The months March-September are pretty much the best months to be a newly-4 year old boy. The weather is starting to warm, which means spring hikes, outdoor adventures, and learning how to ride a bike. Summertime comes with camping, exploring, family, and loads of fun. The fall weather starts to cool, but with it brings more family bike rides, fun new milestones (like preschool), and the excitement of the holidays that seem to be just around the corner. (I can't tell you how many times we've talked about Christmas over the past couple of weeks.) Caleb, the past six months with you have been wonderful. You are funny, loud, express your detailed thoughts and ideas so well, and full of incredible amounts of imagination. We are glad to spend our lives with you.
Stats: Just over 40 lbs and around 40" as well. For a while, he and Austin were wearing the same clothes size almost perfectly - but Austin has lengthened and Caleb has plateaued a bit and now they are solidly in different clothing sizes (which is much trickier than having them wear the same size).
Some things to remember:
-He has the biggest brightest smile that just lights up his whole body.
-He's got a vivid imagination and it's often difficult for him to tell the difference between reality and what he has been thinking about. This makes him quite the storyteller, weaving detailed stories about adventures he's been on or things that he "remembers". Sometimes this also turns into untruths about things that happened or whether he had permission to do something or not. As his parents, we are trying to encourage his creativity, give him a safe place to explore his imagination, and also have boundaries regarding "telling the truth".
-He often bounces back between being the sweetest little companion to both his parents or his siblings and purposely pushing buttons trying to bother them and/or get their attention.
-He started preschool and Upstart (a computer preschool) this year and he's enjoying both. He surprises me with the things he is learning and understanding quite often.
-He still sleeps with his "drag-drag" (a green stuffed dragon) every night and will say that he likes to sleep with it because it helps him not to have bad dreams.
-He upgraded to a pedal bike from his balance bike and now he seems so big! He calls it his "speed-bike", one day he requested we take the training wheels off and rode for a little while but then went back to the training wheels and is pretty happy about that for now.
-We celebrated his half-birthday with a bundt cake while we were in the car headed to Boise for my Grandpa's funeral. I didn't get any pictures, but ever since then Caleb has proudly told anyone and everyone that he is officially "Four and a Half!"
Some pictures of Caleb:
His "Speed Bike"
We were able to spend quite a bit of time in Wyoming on my Grandpa's ranch this spring. It was full of feeding black cows, exploring haystacks, and riding the tire swing. One of those times, it also included falling into a cactus which was NOT as fun as the others. Those cactus stickers hurt! Poor guy got them all over his legs and hands. The bandaids on his face were for effect (my dad was putting bandaids on him and put one everywhere Caleb said that it hurt, so he got some extras.)
Spring hikes are always a favorite and Caleb did so well on some bigger and longer hikes than he's done all on his own before. Bear River Suspension Bridge & Morgan "M" pictured.
He's such a sweet boy and we love him so much.
He saved his money for weeks and weeks to earn a big gumball machine. I'm so proud of him for that.
We started going back to Primary! When COVID shut primary down in March 2020, Caleb was still in nursery. Now, over a year later, he's a great big sunbeam!
Summer adventures with his siblings.
Adventures like: Wet Floor Surfing. This involves a mom who needs her floor mopped, plus some water, soap, and excited kids in swimsuits. I used to do this when I was a kid and my kids love it, too.
Also adventuring to the Trampoline Park. This is heaven for an energetic young boy.
Cal took him on a "grandpa date". They went to the children's museum and Cal let him pick some things from the gift shop. It was a bright day in the life of this boy.
One thing I thought I'd mention is that we have been spending a LOT of time with the Haderlie cousins. Caleb is at a great age because he can play with Jason and the other boys but in truth- he and Sadie are the best of buddies. The seven of these kids are making great memories and I hope that they will be life-long friends.
Camping! Summer Range with Grandma & Grandpa and Maple Canyon with our neighbors the Wards.
Caleb and Lucy are really starting to play well together and I love watching their relationship grow.
Another big milestone for Caleb - Preschool! He rides his bike every day and is really enjoying his class. It makes me happy to see him learning and growing.
We took a September Trip to the Redwoods and it was just wonderful!
Maze building and Saturday cartoon wathcing.
The weather is changing and now we are headed into Fall. With that comes our fall adventures. Pumpkin patches, apple orchards, raspberry picking. Dry leaf crunching, puddle jumping and enjoying all the parts of Fall (including caramel icecream and apple cider donuts at The Red Barn in Santaquin).
We love you Caleb Samuel. We are doing our best to make this childhood one of love, support, and learning so that you can grow into the best possible version of yourself. You are unique and creative and such an important part of our family. I'm trying not to blink because I know in just one blink I'll be writing your 5 year post. I'm enjoying this time I have with you RIGHT NOW.
