Kaleb at 23 Months

As Kaleb is approaching the BIG TWO, he has been improving and growing in so many ways. He understands more complex ideas, and it seems to be getting easier and easier to communicate with him. Of course, with that understanding comes my frustration when he chooses to disobey us. I've become that counting mom, except I never get to three. Kaleb will either choose the better path or get whatever discipline comes to him by the time I get to three.

BETTER MEMORY: I've noticed Kaleb remembering things a lot more, for better or worse. He often remembers where he left toys or books that I can't seem to find. He also remembers how to get to his favorite spots. For instance, whenever we pass the mall, he starts yelling , "No, NO, NO!" because it's the best to play.

BETTER VOCABULARY: With the better memory comes a better vocabulary. Kaleb has well over 100 words, whether anybody but Ammon and me can understand is another subject. The other day he started playing peekaboo with "Here he is" after each one. He likes to 'count' now as well which is mostly just pointing at objects and saying ,"We, we, we" for each. We often just get random mumbles of run-on sentences, but Ammon was able to get Kaleb to say a few things very clearly for the camera the other day. I LOVE THIS VIDEO!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_PywuphvLw

GOOD BIG BROTHER-ISH: I can't wait for Kaleb to be a big brother!! He already shows so many signs of being patient and wanting that company that comes with a bigger family. Kind of a random picture we got with his older cousin-look-alike Christian. They could be brothers.
Kaleb shows the most potential with his cousin Evelyn who is at our house all the time. He still balks a little at sharing his favorite toys, but this picture defines how he takes everything in stride, even letting her crawl over him to get to his sippy cup. The best part is that he usually seeks her company and likes to play with her. Plus he is magnanamous enough to offer her his less favorable toys.

WHERE DID HE GO? He has this new habit of hiding his eyes and/or his mouth when he gets excited. Daddy was chasing him down the hall and he tried to hide by covering his eyes.

And this is a fun photo of his excitement at getting to wear Elmo pajamas. The absolute joy!!

ROLLING, ROLLING, ROLLING: Kaleb loves to jump all the time. When he's walking some place there must be a few jumps included, complete with the narration "Jup, jup, jup." Then there is the running. He always runs with his head a little forward and Ammon said it best when he commented, "He's like a boulder rolling down a hill." Here is a video of some running with a new-found friend at the mall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlC7WUW8BSU

NEW BEDTIME SCHEDULE: Kaleb has essentially demanded some changes in his bedtime routine. Firstly, I've been giving him more baths. With how often he was getting sick, I figure it couldn't hurt to clean him more often. Here's a great shot of him trying to get the bath to go a little longer by being a human plug.

He also has been demanding that he reads most of his stories instead of having us read them to him. We still try to stay involved, but sometimes it's hard to tell a ten-second story when he skips a lot of pages. There has also been the sudden expectation of a song every night. I used to sing to him when he was a baby, but got out of the habit. Now he begs for it, and if it's anything that doesn't sound like a church hymn or primary song he stops me. My little boy likes to have peaceful dreams I guess!

JUST KEEP SWIMMING: The high-ninety degree weather recently prompted us to beg to use a friend's pool. Once we all got used to the cold water it was a ton of fun. Kaleb seems to have a healthy fear of the water, so that makes me more comfortable with the idea of giving him swimming lessons in a few weeks.

SPECIAL KISSES: Kaleb has always been a lover, not a fighter. He loves to give hugs and kisses. Recently he started giving me some really wacky kisses. This is a photo of a normal little Kaleb kiss.

The new kisses include his grabbing the back of my head and shoving our lips together with his eyes really wide. He only gives those 'special' kisses to me, and a few people have commented that he was inspired by mommy and daddy's kissing. However, I think it's more of a payback for all of the grab-his-face-and-smooch moments I've gotten over the years.

As a side note, Kaleb's favorite movie is now "How to Train Your Dragon" and his favorite book is "The Monster at the End of the Book."