Endurance

We kind of put Caleb through the ringer today, but he did remarkably well. We got up early today so that we could be at church service early because I was speaking during the service. After
worship, we went to lunch with another couple with a toddler who is older than Caleb. We enjoyed visiting with them, but Caleb was starting to get a little fussy by the time we left the restaurant. After leaving the restaurant, we went to Home Depot to get Dad a rake and we finally got back home pretty late in the afternoon.

At home, Caleb took a nice long nap which charged him up for evening activity. We returned to the church building for a joint life group and cook out with the college kids. We ended up staying there nearly three hours. Caleb was passed around by a number of people and performed like a champ. There was only one real protest and the lady holding him at the time was able to soothe him quite easily. While we were singing, Caleb flirted and played with a couple of girls near us. If Caleb can get that many pretty girls to pay attention to him when he is in college, I will be quite proud of him. He only started getting cranky at the very end of the evening and he cried the whole way home. Mom tried to put him down in the crib after feeding him, but, as tired as he was, he didn't want to sleep in there. As usual. He has fallen asleep in the swing and I will carry him to the crib when I am done here.

Caleb spent some time on his jungle gym this afternoon. When Mom first started laying him on there, it was really nothing more than a clean mat to be under him. But he is becoming more and more interactive with the toys. He is big enough that they hang within his reach. He can't quite control the movement of his hands, so he hasn't reach out and grabbed anything yet, but his movement certainly knocks the mobile around and it catches his eye. One of the toys is a plastic cat. The cat is holding a ball and the cat plays a song when the ball is spun. Caleb has hit the ball several times and caused the music to play, so we are looking forward to the day when his cognitive skills have improved to the point where he connects the music with the spinning of the ball. When he figures that out, I guess we'll have to hear the tune incessantly.

Caleb also continues to get more and more expressive, especially when he is happy. He has a really huge smile. He is starting to share his smile with others beside Mom and I. I was able to capture a shot of this wide open grin while I was getting ready for our life group.