big guy

Today, Caleb is wearing his shirt that says "big guy" on the back. And while I suppose he really isn't that big, it's amazing how much he has changed in the past couple of months. Here is a little of what he's been up to:

~He has been talking more lately. Still hasn't added a ton of "real" words to his repertoire, but he's certainly experimenting with more and more different sounds. Some words he does now say: mama, dada, baby, owl, bye-bye, ball, eyebrow, and his new favorite: apple. He can also make animal noises for lions, tigers, monkeys, cats, and dogs (his versions of them anyway).

~Reading to him is getting more and more fun. He is interacting more with his books these days. For example, he likes to count objects in books (he points to each one while we count). And he can find and point out the things that we ask him to.

~He's up to seven teeth now and is currently cutting three more!

~He likes to dance, which for him means bending and unbending his knees so that he bops up and down.

~I noticed a few weeks ago that he seems to want to interact with other kids more these days instead of just playing alongside them. This can be good or bad, depending on the particular situation. :-)

~He can be the sweetest little guy ever. The thing that really gets me lately is that he is such a good snuggler (when he wants to be, of course). He snuggles us, he snuggles his stuffed animals (or random ones he finds in stores and play areas), he even snuggles people he barely knows. And he'll rub and pat our backs while he does it. It is adorable. Haven't gotten a good snuggle on camera, but here's a pic of him with his favorite stuffed animal...


~He can also be the most difficult little guy. He's working on mastering the art of temper tantrums and is pretty good at driving his mama crazy. He particularly dislikes being put into his car seat and lets me know that just about every time. His latest method of expressing his disapproval is by throwing his hands over his mouth in utter distress. Kinda like this:


He can be instantaneously delivered from his apparent distress if you say or do the right thing or if he is otherwise distracted. One moment he's screaming the next he's smiling.

~I guess you could describe him as fairly strong-willed. He knows what he wants and tries to do whatever it takes to get it. I can sense that the next couple of years are not going to be a breeze. :-)

~He has a ton of energy and I'm always somewhat perplexed when people describe him as mellow. He's a good kid though and I think maybe that's more what they're referring to. In any case, we feel very blessed to have such a generally happy and healthy little guy. He brings us so much joy and it is lots of fun to watch him grow and develop.

month sixteen photos

our little monkey

Last year for Halloween, Caleb just wore a onesie that said "This is my Halloween costume." But this year I couldn't resist getting him a cute little animal costume...and a monkey seemed like the perfect choice. After all, he loves climbing on things and eating bananas and can even talk like a monkey (well, instead of "ooo ooo ah ah" its usually more like "uh oh", but close enough). Here are a few pics:

one of those days

A few weeks ago, Caleb and I had just returned home from buying his Halloween costume and I was trying to collect everything from the car so we could get inside and have some lunch. Caleb, not unusually, was missing a shoe. I didn't see it on the side of the car I was on so I thought I'd go around to the other side. There was a brief debate in my head over whether I should bother shutting the door to the side I was on...but without too much thought, I went ahead and shut it. Then I walked around to the other side of the car, put my hand on the door handle and pulled...only to find that the door was locked. All of the doors were locked. And the keys? Caleb (who was still inside the car) had those. So there we on the side of the road by our condo complex...Caleb locked in the car, me locked out of it.

To make matters even better, Caleb's favorite button to press on the car keys is, of course, the red one. So there I stood outside the door of the car trying to figure out what to do while listening to him press the panic button...over and over and over and over. His thumb was resting right on the unlock button so for a short while I tried telling him, "Caleb, press THAT button." But no luck there. Eventually he threw the keys...which meant the was no longer any possibility of him unlocking the doors for me. But it also meant the the car would stop its incessant honking that drew the attention of all passersby. So for that I was quite thankful.

Before too long, a locksmith arrived and let me back into my car. (Seriously, what did we do before cell phones?) Fortunately, Caleb had remained fairly happy while trapped inside the car. I kept him laughing by playing peek-a-boo with him through the car window and entertaining him with the monkey costume we'd just bought. So when the locksmith arrived, Caleb just smiled at him.

While filling out the necessary paperwork, I let Caleb play around in the front seat of the car...one of his favorite pastimes. Once the locksmith left, I grabbed Caleb out of the car so we could get him a belated lunch and nap. Well he didn't like that. Nope, he wanted to stay and play in the car. So instead of being glad to get out of the car, he started throwing a little fit. Meanwhile, a firetruck pulled up. The firefighter asked me if Caleb was the one who had been locked in the car and if everything and everyone was okay. A little embarrassed, I replied, "Yes...he was fine until I took him OUT of the car." Sigh. Little stinker. But all's well that ends well, right?

Oh, and Caleb's missing shoe? Laying on the ground outside of the car all along.