18 days to go!

Since the presidential campaigns started so early last year, we have several election-related Calebisms. I decided to just group all of them together. So, I present to you...

Calebisms- Presidential Edition






1/5/08
Age 2

While watching the presidential debates today, we discovered that Caleb can now identify ALL of the presidential candidates by face and name!
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1/20/08
Age 2

Caleb loves to read the campaign signs when we are driving to and from various places. Today, we had this conversation in the car:
Caleb: Did you see that?
Mommy: See what?
Caleb: That (pointing out the window)
Mommy: (No clue what he's talking about) No, honey, I didn't see it.
Caleb: (Sobbing loudly) You missed the Fred Thompson!
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2/9/08
Age 2

Caleb was naming the presidential candidates. He got to Mitt Romney, and we told him that he had dropped out of the race. Later that night...
Caleb: Mike Huckabee, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney. No, he dropped on my floor.
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3/21/08
Age 2

Caleb had a dream about Barack Obama last night! After waking up, we had this conversation:
Caleb: Barack Obama told me last night.
Mommy: Told you what?
Caleb: He said, "Vote for president." I asked him to give me some Claritin and he said, "It's only for special days."

Seriously, what is wrong with my child?!?!
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11/5/08
Age 3

While tucking Caleb in last night (the night of the election), we explained to Caleb that when he woke up, we'd know who our new president was going to be. This morning:
Caleb: OK, so who's our new president?
Mommy: Barack Obama
Caleb: (obviously shocked) It's not John McCain?!? (He had told us several times that he thought McCain would win)
Mommy: Nope, it's Obama
Caleb: OK
Mommy: And we will have a new vice president too.
Caleb: Biden?
Mommy: (shocked) Yes, Biden!
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11/10/08
Age 3

We were watching Barack and Michelle Obama meet with George and Laura Bush on a Special Report:
Caleb: Is that the White House?
Mommy: Yes, it sure is.
Caleb: Like the one on my flashcards? (He has presidential flashcards that also include The White House, The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, etc.)
Mommy: Yep, it's the same one.
Caleb: Wow. That's a BIG house.
Mommy: Yes, it is.
Caleb: I want to live there when I grow up.
Mommy: You have to be the president to live there.
Caleb: Well, I guess I'll have to be president when I grow up.

He's got my vote!
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2008
Age 3

During the election season, Caleb went through a phase where he would pull out his stool and microphone and make "campaign speeches" every night. Basically, he would just tell us all of the things he'd done that day and would commend us for the things we had done as well. It was so funny. Here's a picture taken during one of his speeches:

Let the Birthday Countdown begin!

In 19 days, my sweet and precocious little boy will be turning 4 years old! Since he was a baby, I have made a point to write down the funny and impressive things that Caleb says and does. As a countdown to his birthday, each day I'll be featuring some of my favorite "Calebisms" from the past few years. Hope you enjoy!

2/27/07
Age: 22 months

Mommy: Who loves you?
Caleb: Mama
Mommy: Who do YOU love?
Caleb: Mama
Isaac: Who feeds you?
Caleb: (After pausing for a moment) Toast!
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March 2007
Age: 23 months

Caleb loves to sing songs (although sometimes incorrectly)
Caleb: Baa baa black sheep, have you any nose?
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March 2007
Age: 23 months

Caleb is obsessed with Wheel of Fortune. He will say, "Veel of Fortune at 7 o'cwock. ABC" all day long!
He also says, "Oh no! Bankwupt," while spinning his toy wheel.



**Who could ever have imagined how much this obsession would grow?!?
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6/12/07
Age: 2 years

We were counting bites with Caleb at dinner. At 13, he stopped eating, but continued to go through the motions with his fork until we got to 18.
Mommy: I think your last real bite was at 13.
Caleb: It was 14.
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6/30/07
Age: 2 years

Caleb was playing with his medical kit. He put the otoscope in Isaac's ear.
Isaac: What do you see?
Caleb: Biscuits


Keep tuning in. Trust me, the older he gets, the funnier he gets! :)

Happy Birthday, Camryn!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my precious niece.

C- Charming
A- Adorable
M- Musical
R- Responsible
Y- Youthful
N- Non-stop

We love you, Cammy!

Faith of a Child

Earlier this week, Isaac went in to wake Caleb up after an exceptionally long nap. Isaac immediately called me to come in and see what Caleb had done. My mind jumped from thoughts of broken toys/furniture to walls with freshly drawn art to evidence of failed attempts at conquering danger. What I found, instead, was this note written on his Doodler:

Snow Day

Last Tuesday, we had a mini snow day at our house! It wasn't much, but we were at least able to go out and play in it a bit. It was actually Caleb's first time in the snow! Yes, it has been nearly 4 years since it's snowed in NE Columbia! When Caleb first saw the snow, we had this conversation:

Caleb: That's a lot of snow!
(Surveying the yard intently)
Caleb: But where are the carrots?
Mommy: The carrots? What do you mean?
Caleb: The carrots to make the snowman's nose.
Mommy: Oh, you have to buy those at the store. They don't come with the snow.
Caleb: Oh!

I guess he thought special "snowman carrots" just fall from the sky! Ha ha.

The snow really brought out Caleb's silly side!



Jessie did NOT like getting snow in her face.


Eyeing the back door


"I'm trying to catch snowflakes on my tongue like Lucy and Linus."


Our mini snowman!



I caught some snowflakes on black cardstock and was able to get some close up shots. I admit they're a bit blurry, but it was hard to get focused before they melted. I think it's SO amazing how much detail God put into something so small.

Christmas is for the birds

Back in December, my mom read an article about a cute way to recycle your Christmas tree. Basically, you put the tree out in your yard and decorate it with bird feeder ornaments and fruit slices for birds and other wildlife. She thought it sounded like fun (and so did I), so the week after Christmas, Caleb and I went over to help. We all had a blast making all of the ornaments and hanging them. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we've gone back over to do it 2 more times since then! The birds seem to have enjoyed it too.

We made 2 different ornament styles. The first is very easy and is the least messy of the two. You just string Fruit Loops or Cheerios onto a pipe cleaner and form it into a loop. **While the Fruit Loops are more colorful, the birds seem to prefer Cheerios.

The second one does require an adult to help. For this one, you use waffle cones/sugar cones. You start by cutting the tip off and knotting a pipe cleaner to run through it. Then, cover the cone in peanut butter and roll it in bird seed. Done! It's basically like the pine cone bird feeders we made as kids, but much easier and less painful than dealing with pine cones! They turned out really cute. **Caleb did NOT like getting peanut butter on his fingers, so he sprinkled the bird seed on instead. This actually made it a lot less messy and probably a bit more fun for him.

We also put/impaled some fruit slices on the tree. When we finished, Caleb said it needed a star, so I whipped up a VERY ghetto looking star out of pipe cleaners and we let him put it on top. All in all, the tree turned out great. We are looking forward to making this an annual tradition and, hopefully, Camryn will also get to join in the fun next year!

Christmas Day

Isaac and all were all smiles while filling the stockings and setting out Caleb's gifts. I was SO excited. In fact, I was so anxious for Christmas morning to come that I didn't sleep all night! This was the second Christmas that Caleb was cribless. Last year, I was SO afraid that I'd miss the initial "gift reaction" that I made Isaac camp out in the living room with me on Christmas Eve. :) Our Christmas Eve camp out has now worked out, successfully, 2 years in a row. This may become a annual tradition for us.

Christmas morning is the one morning of the year when I pray Caleb WON'T sleep in. Alas, the boy who is usually up between 6:30 and 7 AM was still in bed at 7:15. I seriously couldn't wait anymore, so we put A Charlie Brown Christmas in and cranked up the volume. It worked like a charm. :) Caleb was so excited when he saw his new pirate ship that he turned around and covered his face in disbelief. It was really cute. I wish I could get the video clip of it on here, but you'll have to settle for the still shot. After opening all of the gifts, we made Christmas cookies. I've decided to make cookie baking a Christmas Day event for several reasons: 1- We are ALL home! 2- It keeps them from all being eaten before Christmas. 3- It's just more fun when you're already in Christmas mode. After cookies, we broke out all of the toys and played and played some more. What a fun Christmas!