Good Reads

One of Caleb's favorite activities is reading a good book--or any book for that matter. He'll climb up on the sofa with me (or Luke), cover up his toes with a blanket (just like Mommy and Daddy), and read book after book (or the same book again and again). For my memory's sake and if you're interested in good books for one-year-olds, I've listed some of our favorites below. Most are board books, but we're also starting to read some early-reader, paper-page books. If you have early-reader book recommendations, I'd love to hear them!


Bear Snores On--Love that a good story is accompanied by good rhythm and rhyme

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs--I thought this would be too much for Caleb, but he's fascinated by the detailed illustrations. I've been surprised by how much of the story he actually comprehends and will mime back to me.

Caps for Sale--Shorter than Cloudy, but still more of a challenge than most board books. A challenge, that is, for short attention spans, not necessarily my reading ability. Caleb loves to shake his hands and stomp his feet just like the peddler.

One Dark Night--Caleb doesn't quite understand the climax of this book like he does with others, but he enjoys the contrast between the two teensy friends and the big beasty bear.

Sailor Moo: Cow at Sea--Good for a combination of humor and rhyme.

Jamberry--Nonsense rhymes, but great foreshadowing in the illustrations

Wheels on the Bus-A song put to pictures--notable for its illustrations more than it's actual content.

I Spy Little Books series--Caleb has these mastered, so they are starting to fall out of favor...that is, until he rediscovers them on the bookshelf and wants to read them over and over. Again, no great story here, but it's fun to see how many things Caleb notices and comprehends.

Dr. Suess' ABCs--A book so sing-songy that I've woken up several nights with this stuck in my head. Not one of my favorites, but Caleb likes it.

The Very Busy Spider--Great for animal sounds. I like it better than Polar Bear, Polar Bear. Caleb's favorite character is the fly.

Twas the Night Before Christmas--We read this during the month of December as it's tradition in Luke's family. We have an awesome pop-up version that forced us to teach Caleb to be (more) gentle with books.

Dear Children's Book Authors

I love your work. You've saved my sanity on numerous road trips, sick days, and doctor's visits. Your illustrators' work has shown me how large my son's comprehension and vocabulary actually is.


But I have one small quibble with you. The word "again" does not rhyme with train, brain, drain, pain, lane, deign, rain, fain, main, crane, plane, bane, mane, pane, sane, wane, wayne, gain, slain, or any other similar sounding words. I know "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider" does it, but are you really famous enough to be in the same league as as a song that succeeds in making spiders friendly? If you are intentionally breaking your rhyme scheme to emphasize a point, as well-known poets are known to do, then I suggest you actually make a point.


If my son grows up saying "a-gane" instead of "a-gen," I blame you.

Caleb's Highlights from January

Emptying out the cupboards and building towers

Playing in the cupboards

Coloring: Caleb's shown more interest in this classic kid activity lately, but I've also had to teach him not to hammer his crayons on the table until they break. Do you have to teach this to girls?

Gymnastics: We were able to join a group of moms and their kids to try out a gymnastics gym. Caleb loved running across the huge trampoline, bouncing around on the floor exercise obstacle course, and playing in the block pit. Great way to burn energy in the middle of an Iowa winter.

Playing in the snow: Another way to burn energy in the winter, and we've had plenty of opportunity this year. Caleb has "helped" shovel the driveway, built snow city with his sand castle buckets, and taken walks around the block.

Story Time: Our local library offers a 20 minute toddler time with a mix of books and music. Caleb and I have gone a few times. Caleb loves it, and it's a great opportunity to practice group participation.

Play dates

Reading lots of books

When I went into Caleb's room for the last time yesterday, ready to get him up from his "nap," this is what I found. (Notice the belly button.)

When I pray for Caleb, I often pray that he would be bold and courageous in following the Lord wholeheartedly. Times like these demonstrate he has the determination and passion necessary to do something wholeheartedly. Now to work on the "following the Lord" part.

Lately, I've been trying to not only ask what God would want me to do in a certain situation, but also what God may want me to remember or to learn from that situation. In between trips to settle Caleb back in his bed yesterday, I thought of a few answers to that question:

• God is enough. He will sustain Caleb and me, even when we don't get as much sleep as I think we need. In Christ, I find reserves of patience, love, energy, and forgiveness that I do not have.
• Both Caleb and I need practice in obeying God and making right choices even when we're tired. Lack of sleep is not an excuse for poor choices. One day Caleb and I will need to make a difficult choice to do the right thing instead of what we may want to do or what may be easy to do. I'd rather practice during naptime than in the middle of a real crisis.
• When God doesn't respond the way I want him to, maybe it's because I'm not listening to him. The last thing Caleb wanted me to do yesterday was to put him back in bed and leave the room. Yet I know that is what he needed. I recently read Psalm 81: "If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways...I would would satisfy you." God knows what we need and he promises to meet our every need, but so often I look elsewhere.
• I was also reminded to see this as an opportunity to demonstrate love, mercy and grace instead of an opportunity to simply exercise my parental authority. It doesn't mean Caleb gets away with disobedience. But in the midst of my disobedience, Christ died for me. Is it beyond Him, therefore, to give me the patience and persistence to put Caleb back in bed for the twenty-fifth time without getting angry? God is so patient with me. Can I extend the same kind of patience to my own son, much less people who annoy me more easily than he?

I must need to really learn and remember these things because today we're 1 hour into nap time and no one around here is napping.

Jail Bird

I'm currently listening to the springy-door stopper in Caleb's room being repeatedly "sprung." It's supposed to be nap time. Caleb's tired. He almost fell asleep in the car earlier. He was rubbing his eyes when we were reading books.

But he's in his new room, with the new bed. The new bed doesn't have bars. So my energetic little toddler is enjoying his newfound freedom--springing springs, clinking drawer pulls on the dresser (until I removed the dresser from the room), playing with his laundry basket (until I removed the basket from the room), playing with the pillows (until I removed them from the room), and doing something that sounds like an Irish jig. Poor kid will soon be sleeping on the floor because he's been playing with the bed. Just kidding.

He used to fall asleep playing with his belly button. Maybe now that everything else is gone, he'll have to start playing with his belly button and subsequently go to sleep.

Nope. The spring has been sprung.

Days like these are good reminders that my hope isn't in nap time, but in God, who sustains me even when nap time doesn't happen. When God said that I shouldn't have any gods before Him, he meant sleep, too.

Knowing that God is able and will sustain me even if Caleb never naps again, I'd still like to help Caleb get the nap that he needs. Any suggestions for keeping an energetic toddler in his bed long enough for the antsy-ness to wear off and the sleep to kick in? By the way, nights are going well in the new bed, but we're 1 for 3 on naps in the new bed.

Laundry Day

This is what happens on laundry day, when Caleb has access to Luke's closet.

Video: The Foot Book

For a time, we read The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss constantly (until we hid it in the sofa). Then we read it constantly again after we found it. Some Dr. Seuss is good, but I hit my limit before Caleb does. Thankfully, this book has found its home in the public library again. Anyway, this video is from December. Since then, Caleb's hair has grown a couple inches, and his feet have only gotten faster.

Christmas 2009: Pictures and Video

I hope late pictures are better than no pictures!

Discovering presents under the tree...

Putting the toy together is as much fun as playing with it!

Successful negotiations

Sledding (you'll notice this didn't make Caleb's list of highlights)

Playing with cousins and army men

This cool new toy earned a shriek of delight every time Caleb saw it for the first few weeks after Christmas.

It even came with a box!