a little bit of funny

This is meant for my family and won't really make sense to anyone else, but...

Tonight, for dinner, Caleb and I had steak and corn. After we finished eating, we got out the tupperware to put away the leftovers. First we put the steak away. As I was snapping on the lid, Caleb moved over to start the next dish.

He said to me, "Should we do the rice?"

I tried so hard not to die laughing. He paused. Thought for a moment and said, "That's not rice." Thought a little longer. "It's corn."

Do you think it's genetic?

Man Around the House

Caleb and I had pizza for dinner tonight (or rather, Wednesday night). Caleb decided he wanted to eat the pepper that came in the box. He put it on his plate and let it sit there for a while as he ate his pizza. Then he decided he wanted to eat it. I told him to wait while I grabbed the camera.

The pepper didn't even last a whole second in his mouth before he took it back out, freaking out that his mouth was hot. His eyes welled up, but he didn't cry.

Even after he finished his pizza, and a second slice, plus a whole lot of water, he still said his mouth was hot. Guess he won't be eating anymore peppers anytime soon. But with Daddy gone, someone has to do it.

Random Caleb trivia: Caleb's favorite pizza topping? Sausage. And he won't eat pineapple on his pizza.

In other manly news, Brandon often tells Caleb when he's talking to him on the phone that he has to be brave and kill the bugs for Mommy because Mommy doesn't like bugs. Now whenever Caleb sees a bug, or sees me swatting the air, or sees me flinch, he stops whatever he's doing and runs for the flyswatter so he can kill the bug for me.

When Daddy's Away...Part 2

Yep, that's my princess Caleb dancing with his pirate friend Naomi. In all fairness, they did take turns over who was the princess and who was the pirate.

Caleb or Harley?

There are lots of ways that Caleb and Harley are alike. So I thought it'd be fun to play a little game and see if you can tell them apart. I'll tell you a characteristic/fact and you tell me who I'm talking about, Caleb or Harley. (Harley's the dog, in case you didn't already know.)

1. Follows me wherever I go
2. Loves to snuggle
3. Likes to jump on me when I'm least expecting it
4. Thinks my bed should be his bed
5. Gets super excited when someone comes to our house.
6. Runs for the front door when I take the trash bag out of the trash can (knowing that I'm headed outside next)
7. Could happily lay on the couch all day long
8. Loves to play outside but only if someone is outside with him
9. Likes baths
10. Loves to wrestle
11. Refuses to listen to me when I say stop wrestling/fighting/etc until I yell really really loud
12. Has a love/hate relationship with the other
13. Has crazy hair (or fur)
14. Gets up earlier in the morning than I want
15. Is currently eating (it's 8:47 pm at this very second)

So how did you do? Super easy, right?

Then, on to the answers. Oh wait, that'd be both of them. For every single one. I mean seriously, can I even tell the two of them apart anymore? How did I get a child and a dog that are exactly alike? Okay, maybe they do have their differences. Like, while they both want to sleep in my bed, only Caleb gets away with it. And Harley wakes up way earlier than Caleb does -- and since he's a dog, I can just put him outside and go back to sleep, but that method wouldn't work at all with my child.

Top 10 Reasons

Assuming that my child's characteristics and personality traits don't change much between now and forever (and I don't mean the things that make him a three year old, but rather the things that make him Caleb), here are the top 10 reasons Caleb will make a great husband one day:

1. He appreciates the little things and is generous in his praise.
* Today, we made cupcakes. After they were baked and cooled, I frosted them while Caleb added the sprinkles. When I handed him a new cupcake to sprinkle, he said to me, "Thanks. You're the best."
* One time, not too long ago, I wiped him up after he used the toilet and he said to me, "You're a superhero." I asked him why and he said because I had wiped him and that made me a superhero.
* Yesterday (or since it's after midnight, Thursday), I told him dinner was ready and then paused his movie. I expected him to get upset that I had turned his movie off, but instead he said, "Thanks for pausing my movie for me" and came straight to the dinner table.

2. When he eats dinner, he overly emphasizes how delicious the meal is.
* He makes lots of "mmmm" noises while he eats, as if it's just too good to keep quiet about it. And he'll rub his belly too, cuz the food is just that good.
* On the nights that he doesn't want to eat something, he'll tell me, "It's too yummy for me."

3. He notices when I do something different to my appearance and makes sure to comment.
* I took off my toenail polish today while he happened to not be in the room. Later, he was sitting in my lap and saw my feet and immediately asked me what had happened to my feet -- they weren't painted anymore.

4. He loves to help me do anything and everything, including chores. Wherever I am, whatever I'm doing, he's always right by my side trying to help. He even volunteers to wash the dishes for me when I'm not washing them.

5. He's really patient and calm, most of the time (though sometimes he remembers he's three).
* On multiple occasions, when he's playing with his friend Naomi and she gets upset about something, I've heard him say calmly, "That's okay Naomi" instead of getting upset too.
* He's also great at sharing toys with her if it's something she wants (though sometimes he does remember he's three, but for the most part, I'm amazed at how well he plays with her)

6. He's the first to defend the person he loves
* I can't even tell you the numerous times he's stood up for me. He gets so angry if anyone is mean to me, or does something to me that I don't like. He even yells at our dog for licking me because I can't stand it when the dog licks me.
* Wednesday we went to Naomi's house to play and there was another little boy there. Caleb got so angry at the other boy so many times because the other boy was bothering Naomi. If the other boy took a toy from Naomi, Caleb would take it from him and then hand it back to Naomi. Not that she can't stick up for herself, but that's just who Caleb is.

7. He can tell when a person is sad and will do whatever he can to cheer you up.
* A few days ago I was having a sad day. It was just a sad, sad day for no reason at all. Caleb looked at my face as I was about to break into tears and asked me what was wrong. I told him I was sad. He told me he would make me happy. I asked how he was going to do that. He said, "Well, I can hug you."

8. He's believes anything can be fixed.
* If something is broken, it's okay because, "We can fix it." He'll run to get his tools. And if that doesn't work, he's fully confident that either Mommy or Daddy can fix it for him.

9. He's an expert at expressing love
* The other day, I told him I loved him, so he told me back, then added, "You're perfect for me."
* He tells me multiple times a week that I'm beautiful or cute.
* Not a day goes by that he doesn't tell me he loves me.

10. The reason I love this boy so much -- he loves me even when I'm mad at him
* I can yell and scream at that kid and instead of hating me for it, he'll open up his arms and tell me he's sorry and that he just wants to hold me.

This started out as a post of the top three reasons, but then I just kept thinking of more. He's just such a wonderful child. "People" say two year olds are hard, but Caleb never was. "People" who agree that two isn't so bad, say three is really the awful year. Well, Caleb's only been three for two months now, but he's honestly the best kid in the world. He's so full of love and so easy to love in return. Sure, we fight every day now that it's just the two of us at home, but we also love each other immensely.

Bubbles

Caleb playing with his Buzz Lightyear bubble gun that Nana got for him for his birthday.





Did you notice the "thumbs up" he's giving you in some of those pics? He fell at the library (in some rocks in the parking lot) and scraped his hand. It was "broken" for at least a week afterward.

When Daddy's Away...

How you can tell Brandon has left for the summer (and Caleb and I stayed in Arizona):

Church. Week One.

Caleb went to church with his toenails painted, wearing one of Mommy's necklaces, and had pink Tinkerbell chapstick in his pocket.

Church. Week Two.

Caleb asked if he could wear his ring to church (Boots -- the monkey from Dora the Explorer) and of course I said yes. For mother's day, they gave all the women flower hair clips. Caleb wore mine to nursery. It was still in his hair when I picked him up two hours later. (And I'm talking the BIG flowers that they make cutesy hair things out of.)

I can only imagine what his nursery leader (who is a guy, and all the kids in his class are boys -- there are three different nurseries) must think.