From Gramps

Cale received another birthday present this week!  Gramps sent Cale a birthday present when he mailed Claire and Cale’s Christmas presents.

Thanks, Gramps!  Cale LOVES his tractor!

Two-Year Checkup

Cale had his two-year checkup on Friday.  He is 2 ft 11.75” tall (83rd percentile).  He weighs in at 31 lbs 2 oz (also the 83rd percentile).  According to his doc, he is “perfect!”

I had to complete a developmental checklist for him while we were at the doctor’s office so that they could make sure that he’s progressing on-schedule.  I had to start with tasks that he should have been able to do six months ago and then circle everything he can do going forward.  According to their list, he can do everything a one-year-old should be able to do, everything a two-year-old should be able to do, everything a three-year-old should be able to do and all but two of the things a four-year-old should be able to do.  Those two things – he can’t hop on one foot, and he can’t cut with scissors.  It’s quite possible that he can actually cut with scissors, but I haven’t yet let him try.

Cale’s funny for the week:  As I’ve mentioned before, Cale likes to use the fewest number of syllables to get anything said.  (I’m not sure if this is because he was born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma thus far or if it’s just because he’s naturally super-efficient.)  A couple of nights ago, I was making dinner, and the kids were playing downstairs.  Cale came up and yelled, “Mom!  I want more crack!”  My shocked and confused reply was, “You want what?!”  “Crack!  More crack!”  Again, in utter disbelief, “You want more crack?!”  “Yes!  Crack!  More crack, Mom!  PLEEEEASE!”  It took me a minute, but I finally clued in.  “You want more crackers?”  “Yes, more crackers.  More crack, Mom!”  My oh my!  This boy keeps me guessing and keeps me giggling!

This picture was taken this morning before church.  My kids are so cute and so silly!

Cale is wearing size 3T clothing.  He has officially outgrown most size 2T.  He wears a size 8/9 shoe.

Cale definitely has preferences for things.  He has opinions about almost everything and is not shy in expressing them.

He LOVES dinosaurs.  He calls them “roars!” and always follows up with a growling demonstration.

He talks a lot – a whole lot.  We understand most of what he says.  He is very polite and mannerly.  He is helpful and kind.  He’s very funny and loves to make everyone laugh.  He loves to sing and loves to pray.

If you try to give him a food that he did not request, even if it’s something he loves, he will loudly exclaim, “Gross!” or “Yucky!”

He loves “choo-choo trains” and cars and airplanes.

He is definitely all-boy.  He loves to wrestle and get dirty.  He loves to jump on the trampoline and has learned to jump really high.

He loves to play hide-and-go-seek, and he finds some great hiding spots.  But he almost always will jump out and yell “boo” without really giving you the chance to find him.  He does a pretty good job of seeking too.

He’s scared of loud noises, especially the hand dryers in public bathrooms and the stuffing and bathing stations at Build-A-Bear.

He loves vacuum cleaners and always wants to help clean.  He calls them “vacs,” i.e. “There’s a vac!” and “I want a vac!”

He loves to read and to be read to.  He has a few favorites – “Santa Claus” and “Airplanes.”

He loves to play games.  He has started playing “I Spy.”  He always says, “I spy yellow!”  You can guess several things, and he always says “no.”  After several guesses, he’ll finally say, “OK.”  Then he suggests that someone else have a turn.

He loves talking on the phone.  He asks several times a day if he can call Daddy or MiMi or PopPop.  He may or may not have anything to say if we actually do call, but he likes the idea of talking to people on the phone.

He LOVES to get mail!  He gets so excited when the mail is delivered everyday, although he rarely gets anything.  I’ve started giving him our junk mail.  Our house has an old mail chute near the door that has been boarded up from the outside.  Cale uses this as his own personal “hidey-hole.”  We’ve found various things in there from stickers to cars to pieces of paper that he called “mail.”

His favorite mode of transportation is galloping.  He climbs on everything.  The world is his playground.

Cale brings so much joy to our lives.  He is fun and exciting.  He is silly.

We are so blessed that he is ours!

Twins

We had a very busy weekend, so I am just now getting around to posting the last of Cale’s presents.  On Saturday Cale got some new items for Charlie – a Minnesota Twins t-shirt, a baseball cap, glove and bat.

This moment of anticipation as he looks into the bag…

Trying on Charlie’s hat

Dressing Charlie

Cale’s birthday month was SO much fun this year!  He loved getting presents and was so excited about every celebration!  Happy Birthday, Baby Boy!  You are loved beyond words!

Cale’s two-year checkup is scheduled for this Friday.  I’ll have his height, weight, etc. then.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Cale!

The last two years have been so much fun because Cale has been a part of them!  What a ride!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Handsome!  We love you!!

“You’ve Got Mail”

When Cale opened his present this morning, he yelled, “Mail!  Mail!  I got mail!”  He actually received a puppy along with cards from his sister and his daddy and mommy.  Cale has named this darling, “Puppy.”

Cale figured out very quickly how to push the button inside of Puppy’s mouth to get him to growl.

We spent the day as a family.  We, of course, did a little Black Friday shopping and found some fabulous bargains.  For lunch we took the kids to “Cheeseburger King” (what they call BK) to play on the playground.  We ate more of Cale’s favorite foods today and played with him and kissed him and sang to him and loved on him all day long.  He is such a joy!

Happy Birthday, Little Mister!

And Happy “Big Sister” Anniversary to Sweets!  Two years ago today she became the world’s best big sister!

I have the best kids in the world!  I am one blessed mama!  Thank you, God, for giving me the best of everything!

“Raff”, Etc.

On Thursday Cale got “Raff.”

As part of Black Friday, Toys R Us had a half-price sale on their train tables.  Cale LOVES train tables.  He plays with them every time we go into a toy store or book store or any store that may have one set up.  So I knew just what he would want to spend his birthday money on when the Black Friday ads came out.

Being an experienced Black Friday shopper, I knew that Toys R Us would have a line around the building an hour or two before the doors opened on Thursday evening.  I really wanted the train table and another little something that I’ve been eyeing for Claire was also half-price!  So I loaded up my family and set out for Toys R Us on Wednesday night to scout out the location of the two items we wanted and to lay out our game plan since Steve is new to this whole Black Friday thing.  Turns out that Cale’s train table was already marked down for Rewards members (which I am one!), so we went ahead and got it.  And we were able to get Claire’s wonderful birthday surprise (an Easy Bake Oven – for just $25!!!  They’re usually $45 - $65).  SO much fun and no waiting in line in the cold on Thursday!  So on Thursday morning, while we were watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Steve put the train table together for the kids; and I combed through more Black Friday ads.  What a perfect morning!

For those of you who gave Cale money or gift cards for his birthday, thank you!  He is one happy boy (and his sister is pretty happy too!)!!

“Bob!”

We love Veggie Tales around here, especially Bob!  On Wednesday we got our newest, latest and greatest…

Rawr Too!

When I asked Cale what his present’s name was, he said, “Rawr!”  I reminded him that he already has a Rawr.  He says, “This is Rawr, too.”  I’m not sure if he meant Rawr 2 or Rawr too; but either way, this is also Rawr.

 

Rawr bites!

Kermit!

Today Cale received a new Muppets DVD – Kermit’s Swamp Years.

“This is fun!”

On Sunday Cale got a shaving set.  He was so excited!

He took it right to Daddy and asked for help.

So into the tub he went.  And under Daddy’s careful guidance…

I ended up with a closely-shaven boy, all ready for church!

When he got out of the tub, he chased me down and yelled, “Mommy!  That was fun!!”

I LOVE these pictures!  How adorable is my little boy?!

Birthday Celebration

Since Cale’s birthday falls on Black Friday this year, we decided to celebrate a week early.  Claire and I made Cale’s birthday cake Friday night.  On Saturday morning, Daddy made biscuits and gravy, sausage and scrambled eggs for breakfast.  Then Daddy took the kids to the gym.  (Claire had a special event with her ballet class, and Cale played with his friends.)  I got everything else ready.  When they got home, Cale saw his presents; so we had to open them right away, of course.  Then we had spaghetti for lunch.  (Cale’s favorite – He had three huge bowls of spaghetti and two pieces of garlic bread.)  Then we had birthday cake.  After that we headed to the pool to swim.  We picked up a pizza for dinner on the way home.  It was a perfect day!

Time for cake!

Let them eat cake!

Happy Birthday, Cale!  We love celebrating you!