1) Caleb is growing more and more boisterous nowadays. I guess it's the "boy" that is emerging out of him. Whilst some children can be entertained for hours doing colouring or activity books, Caleb would rather jump around the house, play ball games, go cycling etc. If I try to get him to do some colouring, he'll probably do so for 10min and then he'll decide that he's had enough and wants to do something else.
2) In terms of personality, Caleb is very much like Daddy... They are both what I call "social butterflies"... always busy talking to people and drawing energy from crowds. Caleb really enjoys having company. He wants to have people talking to him all the time and even when he's playing, he doesn't like to play alone at all. Sometimes it worries me a little that he doesn't seem to know how to play on his own, but I guess with time, he'll learn that it's ok to do things on his own once in a while.
3) One of Caleb's favourite games now is to pretend to talk on the phone. He'll get me or Daddy to hold an imaginary phone and he'll pretend to call us on the phone and we'll carry out a conversation over our imaginary phone. It really tickles him. I guess it's his way of learning the art of making telephone calls.
4) If you ask me what is one thing that never ceases to amaze me about Caleb, it's his sense of direction. He started showing that he's quite aware of his surroundings when he was about one and a half and over the last two years, he's been able to recognise quite a number of places. He definitely knows the way home around our neighbourhood. If we bring him to a shopping mall once or twice, he's able to tell us the name of the mall when we drive past or he will point out a certain building and say "Mummy, I've been to that place before right?" It's a huge relief for me coz I am really bad with directions. Daddy is now telling Caleb that he will soon be able to give me directions when we go out next time.
5) Well, one of the comments that we always get about Caleb is how articulate he is and how clearly he pronounces his words. I remember when he first started Sunday school, after the first 2 lessons, his Sunday school teachers came up to me to tell me how amazed they are by his speech and asked me what i did with him. Honestly, I don't think I did much. I just talked to him normally. I really think it's God's grace and blessing that he's able to speak well and pick up words easily.
6) So since Caleb picks up words fast, it also means that when we speak Singlish, he picks them up as well. Over the past few months, he has been attempting to add the lahs, the lors, the alamaks from all of us. He sounds quite unnatural at times coz he'll add a lah at the end of his sentence and emphasize it. We told him not to say lah and now he's like a policeman, constantly catching us and saying sternly "Mummy, you cannot say lah!".
7) At times Caleb can be really sweet. He knows when to come up to me and tell me that I look nice and pretty or tell me that he loves me and give me a hug. Well, other times, as with all kids his age, he's constantly testing the limits to see how we would react if he didn't do as he's told.
8) During the first two and a half years, we were constantly seeing physical changes in Caleb. From his first flip, his first step, his first tooth, his first word etc. Now, we don't see as much physical changes in him but more emotional changes. Recently he has been learning to show his unhappiness. If I don't allow him to do something that he wants to, he feels unhappy about it and trys to voice it out by raising his voice and insisting "I want!" or he has stomped off to his room and sulk on his bed before. It's a learning experience for me as well as I pray for wisdom to know how to deal with his tantrums and to teach him to handle his emotions when he feels upset.
9) I've also come to realise that with boys, perhaps it's true that they do not develop as fast emotionally as compared to girls. When I look at girls at Caleb's age, they seem to be able to dress and feed themselves. With Caleb, I can see that he has the ability to dress himself and feed himself but he doesn't want to do it most of the time. He'll insist that he needs help and needs me to do it for him. Sometimes I do wonder whether it's partly coz he sees me doing all these for Sarah and wants me to the same for him as well.
10) One other thing that is very apparent to us about Caleb is that he is very orderly. He is a boy who likes routine and order in his life. I've never attempted to "train" him in this way. It's just the way he is. Things must be done in a certain way, if not, he would get upset or he would keep asking us "WHY?". Whilst it does make it easier for us to handle him coz he is so predictable, it's also a challenge for us as we try to influence him to be more receptive to options and flexibility in the ways things are done.
Here's my boy giving us one of his "cute" looks.
We have really been very blessed to have him!
