Caleb amazes me more everyday!

During a recent visit to the pediatrician, the doctor asked Mike how old Caleb was. After looking in the chart to confirm that he is only 2 1/2 the doctor said, "He talks like he is 4 or 5!" This comes as no surprise to us since we already have one other very verbal child as well. Caleb has surprised me since the first day he started talking. He was about 11 months old when I was getting him out of the van and he said, "moon" as clear as day and pointed in the sky. It was nighttime and the moon was out, but I was shocked that he would know what it was because I had never made a point to show him and we were rarely ever out with the moon. So tonight, I was eavesdropping on Mike putting him to bed and overheard Caleb saying, "When I get married, I'm gonna get a race car bed." REALLY??!? I had to go in the room. I couldn't help it how could you not try gain more insight from him on the subject. I wasn't sure if he knew what 'married' meant so I asked him- who is mommy married to and he said, "daddy". Then I asked him who he was going to marry and he said that when he grows up he is going to marry Maggie!! I didn't go to the hassle of explaining he can't do that and why but I did think it was cute. That also reminds me of some other funny and potentially embarrassing and innocently inappropriate things he has done recently. Ever since he became potty trained he has referred to his underwear as "panties" and this really bothers Mike. So we have been trying to remind him that boys wear underwear and girls wear panties- and that he is not a girl. Our nine year old neighbor was over about a week ago when he goes up to her and asks, "Do you wear panties?" OH MY! I wasn't here for it but both Mike and Haley told me about it and luckily Haley has 2 younger brothers and luckily he asked her and not the Sunday school teacher or the woman at the grocery store! Yesterday night we had to have an anatomical discussion with the kids. I'm not sure if it is appropriate to blog about this or not- it was innocent and cute and I am sure happens in every home with a young girl and boy but I will try to be vague so as not to embarrass or offend anyone. They often show each other their belly buttons saying, "Do you want to see my belly button?" Last night Caleb asked if Maggie wanted to see something but it wasn't his belly button! Luckily we (Mike and I) were in the room and able to stop the show and tell session but then he asked if Maggie had one and so the first anatomical birds and bees discussion took place.

Musical Maggie

Maggie has always loved music, she probably get it from me! We have it on in the house ALL THE TIME. She is also a lot like me in that she seems to have a hard time falling asleep at night. It seems like her little mind just won't stop. She is a lot better now about staying in her room and has learned to entertain herself in there. We have always kept the radio on for her as she goes to sleep and it is always on the local Christian radio station. She has favorite songs and each time the song comes on the radio she runs out of the room very excited asking Mike and I to join her to sing. The other night the David Crowder song came on and she wanted Mike to dance with her while it played. Tonight "I will Rise" by Chris Tomlin came on and she came to get me. This is a song we sing together a lot. I have decided that she likes music that changes speed and intensity (pardon my lack of musical vocabulary) with crescendos. Anyways, tonight she calls me in to sing with her and then began questioning me on the lyrics. She wanted to know, "why Jesus has overcome" and "what is pain?" I, of course, took the opportunity to explain how Jesus rose from the grave on the 3rd day and how when those who love Jesus, and call him their Savior, make it to heaven they will never hurt again. Her face at those moments is priceless. She seems so at peace and happy to hear the words. I love it that she is not only listening to the music (she informed me at the crescendo- "this song gets faster now, Mommy") but also to the words! After her song was over she then asked me to make a song book with her tomorrow. She wants to have the words to all of her favorite songs because she doesn't know them all and sometimes daddy forgets them. So tomorrow our project will be to print out the words to her songs and bind them in a "song book" for her. As I type this it is 10:15pm and she has not fallen asleep yet.

More funny stuff

Happy New Year! Here's some more funny things from the kiddos: Here's the dialogue between Caleb and I the other night before bed. Me: Caleb, what do you want to tell God thank you for? Caleb: Ummmm. . . chicken nuggets Me: Ok anything else Caleb: french fries. . . . . and ketchup! Me: anything else? Caleb: no I guess the kid just really really likes chicken nuggets! He has been thanking God for those everyday for at least the last 5 months! Ever since Mike took Maggie to see the Nutcracker before Christmas, she has been dancing around the house in her ballet outfits. Her favorite song to dance to is "How he Loves Us" by The David Crowder Band. She does her own little interpretive dance to it. It makes me smile so big because she knows to go slow when the music is slow and quiet and then when it gets louder she moves bigger and goes faster. I swear someday she will perform on a stage for a living.

More kids humor

I included this picture because I am not sure the last time I posted one. This is from mid-October, taken in front of my aunt's house in Waco. The conversation from our car ride today: Maggie: "Momma, what's the guy's name in the Ikea song?" Me: "What's the Ikea song?" Maggie: "You know- 'you come down for I'm going to your house today'" Me: "OH! Zacchaeus! His name was Zaccheaus, not Ikea" Maggie: "Oh" then she continues singing. Another instance: Maggie: "Happy Birthday Jesus. I'm so glad it's Christmas. All the CAMELS and bells make the holidays swell. . . " I keep telling her it is candles but she still sings camels. Caleb should not be left out of this humor. He, in the midst of a MAJOR meltdown, stops to correct me on his name. He is apparently now "Lightening McQueen" and occasionally "Thomas the Tank Engine". On Sunday he even corrected the Sunday School teachers when they said, "Caleb, your mom is here." He comes to the door and says, "no, it's not Caleb, I'm Eric". I forgot to mention Eric (from the Little Mermaid) - he also likes to play in Maggie's fantasy world with her.

Elf Yourself Merry Christmas!

I tried unsuccessfully to link my dance to my blog but for some reason couldn't do it so here is the link. If someone knows how to help me please leave a comment so I can have the video on this page. http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/onZr4ScJbZ4ApBZ2?cmpid=ey_fb_self

Cute things the kids said/did recently

I used to keep a journal for each of the kids, but in all of our moving, I haven't written in them for months. I am going to blog these things here to share with all of you, but also to remind me when I do get their journals back out! My little Maggie as an incredibly wild and elaborate imagination. Bless her heart, some nights she just can NOT go to sleep! I have to say I have the same problem sometime too. Last night about an hour after she was put to bed, she came out of her room saying, "mom, you know what we can make tomorrow? We can make our own mix and match book. We can print the pictures of Dorothy and cut them into to pieces and then do Glinda. . . " I cut her off and sent her to bed thinking, WOW! Tonight as I was getting her ready for bed she showed me her "shoe store" that she had created during quiet time today. She said, "this is my shoe store where I sell all these shoes for kids who don't have them." She had them lined up inside a basket and had piece of paper stuck inside each shoe that were "price tags." After she told me about her shoe store she started into a story about her new friend she met whose name was , "kind of like Cory but it was Lori and her next name was Ilesia and her second name was Malicia" and her friend's mommy had a Wizard of Oz set. She comes up with anything to keep me listening! In case you were wondering- Lori is not someone she met today although we do have a friend named Lori. Maggie has a great way of even creating names. Maybe if we ever decide to have another, we can allow her to create a name! Caleb is not to be forgotten in all this creative imagination. He takes part in her plays and has no problem being "Toto" at her direction. Neither does he have a problem with correcting me when I call her Maggie or him Caleb. He quickly says, "no, that's Dorothy!" I am having flashbacks to Maggie at his age. They are really very similar. He has also morphed into a less cooperative child at bedtime than in the past months. He stays awake longer and longer as well. Tonight I went in to check on him and he asked me to lay by him. While lying there he says, in his cutest voice, "I like your glasses Mommy. They look like Grandmama's. I miss grandmama. I miss granddaddy. I miss Nana." Then he went on to tell me how much he liked my nose, my mouth, my shirt, etc. He has learned the evasive tactics from Maggie I'm sure! He is also potty trained. I am not sure if I mentioned this before, but he has been doing great wearing his "Lightening McQueen" undies and "Thomas the tank engine" undies on a daily basis even to church, the mall, library, etc. I am very proud of him for his accomplishments. I am also humored by the fact that he still sings for himself each time he uses the potty! I will update on my first Thanksgiving soon and post pictures of our ice skating adventure but in the meantime I am going to bed! Good night!

Jokes

The kids are learning the art of humor. They love nothing more than to make each other laugh. Their newest way to do this is by telling "knock, knock jokes". Maggie has been doing this since her preschool in FL. Her jokes usually go something like this, "knock knock" "who's there" "diaper" "diaper who" "dirty baby diaper- ha ha ha ha ha (hysterical laughter)." Now Caleb has joined in. He is getting very adept at following Maggie's example. He makes up his own words to songs, and says things to intentionally irritate her. Of course I would prefer he didn't do that but am amazed that he is able to "hold his own" with her verbally. So here is Caleb's knock knock joke from dinner tonight. Caleb says, to Mike, "knock knock." Mike says, "who's there?" Caleb "daddy" - "daddy who" - Caleb "daddy Michael- (ahaha hysterical laughing)." I just think that is great he was so literal but following the form of the joke so it must have been funny, right? Maggie laughed her head off with him and we endured about 15 minutes of the same knock knock jokes over and over during dinner. Good times with the Steeles!