Thursday, March 3, 2011

There's something about Caleb....

that I really love! Well, actually there is a LOT about him that I love!

When I was a young girl dreaming of motherhood, I never thought that I would be a BOY mom. I assumed that I would have girls and do girlie things.

When I was pregnant, we decided that we would not find out the gender.  I wanted that surprise moment in the delivery room.  But, for the whole time I was pregnant, I sort of knew deep inside (my womb! haha) that I was having a boy.    Oh, we chose a girl name too.  Had Caleb been a girl, he would have been named Mackenzie Grace or "Kenzie".  I had known a sweet Mackenzie when I was younger and loved the name.   The name Caleb Andrew, on the other hand, has totally different origins. We'll save that story for another day.

One of my favorite moments in life was when the doctor delivered the baby via C-section and prompted Jeremy to tell me the gender.  Jeremy's voice was thick with emotion and excitement.  Even though I could not see his face, I could hear his smile and amazement as he shouted, "IT'S a BOY!  You're right!  You are always right!!"

Now, one of the many reasons that this is a special memory is because I was able to witness my love become a father and hear that in his voice.  But, I also delight in the fact that we have Jeremy's declaration of my "rightness" on tape!!


Oh, wait... this post is supposed to be about Caleb, not me.  Well,  maybe we could say that that sweet boy has inherited some of his mama's enjoyment of being "right"!

And so I will end this post with a list of 10 things that I love about Caleb:

10.  I love that he can tell me the most obscure facts about most college and professional sports.  I always ask "Where did you learn that?"  He says, "I read it in a book."

9.  Relating to #10, I love that he LOVES to read.  Once, he got a new book from the bookstore and when we got home, he came to me and said, "Bye mom" as he headed to his room to curl up with his book for hours!  I think that I must be the only mom in town who has to fuss at her kiddo for reading too much.

8.  I love that he is such an encourager to others.  I watch him as he talks to others on his basketball team and I am so proud of the way that he builds his teammates up.

7.  I love that he hates to be late.  (He probably does not love that I am often late.)

6.  I love that he has great comedic timing.  The other night he had me in stitches at the dinner table!

5.  I love that he is a planner.  He writes himself notes all the time and plans out what he is going to wear for the week.

4.  I love his determination.    He sets high goals for himself and then pushes himself to reach them in sports and in academics.

3.  I love his quick smile and great laugh.

2.  I love that he is such a gracious gift recipient. I have seen him open presents that I knew that he did not totally enjoy but he was still so grateful and thankful to the giver.

1. I love that he wants only butter on his English muffins, only strawberry cream cheese on his bagels, his sandwiches cut with the crust cutter and not too much jelly, his quesadillas "easy on the cheese", fries instead of tots at Sonic, ranch and honey mustard on the side of his chicken nuggets, only regular cheese goldfish, and bananas without too many brown spots.  I love that he loves all that just so AND that this morning he said, "I am not picky about food."

Oh, I love that boy!  I do! I do!