As any mother of an almost 3 year old will tell you, every week is full of funny things.  Funny things your kid does and says that take you completely by surprise and make you chuckle.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorites from the last week:

I WIN!
Caleb is an energetic boy.  So much of my weekend is spent attempting to tire him out.  Last weekend, when we were in St. Paul at our apartment, Caleb was a little maniacal.  Meaning he had even more energy than usual.  So I made up lots of reasons to go out into the halls and run back and forth.  Like taking out the trash.  Or riding his bike (the halls are huge).  Or "hey what was that noise, we should go look!"

Well, on one of our trips, we decided to "race".  Caleb crouches down and puts his hands on the floor.  I declare "READY!  SET" and wait with a very dramatic pause and then "GOOOOO!" Well, I'm not one who will let my son just win (yes I'm that competitive), so I usually jog next to him and then barely nose out a victory at the end.  I always declare "I WIN!"

Caleb's response?  "I WIN TOO!"

If you know me... and how competitive I am... you know that this means Caleb is not actually my child.  I mean, I gave birth to him and all.  But it's like having a mini clone of Chris running around (the super non-competitive one in our marriage).  I'm just sayin', it's freaking wierd giving birth to a clone of your husband. 

Birthday Cake
Calebs third birthday is this coming weekend.  He is pretty excited about it.  So Monday night, I decided to ask him a question to see what he'd like the "theme" of his birthday to be.  It went something like this:

Mom: Caleb, what do you want on your birthday cake?
Caleb: CANDLES!
Mom: *slaps forehead*

This was one of those "Duh mom!" moments for me.  Asking what goes on a birthday cake is like asking what color the grass or sky is.  Grass is green.  Sky is blue.  Candles go on birthday cake.  My son is smarter than me sometimes.

He's Always Right
Caleb is smart.  And he seems to know it.  So often, he'll see an object and state it's corresponding word.  As an example, he'll see a rock and yell ROCK!

Well, sometimes he doesn't know the name, so he declares a word... a word that is wrong.  I attempt to correct him, and he looks at me like I'm dumb and says "No mom."

Caleb got sick this weekend.

Actually... not just Caleb.  Caleb AND Bruiser.  Let's say there was alot of puke and poop to clean up this weekend.  And Mom-mom and Daddy did not get much sleep either Saturday or Sunday.

Anywho, I knew there was a correlation between school and Caleb being around lots of other kids and eventually having him get sick more often. 

I just didn't think it would occur instantaneously. 

I mean, he just started school on Tuesday and by Sunday he was sick.

Well this time around, I got some pitiful but cute photos I thought I'd share.

It was really only a 24 hour bug, but we stayed home and snuggled on Monday... which this Mama greatly enjoyed.  Kids just never snuggle like they do when they're sick. 

And while I never want Caleb to be sick... I'll enjoy the snuggles as much as I can when he is.

When I got to school to pick up Caleb, I got an excited and happy "HI MOM!"

The kids had just come in from a walk over to the park accross the street.  It was pretty cold out, so they were ALL BUNDLED UP and looking pretty cute. 

Caleb was rosy cheeked and grinning ear to ear.

"I go to PARK!" he declared.

"You did?!?  That sounds like fun!" I responded.

"Mom, I show you bunnies!" was his next command.  Nevermind that he was still in snowboots and snowpants and mittens and a hat.  Nevermind that the floor was covered in little wriggling bodies as the kids took off their winter outdoor clothing that I had to carefully pick my way through. 

Caleb wanted to show me the bunnies!

I slowed him down and told him that first we had to get out of the borrowed snowpants, gloves and hat (naughty mom... forgot to pack his super cold weather gear on his first day).  As I was stripping him down, I was asking him if he had a good time (answer: "mmmhmmmm") and if he had a good time playing with his friends (answer: "mmmmhmmmm"). 

Then I asked "Are you ready to go home and have lunch with Brenna?"

He burst into tears.  "I no go home eat lunch!  I want eat lunch at school!  MOM, I WANT GO SCHOOOOOOOOL!"

I had to reassure him repeatedly that he would, in fact, come back to school before he calmed down.

By that time, we had the many layers removed and were dressed in our normal clothes again. 

And he got to show me the bunnies.  There were 2 bunnies visiting for the day.  I walked over to the cage and pretended to be very impressed with those handsome bunnies. 

But he was already looking at another cage.

"Look Mom!  More bunnies!" he declared.

He pulled me over to show me.  I looked into the cage and said "oh, no hunny, those are guinea pigs, not bunnies."

He looked at me with an "obviously you are soooo stupid mom" look on his face and said "Pigs?  No, bunnies."

Apparently those were not pigs.  OBVIOUSLY.  And I have to agree, Guinea Pigs do look more like bunnies than pigs.  Kids are pretty smart sometimes.

Today, I dropped you off at your first day of pre-school.

You were a little wary. 

When we were driving there and talking about it, you told me you were "gonna see teecher" and "sing songs".

But when we pulled up in front of the school, you quietly said "I no want to see teecher."

I pasted on my big smile and asked "You don't want to see your teacher?  Why not?  She's going to sing songs with you, and read stories, and do work with you.  You're going to have so much fun!" 

I think you could tell I was faking being excited, because you gave me a look that said "I don't know if I believe you."

It's wasn't that I was telling a lie.  I think you are going to LOVE preschool.  But... in my mind, you are still my baby boy.  And it it makes me a little sad that you are officially old enough to go to preschool.  When did that happen?  When did you get that old?  Where did my baby go?

We went inside and saw Miss Nancy, the teacher you met last week.  You hid your face against my leg when she said hello.  We walked in, found your little cubby and got your coat all hung up.

Then you finally looked around and remembered!  This place with all the toys!  And we spent a few minutes playing with cars and buildings.  You met your first friend, another little boy.

Then... all the other children seemingly came at once.  It went from being you and one other boy to EVERYONE. 

And you were torn.  LOOK AT ALL THOSE KIDS!  ALL THOSE POTENTIAL FRIENDS!

You wanted to go be a big kid like those other children and sit down on the rug for circle time... but you were nervous and shy.

Miss Amy, your other teacher, held your hand and I said a fast goodbye and told you I'd be back later.  You gave me a confused look and then gave Miss Amy a hug and sat down on the rug next to her.  I was so proud that you didn't cry... but a little part of my heart broke that you didn't even notice when I left.

I'm used to being Mom-mom, the center of your universe.  Your best friend.  The person you love more than anyone else in the whole world... although Dad is a very close second now.

I'm sitting here at work now, watching the clock, counting down the minutes until I go pick you up.  I hope you're having fun.  I hope you're being a good boy for your teachers.  I hope you're not scared or missing me. 

In less than 30 minutes, I will find out.  I will go pick you up from school and get a big hug and get to hear all about your adventures.

I can't wait!

In exactly 5 days, Caleb will start pre-school.

PRE-SCHOOL!

Uhhhh, when did that happen?  When did my son suddenly become grown up enough for preschool?!??!

I mean... seriously.  Is he hold enough for this? 

Caleb turns three in exactly 1 month.  And here in Minnesota, a child is eligible for preschool at 33 months.  Caleb has been trying to tell me for awhile that he's ready.  Since Christmas, he keeps asking if he can go see his friends (Kaylee and Colby are his buddies).  Just a month ago he started asking if could come to work with me.

You know, subtle hints that he wants to get the hell out of the house and socialize more often...

So, with the addition of a new nanny (aka my sister in law), we also decided to enroll Caleb in preschool.

I looked at quite a few in our area.  And by "looked at" I mean I called and asked "how many kids are in the class?!?!?"  And if they said anything over 10, I immediately hung up.  Because 10+ toddlers in a classroom scares me.

At least that was the case until I called the Montessori Learning Center in North Mankato.  I didn't think they had any openings, but I figured I'd call and see.

AND THEY DID!

Then I found out how many kids they have in the program... and my heart sank.  They have 18! 

I decided to go check it out anyways.  I mean, if you're a parent, the word "Montessori" is whispered about in all the mom's groups.  It's name is said with a quiet reverence. 

Or maybe that's just me.

The Montessori Method, created by Maria Montessori a long time ago, basically says that if we teach children how to do things on their own and allow them the freedom to explore and learn in their own way, they learn faster.

Instead of one size fits all education, it's "guided" by the teacher but the child gets to choose their task and what they want to learn. 

Sounds complicated right?

I thought the same thing.  I read about it, but couldn't picture how this worked in real life.  I mean how can anyone give 18 students enough attention to help them learn if they are all doing different tasks?

Then I went to the center to observe.  And it was amazing!

The children came in, hung up their coats and went to the circle rug for circle time.  They sang 2 songs and read a story (about 15 min of time).  Then they were dismissed to go to "work".  Each child quietly chose their task, sat down at one of the many desks/tables and got to work. 

I was mystified. 

I was mostly overwhelmed with the sense that it did not feel like there were 18 children in that class.  There were, I counted them.  But it didn't feel that way because it wasn't constant, overwhelming noise or movement.  It was calm, focused learning.

I won't say every child was as focused as the others.  Some needed to change activities more often than others.  But this means the older children, who have longer attention spans, could work on an activity for as long as they wanted/needed to.  And the younger children could move from task to task, as their attention spans are shorter.

The teachers moved about the room, talking to each child for a moment or two, sometimes sitting down to show them how to do a new task, and then moving on to another child. 

I pretty much knew, then and there, that's where I wanted Caleb to be. 

So, Caleb starts school next Tuesday. 

We've been talking about it, trying to get him prepared for the change that is to come.

Every time I say "Caleb, in X days, you're going to go to school!"  He responds with a "YAAAAAYYYY!  School!"  He is excited to make friends and "do work".  He is excited to sing songs and read books.  He is generally just excited at the entire idea of school.

Except for one thing.

Today, I reminded him that Mom-mom cannot go to school with him, and he cried.  Which made me feel a little better about my little boy being so grown up.  He still needs his mom mom!

Anywho, I'm sure I will take pictures on his first day.  Probably copious amounts of pictures.  Be prepared!

It's my birthday!

Guess what Caleb got me?  Go ahead, guess!

He got me puke! 

Wasn't that sweet of him?

Caleb has only seriously vomited once in his life.  It was when we were in Iowa visiting family.  It was about 45 minutes before church.  One puke.  Then done.  I think he did it so he wouldn't have to go to church that day (we all had those days as kids when we pretended to be sick to play hookie from church... admit it!).

But yesterday afternoon marks the first time in his almost 3 years that Caleb has ever had the flu.  He's had colds.  Minor fevers.  But never ever the puking flu.

So last night, as my very first 31st birthday gift, Caleb gave me vomit.  I got to get up a few times last night to change his sheets, wipe the puke off him, give him a kiss and lay him back down to try to sleep some more.

And he was up at 5 this morning as a extra special bonus gift.

I love my baby boy and I'm honestly not bothered by this in the least, I just feel bad he's not feeling good.  There is nothing sadder than a sick toddler saying "Mom-mom, my tummy hurt."

In a perfect world, my birthday would involve a happy, healthy little boy, maybe a trip to a restaurant as a family and a little swimming at the YMCA after (the most fun you can have with a toddler... EVER). 

But since this world isn't quite perfect, I'll go home, take care of my tired, "tummy hurt" little boy, hopefully get some sweet snuggles and call it an early night.  And even if my night is as vomit filled as last night was, it'll still be a good day because I get to spend it with him.

We went to see Santa last night.

It was magical. 

Caleb is almost 3 and he seems to be really "getting it" this year.  Which is just the greatest thing ever for a parent.  It brings back the magic of Christmas in a way that nothing else ever will.

So for the last 3-4 weeks, Caleb and I have been practicing for our visit with Santa.  Caleb is a kid that does better when he's prepared for an event.  If you spring something on him, he gets shy or cries sometimes.  Thus, to make our visit to Santa as enjoyable as possible, I've been doing my prep work.

It went something like this:

Mom-mom: Caleb, when we go see santa, he'll pull you up on his lap like this and say "Ho Ho Ho!  What do you want for Christmas little boy?"

Caleb:  Mmmm-hmmmm

Mom-mom:  And what are you going to tell him?  What do you want for Christmas?

Caleb:  A... a.... Big BIG ROBOT!!!

Mom-mom:  Anything else?

Caleb:  Ahhh... a big, BIG ROCKET!!!

Mom-mom:  Well those are great presents!  Good job! 

We've practiced like this probably 20 times.  And on the way to the mall last night, we practiced it again.  He had this stuff DOWN!

So we get there, we go to see Santa... and he's on break.  Hmph!  We go do a little shopping and come back 10 minutes before Santa is expected back so we can be one of the first in line. 

Caleb is SO EXCITED.

Santa walks into the area and Caleb is waving and hollering "HI SANTA!!"  He is SO  ready for this!  And as a parent I'm excited because he LOVES Santa and isn't scared.  I'm patting myself on the back for doing such an amazing job preparing him for this moment.

We're second in line and the family ahead of us has 3 kids.  So we have to wait about 5 minutes and Caleb is literally dancing in place and I have the biggest smile on my face.

Then it's our turn.

Caleb sprints over to Santa and gives him the biggest hug ever!  Santa pulls him onto his lap and is talking to him... and Caleb is hugging Santa.  And then the photo guy gets their attention to get a photo.  While I'm looking at the photos, Santa is talking to Caleb and I'm thinking Caleb is telling Santa what he wants and I'm so excited.  Caleb is done and runs over to me and I'm so proud of my little boy. 

And then we have to wait a few minutes for our photos.  Suddenly Caleb bursts into tears.  Seriously, into full on "my heart is broken" tears.

I ask him what is the matter and he tells me "I need tell Santa I want big robot!"

Uh oh.

He forgot to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas.

He is unconsolable.  I go pay for our photos and he is seriously just sobbing.  We get to the car and I try all the parent logic.

"Don't worry honey, Mommy already told Santa what you want!"
"Baby, it's OK.  I'm sure Santa will bring you a big robot."
"I'll call Santa on the phone tonight and we can tell him what you want."

None of this works.  He just keeps sobbing that he needs Santa.

I tell him we'll go back to see Santa again.  This does not help.

Finally, Daddy says that maybe we should write Santa a letter.  Somehow this gets Caleb to calm down.  I had no idea Caleb knew what a letter was. 

So that night, we sit down at the dining room table and we write Santa a letter.  Here is a photo:

Caleb's little eyes lit up when I showed him the letter and we talked about how it would get to Santa so that Santa would know what he wanted.

We put it in the mailbox and all was right with the world again.

Although now he's talking about wanting to see Santa again :) 

Christmas through the eyes of a child is truly magical.  I forgot how exciting Christmas can be and I am looking forward to seeing his eyes light up with joy when he gets that big big robot.

Thank you Santa!

Remember how I used to post videos of my conversations with Caleb during dinner time?  Well our "conversations" have evolved.  Now we actually have reall dinner time conversations.  I'd say about half of our time is me telling him to face forward and eat is food and not get distracted by toys and... yadda yadda yadda.  The other half is "how was your day?" kind of talk, which is really fun.

Most days Caleb lies to me and tells me he did things he didn't actually do.  I check with our nanny to see if his stories are real or not.  I just think it's funny he makes stuff up. 

So now, I decided to make dinner time into story telling time.  When we run out of things to say, in order to keep his attention, we make up a story.  Caleb tells me the major details, and I narrate it with voices and sound effects and hand motions.  In general, we get alot of laughs out of story time.  Since we get so many laughs, I thought I'd share a Caleb story with you.  I'll highlight the details that Caleb provided me with.

This is last night's story:

Once upon a time there was a robot.  He was blue.  His name was Robot Robot. 

He lived in a world of red robots... so he was a little different.

One day, Robot Robot blasted off! (add a countdown and rocket noises here)

He went to the moon!  When he got there, he saw the earth.  And it was big and blue and beautiful!

And then... he missed his Mom-mom (that's caleb's name for me).  He was very sad and cried because he missed his Mom-mom so much.

So he blasted off again! (add a countdown and rocket noises here)

He flew back to earth and landed.  And then he blasted off again!  He flew around earth looking for his Mom-mom.

He put on his binoculars (put your hands up by your eyes like binoculars) and he loooooked and loooooked and looooooked for his Mom-mom.

Then he saw her!  "There she is!" he yelled.  (point and pretend you see Mom-mom)

So he landed... and then he... put back on his binoculars! (put your hands up by your eyes like binoculars)

Apparently he didn't land close enough to Mom-mom, she was too far away!  So he saw her through his binoculars and yelled "Here I am Mom-mom!"

Then he ran up to her and gave her a BIIIIIG hug (pretend you're hugging your mommy) and lots of kisses (make kissing noises)!  "Mom-mom, I love you!" he said.

Then he told Mom-mom, "My tummy hurt." (point to your tummy)

So Mom-mom had to check to see if he had a temperature (put your hand on your forehead like you're checking for a fever).

She declared, "You don't have a fever my little Robot Robot!"

And then she gave him a slice of orange and he ate it and he felt much better! (we were eating an orange with dinner)

The end

Maybe next time I'll video tape this so you can enjoy the creative process :)  My son sure does have an imagination.  But I also find his stories are very indicative of what he is obsessed with at a particular time.  Last night it was rockets, space, robots and Mom-mom!

Hopefully as we make up more stories, I can post them here.  Enjoy!