July 2012

What's in a name? Now that Caleb is officially 2 years old, I began wondering how to title these monthly updates. Would I just keep counting months and eventually be writing the post Caleb: 72 Months Old? What if, by God's grace, we have more children? Would I then be writing blogs entitled Caleb and Child X: 72 and 31 Months Old? So, I decided that this month, I'd switch to writing a monthly update about our entire family, titled with the month and year.

This is the same system I used to update the family back in the Pre-Caleb Days. Times have changed however, and we know who the real celebrity of this blog is. So fear not, despite the name change, we will keep the details of our boring adult lives to a minimum : ) So, without further ado, here is the scoop on what life is like as a 2.1 year old...

Just after Caleb's 2nd birthday, my college room mate Corali came up for a visit.Caleb loved having a new reading buddy and showing her around Gettysburg. I loved getting to "talk teacher" and catch each other up on all the news in our lives.

Lunch at Dobbin House (circa 1776) in Gettysburg

Caleb is loving his new pal

A bubble pops on his nose

Caleb's speech continues to develop at it's "slowly but surely" pace. This month he added the words "dip" (aka ketchup!) and "gun" (as in a water gun) to his vocabulary. Of all the 40 words child decides to pick up easily, one of them is "gun". He is such a boy!

This month he also picked up the word and concept of "both". He loves to inform David and I that we are both brushing our teeth or both using a fork. Best of all is when Caleb and Daddy are both doing the same thing : ) His face lights up like the sun as he shows how he can vacuum or sweep just like daddy.

 Another popular word this month was "hide". We've had lots of storms and Caleb calls thunder "hide" since he can't see the source of the sound. This led to what I think is the coolest story (and new word) of the month:

One night, we were putting Caleb to bed during a bad thunderstorm. He's not afraid of lighting per say, but he does need to talk about it...alot. He says, "hide!?" "hide!?" and "BIG!"as he points to the window. We nod and reassure him that this is all normal.

This particular evening, he was talking to us about the thunder and I was reminding him that God controls the thunder and lightning and that God loves him very much. Then, David prayed over him as he does each night. He finished his prayer by saying, "In Jesus name, Amen. Caleb then looked up and said "Je-Juh!" with so much joy. It was beautiful to hear those little lips say that name for the first time.

 I should have probably put that story at the end, because everything else pales in comparison! Here are some more mini-highlights from our month:

Caleb knows the difference between "big" and "little". During play-doh time he had a blast putting big and little "eggs" in the "nest".

He's learned that Target gives out a sticker to tots in the checkout line and points to his chest to remind me each visit. He also says a great "thank you" that makes mama so proud :  )

At the end of Moo, Baa, Lalala the author asks, What does baby say? Caleb now answers, "No!" Yup, that about sums it up : )

We made a special trip to the  library because Caleb asked for the same book (Blue Hat, Green Hat) 3 days in a row by pointing to it's picture and exclaiming "BryBry". How can I refuse that kind of request?

Caleb "read" his first page from a story this month from Blue Hat, Green Hat. On the page with the shoes, he said "Two, two, two, OOP!" Adorable!

Mr. Big Boy had two major "growing up" milestones. He got his first trim and ate his first PBJ.

Hair before. I trimmed a little off the back earlier in the month, but the top and sides had never been cut!

Caleb is helping out, of course.

Hair after. Still plenty of curls, but short enough to stay out of his face.

What was left of his first PBJ. He ate the entire jelly side : )

As most of you saw on facebook, this month was also the first time Caleb crawled out of his crib. In case you missed it, here is the verbatim status update I posted 10 minutes afterwards

Well, it finally happened. Caleb released himself from crib-captivity after nap. I always imagined it would happen with a loud thud, followed by tears and a gentle, but firm reminder not to climb from myself or David. Instead, it was silent, my only warning was the click of a door knob turning seconds before Caleb flew into the room and wrapped himself around my legs, joyously, apparently unaware anything unusual had taken place.

Two year olds are learning machines! While it certainly has it's challenges, I find the teacher inside of me coming alive as Caleb begins to remember and assimilate more and more information each day. I'm amazed at all the mini-lessons that fit into one brief morning.

After breakfast, Caleb might work on his gross motor skills in the sandbox as he scoops and dumps dirt. He'll hone fine motor skills while coloring or in his play kitchen as he "cuts" food. Later he'll practice identifying his new favorite number (TWO!) as we read a book (two shoes! two cats! two, two, two!),  and receive a brief road safety lesson as we walk to the mail box. It's incredible how much he soaks up each day.

Why yes, that is yogurt he is finger painting with. Notice the lovely wall decoration as well? : )

He's also sharpening his skills in the "entertaining his parents" category : )

I know I tend to sum up all these monthly updates by saying how blessed I feel, but it's true! I don't think I will ever cease being thankful for each day we're given with him and the joy we have in being his parents.

Oh...and since I said these were going to become family updates from now on...I guess I should mention I turned 26 this month : ) My boys made sure I had a special day, starting with Caleb (and thus me!) sleeping in and David cooking me breakfast. Thanks guys!!!

Caleb helping me ready my card.

Clearly enjoying mommy's birthday breakfast!