Caleb is 504 days old

Today Caleb is 504 days old, and wonderfully happy healthy and amazing. I love this little guy more than I could possibly begin to express here. I don't want to ever forget how wonderful he is right now... time seems to be flying past.

Not only is his vocabulary increasing daily (Light, Ta, Ow, Tessie (any dog), Jooce, Mouse, Norty, Kattie, Out! Out!, No, Dana (dummy), Up, Uppies (Up Please), Eyes, Shoe, Tees (teeth), NumNum (yum), Daddee) but he is also starting to string short sentences together ("i out", "eyes out" (open your eyes), "i norty", "i no norty").

He keeps surprising me by understanding far more than I expect - things like "turn the music off", "bring me a shoe", "look in the mirror", "ta for <name>" (give item to someone), "close the door", "where is your nose / eye / ear / hair / foot / tummy", "where is your dummy", "comb your hair", "kiss <name>" and "put the cds back on the shelf" :-)

"Little" things which make my heart go thump : dancing to music he loves, especially when he thinks nobody is watching; kissing his mom awake; falling asleep clutching his teddy; falling asleep listening to music through earphones; clapping his hands with excitement; kissing random animals; and waking up in an instant wonderful mood, babbling happily before he even opens his eyes. And of course his laughter.

Caleb can now happily climb up and down stairs at speed (happily for him, not his parents). He can open most things - with his teeth, use the TV remote, use a cellphone to call granny or send SMSs to strangers, aim a garden hose at an adult (and nearly fall over laughing when said adult runs screaming), spray water across the bathroom by sticking his finger up the tap, change Winamp visualizations by pressing space bar, climb onto and off couches and beds, hold his own bottle / cup, play hide-and-seek by covering his face, and flip any kind of switch (especially lights, fans, computers and general plugs).

He still has no specific word for his mom - which sometimes makes her sad, but in reality it's because she is always there, watching and caring and loving and being the most wonderful dedicated mother any child could ever hope to have. Clair, we love and appreciate you every single hour of every day.

He makes me so proud when he figures things out for himself - I didn't think I could ever feel so incredibly proud watching him figure out which switch controls which light, which shape goes through which hole in his Lego bucket at Church, and how the lawnmower works (it's a manual push mower, no worries).

He reminds me that the small things in life can be amazing and wonderful. He reminds me to laugh - and reminds me to take time to see the world through his eyes, where everything is new, and almost everything exists to entertain and excite him.

We now know he's going to have a brother in April 2006 - there is no way the McPhail family line is ever going to die out. We are so blessed, and so happy. Thank you Lord.