He's Four!

We are the proud parents of a FOUR YEAR OLD!!  Man, that happened fast!  Our baby boy isn't even a toddler anymore.  We are so blessed to be his parents and are so thankful God chose him to be our son.  We love you so much, Caleb Warren!  It's been awhile since I have devoted a post just to Caleb and what he's up to these days.  So much has changed with him!  At his 4 year old check-up, he weighed 42 lb. 12 oz (91%) and 41.75" (81%) tall.  He passed his eye and hearing exam with flying colors (even raising each hand to the corresponding beep in each ear, which the nurse said they don't even ask the 4 year olds to do usually).  He had to get two vaccines and DIDN'T EVEN CRY!!  Sigh.  So grown up!  After Dr. Stevens checked his heart, he asked her if he could take a listen too.  Even when he let two toots slip out in front of the doctor he excused himself!  haha  He was given a couple of choices for treats for doing so well at the check-up and he chose a trip to the snow cone stand.  In true Caleb fashion, he wanted to try a new flavor - kiwi banana this time!  :)  Caleb is very independent, stubborn, loving, smart, curious, logical, friendly, mischievous, and kind-hearted.  He is not what you'd call a rule-follower and is not concerned with pleasing others (something Mommy always has to remind herself will come in handy during those teenage years!).  Caleb is motivated by what HE wants to do at all times, which frequently finds him in trouble.  He is so curious and just truly loves exploring everything!

Caleb loves to see our friends' babies and talks about them often.  Most of the time he is very gentle and sweet with Samuel and tells him all the time how much he loves him.  Just the other day he, on his own, went into his playroom and drew a picture of a bunch of hearts and brought it to Samuel.  So sweet!  He is constantly picking Mommy flowers from the backyard, whispering in her ear how pretty she looks that day, and asking when Daddy's going to be home because he misses him.  Behind the tough exterior, there is certainly a boy with a very sweet heart inside!  He is so thoughtful, loves to share his things, and can be very gentle. 

With that being said though - we are constantly impressed with how he can get into trouble as well!  haha  Just recently he threw legos around his room and broke out a lightbulb from his ceiling fan and sneakily took watermelon balls into his playroom to use in one of his play spoons to launch them across the room.  Caleb can be found hiding with any number of things!  Usually treats to eat he's been told to wait for (even sometimes "treats" like tomatoes, almonds, raisins, or blueberries!)  Just the other day during "quiet time" (formerly known as nap-time) he scaled the built in book shelf upstairs to get to the remote in the game-room, turned on the TV, pushed the right buttons to get to Netflix, and started his favorite cartoon (and even remembered to turn down the volume first so Mommy couldn't hear it downstairs)!  When Mommy found him he says, "but I AM being quiet, you know?  That's why we call it QUIET TIME!"  Caleb is ALWAYS into something and loves exploring to "see what would happen".  He is in trouble a lot at other people's houses and at church for snooping in their cabinets and drawers to see where things are. He loves playing games on our cell phones and has recently figured out how to get around the child-blocking software and has installed more games that he has been asking for (that we have previously told him "not now" for)! 

At four years old, Caleb knows all of his letters - upper and lower case, can count to about 40 (more with help), can write his first name, can read some simple CVC words, can add and subtract one digit numbers, loves sounding out words he sees, is working on the pencil-grip in order to write better, is interested in the calendar and what will happen in the future, can recite The Lord's Prayer and John 3:16, and so much more.  Caleb will start Pre-Kindergarten in the fall and is so excited!  He loves to learn and, if he can figure out how to have a bit more of an attention span and willingly take direction from authority, he'll do great!  haha  He loves going to Sunday school, playing with friends, playing with his legos, running outside, chasing Annie, swimming, making funny faces, giving hugs, and doing anything "fast".  When he grows up he says he wants to be a race car driver, pilot, jet-driver, and pastor ("so I can sit on the front row at church").

At the moment, Caleb's likes include: Angry Birds (all of them, anything to do with Angry Birds), all the colors, making up words, thinking he can speak Spanish, watching shows on Netflix or TV (Magic School Bus, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Pingu, Oscar the Lizard,  Cyberchase, Curious George, Caillou, etc.), trying new foods, buckling himself into his carseat, locking the door to the car as we're trying to get him out, pretending all the neighbors mailboxes are talking as we go on walks, Chick-fil-A (a.k.a. "Chickuhlate"), any fruit (favorites are blueberries and "cherries with no stem and no seed like "Chickuhlate" cherries), almost any veggie (favorites are tomatoes and avocado - which I guess technically both are fruit?), getting out the silverware to set the table, laughing, and putting two words together to make nonsense words, just to name a few!

Caleb, we love you so!  You have tested our patience, made us question ourselves, and given us a lot to think about yet we wouldn't trade a second of time with you for the world!  You amaze us every day.  We love your spirit, we love your thoughtfulness, we love your curiosity, we love YOU!  We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for your life and are so thankful we are the ones chosen to parent you.  Happy 4th birthday, sweet boy!