Those things they say...

Dan walked into the bathroom to find Joel curled up on the floor, cuddling a roll of toilet paper.
Dan asks, "What are you doing?"
Joel replies, "I love this toilet paper. Please use this one next!"

Who's who?

A                        B                         C

Can you guess which child is which?

(oddly enough, these pictures make it super easy for me, unlike other pictures. But oddly enough, finding pictures of all three kids looking similar is very difficult.)

Caleb's 1st Birthday

Caleb Elijah

Stats

 21 lbs 2 oz. 

(the lightest at 1 year, Joel was 21 lbs 4 oz and Micah was 22 lbs 4oz)

75 cm long 

(the shortest at 1 year, Joel was 76.5 cm and Micah was 80 cm)

Eat

Almost anything. Loves scrambled eggs for breakfast. Cheese, yogurt, apple sauce, popcorn, carrots, cucumber, chicken and crackers are his favorite. Prefers to eat things that he can feed himself with.

Sleep

 Yep, he does that!  He naps 1-2 times a day. The first nap is usually only 15 minutes in the car dropping Joel off at school or running errands. The second nap is 2-3 hours in length. He goes to bed between 6:30 and 7 pm and will wake up around 6-6:30 am. On a good night, he'll only wake up once or twice. Weeks will go by and he'll wake up at the same two times every night (lately its been 12:30 and 3:30). Other nights, he'll be awake every 1.5-2 hours. Usually that means he's teething or has a cold. Some nights, he decides that he wants to party for an hour or two in the middle of the night. In an attempt to 'sleep,' we pull him into the bed between us where he sucks his fingers and rubs his fingers along the sheet. He usually falls asleep within an hour or two and we transfer him back to bed.  Oddly enough, he is still our best sleeper.

Play

Caleb loves his walker and is pretty lethal on that thing. He runs around the house and sometimes even into you. He copies almost everything his brothers play. He loves Duplo, breaking train tracks, opening and closing the barn door, and his musical instruments. Caleb loves singing along when Micah or Joel plays guitar. He also loves pulling out the nightlight in his room, licking the bathroom scale and trying to flush the toilet. He enjoys pulling Micah's hair and being teased and tickled through the banister. He does not like the door closed and tries to open them on his own (he's not quite tall enough).

Clothes

Mostly in 12 months clothes. Although I just pulled out some 18-24 months shirts and will soon have to pull out some 18 months sleepers. Your slippers are 12-24 months size and your shoes are size 3. You wear size 4 diapers.

Development

Caleb is mostly walking. He loves walking between two people (its his favorite game). He still crawls whenever he falls down, but is frequently standing up to try walking again. Caleb is babbling a lot saying the ba, da and ma sounds. He copies Micah and tries to scream, spit or blow bubbles.  He can sign 'more.' I learnt that one night when he was supposed to be sleeping between Dan and I. He signed more and then punched me in the nose. Repeatedly. Until I told Dan to hold his hand down so he'd stop. Caleb is the first of our children to stop doing something when we say 'no.' Unless it has to do with an electrical outlet. Then, he could care less. But for the most part, he will stop touching things he's not supposed to when we say so.

Caleb, there is a reason we call you our cupcake baby. You certainly are sweet. The icing on top! You have confirmed that its not our parenting skills that are the problem. Your brothers have different temperaments that don't fall into the textbook of raising children. You, on the other hand, are a textbook baby. You are developing at a semi-normal rate and doing things that most babies do. We've had to go back and read those parenting books that we threw out when Joel was born, just to figure out whats going on with you. You are a blessing and we love you!

Pondering and treasuring things in my heart

This year, we took an unintentional break from blogging. Sometime early in the throws of newborness, blogging took to the back burner. I had intentions of starting up again, requests even! But somehow life got in the way. Blogging became less of a priority. Sometime in early September, as we adjusted to have a kindergartener, I realized that I was choosing to take a year off of blogging. A maternity leave of sorts. It gave me the freedom to finish off 2015 without worrying or stressing over blogging, giving me another four months to adjust to life before blogging again.  Now, a year after Caleb is born, I hope to return.

2015 was a year I wanted to savour. Having what could possibly be our last child, I wanted to savour those newborn days. I wanted to "ponder these things and treasure them up in my heart," just like Mary did after the birth of Jesus. I wanted to remember. 

I want to remember how when Caleb was a newborn, he hate being naked and would scream loudly. But as soon as you put even just one sock on, he would calm down. 

I want to remember how we got to dream feed him (third baby's the charm!). We would gently wake him up to feed him right before Dan and I went to bed. We could feed him in the living room with all the lights on. But my favorite part and the part I desperately want to remember, is when I was done feeding him, Dan would put him over his shoulder and carry him down the hall to bed. Caleb would peek his little eyes open and occasionally give a slight smile, while being carried away. Dan would lay him in bed and walk away. The look he gives me every night is precious. The fact that we can lay him down and walk away is miraculous. 

I want to remember how when Caleb started solids, he would always give us a sour face. Even if he like the food he was eating, he would make a face. He did this every day, at every feeding until he was ten months old!

I want to remember how Caleb sucks his fingers. He always sucks the middle finger and ring finger on his left hand.

I want to remember how dramatic he is. When with a stranger, he may cried inconsolably. But as soon as he is back in my arms, he will stop. With one deep breath, his crying will cease. I call it my magic trick. It annoys Dan when Caleb does it to him. Caleb will cry for ten minutes in Dan's arms, but immediately once in my arms, he will stop. Not a few seconds after being in my arms, I'm talking the very instant. Its hilarious!

I want to remember the relationship Caleb has with Joel and Micah. I want to remember how Joel can stop Caleb from crying just by looking at him. Or how Caleb loves playing with and pulling Micah's hair. I want to remember how Caleb looks as Joel carries him down the hall. Always with a huge smile!

I want to remember that the only way to check to see if Caleb is getting any new teeth is to check when he is screaming. Even then, its difficult. That's why this morning, while at the grocery store, I took the opportunity to check out his new teeth while Caleb screamed in the produce aisle. (For the record, he's got 4 new eye teeth and an impacted molar on the way).

I want to remember these things and so much more. So I have pondered and treasured these things. I have stored these memories in my heart. I have savoured each moment as it happens. These little things are what make him unique. And my goal was to remember them. And I have.

So, I took the year off away from the blog. To rest. To enjoy my family. To ponder and treasure. But I will hopefully be back. We've got a fresh new look, a new little one to blog about, and hopefully a few stories to share. Let's journey together and walk through life's adventures.