Sittin' Pretty

Christmas Cookies

Carrots

Last week Calvin had carrots for the first time, the first offering of "real" food. As you can see from his facial expressions he was none too impressed. Since then I've started mixing it with his rice cereal and, while he still doesn't eat it with as much gusto as his plain cereal, he manages to put away a big bowl each meal.
In other Calvin news the ENT doctor we saw on Monday said that he did indeed need to have tubes put in his ears. His first available appointment happened to be Christmas Eve morning so we scheduled it, opting to get the procedure over with as soon as possible. Since his last ear infection has cleared up Calvin has been sleeping much better. He now gives me two good naps a day instead of 3 half hour cat naps. Yay!

Calvin has also been working on his mobility quite a bit. He can now pop up onto his hands and knees and rock back and forth before plopping back down onto his tummy. When I get him up from naps this is most often the position I find him in.

Layers

jeans

long sleeved shirt
socks
snow bib
hooded sweatshirt
heavy winter jacket
snow boots
gloves
hat
scarf
Is is any wonder it takes us 20 minutes just to get out the door???

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

6 months

Well, it's hard to believe but half a year has gone by since Calvin was born. The last couple of months have been pretty eventful for our little Calvino. First off, his stats:

weight: 19 lbs 15 oz (86th percentile)
height: 27.5 inches (82nd percentile)

For how large he is his doctor was amazed at how well he can move. In the last month or so Cal has started rolling across rooms when you lay him down on the floor. He also immediately flips over onto his stomach and can turn in a 360 degree circle. He loves to "airplane" where he puts his arms behind him and lifts them as well as his legs. He also pushes up onto his hands as high as he can and has even managed to pop up onto his knees for a few seconds. He is ready to GO!
Within the last week or so he's started sitting up on his own in the tripod position. He still tips pretty easily but he's getting the hang of it and can go pretty long stretches now.About two weeks ago he got his first tooth, quickly followed by his second. He is a drooling machine now more than ever and loves to chew on teethers. He's down to just four milk feedings during the day (still gets one during the night, darn it all) and three helpings of cereal. This coming week I plan to introduce carrots and apples. He loves his cereal and seriously eyes up any food we are eating.His vocal cords are getting a work out lately. He can be heard distinctly saying "da da da da" and other random babbles. For the most part he has a pretty deep, manly voice but occasionally his "talking" can reach an octave that would break glass!

His main problem area in the past month has been his naps, which are averaging about 30 minutes. This is most likely due to his nearly constant ear infections. After his first infection in October he was diagnosed with another in early November. Both times he was given the same antibiotic. At his 6 month check up yesterday they were still bad. So, he's on an entirely different antibiotic in hopes that he simply wasn't responding to the first medication. However, in two weeks we have a follow up with an ENT doctor to double check his ears and see if he might need tubes.Through his ear pain and lack of sleep Calvin has retained his sunny disposition for the most part. He is without a doubt a mama's boy and prefers to be held but I have to say I don't mind, especially when he flashes me his huge open mouthed smile. He is always quick with a smile and a laugh for whoever pays him some attention. He still loves watching Tyler who, thankfully, is eager to play the entertainer. Calvin is truly a blessing to this family and it's hard to remember a time when he wasn't part of our family.

Aunt Jessie

The week before Thanksgiving my sister flew in from New York City to visit us and meet her new nephew. With her living in NYC and us living here it had been almost an entire year since we'd seen each other! Her first day in town Jim took off work so Jess and I could go out to lunch and run errands. For the most part we just hung out with the boys, talked a lot, reminisced and played Wii. The boys loved having her stay, especially Calvin who bonded quickly with her. We were sad to see her go and look forward to seeing her again soon! We love you Jessica!

a gift from Aunt Jessie