Dear Grandpa

Dear Grandpa,

Thank you for visiting me last weekend.

I really miss you.

When are you coming again?

Love,

Caleb

When Caleb was younger, Luke and I would push him around on his truck using the mop handle because Caleb's legs weren't long enough or strong enough to push himself. Well now they are long enough and strong enough, so we make him push himself. But this past weekend, Caleb got a treat when Grandpa visited...a free truck ride! This week, I heard Caleb calling out for help, turned the corner, and found the above picture. Caleb had gotten out the mop, climbed on his truck, and was waiting for a ride. He was disappointed to find out that instead of giving him a ride, I just laughed.

Leaves!

Video: This Little Piggy

Video: Body Parts

Traveling with a Toddler

Surviving the Ride. Enjoying the Ride.

One of my biggest worries about going on vacation this year was how Caleb would handle being confined to the car for long periods of time. He did surprisingly well, considering his usual day has included running around a playground, climbing around our house, and bouncing in his crib. He was a super trooper!

Here are some of the strategies we used to help the trip go smoothly.

Strategy #1: Independent Play
I packed a diaper box full of toys for our trip. It included old toys and new toys, real toys and homemade toys. You’ve seen the best featured in the recently awarded CTTAs. Other standouts included magnets on a cookie sheet and a water bottle with random items inside.

Strategy #2: Play with Mommy
When Caleb was fed up with his toys and playing by himself, I’d move into the backseat and we’d play together. Board books were a lifesaver even though we read them over and over (and over). Caleb also had fun pointing to different body parts I’d name or making animal sounds for animals I’d say. “This Little Piggie” was also a good game to get out some giggles. Videos to come!


Strategy #3: Have Realistic Expectations
There will be crying. And yelling. Accept it. Expect it.


Strategy #4: Be creative.
Find toys along the way. Caleb enjoyed navigating for us using a newly acquired (and free) map of Tennessee. Thankfully we already knew where we were going, but it kept him occupied for a bit!

Strategy #5: Eat in the Car
Caleb needs to sit still when he eats anyway so why not feed him in the car? Although Caleb did get a few extra snacks at times, I still tried to make it “lunchtime” by giving him a bib and actual lunch-type food.

Strategy #6: Take a break
We would look for a rest area after Caleb had eaten lunch. At one stop, we found a playland in lieu of a rest area. Then Caleb could run, jump, and climb while we made lunch for ourselves. Burning some energy at this point in the day made the next strategy possible.



Strategy #7: Hope for a nap.
Drive and do not stop until after the nap is over.


Strategy #8: Be flexible.
Go with the flow. Lunch time might not be at lunchtime. Naptime might be early, late, short, or not at all. Not only did I need to hold my plans loosely for our days of travel (especially when it took us three times as long to leave the national park as it did to enter it), I also had to be physically flexible. One benefit of having a sedan is that I could reach many of the places where Caleb would drop his toys. Thankfully I wasn’t more pregnant than I was because it required a lot of twisting and turning and stretching that I don’t think I could do nearly as well in a few months.

What do you do to survive and enjoy long car rides (with or without toddlers)?

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.

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

Caleb's Recent Book Selection

Sign Language

One thing I'm very glad we are doing with Caleb: using sign language. While loud at times, Caleb is not overly verbal, but he still wants to communicate. Sign language has helped us to do that effectively.

We started with just a few signs when Caleb was about 8 or 9 months old. Since then we've added to our sign language vocabulary, and in June Caleb's ability to communicate really took off.

Sometimes I teach Caleb a sign because I think it will be helpful; other times Caleb learns a sign because he really wants to "say" it. I taught Caleb "more" and "all done" because I thought it'd be helpful at mealtimes. Caleb learned "ceiling fan" and "shoes" very quickly because he really likes those things. (Ceiling fans are simply fun to watch, and shoes mean that he gets to go outside.)

Here are a few of Caleb's signs that I've managed to catch on video.



Currently his sign language vocabulary includes (give or take a few): milk, eat, more, all done/all gone, clean/clean-up, kiss, hello, goodbye, help, please, thank you, ball, shoes, and ceiling fan. He's also made up his own signs for "Daddy" and "swing."

Junk Mail: good for something

Good for a laugh.

Father's Day

I was looking through old drafts and found this. I meant to post it on Father's Day, but forgot. I want to remember all the silly, fun, loving things Caleb does for his Daddy, so I'll post it now.

Picture Update

Caleb discovered skinned knees.

Caleb is now taking one long afternoon nap instead of taking his morning nap and playing during his afternoon nap. He gets just as much sleep (if not more) and everyone is happier.

Hiding things under other things has become great fun.

Caleb has had a change of heart about his bicycle helmet, and the bicycle trailer is growing on him as well. This picture did not involve any prompting from me.

Caleb celebrated Father's Day with a hand-decorated card and a steak for his daddy.

With all the great thunderstorms we've had recently, we decided to thoroughly enjoy one. At first Caleb wasn't sure what to make of the rain, but then he didn't want to go inside even when he started shivering. Don't worry; I took him inside before hypothermia hit.

Rainy Days

One Year

One year ago

Two weeks ago

One year ago:

slept, ate, pooped, cried, ate, slept, opened his eyes, ate, slept, ate, slept, etc.

Today:

All of the above

and walking,

and running,

and shouting,

and squealing,

and making people laugh,

and exploring,

and swinging,

and reading books,

and playing with blocks,

and playing with tupperware,

and playing with shapes,

and playing with rocks,

and playing with leaves,

and playing with rocks, leaves, and tupperware all together,

and showing off his muscles,

and climbing up and down stairs,

and setting his shoes on his toes because he wants to go outside,

and smiling when Daddy comes home,

and using sign language to say "more," "milk," or "all done,"

and touching his nose,

and bouncing,

and ....

They say the years fly by. True.

Some days this past year did NOT fly by.

I'm glad.

Each day Caleb learned something new it seems.

I wouldn't want to miss that.

Evolution of Movement

Mama!

I'm working on editing some videos of Caleb, but in the meantime, here's one to tide you over. (At least I know some grandmas need their Caleb fix.)

Oh Joy (choose your own punctuation mark)

I get to laugh a lot throughout the day.

I hope you get a kick of of this too: