Jeff, DeAnna and The Littles: August 2012

This blog post will likely be short, but I wanted to say a few things about my 14 month old baby boy and the things he's learned in the past month.

Caleb is super strong and always impresses people with his strength.
He already likes to test boundaries.
- He knows he's not supposed to do something, will look at you and do it anyway.
He has figured out how to ride his firetruck ride-on toy that he got for his birthday, but loves to be pushed instead (and then he will walk himself backwards to you so you can push him again).
He continues to love to read and will often "read" to you.
His appetite has been off and on this month. Sometimes he eats plenty and other times he doesn't eat as much.
He loves to "sing" and if you sing a simple song and tell him to sing, he will.
He dances by stomping his feet around.
He tries to run and often runs away when I change his diaper (or even show him a diaper).
He is "talking" a lot more... we just can't quite figure out what he's talking about.
He has learned to hide and it is the cutest thing in the world! If we tell him to hide, he will lay down for us to put a blanket on top of him and then he will be super still until we "find" him. So cute and so smart!
A water bottle is his best friend (or sometimes a juice bottle).
We had to go to the doctor yesterday and he weighed in at 24.2 lbs.
If you ask if he's hungry or ready for breakfast/lunch/dinner, he'll say, "Mmmm". He will also say that if you ask if he wants certain foods.
He's really clever and it's really neat watching him figure things out and experimenting.
He loves to push anything with wheels.
Bubble baths put a smile on his face! It's so funny watching him play with the bubbles and taking his little pointer to try and pop them.
Sometimes, he does things in a pattern... for example, the other day in the bath he would sit down and kick his feet, roll over onto his belly and then stand up and stomp. Then he would do it all over again in the same order. He did this several times.
He's a happy little boy and such a pleasure to be around. We love having this handsome little man in our lives.

Here are some pictures from this last month.

Napping at my sister's wedding.

Pushing his stroller.

Sister's wedding

Don't you just love that cute smile!

My happy baby :)

Saying goodbye to his friend, Dallin.

"Mom, must you take pictures now?"

Yesterday was Pirate Day at Deep Run Park in Henrico. Jeff, Caleb and I headed to the park and got there around 10:30 or so. Caleb fell asleep soon before we got there, so we puled out the stroller and put him in it. He stayed sleeping during the transition and slept for about an hour.

Jeff and I checked out the ducks at the little pond and then decided to have a little lunch while the wee one slept. He got us some barbecue and fries. Yum! I headed to the bathroom and finally Caleb woke up after about an hour of sleeping. I'm so glad he got a little nap so that he could enjoy the rest of the day. The weather was absolutely perfect. We could have asked for better weather. I don't know the actual temperature, but it was cool and breezy and a little overcast, especially in the morning. We were all happy to be spending time outdoors.

Once Caleb woke up, we headed to the activities of the day. First, was throwing bean bags through a hole. Since Caleb's so small, he got to stand right in front of the hole- stand thingy and Jeff showed him what to do, then he got and put three more bean bags through the hole on his own. Smart boy!

He was so proud of himself!

Caleb waited while carrying around this w

Then we got in line for face painting. Caleb got a scull and bones painted on his arm. He watched the lady painting his arms the ENTIRE time! It was so funny and he had people in line smiling at him. So cute.

Next, we went to the Arts and Crafts table where we made a pirate hat and an eye patch.

Afterwards, on our way to the sandbox, Caleb heard some pirates singing and stopped to watch, so we took him over there to listen. I couldn't believe it, but he was completely enthralled and watched for a long time and through several songs.

Their songs were pretty fun.

We headed to the sand area. Caleb wasn't so sure what to think about the sand. He tried it out, walked away and then came back.

He liked walking around this pole... again holding the water bottle.

Back to the sandbox.

There were other activities, too, but Caleb was too young for them. Hopefully, we can come again next year and he'll be able to participate in some of the other stuff, too. :) It was a fun family time!

We left the Pirate Day festivities and headed to my mom's house where she was doing her own pirate day activities. My nephews, Miles and Izaac and cousin Sam were there. Also, a friend, Riley. They were dressed in white chef coats put on backwards when we arrived because they were getting ready to paint. They had their bandanas and eye patches on, too.

They painted the "pirate fort" (which I didn't get a picture of because I was too busy chatting to my grandmother and mother and preoccupied with my baby boy).

After they were done, we headed to my mom's friends' house where the festivities continued. First, there was free play, then a picnic.

Caleb really loves balls lately. He loves to pick them up and throw them and he likes to kick them.

Check out that kick! :)

I guess Caleb wanted to be included. He kept driving this truck into Izaac's plate.

After everyone was done eating, they had a face drawing contest. The kids were to draw pirate faces on balloons and the winner (which they all won for different reasons) got to pick a prize from the treasure chest. They also all got tattoos.

Then we had a water balloon activity that Jeff directed. (I wish I had gotten pictures of this, but I was feeding Caleb at the time).

Caleb loved the trampoline. Jeff had to hold his neck to help support his
head while he was jumping so he wouldn't get whiplash.

After cleaning up the balloon pieces, it was time for the pinata, which was stuffed full of candy. Jeff and I directed this activity, while my grandmother (Momma Jean) held Caleb.

Everyone went wild when the pinata was finally broken (thanks to Jeff, after everyone had a couple of turns). I didn't get any pictures, because I was too busy collecting candy myself. :)

We cleaned up and then everyone played with some silly string, which the kids really enjoyed.

Oh and I forgot, somewhere in there, there was a treasure hunt, which I missed because Caleb and I were playing on the trampoline (which he just LOVED!).