks". He did and finally decided to sit in Santa's lap. We got a pretty good picture....a better one with our camera than the one we paid for. I'll post it as soon as I can.

On the way home, we went and looked at Christmas lights. I love seeing Caleb's eyes light up and see how excited he gets. What a fun time it is with him!!

Oh, by the way...we've been getting him to say "santa claus" b/c santin sounds too much like, well, you know.

That way!

I was taking Caleb home from "school" today and he asked to see the "aights, momma, aights....that way....i wanna go that way (pointing straight at the intersection)". He wanted to see some Christmas lights and decided he wanted to go a different way home. Since when does he decide which way we go? I guess since today. I went "that way" and we saw some lights. It's so fun to see him get excited about Christmas lights.

The Singing Christmas Tree

We took Caleb to see the Singing Christmas Tree at Bellevue today. We sat on the end of the aisle just in case we needed to make a quick exit. The play was awesome and Caleb loved it. I just kept looking at him wondering what he was thinking. He started out sitting in my lap to watch the show, but when the music and dancing started, he wanted up on his feet. He inched his way out into the aisle and clapped and danced with his eyes glued on the stage. I made him keep one hand on my knee so he wouldn't inch further away. I had to pull him back in several times. Once I wasn't quick enough and he darted down the aisle trying to make his way to the stage. I caught him at about aisle 4.

Everytime Caleb heard someone cough or sneeze, he would say "bless, momma" as if I was the one coughing and sneezing. Do you know how many times someone coughs or sneeezes in a church that big???? Oh, and everytime a scene ended, he would shout out "All done!". We kept shhhing him when he talked out loud so he started shhhing the entire audience when everyone would clap or laugh. He couldn't get enough of the singing and dancing. Before the last scene, the pastor comes up and says a few words and has an invitation. Caleb didn't find him nearly as entertaining. He told me (and everyone around us) "want to dance, mommma.....I want to dance!!!". I finally had to take him out because his requests to dance got louder and louder. Out in the foyer, I chased him around and the little stinker made his way to the door and started to open it. The doors are pretty heavy so I wasn't worried that he would get back in. He didn't at first and so I let my guard down. I figured he had tried without success to open it several times so why should I sprint to the door when he goes near it? Well, I'll tell you why...because somehow he built up just enough strength to get it open that one time and proceeded to run down the aisle without me. I chased after him and acted as if I meant for us to come back in (even if it was the wrong door) and found our seats.

I had such a wonderful time. I love the way Caleb dances and claps his little hands to the music. I just couldn't stop watching him and feeling so proud and happy. It's so fun to see Christmas through his eyes.

Christmas party at school

Caleb had a Christmas party at mothers day out today. All of the kids brought in a wrapped book and then they exchanged them. I found out real fast that I won't be telling Caleb what is inside a wrapped gift. I let him take the wrapped book to his teacher and he was so excited to hand it to her he couldn't hardly stand it. He shouted "it's a book!! it's a book!!".

Twenty!

Caleb counted to 20 tonight. I didn't know he even knew there were numbers past 10. I was shocked. He needed a little bit of help with a couple of numbers, but he pretty much counted to 20. My little genius.

After church today we went to eat at Dairy Queen with the Joneses. They are such sweet people! Caleb sat at a table with Ellie and Ensley and ate his chicken strips, fries, and his daddy's shrimp. He was such a big boy sitting at the table with the kids. I can't believe how well they were sitting and eating with each other...and I can't believe I didn't have to sit with him and help him eat. Such a big boy!

Birthday song

This morning when I went to get Caleb up, the first thing he said to me was "Mama, I want to change clothes." O-K. It seems like just yesterday he was learning to talk and then just 3-4 word sentences, but now I can have a conversation with him. Of course, how clearly he talks and puts sentences together has a lot to do with how rested he is. I'm the same way, though. It's really apparent after I've worked a night shift and try to give report to the next nurse. I slur my speech and try my hardest to pronounce some of those crazy medical terms that I had no problem with at the begining of the shift.

Caleb was drawing on some paper and I guess he was proud of his work because he lifted his hand in the air and said "ta-da!". I have no idea where he got that from but it cracked me up.

Caleb has also been singing the "birthday song" as he calls it. "Momma...birthday song?", he asks. Usually he tells me "no song, momma" meaning please quit singing mom. Apparently he is ok with me singing the birthday song with him. Of course, he always sings "happy birthday dear Jayden....". No other name is allowed in the birthday song.

Birthday!!!

I think Caleb really enjoyed his second birthday. His latest Sesame Street episode featured someone having a birthday party and they talked about birthdays. What great timing! Thanks, again, Sesame Street. That show sure has been a blessing to me in so many ways! Nannie and Bebe came Friday and Granny and Granddaddy came today. I really, really needed Caleb to get a good nap and I was just about to get him ready to go down for one when I heard Granny and Granddaddy pull up. I knew he would be a pill if he didn't get his nap in and I really wanted him to enjoy his party, so I had to dash off into his bedroom and not let him see Granny and Granddaddy. I felt really bad about that because I knew they really wanted to see him and they would have to wait a few more hours for him to wake up, but I just couldn't take the chance of him not going down for a nap. I was pretty sure he wouldn't want to sleep if he knew they were here. Thankfully, he took a good nap and we were able to decorate the house while he was sleeping. Jason was out taking care of last minute details....streamer, balloons, etc while I finished cleaning up. The rest of us transferred the living room furniture to our bedroom to make room for the play area. When Jason got home, we added the toys, streamer and balloons. Our living room was transformed into a big playroom with Sesame Street posters hanging everywhere. Nannie made Caleb a very cool Sesame Street cake. I decorated the cupcakes with icing. Bebe watched supervised and told on me when I was doing it wrong (tattletale). I may have accidently dropped some of the icing in my mouth. Oops. I'm so clumsy. We woke Caleb up and got him ready with his cute little outfit. Jason and I both worked to get him completely dressed and ready to go before we presented the "playroom". We got the papparazzi all lined up with cameras and videocameras and sent him to check out his party. He was wide-eyed and exicted. He kind of reminded me of people's reactions when they get a home makeover. They aren't sure where to look and are amazed at each new thing they see. That's how he was. Caleb's friends starting coming and Caleb just got more and more excited. He loved having all his little friends there to play with him. I knew the playroom was a hit when I opened the door and one of the older kids looked in and said "COOL!!" and ran in to play. That didn't last very long as the party migrated outdoors since the weather was so nice. We got some balls and different toys for the kids to play with while some of the kids played on the swingset. We had 2 or 3 toys get stuck in our one skinny tree. We have a huge, flat backyard...plenty of room to run and play...with ONE tree. Yet, still, the rubber snake and pink ball get stuck in it. How does that happen?? Caleb still doesn't understand opening presents and blowing out candles, but his older friends were sure to help him with it. He didn't mind. He LOVED his birthday cake. It was really good and lots of people agreed. Of course, we really don't eat a lot of cake at our house so this was a big treat for him. He has been asking me all day if it's is "birthday, momma?". I'm still saying yes, it's your birthday. He's so stinking cute. Thanks to all our friends and family that made is birthday so wonderful and special.

Caleb turns 2!!!!!!

I can't believe it. He is officially 2. No more "almost 2". He's really 2. Next thing you know he will be 5, then 12, then 18, then....I don't even want to think about it!! I mean I won't go past 30, yet he will continue to get older and I will wonder where the time has gone. I want to enjoy every minute of it...and remember all the funny things he says and does. Even though I loved my job at Lebonheur and I felt so important climbing off that helicopter, I wouldn't change leaving it for nothing. Of course, there are days I'd like to go to work just for a break, but overall, I'm glad I made that decision. If you would have asked me if I would leave my job and work as a floor nurse after I had a baby a few years ago, I would have looked at you like you had two heads. I'm blessed to work in a field where I can work a couple of days a week at night while Caleb sleeps and make enough money to pay for the extra things we want. I get that not every mom shares that desire or for some reason isn't able to stay at home and I completely respect that. I honestly thought I would put my child in daycare and go back to work. That was the plan until I held him for the first time. I even tried putting him in daycare for a while. It didn't last long, though. I couldn't stand dropping him off in the morning. He was usually the last to get to class and the first to be picked up. I couldn't stand for him to be away.

What I find funny is that he is the most sociable little 2 year old I've ever known. He doesn't cry (except a couple of times) when I drop him off at mothers day out, sunday school, or leave him with a babysitter. He will talk to just about anyone. He says Hi to everyone he sees without me prompting. He will talk to anyone, give kisses to anyone, befriend anyone. Yes, there are times when he is clingy (especially when he is sleepy) and there are times when Jason is watching him while I sleep that he won't stop calling for me, but overall he is a very sociable child.

Ok, well, this post is really different from how I had planned it. I guess I just had some random thoughts to share. I'll post about Caleb's birthday party later.

Growing up......some more

I just dropped Caleb off at Mothers Day Out and we were met at the door by a very excited, sweet little blond boy that squealed "that's Caleb!" to the teacher. "Oooh," she said "I wasn't sure which one you were talking about". Apparently he had been asking her where Caleb was and was so excited to see him. It's was so sweet to see another kid excited to see my child (by the way, his name is Aaron). It's fun to see Caleb making friends and playing with them and I'm glad he has a little buddy at MDO.....yet it's one more reminder that he is growing up. Sigh.

Oh, and both last night before bed and this morning Caleb "pee-peed in the potty". He even told us that he needed to use it. I didn't really expect him to do anything when he went to sit on it. In fact, I had reminded myself to act excited and proud of him just for sitting on it. So I mustered up as much excitement as I could (keep in mind I've been up all night because I had to work....zero breaks....and stayed an hour late...boo hoo). So when I saw yellow, I probably overdid the excitement since I had psyched myself up and was really genuinely excited.

Caleb is also getting really good at recognizing letters, he knows most of his colors, and he is continuing to improve on counting. Today he saw a 2 red cars and said "red car....two red cars". Genius. (P.S. Funny....I spelled genius wrong and spellcheck caught it. Glad I used that this morning! Ha ha!)

I'm gonna wrap him in bubble wrap.....

While Caleb was at mother's day out Monday, I made an appointment to get his picture taken next week. It shouldn't surprise me that when I went to pick him up, I was met with "he fell while we were going to the playground and skinned both knees". Ok, note to self, no shorts for the pictures. Who did I think I was kidding thinking this would be his only injury before the photography session next Monday? Nope. Here goes the list..... -He was running through the kitchen, no obstacles what-so-ever in his way, and fell on the tile floor. He caught himself....with his forehead. A big "goose-egg" immediately pops up and eventually evens out to a nice big black and blue bruise. -Same day, different part of the kitchen.....he gets excited because I'm fixing him a plate of oranges. He runs to sit at his table and runs into the wall...sort of. He actually trips just short of the wall and falls into the wall. Bruised nose. -He scrapes his skinned knee with a toy and it hurts him so I put a bandaid on it. Which he immediately removes. So I put another one on and tell him it's to make his boo-boo better. Evidently he thinks it's supposed to work right away so he trys to remove it, too. I stop him and cleverly think to put a pair of pants on him so he can't see it. Only he doesn't want to wear pants and throws a huge fit about putting on pants. Oh boy, didn't I plan on him wearing pants for the pictures? Note to self....have Caleb practice wearing pants. I guess he....oh my goodness, I can't finish a thought without another boo-boo. It's his hand, he just pinched it a little...no biggie. Ok, it's been kissed so he is better. Ok, as I was saying, I guess he is used to wearing shorts and pants feel weird to him. -Today while tickling him and playing "what's under your arms, Caleb?", he bites his lip. Two small red boo-boos on his lower lip. (Oh, and the answer to what is under his arms is "giggles"....because he laughs when I tickle him.) -Today he saw his tractor in his closet, gets excited about it and graps it...drops it on his foot. He told me it was a boo boo but I don't see a bruise or anything. I would reschedule his photo session but I'm afraid of what he might get into the next time. Although it would give me time to find some bubble wrap....

Carnivals rock

Vacation is lots of fun! We went to a small, church carnival in Nashville which was the perfect size for Caleb. We had a blast! Caleb danced, played with bubbles, rode the ponies and played on the playground. We all rode train together and I even climbed the rock wall. It scared Caleb to see me climbing the wall. Check out the end of the video when he asks for "Hugs!!".




On the way home, Caleb fell asleep. Not wanting to disturb nap time, we stopped by HotPotato Kids Consignment Shop and got some good deals on some new books for Caleb. It was nice to see Aunt Tracy, too even though Caleb was asleep for it. We cooled off with some pink lemonade sold by my neice, Rebekah. She is raising money for breast cancer and they are teaming up for the Race for the Cure in Nashville on October 3 if anyone is interested in joining her team. Since Caleb slept through my shopping spree at HotPotatoKids, we travelled on to Clarksville. Halfway there, I remembered they were having Riverfest so we decided to see what it was all about. Caleb woke up as we got there (perfect timing, huh?). We walked around and found a petting zoo (I appreciated the hand sanitizer they squirted on everyone's hands on the way out...but don't think for a minute I didn't have mine ready for a double dose), a moon bounce (which Caleb did NOT like), and a little play area for kids sponsored by Discovery Toys. It was a nice and cool little area with lots of toys. Caleb loved it, but mainly because there was a sweet, little girl playing peek a boo with him. She was about 9-10 years old and he loved her. I loved her, too, for letting us rest a minute.

More video from vacation day #2

Vacation time!!

It’s vacation time! I really wanted to go to the beach this year and then I began to imagine a 7+ hour trip with a two-year old. Does that sound like a vacation or torture?

So we opted for…drum roll please…Nashville. What? Yep. Because we wanted to go somewhere new….. Ok, just kidding. Nashville sounds good because we can visit family, friends, and I found lots of cool places for us to go.

We started with a stop at Grandma and Grandpa Gale’s house in Dickson, TN where my dad met us. We haven’t seen them in about a year so it was time to catch up with them again. Then it was to Nannie and Pawpaw’s house. Caleb really didn’t know where we were going to when we were almost there I told him we were about to be at Nannie and Pawpaw’s house to which he replied “Oh, yeah!!”.

Caleb had so much fun dancing around and playing with Nannie and Pawpaw. Nannie had a surprise waiting for him when we got there. A tent….or as Caleb says a “welwo red tent”. That means a yellow and red tent. He was in heaven!

Bedtime came and Caleb wasn't ready for it. Even though it came close to midnight. Yikes. I ended up having to sleep on the floor with him. He woke up several times in the night but I was able to pat him on the back and he fell back asleep. About 5:30 am, he woke up, layed his head on my tummy and that's how he slept (and I didn't) for another hour and a half. Would I move to get him off? Are you kidding me? I'm not gonna wake him for nothing. I'd rather be tired than have a tired two year old.

Nannie bought Caleb some juice boxes that had Elmo on them, or as Caleb's calls them, Elmo juice. Now when we sing the theme song for "Elmo's world", Caleb sings it like this...."la la la la Elmo's juice". Oh, and every juice is now Elmo juice.

Two momma! Two daddy!

Some of Caleb's new phrases.....

"Aight back, momma" (Be right back)

"What doin', momma?" (What'cha doing momma?")

"Bed!!" (I want to go to bed....yes, I know shocker that he would request to be put in bed. He no longer wants me to rock him :(. He just wants his "beboo" (pillow) and glow worm and he is good to go. He did hold up his blanket for me the other day to cover him, but that's about it. I have mixed emotions about this. I miss holding him while he is sleeping and it was a lot easier to cut his nails during that time, too.)

"Two momma!" (What he said when he saw my reflection in the mirror the other day.)

"Twa momma!" (Three momma....what he said when he saw another momma in the second mirror.)

Jason read Caleb his bedtime stories the other night and Caleb started praying....head bowed, eyes closed, hands folded....prayed for goggers, elmo, cookies, momma, daddy, two momma, two daddy.

Funny conversation

I was talking to a little girl at work the other day and the conversation went like this....

Little Girl: "Do you have any kids?"
Me: "Yes, I have a little boy"
Little Girl: "Is he black or white?"
Me (smiling): "Umm, he's white"
Little Girl: "Oh. I think your next baby will be black."
Me: "You think so?"
Little Girl: "Yeah."

Crack is Whack!

Okay, we're not really sure exactly what happened here. But when Gracie put Caleb down for his nap, he was wearing a t-shirt and diaper. When she went to check on him about an hour later...not so much wearing the diaper.

Suffice it to say, he wears onesies to bed now. That should work, at least until he figures out how to undo the snaps.

Best Buddies

Caleb and Jaden had a big time playing in the tub and taking a "baff" when our friends Heather and Jeremy came to visit.

Caleb loves Cousin Addison

Jason here. I was just telling Gracie we need to put some more pictures on the blog, and she said, "Why don't you do it?" So here goes...

Caleb loves to visit our families. The last time we were in Big Rock (end of July), he was loving on Baby Addison. We told him to give her a kiss, and we didn't have to ask him twice. On the first try, Addison wasn't having it, so here is a pic of kiss #2.

Granny and Granddaddy

Granny and Granddaddy came to visit this weekend. Caleb grabbed Granny by the hand and led her straight to his room to play. We tried to give Granny a few breaks, but the second he realized she had left the room, he would come looking for her. He would grab her hand and lead her right back to playing with him. Poor Granny.

Caleb showed off his batting skills to Granddaddy. He is really good at Tball....and so is Caleb (bwah ha ha ha I'm so funny). He loved playing ball with Granddaddy and loved showing off his batting swing to him.

Then Monday rolled around and Granny and Granddaddy had gone home and "post traumatic where are my Granny and Granddaddy and all the attention I loved" followed. I plan nothing on those days because I know that's what will get done.

Ok, well, I'm getting pushed away from the computer hearing "Momma! Momma!". Then he remembers his secret weapon...."hugs, momma?".

HUGS!!!

"Hugs, momma!"

Caleb reaches up to me and shouts, "hugs, momma, hugs". How can you not reach down and hug a little cutie pie when he does that? Even when he does it over and over and over.......ahhh, cuteness!

Of course, he does this when I'm trying to update my blog, fix dinner, put him in time out....hmmmm....yep, still cute and hard to resist. He has found my weak spot. I think I hate time-out more than him.

Today he took every sippy cup out of the drawer and lined them on the shelf. When he saw the drawer was empty, he threw his hands out and declared "ALL DONE!". Ok, then....what's next? Oh boy.

Zoo day out

We went to the zoo today with our friends Jennifer and Kim. Or I guess I should say Caleb and I ran through the zoo. He is interested in the animals for, oh, let's say 3 seconds....then he's off. I think the most exciting part for him was when we all stopped for snacks and he got to push Ms. Kim's stroller around. It's pretty exhausting going to the zoo. You might think he would be worn out, ready to take a nap when he got home. Nope. He fell asleep for 10 minutes in the car and was fully refreshed, ready to go again. Me? Not so much. How can someone have sooooo much energy???

Mr. Sarge and his stunt double

I had to get my oil changed today. I was quoted an hour. It took over 2. Shouldn't they have bumped me to the front of the line the first time they saw me chasing Caleb out of their offices? No? Ok, well, no complaining about a 2 year old shrieking with delight as his mom chases him around your work space.

****Excuse me. This post was just interrupted by a need for my child to dance with me and then play a little game of hide and seek....a game where he tells me exactly where to hide and, without him even moving an inch away from that space, "finds" me. Ok, back to my last thought......****

Thankfully, I had taken lots of treats and toys to the car dealership with me. I even took the stroller in with me...not that Caleb was ever going to sit in it, but at least I didn't have to carry all the "please be good treats". I did manage to pin him down long enough to strap him in and walk over to the mall for a few minutes. He was not happy about that either. He was ready to get back to the car dealership and run around. I figured once we got back from the mall, my car would be closer to being ready. Nope. In fact, it was still in the holding area. Aargh!!

I literally chased Caleb around the whole dealership, pushing my stroller everywhere we went. He stopped to say "Hiiiiii" to everyone he saw and if they spoke back he talked to them even more. I wasn't sure what he said most of the time. He really wanted to go outside really bad and when he saw an opening, he ran for it. Only it wasn't an opening....it was a glass window and he ran smack into it. Poor thing wasn't sure what to think. He hugged me tightly and never cried. I think he was a little stunned. He had a big red mark on his forehead, but after a minute, he was back to running around. He loved looking at the cars and we even got in a few and I let him play with the steering wheel. He hasn't discovered the horn yet, thank goodness. That could have been amusing. ***oops, another dance break**** I got a ball out for him to play with and of course, he threw it at the cars. Thank goodness it was a soft, squishy ball.

There is an older, black man that drives the courtesy shuttle that works there named Mr. Sarge. He is a very sweet man that I have known for about 5 years. He always comes up to talk to me and comments about how big Caleb has gotten (he only sees him every 3 months or 3000 miles). We were in the lounge area and Caleb had already found a younger guy to throw the ball to him--poor guy just watching tv minding his own business gets stuck in a game of catch. Caleb misses the ball and Mr. Sarge picked it up and threw it to him. So now Mr. Sarge is stuck playing ball as well. Mr. Sarge tried to walk away but Caleb caught him and went over to him and grabbed his hand and pulled him back to play. This happened a couple of times and Mr. Sarge got sneaky and left when Caleb wasn't looking. Caleb turned around and said "where'd he go? where'd he go?". Then he went around the corner and found him, grabbed his hand, and made him come back to play ball. Only this time it wasn't Mr. Sarge. It was a different older, black man in the same uniform. Caleb never knew the difference. He thought he was still playing with Mr. Sarge.

Case of the mystery waffles

I've been searching for Caleb's breakfast the last 3 days. I give him a cut up waffle and some milk for breakfast and sit it on his little table. He plays a little, eats a bite, plays a little, etc. I noticed the other day he still had quite a bit left on his plate so I told him to go eat his breakfast. A couple of minutes later, he brings an empty plate to me. I'm thinking he dumped them out some where, and I'm sure he did because there is no way he ate it that quick (I mean he is Jason's son....). Problem is, I've yet to find the waffle. Jason said the same thing happened to him the next day. I'm sure he has a hidden stash somewhere and we will probably find it as soon as we have some company over. I'm sure we will have an army of ants leading our unsuspecting guests right to the moldy, sticky waffles. Nice, huh?

On another note, we are having Caleb's birthday party on Saturday, September 27, here at our house so mark your calendars. Whoever finds the missing waffles, gets a prize.

Green peas

Green peas used to be one of Caleb's favorite foods. He would have a mouth full and say "more, more!". Lately though, he refuses to eat them. I still put them on his plate, though, hoping his taste for them will return. As of today, that taste has not returned. I heard him saying "Oh, no! Oh, no! No! No! No!". By now I've learned to not take those words for granted so I come over to him to see what kind of mess he has made. Peas were all over the floor. No big deal, yet, since he notified me before squishing them all into the carpet. I explain to him that if he doesn't want something to just leave it on his plate, not to dump them on the floor. Then I told him to help me pick them up. He looked at me like I had two heads. So I brought him over to the peas and proceeded to pick them up and told him to do the same. He wouldn't. I told him to either help me or go to time out. He picked one up, stumbled over my foot, and decided time out was the better end of the deal. He walked over and sat in his time out chair without me even reminding him of it.

So I put a few more peas on his plate. Same thing happened. "No! No! No!". I walked over, looked at the mess and this time Caleb immediately walked over to his time out chair and sat down without me saying a word. He is quite smart. Let's see, "dump my peas out because there is no way my germaphobe mom is gonna make me eat them off the floor, and immediately go to time out so I don't even have to clean the mess up." Little stinker already has me figured out. I keep telling myself...I AM SMARTER THAN A TWO YEAR OLD....I AM SMARTER THAN A TWO YEAR OLD.

Vroom! Vroom!

Caleb really just started playing with cars recently. I'm not sure where he learned to say "vroom...vroom" as he pushes them along, but it just made me realize how fast he is growing up. The other day I looked at him and he was pushing his little car along the bathtub and he looked like a little boy....not a baby, not a toddler...but he just looked so big to me all of a sudden. Who gave him permission to do that???

We went to Andrew's birthday party tonight at Incredible Pizza and he had such a great time riding in the little cars and on the carosel. Olivia rode with him in the car and they looked so precious. I'll post pictures or video later. It was hard to get him to eat once he saw all the pretty lights on the other side of the building. When kept having to run, and I do mean run, after him to bring him back to the eating area. He would dart toward the lights shouting Go! Go! Go!. That little stinker is fast! When he was finally allowed to actually go in there, he was so excited.

Caleb naps in the late afternoon so I had to wake him to get him ready for the party. I guess he isn't used to seeing me with my hair fixed and makeup on because when I went to get him up, he looked at me and said "Mama, you ra-ree (ready)?". Oh, he is so funny.

Knocks, Mama!

This is what Caleb says when he wants to knock his fist against mine. He is so serious when he does it too. It's random times that he comes to me, offering his fist and says "knocks, mama...knocks". I was running the other day, pushing him in the jogging stroller, and he turned around to knock my fists about 10 times. It was so cute but not necessarily good timing for me. I'm huffing and puffing up the hill, wondering why I torture myself and how I got blessed with the genes that mandate regular exercise and my little cutie pie turns around and requests I knock his knuckles...again and again. I'm tired just typing about it.

Night night

Just suffering from a little Nannie/Pawpaw and Granny/Grandaddy withdrawals today. Someone thinks Mama needs to spend every minute of the day with him.

Every night before Caleb goes to sleep he says "Cookies?". He is asking if Cookie Monster has gone night-night. I respond "Yes, cookie monster has gone night-night." Then he asks Groggers? Again, "Yes, grover has gone night-night". Then it's Babby (Abby). Elmo. Big Bird. Scoscar. Nernie. Bert. Sazzie. Da-did. (The last two are Sally and David, our next door neighbors.) Nannie. Pawpaw. Granny. Grandaddy. Some other names I can't figure out so I just say "they have gone night night too". After our trip home, he has added more. Me-ma-me (Melanie)? Baby (Addison)? Adam...Shh (Michelle)...then come more names I can't quite make out. Yes, they've all gone night-night. He also prays like this. He starts off praying for all the Sesame Street characters. Then proceeds to everyone he knows and moves back to the Sesame Street characters again. He really loves them.

Nannie and Pawpaw

After Granny and Grandaddy's house, we went to visit Nannie and Pawpaw. Caleb stayed up late putting on a show for his Nannie and Pawpaw and once bedtime came around, he was too exhausted to fall asleep. Yikes, that's never good. It started with him being so excited to be in bed with mom and dad, jumping and turning flips. Then he accidently knocked his head on the footboard and it was all downhill from there. I hugged and rocked him and he settled down but as soon as I tried to put him down, he threw a huge fit. He was only happy if he was laying on top of me. That would have been fine if he would eventually fall asleep good enough for me to transfer him either to the crib or in between Jason and I. Everytime I tried the transfer, he would wake up and throw the biggest fit. Now, I sure can't fall asleep like that so I kept trying to move him when I felt like he was "good and asleep". I think it was around 2 or 3 that I was finally able to lay him down and fall asleep myself.

We went to visit Aunt Tracy and Uncle Jeff at Tracy's store and Caleb got to play a little with his cousins. Then we went back to Nannie and Pawpaw's house where we inflated a swimming pool for Caleb to play in. Nannie babysat while Jason and I did a little shopping. I believe he spent most of his time in the pool. There was no time for nap time with all the fun they were having, so Caleb fell asleep while I was hugging on him when we returned. Aunt Chelle and Uncle Troy and their girls came over and we had a big family dinner. Caleb loved all of the attention from the girls and even had time to get back in the pool a little while. It was so much fun getting everyone together for a family dinner. I sure miss that!! We had such a great time talking and laughing. I wished we could do it more often.

We decided to go ahead and come home Saturday night because I was supposed to work Sunday evening and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to get any sleep away from home. So we packed up and left really late and got home around 2 am. Caleb slept pretty much the whole way except the last 15 minutes or so. He didn't give us any trouble getting to bed once we got home.

Yeah, then on Sunday I got cancelled because the hospital census was low and they had too many nurses. Aargh!

Visiting Granny and Grandaddy

We made a trip to Granny and Grandaddy's house this weekend. On the way there, we told Caleb he was going to see Granny and Grandaddy. He replied "and Me-ma-mee?" (Melanie). Yes, he is a genious. He was excited to see everyone and was especially excited to see the "ba-bee" or "Sa-su-sin" (Addison). He didn't even seem upset when his mama or daddy was holding Addison and even gave her some hugs and kisses. Oh, my goodness, has that little cutie pie grown!! She is so cute! She has the sweetest little smile and most precious little laugh. And she was a trooper to put up with Caleb!

Our bedtime routine normally consists of reading a book, a little rocking, and then to bed. Sometimes he falls asleep with the rocking and I'm able to put him to bed without him waking up and sometimes he wakes up and throws a fit before laying down and going to sleep. Either way, he usually goes to sleep after a few minutes and bedtime is really no big deal. Until we travel.....then he acts like he has never slept on his own. He did fine the first night. No problems. Of course, it was super late and he only napped about 45 minutes on the car ride to Big Rock so he was really tired. However, the next day at naptime was different. I followed routine and when it came time to put him down, he cried and reached for me. Nothing new. I kissed him, told him night-night, turned around and headed for the door. In a split second, I turned around again and he was on the floor lying on his back. I didn't even hear a thump. I was shocked. I guess he leaned over the rail and fell out because he couldn't have climbed that quick. I felt so bad and sick about it at the same time but after I came to my senses I could tell he was fine so I put him in the bed with me and we both took a nap together.

Don't worry, Aunt Shhh, his crib rails at home are taller so he can't fall out of it and he hasn't tried to climb out of it since the last time. When he does it again, though, we will transition him to a big boy bed.

Oh, and the nap in the car would have been longer but Caleb fell asleep with his shoes on and Jason thought we should take them off so he would be comfortable. I told him Caleb was fine but he insisted that Caleb would be more comfortable with them off. So I took them off and of course Caleb woke up before I could even get the first one off. I guess he was afraid we would take his shoes again if he fell back asleep because even though it was nap time, he wouldn't fall back asleep. That made for an interesting trip. He finally fell asleep again a couple of hours later.

Poot! Giggle.

While I was rocking Caleb to sleep, he said "bop, mama." (Bop is his word for poop.) I could smell something so I checked his diaper. He was clean and dry so I told him "no, you didn't poop, you just pooted". Caleb: Giggle. Me: Do you think it's funny to say poot? Caleb: Giggle harder. Me: Poot Caleb: More loud giggles. Me: Poot Poot Poot. Caleb: Laughs as though that's the funnist thing he has ever heard. Me: How do you know it's even funny to say Poot? Caleb: Giggle.

I guess it's just supposed to be funny.

I just bought a $300.00 pair of shoes

It's not what you think. And it's not even the whole shoe. It's just the sole of the shoe....going by the fancy name of "orthotics". How crazy is that? I went to the podiatrist yesterday because my feet hurt all of the time. The doctor asked me if I was a runner. I'd like to think he thought that because I have a lean body and a flat stomach. Umm, no....not quite...ok, not even close really. I'm pretty sure the calluses and blisters on my feet are what gave it away. Oh, well.

I remember my grandmother getting shoes from the podiatrist and she was so bummed to have to wear such ugly shoes. I've never been a shoe person and rarely ever wear anything but tennis shoes and maybe an occasional sandal. Rarely a high heel. Those things are just dangerous and my foot wasn't made for them....not to mention my coordination (or lack of it). I didn't quite get why my Mama Jean was so sad about the shoes. I mean, they fit, didn't they? And they were more comfortable than the other shoes she had been trying to wear. But as I passed by that shoe tree filled with the same type shoes (you'd think they could make something a little more fashionable by now, huh?), I got it. I don't want to wear those either. And so I paid for my $300.00 orthotics.

Finding time to update

So the whole schedule thing is working out pretty good. I've managed to keep the house clean and I've been working out and running pretty consistently. I just can't seem to get the blog updated as much as I would like. I guess it's easier to surf the internet then log on and update. Plus I constantly get interrupted with "Push! Push! Bee Bee!" or "Elp! Elp!" or "No No No!!" or "Get down from there, Caleb!". The first refers to Caleb wanting me to turn on the music and listen to "The B-I-B-L-E" for a million times. The second is him asking for help with something...usually his oven door that he can't open because I need to replace the knob (I should put that on my schedule). As soon as I open it, he closes it and says "elp elp". Ahhhh. The third is how I know to stop what I'm doing and see what's going on.....Caleb is saying no no no. I love that he tattles on himself. And the fourth is what I usually say following the "no no no". And yes, all four phrases have been used since the start of this update. And we are listening to The B-I-B-L-E for the fourth time now.

Help navigating through the blog

If you just want to watch videos or look at pictures, look on the right side of the page and click on "pictures" or "video" under the labels section.

If you don't have sound on the youtube videos, there is a button at the bottom right to turn it up. You can't miss the Dancing with Daddy video.

Also, there is a poll on the right side of the page. I thought it would be fun.

Dancing with Daddy

I love it when they dance :) Caleb's getting some of his molars in so he has been a little grumpy the last couple of days. It's nice to see him dancing and giggling with daddy.

Messy room

We got this toy bin from Target a few months ago and it is so great for quick clean up. See how neatly I have the toys arranged....balls all in one bin, ducks in another, cars in their own place, etc. etc.



And this is what is looks like as soon as Caleb realizes what a fantastic job I have done.... (push the button on the bottom left to play the video).




Seriously, he demolishes it in seconds. I try to sneak in to put his toys up before bedtime. Jason laughs at me and tells Caleb that I am demonstrating an "exercise in futility". That's the puppet stage he is throwing the toys over.

Kissing ouchies, Sesame Street, "Help!"

I taught Caleb a while back to say "help" when he needed something instead of crying and whining. I taught him this a couple of months ago and I was totally surprised that he understood what I told him. Ever since then, when he is having trouble with something he comes and get me, says help, and leads me to the problem. It's usually a toy that is stuck, something he can't get opened, a broken toy, or something that is too heavy or bulky for him to drag into the living room (because, you know, he can't just play in his room, he has to bring all toys in the living room). He fell the other day and hit his head and started crying. As I was hugging him and kissing his boo boo, he said "help". Ahh, I felt so bad.

I also love that my kisses actually make his boo boos go away. It's amazing how fast a kiss can't ease his pain. I just love it. I love that he can tell me what's hurting and show me what he is having difficulty with. It's just so cool. I don't know how many times he comes to me a day with an ouchie, shows me the ouchie for a kiss, and then he is absolutely fine. It's so cool to have that kind of power. Wonder if that would work for my patients at the hospital. Just kidding. Not gonna happen.

He is loving Sesame Street....Goggers (Grover), Nernie (Ernie), Elmo, Scoscr (Oscar), Baby also sometimes Abby (Abby, definitely NOT baby bear), Cookies (Cookie Monster), and I'm sure he knows more names and I'm just not catching on. Nernie is slowly catching up to Goggers in Elmo in popularity. I bought Caleb a puppet show stage from a yard sale and it came with a Ernie puppet. I did a little Ernie puppet show and Caleb came up to him, kissed him and tried to hand him a ball. Caleb did not understand why Ernie wouldn't take the ball. It was too cute. We are taking him to Sesame Street Live in a few weeks and I can't wait!!

My Nike Ipod

I'm still running. I finally ran a 5K under 22 minutes!!! Well, sort of. I paused the sensor a couple of times to stop, walk, and catch my breath. I'll eventually get there! Usually these times are with me pushing Caleb in the stroller, but the faster times are on the treadmill....no hills and I have to run fast otherwise I'll fall flat on my face. Hopefully, I'll be able to run a 5K under 22 in a race someday.

Putting me on a schedule

So I have a new system. It's worked for 6 days but it's easy to get behind. It's a system to keep me organized. I've planned the days I'll grocery shop, clean, pay bills, update this blog, even download pictures. So far I'm on schedule. The only glitch is when I work I don't feel like doing anything but vegging on the couch the next day. That's understandable, though, right? I mean I get 1-2 hours of sleep in a 32 hour period when I work so I'm not gonna give myself a hard time for slacking off on those days. That's why I've initiated a "catch up" day. Yeah, I know, we'll see how long this last. My goal is to update the blog at least on Fridays. I'm sure I'll hear from my mom if I don't. She still tries to keep me in line. This actually depends hugely on how long nap time goes for. My time today is almost up. Oh no. I still have several other things to do on my list.

Caleb and I went to the gym this morning. He loves going to play with other kids and is so excited to get inside. He is equally excited when I come to pick him up, too. He tells all the workers "Bye!" while waving to them. And he makes sure they all hear him tell them bye. He is too cute. He saw three young guys walking and said "Hi" and waved his little hand at them. They didn't acknowledge him. So he kept on "Hi! Hi!". They never said Hi back. It made me sad for him because he doesn't understand someone not speaking back to him. It made me mad that they would be so rude. I heard one of them say after we passed them "that little boy was saying hi to you and you didn't tell him hi!". Well, yes, that was very rude, but he could have spoken to him, too. I was very irritated with those guys. I wanted to tell them "hey, he is talking to you!!!" but I let it go. Next time I think I'm gonna grab their ear and pull their face down to my son's level and make them speak. Just kidding.

Visit from The Leggs, Caleb crawl out of crib, Poll

We had another busy, fun-filled weekend. Our good friends Heather and Jeremy and their little boy, Jayden, came to visit. Jayden is just a couple of months younger than Caleb. Oh, they were so cute playing together. Heather and I got out and left the boys with the dads and got a pedicure and massage and did a little shopping. It was so fun getting to hang out with them and having a girls day with Heather! We have some pretty awesome footage of Heather and Jeremy playing the Wii that we will post on youtube later pending whether they send the required ransom money or not.

Oh, yeah, Caleb climbed out of the crib Thursday. He had been to mothers day out and I'm not really sure that he really naps there. Jason tried putting him down for a nap when he got home. I think Jason rocked Caleb a little and put him in his crib. Caleb wasn't asleep and didn't want to be there so he started screaming. Jason figured he would let him cry it out and he would be so tired, he would eventually lay down and go to sleep. Jason turned on the baby monitor and got in the shower while I was getting my makeup on. I heard Caleb screaming and crying. Then he would stop. Then start again. This went on for a good 15 minutes. Then he stopped. "Good," I thought "he is finally asleep". All of a sudden I heard "Hi Mama!". I thought, wow that sounds really clear on the monit....whoa! I didn't get the thought completed before I turned around and saw him. I about jumped out of my skin because I sure wasn't expecting him to be in there with us! I told Jason it was time for a big boy bed. Jason is in denial, though. He said "we still have a least another year, don't we??". I don't know. He isn't a baby anymore :(. I've gotten advice from different folks that say to wait until he does it again and then for sure, it's time. Ooooh, sounds like a good poll question to me. I think I'll take a poll. I've been wanting to try it out.

More praying

My yard sale deal

I love yard sales!! I was going to go run in a race that my friend Jennifer told me about. She was going to cheer me on since the race went past her house. Courtney was going to get up and go cheer me on as well. So I got up, got ready and went to wake Courtney up....at 6:00 am. Yeah, didn't happen. Sleeping beauty wouldn't budge. But I didn't want to let Jennifer down so I went by myself. I didn't get out of my subdivision before I spotted two yard sales. I had time since I didn't have to wait for sleeping beauty to get ready so I stopped. I called Jennifer to tell her about an awesome deal of a play pink kitchen set for $15 that needed a little work. There was a washer/dryer combo, stove, and kitchen sink. I was really looking for one for Caleb but, of course, he can't have a pink one! She reminded me I could paint it...duh! Then she broke the news that she wasn't getting out of the bed for the race either. So I bought the kitchen set intending on giving it to Jennifer's daughter but talked myself into painting it for Caleb instead. Sorry, Jenn. Then I skipped the race and went to more yard sales.

Anyway after I spray painted it, I saw on the bottom that it was Pottery Barn Kids. Then I looked it up on the internet....$250.00 for each piece. So I got a deal, huh. I was so pumped!! $750.00 worth for $15.00. Can't beat that, and look how cool it turned out!! And Caleb LOVES it!

Redbirds game....best day ever!

Sometimes I look at Caleb and ask him "when did you get so big?". Last night at the Redbirds game, I took him to the playground. He climbed up the stairs all by himself, dodged the older kids running past him and slid down the slide. I ran back and forth between the stairs and slide making sure he didn't fall. As he walked up the stairs, he would stop on the 3rd or 4th step, look at me through the rails and say "Hi Mama!" and then he would reach for me to get a hug and kiss before he got up to the slide....every time. It was one of the sweetest, most precious moments that I knew I needed to soak it all in. I know there will be a day that he won't need me to make sure he makes it safely up the stairs and pausing to tell me Hi will be the last thing on his mind. I know there will be a time when hugging or kissing me in public will be totally unacceptable so for right now I'm gonna enjoy every minute of it. And so I let him go up the stairs and down the slide as long as he wanted to. The Redbirds stadium has an area called "the bluff" where you can bring a blanket and sit on the grass to watch the game. This was such an awesome idea! We didn't have to worry about Caleb sitting still and bothering people behind us, although he did stop to say Hi to everyone we passed. Then proceeded to show people where their eyes, nose and mouths were. He is definitely not a shy boy! I loved that he could run around, throw a ball and occasionally glance over at the game. I didn't think to bring a ball but leave it to Caleb to find one. He picked one up, I told him no it wasn't his, and the people around the ball told us to take it because someone else had left it behind. Whew, thank goodness because I'm sure that would have caused a breakdown had I took a ball away from him! I took Caleb and the ball to our blanket to try to get Caleb to stay in one area and throw the ball. Well, of course, he had to throw the ball to everyone around us. He made some friends with a group of teenagers who were sitting in front of us. He talked and talked to them, gave them high fives, and loved playing catch with them. One of the guys disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a plastic Redbirds bat and ball for Caleb. Isn't that the sweetest thing??? I thought I was gonna cry just because it was so nice and thoughtful of him to get my child, someone he doesn't even know, a toy. And let me tell you, Caleb LOVED it. I don't think I really watched any of the game, but I had such a wonderful time! It is so fun watching Caleb play with other people! I feel so proud of him I could burst sometimes! I'm pretty sure this ranks as one of the most fun days so far in Caleb's life to him and to me!

Courtney and Makayla

Wow what a busy week we have had! Courtney and Makayla came to visit for a little over a week and we stayed busy pretty much the whole time. We went to the zoo twice, Mud Island, swimming at Jennifer's house several times, paint a piece pottery, the sprinkler park, a Redbirds game, and the Farmer's Market. We also had a water gun fight while Caleb napped which was totally unfair since Courtney and Makayla teamed up and tried to soak me. I tried the "divide and conquer" strategy telling each one that the other told me to soak them, but after a while they didn't care and they went after me instead. We also played Guesstures and as much as I would like to brag that me and Makayla stomped our competition, I have to give credit to Courtney and Jason. They did win the first game by several points. But as I explained to them, really Makayla and I are the best team since we won the second game. I mean, you look at the most recent game to pick who is best, right?

Caleb had a blast with "KK" and "Corky". Part of the time he called both of them KK but when he really concentrated, he would say Corky. The first thing out of his mouth every morning was their names. Yeah, so much for "Mama". Caleb really enjoyed the water misters at the zoo. He stood under them saying "wawa wawa". Oh, he is so cute! I thought for sure he would enjoy the sprinkler park, but he was a little scared of it. I guess partly he was just tired from such a busy week. He did find a pink ball while we were trying to have a picnic. Of course, he wouldn't sit still long enough to eat because he wanted the ball so bad. I have a problem getting him to eat when we are outside. He doesn't understand the concept of a "picnic". Outside = play to him. Anyway, back to the sprinkler part of the day. Caleb liked the water when the pressure was really low and the water was below him, but once it shot up in the air, he was done with that one and started looking for another one. I'll post pictures later after I get caught up on my journaling.

Greased pig

Putting sunscreen on a toddler is like trying to capture a greased pig. I'm waiting the 15 minutes before going in the sun after applying the sunscreen. Of course, if you count when I first started applying it, we could have left here 15 minutes ago....but then again, his little legs and butt crack would have been sunburned. His shorts usually start drifting down when he gets wet so I make sure to apply sunscreen on his bootie, too. He will appreciate that later. Today was mothers day out. It starts at 9:00. I woke up at 9:00. How is it that on my free day, everyone's gonna sleep in? Even Jason slept late. They don't accept kids after 10 so I still had to take out the trash, fix Caleb's lunch, get ready, feed and dress him.....we made it right at the cutoff. He made it just in time for snacktime. I was glad, too, because he only ate 1/4 of his waffle and milk en route to the church. When I picked him up, he shouted without being prompted to his teachers "BYE BYE" matter-of-factly. He cracks me up. When we got home, he immediately said "B B B B". He wanted to sing the B-I-B-L-E song so I turned it on to his delight. He starting dancing and singing and got pretty irritated when his song ended. He told me "push push" so I would push the button and start it over. We listened to it 1200 times. He talked to nannie on the phone telling her "no no Nannie no no". I'm not sure what she did wrong. The other day he dropped the phone on his foot and started scolding Nannie. "No no Nannie no no". Apparently, Nannie made that happen even though he hadn't been talking to her right then, or even all day for that matter.

Time Out

Caleb just went to time out for spilling his milk. He does it on purpose. Evidently it's fun to turn his sippy cup upside down and pound it on the table until milk runs out. I told him to go to time out and as soon as he sat down, he started saying "sazzeee" (sorry). Then he came and gave me a kiss and said "no no gilk no no". I reminded him that it was his fault and not the milk's fault. And he said "no no gilk no no". Then he went to the sippy cup drawer, handed me another cup and said "juice?". I don't think so.

Praying at Lenny's (BUMP)

All Boy

Caleb held his fists tight and slung the contents of one of them at me. What was it he threw at me? A bettle....a live beetle. Just as I was getting over the shock of having an orange bug hurled at me, he pelted another one my way with his other hand. He had retrieved them from his car. They weren't supposed to be there so he was getting rid of them. And what better way to clean out his car than to throw them at his mama.

Outside!

Caleb is learning how to count....not necessarily in order but we are working on it. He leaves out 1, 4, and 5 when he is counting to 10. Sometimes he forgets 7, too. He is also learning the alphabet and the words to the song "The B-I-B-L-E". It's so cute!! He sings "the B-B-B-B-B".....oh well, he gets 2 out of the 5 letters right. Ha Ha. He also knows who built the ark..."No No". We usually add the "ah" for him. We have a CD that has lots of sunday school songs on it and we sing and dance to them. "Who Built the Ark" is one of our favorites and I have it very well choreographed (not really, but to a toddler it's pretty cool). I blew up his little swimming pool and he is LOVING the "wawa". He was very tentative getting in it at first but after a few minutes, he was laying in it splashing around, even putting his face in the water. It's so fun watching him learn new things. It seems like some things take forever to teach him and then other things I don't even know where he learned it. He fake snores when you tell him to go to sleep. Where did he learn that?? He is just so funny! Granny and Grandaddy came to visit this weekend. We told Caleb they were coming and we thought he was excited then so you can only imagine his excitement when they walked through the door. He met them with "Geggy!! Geggy!!". Sometimes he says their names really well, but I think when he is excited it comes out sounding more like "geggy". And sometimes it's hard to distinguish which one he is calling for. He loved playing with them and sat still for a few minutes to hear Granny read some stories to him. He couldn't hardly wait to get out of his crib in the mornings to see "Geggy!". He looked everywhere for them Monday morning and after his afternoon nap. I had to take him in the spare room and bathroom to prove to him that they weren't here. We are about to go outside. I've already slathered him up with sunscreen and the 15 minutes you are supposed to wait is up. He loves going outside and if you call he will tell you Outside! Car! Sweee (swing)! and now WaWa! That's what he does outside and he will tell you all about it. Ok, gotta go now. Someone's ready for some attention.

My Nike Ipod

Yesterday we met up with some women from Bartlett Baptist Church to pray in the park. Caleb had a lot of fun running around the park, chasing the squirrels and swinging. He thought the little boy throwing a coke can at a little girl was pretty funny. He laughed so hard and wanted in on the fun so he picked up some of the mulch and started throwing it too. I had to explain to him that wasn't nice and to time out he went. I was pretty excited when my well trained child sat nicely down on the side of the playground for his time out punishment without making a scene when I looked down and saw that he was sitting right beside the mulch, picking it up and still throwing it. Argh!!!

The women got in a big circle, held hands and prayed for our families and ourselves to raise these little monsters, ummm, I mean precious gifts from God. The women with small children kept their eyes open. Ommmmm, I'm telling! Good thing, too, because a couple of us (including myself) had to run after the little munchkins as they darted out to the road. They didn't know we were praying with our eyes open.

I thought Caleb would love the prayer in the park given that he loves to hold our hands and pray. He did hold onto a hand and "prayed" but it went a little long for him. He shouted "Amen" in the middle of the prayer and I had to whisper to him that we weren't quite done.

After the park, I bravely drove us to Costco and managed to keep Caleb in the cart thanks to some goldfish crackers, dried strawberries, pizza, and fruit snack samples. He was getting really squirmy and tired of shopping at the end but I managed to keep him from throwing a tantrum and breathed a sigh of relief once we made it to the car. Then I realized the brownie mix I had bought was opened and I had to return it. You see where this is going, right? Tired, hot child strapped in a grocery cart. Uh-huh. Last thing I wanted to do was go back in the store. I got in the store, explained the situation and ran the cart back to the brownie mix to get an unopened one all the while promising Caleb he could push the buttons for the jeep, garage door, microwave and any other button he wanted to push so long as he didn't start thrashing in the cart. It worked, he stayed fairly calm, and we left the store. I proudly walked to my beeping, lights flashing jeep with my semi-calm child. Yep, he found the panic button.

He stayed awake all the way home and at one point in the trip excitedly yelled out "GRGREE". I think he was in a very drowsy state and thought mom had driven us all the way to Granny's house. That's twice he has done that. I think there is one spot in our route to and from the stores that reminds him of Big Rock. Anyway, we got stopped by the train which I was very excited to show him. Whatever happened to the "caboose". You never see those anymore. It's quite frustrating to me. Caleb made it all the way to the entrance of our subdivision before falling asleep. He woke up as soon as I put him in his crib. And that was the extent of his nap for the day. So so sad for me. I need a nap. I mean, I need him to nap.

Isn't he a cutie??

Dear God, please get me out of time out.

Caleb started to bite me the other day. It made me so mad and I started saying "Caleb, you DO NOT bite Mama or I'll...." when Caleb put his hands together, bowed his head, started jibbering and finished with "Amen". Yeah, I wasn't so mad anymore. It was hard to keep a straight face. The boy knows when to pray. Now when he gets sent to timeout, he starts praying. Yesterday he wanted to pray with me and I asked who we were going to pray for. He said Daddy, Shh (that's what he calls Michelle) and so we did.

At night we put socks on his feet and they seem to fascinate him when he wakes up. They are usually off by morning and he is playing with them. If they aren't in his hands when we take him out of the crib, he will search for them. He says socks, socks, socks and shoes.

Sunny days, everything's A Ok

I've been trying to teach Caleb his colors, shapes, letters, etc. So far he can point out and tell you the sounds the letter M, H, and sometimes P make (most of the time). It seems to take weeks to teach him one letter. As for colors and shapes, well, sometimes he can point out a square or circle. He has the star down pat. Colors, no. I can't tell you how long I've been trying to get the boy to tell the difference between blue, yellow, red and green. He just started watching Sesame Street the last 2 weeks and can already tell me 5 of the different characters. Cookie! Grover! Elmo! Oscar! Ernie (who he sometimes gets confused with Elmo)! Guess I'm gonna have to dress up in a big, furry square and dance around singing "I'm a blue, square....I'm a blue, square!!".

I don't let Caleb watch a lot of TV so that's why Sesame Street has just been introduced. The Backyardagans are a lot of fun, but not much education there. I didn't really care for Sesame Street because I can't stand Baby Bear. I still fast forward through him. I can't stand the way he talks. It gives me the creeps. I feel like he is teaching children to not use the letter "R"....even though it was the letter of the day the other day. Anyway, for some reason I started recording it and I wish I had let him watch it earlier. I had no idea he would love it so much. Oh well. I found a Sesame Street toy at a yard sale--which he absolutely loves. He dropped it on his foot and said "No No Cookie", like it was Cookie Monster's fault or something.

Why I titled this blog Go! Go! Go!

Memorial Day weekend

We visited home Memorial Day weekend. Caleb had so much fun! As we were approaching my mom's house telling him we were going to see Nannie, his little face just brightened up and he started squealing "Nannie! Nannie!!". I knew right then bedtime would be late.

My mom took him to a cookout at BeBe's house while Jason and I did some shopping. I missed him but it was nice getting out for a while without strapping a little boy in a carseat. When we went to get him from the cookout, he was playing with the other little kids there. It is so fun to see him interacting with other kids. I think he is pretty outgoing and will talk to anyone. He must get that from his dad.

Right before we left, a little girl was carrying Caleb off the front porch down a couple of stairs and fell. I was about two steps away, just far enough not to be able to save him from hitting the ground. I heard his little head hit the sidewalk and he started wailing. I picked him up as fast as I could and I've never heard him cry like that. It made me sick. I know it must have hurt and I felt so bad for him. Of course, it didn't take long until he was smiling again and giving everyone hugs and kisses. I'm still trying to recover.

Caleb seemed sad that we were leaving Nannie's house but perked up once he realized we were also going to see Granny and Grandaddy. "Gr Gr!" he exclaimed when we told him. We went to church with Granny and Grandaddy and during the middle of service Caleb started playing with Ethan (a little boy same age as Caleb). He thought Ethan was pretty funny and started laughing very loudly at him. Those two are bound to get in a lot of trouble playing together here in a few years. During the prayers, Caleb would softly say "amen" at the end. I guess he wanted everyone to hear him the last time because after the closing prayer he shouted "AMEN AMEN!!". That's our boy.

Ever since then Caleb has been bowing his head, folding his hands and jibbering something and closing with an "Amen". Sometimes he will say mama or daddy, Amen. I guess he is praying for us. I'm posting one of his prayers for you to see.

I've been taking Caleb to the playroom at the gym while I workout. The teacher told me "he has a lot of character". Hmmm. Wonder what kind of trouble he was getting into.....

Praying at Lennys

Day at the Zoo

We took a family trip to the zoo. It was a hot, hot day and right as we made our way downtown, it started raining. We stopped at Lenny's to eat lunch and our little boy was the sweetest thing EVER! Just watch the video of him praying. See, isn't' he sweet!

We learned from our last trip to Lenny's that it is really unpredictable what Caleb will eat there. So this time instead of ordering him anything, we let him start on our food. Turns out today he liked Jason's food best. Sweet for me...I don't have to share my sub! Anyway, Caleb ate so much of Jason's meatball sub that Jason wasn't going to have very much of the meatball part left. We asked if they would just sell us a couple of meatballs and you know what they said....."no, we can't sell them separately, but we can GIVE you a couple". How sweet was that?! I can't tell you how much I appreciated them. Then they offered him a free cookie, but I insisted on paying for it. We will be giving them our business again!

The rained stopped as we were making our way into the zoo and made it just muggy enough to make us feel as sticky as a wet noodle. We enjoyed the northwest passage the most because it was air conditioned. When you are that hot a little bit of air conditioning feels awesome. Caleb had a melt down when we left. At first he was fine and was talking up a storm to a little girl about his age. Once he realized it was hot, though, it was on. I wrestled that sucker while Jason was messing with the camera and telling me to come over closer to him. Are you kidding me? We finally got the alligator back in the cage....umm, I mean baby back in the stroller and headed out. That was the end of zoo day. Caleb fell asleep in the car afterwards.

These are some of my favorite pics from the zoo. The last one is Caleb in his carseat afterwards. Do you see the exhaustion?