Today I tried to put Caleb in a matching cotton shirt and shorts set. I tried to put the shorts on first, and as soon as he felt the fabric he panicked, and kept saying, “No, that’s a shirt, that’s a shirt mommy.” I showed him the shirt and convinced him that those were the shorts that matched it. Perhaps I should have just agreed, and let it be a life lesson, because there really is no other point in life in which cotton shorts are acceptable attire.

Occasionally Caleb finds little duck things from his first birthday party, he’ll hold them up to me and say, “For my birthday , mommy?” I’ll say yes, and he’ll say, “Oh, thank you, mommy!” He did this today, so I told him, “Your first birthday was ducks, your second birthday was Chuck E. Cheese, what would you like your next birthday party to be?” He excitedly said a lot of things I couldn’t understand, but one phrase I definitely picked out was “Jesus Birthday” I asked him, “You want your birthday to be a Jesus birthday?” He said yes. So if anyone knows where I can pick up a Jesus shaped cake, or Jesus napkins and balloons, maybe let me know.

Caleb: I want a sandwich mommy.

Me: What kind of sandwich do you want, peanut butter and jelly?

Caleb: Maybe….Ice Cream?

Caleb: I want butter pizza!

Me: Peanut Butter and Jelly? (I start to get out the ingredients)

Caleb: No mommy! I want butter pizza! I love it!

I looked around and tried to get him to point to what he was referring to, he did point somewhere in the vicinity of the freezer but I was unable to figure out what butter pizza was, so I just found a couple cookies and asked him. “If I give you these cookies and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich would that be ok?” He said yes. Whew.

Here is a direct transcript of a short conversation Caleb and I had in the car last night:

Me: I love you, Caleb.

Caleb: Thanks.

Me: And I think you’re funny.

Caleb: And I’m great!

Me and Ryan: (Muffled laughter. )

Caleb: …and I’m strong and I’m tough!

We were taking Caleb and Isaac to go see Horton Hear a Who. Caleb was very excited, he kept telling me how much he wanted to go to the music theater! Anyway, as I was getting ready, he was asking me what my make up was. He pointed at my blush and said, “What’s that?” I said, “This is makeup, I rub it on my cheeks, and it turns them pink, like this!” He watched me, and said, “That sounds like magic to me.”

Tonight before bed, Caleb asked me to read to him, he picked out three different books from the shelf. One of the books he picked had a price written in pencil on the upper right hand corner of the first page, clearly at some point in its history it had been sold at a used book store. Caleb noticed the writing and said, “Mommy you wrote in my book!” I started to tell him that I hadn’t written in his book, but before I could get very far, he pointed at the writing, and said “Mommy that’s naughty!”

Funny, naughty isn’t really a word I use, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never scolded him for writing in books, I guess a profound respect for reading is hereditary.

“Mommy, I love love.” Why that’s true my wise young son, you are truly beyond your years. Many people go through several difficult relationships before they come to the realization that the only thing they are truly in love with is the process of, and emotions related to, falling in love. In fact, can anyone other than God truly love another individual without their own love of love being the primary motivating factor? Don’t worry, you have many years still ahead of you in which to search out the answer.

Over the weekend, I let Caleb play with those little capsules that you drop in water and the capsules dissolve and little animal shaped sponges emerge. Every time I asked him, “What do you think this one will turn into?” he would answer “a butterfly.”

On an unrelated note, swallowing one of those things has got to be the absolute worst way to die.

Caleb saw his first movie tonight, or at least, the first movie he was aware of seeing in a theater. Caleb’s first real movie was, drum roll please….The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, a veggie tales movie. On the way to the show, he’d shout Veggie Tales! and we sang “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything” at least fifteen times, Ryan harmonized, and Caleb whispered the words, something he always does while he’s still learning lyrics, but not confident enough about them to really sing them out! He was very excited to get his ticket, he talked about this a lot, and held his own ticket. When the movie was over he declared, “I watch Robert” “I watch Robert” (Robert was the villain in the movie) Walking out of the hallway from the theater Caleb said, “That was great. That was great, really, really great.”

Here is Caleb’s review of the movie, dictated in the car, on the drive home:

Veggie Tales really, really fun. Scary Dragon, and everyone scared of dragon, and really, really big tv. I’ve seen that before. Seen that movie before. Mommy, I got an idea. A big, really, really big tv. I got a question. Everybody scared of the dragon, everybody scared of the big rocks. (now singing) Big Big Rocks, Oh Big Rocks, Oh Little Rocks. I’ve Got A Plan. One Finger. Little Finger. Big Finger. Big Little Finger. (now done singing) Veggie Tales, I’ve seen this before. I see the swords, they’re over there by the castle. My friend mommy. My friend Daddy. My friend Isaac. My friend little Isaac. I have ticket for the movie.

Translation:

Veggie tales was a mirthful movie with enough action to keep viewers on their seats. However, it was a little predictable in places, it almost gave one the feeling they’d seen it before, but perhaps, never on so large a screen. Take a few good friends along, and make sure you pick up a ticket for this movie. It’s really, really great.

This morning, Caleb was lounging in my room with me while I fed Isaac. I didn’t even know he’d left, when he appeared at my side with a sippy cup, he quickly left again and then returned with Apple Juice: 3qt Apple Juice, from the fridge, which he had to haul up the stairs. That’s got to be about a third of his weight that he scurried up the stairs with. I assume by the time he’s thirteen he’ll be carrying Shetland ponies to the tops of sky scrapers.