Last Friday, November 16th, my baby boy turned two. Oh my. Here's how he spent his day:
My dad brought over donuts and chocolate milk the morning of Caleb's birthday. It made the boy happy. (Not that he needed it with cupcakes coming that evening . . . but grandparents just don't understand a limit to sweets. :)
Anna and Ben both had school, so Caleb and I played in the basement rec room most of the morning. He loves it down there . . . especially the pretend food. And piling pillows, of course.
Then we had lunch, Caleb took a nap (while Ben helped me decorate and prepare some of the food), he woke up and played with his big brother and sister.
Grama Sue and Grampa Dew came over before dinner to play with Caleb while I got some last minute stuff done for the birthday bash. (I had Caleb wear this polo shirt because Ben-Ben wore the same shirt at his 2 year old birthday party.)
We kept it so simple this year, and I loved it. Maybe I learned my lesson with the older two, but I think I'll keep birthdays pretty simple until Caleb is old enough to know the difference (two more years?). We had a big extended family shin-dig last year, but this year we only invited both sets of grandparents over. Wish you could see the whole group in the middle picture above. I used the left over Sesame Street decorations from Ben's party when he turned two, so it still felt pretty festive. Oh, and I made one of Cabers favorite dinners: pasta, garlic breadsticks, grapes, salad. Mmmm.
My mom made these yummo cupcakes, german chocolate with home made whipped frosting. Ethan helped blow out the candle, since Caleb didn't really get it. All he wanted was one of those cupcakes in his mouth parts.
Cupcakes and presents! Caleb loved all the presents he received this year, thanks everyone! Unprompted, Anna picked out a little present for Caleb at a bazaar we went to, the mitt and ball for .25. Such a thoughtful girl. So of course Benjamin wanted to give him a present too, and we found an old See-n-Say at a different bazaar for .25. Perfect. I like that the kids want to pick out gifts for eachother, and I especially like that they use their own money to do it (which they can afford since they buy second hand. :)
All the presents were a hit with the birthday boy, and all the kids had fun playing around with Caleb's new toys - stacking blocks from Grandparents Jones, and noise making puzzle from Eth and I, mitt and glove from Anna, See-n-Say from Ben, cutie clothes from Grandparents Rayhorn. We did a few Caleb friendly games because Anna and Benjamin insisted we have games at his party, which included Ring Around The Rosie, and a Chasing game. I had to throw on the middle pic above because Ethan and Chuck just happened to be sitting the same way. Like father, like son . . . kinda. :)
Chuck and Melissa got Caleb a bunch of super adorable clothes for his birthday, including the handsome cardigan pictured above. I had Ethan do a little photo shoot with Caleb after church yesterday because he was just too cute. :)
Well, this final picture was taken a few weeks ago, but still his birthday month. I included it because Caleb looks super adorable shirtless and with mickey mouse ears, and also because I am almost never in pictures! Even though I look pretty scrubby in this one, I still want the record to show - I'm around too. :)
*** And I also want the record to show, it's been on my mind lately that on both Anna and Ben's second birthdays is when I found out I was expecting again. So if we were to keep that pattern of about 2 1/2 years between babies, I'd be finding out that I'm expecting right now. But I'm not. (We're done having kids.) And I feel so at peace with that. Caleb still feels like a baby to me in many ways which I'm sure helps, but I just honestly feel relief that I'm not pregnant right now. Love my babies, don't love pregnancy. :) Just wanted to mention it. :) ***
Now, for a few factoids about Mr. Caleb J. -
He loves to play a hiding/"chase me" game right now. I sing him "Twinkle, Twinkle" every time I put him to sleep. Other songs he likes are Popcorn, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Sunshine, and he loves all the music (and dancing!) at the dance parties Ethan does with the kids. He loves to scare people by hiding, jumping out and (quietly) saying "Boo!" . . . but it's not very scary. We read to him all the time, and he loves it. Especially if the book has to do with animals. He's obsessed with animal noises (he does a great elephant). Cabers likes to eat, obviously!, and he's very adventurous with foods and new flavors and doesn't mind spicy things. Caleb still loves his nuki and blankie combo. We try to keep it only for when he's sleeping, but as you can see from multiple pictures above, we're failing miserably. It's just too cute, and he loves it so much! Now that he's officially two, we'll probably try harder, and just like Ben, take it away completely when he's three. He's entering a bit of a cranky, possessive stage - the terrible twos perhaps? - and I think because he is delayed in talking that it just makes things harder. *Anna and Ben never really had a terrible two stage. Ben got his terrible stage over with when he was one, and Anna was too sweet to ever have a terrible stage. hehe. Also, I can't help but think since they were both such great talkers - like complete, long sentences by the time they were two - it helped immensley to be able to voice their frustrations and their wants.* Anyway, speaking of Caleb's talking skills, or lack thereof, he does know a lot of words. To name a few: bah (ball), bllllocks (he always holds on to the L when he says blocks), ah do doo (means I don't know), duck, papa (grampa), mehmeh (gramma), hat, hah (hot), uckkk (yuck), uh oh, etc. Many of his words are pretty hard for the average person to understand, and I tried to depict that with my spelling above. Ethan and I both think that Caleb is becoming more aware of the fact that he can't talk, and that he doesn't seem to know what to do with his mouth. It's a good thing, but also causes more frustration for him the more aware he becomes. Final thing - One of my favorite things about Cabers? He is such a snuggly, sweetie! He loves to give hugs and kisses, lounge on your lap to be read to or watch a movies, snuggle up just because, and find you for huggles and comforting when he gets hurt. He's also helpful (when he wants to be). Caleb loves to bring people their shoes when they're getting ready to leave, and he also brings Anna and Ben their backpacks in the morning. He's pretty good at following requests too, even two step commands. Ok, that's enough facts for now for my two year old boy.
The final thing to write about is Caleb's medical update. Can't skip that. :) I feel like it's been forever since Cabers was born, and all the craziness of his birth (click on it if you'd like a refresher, or to see his sicky NICU pictures) seems like a distant memory. At the same time, I can't believe that time has flown by and he's two already! Caleb is doing well with his lung issues/asthma. The last few times he was sick with a cold not only did he not require any extra prescriptions, but the retraction breathing and wheezing were very minimal as well. It only strengthens my hope that Cabers really will continue to grow out of these issues the older he gets. When I run in to one of Caleb's NICU nurses around town, or pass by the hospital, or see his baby pictures, I remember all of the complications of his birth, and how sick my baby was. It reminds me of that hard "in between" stage we were in for six weeks - he was here, struggling to get better, but he wasn't home with us. It also reminds me how grateful I was for the wonderful care he received, and how much peace and calm I felt during that time. I am so grateful Caleb Jones Rayhorn is in our family; he's our bucket of love!
***My dad would like me to give him credit for "bucket of love" because he's been calling Caleb that since he was a few months old. I actually don't typically use it, but it does acurately describe my babes. :)***
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