Don't forget about me!!

The last several posts have been about Caleb, and I don't want to leave out my other sweetie. Isaac is also doing great. He is constantly cracking me up. Now instead of saying "I don't know" when I ask him where someone/something is, he replies "Her. Her." (Right here.) He is talking all the time now, although I am starting to wonder if he can hear completely (I know. I know. I always have to have something to worry about, right?! But with all of his ear infections, I really wonder...) He drops the end of most of his words, or switches out the last letter for one that sounds similar. Like "off" is "oss," "boat" is "boap," "couch and watch" are both "osh" It's probably normal for his age, I guess.

He continues to be a little stinker. Whatever Caleb is doing, good or bad, Isaac doing too. When they are playing outside, if Caleb is mowing, so is Isaac. If Caleb stops and gets his bike, so does Isaac. When Caleb says he's done eating, even if Isaac has only taken a couple bites and I know he's still hungry, he'll say "Done! Done!" too. And really won't eat anymore. It's happening at almost every meal too. If Caleb refuses to do something, so will Isaac. If Isaac says he wants "yo-guk" (yogurt), but then Caleb says "I don't" then Isaac will refuse to eat it. He wants to be just like his big brother.

He continues to have a temper and lets us know if he doesn't agree with us. I often have to carry him out of preschool under my arm, kicking and screaming, because he's a little Houdini and can get out of my grip very easily. And when I am holding him when he's mad and I try to put him down, he holds his legs up and won't stand (so he ends up sitting where I put him down.) He also gets very mad when I won't give him a second (or 3rd or 4th) "Dy-din" (vitamin). He will stand by the counter where I keep them and scream when I tell him he already had one.

But, he is also a little sweet heart. For the most part, he is a happy little guy. He always allows Caleb to steal toys away from him, and tries time after time to be included in whatever C is doing. He's always looking out for Caleb, and loves sharing with him. His feelings are hurt very easily and his little bottom lip will come out and he will cry huge crocodile tears when Caleb tells him, "no."

The cutest thing that he's been saying lately is "Day-yub" (Caleb) He calls for him when he doesn't know where he is, "Day-yub? Are you?" and "HI! Day-yub!" and "Yuv you" (love you). Soooo cute! He also loves "moose" (smooches).

Here are some pics I took at the park while C was at school last week. I am glad we enjoyed the weather then, because today it didn't even hit 60 degrees and I thought our house was going to blow away.

I might be biased, but isn't he CUTE??

I shouldn't brag about this yet,

but I want to shout from the roof-top that Caleb slept for 11 HOURS in his bed by HIMSELF last night! YAHOOOOOOO! And the night before, he slept for 6 hours by himself! This brings his sleeping-though-the-night total up to 9 times for his entire life. What's more important though is that he's putting HIMSELF to sleep! He's never done this before! I am hoping that he will continue this trend.

I am not sure if I have ever written about the "process" to get him to sleep at night. It's almost as exhausting as feeding him. And I think he views sleep the same as eating...he doesn't think he needs it either. We give him melatonin (a sleep aid) about 30 minutes before bedtime. We then read stories, give him the rest of his meds, and brush their teeth. Then Caleb finds the "stuff" he wants to sleep with that night. He always sleeps with a bear blanket, and then chooses other things as well (the last 2 nights it's been a Wii game case and some cars). Usually, both boys want me to put them to bed, but Isaac still wants to be rocked (for about 2 minutes and then wants to be in his crib). Caleb has no patience for this, so Joel takes him to bed in the meantime. We put on "white noise," he drinks his bottle, he plays with our thumbs, he tosses and turns, asks a million questions and ends up coming out of his room to get me to "take me ny-ny." Then he repeats the process with me (except he doesn't get another bottle). It usually takes 1-1.5 HOURS, and without melatonin it can take up to 3 hours for him to fall asleep. It doesn't make a difference what time we put him to bed. If we wait until 9:30, it still takes that long for him to wind down and fall asleep. Once he's asleep, we leave his room, but he always ends up waking up and coming into our bed at some point.

So this week, I was tired of always laying with him in order for him to fall asleep (we have to for naps too). We've tried to make him sleep by himself in the past, but he would scream and scream and throw up and end up waking Isaac up. We decided we needed one kid to have good sleep habits, so we kept doing what we've always done. On Friday, I decided that I'd try and make him sleep by himself for his nap. I put on a movie and told him that he needed to stay in his bed. I explained that Grady, Lauren, and Jack (kids in his class) sleep by themselves and now that he's in preschool he's a big boy and could do it too. Of course he freaked out when he realized I was serious about not sleeping with him, but I explained that I would leave his door open (he hates it when it's shut) if he would lay quietly and watch his movie. I had to go in and reassure him a few times, but to my surprise, he eventually fell asleep.

We did the same thing on Friday night; put on a movie and told him to stay in his bed. He kept asking, "You check on me?" He fell asleep, but it took him nearly 3 hours to do so. But, he stayed in his bed until 5 AM, which was great. Yesterday, he didn't fall asleep for his nap, but he did "rest" in his bed for 2 hours. Although, I think he did more playing with the "stuff" he brought to bed with him than actual resting. But, as long as he's playing quietly/resting by himself, I really don't care if he sleeps or not. I can tell that he still NEEDS to sleep though because he was a bear yesterday evening.

Last night, I put him to bed at 8:00 and he was sleeping by 8:15 and slept until 7 this AM....ALL BY HIMSELF!!! I can't remember the last time he slept until 7 AM (even when he's in our bed he's up by 5:30)! I could get used to them both "sleeping in," especially if they are in their own beds! (Isaac usually gets up around 8:30)

Today, he fell asleep for his nap within 20 minutes of being in his bed and has been sleeping for 2 hours now! It will be interesting to see how tonight goes. Wish us luck!

YEA CALEB!!!!

These boots were made for walkin' (and ridin'), and that's just what I'll do....

OT Eval

I was a little hesitant about taking Caleb to see this new OT. Like Cora mentioned in my comments, Children's likes to test, test, refer and test some more. I have put my foot down several times in the past because I felt they wanted to do unnecessary testing/referring...sometimes for teaching purposes, sometimes for statistics. I also know that comparing Caleb to Isaac is like comparing apples to oranges. Not only because Isaac has the "advantage" of being full term but also because every kid is different. That being said, as Isaac is getting older and doing more things, we are definitely seeing things that Caleb does/doesn't do that have caused us to be more and more concerned. It's so hard for us to judge what is "normal" 3 year old behavior because we've never had a 3 year old before. So, we decided it wouldn't hurt to see what this therapist had to say. If she didn't think he has any issues, great. But at least we were checking into the things that have really started to worry us.

I decided that I wasn't going to tell her any of our concerns until after she had done her "testing." She hadn't talked to anyone from his feeding team yet, nor did she know anything about him (imagine that...another one who doesn't read charts!!) I really did like her though and felt she was pretty thorough with her eval. Thankfully, Caleb demonstrated several of the things that we have been worried about while we were there.

At the end, she told me that he is actually doing quite well for all that he's been through (which we already knew). But, she definitely has some concerns as well. She is a bit concerned about his inability to focus on a specific task, but also noted that 3 year olds are busy and curious so she doesn't want to label him as ADD/ADHD at this point. Same goes for his inability to do independent play, and constantly needing attention/redirection which could be red flags, but also could be his age. She's pretty concerned about his extreme anxiety/anxiousness to unfamiliar and sometimes familiar situations, but is hopefull we'll be able to work through this with some type of therapy.

She didn't add up his scores from the testing, but did note that he doesn't really have a strong "base" with his skills. It's kind of hard to explain, but normally with this type of testing, you give the child certain things to do which get increasingly harder. You stop testing at the point at which they can no longer do the skill and that is the "age" at which they are functioning. Well, with Caleb, he still cannot master some things that a typical two year old can (so the testing should have stopped there), but he CAN draw a perfect circle and cut a straight line (which obviously a two year old can't do). Ironically, this is the same issue he had when he was tested as a baby...for instance, he couldn't sit up by himself, but he could pick up tiny objects and put them in a cup.

She also feels he is "globally delayed" which is not something anyone has suggested before, but she didn't really want to get into specifics until she added up her scores and looked at "the whole picture." I asked her if there were things I could do at home with him instead of bringing him to Children's for therapy. I told her that I do not want to bring him there weekly because A) the germs, B) he gets so anxious any time we are there, and C) I cannot bring Isaac with us and I don't have a babysitter for him. (Although I did leave him at my friend Kelly's house on Monday when I took C for his eval and he did fabulous. This was the first time I've left him with someone other than Joel or our parents and even then he cries when I leave. She told me it took him 45 minutes to realize I was gone. He had a lot of fun his his friend Anna, who is 3 weeks older than him....he didn't want to leave when I went to pick him up 2 hours later!)

Anyway, the OT told me that I am every therapists "dream." Apparently most parents want to bring their kids in weekly so they don't have to do any work. She told me she had no problem with me being his "therapist" at home. He has another appointment in 2 weeks and she'll tell us her official testing results, her opinions and the plan. Can't wait!! (read sarcasm....)

Caleb continued...

(Read the previous post first if you haven't already)

In August, I started reading a book called "How to get your child to eat, but not too much." It really stresses the need for children to self regulate their intake of food and about how unhealthy it is for adults to determine how much their child eats. I completely agree, although our "feeding plan" states otherwise. I have been worried for a long time that we've scarred C for life with our "forcing" him to eat (telling him how many bites to take/when he's done etc.) and this book reinforces that thought. However, in the past, if we didn't "force" him to eat, he wouldn't eat. (And it stinks that "force feeding" is the approach our feeding clinic uses, as I have learned since then that there are other ways to get around behavioral eating issues.)

I decided that since Caleb is at a weight where he could "afford" to lose a bit of weight(although now that he's gotten taller, he looks even skinnier to me), it was time to let him decide how much he ate...no more telling him "one more bite" no more nagging about eating, taking bites, no more feeding him, etc. (we still "load" the fork/spoon though) And I decided that I, myself, would not think about how much he was actually eating/not eating and stop worrying about weight gain. This was SO hard since "we've" worked so hard to get his weight up. I did make the rule, however, that if he didn't eat, he couldn't have a bottle or snacks until the next meal. And I told him if he wasn't hungry enough for his lunch/supper, he wasn't hungry enough for a bottle before nap/bedtime. Snacks weren't a big deal since he rarely asks for snacks, unless Isaac does.

Actually, he/we did pretty well with this new approach. Once he realized that he was in "control" he seemed to start eating better. (Better meaning taking at least a couple bites, independently, as opposed to eating nothing) It was still hit or miss many days, and I had to remind myself to "let it go" when he refused to eat or was jamming too much food into his mouth, or mashing it into the table/shredding it up. But meals seemed much less stressful for both us us. I could still tell how "programed" he is since he'd always try to barter and say "Two more bites and den I get a bottle. Okay?" I started thinking that maybe we'd found the solution. He could decide how much/what he was eating and I would stop doing calorie counts in my head. I couldn't believe that he was actually eating without us nagging him. It was short lived though, and now we're back to the same old thing...not eating, pocketing food, taking FOREVER to eat, and just plain refusing.

Caleb gained 1.2 pounds in 6 months, which I think is fantastic. He also grew 1.5 inches! The problem with this is now he's at 91% of his ideal weight for height (he was at 96% at our last appointment and they want him above 90%). The GI doc, who I personally think is an idiot, said "We really didn't expect him to get so much taller. Now he needs to catch up with his weight." Not sure what she meant by that. Joel and I are both tall! Shouldn't we be happy that he's at least growing??

His feeding team was happy with the increased variety of what he eats (no longer just noodles and hot dogs). One of their biggest concerns is his fluid intake and refusal to take vitamins. He drinks about 16 oz of fluid a day and should be drinking at least 40 oz! He's never been a great drinker, even as a baby he never drank more than 3 oz in his bottles. He usually only takes sips of drinks and is done. We are supposed to start getting rid of his bottles (he's down to 3 right now), but that's going to cause a huge issue with his fluid intake, because 9 of the 16 oz he drinks a day are from his bottles. Should be interesting!

Their new concern (which really isn't a new concern for us) is that his "reduced attention and distractability are negatively impacting his ability to focus at meals and in general tasks." He's "all over the place" most of the time. They now feel he needs "Occupational and Sensory intervention". They think this type of therapy will not only help with his eating, but also help him at home, school, and likely sleeping. Apparently they have an OT who is now part of the feeding clinic who specializes in sensory issues. We shall see I guess. He already has an appointment for Monday.

I asked if we could just see her and be discharged from the feeding clinic. I really don't see what else they can do for him. (He sees enough specialists that his weight will still be monitored.) Even though meals are still painfully frustrating, he IS eating. And since this OT also works in the general therapy department, I don't see why we can't just see her there. His GI doc (remember, the idiot?) told me that the feeding clinic is "like a continuum." Yes, he's eating so he's past that part of the clinic and now we've moved on to the "behavioral" part of it. I thought we were always part of the behavioral clinic since he was diagnosed with "behavioral feeding issues" three years ago. She isn't the one who actually diagnosed him (we had a different GI back then), so maybe she doesn't even know that. She's one who doesn't read charts. She probably doesn't know we have a behavioral therapist on his feeding team already! She said they now want him to meet more often with a psychologist since he's older now...I think she's an idiot too, so I don't think that's going to happen:) Anyway, we have to go back to the feeding clinic and meet with his entire team in 2 months (RN, dietitian, speech therapist, GI doc, behavioral psychologist, and new OT). And of course the only day these "extremely busy" professionals can meet at the same time is on the same day he already has a pulmonology appointment. A whole day at Children's...shoot me now!

Okay, on to some cuteness! Here are some pics from Friday when we went over to Lake Michigan for a picnic. (Yes, they are holding hands in the last pic!)

Tired**

**I wrote this post back in June, but then wasn't sure if I wanted to post it. I don't want this blog to be about me complaining, but Caleb's eating issues are something we are constantly dealing with (We had a feeding clinic appointment today 9/17). Skip it if you don't feel like reading a lot of rambling and a "woe is me" post...
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Caleb's eating has taken another turn for the worse. Actually looking back, it's been bad for months. But, with Isaac eating more and more, it really shows us how little C eats! It is so frustrating! I cannot stand when people tell me that his eating is "normal toddler eating." Maybe (MAYBE) you could call it that if he ate like this once in a while and then made up for it with a "great day". But he doesn't. He doesn't even have "great" meals, let alone a great day of eating! I deal with this EVERY.DAY. And I am tired of it.

I am tired of feeding him. But if I don't, he scoops the food onto the table and mashes it around. If he does willingly put food into his mouth, he keeps putting more and more in before swallowing and ends up gagging and spitting it all out (or throwing up) and then refuses to eat anymore. If I tell him he has 3 bites of something left, he shoves those bites into his mouth and ends up spitting it all out because it's too much for him to handle. I am tired of packing food for him to take with us to people's houses, knowing that he probably won't eat anything that they have, and hoping that he'll eat some of what I packed. I am tired of sitting and "coaching" him through every bite (chew, keep chewing, swallow). Believe me, I have tried to just let him eat without helping him and he just plays with his food...nothing goes in his mouth. I am tired of telling him to chew, telling him that he doesn't have to chew his yogurt, telling him to swallow, telling him to stop keeping food in his cheek, telling him to take a drink of milk. It's exhausting, but that's what I have to do. I feel like I am constantly nagging him when he's eating. This cannot be good for him either! I am tired of Isaac finishing his food in 10-15 min MAX, and then realizing that C has only taken 1-2 bites of his.

I am tried of feeling guilty for not agreeing with the doctors way-back-when and had a feeding tube placed. That way, eating could be "enjoyable" for him and I think that food would be a positive thing and not a negative "chore" as it is now (because the tube would have been used as "back-up" and give him the calories he didn't eat orally, instead of "making" him eat when he doesn't want to). Now, I worry that we will be dealing with his eating issues for a long time. Our "feeding plan" has gone out the window. But, I don't think that our feeding team will have any more to offer. You just can't force a 3.5 year old eat. There's no "he'll eat when he's hungry" for this kid. If I didn't make him eat, he'd be happy!

I kept track of what they both ate a couple days in a row so you can see what I'm dealing with here:

Breakfast Day #1:
Isaac-4oz Yo-Baby yogurt, 4 oz applesauce, 6 oz whole milk
Caleb-3 bites of Yo-Baby yogurt and about 10 "grains" of Rice Krispie cereal (wonder how many calories he got from them!)

Breakfast Day #2:
Isaac-4 mini pancakes, 1/4 cup blue berries, 5 oz whole milk
Caleb-1/2 of one mini pancake and then licked the sugar off his plate, then decided he wanted yogurt, but didn't eat any of it.

Lunch Day #1:
Isaac: 1.5 hot dogs (sometimes he'll eat 2!), string cheese, 4 oz Mandarin oranges, and 4 oz whole milk
Caleb: barely 1/2 of a hot dog, and sips of whole milk

Lunch Day #2:
Isaac-2 slices of turkey lunch meat, 2 oz cheddar cheese (2 squares), 4 oz applesauce, and 6 oz whole milk
Caleb-2 bites of turkey lunch meat (which stayed in his mouth for 20 minutes), and 1/2 ounce of cheddar cheese (1/2 square) (he shredded the rest and mashed it into the table.)

Supper Day #1:
Isaac-Entire can of Progresso Vegetable Minestrone soup (minus the juice), 1/2 stick of string cheese, about 20 grapes, and 4 oz whole milk
Caleb-4 bites of Mac-n-cheese, 2 grapes, which he spit out and sips of whole milk

Supper Day #2:
Isaac-6 oz cheese ravioli with sauce, cooked carrots, 4 oz whole milk
Caleb-3 bites of scrambled egg with cheddar cheese (what he asked for) and the salt off of his plate.

Snacks (both days combined):
Isaac-grapes, lots of goldfish, blue berries, string cheese, whole milk, apple juice
Caleb-the frosting off one mini Oreo, 2 goldfish crackers, 2 bites of string cheese, 6 cheetos, water

Yes, he's growing (slowly) and doing great physically. But if we didn't feed him/make him take a certain number of bites, I am sure he'd be losing weight. It's exhausting and I am tired. Okay. I am done complaining.
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Caleb's eating actually did improve with my new approach to feeding him (more on that later). He did great almost the whole month of August. (Of course there were terrible days, but for the most part his eating was probably almost like that of a "normal" toddler. I thought maybe we were in the clear with his eating issues. Not so much. September, for the most part, has not been good at all. Even though his eating has been less than stellar this month, he did gain weight since our last appointment, and I was certain that they were going to discharge him from the program today. What else is there for them to do for him? Apparently a lot. I will post more tomorrow as I am sure you are all tired of reading this never ending post:)

Oh, I should also mention that Isaac doesn't eat this much anymore (I actually cannot believe that he was eating that much back then! Maybe that's why I was feeling more crappy than normal about C's lack of eating...) He's still a great eater, but is now more like a "typical" toddler. I am not worried about him at all though, because if he has a "bad" eating day, he definitely makes up for it the next!

Preschool Update

Caleb's second day of school didn't go as smoothly as his first. Like I mentioned before, he was so concerned about me leaving him there. I kept avoiding his questions about me staying by telling him "We'll have to ask Mrs Johnson if I can stay" (Praying Mrs J would say no!) He asked her when we got there and she was about to tell him I could, but and I kind of shook my head "no" to her. She told him that they would have so much fun and I had to leave. He already had tears streaming down his face and then he started crying. I felt so guilty about leaving him, but also knew that the longer I stayed around, the worse he'd get.

His class was only an hour long on Monday, and he was so happy to see me when I picked him up. He asked me a million times, "Why you weave me?" His teachers told me he did pretty good....something about washing his hands A LOT (that's my boy!!) and that he did NOT want to paint. He wouldn't tell me anything about his day. I did catch him singing their hello song in his room that night though, so he must have been paying attention. (And he must have a friend named "Warren" (Lauren) because he always uses her name in the song!)

Yesterday was a repeat of Monday...questions about me staying, why I had to leave, and tears. I had Isaac with me this time and he was crying too because he wanted to stay! He loves it there!

Isaac and I went to a nearby park for a while after we dropped C off. He seemed lost (at first) without Caleb. But then I think he realized it was kind of cool to have my undivided attention and no one there to boss him around. I cannot believe how good he is at climbing now! I really have to watch him because he has no fear climbing up the skinny, curvy, climby things. We also hit the mall since I wanted to take a couple things back, which of course I forgot in the car. I have never taken Isaac shopping alone, and he was SO good! He just sat in his stroller and babbled away. I am so glad he liked it...now I can go shopping every week if I want!! (This could be dangerous!)

We picked up Caleb and his teachers told me that he had a good day. He was excited to show me the art projects that they made and told me what they had for snack. We had to pry Isaac away from the toys and I carried him out of there kicking and screaming! I wonder if they have preschool for 19 month olds:)

On the way home, C said to me "Dey have a fing dat wooks wike a big CD! You see dat momma?" (They have a thing that looks like a big CD) I told him I didn't see it, but he'd have to show me next week. He went on and said, "You know. Da big CD spins wond and wond. (The big CD spins round and round) And then I realized he was talking about a record player! He's never seen one before and thought it was so neat...that sure makes me feel old!

Wordless Wednesday (Lake Geneva)

Doctor appointment...AKA a post with a lot of (parenthesis)

Isaac had his 18 month appointment today. His growth is slowing down, which is exactly what his ped told me would happen. He's now 28 pounds, 6 oz (75th percentile) and 34 inches tall (80th percentile). His head is also in the 75th percentile. His doc was extremely impressed with everything he's able to do and say. He said that he's likely to be potty trained sooner than later since he's "advanced" with pretty much everything he's doing. (We'll see about that....) And he's fine with Isaac having a pacie until he's 2, but then we need to start getting rid of it. He'd like it gone by the time he's 2.5 (we'll see about that too...) We talked about discipline and what to do when Isaac's naughty (which isn't often) since he puts himself on timeouts for fun and also thinks that he has to be on timeout every time Caleb is (he even fake cries and yells "Done! Done!" while he's on there just like his big brother!). Anyway, it was a pretty quick appointment, actually, that ended with a flu shot. He didn't cry, he just looked at the nurse like he wanted to say "What in the heck was that?!"

Caleb also got a flu shot and an extra vaccine (PPSV) to protect him from a specific bacteria that has been a huge issue, causing deadly pneumonia, in people who get the swine flu. Obviously we are praying that he doesn't get the swine flu, but this is just another precaution that his ped thinks is necessary to keep Caleb healthy. (We are taking a "wait and see" approach with the swine flu vaccine) Caleb asked the nurses 20 zillion questions about the shots and kept saying "Why you put dem in my shoulder? Shots go in my wegs!" Of course he spiked a 103 degree fever a couple hours after we got home (after he already had Tylenol an hour before)...never a dull moment for sure!

Here's a quick video of Isaac showing off his new "game."

UGHHHH!

We've been working with Caleb (and Isaac) on picking up their toys when they are done with them. Isaac is pretty good at helping, although he always finds something else to get out while he's cleaning up. Caleb seems to have no concept about what it means to clean up. We have to tell him item, by item, what to pick up and where to put it. Their bins of toys were taken away days ago because Caleb was warned if he didn't pick up, they'd be gone. He couldn't care less. (It doesn't help that he has 10X more toys that weren't in the bins...) Every night is a struggle to get the play room/living room even partially picked up.

This AM, I told Caleb that if he didn't pick up the toys, we were not going outside today. He looked at me and said, "Oooooh! Bummer!" Nice, huh?!

I think we've just let him get away with it for so long and now he thinks it's a joke and we'll eventually do it (which we do!) Any suggestions? We've tried making it a game/competition. We've obviously tried taking toys away. We've tried consequences (no playing outside, no going to the store, etc). We've tried showing him (them) how to pick up. We're pretty much at a loss at what to do.....bummer!!

1st Day of School!

Caleb had his first day of preschool today! The first thing he said to me this AM was, "I go to pwee-kool today? I so gick-sited!" He loved it, mostly I think, because I got to stay with him and it was only an hour today. Parents had to stay and have a "meeting" with one of his teachers to go through stuff while the kids played. Caleb checked in with me frequently, but also did a lot of playing. He heard his teacher tell us that next week it would be best if we just dropped them off at the door and told them we'd be back to pick them up (Instead of bringing them in and dragging out the good-byes). Caleb immediately said, "You not dust dwop dem off at da door! Dat's silly!" (You not just drop them off at the door. That silly). He's not going to think it's silly when he finds out she wasn't joking! I can tell he's already worried about it though because he keeps asking me if I am going to stay at preschool next week. And then saying "Why you not stay?" He's such a little worrier! I wasn't going to tell him that I couldn't stay next week because I knew he'd fret about it all week!

Anyway, he loved washing his hands at the mini sink more than anything. He also had fun cutting play-doh with scissors (he's really into cutting right now). They had a little circle time and sang a song about each child. They were supposed to stand up and say their name when it was their turn. Of course Caleb wanted no part in this. He did eventually tell them that his name was "Cay-wub, but I not stand up" I am sure it will just take time for him to warm up.

I was happy to hear that the teachers are going to be very strict about not allowing sick children to stay in class. Their parents will have to come back and get them. I have already told them that if there is a sick child, I have no problem coming back and picking C up. Hopefully we can make it through the year with just some minor sniffles....

4,617,9298...

That's approximately how many questions Caleb asked me today. I remember last year, some of my friends (whose kids are 6-12 months-ish older than C) were talking about their kids asking "Why" all the time and constantly asking questions. Caleb was barely talking back then and I longed for him to ask questions. Well, I now I got my wish:) I don't know how many times he asks "Why" during the day. Way to many times to count. Sometimes he spices it up and says "Why, momma, why?" in the whinest voice possible. He also loves to ask "What" things are.

Unless Caleb is sleeping, he's talking. And it's usually not just talking, it's either whining about something or asking questions (or doing both at the same time). Now don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that he's able to ask questions. Every single time I start to get frustrated and want to tell him to shut up be quiet, I think back to the time when we didn't know if he'd ever talk, or think about some kids I know who still aren't talking. I know how blessed we are that he IS talking. (And doing all the amazing things he's doing these days. I've been reminded again this week once how close we were to losing him. For some reason, Joel has been reliving the 4 separate times he witnessed the NICU staff doing chest compressions on Caleb the day he was born.) Believe me, I am so grateful that he's here and able to annoy me!

Anyway, since the boys and I are flying solo this weekend, I took them to a "new" park that is located on a bluff right above Lake Michigan. It was absolutely beautiful up there. It took about an hour to get there, and Caleb asked questions about every.single.thing he saw out his window. And in between those questions, he asked "We almost dare Mommy?" And I think he asked me 150 times what "woad" (road) we were on.

We had a blast playing at the playground. The Possibility Playground is very similar to the Imagination Station playground in that it's safe for all ages and abilities. Caleb was very brave this time and did all sorts of climbing (with my help, of course) and independent play, venturing away from my side once in a while (which is amazing). Isaac was his typical little self, running around like a crazy man and yelling, "IZ? Are you?" (He wanted me to ask him where he was!)

I had packed a picnic lunch and we found a spot over looking the lake (Ocean as Caleb called it) and watched the sailboats and airplanes. And listened to Caleb ask questions..."What kind of boat?" "Who dwybing (driving) dat boat?" "Why day in da water?" "What kind of water is dat?" "We go down dare?" "Why we not go down dare?" "Why dat wady (lady) sitting dare?" "Where's Daddy?" "Why dat plane wed (red)?" I could go on and on.....

Port Washington had a Farmer's Market today that we saw on our way to the playground and Caleb wanted to stop and get "some fwuit." I told him we could stop on our way home, and he was quick to remind me about it when we were leaving. So I got to answer all kinds of questions about the farmers and what they were selling and what kind of tractors they drove:) He ended up picking out a watermelon and a cantaloupe. (By the way, has anyone ever heard of yellow watermelon? That's what the sign called them. Caleb is thrilled that he found John Deere watermelon! The outside is green like "normal" watermelon, but the inside is yellow and tastes like the red kind. Weird.)

We had such a great day and as tired as they were when we left, I was able to keep them both awake on the ride home! BONUS!! They crashed when we got home and I had 3 hours of quiet!

Wordless Wednesday