Cousin Mike

We went to the coast this weekend because cousin Mike was in town. We all had runny noses and weren't at our best, but we were happy to see Mike. This morning, Karston woke up quickly, stood up tall in bed, raised his arms, and announced Next time cousin Mike is here, I will be this tall!!! Those were his first words upon waking up this morning.

Hunchback of Notre Maison

One of Cale's goofy new tricks is to walk around with his shoulders hunched so far forward that his back curves a lot. I call this his hunchback look, and he always has a huge smile to go with it! He hunches his shoulders for his "sneaking up" walk, but you can see a grin that big coming for quite a ways.

Peek-a-boo, on the other hand, has been foremost in his book of tricks for a while. Monday Cale walked smack into the cabinets because he was playing peek-a-boo with no one in particular, covering his eyes while walking. Oops! Better watch where he's walking!

The Allergy Cry

Just in case other parents are wondering, I can describe Cale's cry when his intestinal allergies are hurting him. He cries like I've abandoned him, when I'm actually hugging him closely and cuddling him. The inconsolable, abandoned cry is the allergy cry. This morning's crying was accompanied by some really smelly gas, also pointing to intestinal discomfort as the cause of crying.

I'd rather sleep, but not this morning I guess.

Eighteen Months!

Ah, a year and a half! Cale has been walking for three months now. I actually can't remember when Cale couldn't walk now. He's so confident, he loves to walk and run. When he's tired, he still falls down for no reason, and he cries because his pride is hurt. What I like about the walking milestone is that a child's features really begin to develop. Instead of the pudgy baby face (which is adorable, don't get me wrong), you can catch glimpses of what's to come. I'm sure it's because all that exercise causes new toddlers to lose weight and to put on muscle. (A testament to walking?) In fact, Cale even regressed in diaper sizes. We moved up to size 5 diapers just as Karston potty trained (so they were in the same size diapers for an instant!) so the diapers could fit comfortably around Cale's big belly and chubby baby thighs. He's still got quite the belly, but he has slimmed down overall, so we've gone back to size 4. At first I was worried that he would quickly return to needing size 5, but it hasn't happened since he started walking. Good exercise! (Actually, it's exercise because Cale runs when possible, and he throws everything into it.) Anyway, the walking has caused Cale to look like a sweet little person, not like a sweet baby anymore. What I remember with Karston is that he seemed very much like little person (also sweet) by the time he was 2. Part of it is the facial features coming clearer as the baby fat recedes, and part of it is having an opinion at your kneecaps everywhere you go. Cale wants to wear his Spongebob Crocs all the time now, and he likes to try on all the other shoes too. He likes Karston's sneakers with the velcro fasteners because he can get them on all by himself, and he manages to shuffle around in my slippers too.

Cale hasn't added too many words. He says Here go as he hands you something. He's hilarious when he says Hmm in a thoughtful pondering tone he must've picked up from adults, while wandering around looking for trouble. He tries to say cracker but it comes out more like tah-toww. Like most children his age, he definitely knows the word NO, and he likes to practice it over and over again, not always with intent. More when he's practicing than when he means it, it comes out as a meow sound. What's funny is Karston following him saying Yes right back to him. Cale loves cats! He loves our Linus, Mimi's Plain, and Opa's Kitten. In turn, these cats are more patient with him than I would ever expect. He can scoop them up any old way, carry them, and chase them while screeching with joy. He also practices saying his own name, very Southern drawl style, Kay-ooh-ayy-ell.

Cale's pattern recognition is expanding. He used to know we were starting the bedtime cycle when Daddy put on Boppy and started reading books. Now when Cale's tired, he goes to Daddy's closet and selects a sleep shirt for him to put on first. (Unfortunately sleep tee-shirts aren't on hangers, and Cale is disappointed when Daddy doesn't put on the nice Hawaiian shirt he picked out.) He's always so happy when he can tell a routine has started.

He's gotten a lot better at feeding himself. In fact, since Cale likes food, we're more likely to be trying to get a spoonful of food into Karston's mouth, since he's not fond of eating. In fact, Cale strongly dislikes being fed. He'll peel a banana and eat it, he'll eat rice with a spoon, he'll gobble crackers and cereal by the handful. He's a good eater, and he likes variety. He will switch between different foods and flavors at the same meal, and he seems to prefer the spiced food that we eat instead of the plain food we prepare for Karston (since Karston, if he will eat, certainly prefers single foods without toppings, sauce, or seasonings).

My how time flies; Cale is a great guy!

Juice

This afternoon a neighbor with two girls about a year older than our two boys came over to play. Our house was LOUD, but the kids were so into playing and running that they needed only the smallest bit of adult attention. Maria read the paper and I made dinner, in fact. The youngest girl asked me for some juice, so I listed her choices of papaya and pineapple. She looked downright worried. I remembered we had a pack of small bottles of grape juice in the pantry (white grape, non-staining). Oh yes, grape juice would do. And we realized that we have so consistently selected "fun" tropical choices to offer our boys that they think mango, passionfruit, pineapple, and papaya are normal juice choices. Hey, the last two have digestive enzymes that might help bad tummies!

Cale and Karston weigh about 22 and 27 pounds. The not-at-all-fat girls who are a year older weigh 33 and an amazing 56 pounds! So a 5 year old neighbor girl weighs TWICE as much as our 4 year old Karston! At least he's eating better most days, more variety of better food.

James

This weekend we went to the coast with friends whose son James is 3.5 months older than Cale. You might expect that Cale would be most interested in James, but actually Karston was all about James. During naptime: when is James going to wake up? Luckily Karston slept for much of the drive home (Daddy and Cale are staying a half-day longer), but when he woke up, there was an hour of Where's James? to play. Once Karston was more awake, he told me James was in a black truck with his parents, and he'd like to play with James again soon.

Splashing

We went back to the state park today. Today the boys were less interested in walking the trails themselves, so we decided to take an easier hike than we had originally planned. Karston wanted to go on the trail with the swinging bridge, so we picked that one. Well, not too far past the bridge, you loop back to the river again ... at a wide, shallow spot! Oh my, there were so many kids splashing in the ford! We had no idea this was The Spot to take your kids on summer days!

The trail has a turn and hill just before the ford, so the people already splashing in the ford can't see you coming. One woman who was putting her dry shoes back on remarked to Daddy that she saw something bright on the trail and had no idea what it was at first. The "bright" item she saw was the light blond hair on my boys, blazing in the sun. I think she saw Cale first since he was standing tall in the backpack on my back. Daddy didn't think towheads were that unusual (nor do I, not that it's very common to be as blond as these), so he had no idea what to say. "It's called hair" didn't seem right.

The kids were more interested in trails and hiking on the way back: the ford energized them.

Cale on the Trail

We made Cale-safe blueberry pancakes for breakfast this morning. Cale loves blueberries in all forms! He lit into these pancakes, which were a rich golden color from the natural apple cider from the farmers market, quite happily.

After putting a good breakfast in the boys, we went to discover a nearby state park. The first discovery was how close it is to our house ... close enough we should have visited long ago! Cale was hilarious on the trail: with every toddling step, he grunted, hooted, or otherwise made sound. I decided, after laughing, that this was great trail behavior so that both parents could locate Cale on the trail without looking. Karston was showing off how fast he could run, also good for audible locating. I didn't expect both of them to walk the trail the entire (short) time, but they did. Good hikers! We'll be back soon!

Pancakes

My favorite Farmers Market had a pancake breakfast this morning, with a side of reading children's books about pancakes. So of course we went! The vendors are so sweet there! At the very first booth, the gentleman let Karston select a zinnia (orange), and the lady asked me if we knew about the pancakes and books. Oh yes, I said, that's why Karston's here. then I had to explain that actually Cale is allergic to milk and eggs, so he can only eat the pancakes I make special for him. Oh dear, she said, and very sweetly offered me some edamame for him. So then I had to say soy was on Cale's list of allergies too. She agreed that it's fortunate I cook (bonus that I enjoy it).

Then we discovered The Worst Thing In The World, according to Cale: pancakes that he's not allowed to eat. Oh, he cried! So we walked back to the car for juice and less temptation. One of the other shoppers, who was either very cautious or had overheard my allergy conversation, tried to distract Cale with his car keys. Brave man, to let a DangerBaby like Cale touch his keys, but Cale wasn't interested in jingling keys this time. So after having me read the ingredients, he offered Cale a chunk of the artisan flat bread he had just purchased. Cale cheered right up for that treat! Keep in mind, we had all just eaten, not that that matters to Cale. I'm not sure of the decorum of hugging strangers at your local farmers market, but everyone there was so sweet to our boys!

Karston ate half of a huge pancake, and we enjoyed green beans with dinner.

Bruise

Just one bruise on Cale's leg after that massive Whump. Tough kid!