Caleb has a curious mind. Often times I say (in my head), "Caleb, you are brilliant. It drives me nuts!" During bathtime, instead of playing with toys and enjoying the water, he's figuring out how the shower lever works.
Anytime I make bread or pizza dough in the bread machine I have to park a step stool next to the counter because he wants to watch. "See it?" "See it?" he asks...for 3 hours... He weighs more than Matthew right now and eventually I couldn't lift him up for as long as he was interested, hence the stepstool.
Caleb likes wires and plugs. It's a little frightening. I make sure the children are happily playing before I take a quick bathroom break. When I come back I see Caleb and a mini-disaster. He has gotten into the DVD case. He has gotten the Wii open, changed disks, opened the back part of the box, unplugged all the cords on the back of the DVD player (and broken one input), and searched through several DVD cases. He was working on the cords again by the time I reached him.
I wasn't gone that long! It was at this point that I realized that Caleb was not receiving adequate mental stimulation. A goal I plan to work on...next year, if he lives that long.
Caleb is also very stubborn. Matthew was blessed with the gift of obedience. Caleb was blessed with the gift of strength...apparently that included strength of will. I ask Matthew to help clean up, he says, "OK." I ask Caleb to help clean up and he says, "No" over and over again for 2 hours. And sometimes he lays down and goes limp when he says it. Yes, that's right. Two hours.
This has happened on numerous occasions. He only has to clean up the blocks. One box of blocks. He does about three blocks and then wanders away to play again. It takes a lot of effort--- prompting, reminding, time outs, and sometimes taking his hand and using it to scoop up the blocks and put them in the box. For two hours!!!!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!
One friend said, "Just don't back down and be consistent." That gave me courage. And it has been getting better. A couple times Caleb cleaned up some toys on his own. And today it only took half and hour to get him to clean up the blocks.
This is one of my favorite Caleb-isms. After dinner Caleb goes to the sink to wash up and then runs at full speed to get me. I look forward to it every evening.
For a while Caleb called me "Sweetie Mama." (pronounced "Svee-tee Mama") That was fun. It only comes up occasionally now and I'm kind of missing it!
As all moms know, bathroom time is sacred. One day Caleb followed me to the bathroom. (deep sigh. I consoled myself with the sure knowledge that he was not playing with water or outlets or both.) But the funny thing was, that when he got to the bathroom (he can open doors and some locks) he lifted the seat cover for me and when I was done, he turned on the sink water and handed me the soap.
"Caleb," I said, "if you were in Europe and had a pair of saggy boobs and a squeegie, you'd have a job. You'd get paid for doing this."
"Yup," he said.
I'm not sure how he got in that spot, but he did (along with several electrical wires).
"Caleb, what are you doing?"
(giggle, giggle) "I'm hiding."
Caleb has learned how to take off his clean, dry diaper and pee all over his floor. Christopher has suggested that Caleb might be ready to potty train. I reminded him that it feels like I just finished potty training the eldest (which despite my best efforts was one of the top two worst parenting experiences I've ever had), and he could go right on ahead and potty train Caleb himself. I think I was a bit moody that day--probably from cleaning urine puddles on the carpet. He hasn't brought the topic up since and I try to get Caleb up from naps as soon as he wakes.
"Child-proof" means nothing when it comes to Caleb. He can open Gamma Ray Food Storage lids and refrigerators and I've even seen him open a medicine bottle. Child-proof. Pfffffth. Is it "Caleb-proof"?
Caleb loves snuggles and wrestles and asks for both on a daily basis. He and brother are playing more together and I'm fascinated to see the world from his perspective. Yesterday he found a birthday candle and scratched the middle of it right down to the string (all the way around). It looked fun and interesting and I wished that I'd found a candle too!
2 comments:
Yep, he's a special little boy. I love how you've captured him at this age.
Have you checked to see if he has an "S" underneath his toddler clothes? It's gonna be fun to see the man he grows into. Especially with good parents like you guys.
GO, CALEB! Conquer the world!!! ♥
It is so fun to see this side of Caleb, since he is so shy around us when we come up to Utah. (Wendy know some good books about kids' ages if you ever have any questions.) Just so you know, my oldest cleans up great, and his younger brother...well, doesn't so much...and he is 8!!
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