My little travellin' man...

Well, Caleb Z and I have officially flown together! We just got back from MN, where we had a glorious time! Not only was he magnificent on the plane rides, but he was pretty much a peach when it came to meeting his Great-Grandpa, Great-Aunties, Great Uncle, and cousins Mark and Christopher - both of whom are removed or great or something. (But definitely great!)

The Barnum house - Grandma's! - was outfitted with a crib, high chair, outdoor swing, toys galore, and some new outfits just for such an occasion! It was so wonderful to see their house transformed into a kid-friendly place.

And Auntie Alisa freaked out a little to think about it, but that's the furniture that will house ALL of our kids in Minnesota! Her babies will be my babies' cousins! It was really fun to imagine all of us at the house someday. The cousins will go fishing on the lake together while we parents play bocce ball in the yard and swat at the bloodthirsty mosquitos that the kids don't even notice. Kids aren't bothered by little pesks like that. And they're not worried about the fact that the lake is all algae-y and smelly, either. They'll jump right in. Hmm...something to think about!

Anyway, it was a short trip, but eventful. Caleb learned to clap repeatedly. He got pretty pushy about it as a matter of fact - he'd start clapping and basically expect everyone around him to do the same. If we didn't react to his liking, he would give us a stern look and start clapping again. His Grandma thought it was a sign of brilliance, and would drop anything to go clap along with him. I guess it makes sense as Caleb only really started doing it after she modeled it this trip! Yay, Grandma! I'm hoping to have some pictures up shortly, but Jonathan is working really hard on a lot of other things.

On the school front, there are a couple of hilarious things going on. Did you see the pictures of Caleb getting a kiss from his friend Jaxson? Well, at school, there's a little boy named Jack that looks just like Jaxson! So the two of them, best buddies, welcomed the new boy to class today by smothering him. Jack laid across the kid's bottom half, Caleb laid across his upper body, and both of them gave him kisses. Caleb and Jack are big on kisses. Of course, Jack does a little better job of it than my buddy. Caleb leaves his mouth wide open and brings those little gums/teeth down on whatever he's kissing. Yowzer. Those top toothies are just about through, too, which means that kisses are going to become even more painful.

To all those parents out there, I'm curious about something. Ang and Wend, you gotta help me out here, girlies! Caleb refuses to stay seated in his high chair. (Another thing that Jaxson taught him!) I grab his little legs, pull him back to a seated position, and explain that baby bottoms have to stay in the seat. But obviously, he doesn't understand, and I hate to start thinking about disciplining over something that is just part of the learning process. On the other hand, I don't want to sound like one of those people who let their kids do anything "to avoid breaking their spirit." Gag me. (Yes, as a matter of fact, I AM my father's daughter!)

He tries to climb on absolutely everything. We have a wine rack in the kitchen that has a lower shelf that Auggie has always kind of claimed as his own personal den. However, now that Caleb is exploring every inch of his world, he's staking his claim there as well. There's been quite the power struggle under the surface, but thus far there has been an uneasy peace. Good night, they're both so cute with each other that it's tough to even care that they're making a mess of the kitchen by throwing everything on that shelf into the middle of the floor.

Also, he's really working on getting to his feet without help. It will be interesting to see how long it is before he walks, because he already seems to be making such an effort to stand. He's incredible. Tonight, Jonathan came home pretty early, and we just spent the evening as a family playing together. I'm trying not to be overly emotional about it ALREADY, but these days are slipping away. I want to take advantage of every minute! We are SO blessed!