my gentle giant

 Ford is decidedly not a sensitive child.

here is the low-down on my always singing, three times per day pooping, strong as an ox, cleptomaniac 18 month old:

1. he has an incredibly high pain tolerance.

2. He is obsessed with buckling any buckle he can find.  Michael has looked into making a board that has multiple buckles so that he can just clasp and unclasp them all day long.  (the buckling might seem like no big deal, that is until you want to get him out of the carseat after a trip to the grocery store in the 98 degree heat and 90 percent humidity and you go to unbuckle his car seat and he proceeds to buckle it again before you can pick him up.) 

here at the store with his sweet girlfriend, Yohanna.  (i tell you i would take twins if you could promise they would come out just like these two)

3. He is equally obsessed with wallets and cards.  he has misplaced not only one of my precious Starbucks giftcards, but also one of my credit cards.  neither to be seen ever again.  No sooner do you set your purse on the ground after coming inside from one of those melting trips to the store, than he has quietly run away with your wallet and found a secret corner to hide and re-arrange all of your cards.

this photo was taken on michael's birthday, not a great photo, but note that he has swiped PaPa's wallet during the singing and blowing out of the candles

4. He doesn't speak with words, but phrases.  for example, his first words besides mama, and dada, and "dis" (for "this" while pointing at what he wants), are "der yu go" (for "here you go" while handing you something), and "dank yu" after he gives it to you or "uh-oh" if he drops it.  he repeats parts of our sentences without knowing what they mean, and just sort of sing-songs phrases he hears.   He appears to have little interest in learning new words or demonstrating any understanding of the words that i say to him.  he doesn't have time for stuff like that.

5.  he is usually the one that reminds us to pray at meals as he folds his hands and starts singing the "God our Father" prayer song that Frank has learned at church.

6. His utmost obsession is with his doggie, and he will not sleep without it.  When you hand it to him, he immediately rotates the lovey and grabs the tail so he can stroke the tag with the left hand and suck his thumb on the right.  Lord protect us from losing this disgusting dog, please.

7. He appears to be left handed and draws on everything that he can, namely himself before he attempts to chew up and eat the marker tip.  i never understood how much i appreciated non-toxic products from Crayola until i had this child.


8. He wants to be in any jogging stroller or bike carrier that he can find, no matter how hot - as long as he can go fast.

9. He is picky about his books.  his favorites are: The Rooster Struts, Goodnight Gorilla, Goodnight Moon, and anything with a lift the flap.  He is so far NOT into Dr. Seuss.

10. He once ate everything that we gave him.  Then he loved all the meats.  Now he prefers non-soggy cereal, humus, berries, and every type of bread.

11. he desires to brush his teeth 2 - 4 times per day. by himself.

12. he never claps, but instead raises his hands like he is in a charismatic church, when he hears music that he likes. 

13. He has a serious love for shoes and putting them on, and then putting the shoes on everyone else in the house.  there have been countless days when i just want to have my shoes off after going somewhere and immediately, he comes around the corner with both of my heels or flats and starts picking up my feet, one at a time, to place them in my shoes where they belong.  he even attempts to do this with frank, though it is not always received quite so well from his brother.

14. he loves water, sand, dirt, rocks, slides, and toys you can push and ride.  he cares not about the temperature outside or inside, he just wants to get to work. it all may sound typical for an 18 month old, but he is mine, and i think everything he does is amazing.

 here he spent about 30 minutes taking the peaches in and out of the box and stacking them on the dog food container

frank has always been easy to capture in writing, while Ford is all in the watching.  michael and l love to just sit and watch what he does.  come on over and see for yourself.

Is Houston too far?  well then soon enough you can travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, the future destination for the Calloway Family Year of Adventure.  I look forward to writing about our time in the Ozarks just as soon as the Lord reveals our home and when we are going.  All we know is that it is time to live with our daddy again. we all need him so.