This is by far my favorite face that Caleb makes often these days. He wrinkles up one side of his nose when he's thinking about something or saying something silly. The expression alone cracks me up!
For example, I asked him who his favorite teacher was and he wrinkled his nose up and said "Miss Courtney!" She is one of the three women who serve in his classroom while I am at Study & Share. How thankful I am for these women who pour into our children's lives while we are fellowshipping and learning more about God ourselves! Shawn & I really struggled with the decision of how many days to send Caleb to preschool. Should we pay for two days since he's already three and advanced for his age? Was one day enough? Was the toddler classroom appropriate for him? We looked at our finances. I talked to the Study & Share person to see if the little boy who was abusing other kids was coming back this year. We prayed. And God answered!
I emailed the school and said that if a NON-toddler two-day class came up on T/Th, we would be willing to sacrifice the money and put him in. After all, he was potty trained and the oldest in his class. But, there wasn't an opening except in the 4-year old room, and that wasn't an option for him (they have pretty strict standards). Shawn finally said after I kept going back and forth "One day is fine!" And that was it. Now, I'm so glad that we only did one day, because Caleb LOVES the class that we're not paying for (ironic, isn't it?). He's learning Bible lessons, they go to the gym, they do a craft, he gets a snack, and they have play time that is with the helpers. There's a better student-to-adult ratio in this class, the Bible lessons are FANTASTIC, and they do almost everything a normal preschool class would do. He loves the teachers and the other students are more his age, so he enjoys it all the more. And, it's completely free! A gift from heaven! I thank his teachers profusely for giving up of their time to serve in this area. They could be sitting in the Bible study as well but instead they volunteer to pour into the lives of our children. And Caleb begs to go back there, even on days that he's going to his preschool class.
I took Caleb's pictures in the same chair I took Ryan's. It showed me just how big Caleb has gotten in such a short amount of time! He can button shirt buttons. He can zip his own jackets! He knows how to put on his own socks and shoes. And while he hasn't mastered buttoning his own pants, I'm sincerely impressed with all that Caleb can do on his own. He traces well, writes many letters, and knows the sounds of letters as he sounds out words with his big brother. He LOVES to work on puzzle books and will put the stickers in their missing spots, follow 'tangled' cords to connect pictures and look for hidden pictures or shapes in the pages.
One of my favorite sounds to hear is Caleb singing. Joshua always has a song in his heart, it seems, and sings often. I also love to hear him! But, Caleb doesn't always join in. So, when he chooses to sing a song, it is literally music to my ears. Yesterday, he crawled up in my bed and sang "God loves a cheerful giver - ha ha ha ha ha!" This is Joshua's preschool song this month from the "Hide 'em in their hearts" Steve Green CD. The song begins that the Bible says the more we give, the more we're blessed; so rather than 'giving til it hurts' let's give until it TICKLES! The song continues with "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparing-ly! He who sows generously will also reap gen-er-ous-ly YEAH!" It is a cute song and a great reminder of God's priorities rather than our priorities. I love that the boys are learning God's Word!
Caleb is easily distracted (just like his mom!). He'll start one activity and if he happens to even bump into something else that looks interesting, he leaves the first behind to pursue another! With that, he could leave behind a trail of toys, books or other things as he goes from one thing to the next, but I'm trying to work on reminding him to pick up as we go. It is interesting to see how his thought process works - he truly is a "Curious George" type personality. He doesn't mean to get in trouble, but he LOVES to see how things work and gets easily side-tracked. With that, he also can entertain himself with ease, which is one of the things I so appreciate about him. Joshua will still ask me for ideas of things to do if he gets bored with the activity we're playing. Caleb never does - he can always find something to entertain himself!
One major change from last month to this month is that Caleb is starting to play Wii with his brother. Before we could tell that he didn't quite grasp the concept and wasn't really interested in it. Now, he will play golf, bowling and boxing with Joshua and does well for his age. I crack up when the boys will tell the other's "Mii" to "take a nap!" when they are boxing with each other (rather than get knocked out, etc.)
Caleb has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, and the biggest longest eyelashes to go with them. He's turning out to be quite the handsome young man, I think. Caleb is his Daddy through and through! He is passive aggressive like Shawn, saying one thing (and probably meaning it) but then doing whatever he wants to. I've found that we have to take more time to follow up with him and stay consistent with requiring obedience when we've asked him to do something. But, I know this time is SO worth it! Caleb is also gentle and sweet like his Daddy and is independent just like him. While the Bean is much like his mama, our little 'Bluke is just like his Daddy. He makes us laugh all the time with his silly expressions and how he sees the world. He's calm and easygoing and all around a joy to have in our family.
We love you, Caleb Luke! Happy 40-month birthday!
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