Kaleb at 3 1/2

Kaleb continues to be a fun little challenge.  Our biggest problem with him right now is his inconsistency.  He is such a sweet boy, but he can be terribly sensitive over the littlest things.  Other times he is so tough and doesn't want to do a thing we ask.  I think he's just trying to figure things out and we're just trying to do our best to go with the crashing of his and our emotional waves. 

 

One thing that hasn't stopped is his endless entertainment value.  He is becoming so creative with his imagination.  He likes to use this flexible tunnel to become a caterpillar.

 

This is Kaleb getting everything ready to "Go camping."  Apparently he got the impression that when one goes camping they bringing EVERYTHING with them.

 

He often uses his hands as little critters, calling them 'spiders' and likes to project his emotions on them and his blue bear. Similar to an imaginary friend. We hear things like "Blue bear is getting hungry." or "My spiders did it!" We love to encourage his imagination but we also need him to own up to his own actions and feelings.  Lately he has taken to lying, which is never acceptable.  Sometimes they're complete falsehoods like one time when he accused his cousin Ellie of pushing Sasha when Ellie was on the other side of the room.  There are other times when he isn't telling the truth, but it's almost like he doesn't understand... but he should.  Like at night when we try to give him a hug and kiss, he will refuse.  We say, "okay, goodnight" and walk out and he has a complete melt down because he didn't get to give us a hug and kiss.  This kind of hypocricy is probably my biggest personal pet peeve with him since it's so hard to trust any decision I let him make. 

 

A look of innocence:

There is also Kaleb's grasp of organization and patterns that continues to astonish me.  He likes to have things in order (like his mommy)... like in this picture he placed those books like that just because...

 

 

But other times he just doesn't seem to 'get it.'  I helped him make a drum out of an oatmeal tub, and had him decorate it with his vast array of stickers... well, there were three spots that were just piled with stickers one on top of another, instead like most kids do with individual stickers coating every inch of a project.  It's just one of the quirks that I laugh about. 

 

Kaleb is ceaselessly a 'big helper.'  He would almost always be doing something rather than nothing (unless there's something REALLY good on the tv), and when Ammon and my dad were installing our dishwasher, it was constantly "I wanna see!  I wanna try it!  Daddy, let me do it!" 

Over the last few months Kaleb has been far more daring.  He has become a big brother of a fearless little girl which seems to be pushing him to try new things.  He also takes every opportunity to tell Sasha all the rules and keep her in check. 

 

Kaleb has also found a friend in one of my friend's sons, Logan.  They often play together in nursery and since my friend and I like to get together, there are SO many opportunities for them to play.  Logan is a tough little sucker in spite of being an inch or so smaller (but four months older), and the other day they got into a nice little wrestling match at the mall playplace.  Since my dad is a HUGE fan of wrestling (the real sport, not stupid fake pile-driving type), he was proud to see this little clip I got.  Kaleb is the one in the camouflage pants.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv3bK5JW0c4

 

Of course some of the best times is just listening to the things Kaleb says.  He still has some problems forming grammatically correct sentences, but then again, don't we all?  He is ALWAYS talking to strangers about who they are and what they are doing and why they are the same place we are, anbd occasionally bringing up random facts about us that most people don't share with strangers (Like "We are going to buy me new pants and shoes for Sasha!!!")  He is always very friendly and most people are quite understanding. 

 

This period in Kaleb's life is the WHY? phase and for someone who is very informative, it gets a little frustrating when the question WHY comes right after I've explained the why.  Silly Kaleb!

 

Some funny things Kaleb has said recently

When seeing a video of Michael Jackson: "That girl is really creepy"

When asking to keep his bedtime book till morning, "I want it for so I can read to the bright."

Guns he calls "Shootguns"

Medicine is "Mesidin"

Cousin Evelyn and elephants are "Elphalant"

 

 

"WHY SO SERIOUS?"

(jelly mess)

 

As a preschool aged kid, Kaleb is constantly trying to understand letters and numbers.  He recognizes more letters by name and we have taught him to write a "K" and "A" for his name and I hope to have him able to write all his letters and numbers by the time he turns 4... if he can't it will be completely our fault for not putting forth the effort.  Anyway, with his heading into Sunbeams next year and every other milestone he has coming just around the corner, it's been drilled into me lately that Kaleb is never gonna be that cute little toddler... but at least for now he is a cute little boy still!!