From my livejournal - Caelou Update

Caelan is incredible. I can't even get over him. He's so imaginative and creative and smart. Conversing with him is just like conversing with an adult now... he knows and uses words like "actually" and "probably." It's weird when you go from counting the words they know to suddenly realizing they have a better vocabulary than some adults you know. I wish I could relay every conversation I have with him to you. He's thoughtful and sweet and chooses his words so carefully. He loves to help us, with cooking and cleaning and working on the computer. He especially loves to help Avery.

He loves animals... he doesn't seem to have any fear of them and has a great time at zoos, aquariums, and farms. He also likes going to the houses of people who have dogs! His love of animals goes beyond thinking they look cool. He wants to know the noises they make, why they look the way they do, their natural habitat, etc. He's also extremely musical. He has an amazing sense of rhythm and also loves making up songs. He can spell a few words already and can identify every uppercase and lowercase letter. He can count to 100 with a little help and can also identify most of those numbers. We knew he knew 1-20 and also 100, but he identified 40, 60, and 80 as well the other day. He knows tons of colors, including weird ones like magenta and turquoise, and tons of shapes, including octagons and diamonds.

He's constantly making up stories. He's really funny and silly and totally knows it. He loves making people happy and hates to do anything to make anyone sad or mad. He is getting a little more brave with physical things, like climbing playground equipment, but is still reserved when it comes to new things. He is not interested in carnival rides or bounce houses. He loves other kids on a one-to one basis and sometimes likes to observe older kids but tends to be a bit of a loner in groups. His eating habits are still driving us crazy, but we're still being patient and taking it a day at a time. He's really an amazing little boy, so we try not to "sweat the small stuff."

He's getting so tall and OLD looking. He has lost so much of his chubbiness in favor of looooooong legs. When I watch him doing things independently, I am just in awe of the fact that he's not a baby anymore. Seeing him standing on a stool at the bathroom sink, brushing his own teeth, spitting out the toothpaste, rinsing his brush... simple things like that freak me out sometimes!

I wish I could think of more specific little anecdotes to tell you, but I'm just too sleepy right now! I mostly just wish you could all get to know him. He's one of a kind!

On a computer at the library with Andy...


Playing with trains (as usual)...


Waiting for a reptile demonstration at the aquarium in Baltimore. I'm posting this because it KILLS me. He looks like it's his first day of kindergarten or something! He loves that backpack and wore it throughout our trip!


With Aunt Lindsay, excited about dolphins...


Waiting for the Dora and Diego 4D show at the aquarium...


Drumming at the airport, waiting for our plane...