Caleb's first day of preschool and a long update

Last week was Caleb's first day of preschool!  He's going Tuesdays and Thursdays at a church down nearby.

Here is my email I sent my family after I dropped Caleb off:
"He didn't seem very nervous this morning.  He let me take his picture, and he liked his new big backpack.  We walked him to his class, holding his bear.  We found his name for his backpack hook, and his name at the table.  He asked how many minutes until I came back, and I showed him on the clock that it would be 2:30.  He smiled because you know he likes to know the schedule!  But when I started to leave, he started crying and said, "Mommy, I don't want you to go!"  David went back in and hugged him and reassured him.  He just hugged his teddy bear and buried his face in it and was trying not to cry.  Breaks my heart!  I wish I could stay with him the whole time!  I know he'll do good though.  Just makes me sad because he's usually fine staying anywhere.  Maybe this just felt bigger and more important than just playing at church.  I know everyone has to go through that feeling of being alone and fear...but I would keep him with me forever if I could!"

I wrote:
"I was thinking on the way home how I sometimes looked forward to having more time to myself or time to run errands or clean or make dinner without craziness.  But now I realize that all of that is nice, but it's not what brings me joy, and I'd give it all up to have my babies.  They're my heart!  And I'm just very thankful I've gotten to stay home with them this long."

When I picked him up, he said he liked preschool.  He seemed really tired.  But he said he had fun.  He liked the playground, he ate most of his lunch, the kids were nice, and he got picked to help the teacher carry her bag and hand out the snack.

The second day I wrote this to my family:
"Good news again!  Caleb had a great day!  I did the carpool lane to pick him up, and his teacher brought him out to the van.  He said, 'Mommy, I didn't cry!  I had fun!'  Hehe.  So cute.  He said he ate all of his lunch.  AND he got to pass out the snack today.  He forgot to tell me he also got to pass out the snack on Tuesday as well as help the teacher with her bag.  Do we have a teacher's pet here?  hehe.  They painted with apples, he told me the teacher had a sandwich and apple for lunch, they talked about the day and date and the teacher put up the number 12 for Sept. 12th, he napped in a different spot, they went to the gym, and they went to a different playground (not the rollercoaster one) that he's been to before for Kindred, and one boy accidentally cut another boy's finger with scissors.  He cried and got a bandaid.  While listening, Nathan says, 'Someone needs to kiss it.'"  :)

Other updates:
Caleb's very much into pretending things.  Most days he'll throw a birthday party for his animals, complete with cake and presents.  He has all of our family's birthday orders memorized (aunts, uncles, and grandparents included).  So he also made up birthdays for his animals.  He knows how old they are and when their birthdays are.  For example, Bear is 13 1/2 and his birthday is in February.  Turkey is 21 (I think) and his birthday is in October.  

Here is a Caleb creation.  He frequently does this where is makes this compilation of random toys into this masterpiece that he doesn't want to destroy.  And everything on that wagon has a purpose to his playing.  I think here he was pretending he was going to school, and there are decorations in there, he packed his lunch, and there is stuff for music class, etc.  Oh, and he has a make-believe friend named Organis.  Have no idea where he came up with that one.  One day I took this apart without asking him, and he had a meltdown.  But then he created a new one he liked better.  :)

He's such a sponge when it comes to numbers.  Our little mathematician.  He knows how to count to a hundred.  He told me he can count to a billion and nine though.  He has most addition and subtraction memorized.  He does it all in his head, although occasionally he'll look at the clock so he can visually see the numbers.  David just bought him flashcards because we could tell he loves adding and subtracting so much.  He had fun going through them. 

He already knows how to tell time.  Since his chair in the kitchen faces the clock, he always asks what time it is.  I've told him how to tell time, but I think it's pretty confusing.  But he's memorized it - whether or not it makes sense to him.  And he's memorized when all of his favorite tv shows come on.

He's athletic too.  He takes after me with the monkey genes.  He can climb and hang from anything.  I caught him doing this flip at parents' day out at a gymnasium.

And here he his hitting a ball.  I can't believe he has such good eye-hand coordination with that small ball and skinny bat!

  

When Daddy left the ladder out, Caleb ran to get his tools and pretended to be hanging curtains on the front door.  He hammered, and grabbed blankets to hoist up there as the drapes.

Sometimes even big boys need naps.  This is him falling asleep while playing in his room during his rest time.  He loves to set up scenes like this.  That's his rocking chair on his bed with the blanket covering it and his animals on top.  Speaking of setting up scenes, he loves playing with our "junk baskets."  Kind of catch-all baskets in the living room to collect random toys, things from birthday parties, church, etc.  He loves to use all of those things to interact together and create something new each time.

He's so sweet and tender with Matthew.  He talks to him in mommy-baby talk like I do, he watches him for me if I need to leave the room, he tells me if Matthew needs something.

Ok, now this one blew me away.  I put the letters j-o-y together and asked him what is spelled.  Then, after I left the room, he came back a little later, and showed me this.  You have to read it in a certain order.  "Joy, joy joy joy, dan (down) in mi (my) hort (heart).  The he said, "I also put in the words CAT and GOD."  What??!!

Here he made a delicious picnic for us to enjoy.  Complete with a phone to call Nana, and a camera to take pictures of us.

I love my boy so much!  I could write so much more, but I better hit publish, or I'll never get anything recorded down.  It's such a joy watching him grow up.  I just think every day how blessed I am.  I love hearing his exuberance for little things and hearing his sweet thoughts.  I'll cherish these times always!

Help around the house

No, I haven't gotten a maid or nanny.  Just talking about these adorable boys of mine.  I like to include them in my housework sometimes.  It's good to teach them, and they seem to enjoy it.  They'd do everything if I let them...and fight about who gets to do it!  But that's probably because it's a novelty and not a chore.  They love sorting silverware and putting things away out of the dishwasher.  They'll help bring some bags in after grocery shopping.  They love washing the car.  They like to match socks for me.  They'll put their toys away...most of the time.  They'd probably love to vacuum if they were able.  When I'm vacuuming, they like to grab the attachments and pretend to clean too.  And they like to help with the laundry.  Of course, what little boy doesn't love to push buttons?  When I asked them to put the clothes from the washer to the dryer, I heard lots of giggles, and found them doing this:

Looks fun, huh?  I guess I just have to not worry about the clean clothes being dropped on the floor.  :)

Just Like The Old Days

This is David.  It's a rare occasion that I contribute, but I'm sitting and experiencing the joy again of a toy section at a department store.  I figured it would be fun to share.

When I was young, it was common that I would accompany my mom when she went shopping.  I'm 5 years younger than my nearest sibling, so there were many days where it was just me and mom.  Shopping with her was kind of a drag.  You get pulled away from whatever Lego project you were working on or make-believe adventure to a store with ladies clothes and bras.  Not fun at all.  Sometimes I would find a hanger or one of those plastic clips that holds sleeves together.  I would collect those clips and I called them "keys".  If I was lucky, I would find the dressing room with all the mirrors.  Nothing like making funny faces or ninja moves and getting to see them in all angles.

Then.... then I found there was a toy section.  A whole section void of the drab ladies beige pants and shoes?  Chock full of toys I didn't have?  Amazing!

Fast forward almost 30 years and today, right this moment, I get to share the joy again!  My oldest two are deep into the toy section and it's as if they've dipped their tongues in the finest hallucinogen.  They haven't made one complaint or whimper.  Just overwhemed with amazement.

Should I view this as evidence they need more toys?  Nah.  Just evidence that once in a while, we should come to the store and let them gorge themselves on the toy section. 

I love these boys.  I'm thankful to God for little men and thankful to Lisa for helping raise them to be strong and rambunctious. 

Matt Facts - a little up update

Poor Matthew hasn't gotten much love here on the blog, but he's getting lots of love everyday with us at home!  We all love this little guy and can't imagine life without him.

Here are some Matthew updates:

Now that he's out of the newborn stage, his little personality is starting to come out.  It's fun to see what makes him laugh and what interests him.  I can't wait to see who he becomes.

He started getting up on all 4s and rocking around 6 months.  Now he's slowing "worming" his way across the floor.

He started sitting pretty sturdy at 6 1/2 months.

He's getting the hang of eating - bananas and butternut squash so far.

He's a great sleeper.  He's been sleeping through the night for awhile.  But he gets up around 5:45.  He takes 3 naps a day.  He's a great napper too, but they're still unpredictable.  I never know when the long ones and short ones are going to be.

He does great at the church nursery.

He loves the pool.  We just put him in his floaty thing, and he's so content and relaxed.

He loves his brothers.  He adores Caleb.  Caleb is so sweet and gentle, he watches him if I need to leave the room, he gets him toys, he coos to make him smile.  Nathan loves him too in his own way.  He smothers gives him big hugs, pulls his legs, pokes his face, drops things on his head...you get the idea.  He's been calling him "my baby" lately.  They both love Matthew so much.

Being outside gets him through fussy times.  He likes stroller walks and being in the swing in the backyard.  But since it's hard to get the big boys to stop their play just because I want to go outside with Matthew, I rely on the baby carrier and wear him around the house a lot.  I'm going to be cashing in on some massages soon!

6 months has flown by!  I can't believe that Nathan wasn't even a year old when we moved into this house.  And now Matthew isn't far off from that!

Ok, I better hit publish now, since I've already lost this and had to try to retype it 3 times.  And here are some pics!

My so-called life

Here are a couple of weird things that happen every day around here.  Maybe they're common to everyone, but I have a hunch probably not.

For one, I feel like I wipe someone's butt like 8 times a day.  Call me crazy, but that seems like a lot for 3 kids!  Seriously, Caleb and Nathan both poop about 3 times a day.  I mean, I'm happy they're so regular and all and have healthy digestion (I've read you're supposed to go at least once a day), but give a mom a break!  I'm usually hesitant to go places at certain times of the day because I know nature will call.  One time Caleb had 3 adult-sized poops before noon!  How all of that fit into his tiny body, I'll never know.  People, you'd be jealous of these too.  They are so clean and perfect, they require virtually no wipes, but I have to wipe him anyway, of course.  Sorry for all the details, but those are just the facts.  And in his 4 1/2 years of life, I don't think he's ever not pooped.  In fact, if David and I talk about it, it's usually over the fact we think he only pooped once that day and wonder if he's going to wake us in the middle of the night to wipe him.  Ha!  I think I need to get on that getting-him-to-wipe-himself thing stat!

Another weird thing I think is probably uncommon is I usually have to wake all of the kids up from their naps.  And it's hard!  I don't think Nathan has ever woke on his own, but a handful of times.  And this is after they have napped for 2+ hours!  I wake them because I don't want them sleeping past 4, or much longer than 2 hours because I want them to sleep well at night.  I'm not complaining much about this one.  I know what a blessing it is to have kids that love to nap.  I usually get at least an hour to myself when all of them are down...or in Caleb's case, reading in his room.  But those couple times a week when Caleb does nap, I have to wake each kid up.  Sometimes it takes like 30 minutes to get them to wake up!  Ugh!  I dread getting them up for school during the teenage years!  And they are usually somewhat grumpy and groggy from being woken, so I have 3 boys that want to sit on top of me and cuddle.  And many times I'm trying to nurse Matthew!  I need another set of hands!  :)

Not sure if those are normal for everyone, but it's definitely part of my so-called life.  :)