Caleb turned 53-months old on Saturday, December 8. He has officially outgrown all things in a size 4T to the point that I noticed his pants were up above his sock line the other day and his sleeves were almost mid-arm. So I dug everything out of his drawers that were in that range and put them in a box for the Schnook. He is growing like a weed! He also loves to wear Joshua's shoes (size 1 youth), so I have it on my to-do list to go shopping with him to make sure his feet haven't grown and he needs new sneakers.
One thing I noticed recently is that Caleb now knows all the names of his preschool classmates. For a boy who "couldn't remember" at the beginning of the year (and didn't really seem to care all that much), he'll tell me who was missing or who sat near him, etc. I'll ask him if he played with anyone and he often will say "the other kids don't want to play with me." NOTHING makes my heart more sad than this statement. Caleb is SUCH a neat kid, but so shy! I'm wondering if it's true that he struggles to make friends or if he just says it out of habit (like when he used to tell me that they had goldfish EVERY time for snack when I knew for a fact they had other things). I pray that he's making friends (please pray for him as well!). I know this year is different for him in that he doesn't have big brother next to him to introduce him, etc. He needs to step out of his shell on his own. And, I wish I could go into the classroom to observe how he interacts with kids. It is the main thing I don't like about his teacher this year. Most teachers LOVE when moms volunteer to help, but this one doesn't seem to want it or care to have parents in there. Each year I've been able to help with Joshua's class and watch him from time-to-time with his peers as well as bless the teacher by doing whatever she asks me to do. This is the second year that Caleb has a teacher who says no parents in the classroom - UGH!!! I have never seen him interact in a school setting. It drives me bananas!
We got Caleb's progress report back just before leaving on vacation in November. It said that he knew everything necessary except his phone number and address (which I know that he knows because he'll tell us). It also said "Caleb will play with boys, but I've never seen him initiate any conversations." Even though Caleb is very advanced academically, I am concerned for his social skills and leaning toward holding him back another year before starting kindergarten. Please pray for wisdom for us as parents! I don't want to bore him to death in school (I think he's already there) but I also don't want to push him into a setting he's not prepared for, as this will affect the rest of his life. I tend to think kids do better, especially boys, when they are a little older rather than the youngest.
Caleb LOVES to play games, color, do crafts, help in the kitchen, play outside, and get one-on-one time. He will ask to go into stores with Shawn just to have some alone time with him, I think, and he's a huge helper when he's by himself. He tends to get into mischief when his brothers are along too, though.
Caleb is my silly boy and constantly doing things to make us laugh - like putting undies on his head and asking us if this is where they go (cracking up himself!). He'll come in at night with a silly hat on that we're not expecting, etc. and we giggle at his silliness. There have been times he's truly caught us off-guard and we just roar.
I love that Caleb is easygoing. We've forgotten show-n-tell on occasion, and he never gets bent of shape or thrown off his game. He is VERY even-tempered and not bothered by little details in life. He SO reminds me of Shawn in this area. I draw strength from personalities like these since it is not my natural instinct.
One thing we say about Caleb is that he marches to the beat of his own drum. He will find things to play and play them his way. He isn't bothered by "norms" or how things are typically done. He doesn't seem to care what others think - if it looks like fun to him, he'll jump right in. He is genuinely fun to be around!
Happy 53-month birthday, Caleb Luke! We love you!
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