Phone Dump

I thought it was about time to do something with the hundreds of photos on my phone. So without further ado, here's a little glimpse of our summer via my overloaded cell phone...

It's really too bad we don't take any photos of our little boy ;)

Trouble in the Tub

Cal's love affair with bathtime continues. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was writing about his early days in the tub. That was SIX months ago! Seriously??

Bathtime used to be a quiet, relaxing affair, the perfect segue into bedtime. Currently, the whole "event" (yes- it's worthy of the "event" title) is spent trying to wrangle the squirmy kid as he attempts to jump out of his infant tub and scale the walls of the big tub. You can only hope that some of the shampoo gets into his hair and most of his dinner gets washed off of his face.. and neck.. and feet?!..

Here's a little look into Cal's favorite time of day. 

 

Dontcha just love all of the blonde hair growing on my formerly bald babe? It seriously came out of nowhere!

Saturday

A Saturday morning at the dog park can be fun for the whole family.

Jakob and Cal made a new friend. Meet "Elliot".

Cal worked on standing.

Elliot interfered.

Jakob gave me a heart attack while tossing the little one high into the air.

 And Marshall, as always, enjoyed some quality time running around with his BFF Helo. 

Saturday morning win.

Family Photos

Last month, we enjoyed a family photo shoot with our sister Rebecca. We wandered around our neighborhood and enjoyed some family time at the park with Calvin as she captured our time together. 

Follow this link to view a slideshow of our photos. 

I cannot gush enough about how much we love these photos and how thankful we are to have these special moments frozen in time. I look forward to the day when we will look back and smile as we flip through photos of our little family and 6 month old son just as we were in the summer of 2012. 

Thanks again Aunt Rebecca- we love you so!!

Check out more of Rebecca's beautiful work on her website.

The Good Stuff

Calvin looks forward to meal time with much anticipation these days. He smiles from across the room when he sees you reach for "his" cupboard (you know the one- the one filled so high with neon colored plastic baby feeding bowls and thingamajigs that everything falls to the floor whenever you dare open the damn door- cupboard). He flaps is arms like a crazy bird and "mmmms" when he eats his first bite. He stares you down while you eat knowing full well that you will likely cave and give him the smallest taste of your sugar infused gelato if he only stares at your mouth long enough. And while the finest gelato must be saved for only the finest occasions (ie: a day at a ballpark or trip to the farmer's market), he really does eat quite well. Heck, the kid eats better than we do most days.

I must say, while going the cloth diaper route definitely take more planning and commitment, making homemade baby food really does not. It's so simple. Steam. Blend. Pour. Freeze. Weeks of cheap, healthy, organic meals are ready to go for only pennies. I like to make several batches of the goods all at once, making the mess and cleanup a one time affair. Our menu last week consisted of fresh green beans, steamed carrots, and apples with blueberries.

All were received quite well. Shocker, I know.

Month Seven

I have to be honest, I'm writing this post so late it's hard for me to remember where we were at and what Calvin was doing two weeks ago when he turned seven months old. I suppose I will have to give it my best shot. It's not like anyone is going to tell me I'm incorrect, right?

As you may have noticed, month seven was a crazy, busy, summery blur. A few of the highlights included travelling to Minnesota to visit family, taking Cal to his first baseball game, road-tripping to New York for Jakob's family reunion and 10 year class reunion (I still can't believe we have been out of high school for TEN YEARS!!), introducing Calvin to lots of new foods, and celebrating Cal's very first tooth!

Here's our hungry boy these days...

SEVEN MONTHS

For your comparison...

SIX MONTHS

 Here's what we have learned about Calvin this month...

Stats:

We don't have an official weight this month but I can assure you that he has grown. My sore arms tell me so. The days of carrying him around in his carseat have almost come to a close- it's ridiculous how heavy he and that bulky thing is. I'm over it. He is wearing 6-9 month clothes when he is actually clothed. We have been resorting to a lot of diaper only days after an entire month of hundred degree weather.

Eating:

In honor of the Olympics, Cal would like to award a gold medal to nectarines. The silver would go to sweet potatoes with the bronze going to a blend of apples and blueberries. Coming in dead last would be the horrendous broccoli. I think broccoli is something you need to learn to love. So far, nothing but hatred. As for bottles and breastfeeding, he could care less but will consider them when he is sleepy or has nothing better to do.

Sleeping:

Our little belly sleeper sleeps through the night about 50% of the time. The other nights he wakes up around 4am or so to nurse and goes back to sleep until 7 or 8ish when he is up for the day. This new routine has been great for everyone as we can finally organize our nights/mornings now that we have a bit of a "schedule". As per usual, Calvin's naps are still tricky business. I thought babies were supposed to take nice long naps?? Hah! I'd be happy with one solid hour but I think that has only happened twice in the past 7 months. We usually get 20-30 mins naps around here. Lame. 

Milestones:

As I mentioned earlier, Cal sprouted his very first tooth! Lower left central incisor for those dentists out there. (The right one has since come in but that is technically news for next month's post.) He is constantly tonguing and touching his new grill (see photo below) but refuses to let me get a photo of the tiny teeth. Maybe next month. In other news, he is rolling around like a crazy person and is this close to crawling. I'm guessing he will not be sitting no nicely in front of his chalkboard next month. I'm trying to enjoy every last second of my slightly immobile babe knowing full well that these days are limited!

See you in a few short weeks for a (hopefully) timely 8 month post!

Sitting Down

After an unbelievably busy few weeks I am finally sitting down watching the Olympics and wondering why male gymnasts are too cool for music when they tumble around during their floor routine. Life is good. Quiet is good.

I am hoping to be back this week with several new posts including Calvin's much anticipated 7 month post (humor me and pretend like you can't stop checking in for it :), Cal's dedication, and a little number about the adventures of making baby food. Can you even remember what I used to blog about before Calvin? Neither can I.

I'll leave you with a sweet pic of my boys from our visit to NY last weekend.