I have missed a lot of time blogging and there is no such thing as catching up on lost time, but I'm going to do my best to blog what matters most to me.
Caleb is 2. He turned 2 in August, two months ago. He had very few words when he turned 2 and the doctor was talking about getting him into early intervention. Since we've been that direction before with Preston, I politely declined and told him we'd try some things on our end first. I started him on the listening program and hopefully we can start working on primitive reflex exercises with him sooner than later.
Caleb has been a super busy baby and toddler. The past year has had me on my toes chasing, cleaning and attempting to stay one step ahead of Caleb and anticipate his next disaster. I have to admit that fact has made it much more difficult for me to enjoy the sweet person that is my baby boy.
I've been in a pretty deep depression as well as experienced major bouts of extreme anxiety the past couple months. It's been rough! Several things have happened to flip things around, but that's another blog post. Needless to say, I have reevaluated some things and am trying to do what matters most to me and let other things fall away. As part of that, I am trying to enjoy each child and their unique personalities more. I wanted to start by talking a little bit about Caleb.
Caleb is kind of like a tank rolling through a town. He's big and tough and you can usually see him coming. He knocks things down and leaves a mark wherever he's been. But he's sweet. When I put him on time out, he puts his hand over his mouth and tears well up in his eyes. He's started biting, hitting and pinching when he is frustrated, but he immediately apologizes after he realizes he's made a mistake. He's aggressive, but loving and sweet. Kind of a mixture of the older two boys in one little toddler body.
Caleb LOVES routine and is a creature of habit. After I change his diaper in the morning, he takes it into the bathroom garbage and throws it away, takes the garbage sack out of the can and takes it downstairs to take out to the green garbage with Preston (whose job it is to take garbages out). He cries if we don't let him help and is so proud of every new step of independence he gains. He also loves immitating me in the kitchen. If something spills, he is the first one to go get out a towel or rag and do his best to soak up the mess. Sometimes I have no idea anything has even spilled unless I hear his darling little voice shout, "ah-hoh" (uh-oh). So cute! He is obsessed with garbage trucks so we try to rush outside to watch as the cans get dumped every week when we hear the garbage truck pull into the cul-de-sac. He calls ALL trucks "gah-badge chucks" but loves them all. Since his vocabulary is still quite limited, he uses hand signals to help him tell a story. I love stories involving garbage trucks, as his little arm shoots straight up in the air to indicate the garbage trucks dumping the cans. Melts my heart!
His relationships with siblings rotates, but in general he and Dylan get along really well. He loves when Dylan tends and is attentive to him. They read, sing and play games together for hours. I hope somehow that they both are able to remember the sweet time they spent together as oldest and youngest siblings.
Caleb is also obsessed with his push toy lawn mower. He asks for it multiple times a day. I'm such a softy, I've given up on house rules and it has become and indoor/outdoor toy for him. When Marcos mows the lawn, he cries and cries until he is allowed to go out and help and observe. He will pace back and forth pushing his own lawn mower while he watches Marcos cut the real lawn.
Now that I know some of these obsession and tendency to perseverate and want routine so much is likely a right brain delay, I know what we're dealing with. I am trying to take that information in stride, knowing their is a purpose in all things. We've been through so much to learn about Preston's delays and learning challenges. Every time we learned something new (and still today to some degree) I would get a pit in my stomach and panic for a minute. It's hard facing a new reality, especially when big terms and scary words are shoved down your throat. But I feel like I have a better understanding of why this happens, and, most importantly, how to help him grow and develop as he gets older. Caleb's challenges are nowhere near what Preston's were. He understands and is clearly very bright, but his speech delay frustrates him at times and I can see the breakdown in what he is trying to communicate and what he is able to. But thanks to all the work and knowledge we have received over the years, I am much more calm dealing with a less than perfect learning situation (which doesn't really exist anyway).
Caleb is a climber. He always has been and probably always will be. I have pictures of him at the top of a ladder next to the attic door when he was 18 months old. He has no fear when it comes to heights and climbing. But, he did get nervous this summer in the water when he couldn't touch the bottom. He got past it for the most part, but he was the first child we have had that didn't feel completely comfortable in the water.
Even though he has a very independent nature, he is also quite obedient. He will start to run away or fight something he doesn't want to do, but as soon as he realizes you're not trying to take away his freedom, that you know what he wants and are trying to help him attain it, he will hold your hand and follow you anywhere. I have to remember that as he gets older. No trying to control. Listen, teach, try to understand, and guide him where he needs to go. Those are going to be important things for this child.
I LOVE my little blondie! I know his bleached blonde look will not last long. It will darken this winter and maybe never have the natural highlights that this summer brought, but I think it's been fun to have such a blonde one following me around. I love my little mixed latino babies, but I never realized how strange it would be as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman to have all dark-haired, brown-eyed children. I LOVE the Uboldi mold the genes of Marcos and me create, but it is fun to have one look a little bit more like me for a brief moment in time.
Caleb loves to read, especially before bed. He will read any time of the day, but at night, he would read 30 books in a row if I let him. He went from not being able to hold still to wanting lots and lots of books. I still wing it and "tell" the story instead of reading it more times than not. He loves animals and their sounds so we play up that aspect in all the books. But sometimes I just read, especially if it's a book that rhymes. And usually he'll sit there and listen. Until he's finished. Then he closes the book, says "the end" (except it sounds nothing like the end for someone who doesn't know him) and chooses another book for me to read. I love that books are such a big part of his culture. That's how Marissa was too! She grew up with little screen time and lots of books, toys and outdoor time. And she has the BEST imagination ever! I love that part of our family culture!! We have plenty of things we need to work on, but I'm proud of many things we have decided to do and been able to accomplish as a couple and as a family.
Caleb has a big smile and a playful demeanor. I love connecting with him through words, giggles and his infamous grunt. He started grunting to say yes months ago and even though he can say both yes and si now, he still grunts to indicate an affirmative answer more times than not. That is a big part of where the nickname caveman came from. He is a tough little man who knows how to get his needs met with a series of grunts, yells and unique hand gestures. He is now able to look in a mirror and point out Caleb and mommy and not just looking for someone he recognizes in the mirror. I don't know when that happened, but he's recently been talking about it. It's a good thing, a developmental milestone. It means he sees himself as separate from the world around him. Kind of the way babies get separation anxiety. They realize they are separate from mom and worry she won't come back when they are separated for a period of time. Anyway, as we've asked Caleb about who is in the mirror or who's ball it is or whatever, he now answers, "K-BUB". So our little caveman is transforming right before our eyes into our very own K-BUB! Pretty cool stuff!
He's becoming a picky eater and clearly has some sensory issues. He loves his soft blanket on his face, he hates getting food on his hands and wants it washed off immediately, and textures of foods are starting to really bother him when he eats. It'll be interesting to see how much we have to deal with sensory stuff before we are able to start helping him through Brain Balance exercises, which should help turn things around at some point.
Caleb loves music! I started taking him to the toddler Musikgarten class and he adores it! He loves rhythm and gets calm and really listens whenever I put Musikgarten CDs on at home. It's been cute to watch him make the connection that we're not in class, but he's still hearing music he heard in class. He really is a smart little cookie!
