Post-Thanksgiving!

I was supposed to post that last bit last Wednesday! I didn’t even realize it hadn’t gone! Sheesh! Anyway, Thanksgiving has come and gone ~ and BOY did we have fun!

First of all, Caleb had an AMAZING second Thanksgiving! (It’s so sad that I almost called it his first Thanksgiving – last year he was kind of boring!) He enjoyed Grandma’s frozen fruit salad and Grandpa’s smoked turkey, but most of all, he liked… DESSERT! Hey, whose kid is this?! Anyway, he sat in his highchair for dinner, but when we were eating pie, he just walked from person to person with his little mouth open. And of course, when a kid is that cute, how can you resist offering him a teeny forkful of pie? All those bites add up, though, and I think that little boy ate more pie than I did!

The most fun thing about Thanksgiving Day, other than being thankful and spending time with family, was FEEDING THE DUCKS! Whoo-hoo! I’ve been wanting to do that for as long as I can remember – but wanted to wait until he could walk so that he could appreciate it! And it was SO worth waiting for!

At first, Caleb didn’t really understand the concept. He was so happy to get a bunch of bread, because he LIKES bread! But then he started throwing it, and soon the ducks and geese surrounded him trying to get at it. He’s so brave! He just dropped it for them, and held it out a couple of times.

Okay, to be honest, as a bad mom I have to admit that I didn’t really watch him the whole time because feeding the ducks is one of my favorite things to do, and I was a little absorbed with my own bread distribution! But he had grandparents and a daddy watching his every move. We actually got GREAT photos – I hope! – that Jonny will get uploaded shortly. I also took some film pics that I need to get developed.

Speaking of pictures, his little picture album is only half full, and I need to address that. I put in all the Thanksgiving and Christmas pictures from last year, then wrote little comments in the areas next to it. I wrote the commentary directly to him, as if he’ll be reading it when he’s sixteen or something. Anyway, the beautiful thing is that he looks at that photo album almost every day! I hate to be all mushy about it, but it’s so fun to think about being able to tell him that!

On Friday, I had a mom day! Basically, Jonny took care of the bug while I went shopping, read a book and went to a movie. It was delicious, and MUCH needed. This served several purposes: I got time to re-energize, Jonathan got bonding time with the boy, AND it showed both Jonathan and I that if I get to stay home with our kids someday, he DEFINITELY won’t be jealous. The poor daddy felt frazzled! So I did the same thing for him on Saturday. He played video games with his boys.

Then on Sunday, we decorated the house for CHRISTMAS! This is the first year with a mobile baby, so our tree is safely ensconced behind a baby gate! And we had to adjust all of our knick-knack decorations to all be above arm-level. It’s tough to make a change, but it’s worth it for this little man!

More funny things that he’s doing: he’ll stand up and plop down during his bath, just to make big waves, then he’ll laugh his little head off. Also, I took him for a walk at the park in his big red car that Saleh and Marie gave him, and he decided halfway around the path that he wanted to push. So he just got out and started pushing. He probably walked a quarter mile pushing his car!

And ohmigoodness, I am getting into so much trouble because I can’t keep a straight face when he does something he shouldn’t! Not naughty, really, but like this: he’s taken to shoving fingers up both nostrils – at the same time! I had to turn around because I was laughing my bottom off! And when he lectures us about something and we have no idea what he’s talking about, I can’t keep myself from giggling, so I just pretend he’s telling a funny story. Oh, and EVERYTHING is a telephone! He’ll use his hairbrush, MY hairbrush, Jonathan’s razor, the dog toys, books, anything he can find. He actually held the toaster up to his ear the other day! It’s a RIOT!

I love, love, love being this kid’s mom! Every day he brings me new laughs and deeper understanding of love. Not just for him, either. To see Jonathan interact with him, and to see the way Jonathan looks at me when I’m with him, I think God knows what he’s doing when he set up this little family!