What's Up With Caleb?

This is my 4th blog post of the night and I'm finally getting around to telling you about Caleb's latest goings and doings.

My favorite part of Caleb right now is that he's being himself. His personality has evened out and we're having fewer and fewer tantrums and meltdowns. Don't get me wrong - he's still 3. He still whines on a daily basis and has a fit now and then, but the good is far outweighing the bad these days. Plus - he's developed a sense of humor that keeps me laughing a lot.

One day a couple of weeks ago, Caleb asked Rudy and question and Rudy (being silly) answered the question with a very technical and somewhat rambling answer. Caleb looked at me and said, "Huh?" We laughed pretty hard about it, so now he likes to ask either "Daddy, what's thunder" or "Daddy, what's an engine?", then get his technical and rambling answer. He inevitably responds with a great big, "Huh?" and then cracks himself up laughing.

Last weekend when he was with my parents while we were in Dallas, they were singing, "Where is Thumbkin?" After they had gone through all of the normal words, they continued making up some silly verses. Mom sang, "Where is Daddy? Where is Daddy?" and Caleb sang back, "He at the game. He at the game." I think that's pretty stinkin' funny!

Singing is one of Caleb's other new things. He has always liked music, but he is now actually able to sing songs with all of the words. Sometimes, the words get a little jumbled, but he tries. We are frequently serenaded with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Where Is Thumbkin, I Love You/You Love Me and Old McDonald. He has inherited his father's ability to sing the same tune over and over and over again. Fortunately, I'm usually able to distract him and "change his tune." (Sorry - I couldn't help myself.)

Caleb is still pretty fascinated with football. He loves to watch it on TV and play it in the yard and in the living room. When he's watching it on TV, he gets right in front of the screen and bends down when the players do. Then, when the ball is snapped, he runs around in circles and yells, "Get him, get him!" He also tells us that the players made a good tackle, scored a touchdown and made a good catch or throw - whether they really did or not. I love that he loves football.

Speaking of football - one of the funniest things happened about 2 weeks ago. We were watching the Cowboys and Panthers on Monday Night Football. We tried to tell him that our family cheers for the Cowboys, but he was pretty insistent that he wanted to cheer for the team with the "cat on their helmet." Well, the Cowboys had on white jerseys and the Panthers had on black jerseys. If Caleb doesn't know the team (Razorbacks or Cowboys), he cheers for them by their jersey color. Before we knew it, Caleb was jumping around the living room cheering, "Go, black guys!" Not exactly politically correct, but really, really funny!

We're still going to the "sports development" classes at Gymboree on Tuesdays. I take Caleb to his class and then we go out for dinner together. It works out great because Rudy has band practice on Tuesday nights and it gives Caleb and I some fun time together. We go to the class for him to have some fun interaction time with kids and to do something different that I get to be there for - not to actually develop his sports skills. I love that he gets introduced to new things in the class, but it's not like we have him in training to be a professional athlete. I've been watching Caleb in his Gymbo classes and have come to the conclusion that he might not have been blessed with fabulous athletic ability. He loves sports, but I'm afraid he may have inherited my lack of athleticism rather than his daddy's quick legs and sense of balance. I keep reminding myself that he is the youngest child in the class, which makes him look less coordinated than the rest of the kids. Of course, time will tell, but I'm sure hoping for an academic scholarship at this point. :)

So, that's the latest for Caleb. He loves his daycare/school, loves visiting his grandparents, loves playing with his Daddy, loves being silly with his Mama, is intrigued by the baby sister that we keep telling him about. He tells Nola good morning and good night almost every day. He makes us laugh and challenges us every day and we are grateful for each moment we have been blessed to share with him.