I am completely thrilled that our hot, Arkansas, summer weather is finally starting to cool off a little. I enjoy summer up until a point...usually the point tends to be Julyish; the point when you can't walk to your car without feeling the beads of sweat roll down your back, and actually getting in your car just about causes a deadly heat stroke...not to mention the sound of your hands sizzling as you touch the scalding hot steering wheel. Yes, I am glad that those days of extreme heat are hopefully over for awhile.

Cale is really enjoyable these days. He is talking constantly and says some of the funniest and unexpected things. I always tell myself I will write down some of the things he says and does, but I often find myself forgetting after a few days go by.

Lately it seems that Cale is becoming more aware of the world around him. He's entering a phase where he is actually scared of certain things. Up until recently it seemed that very little scared him. Right now, he thinks a cow is in our attic and he often talks and worries about this "cow". Now, before you start thinking Cale is extra-imaginative, the cow he is referring to is Carl. One day Carl snuck into the attic as he saw Cale and I pulling into the driveway. As we got out of the car, he began to "moo". Surpisingly this freaked Cale out and he is just certain there's a real cow in the attic and that it's going to "get him". He talks about this cow several times a day and often thinks he hears him or sees him. I think Carl just might have tramautized Cale!

We are also officially in the "no" phase. Usually the "no" is followed by "mommy", said in a most annoyed voice. "No, Mommy". It seems I can't help him do anything these days. Try to help him drink out of a real cup..."No Mommy". So the drink goes all down the front of his shirt. Try to stir the eggs instead of letting him..."No Mommy". And the runny eggs end up all over the top of the stove, instead of in the pan where they belong. Try to find the tractor video on the computer that Cale is obsessed with watching..."No Mommy" and our computer screen has some crazy error message because of all the random buttons that have been pushed. And forget trying to brush his teeth.

Who am I kidding, that kid is boss and he knows it. I pretend to be in charge but really that little dictator runs the show. When he wakes up, we all wake up...even if it's 5:30. When he's hungry, we eat. If he behaves particularly well in a certain restaurant, we eat there. If he is tired after church, we go home instead of getting a bite to eat. I he wants cartoons, our TV turns to Yo Gabba Gabba, instead of Everybody Loves Raymond, like in the old days. If he doesn't feel good, none of us feel good. If he wants to play outside, we play outside, even if it's 100 degrees out. I hate to admit it, but he is king, living the life of luxury. Hmmm, I wonder what that's like? I guess Cale has a few more months until he will have some real competition for the king's throne. I guess we'll have to get accustomed to life with two kings controlling our every move. Oh boy, lookout! :)

Okay, so I haven't blogged in forever, I know. It's just been a crazy busy few weeks with school starting back. I always forget how hectic the first few weeks of school can be. And I always forget how much I miss summer once school starts up again. I look back with fondness at all the mornings I got to sit around and watch toons with Cale and the evenings I sat around, stress-free, on the computer or watching TV with Carl, instead of doing mounds of school work. I always look back and wonder why I didn't appreciate it more, while it lasted. The time off, that is. But I guess there's something to be said about waking up at 5:30 every morning, rushing around to get everyone ready, driving to work where I don't stop moving until about 4:30, racing home to pick Cale up and start dinner, trying to play with Cale while at the same time trying to clean up dinner and the house, finally getting Cale bathed and ready for bed, then doing laundry and school work before I, myself, call it a night. Yep, there's something to be said about it, but I'm not quite sure what.

So, awhile back I blogged about taking Cale's most prized possession away: his "bot-bot", aka only sippy cup he ever loved. Well, because he quit drinking milk altogether for the few weeks he went without his cup, I caved and brought it back. Now we're on round 3 of bot-bot intervention. This time the confiscation is mainly due to the fact that Cale has been waking up in the middle of the night again lately, wanting milk. He really truly doesn't want milk, but he wants the comfort of his special cup. Because I'm tired of him waking up every night, I've finally decided that I've had enough. So, last week, I made the switch. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but Cale always manages to surprise me at how difficult it can be. He's cried himself to sleep every night for long periods of time, and quit drinking milk completely. I mean he's gone from drinking at least 20 ounces to none, nada.

Today, he even refused a nap altogether. After being so tired at naptime and ready for bed, he cried for over an hour and never did fall asleep. He's so strong-willed, more so than I am, I'm afraid. I'm not sure how long this will go on but I'm going to try my best to be strong, no more caving. Carl thinks we need to give Cale a visual that his bot-bot is gone (so maybe he won't just think we're not giving it to him, which is exactly what we're doing) We're thinking tomorrow while we're outside playing Carl will "accidentally" run over the cup (which will just magically appear behind his tire when Cale isn't looking). That way we can show Cale the crushed cup and maybe he'll begin to accept it. Sounds crazy but Carl accidentally ran over one of Cale's tractors before so I think he'll buy it. Although he does understand how Wal-Mart works and he does know where the sippy cup section is, so we'll see.