Seen and Heard

I've been meaning to do an update post on the boys for a LONG time now, and I was inspired by Erica's post to do it today, before I forget more than I already have.

So, here goes...

Gabe



My baby boy is almost 5. The thought of him going to kindergarten in the fall seriously brings a tear to my eye. No more jammie days during the week. No more lazing around in the morning. No more (or at least fewer) carefree, homework-less evenings. I think I'm exagerating a bit, but that's how my mind works. But, there are always the summers....right? School and education are a positive thing, right?

On a lighter note:

He has been, and still is, on a serious super hero kick, loving all things related - toys, books, movies, video games, costumes - anything. He was HULK for Halloween and can transform into Hulk whenever he dons his costume and giant, green Hulk hands.

His latest love is Star Wars. I'm not quite sure how this love started, I think it might have been with Dan's old Darth Vader action figure case that came up from the basement, but he is TOTALLY into it. For Christmas all he wanted was a Darth Vader costume and a Star Wars ship. And he has started a little collection in his room for all his Star Wars things (happy meal toys, action figures, his ships, etc.). Occasionally he'll quiz me: "Mommy, do you know who this guy is?" "Ummm, Luke Skywalker?" "NOOOO! It's Annakin!" Oops. I need to study up.

He really enjoys his three-day preschool and is making some friends. So far Camille and Joshua are his best buddies. It's been great to see him develop friendships with other kids. He's always enjoyed chatting up adults, but hasn't always been inclined to interact with other kids his age, so it's nice to see.

His most recent favorite movie is Napoleon Dynamite. Truly. He totally gets the humor and will watch it start to finish. And he's been quoting it regularly ("Whatever I wanna do, GOSH!" and "TINA! Come eat your ham!"). Like father, like son - 'nuff said.

He plays well with his brother. BUT, they definitely have their moments. He can be super sweet and kind with Caleb, but also knows how to push Caleb's buttons! We're also getting into this phase where he feels like he can "parent" Caleb - "Caleb, that's enough whining." or "Caleb, if you do that again you're going to have a timeout."

He still loves playing music on his CD player and dancing. And he loves you to dance with him. Long time favorite is "Sadie Hawkins Dance" by Relient K from an old CD of Dan's (they both LOVE dancing around to this song). Gabe still calls it "cracky pants" i.e .kahki pants). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9MRlAAr6BQ

He is insistent on your FULL attention. If he is trying to tell or show you something and you are not paying 100% full attention, he gets super frustrated. Even if there's a movie on - you MUST be watching with him (usually). Sometimes if I get up for something he wants me to pause it so I don't miss anything.

He's been a bit of a Daddy's boy lately, and refers to Dan as his "best buddy." He's say things like "how's my best buddy today?" or "how 'bout a hug from my best buddy?" (like when Dan gets home from work).

He's definitely all boy. He informed me several weeks ago that he will no longer be called "baby" or "sugar" or "cute." I still call him those things, but it makes him crazy sometimes. Because now he is just "cool" or "awesome" or other non-girly descriptive words.

It seems that almost every sentence contains the word "poop" or "pooper" in some way shape or form. I'm not sure why it's so funny, but to him, it is.

He's still got a sweet, cuddly spot, despite the aforementioned resistance to "cute" stuff. He still loves to cuddle on the couch and at night when I'm putting him down. And he still loves to play with my hair as he's falling asleep.

He keeps us laughing - he loves scaring or suprising us or playing jokes on us.

He loves his veggies (particulary sliced red bell pepper and "big" carrots - like Bugs Bunny) and is still resistant to anything with frosting (trust me, he came up with that all on his own).

Caleb


It's hard to believe Caleb is 2 1/2 already. He is now about 3 months older than Gabe was when he was born - that's crazy for me to think about.

Some "baby book" type updates:

He got his last molar, I think right around Thanksgiving.

He's hit-or-miss on naps. After our vacation last September, when he hardly napped at all, we sort of gave it up in favor of an earlier bedtime. When he was napping he wouldn't go down until maybe 8:30 or 9, so now we put both of them down most nights around 7:30-ish. But there is the occasional day when he still naps.

He can count to maybe 5 or so on his own, and he is pretty good at naming letters. W is his favorite letter. :-)

He has become totally anti-milk. We try to do yogurt to get the dairy in, but having trouble with the milk.

He is definitely our sweet tooth. LOVES candy and sweets of all kinds.

Other updates:

He totally mimics Gabe at every opportunity. A lot of times he's like a little echo...Gabe will be talking and Caleb is in the background trying to say everything Gabe is saying. It's really sweet actually. Gabe gets frustrated sometimes, but I tried to tell him that imitation is the highest form of flattery. :-)

He LOVES his DBDB (mini Fisher Price DVD player). He mostly loves to just put movies in, start them, take them out, get another, etc....also insists on being able to push the button on the big DB (DVD player) when we are watching a movie on the big TV. This one needs some work, as he is a little too attached to DBDB.

He still loves his "day day" (blanket). He carries it around occasionally during the day and definitely needs it at night. He hangs on to the ears (it's a hooded blanket with little bear ears) - one in each hand - and is not settled until he finds them.

He's a little quirky - really always has been (in a cute way). Things like open drawers and doors make him a little crazy and he'll always stop whatever he's doing to shut them.

He loves buttons and things that make noise. Loves his remote controlled car.

He can still be pretty attentive for long spans. He is really good at the wooden alphabet puzzles we have and is getting pretty good and saying the corresponding word that's under the letter (like "b for butterfly").

He can pretty much say whatever he wants, but he still has to think about it sometimes as he pieces sentences together. It's really sweet to listen to him articulate a long sentence.



I know I'm forgetting LOTS as usual, but I feel better at least having jotted some of this down! I'm so thankful for each of them and their unique personalities. I pray everyday that I can be the mom they need me to be, one that loves and encourages and nurtures them in a way that will help them grow and develop into healthy and well-rounded people. I'm definitely needing to watch my tone lately - I feel like I get easily frustrated sometimes and I know I need to work on that. But, one day at a time, right?