Stinker

There is no other way to describe Caleb right now. He is 100% stinker! The kid is into EVERYTHING! Gabe and I were laughing the other day because "Oh no! Caleb what have you done now?" has become a common saying in our house. We don't remember either of our other two children being this curious and mischievous.  I thought it would be a good idea to document a few of his antics. If for no other reason than to help me laugh when I am having a difficult day. Here is a typical day (a combination of his worst / best moments, depends on who you ask) with our beloved lil' monkey.....
 
7:00 a.m. Caleb has probably been awake in his crib for at least 30 minutes. Thankfully he is a great sleeper. Always has been. It's the awake hours that wear me out!!!

7:30  Caleb eats breakfast until full then tosses leftovers to an eagerly awaiting Oliver, who for the time being is his best friend.

8:00 Caleb transforms into an octopus the moment I lay him down to change his diaper and get him dressed for the day. Amazing. Must see this (or have a 1 year old) to believe it.

8:15 Caleb finds the syrup bottle left on the table from breakfast. Standing on tip toes, he can just barely reach it. The bottle tips over and rains down syrup. Caleb stands under the syrup fall and proceeds to play in  it until it is on every square inch of his little body. Then he comes to find me, beaming at his accomplishment. His pursuit of me leaves sticky footprints and handprints EVERYWHERE!

8:20 I stare at the mess in amazement not knowing where to begin. I bathe. I wash. I mop.

8:45 Octopus transformation complete for the second time today. Caleb heads off for his next adventure.

8:50 Caleb climbs up on the desk chair in hopes of some laptop fun. Goal achieved. He spends the next 5 minutes doing one (or all) of the following... pounding on the keys, pouring an entire box of Nerd candy all over the laptop, or grabbing the wireless mouse and taking off. I spend the next 10 minutes trying to find the missing mouse while the cursor moves all over the screen on its "own" and cleaning up all the teeny tiny Nerds. During this time, Caleb has now ditched the wireless mouse for a remote control. His day is not complete until he has removed each and every battery.

9:00 I try to get the big kids started on school. Caleb climbs all over Isaac and Julia, snatching pencils, crayons, and anything else he can get his hands on. Caleb climbs onto the table and spins the chandelier. I put Caleb in his room to play, which lasts for a total of 3.2 seconds.

9:10 The house grows strangely quiet. There's trouble. Where's Caleb? I find him dunking toy cars in the toilet. Lovely.

9:15 After disinfecting Caleb and his toys, I attempt to find something for him to play with that will keep his attention. Most attempts fail, unless of course it includes dunking cars in toilet water. That would keep him busy all day.

9:20  I head back to the school table to see how the big kids are doing. Caleb heads to the turnaround in the kitchen and starts to unload it. I catch him red handed holding two bottles of olive oil. He giggles. I sigh.

9:30  I put Caleb in his bed with a pile of books and his blanket. Thankfully this does keep him occupied and happy for at least an hour. We actually get something accomplished at school.

10:30 I retrieve a restless lil' monkey and he heads straight for the pantry pointing and signing "eat". I give him his snack cup and head back to the school table.

10:35  I hear Oliver munching away in the kitchen. I assume Caleb is giving him his cereal. Nope. I find Caleb with one hand in his cereal cup and the other hand in the doggie treat box. A bite of cereal for Caleb, a treat for Oliver. Repeat and repeat again. Oliver is his best friend once again.

10:40 I strap Caleb into his feeding seat and get back to school with the kids.

10:45  Caleb wants down. I release him. He goes to the kitchen and curls up in Oliver's bed and snuggles up to a "barely tolerating this" Oliver. I grab Caleb and try to brush all the dog hair off of him. As I do this, he reaches down and tips over Oliver's water bowl. I should have known better than to leave that there.

10:50  I attempt more school time. Caleb wanders off to the kids' bathroom in search of his sister's hair stuff. He finds his favorite.... headbands. He adorns one and struts around the house as proud as he can be. He really likes the sparkly ones.

10:55 I mistakenly leave the linen closet unlocked. Silly me. Caleb finds the broom. He pulls the broom out of the closet and knocks a picture off the wall, shattering the glass. Really?!

11:15 I finally have all the glass cleaned up and have promised myself never to leave that closet unlocked again and to never let Caleb out of his feeding seat again. Ok. Can't do the second one, but I am tempted.

11:20  Caleb finds our filing cabinet. Caleb brings me a  pile of papers. I groan knowing where these came from and how long it will take me to file them again. Sigh.

11:25  Julia walks by with her Baby. Caleb seizes the opportunity, grabs her bunny, and runs away giggling. Julia, being the awesome big sister that she is, just laughs, finds another toy to trade him with, and tricks him into giving her beloved Baby back. I have a feeling her patience and understanding will come in handy in the future.

11:30 Caleb points at the back door wanting outside. I gladly oblige and let him loose in the backyard. Strangely enough he gets into less trouble outside. However, he does come back inside covered in sand. Considering our day, I'll take it!

11:40  Caleb finds Oliver (aka: his best friend) Caleb thinks it fun to try and ride Oliver. Oliver does not agree.

11:45  School? Oh yeah, I am supposed to be teaching my older children something today. For some strange reason I feel distracted.

11:50  Caleb finds the plastic containers and starts unloading it onto the kitchen floor. I sigh in relief. At least it is not breakable.

11:55 I attempt to clean the kitchen. Caleb sees the open dishwasher and either climbs onto the open door or grabs any number of sharp utensils and tries to run. I catch him before he even takes a step. Busted.

12:00p.m. Lunch time! After filling his belly, Caleb practices his frisbee golf skills and launches his plate across the room. We all duck for cover.

12:15 After another octopus wrestling match, I try to quiet the little guy with a snuggle and a story. It works! No wonder though, he has completely worn us both out. I lay him down with his puppy pillow and blue blanket he calls DD. Nightie night lil' monkey! He makes it all worth it by blowing me a kiss. I do so love my little Boo Bear.

Rinse and repeat. All that happened before nap is likely to happen again after nap leaving me bleary eyed and exhausted by evening. I fall into bed thanking God for my children, adventures and all!

Disclaimer: All of the "incidents" above have actually happened and there are many more I don't have time to mention. However, most days are not this hairy, but close. I assure you! Want proof? See below...

The syrup incident

 

 

Lovin' on Oliver and hanging out in the dog bed

 One of his favorite places to be!

Caleb wearing one of Julia's headbands. I have other better pictures that I couldn't find. Will post later.

The "Nerds" incident

I may get worn out by all of Caleb's antics, but I can't get upset with him. He is just so darn cute! He can flash his little smile at me and I melt. Boy, am I in trouble! In all seriousness, Caleb Andrew is a blessing and I would choose a million days just like this rather than one without him. Spoken like a true Mom, huh?!

Oh, and by the way, these are on my shopping list....