Happy 38-month birthday, Caleb Luke!

On Thursday, September 8, Caleb turned 38 months old. I think he's recently experienced another growth spurt. Daddy just said to me the other day, "Doesn't Caleb look thinner again to you?" I think my little man eats and eats and gets a little bit 'thicker' and then shoots upward and becomes skinny all over again. He does look older to me.

While Joshua LOVES the Wii, Caleb really can't be bothered yet. He loves to play cars or trains around where Joshua is, though. He plays SO well by himself. I love to see his mind working as his imagination is starting to take shape, too. Today he counted backward from ten and said "BLAST-OFF!" As he has been riding his bike (which he is doing great with these days! I can see a huge difference!), he tells us he is going with rocket legs to make him faster. He has been able to steer and pedal and get himself up hills that used to make him stop.

Caleb has been singing a lot lately, too, which I LOVE to hear his soft little voice singing songs. I broke out the baby worship CD for little Ryan, and Caleb & Joshua both request to hear the "God song" over and over again. I love the one "We were made to praise you!" Thinking of my little guys being born to worship God makes me love that the Lord blessed us with children. We are truly raising little men who will hopefully grow to worship God and praise Him, which is what they were created to do.

So far, Caleb has enjoyed preschool. His first 'real' day, he came out upset that he had to go potty. I realized that while he is outrageously smart just like his daddy, he is also painfully shy at times. I think he was too quiet to ask where the bathrooms were and forgot that I had showed him. I'll have to work with him on politely speaking up for himself.

My little man loves books and we've been doing a lot of reading lately. He's also doing really well with big brother's "puzzle books" and loves to do the work inside of them (from tracing dot-to-dots to going through mazes to finding matches or hidden pictures). Both my kids LOVE these! Thanks, Mamaw!

Caleb imitates Joshua a lot, and we think it is so cute! The other night at dinner Caleb said to his big brother "you like corn and so do I!" It was important to show that he was eating what the older kid next to him was. Caleb has gotten into the habit where he has quit eating dinner, no matter what is served to him. But, I realize that he's eating breakfast and lunch well and he'll eat when he's hungry. His favorite things to eat are blueberries, cheese sticks (or string cheese), apples, grapes, butter bread, peanut butter and jelly, and noodles.

Caleb has been pushing boundaries again. He will defiantly disobey when we ask him to clean something up, and I see him watching us to see if we will stay consistent. Oh, consistency in parenting is probably the hardest part!!! (That and the worry that we need to lay down.) I know he's pushing simply because he wants to see that he still matters to us with the new baby and with Joshua getting older. As a middle child, he is fighting for our attention, and I'm trying to remember to give him positive attention so he doesn't need to resort to the negative variety. He has been quite the cuddle bug lately, too. He woke up from his nap today and asked me just to rock him. We sat there for almost half an hour as I just held him. He also asks for Daddy to snuggle him, and if he wakes up in the middle of the night (like last night), he comes over and asks for cuddles. Our little man that used to hate sitting still long enough to snuggle has become one that really seeks our hugs and long squeezes. I LOVE to cuddle with my kids, and I hate times that he asks for it and I'm feeding the baby and really can't at that exact moment. It is a juggling act to give everyone the attention they deserve! But, it's worth fighting for. My little Caleb Luke, you mean more to us than you could ever imagine. You do matter to us and we love you from the very bottom of our hearts. We are thrilled to have a Caleb Luke in our lives and wouldn't change a thing about you!

Caleb is sweet, quiet, shy, smart as a whip, adventurous, sly at times, gentle, purposeful, kind, and all around amazing. We are blessed to have him in our worlds. Happy 38-month birthday, Caleb Luke!