the jellyball family blog

Dear Caleb,

Happy birthday to you!

You are four years old today.

Caleb, I cannot tell you how amazed that we are that you are FOUR years old. We can still remember so clearly the day you were born. The seemingly never-ending labour that started on a Friday night and ended on a Sunday afternoon. Those harrowing first 24 hours when you wanted to do nothing but feed, feed, feed, and how your dad had to trick you into sucking his gloved finger in an attempt to distract you from your perpetual need to suck on something.

There were those first weeks where we didn’t know whether it was night or day – it seemed like we were up all the time and never sleeping. You started to show your delightful personality, as you learned to flip onto your belly around Christmas time and dance circles in the exersaucer. Before we knew it, you were walking, talking, and now you’re four years old and you are your own little man.

You sleep in a big-boy bed. You still have this habit of rolling all over the place in your bed during the night (thankfully not overboard) and you never sleep with your blanket – you always end up on top of it. You sleep soundly during the night – you hardly ever wake up during the night even when your little brother is wailing in his bed right next to you.

You and Noah share a room, and we often hear you two laughing or whispering after we’ve turned out the lights. You each have a basket of toys next to your bed – these are toys that you have “reserved” for yourselves. You are a good big brother – you look out for your brother and while you two do a lot of play fighting and generally get on each other’s nerves, you love him very much and you miss him when you two are apart.

You are so independent – you can get dressed and undressed, you can climb into your carseat and buckle yourself up. You love to be a good little helper – whether it’s helping to measure flour when we make cookies or putting away your bicycle in the garage. Personality wise, you are a spitting image of your mother – calm, caring, disciplined, and a complete wuss when it comes to amusement park rides.

You love routine and predictability. There are certain things in your daily routine that you depend on, and when we change up these things, it seems to really turn you upside down. Something as simple as not hanging your helmet on your bicycle once you’ve put it away will drive you to tears when you realize that you’ve forgotten to do it. To you, these things are important and I am perpetually reminding myself that while it isn’t a big deal to me, it’s a big deal to you.

You are making friends and socially aware of your surroundings. We remember a year ago when you were in preschool, you were fairly oblivious to the kids around you and what they were doing – you were happy doing your own thing, and if someone joined you in your game, that was cool. But when we asked you what were the names of your friends, you didn’t really know. It wasn’t until the last few months of preschool that you talked about your friends and what happened at school. I remember coming into volunteer in your classroom only to realize – to my horror – that you had a GIRLFRIEND. You two walked around playing with one toy and then moving onto the next game. You loved having a dedicated play friend – which was really all she was to you. (She, on the other hand, relished in the idea of being able to put her arm around you and hold your hand.)

A few months ago, you attended a summer camp that was run out of your new school and this was a big change for you. It was a full day instead of just a couple afternoons a week, and you’d gone from hanging out at home with your little brother and father to being in a new classroom, with new people, for a full day. The period of adjustment was hard – there were tears (from everyone) but you were a trooper and got through it. A few weeks ago you started in your new program with new classmates and teachers – and you seem to love it. You are learning new songs and talking happily about your friends, and we couldn’t be happier at your progress.

You and Noah are in the same school program but in separate classes. You see each other at recess and after school, and I hear stories about how you two will cry when it’s time to go inside, back to your separate classrooms, because you want to stay together. At the same time, I know that if you were in the same class all day long, you two would be fighting like cats and dogs, so I think you guys have just enough together-time because you still miss each other. You are almost always playing together when I come to pick you up after school.

You speak French and English fluently, switching between them effortlessly but sometimes getting kind of “stuck” speaking English when you are playing with your friends. You already know how to write your name and several other words. You are starting to recognize words around you – whether they are on boxes of cereal or signs on a store. You are learning to put words together with sounds, and I know it won’t be long before you are reading like a big boy.

You have an excellent ear for music as well – you recognize songs during the first few bars of music, and when “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas comes on the radio, you are as happy as a clam. You love to sing and you are a quick study when it comes to learning new songs (definitely NOT your father’s genes). You are – and have always been – amazing at puzzles, since we bought you your first puzzle at the age of 2.

You are a good eater. You are usually game to try just about anything – even if it’s just one bite. You are a ruthless negotiator – you are always looking to understand how many pieces of food you need to eat before you get your dessert or can go play. You love to go eat at a restaurant! The other day we were out having dinner and you were serving salad onto plates, buttering your bread, and making chit-chat about how the food smelled good.

Your favourite toys these days still include your Thomas trains, our friends from the movie “Cars”, the cast from “Bob the Builder”, and more recently, Wall-E. When you play outside, you love it when I chalk up the driveway with signs and destinations, so you and your friends next door can ride around on your bicycles and tricycles.

You have become best friends with our neighbours’ four-year old daughter, Morgan. You and Morgan are both avid fans of Thomas, and you both enjoying playing with each other. Morgan’s little brother, Oliver, is a couple months younger than Noah, and the four of you guys will play endlessly in the driveway whether it’s with the bicycles or digging holes in the garden. The line between our houses has become blurred – it’s just one big playground. The other day, you went to play inside Morgan’s house and when you smelled pie baking in the oven, you declared that it smelled good in the house and that maybe you’d stay for lunch. We love that you have friends nearby that you see every day.

You love your bicycle and going to the park on your bike is one of your all time favourite things to do. Our neighbour’s blue and red tricycle is a close second, though. You love it when I chalk up the driveway with street signs and destinations so that you and your friends can do laps and go to exotic places.

Caleb, we are so very proud of you. You are a big boy in every way – you are smart, articulate, kind, caring, and curious. Please continue to grow into the stand-up little guy that you are.

Love,

Maman & Papa