Halloween Overload

Things have been pretty festive around here lately. Festive, and crazy! Pumpkin picking, jumping in leaves, and cookie decorating sandwiched in with a nasty fall cold, some major appliance drama and lots of visitors. We have been busy busy busy to say the least.

As for Calvin, he has had the best week of his life! He spent the beginning of the week running around with cousin Sawyer and showing off for cousin Hazel. As if that wasn't enough, he spent the entire weekend being spoiled by his Grandma and Grandpa. What more could a tot want? If you ask Cal the answer would be PUMPKINS!!!- and that's just what he got. A weekend of pumpkiny, Halloweeny, sugary goodness. After weeks of being on full pumpkin alert and pointing out every "punk" he lays his eyes on, a bit of an obsession has formed.

(Displaying some serious pumpkin love.)

He hand-picked two pumpkins a few weeks ago and has been lugging them around the house ever since.  After rolling the large pumpkin to his room all by himself, it now lives next to his bed where he can look at it before he goes to sleep. At one point this week I even found Calvin and Sawyer playing soccer with it in the hallway.

The smaller pumpkin was used for an art project this weekend.

An edible one.

 Thankfully, the finished product turned out quite cute.

Much to his sprinkle loving delight, he also spent some time making Halloween cookies with Grandma and cousin Jack this weekend.

(Gotta love little Jack snacking on a yummy dough bat.)

(Cuties and their baking noses.)

As for myself, I am more than ready for Monday. After a crazy (and fun/busy/frustrating/long) week, Calvin is quietly tucked in for the night next to his pumpkin, my nasty cold has taken a turn for the better, the new washer and dryer are finally up and running (and I immediately did 7 loads of laundry to break them in), and I am sitting on the couch watching Scandal and browsing through potential Christmas cards. Bring on the week!

A Day at the Orchard

This past weekend we spent a day at a nearby apple orchard. I know I've said it over and over, but Calvin really really reeeeeally loves apples. He asks for one with every single meal. And of course, because I'm a pushover and apples are healthier than anything else he begs for, he receives one. 

Cal enjoyed our day at the orchard to the fullest, picking and taste testing every apple he could get his hands on. An apple addicts paradise. We had a great afternoon and have already enjoyed homemade apple crisp, applesauce and apple pulled pork thanks to our big harvest. Oh how I love fall!!

Here are a few photos from our day..

21 Months & 6 Months

21 months!! What?!? I cannot believe we are here already, with TWO YEARS OLD just around the corner. Our little guy is getting bigger and more grown up by the day. Here are a few facts that sum up our Calvin lately.

Calvin is constantly talking (although we only understand about 50% of what he's saying) and sharing his opinion on everything. He loves to sit in the window and point out every truck, car and bus that passes. He is equally excited about construction trucks, airplanes, and trains. We spend the majority of our mornings strolling around the neighborhood trying to find as many moving vehicles as possible. Cal's mind was blown this week as we sat in front of a construction site watching diggers at work just as the El passed by and a plane flew overhead.

Calvin LOVES Marshall and wants him around all of the time. "Maaaaaarshy" is the first one he calls out for in the morning and the last one he wants to kiss before bed. He is sad when we leave the house without him and disappointed when Marshall is napping and uninterested in playing. Cal and Marsh are so cute together, their two favorite games are fetch and hide and seek. Cal laughs hysterically when Marshall finds the toys he has hidden for him (hint- the toys are always hidden in the exact same spot- under the couch pillows). Marshall is extremely patient with Calvin and allows him to climb on, ride on, and chase after him whenever he wants. They are the best of friends.

Stuffed animals are all the rage lately. They have always been around but usually ignored in the past. Not so much anymore. At any given time Cal can be found carrying around half a dozen small stuffed animal puppets or one of his three main squeezes. A duck who he calls "Monk", "Hoppy" the bunny, and "Puppy" the brown dog. All three must be tucked in bed with him every night before he goes to sleep. Or else. Speaking of sleep, we reached other big milestone this month. Cal is now sleeping in a toddler bed. I must say the transition from crib to bed was so much easier than expected. He goes to sleep without a fuss and stays in his bed when he wakes up until one of us comes in to get him. We are so proud!

A few other favorites..

Colors: red and blue

Books: Green Eggs and Ham, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go

Foods: apples, cheese, scrambled eggs, yogurt, raisins and grilled cheese

Hobbies: playing with play-doh, coloring with markers, covering the house in stickers, chasing big kids around on the playground, searching for the moon whenever we are outside 

As for our other little boy.. he is safely cooking away, kicking like crazy, and will be ready to join the family in three months. With the holidays right around the corner, it feels like that day will be here before we know it! We have been talking to Calvin about his baby brother more lately and trying to prepare him as best as we can. Although I'm sure it's a little too much to comprehend, Cal does point to my belly and offer kisses here and there which is about all I can ask for.

And for my Mother who hasn't seen me in a while, I promise you the belly is out! (and this photo was taken almost a month ago!!)

Hope you are having a nice weekend!

Fall Boy

Because it's too cute not to share..

My boy loves him some fall! 

Tantrums

Let me start by saying that Cal is as sweet as ever lately. He is talking up a storm, loves to give big hugs and manages to crack me up on a daily basis. This morning he and his tiny stuffed kitten crawled into bed with me and showered Marshall and I will kisses from Cal and licks from "Noel" the kitten. I love my boy.

What I'm not loving these days- the tantrums. EPIC tantrums. Now that he can better verbally express his outrage he is taking no time to let us know when something upsets him. And in true toddler fashion, it takes very little to upset him.

A cracker falls on the floor.
The cats don't want their tails pulled.
Someone dares to mumble the word "no".
An ice cube is too cold.
There are too many bubbles in the tub.
Marshall won't lick him on command.
The list goes on and on...

Life is so unfair.

Yesterday Cal had the mother of all meltdowns. Let me set the scene. Cal and Matilda are happily coloring with dot markers at their playgroup at our local gym. Kids are merrily running around. Obnoxious toddler tunes are playing loudly in the background. All is well with the world.

And then Calvin decides he would rather suck the ink out of the markers than actually color with them. I quietly tell him, "No no sweetheart, the markers are for coloring". And then all hell breaks loose.

The tantrum begins on the floor. I try to ignore it for as long as possible but with dozens of mothers looking at me I feel as though I can't just kick back and sip my tea pretending that the tantrum isn't happening (ie. my strategy at home). I go over to console the child and try to bring an end to the situation. He thrashes around screaming like a crazy person, covered in snot from head to toe. He hits me.. and then promptly puts himself in time out.

I can't help but laugh at this point. He spends the remainder of his meltdown (which feels like an eternity) facing the wall and then, not remembering why he is even crying in the first place, he decides to call it a day. He walks away totally composed as if it never happened and joins his friends tumbling on the mats. 

Such a fun time in parenting! 

Knowing that my day today will likely be filled with more than a few unwarranted meltdowns over something only mildly upsetting, I will do my best to think of Cal and Noel the stuffed kitten and all the sweetness that occurs in those moments and remember that this is just a stage.

It is just a stage, right?