3.5 Years old...

It's been super long since i updated last...

Well, Caleb is now a big brother! He's really just SO wonderful and loving towards his baby brother. Baby Micah is 4 months now, and Caleb has shown no signs of jealousy and is just constantly showering his little brother with his attention and many hugs and kisses. :)

Here's some of my fav pics of the brothers:


Caleb loves to try to get Micah to eat his teething rings :) He also often goes to "hang out with Micah" when Micah is on his playmat, etc.


Caleb loves to ring to Micah. Other favorites are singing songs, dancing, and putting on puppet shows for Micah


Caleb always says how he will take really good care of Micah


Some random Caleb stories that I just want to document somewhere...

• 12/2009: On the way to take Caleb to daycare, was listening to a rock radio station. But apparently wasn't edifying enough for caleb who said "mommy, change the music station to positive, encouraging Caleb" (yes, he thinks K-love is named after him ;) )
  
• 2/2010: We often take walks together in our neighborhood. As always, Caleb stopped to pick me flowers. I said "Thanks Caleb, you're always so sweet to mommy. That makes me happy." He replied "If it makes you happy mommy, I'd pick all the flowers in the whole world for you." :)
  
• 2/2010: every morning when Caleb wakes, I join him in bed and hang out with him a little bit before he gets up. One morning, Caleb put both hands on my face, looked me deep in the eyes and said "mommy, i love you. i'm always going to take care of you. when i'm a grown up, i'm going to take you on the bus." (which to caleb is probably just about the coolest thing ever. which is pretty amazing since he only rode the bus once in bermuda and once in new york)
  
• 2/2010: For a few weeks, Caleb started only been giving gabe hugs and not kisses because he said "kisses are for ladies, you're not a lady, daddy." then he runs to give me a kiss.
  
• 2/2010: Caleb often says "HI! mommy you say 'hi'" and when I say "Hi" he repeats me and says "HEY! we have the same voice!"
  
• 3/2010: Every night (for a few months), caleb prays the same prayer. "dear God, please make sure that mommy is ok and help her to watch where she's going and be careful. amen." Since then, he started praying for others...see below :)
  
• 3/2010: My mom heard caleb peeing in the bathroom without the light on, so she went to see if he wanted some light. caleb noticed her in the bathroom doorway and exclaimed "hey! wai poa (grandma), this is NOT a show!"
  
• 4/2010: i was talking to caleb about how mommy and daddy's 7 year anniversary is coming up and had this conversation. caleb: but i'm only 3. me: yeah, we've been married much longer than you've even been alive. caleb: it's ok that you're old, mommy and daddy. yeah, that's ok to be old. i love you. -_-
  
• 4/2010: caleb said "if you and daddy want to go on a date night, I'll watch Micah. don't worry, i'll take gooooood care of him." if only i could take him up on his offer without getting reported to child services.
  
• 7/2010:As usual, Caleb, Micah, Gabe & I were all hanging out on Caleb's bed at bedtime. WE were playing around and started tickling/zebbeting Caleb. He was laughing and laughing and then yelled "I'm TOO Loved! There's TOO much love!!!"
  
• 7/2010: We were at dinner when Caleb noticed a duck hunt style video game. he grabbed both guns and started to do a little dance while shaking the guns around. he named what was on the screen ("shoot the tanks" "shoot the people" "shoot the animals") then it displayed a wall of beer bottles and caleb exclaimed "Shoot the juices!"
  
• 8/2010: we were talking about an 80's theme party we went to & i said "most of the girls weren't dressed up." caleb looked up and asked "they were naked?!"
  
  
  Other highlights include:
  Caleb horse back riding:
  
  
  Joining a sports class & swimming lessons:
  

and of course, just enjoying family life!

Big Brother

Caleb's going to be a big Brother! Caleb has been super excited and absolutely wonderful to his mommy and baby brother. Here's some stories we've been waiting to share:

• Every night: Caleb sings every night to mommy's belly and often talks to baby.
  
• 8/2009: Caleb spills the beans
  Caleb was one of the first people we told that we were expecting. We (foolishly) thought we'd be able to keep it a secret a bit longer from the rest of the world, but Caleb was just too excited!
  At school the next day, when he gave me my daily hug and kiss goodbye, he also said "i want to give baby a kiss" and hugged and kissed my belly. Then he ran to his teachers and said "I gave baby a kiss!" They were a little confused and asked "What baby?" Caleb replied, "the baby in mommy's tummy!"
  A few weeks later, one of our friends gave Caleb a present. Immediately he turned around and put it to my belly and said "baby do you like it? I'll share it with you when you come out!"
  
• 9/2009: Caleb & Katherine
  Several kids in Caleb's daycare are also going to have siblings. This is one conversation Caleb had with his friend Katherine:
  Caleb: I'm going to be a big brother!
  Katherine: I'm going to be a big brother too!
  Caleb: No you're not. You're going to be a big sister.
  Katherine: Awww, but I want to be a big brother just like you, Caleb.
  Caleb: Well...there's nothing I can do about that.
  (they continued eating, Caleb was eating a lot of cherry tomatos)
  Caleb: I'm going to feed my baby tomatoes.
  Katherine (who doesn't like tomatoes): well, I'm not going to feed my baby tomatoes. Not everyone likes tomatoes.
  Caleb: I think my baby will like tomatoes a lot.
• 9/2009: G&E's Wedding
  While getting ready for Gina & Eric's wedding, Mommy was trying to squeeze her pregnant belly into a fitted bridesmaid dress. Caleb came in, reached for my belly and said very excitedly "Baby's getting bigger!!!" I replied "great, just what mommy wants to hear before going out in a fitted dress ;) " Caleb responded, "Mommy, you're always beautiful!" That's my sweet talking son ;)
  
• 10/2009: Pumpkin Patch
  While at the pumpkin patch, Caleb found one of those oddly-shaped gourds that kind of look like a watering pot. He took it and pretended to water my belly. "What are you doing?" I asked. Caleb replied "I'm watering baby so that baby will grow and come out!"
• 10/2009: Caleb discovers flattery
  Caleb's Auntie Linda was very kind to lend Mommy some maternity clothes. One of the shirts is pink with white splotches. It's not usually the pattern of clothes that mommy would wear, but I wore it one day with a coat over it. Later that day at dinner time, I removed the coat. Caleb was sitting at the dinner table and saw me in the pink shirt and his eyes widened and he said "WOW. Mommy, you look so beautiful!" I had never seen him have such a reaction, and I asked "Is it the shirt?" He replied "Yeah, that shirt....it's so beautiful on you!" I said thank you and gave him a kiss.
  The next day, I wore something much more normal for me, and he said the same thing "WOW, mommy you look so beautiful." I thought that was rather fishy, but still i said thank you. The next day, I got him from his bed wearing my robe and he said the same thing. "Caleb! are you just saying that or do you really mean it?" I asked. Caleb just snickered. :)

More to come...I forget all the stories, but there have been lots of good ones :)

6+ Months of Caleb updates

It's been a long time. There are many things I wanted to document, but didn't get around to, and now I've forgotten a lot of funny stuff :( But here's some snippets from the past 6 months of Caleb's life:

Some funny stores:

7/2009

• Caleb & I were at the market when he headbutted me. I said "Ouch Caleb! That hurts!" He replied, "Mommy, you used good words. I'm sorry." Look what he learns from daycare :)
• Caleb said "Mommy, we say 'Jesus loves the children of the world.' But what is world?" I explained it to him and he said "Does Jesus love the grown ups too?" I said he loves everyone in the world. Caleb thought a little and said "Mommy, are there people who aren't in the world?"
• One of his friends at school bit Caleb. My mom asked him "What finger did Navye bite?" Caleb proceeded to stick each finger in his mouth and bit it lightly. After biting 4 fingers lightly, he bit his index finger on his right hand and said "this one!"
  

6/2009

• Caleb taught his friends at school to say "Peace out, homey." (he learned that, and "Go let the dogs out" and other goodies from his Auntie Ally. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLm8tg1t_PI)
• One day as I was changing his diaper, Caleb said "Mommy, I'm thankful for you." and I said "Awww, Caleb, I'm SO thankful for you!" Caleb paused and said "what doest thankful mean?" I explained the definition to him, and Caleb replied "Yeah I'm thankful for you mommy."
  
• I took Caleb to this huge McDonalds playground that we always pass but never went in. He was a bit young for it, but made it up and down. Everytime we pass, he said "Oh, the Old McDonald playground! When I'm older, I'm going to go there!"
• My mom said "Caleb, say 'Wai poa is smart, Caleb is silly.'" Caleb laughed and replied "'Wai poa is silly. Caleb is smart.'"
  

5/2009

• I cut 9 inches off my hair. When Caleb saw me he said "where did the rest of your hair go?" I said "oh, I got a haircut, sweetie." And he replied "Mommy, put it back!"
• While in Bermuda, we went to The Lobster Pot & Boat House Bar. As part of Caleb's kid's meal, he got this great looking ice cream sunday. We never let him eat such things, but we figured that we were on vacation so he should get spoiled :) When the server put it down in front of him, Caleb took the wafer off the top to eat it. Gabe tried to show him how he can put some ice cream on the wafer to eat together, but Caleb scraped the ice cream off and ate the wafer. He then grabbed his spoon. We assumed he was going to eat some, but instead he took a big spoonfull and fed it to daddy. Then he fed me. We couldn't convince him to even try a bite, he only wanted to feed his ice cream to mommy and daddy. We, of course, appreciated that! It was yummy!
  

4/2009

• We went to visit Uncle Raymond for his Birthday and brought over a cake. I don't usually let Caleb eat sweets, so cakes and things are a rare treat. Auntie Sandra asked him "Caleb, do you like cake?" and Caleb replied "Yeah, I like it... A LOT!... for a long time!" (I guess he just wanted to think of something even stronger than saying "I like it a lot")
  

3/2009

• A while back, one of his daycare friends became a big brother. We had a parent's night where the family brought the newborn (who cried a lot!). Caleb said "look, it's will's baby brother." I said "Yeah that's right. Do you want a baby brother or sister?" Caleb said "no! no! please no..." So I replied "Why not?" Caleb said (covering his ears) "Babies cry loud!" A few months later, Caleb played with a ~11 month old babyfrom another classroom. Later that day when I was driving him home he said "I played with Baby Sophia today. Baby Sophia is very nice........yeah I want a baby brother or sister, Mommy!"

2/2009

• After doing something supercute, I told caleb "Oh sweetie, you're so cute." and he replied "No, I'm handsome"
• While I was changing his diaper, Caleb said "Kiss feet!" and I said "You want me to kiss your feet?" He replied "Yes please!" After I kissed his feet, he said "Kiss hands!" putting his hands to my face. After I kissed his hands, he said "Kiss forehead!" after I kissed his forehead he said "Kiss Mouth!" and I said "Caleb, we don't kiss on the mouth." He replied "Only married people kiss on the mouth. Mommy and daddyare married, but Caleb is not married!"
• Usually after his nap, I would ask Caleb if he had any dreams. For about a month, every day he would say "Yeah! I had a dream about wai poa...wearing a hat!"
  

1/2009

• A new girl started in Caleb's class. She had a hard time adjusting and would cry a lot. One day, Caleb sat next to her with a big block (that he pretended was a guitar) and went to sign her songs in attempt to cheer her up. She kept crying and crying, so finally he said "Angela - Don't sorry, be happy!" When the teachers told me about this, I said "where did you learn to say 'Don't worry, be happy?'" He replied "from a fish!" I thought hew as just being silly so didn't think anything of it. Later I was retelling the story to Gabe and Caleb said "Yeah, from the fish at Wai Gong and Wai Poa's house!" (this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1ug0vJyT_4)
• Caleb often speaks of president obama. He'll often grab my phone and say "I want to call President Obama. President Obama is busy, can I leave a message for him?" He also says "Uncle Raymond is always busy, just like President Obama!"
  

12/2009

• Caleb never wants to nap, he's much rather play. Usually when I say it's nap time, he gets very gigglie and super playful in hopes that I will play with him instead of putting him to bed. One day he thought he'd see if flattery worked. So I said "Caleb it's nap time." and he said "i love you mama! mama is so pretty!" And I said "OK Caleb, no more talking, it's time for bed." Caleb replied "OK Mama. I love mama. mama is wonderful." I replied "Caleb, I'm going to leave if you keep talking." He then said softly "Ok. Caleb sleep. Xiao Caleb Guai Guai....(then he sang the Chinese song my mom made up which means "little Caleb is a good boy...see here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0em6BGshDo0 :)" He also often puckers and says "but I want to kiss mama!"
• I told Caleb "that's because Mommy's a cool cat. Are you a cool cat?" and Caleb said "No, I'm C-dawg."

12/2009

• We took Caleb to the place where we got married. Caleb said "Mommy and Daddy are married. But Caleb's not married." I asked him if he wanted to get married and he said "no! no!" and whined. I said "why not?" and he replied "I like living with Mommy and Daddy!" I made him do this again (much) later so i can capture it :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOAMXoQOZ4g
• Caleb caught me snacking on some apple jacks. He said "what are you eating, mommy?" I didn't answer, but I showed him my bowl. He said "oh, cheerios. Can I have a cheerio please?" So I let him take one and his eyes widened in delight and he said "WOW, that's a GOOD cheerio!"

Caleb's new favorites:

• Band: Coldplay. He loves coldplay. He can't stand Atlantis Morisette. He'll yell "change the station!" if any of her songs ever come up.
• Songs: Viva la vida, By your side (by Tenth Avenue North). Anytime he hears any part of any of these songs, he says either "I like this song!" or "this is a good song!"
• New Hobbies: Playing with scissors. He can sit there cutting slits into a page for hours! Also we recently got him a new trampoline to help him work on his jumping. He can get really high now!
• Vacations: Bermuda in May, Kauai in January.
  
  Caleb's highlights in Bermuda (based on the order of what he enjoyed most first) were riding the trolley, riding the bus, playing at the beach, going to the zoo and aquarium, going to the caves (he often says the limestone formations looked like bunny ears), seeing the fish and turtles on the glass bottom boat, riding on the "other" boat.
  
  Caleb's Kauai highlights are seeing whales, dolphins, and seals on the "bumpy boat" (which he did not enjoy), playing with pizza dough, sittingin the hammock, seeing the waterfalls, seeing spouting horn, playing at the beach, looking at the fish in the lava pools, and he did not really enjoy the many hikes where he was stuck in the backpack carrier :)
  
  We also went to LA many times, as usual. During Christmas we made it down to San Diego to go to the zoo and to the Palm Springs Arial Tramway for Caleb's first snow experience!
  

Some video highlights (see here for all videos: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=babytang&view=videos):

• Caleb's Train dance:
• Caleb's singing feet (right foot is low voice, left foot is high voice)
• Caleb's puppet shows
• Singing
• Rockstar

Some picture highlights:

Pics!

I'm SO terrible at updating. We've been busy! But, I did manage to put up some new pics of our recent adventures. So in lieu of updates, here's some pics!

Kauai: http://picasaweb.google.com/calebtylertang/KauaiJan2009
Christmas (LA, SD, Palm Springs): http://picasaweb.google.com/calebtylertang/Christmas2008LA

Happy 2nd bday Caleb!

Lots happened since my last entry. The biggest thing is that Caleb turned 2!!

We celebrated with 3 birthday parties (1 in Nor Cal, 1 in LA, and 1 at daycare). It's always wonderful to be able to hang out with so many buddies. Some random tidbits from his bday:

• At the Nor Cal bday party (celebrated on his actual bday - Nov 22), Caleb had his first taste of cake! Usually we don't let him eat junk food and sweets. Caleb's Auntie Sandra made him a special cake (fluffy Chinese cake with very little sugar) so we let him have some. He took one bite, opened his eyes wide, looked at me and said "gooooood." haha.

• As always, Caleb is quite a "lady's boy." At school, he's always hugging, kissing, holding hands, and touching girl's cheeks. At his bday party, the only other relatively-younger girl there was Cady, the daughter of my high school buddy. I was talking to some guests and notied he was sharing a tender moment with Cady under the table, holding hands and touching cheecks.

• Caleb also made sure to wear his Cal jersey since his birthday was on the big game day. He also said "Go bears" several times throughout the party. And...whooo-hoo! the Bears won.
  

• Caleb always wanted cupcakes. He has a book about cupcakes, but since we never gave him cake or things like that, he's never had cupcakes. But since his 2nd bday introduced him to cake anyway, we had cupcakes (really they were cranberry orange bread in cupcake holders) for his bday at school. He was so excited! His friends at school also made him a gift (hand painted with their little hands)

• And Caleb was able to blow out his own candle! I expected him to need help, but I wanted him to be able to try on his own for a few times. But it turns out that Caleb can blow it out all by himself! The photo on the left is actually the first candle he blew out (at daycare). You can see the smoke from the candle, but he blew it out so quickly that we didnt' get a good shot of it. ;)
  

So Happy Birthday Caleb! We're so proud of you and SO blessed to have you in our life. We're so touched every day by your joy and your sweetness. Words can't express how much we love you. :)