Caleb turned five in May. He has grown up so much both in actions and height this past year. His personality is still big and makes us laugh more than we should sometimes.
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| In front of his birthday sign |
The boys get to choose what kind of cake they will have (flavor and looks). He decided to have an Angry Birds cake like the one he saw at the grocery store. (I was actually excited because that meant simply frosting the cake green and putting little angry bird guys on top of so one of his gifts was the Angry Birds game.)
Jill, Mark and the girls visited and helped us start the celebration early. The girls got to help Caleb blow out the candles, and they all had fun trying to get the relightable candle to stay out. The boys have really enjoyed playing the new angry birds game, and Caleb has spent full mornings playing with it alone while Isaac was at school.
On the actual day of his birthday, he had a fun time opening presents. His camper lantern was perfect as a nightlight for super slumber party night.
Besides Angry Birds, Caleb loves anything sports-related. He and Isaac play a lot of ball games in the backyard, but he does not let Isaac's being at school stop him from starting a game by himself. Most days Caleb will entertain himself in the backyard with a game of baseball where he is the pitcher, batter, outfielder and announcer. It is quite entertaining to watch him talk and play his way through an entire game of ball and even run the bases. Besides baseball, he likes playing soccer, shooting baskets, going bowling (real and Wii), and playing the sports game on the Wii.
He not only likes playing sports but also loves watching all sports on tv. Lately, he has been tuning into Nascar and even recognizes many of the drivers' cars as soon as the race comes on the tv. One of the first questions he has when he wakes up (either from an afternoon nap or in the morning) is, "Who won?" (either the race or game, depending upon what was on tv when he lay down). His favorite sport is whichever one is playing on the screen at the time.
Caleb also loves riding his bike in the street. He still uses the training wheels on his bike and tends to ride around on his three-wheeled scooter a little bit more since he is a little more confident and has a little more speed on it. For his birthday this year, he got a big scooter and has loved using that and is already flying around the cul de sac.
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| A big scooter! |
He chose Red Robin for his birthday dinner. When our waitress asked if he wanted his birthday sundae, he said no because he did not want them to sing. She very kindly delivered the sundae with no fanfare, and Caleb immediately ate the cherry off the top of it before I could get a picture.
It has been a gift watching Caleb grow up these past five years. He has such a vibrant personality and cracks us up regularly with the things he says and the way he says things. One minute he talks in a little kid voice and the next he says something that is eerily pre-teen. He likes doing what Isaac does and tries so hard to draw and be creative like Isaac. In the last few months he has spent a lot of time sitting at the desk in the playroom writing things (especially notes to Isaac and Paul for when they get home) and doing his artwork.
He loves going to church--both on Sundays and with me during the week when I work. On Sundays he cannot wait to go to Jr. Trailblazers (remember, that was his
main excitement about turning four last year) and tries so hard to be the first person in line each week. (The first thing he says in the car on the way home is which person was first in line that day.) I guess he has a little bit of competitiveness in his genes, too. While I work at church, he sets up his football or baseball guys on the office floor and plays games by himself. He still loves playing with his cars and has been on a major Cars kick this past year since the second movie came out. He actually lines up his cars to be spectators at his baseball and football games. One has to step carefully in our house since there are usually cars lined up somewhere in the walkway.
Although he has a big personality and says some of the craziest things, he is often shy in new situations. We are working with him on responding to people when they talk to him and looking people in the eyes. He is very strong-willed, though, and likes to decide when he will do things and how (another thing on which we are working ;-). He likes to help me in the kitchen, and just the mention of our baking something sends him to the cupboard to pull out both our aprons.
His favorite bedtime buddy is his yellow lovey, but he has advanced to having it only at bedtime. Paul took the picture below the night of his birthday and commented to me that we know he is growing up when he chooses to snuggle with something other than his lovey at bedtime.
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| Ditching the lovey (in the background) for the angry birds |
It has been a privilege and a joy helping Caleb grow these past five years. We love you, Caleb, and have loved the surprises and laughs you bring to our lives each day. We pray that you continue to grow to know and love Jesus in this upcoming year.
