My Funny Little Buddy

Caleb is getting more and more hilarious all the time! I do not know where he comes up with these things, but he is a sponge right now! All of a sudden, he knows several shapes, numbers and letters and will frequently point them out. He likes to count the number of items he has. How many sticks? "One...two!" He likes to collect sticks and pine cones on our trips to the park. I just love how big and fun he is getting. Some moms are Baby Moms. They love the baby phase of sleeping all the time, cuddling, dressing them up in their teeny things. Maybe it's because Caleb never slept or liked cuddling. Maybe it's because Caleb's teeny tiny baby-dom was sort of trumped by Jonathan being in the hospital and then post-hospital recovery. But, I'm pretty sure I like Caleb more and more as he gets older. He understands so much. He can communicate fairly effectively and he can be so sweet, helpful and affectionate. He gives the best hugs, the sloppiest zerberts (on your cheeks...or anywhere else he can find skin---your hands, arms, wherever), and he is super helpful. He puts things away, throws things in the trash, gets me a diaper when we need a clean one, helps me unload the dishwasher and generally just loves helping out. And though he CERTAINLY has a mind and certain habits of his own that we don't always love, he is really a pretty obedient child. I can ask him to come back toward me when he's getting too close to the road and he comes back. He folds his arms for prayer (for the most part), sits down and behaves. He still shrieks and isn't perfect. All I'm saying is that I'm grateful for my boy and how much more fun he is getting to be as he gets older and bigger. Babies just cry all the time! For no reason! They don't have any cool tricks. They can't give "high fives" or "rocks". They don't give hugs or kisses. They don't splash around all silly in the tub and have inside jokes with their daddies. The long and the short of it is: toddlers rule and babies drool. Am I alone in this? Does anyone else out there like toddlers more than babies??