Last Friday (11/20), I was excited to have a night out with some friends from work. We went to see the latest Twilight movie, New Moon, and then went out afterward for dinner. Caleb and Rudy had a boys' night at home, which I hear was uneventful. I got home late with my cheeks hurting from laughing so much. I decided to sleep with Caleb so that Rudy wouldn't have to tiptoe around the next morning while getting ready to go hunting.
When I went into Caleb's room, I first thought he had woken up. I soon realized that he was sound asleep, but talking out loud. I have no idea what he said, but he was definitely talking. I chuckled quietly as I crawled in bed with him and went to sleep. Sometime during the night, I woke up to find him clapping in his sleep. Whatever he was dreaming about must have been applause-worthy. I giggled again and went back to sleep. As usual, he was wide awake before the sun came up. I convinced him to stay in the bed until the "sun woke up," which he did, but as soon as he could see light outside, he was rip-roaring ready to go! We had a quiet morning at home, watching TV, doing laundry and playing. I, admittedly, dozed a couple of times on the couch while he was playing or watching TV, but never for long. He won't have that! As soon as he sees my eyes close, he yells, "Wake up, Mama!" In the meantime, he talked incessantly and managed to LITERALLY dump every single toy in his playroom into a heap in the middle of the floor.
When Rudy got home from his (thankfully uneventful) trip to the mountains, I managed to get a shower. He played with Caleb while I got dressed and then Caleb and I went to the grocery store to give him a few minutes to recharge his batteries that had been running since before 4:00 AM. While we were at the store, I decided that Caleb and I needed to actually DO something together. We had been together all day, but hadn't really done anything meaningful. We bought stuff to make cookies and he was so excited. He told everyone we saw that we were going to make them.
When we got home, I started a pot of veggie soup while Rudy supervised the Great Playroom Cleanup of 2009. Once that was done, Caleb and I took to the task of preparing the cookies. He stood on his stepladder and helped me crack the eggs and stir the dough, then put it on the cookie sheets. He smiled the whole time. The most amazing moment was when he leaned over on my shoulder and said, "Mama, you my best helper." I grinned at him and told him he was my best helper too. We put the cookies in the oven and then watched them bake.
While they were baking, he asked me what I estimate to be about the 7412th question of the day. When I told him "I don't know" he shrugged and said he would just ask his other mom. I quickly informed him that he didn't have another mom. His response: "Yes I do, Sweetie." While trying to suppress laughter at the fact that he called me Sweetie, I asked him who his other mom was. His response: "Daddy."
After dinner, when the cookies were all baked and cooled, we made an attempt at icing them and putting on sprinkles. Caleb helped me squeeze the icing on, put on a few sprinkles and then lost interest. He really just wanted to eat them. I couldn't blame him, so I gave him the biggest cookie in the batch and finished icing the rest myself.
After church on Sunday, Caleb and Rudy went for a hike at Tanyard Creek in Bella Vista. Rudy tells me that they had a good time. They love to hike together. I look forward to next fall when we can all go together. We'll strap Nola in the carrier and go out to enjoy God's nature as a family. However, this fall, I'm in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy and TIRED. I waved as they left and truthfully contemplated the idea of going out to cut back the mums and clean up the flowerbed. That contemplation quickly turned to a more realistic nap. I slept most of the time that the boys were gone and got up when they got home.
Sunday evening, we went to Fayetteville to make an attempt at getting a Christmas card picture at the Lights of the Ozarks in the square.
Caleb's willingness to take pictures lately has been somewhat limited. Sunday was no exception. A very nice family offered to take our picture if we would take theirs. Their 11 month old son was so cooperative and could even be convinced to look at the camera with a couple of whistles and giggles. Our 3 1/2 year old son was a whole different story. We got a series of pictures of Caleb looking off to the side, making faces and holding his hands in front of his face. After some serious bribery involving a pony ride, we did manage ONE decent shot out of about 20. I cropped it to make it work for our Christmas card. I'd have to say it was nothing short of our version of the Griswolds' trying to take a Christmas picture. By the time we were finished at the square, we were worn out and hungry. We treated ourselves to dinner at the Catfish Hole and it was delicious despite the fact that Caleb was behaving like he had never been in a restaurant before. More on that in another post.
On the other hand, Caleb fell asleep in the car on the way to Fayetteville and when I woke him up to tell him to look out the window, his expression was priceless. He said, "Oh! It's Christmas lights! They are beautiful!" I reminded myself several times that that was the real reason we went. I tried to look past the whining and the lack of cooperation and remember that short moment when he was mesmerized by the millions of little lights in the trees and on the buildings. That's what it was supposed to be about and in the end, it was. That's what he'll remember and that's what I hope to remember too.
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