Callum's World

Callum is at a great age of exploration and discovery of the world, but MAN is he exhausting to chase around all day!  Here are a few new things about Callum during the last month of April and March.

1.  Callum is a bookworm!

My little guy is a chip off the old block.  Just like his mama, who took after her own mama, he loooooooves books.  He seems to prefer them these days even to his toys.  He will sit by the bookshelf and pull them all off onto the floor around him and sit and look at them.  Sometimes he even "reads" aloud to himself.  And, of course, he loves to be read to, although he is often too eager to turn the page to listen to the entire story.  I will say to him, "Go get a book," and no matter where we are in the apartment he will make a beeline for the bookshelf, grab a book, and come sit in my lap.  Clever boy.  He is also known to say "book" on occasion.  I must confess, the elementary school teacher in me feels her heart skip a beat when she sees her little guy devouring and loving books! 

2.  Callum climbs.  

Oh, how he climbs.  He climbs on and off of his horse.  He climbs onto boxes and low tables.  He climbs stairs.  He climbs up into his little blue armchair and back down again.  All without assistance or supervision.  He is fearless and unstoppable.  Gone are the days of him being afraid to step off of the leg of the elliptical machine.  I miss those days.  They were a calmer, simpler time.  A time with less injuries and more rest for his mother.  He sure knows how to keep me on the move!

3.  Callum LOVES, LOVES, LOVES dogs!

The boy is obsessed.   This is another way in which he takes after his mother.  Unfortunately, we have recently discovered that he also takes after his mother in that he has significant seasonal allergies.  (POOR BABY!  Allergies suck!!  Pardon my language, but they do!)   Let's all hope for his sake that he doesn't also share her allergy to animals, or there will be no dog petting in his future, and that, my friends, would be a tragedy!  There are lots of dogs in our neighborhood, so we go out in front of our apartment building at least once a day to watch the dogs walking by.  He squeals, giggles, and "woofs" as soon as he spots them.  And then he tries to chase them.  And too often falls on his face---hard.  Once again, poor baby!  The dog in the picture is Dakota, the Thomas family's dog.  He is a perfect companion for Callum because he's too old and feeble to run away from him or jump up on him.  Poor Dakota.  :)

4.  Callum loves to go "out and about" to enjoy the beautiful weather.  

Saint Louis has two glorious seasons: spring and fall.  We're talking perfect.  It has been in the seventies for the last couple of weeks and just lovely.  We take walks, go dog-watching, play at playgrounds, and head to spots like Citygarden and the Botanical Gardens regularly now.  It is so fun to be out and about and enjoying this weather with our friends.  I love Saint Louis in the spring!

5.  Callum has some crazy sleeping habits.

Awake or asleep . . . it makes no difference!  This boy is on the move!  He tosses and turns and gets himself into the craziest positions, such as this legs-out position.  I have found him stuck in this position more than once.  Maybe it's time for a full-sized crib . . .

6.  Callum loves spicy food.

If I give him little chunks of basic chicken he is totally not interested.   But if that chicken has been marinated and cooked in a spicy fajita sauce???  Bring it on!  It's a little bizarre.  But I like it!

7.  Callum is a little chatterbox.

Again, like his mama.  I'm glad he inherited some of my personality traits and quirks, because he is ALL Logan in the appearance department!  Most of the time he is still just jabbering nonsensically, but he has picked up quite a few new words since his first birthday:

*  "Ta-da" (With his arms raised like, "Look at me!")
*  "No"  (Yeah, this one is not my favorite.  "Callum, may I have my phone, please?"  "Mmmm...No."  Wonderful.)
*  "Book"
*  "Yum"
*  "Let's go!"  (Said when we're leaving the apartment or walking somewhere.)
*  "Rascal!"  (Said, "Ag-cal!"  We always point at him and say "Rascal!" when he is up to something, so he is now pointing at random things and calling them rascals.  He also ocassionally says it in anticipation of what we are about to say.  For instance, Logan caught him pulling all of the things out of a drawer and said, "Callum...." to which Callum joyfully declared, "Ag-cal!"  What a cutie.)
*  "Done"  (We are working on this one.  I will ask him, "Are you done?" at the end of a meal when I notice he's getting restless and he'll either ignore me and keep eating or reply, "Done"---more like "da."  It is saving a lot of food from ending up on the floor.)
*  "Bub"  (Figure that one out on your own.  Yeah, I'm weaning him.  Thank goodness "bup" is his word for cup or that could be pretty awkward in public!)  :)

He also "woofs" at dogs---or pictures of dogs, or dog stuffed animals, or the word dog---and makes a hilarious version of a snort for a pig.  I'll try to upload the video.

Lastly, he echoes us.  Usually it's just a word here or there, but the other night my friend Marie was over late helping me sew something and I was getting ready to put Callum to bed.  I said, "Say goodnight to your friend," and in his baby voice he replied without hesitation, "Goodnight friend."  If Marie wasn't there as a witness I never would have believed that I wasn't just hearing things.  It was insanely cute.  And quite impressive to his mother that is convinced that he is a genius.  But isn't every mother convinced her child is a genius?  :)

What a boy.  He keeps us on the move, that's for sure, but we're lucky to have him!