September 30

My child likes apples. A lot. Today we were reading a book about colors, and when we got to the red apple, Caleb started signing "more" and wouldn't stop. What mommy can say no to that kind of request? So we went downstairs, and I sliced up our one remaining apple, then went outside for a snack.

Caleb stuffed his mouth full of apple slices.

His mouth was so full, he had to hold the apple slices in. 

The next logical step? More apples, of  course! 

He's so funny!

When Chris came home, we went for a bike ride around the block. 

Halfway through, Caleb wanted to stop and inspect his wheels.

Really. 

We passed a house that had an abandoned baseball lying in the yard. Caleb wanted it so badly, and was pretty upset that we made him ride right on past. 



September 29

Today was perfect.

Sunny, 77 degrees, and tickets to a St. Louis Cardinals day game.

We were really late to the last day game we went to - didn't arrive until the 7th inning! Today was a little better - we arrived before the 5th inning started. Maybe we'll actually make it on time to our last game of the season on Saturday!

I brought the big camera with me, and I'm really pleased with the photos I got. It's not often that you have a great time at an event AND end up with awesome photos!

My boys were laughing at something... who knows what!

Caleb really enjoyed it when we moved down to the front row of our section.

This one might be my favorite of the day!

By the end of the game, Caleb had figured out when to yell "CHARGE!" 

He enjoyed it a bit too much. 

The people who vacated these seats were messy peanut eaters. Caleb reached down, grabbed a discarded shell, and instead of eating it, placed it carefully on the railing. 

What a fun day!



September 28

We had a really great day today! In fact, it was so much fun that I only managed to get my camera out for this one shot.

That's Caleb and Jenny, swinging together at the park. I know it's not the best photo, but it's all I've got, unless you want another bathime photo.

We spent so much time outside today! We played on the patio, played with Caleb's bicycle, went to the park, and played on the patio again. Then Chris came home, and he and Caleb did more bicycle riding and went for a run. Caleb also learned a new word today - he now says "hawk", and he can actually make that hard k sound! (It may sound like he's hocking a loogie, but that's beside the point.)

Out of sheer boredom last night, Chris and I came up with an updated list of Caleb's words. The kid has over 50! (I may or may not be reveling in Caleb's vocabulary to compensate for the fact that he still only takes 2 or 3 steps at a time, unless he's holding onto someone's hand.)

I think I'm done being random now. (And I'm done being overly parenthetical.)



September 27

Today was a much better day than yesterday.

Things that made it so much better?

- 2 excellent naps

- lovely autumnal weather

- a visit with Grandma

- a trip to my favorite park ever

This morning, I found a stale, old loaf of white bread in the back of my fridge. (Don't ask me how it ended up there - we don't buy white bread. But it was there, nonetheless.) 

The lovely weather, the old bread, and my mom's need to get out of the house (she is just starting to regain some mobility after her knee replacement surgery), added up in my head to create the perfect circumstances for a visit to the park to feed the fish. I didn't expect Caleb to really enjoy the fish feeding; in fact, I wondered if he'd even notice the fish.

Boy was I wrong! Those fish were excited little acrobats. They leapt, splashed, and turned flips in front of us. Caleb was fascinated.

Thanks to my Mom for managing to wield both the camera and her cane to snap these photos! What you can't see in these pictures is that I let Caleb help me feed the fish. Only for every piece of bread he threw into the water, four more pieces went into his mouth.

See?

(I only let him loose when he was safely away from the water!)

(By the way, he's standing in the gazebo where Chris and I were married 8 years ago!)

Look, Ma! No hands!

Who knew the kid would be such a fan of stale, white bread?

September 26

This photo of an unhappy, red-eyed Caleb pretty well sums up our day.

Caleb woke up at 7:00 am, which is normal.

He did not nap when we got home from church at 11:00, which is not normal.

He did not nap at his afternoon-nap time of 3:00, which is not  normal.

He did not nap until 4:30.

That's right. This nearly-15-month-old stayed awake for 9 and a half hours without napping. I was really, really, REALLY thankful that today was Sunday, and Chris was home. Otherwise, I may have thrown Caleb or myself out a window. It was that bad.

Eventually, he did nap - from 4:30 to 6:15. Then we visited my parents and ate pizza. It is now 9:15 and the child is just finishing up bathtime. I'm not sure what else to say about today. Let's just hope he sleeps tonight!

September 25

Today was a fantastic day, until about 4:15, when Caleb refused to nap - for nearly an hour. But I won't dwell on that; instead, I'll dwell on the fantastic parts.

Fantastic part 1:

It was citywide yard sale day today, and I came home with some really great loot. I didn't even spend all of my money, but I came home with Caleb's whole fall/winter wardrobe, some awesome toys, and even some things for me!

Fantastic part 2:

While I was gone, my boys had a great time. Grace, Chris took these photos for you.

Fantastic part 3:

On a whim, I got this bike for Caleb. It is officially his new favorite thing. And? It was only $2.

Fantastic part 4:

We got to spend some quality time with Grandmother and Grandad, and Caleb showed off his bicycling skills for them.

Our visit was extra fantastic because it also involved frozen yogurt and a shopping trip with Grandmother, during which she bought Caleb's Halloween costume. He is going to be the cutest little cow ever!

Fantastic part 5:

My baby is going to sleep early, so that I can recover from the horrifyingly nap-less afternoon.



September 24

Today, my little boy was practically a grown man.

He started the day by taking his clock radio down off its table, and turning the music on. ALL BY HIMSELF. I was in the other room, getting dressed, and suddenly I heard music playing. Apparently my little boy got tired of playing with the toys in his bedroom and decided he wanted to listen to music instead.

I think he was a little surprised at his success - he's tried numerous times before, but never actually gotten the music on until today.

Later, while I was heating up his lunch, Caleb came scooting into the kitchen with his "Who Loves Caleb?" book. I asked him if he wanted me to read the book to him, and he said, "Nonono."

He then began reading the book ALL BY HIMSELF. 

Then he put his hand on Daddy's face, and said "Dada." This guy really loves his Daddy!

Seriously. Does the child even need me anymore? I bet you anything that he'll be changing his own diapers tomorrow.

 Later, Emily, Ryan, and Max stopped by. Can you believe how big Max has gotten? He's already 6 weeks old! Remember what he looked like at 5 days old?

Ryan is such a good big  brother!

Caleb's lucky to have these two awesome cousins!

September 23

It was a looooong day - until Daddy got home.



September 22

I'm not sure what to tell you about my little brown bear today. I think he must be going through a rough patch; during the course of the day, he goes from being snuggly, smart, and adorable to being whiny, fussy, and challenging. My friend Sara says she thinks that babies have a difficult time regulating their emotions when they're hitting important developmental milestones, and I'm inclined to believe her. She's pretty smart.

Today was a perfect example. This morning, my funny little boy pushed his high chair through the breakfast area, into the kitchen. He even navigated around a corner and avoided the cat food. He was so proud of himself!

He finally got stuck, which was pretty upsetting.

Later, he didn't want to be a big boy anymore; he wanted to be a baby.

His swing was out from when Max was over a few weeks ago. We left it out because Caleb likes to put his baby Cabbage Patch Kid in the swing and rock it. Sweet, right?

Today, baby got kicked out.

Don't let this bored look fool you. This child was totally content to be rocked in his swing for at least 15 minutes. I was just happy to have a content child.

Incidentally, here's one-week-old Caleb in the same swing:

Don't you just want to squeeze him?



September 21

Before I write anything else, two things:

1. CALEB TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS TODAY!!!!!

2. No, I don't have any pictures. So I suppose I could be lying, but you'll just have to trust me on this one.

He did it twice over the course of the day; just five little steps before he collapsed into me. The first time, he looked concerned and worried the whole time. The second time, he was excited. I'm hoping "first steps" translates into "real walking" sooner, rather than later.

Now for some totally unrelated photos.

The torrential downpours of this weekend left a little bit of residual water in the bottom of an upturned pail. Caleb discovered it today, and hijinks ensued.

When he was finished, he was a very happy - and very wet - boy.

September 20

Today, Caleb and I:

walked 3.5 miles in the neighborhood

read 12 books

went to Dierbergs, where the fabulous deli lady gave Caleb a piece of cheese and won his heart

ate an ice cream cone at McDonald's

took a 3-hour nap (just Caleb on that one, not me!)

bounced on the bed

snuggled

played in the basement

played in the living room

played on the patio

played in his bedroom

Then I left Caleb with Chris, and the boys had lots more fun without me.

But somehow, in the midst of all of that fun, I only managed to take 7 photos. 2 were over-exposed, 2 were out-of-focus, 1 was lame, and 1 featured Caleb making an unpleasant face.

That leaves me with only this photo for today, for which I am truly sorry:

That's Caleb, walking on tiptoes around our firepit. It's all I've got, folks.

But this was Caleb a year ago today.

I thought he was pretty fantastic then. I had no idea how much more fantastic he would become! (Is that photo enough to make you forgive me for my lame photographic endeavors today? I hope so.)

September 19

We had such a fun day today! Thunderstorms all night meant that Caleb slept like a rock, and even slept in 30 minutes this morning. Then we went to church, where we played with the babies. After church, Caleb (and Mommy and Daddy!) took a nice long nap. Caleb slept for 2 hours, and would have gone longer if we hadn't woken him.

Unfortunately, we did have to wake him because we had tickets to the Cardinals game. Caleb's long nap was great for his attitude, but it meant that we ended up missing most of the game. Oops. We arrived in time for the 7th inning stretch. But we made the most of the 3 innings we watched!

This was Caleb's 3rd or 4th Cards game, but the first game that he actually seemed to watch. It was pretty fun!

The boys enjoyed watching the Cards win a game, for a change!

After the game, Caleb was still feeling pretty spunky, so we stopped by a bakery on our way home for some fantastic cupcakes!

Mine was a mudslide cupcake, and Chris' was a mojito cupcake. They were massive, and delicious. Though the weren't quite of the quality of the Cupcakery or Jilly's Cupcakes downtown, they were a great value, and they were local! If you're in O'Fallon, you should check out The Bakery Shoppe. They have tons of baked goods at great prices.

We took our cupcakes to a nearby park (which we had all to ourselves due to the soggy ground!) and had a great time!

Caleb really liked Chris' cupcake, but didn't care for mine. I was so disappointed that I had to eat the whole thing myself...

We finished our trip off with a nice swing.

What a great day!