Caleb-Tested Toy Awards

Thanks for joining us on this auspicious evening where we honor deserving toys with the highly-coveted CTTA prize. Not many toys can pass rigorous safety standards these days. Fewer pass the "frugal mom" qualification. Fewer even still can say they've engaged the attention of an active, exploring, limit-testing toddler for any length of time. Toys awarded with the highly-prized and highly-competitive CTTA will earn smiles from parents (at least 2 parents) and the loving care of toddler hands. (If you think these prizes are small for such a grandiose award, remember The Velveteen Rabbit. Dust is not the sign of a great toy.)

And the Caleb-Tested Toy Award for "holding the most interest in a single day" goes to...drum roll, please...a baking powder can filled with odds and ends. It started with a rock, an acorn, and a helicopter seed pod inside. As those things were lost to the far reaches of the backseat, they were replaced by water bottle caps, spoons, and other odds and ends. Caleb enjoyed taking the lid off and putting it on again, taking things out and putting them back in, and simply shaking the can like crazy. He also found other creative ways of playing. Just watch.

The Caleb-Tested Toy Award for "holding the most interest over an entire week" as well as the Award for the "most effective on narrow, winding, mountain roads when Mommy can NOT turn around and play with you for fear of sharing breakfast with you all over again" goes to... a Sesame Street button-pushing, switch-turning noisemaker thingy. By the end of the week, Caleb had a pretty good Cookie Monster impression going. He hasn't played with it much since being home, but he definitely got good use out of it throughout our vacation.

Vacation: Chimney Tops

Day Hike #6: Chimney Tops
4 miles round trip
1350 feet elevation gain
Weather: gorgeous

This was another of my favorite hikes from our trip.

One angle of the view from the top. Cameras don't do it justice. Maybe you need the precarious, "I'm about to fall off a mountain" feeling to really appreciate the view.

Quote from a fellow hiker: "Dying wouldn't be so bad. Then I'd see Jesus. It'd be falling and living that would stink." Nothing like heights to put the fear of God into you.

If you squint, you can see them.

By the time we hiked down the trail and drove to the Chimney Tops pull out off of Newfound Gap Road, this is what the summit looked like. I'm glad I was there when the sun was out and the rocks were dry!

If we were lucky, Caleb took a catnap while we were hiking. When he was awake, we tried to keep Caleb occupied with fallen leaves, sticks, acorns, pinecones, and other natural toys, but the best distraction was walking next to a river. Caleb loved hearing and watching the water.

Vacation: Laurel Falls

Day Hike #5: Laurel Falls
2.6 miles roundtrip
314 feet elevation gain
Weather: showers

We hiked this trail in the late afternoon/early evening after Caleb's "nap." Caleb hiked part of the way up himself. His reaction to Laurel Falls was priceless.

Vacation: Baskin Creek Falls

Otherwise known as the beehive trail. It's actually a very nice trail--one of the more secluded trails in the park. We didn't see anyone else on the trail when we were hiking (and it was even a nice day!), and only about 3 cars would max out the parking at the trailhead. This was one of my favorite hikes of our trip, even considering the beehive we (or Luke) encountered close to the falls. Some bees had decided to make a hollow log opening up onto the trail their home. They weren't too happen when Luke disturbed their happy home. Thankfully Luke escaped with only one sting, and we were able to backtrack and climb around the hive to avoid it.

Day hike #4: Baskin Creek Falls

3 miles roundtrip

953 feet elevation gain

Weather: No rain! We even had some sunshine!

Baskin Creek Falls

Caleb loved playing in the water.

Caleb--practicing his animal noises as we hiked. Any guesses what sound he's making? (With our own little noisemaker along, we didn't see too much wildlife on our hikes!)


Unless of course, you consider overgrown fungi to be wildlife. Then we saw plenty, in all shades of the rainbow.

Vacation: Andrews Bald and Clingmans Dome

Thursday we were planning to visit some more waterfalls but on the way to the trailhead we noticed the weather breaking. Sunshine! We decided to make a break for a summit with the hopes that we'd actually see something besides the clouds surrounding us. We misjudged the weather. This was one of the rainiest days of the week. While we didn't get much of a view from the summit, we did get to experience a bald.

Day hike #3: Andrews Bald and Clingmans Dome
4.5 miles roundtrip (Clingmans Dome was a side spur that added a mile.)
899 feet elevation gain
Weather: Rain, rain, and more rain. But thankfully the rain paused for about 10 minutes while we were on the bald.

Vacation: Rainbow Falls

Wednesday we managed to switch campsites between rain showers, hike to Rainbow Falls, have some down time, and enjoy a campfire in the evening. I'm not sure how we managed all that in one day!

Day hike #2: Rainbow Falls
5.4 miles roundtrip
1685 feet elevation gain
Weather: Rain on the way up, but a nice break in the rain for lunch and our descent

Rain gear --They don't make two-headed ponchos.

Bridge along the trail. (I thought of you, Mom! See the nice hand rail on the high, narrow, and slippery bridge?)

Some falls along the trail

Wanting to get some climbing in of his own!

Rainbow Falls in the background

Funny story: In the morning as we were racing to move our tent in between rain showers with the hopes of keeping the inside dry, we left Caleb in his car seat to play with his toys out of harms way. The toys he actually played with were the cookies! I came back to the car to find a little cookie monster with half an M & M on his lip and cookie crumbs all over! I thought about pausing to take a picture, but I really wanted to stay dry that night....

Vacation: Abrams Falls

Day Hike #1: Abrams Falls
5.0 miles roundtrip
340 feet elevation gain (not much)
Trailhead: Halfway through the Cades Cove Loop Road (read winding, one-way road). I always forget how long it takes to drive to trailheads! But along the drive, we saw a bear...along with a hundred other tourists and their point and shoot cameras. Good thing we got that out of the way early (and in a car).
Weather: Sprinkles and showers throughout the day, but nothing too serious.

Caleb's reaction to Abrams Falls

Abrams Falls

from a distance

Once in awhile, Caleb got to walk (or run) on his own two feet if the path allowed for it.

Chilling with Daddy. This is when Caleb still liked the backpack.

Vacation: Overview

After driving south and east for several days with a toddler in tow (which deserves it's own story) and visiting some friends along the way, we reached Great Smoky Mountain National Park and our new home away from home--where we enjoyed roasting marshmallows over a campfire, encountered narrow, winding roads, hiked past misty rivers and mountain valleys, and spent a lot of time together.

Luke and I have enjoyed camping vacations in the past, but this one had a different flavor. I suppose kids will do that. Caleb helped us enjoy and see things we wouldn't have otherwise, and he kept us on our toes. Vacation can be a lot of work! Needless to say, living in a tent for a week helps you enjoy the comforts of home all the more.

I love it when loving vacation and loving coming home from vacation coincide!

Vacation: By the Numbers

• Miles in the car = Over 1700
• Nights in a tent = 6
• Days of rain = 6
• New teeth discovered = 3
• Miles of hiking = 25
• Miles of elevation gain on those hikes = 1.25
• Remote waterfalls visited = 4
• Summits reached = 3
• Beehives encountered = 1
• Readings of Curious George's Are You Curious? = approximately 25 million
• New car parts needed = 1
• Bumps and bruises = 1
• Laughs and giggles = countless

Faces

More Random Fun

Who knew spoons were so much fun?

Randomness

Caleb's first coloring page he brought home from church.

Caleb standing at the oven door saying, "Hot" (only without the "t" so it sounds more like "haa").

Caleb's Book Selection: For Real

The Current Favorites:

What's Up Duck? A book of opposites. by Tad Hills
Wonderful illustrations and great for fast-page-turning toddlers. I've also started to teach Caleb "loud" and "quiet" using this book.

Duck and Goose, How Are You Feeling? by Tad Hills
Again, great illustrations. Should I be concerned that Caleb smiles every time we get to the "scared" page? I have yet to see the first book in this series at the library, but when I do, I'll snatch it up.

Busy Monkeys
Nothing spectacular about this book in my mind, but it has interesting pictures, Caleb likes it, and it isn't annoying enough to hide.

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
What can I say? Caleb has started jumping in his crib this week....

I Love You Through and Through
Caleb loves this book. While cute, the sing-song rhyme gets stuck in my head, so even though I checked it out of the library last time we went, it's hidden from Caleb right now. "I love your top side, your bottom side. I love your inside and outside..." Who needs the book when you can recite the whole thing?

Pajama Time by Sandra Boynton
One of the better Boynton books. Especially good when Luke reads it with his rapper voice.



And the old standards:
Goodnight Moon--Currently, Caleb especially loves the red balloon in this book.
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?--A diaper bag favorite.
Moo, Ba, La La La--Unfortunately this book has fallen out of favor.
Dinosaurs (Usborne Touch and Feel)--Still lots of fun! The illustrations are detailed enough to deviate from the text and create your own stories. Definitely a bonus after thousands of readings.



Books I hide:
I Love You Through and Through
Hop on Pop