Caleb has had a restful few days. His grandmama hadn't been feeling the greatest, so he was spending some quality time with Paw Paw Tex around town.

Today is his last day in TX. He'll be making his way home tomorrow and be officially home Friday. I'm so excited. It's been a little more difficult then I thought it would be. I'm glad that he went, but it's been so quiet around here, it's almost eerie. But sooner than later, he'll be home and we'll get to hear the stomping, the screaming (good kind), the loud talking and my personal favorite, waking me up at 7:30 by jumping on my head. LOL. Nah. He doesn't do that anymore, but he does jump on me in the morning, if I'm not already awake.

Here's the email that we got last night:

Caleb played big time at McD's today; he got along really well with the other kids, and he is certainly not lacking in keeping up physically.

He ordered, by himself, chicken nuggets and apples for lunch. He cried when he didn't get the toy he wanted. It's hard to explain to a three year old the economical reasoning of a company offering only one of a number of promotional toys from a featured film once a week for the purpose of profit.

Tonight, we watched Disney's 1954 animation Peter Pan. He was into it.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Not sure. LOL

Yesterday he went to visit some of Jordan's extended family.

Here's the email that I received about the day:

Caleb enjoyed his Saturday. He hit it off with Melinda's granddaughter and her friend and had a fantastic time.
He was non-stop all day. His gear was in the happy position. No complaining except when I told him we needed to get ready to leave. He wanted to stay a little  longer.

Everytime the kids went upstairs Caleb would ask permission. Wow. Don't hear that from most children today.
He ate a really good lunch of baked chicken, corn and brussel sprouts. (No chocolate milk....but a slice of homemade chocolate cake for dessert!) He loved it.

A good shower from the skies made a puddle  in the front yard that he couldn't resist. He is all-boy.

Caleb was well-behaved. You'll can be very proud of him.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Getting some ice cream

Caleb called me this morning and it was so good to talk to him. Yesterday was a hard day for me for some reason. I just was missing him so much. Found out that yesterday, Caleb started to tell his grandparents that he was missing me, so we were both in the same boat. I liked hearing that he missed me, and it made me feel good.

So, it looks like it takes a week for him to really feel the missing stage. He only has a few more days and I think he'll do fine. They said that he starts to really feel it, then they'll come up early, but the plan is for them to start back on Thursday. I'm counting the days. Can't wait to see him, hug him and kiss him.

I  envision this great big homecoming where he runs up to me, but I doubt that will happen. LOL. It will probably be VERY nonchalent. LOL

Today, they are off to visit his great-Aunt and his great-grandpa. I'm sure he's going to have a good time.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Riding in the car

Apparently, Caleb had a good time, yet again. Woo!!

I got some pictures on Facebook, but there weren't too many of him smiling. He was concentrating on playing in the sand alot.

Email about yesterday's trip:

Great day yesterday at Lake Tejas. Many good changes since the olden days, and still nestled in the heart and beauty of east Texas.

Caleb enjoyed himself big time; played in the sand as much as in the water. He and I went out into the "deeper water" so he could see the sliders coming down "wet willy." Later that day he wanted to climb up the high tower which we did. Of course, he couldn't jump off but it was fun on the high tower.

Caleb wanted me to go down "wet willy' which is a really neat long slide. I obliged him but instead of swiftly sliding off into the water as I came down I stopped and my skinny legs were hanging over the end of the slide. Caleb was with Grandmama in the shallow end and he got a real kick out of this sight. He really laughed. It was sort of funny. I thought, "Man, am I that light that I can't even make it down this slide?" Then I realized it was my heavy shirt I was wearing that stopped me. Remedied that and made the next slide perfect....except for the water up the nose.

Caleb has a great imagination and it is delightful watching him play. He has the only cell phone I know of that can be used in and out of water. (Edit: It's his hand up to his ear)

Today, Caleb is going over to the family's friends house to play in their pool. He should like that.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: At the pool

After their big day at the beach on Tuesday, Wednesday was a rest day.

Here's the email that I got last night:

Caleb is taking it easy today after a busy day yesterday in Galveston. However, he did pour out a bundle of energy for about an hour at McD's playground.

 Tomorrow we are planning a trip to one of the great memories of my childhood, Lake Tejas. Nestled in the little town of Colmesneil the small lake is fed by a cold artesian well. For years the school district owned and operated the facilities but according to the website it looks like it is under new management. Not that it was bad in the past by any means, today it looks even better. Sort of like a little country Schlitterbaun. It has a kids area which bigger kids are restricted from. I think Caleb will enjoy it for sure, and will give him a great memory of east Texas.

We'll take plenty of food as we learned yesterday, you must fuel energy machines!

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Hopefully have a good time at Lake Tejas

Caleb called me this morning. It was so good to hear his voice, and he seemed like he was having a great time. He obviously doesn't miss me at all, and that's a good thing. I want him to feel comfortable and I want him to have a good time, and that he is having.

We talked about his day yesterday and he had a great time. Said a few love you's, and if was off playing with his toys again. LOL.

Here's an email that I got last night regarding his beach trip:

We had a great trip to Galveston.

Caleb really had a blast riding the ferry across the bay from Bolivar to Galveston. I was holding him up so he could see what was going on. Just as the boat was getting ready to pull out the horn blasted! It shocked Caleb (Pam and me, too) and he held to me fast! Made a great picture.

Caleb enjoyed feeding the seagulls, but he also wanted to go on top of the boat to get another view which we did.
The main beach in Galveston was packed with people so we drove further down the island - way down the island - until we found an area that turned out to be quite delightful. The wind was breezy and the water was surprisingly cool. Caleb absolutely enjoyed himself. Once he got used to the waves he wanted to go out further, but we kept a safe but fun boundary. He got a kick out of getting knocked down a few times, and enjoyed "crawling in the water."
The water level was such that he could run about 20 yards in the water back to shore which he did. The guy's got big time energy! He loved Galveston beach.

All the water fun perked up his appetite. He munched out on sandwiches, chips, ice cream, chocolate milk.
We got back to the Strand in Galveston and found a really neat alley. Art work on old buildings makes for interest. Add Caleb to the mix and we wound up with a "cool alley cat."

Caleb met a stuffed bear, a real horse, but missed the Nestle's rabbit by an hour. He also saw chess pieces almost as big as him, and saw Hurricane Ike's water line marked on a building.
Grandmama nestled him to bed around nine while PawPaw vaccumed sand out of the car.

Not sure what today has in store, but I'm sure I'll find out tomorrow morning. I made sure that I told him that his grammy and grandpa miss him, and I think he will be calling them later on today. Should be a nice little surprise for them.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Enjoying his vacation

Sounds like they're going to have a nice day at Crystal Beach near Galveston and take the ferry. Caleb should REALLY enjoy that. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

Here's the email that we got last night:

Caleb is doing fine; he was out and about on a few errands, but spent the day playing and having a good time and getting ready to go to Galveston on Tuesday.

And oh yes, Caleb does have some independence about him. lol  He is well behaved though, and seems to be very comfortable with us. IMO that comfort zone speaks volumes of his well rounded personality being that he has known us in sequels.

So glad he's doing well, but I knew he would be. Just wish he would do that for us. LOL

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: At the beach (or at least on his way :) )

We left for Texas on Thursday and got there around 7pm that night. Long drive, but glad to be there without another drive the next day. We got there completely exhausted, had dinner, and everyone to bed by 9:30.

Friday, we had breakfast, met a friend of mine for lunch, where Caleb met a new friend, Aiden, and got to play for a little bit. Then, back to the hotel to swim at the pool. Jordan's mom and dad showed up around 2:30 or so, and we all talked, had fun at the pool, before the rain settled in for that night. Caleb ran up quickly to them and give them hugs right away. Zoe, was a little shy, but warmed up quickly and fell asleep. Might have to do that all the time - meet and greets while she is tired. LOL. That night, we went to Pappadeux for dinner, then back to the hotel for some gift openings. Zoe got three new outfits, and Jordan and I got some dip and grill rub. Love stuff like that since it's a definite we'll be using it. Caleb got a kaleidoscope, a bookbag and a new book.  Then, it was time to go to bed.

Saturday, was a rough day. We had breakfast, and soon after, Caleb and his grandparents left to go back to Houston. I couldn't even make it through breakfast, I was already crying. I knew it was going to happen, but I figure it would happen as I was saying goodbye.

Later that morning, Zoe, Jordan and I went to a movie, Toy Story 3 ,then later had dinner out. It was nice restaurant called, Saltgrass. We thought we saw a Cowboys player there eating, but we're not quite sure. We tried looking him up by picture, but there were just too many to go through. So, even now, we're not sure. But, he definitely looked like a player for sure.

Yesterday, we left back home to KC. Took us about 9 hours, so that's not too bad. Zoe pretty much went right to bed after we got home, so that left Jordan and me relaxing with some TV for the rest of the night. It's definitely quiet in the house, and that makes me think of Caleb a lot. But, I'm glad that he is visiting his grandparents so that he has some memories of them.

I got an email last night from Paw Paw Tex about Caleb that I will share here. If I get them, they will make for nice blog entries, so I'll post them here. :)

Email:

Caleb is doing great. He and I picked up Shepherd and Misty this afternoon, and he had a gleam in his eye when he saw Shepherd. He likes his "Lassie". (A miniature collie is a child's best friend.???)  After Grandmama finished helping Caleb get ready for bed, I said "hi Caleb" as he walked into the hall. Caleb said "Hi Shepherd!"
We were out earlier throwing pine cones for Shepherd to retrieve. Caleb enjoyed that.
Caleb really is into church!! As service began he went up on the platform with a tamborine and did really good keeping in beat with Steve on the guitar. I was impressed, and I figured they must do something similar to this at The Reeve. (Reeve, right?)

After worship service Caleb asked to sing "Jesus Loves Me" which he did quite well, and he had such a sweet spirit about it all. Really precious.

He paid attention to what was going on in the service and was so well behaved.

I made an important hospital visit following the service, so Grandmama and Caleb had lunch at her favorite restaurant, Madison's. Later this afternoon Caleb and I went to McD's and he played and then ate chicken nuggets and got a toy- Airbender dragon!

He is doing great, and we are enjoying our precious grandson.

P.S. We're not spoiling him, even though the pastor-friend I was visiting in the hospital today said I needed to. LOL!  No way. We like the way he is!

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Having fun in TX

Today, Caleb is out with Grammy for a full day doing what he wants to do. No mommy. No Zoe. No Grampa. Just so quality Caleb and Grammy time. I think it will be good for him because he really doesn't get the attention that he needs from his Grammy at all. As with everyone in the world, she gravitates to the baby and he notices that. So do I, and it bothers me too, but I do what I can to help her along. She's doing better, but there are days.

So, today is their big day. Toys R Us, movie at the theater, playing with the trains at Books-A-Million, seeing the fountains. Who knows what else. I hope he has a good time and I hope it's one that when he gets home, he's not really ready to come home. He's needed this for quite awhile, I think, and I know I need to do a little better in this department. I need to drop Zoe off at my parents more so that he and I can have that extra quality time with each other. I know he misses that.

So, come August, we're going to do that I think.

Also, I'm trying to figure out preschool's for Caleb. After watching him the past few weeks, he's really into movies and so forth, and that's all he wants to talk about. he doesn't really know how to engage in conversation with other kids. Now, I'm not sure if it's just an age thing, or if it's his lack of social activity with other kids, but I think it's time. I just need to see if we can swing it with him for a couple of days a week.

So, got a lot to think about over the next few months for sure.

In a couple of days, we're headed out to Texas for Caleb's big trip away from home. It's going to take us two days to get there since we'll have Zoe with us. I know she won't be handle a big drive all in one day. We'll play it by ear though.

He'll be gone for two weeks roughly. That will also be good for him too. But, boy am I going to miss him. The longest we've been apart is one week, so it's going to be different for sure. He's in good hands though and I know he'll have a good time.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Having Grammy time

So, Zoe fell down the stairs today and when I was trying to calm her down, Caleb started to well up. He never let his tears fall, but you could tell he was concerned, scared, and felt really bad. I had to explain to him that for her, it was something that she had to learn and that she has to experience as she's tryiing to learn to come down the stairs. I also told him that he did the same thing when he was learning to come down the stairs. The difference with him falling is that he reached out and grabbed the railing to catch himself. Zoe, didn't do that. She just landed with a thud.

After about 10 minutes, he was anxious to tell daddy about what just happened. LOL. So, off he went, outside, and he told his daddy. :)

He's been rather quiet as of late. Unusually quiet. I don't know it's a calm before the storm, or if he's just having some quiet days. My mom said that Perry and I would have days like that, so I'm hoping that's just it.

But, I think he's having some jealousy issues again regarding Zoe and he's more keen to it now. Being with his grandparents in TX is going to be good for him I think. He's going to get all the attention and, hopefully, he'll feel better. Hopefully, it won't backfire with us when he gets home and expects that he's going to get all the attention again. That's my fear. :(

He's doing better though all around, just a little quiet.

Caleb's Toddler Forecast: Watching Scooby-Doo