The Caleb Blog - The Second Year

Happy Second Birthday, Caleb

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:17:00 -0700

(written 11/7, but uploaded 11/10)

Today, my baby boy turned two. He's officially a toddler.

We've got a pretty big day planned for him today. I baked a cake this year instead of buying one and I think it's going to turn out pretty well. I do know that I'm going to have to trim it so that both parts of the cake are level, but that's an easy fix. I'm really excited about it.

My in-laws have taken Caleb's great-grandmother out to get him a gift for tonight. She made the trip to see him for his birthday, and I'm so grateful for that. She didn't have to come, but she did it for Caleb. Thank you grandmother Pat!!

I have a big dinner plan for his birthday: Salmon with Mango-Pineapple Chutney, green beans, corn and bread. For dessert, the cake, obviously, with vanilla and chocolate ice cream.

After looking at all the gifts that he has gotten, it looks like Christmas at this house. I think it's a little bit much considering that Christmas is just around the corner, but both families enjoyed doing it, so I'm not complaining.

The cake is beginning to smell the house up and I only have a few minutes until I have to get it out to cool.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY SWEET ANGEL!!!

Caleb's Monthly Forecast: Your big birthday kid is growing in every way. With growth spurts, exciting cognitive leaps, and an avalanche of new words on the way, you'll be amazed at what your 2-year-old can do.

A young preschooler wears his heart on his sleeve — and in his voice, his fists, his stamping feet, and his crocodile tears. You seldom have to guess about a 2-year-old's emotional state. Expressing emotions is healthy, even when they aren't happy ones. So don't feel you have to rush in to placate your child at the first pout or sad sniffle.

Let your child know that it's okay to be unhappy sometimes — it's simply part of life. Swooping in to vanquish the unhappiness sends the wrong message — that it's not okay to feel sad or mad. Solving every problem for your child also robs him of the opportunity to work through his feelings on his own.

What you can do: Label his feelings for him. "You're so mad at Mommy because she said no park today!" Let him know you have the same feelings, too, sometimes: "It makes you feel sad when we say bye-bye to Grandma. It makes me feel sad, too." If your child screams or hits when he's angry or upset, show him acceptable ways to vent his emotion, like punching a pillow or stamping his feet.

A toddler is aware only of what's immediately before him. But by 2, a child grasps the relative placements of things, and his understanding of space expands between 2 and 2 1/2. No, not his understanding of the cosmos but of where people and objects are in his own little world. This includes concepts such as "there," "where," "inside" and "outside," "go away," "near" and "far," "way up in the sky," and "over" and "under." He's gaining a better sense of size, quantity, and other spatial relationships.

You can see this new grasp of spatial thinking in the words he picks up and in his growing ability to follow directions: "Bring me the ball that's over in the corner." "Look on top of the bed."

Some ways to reinforce this new understanding:
• Talk about where people in his life are when they're not with him: "Daddy's at work." "Grandma lives far away."
• Give a series of simple instructions that involve different directions, such as first putting a toy on the chair, then under the chair, and then giving it back to you.
• Ask questions that prompt him to think about location: "Where do birds live?" "Where do airplanes fly?" "Where's the door?" (Don't expect a correct answer every time or turn it into a quiz; just make questions like these part of your everyday conversation.)

Time to trim the fat! Once your child turns 2, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you reduce his fat intake to less than 30 percent of his daily calories. You don't have to zealously monitor fat intake. Just switch from whole milk to 2 percent, and look for low-fat versions of cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. For the rest of his diet, provide a balanced offering of whole grains, lean meats or beans, fruits, and vegetables. Don't cut out fats entirely; your preschooler's growing brain and body depend on them for proper development. And many dairy products that contain fat are also terrific sources of calcium.

Soon your child will begin looking more like a "big kid," as his limbs and torso start to lengthen and his proportions begin to resemble those of an adult. He'll gain about 2 1/2 inches and 5 pounds this year. If you're concerned that your preschooler is overweight, talk to his doctor rather than instituting any dietary restrictions on your own. Kids' nutritional needs are different from adults', so you should get his guidance.

Your preschooler's vocabulary is on its way to becoming dictionary-thick. The typical 24-month-old knows about 50 to 75 words and is working the next big milestone: stringing them together into phrases and sentences. Two-word noun-verb sentences are typical at 2: "baby sleep" and "want milk." He'll probably begin expressing himself in longer sentences as the year goes by. If your child uses fewer than 20 words, he should be tested for hearing problems.

First sentences tend to be short (two to three words) and to the point: "Mommy help." "Play ball Daddy." Or a preschooler may echo a group of words she hears often, like "Go bye-bye" or "All gone."

Some ways to encourage your 2-year-old to speak in sentences:
• Expand on her bare-bones phrases in your reply: "You want Mommy to help you put your sock on." "Okay, Daddy will play ball with Lucy."
• Don't correct her grammar. Casually repeat the sentence using the right words, but it's way too early to point out mistakes.
• Don't insist your child repeat a full, proper sentence. Prompting, "Can you say, 'Mommy, help me with my sock?'" only disrupts the flow and frustrates your child.
• Read often in an interactive way, asking your child questions about what he sees on the page or what he thinks will happen next.

Election Day

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:16:00 -0700

Today we vote to determine the next president of the US. I hope my guy wins. I have faith that it's going to happen. If not, I'll just have to owe my parents that dinner I bet on. LOL

Get out to vote everyone. This is a very historic election.

Caleb's Photo of the Day:

Happy Halloween!!!

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:12:00 -0700

Today was Caleb's first real halloween experience. Since Jordan got some flack last year because we didn't take Caleb out for halloween, which I might add was a wise deicison on OUR part, we got him a costume this year and he went door to door.

It took a little getting into his costume, but I finally figured it out. Somehow I put his leg where his arm was supposed to be and it never fit right. DUH!!! Once I got everything where it needed to be, it all worked out great.

It was fantastic and he had a good time. He got a lot of candy, surprisingly enough for only going down our street and my parents street. Probably a total of 20 houses. And people just weren't giving one piece out either, but handfuls. He filled up half of his pumpkin. Mom and dad just loved his outfit, but who wouldn't. He did look cute.

Jordan, however, thought it was a "Christmas Story" moment. Leave it to Jordan to ruin it for me. LOL. I personally didn't think it was. For a two year old, I thought the outfit was perfect.

We practiced saying Trick or Treat and he did it great. However, he froze when he got to other people. He'd say it as we were going up the drive though.

People LOVED his costume and they thought he was just adoreable.

Earlier in the day, mom and I took Caleb to get him some new shoes. He's a size SEVEN now. Not only that, but I found out that he has a wide foot. Great. Another thing of Jordan's he got. Is he EVER going to get something of me?

We took some pictures of him playing at the mall playland and on the carousel, but I'll upload those probably tomorrow. Tonight's pictures are reserved for Halloween.

Caleb's Photos of the Day:

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Sleeping

Oh Yeah? Well...

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:13:00 -0700

Cute

Yeah, I thought so.

AAAAAACCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:17:00 -0700

No nap AGAIN and he's NOT happy!!!!

BTW, I added pictures to the previous writing.

Not Napping, Always Whining

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:19:00 -0700

I'm not sure what has gotten into Caleb as of late, but he's decided he doesn't want to nap anymore and he's whining for EVERYTHING now. Currently, he's in his room, and he's quiet. I dare not peek my head in his room for fear that he's not sleeping. The moment I do that, he'll whine and want to come out. At least for now, there is a 1% chance that he'll go to sleep.

Oh, and let me NOT forget that he doesn't want to walk anymore, he'd rather be carried.

It's really getting frustrating. Must be a soon-to-turn-two thing.

We made an appointment for Caleb to have his second year pictures done - well, actually I'm the one that made the appointment. I wonder how he'll behave at a studio. He hasn't been to a studio since he was three months old. Hopefully a little better and hopefully he won't tantrum. I'll be doing that the week of his birthday.

I have his birthday menu already made up. I have the cake pan that I'm making his cake out of. I have all of his decorations as written in a previous blog. Yep, I'm just about ready for the big day. The only thing that I still need to get is the balloon (which will be picked up on his birthday) and one more gift, which I hope to get next weekend.

Eleven Days until the big day!!

Caleb's Daily Photo (from 10/25):

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Quiet in his crib

It's Been Busy Around Here

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:19:00 -0700

Boy, it's been a long time since I've written anything.

I've been so busy around the house as of late, and I haven't been feeling the greatest (a virus of some sort), that I've really lost track of writing time.

We are in the midst of two home projects. One we'll finish up this weekend, and one I hope to finish sometime next week. I've got pictures already lined up, but I won't actually post them until they are complete.

Caleb has been super good these past few days. He's in the "I'm going to get into everything" mode again, but thankfully, nothing to cause a mess. He's saying a few more words and even putting them into sentences.

MY BABY BOY IS GROWING UP!!! AND I'M NOT HANDLING IT VERY WELL.

Here's the word list again:

Mama
Dada
Bear
Duck
Dog
Hello
Bye
Hi
Girl
Bird
Hello Dog
Ah Me!! (Look At Me!)
Ah dat!! (What's That?)
Uh Oh!
Grandpa
Wow
Daddy
Pease (please)
Milk
Sock
Eye
Ball
Mommy
Cheese
Flag
Banana (although he only says b, once and a great while, bana)
Juice
Sky
Keys
Back
na (napkin)
na na (gramie)
book (comes out boo)
I got choo (I got you)
Stinky (while holding his nose)
Hurry
Kitty
Meow
Jesus
Bible
Shoe
Fry
Maw maw (grandmama)
Paw Paw
Kitty
nose
Thank You
Hot
Slide
Swing
phone
I Love You
Bless You
night, night
two
three
trash
Get, Get Doggie
five
Pooh (as in Pooh Bear)
Blue (as in dakota blue - our dog)
no (the dreaded word of them all)

He's learning to take off his clothes now (mainly his jacket). And on top of that, when we tell him it's time to go potty, he'll open the lid, bring up his splash guard and set on the potty. He still doesn't do anything in it just yet, but he knows what to do with it, so I hope that we'll be starting to potty train in the next few weeks.

Now that is a blog to watch out for. LOL

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Napping

Countdown to Two Years Old

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:45:00 -0700

As of today, there are 20 more days until Caleb turns two!! Woo Hoo!!

We've been working non-stop on teaching him to answer us when we ask him how old he is going to be. He does ok, but he still needs some prodding. I figure he'll be really good at it by his birthday.

He's growing up on me and I'm not liking it too much. Can't he just stay small for a little while longer? I'm not ready for him to grow up yet. It's just not fair.

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Playing on the stairs

It was a...

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:17:00 -0700

It was a...

Outside Kid

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:13:00 -0700

I think this summer, Caleb has spent 95% of his time outside. He LOVES being outside. And if you try to bring him in before he's ready to come in, well, he starts to whimper. I have no idea what we are going to do in the extreme cold out here. We'll stick take him out with a coat and so forth, but when the weather turns frigid, we're going to have to find something for him to do. Maybe get him on the treadmill. Just kidding.

I finally have completed resizing our vacation pictures and have them on our website. It took a good week to do even with a bath resize program. I think from our vacation alone, we have about 600-800 pictures.

Yeah, I know.

On top of that, I put pictures on the website of Caleb from AUGUST!! So that probably was another 300 pictures. Needless to say, I'm a little tired of pictures at the moment

However, I'm glad that I can finally show people our vacation. I broke them down into 8 days so it would be easier to look at and not get too bored with them.

If you start at THIS page, you can view all of the pictures from the middle of September on. But start at the bottom. That's where it begins. That way, you get the full effect of the vacation.

Enjoy the pictures!!

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Napping

Happy 23 Months!!

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:12:00 -0700

One more month, and Caleb will be two years old!! Where did this year go to??? It went by so amazingly fast and I feel like nothing has really gotten done. Caleb has just been so active that he's taking up most of my time anymore. That's a good thing, of course.

He's added another phrase and words to his list of words:

He seriously is just growing up every minute of the day. He can count, but he only says two and three. He refuses to say one. We're still working on it though, along with asking how old he is. He thinks he's three.

And the cutest thing ever is hearing him sing and hum. He tries to mimic whatever someone is doing. If they are humming, he hums. If they're singing, he'll sing (in his own language of course )

In another month, we start the long road of potty training. I haven't been very good in getting him introducing him everyday. I've been kind of laxed on that, but he definitely is aware that he's done something, so hopefully since that is occuring, he'll be fairly easy to train (cross my fingers and HOPE that I'm a lucky parent in that department).

Mom left for MD today for a month. She's visiting friends and family. She goes back every three months or so. She misses home, but I think she's doing better out here. Now, if we can just get her out and meeting people, it will be a heck of alot easier for her.

I've started a walking program - 3 miles a day. Doing ok, and keeping with it. I've just started my second week, and it's geting so much easier. Jordan bought me some exercise tapes, and I really should have started that today, but I was going through our pictures from our cruise and got into that. I promise, Jordan, I will be starting it soon.

Saturday, we went shopping for Caleb's birthday. We're kind of getting an idea as to what interest him. He really didn't seem interested in anything but a new lawn mower. He wanted that more than anything, so he wasn't really participating like we'd like, however, we have decided after looking at some stuff on what to get him. So, the shopping wasn't at all a loss.

I got the most important stuff already though - his birthday theme and balloons. OMG!!! They are ADOREABLE!! Now, I didn't get everything that they ahve listed, but I got what really is needed. I'm stoked.

Oh, and I got his halloween costume, but I won't post a pic of that until he's wearing it. Let's just say, it was a great price and he's going to look CUTE!!!! Even if it's for a few houses this year.

Thirty More Days until his birthday!!!!!

Caleb's Photo(s) of the day:

Caleb's Monthly Forecast: By 23 months, your child can probably hum and sing and make three-word sentences like "Bird fly high." An artist, he can most likely copy circles and make line drawings. So encourage him with a big box of crayons and plenty of paper. And he's beginning to get a handle on opposites, like tall woman, short woman or big hamburger, little hamburger.

Your 23-month-old can probably follow a simple two-step command such as "Come here and sit down so I can tie your shoes." His vocabulary likely includes at least 20 words that he can say clearly (and many more that are harder to understand), and soon he'll be adding words so quickly that you won't be able to keep track any more. Your toddler may utter short sentences, like "Juice all gone," or "Dog run out." And he can answer simple questions such as "What is your name?" and "What does the cat say?" He will use words to tell you when he's hungry and thirsty, so you no longer have to guess if that's why he's a little bit crabby... at least some of the time. He may also understand opposites. If you look at a book with pictures of, say, a big dog and a little dog, or a big car and a little car, and ask him which is which, he should know.

When your child was an infant, out of sight meant out of mind. But now he has the cognitive skills to remember that he left his doll in the car, for instance, even after several hours have passed. He can also associate items he's seen in real life — monkeys at the zoo — with ones he sees in a book. If you have a shape sorter, you'll probably notice now that he can put several pieces in their proper spot. Many toddlers are also experimenting with dramatic play, such as pretending to eat a plastic banana and reporting to you how yummy it is. It will be a few years before you see elaborate fantasy play where he makes up stories and characters, but this is the foundation for it.

Give your toddler plenty of opportunity to engage in "unstructured" play. Give him a set of blocks and let him build towers or trains, for example, or give him a puzzle made of just a few pieces so he can have the satisfaction of completing it himself. Props such as toy telephones, grocery carts, tool boxes, and tea sets give him the opportunity to mimic the activities of the adults he sees around him.

Happy Birthday, Grandmama

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:39:00 -0700

Today is grandmama Chambers Birthday. I won't disclose how old she is, because I'm sure I'll get the evil eye next time I see her.

Things have been pretty nice the past few days. I haven't worked at all. I was summoned for jury duty for this week and wound up being an on-call juror. What that means is that I don't have to listen to a case, but I have to call in every night to find out if I'm needed for the next day. I potentially could have gone to work if I wanted to, but it's not worth going to work, then finding out that night that I won't be at work the next day. So, I just opted to stay home and be on-call at home, and I'm loving it!! Woo!!

Caleb has learned a few more words. It's not that he just learned how to say them, it's more that I've forgotten that he actually says it, and need to put on my list of words :

He's really quick to learn new things, and it's amazing at how he actually wants to learn how to do it.

Caleb got a haircut today and boy does he look so much better. I was going crazy just looking at him and seeing his hair going this way and that way. Now, it looks better and I'm a happy camper.

Not much else to really report on otherwise.

Happy Birthday Grandmama!!!

Caleb's Picture(s) of the Day (from 9/30 - pre haircut):

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Playing with his car (vroom, vroom)

Back in the swing of things

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:10:00 -0700

After two days home from not being at work, I'm finally able to just sit down in little spurts and upload some pictures to our website. It's really a long and tedious job, but I enjoy doing it.

I was able to upload three days worth of vacation pictures as well as Caleb pictures that were taken by the Chambers while they were here with Caleb. Good shots all around.

I also have some videos that I'll upload of the trip, but that will come at a later time. Right now, I just want to go through pictures. Once all of them are up and ready, I'll post the link. Going through these pictures really make me miss our vacation. We really did have such a wonderful time. Jordan and I talked about doing this every other year, but honestly, after looking at these pictures, we might have to do an every year thing. But, we'll see how things go as the year progresses.

Caleb took a great nap yesterday - just about 2 hours worth. Today, not so much. After an hour of being in his room, he started to fuss. So, I went in there and he really wasnt' crying, but making noise, so I gave him a book, and he's just jabbering away. He's tired though. He's got the bags under his eyes and he just looks like he could fall asleep, but he's fighting it until the very last minute. I'll be getting him up soon, unless he decides to take a quick nap.

While we were gone, Caleb's vocabulary started to EXPLODE!!!!

New words added are in bold. Some were written down for me, but I won't include those until i actually here him say it :

Mama
Dada
Bear
Duck
Dog
Hello
Bye
Hi
Girl
Bird
Hello Dog
Ah Me!! (Look At Me!)
Ah dat!! (What's That?)
Uh Oh!
Grandpa
Wow
Daddy
Pease (please)
Milk
Sock
Eye
Ball
Mommy
Cheese
Flag
Banana (although he only says b, once and a great while, bana)
Juice
Sky
Keys
Back
na (napkin)
na na (gramie)
book (comes out boo)
I got choo (I got you)
Stinky (while holding his nose)
Hurry
Kitty
Meow
Jesus
Bible
Shoe
Fry
Maw maw (grandmama)
Paw Paw
Kitty
nose
Thank You
Hot
Slide
Swing

Did some grocery shoping today for three days. Jordan will probably do a more extensive grocery shop later this weekend while I'm at work, or if he doesn't, I can do it Monday. Caleb got to ride in a car grocery cart. He rode the same thing while my in-laws were in town and they went shopping, and he had a good time in it. Waving to everyone, honking the horn. It was rather cute to watch. I didn't go to walmart today though. I went to price chopper and boy I really should ahve gone to Walmart. I spent $120 on just three days worth of food. I would have saved a lot more money if i had gone to Walmart, but oh well. The produce is better at Price Chopper.

This weekend, I have to work. I wish we would have timed our vacation so that I would have had this weekend off, but we didn't. At least I get it out of the way, and I'm off for two weekends. We're kind of slow, so hopefully it will stay that way and I'll have a nice weekend.

Caleb's Baby Forecast: Playing in his crib

Back from Cruising

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:25:00 -0700

Yesterday, Jordan and arrived back home from Miami. We were on vacation from 9/13-9/22. Our actual cruise dates were 9/14-9/21. Man, I wish I was back on the ship, and so does Jordan. We had a really good time. No cell phones, no computers, no work!! It was so relaxing and it was nice not having to worry about people calling or checking emails about broken stuff at work.

Caleb stayed home in KS with Jordan's parents, and they had a blast. He did really well, although they said he was getting awfully clingy Sunday, so we got home at about the right time. He's learned some new words, but I don't have them handy at the moment.

It was so cute to see him come out of the door when he saw us. He got this HUGE smile on his face and just squealed, then ran towards me. It was the best moment for me yesterday. Whatever sadness I was feeling about not being on the ship totally went away the moment he came to me with that big smile. Oh, I still miss being on the ship, but I have my baby back in my arms, so I'm happy.

Now, we start planning for next year's cruise.

We'll have plenty of pictures to put on our main website, so when I get them ready, I'll post the link here.

It's time for both of us to get back to the grind of things. Jordan went back to work today, which honestly he shouldn't have done, and I go back to work tomorrow and then again this weekend.

Caleb's Baby Forecast: As far as I know, still sleeping (but he could be playing too)

Happy Birthday, Daddy

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 22:49:00 -0700

(Late Entry that was saved)

Today is my daddy's birthday. I helped mommy, grandmama and Paw Paw Tex put up decorations. When they were finished, I layed with the leftover balloons. It was so much fun.

I hope you had a good birthday, daddy.

My Pictures for the day: