New Favorite

We had an absolutely gorgeous day here yesterday, so we spent the morning at the playground. It was a good chance for me to play with my new camera...and I was so happy to get this shot of our two little monkeys -- definitely a new favorite!

Merry Christmas 2008!

Merry Christmas! We hope everyone is enjoying the season -- we sure are! Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...

Kids say the darndest things...

At almost 2 1/2, Calder really does say and do the funniest things. Here are a few little anecdotes from the last few weeks...

Calder absolutely hates it when Dave gets too close to me. I really think that he thinks Mommy belongs to him and only him! I can't even get a kiss from my own hubby without Calder yelling "Daddy, you stop kissing Mommy!" and pushing his little body in between us to separate us. It's hysterical!

We do our best to teach Calder the correct words for things...but not without some resistance. He's not shy about matter-of-factly "correcting" us. For example: "No, that's not a button, that's a circle!" or "No, that's not a cardinal, that's a red bird!"

Somehow, Calder has managed to learn that a good bedtime delay tactic is to ask for a glass of water (seriously, are kids just born with this innate knowledge?). We only allow him a little bit since he is an extremely heavy wetter at night...but who can resist when he asks "Want some little bit of water?"

One of Calder's favorite songs right now is the Wiggles' "Rolling Down the Sandhills". His version? "Rolling Down the Sandwich". :)

He also mixes up 'you' and 'me' very frequently. It is just too precious to hear him say "Mommy, sit on my lap?" or "Mommy, carry you?"

Jingle Bells!

Jingle Bells from courtney on Vimeo.

So, the lighting is really bad in this video, but Calder will not usually sing on command so I had to get it on video while he was willing. We were singing Christmas songs together at bedtime. Jingle Bells is actually the only one he knows the words to, but he's also a big fan of Frosty the Snowman and Jingle Bell Rock.

Baby Shower

My wonderful co-workers threw a baby shower for Dave and I last Monday. I brought my camera, but the only picture I took was of the cake, which was made by my friend Mary! Isn't it cute? We stuffed ourselves with lots of yummy desserts and received so many wonderful gifts. I am so lucky to work with such generous friends!

Model Train Show

We attended a holiday model train show at a local railroad museum on Saturday. Calder and Sandhya loved it! Even Jaiden seemed to enjoy the trains!

St. Nick even made an appearance!

The bonus for us? Calder was so worn out from all of the excitement, he fell asleep on the way home -- resulting in an almost 2 hour nap! Just when we thought naps were a thing of the past... :)

Trimming the tree

We got our Christmas tree last weekend, but didn't get around to decorating it until this weekend! It looks great. Calder did a great job of helping with the lower ornaments, as well as pointing out exactly where Mommy and Daddy should place the higher ornaments!

He's Making A List...

During our commute this morning, I asked Calder what he thought Santa might bring him. First, he insisted that Santa would bring him a fire truck and a bus (both toys that he already has more than one of). But, after he thought about it some more, he said "I think Santa will bring a big truck for me. And when it's cold outside, Santa will bring a puzzle for me!" When I asked Calder what he thought Santa might bring for me, he said "Santa will bring a garbage truck for you!" When I asked if there was anything else that Santa might bring me, he responded "Santa will bring a hammer for you!" Sweet. Looks like I'm in for a Christmas to remember!

December 5th Update

To complete the list for our family, at dinner tonight we asked Calder what Santa would be bringing for Daddy. Seems as though Daddy will be getting cars and trucks! And for Lucky? A bone? A chew toy? Nope. According to Calder, that lucky ol' dog will be getting.....a haircut. (He just might be right about that one!)

Tiny Tots Concert

Yesterday, we attended a 'Tiny Tots' Christmas concert that was put on by a local high school band. Calder and Sandhya seemed to enjoy it -- particularly because of all of the characters that came parading through the crowd during the concert! Among others, we saw Santa, Frosty, Rudolph, Mickey, Minnie and Simba!

Watching for Santa...

A Meme?

Ok, Sarah...I'd never even heard of a meme until I saw it on your blog, and then I realized you had tagged me to do one! Yikes! So, here goes...

The rules:

Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write 6 random things about yourself.
Tag 6-ish people at the end of your post.
Let each person know he/she has been tagged.
Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

My 6 random things...

1. I hate tuna fish. Ok, so I've never even tried it. And I never will.

2. I love being pregnant. Yes, I'm starting to get extremely uncomfortable physically, but there's just something about all the special attention that people give you when you're sporting a big round belly -- I feel like there's an air of excitement around me at all times. And I love, love, love feeling my baby kicking and flipping around inside me. It's something that's mine and only mine which makes it a thousand times more special.

3. I wish I was a better cook.

4. Meatloaf freaks me out. The singer, not the food. Although, now that I think about it, I'm slightly freaked out by the food too.

5. I'm scared of strangers. That's right, I'm 32 years old and I'm scared of strangers. This probably has a lot to do with being robbed at gunpoint at the age of 15...but seriously...will I ever get over this? I inherently assume that all strangers have bad intentions. If a stranger tries to talk to me, I will do whatever possible to abruptly get out of the situation. I won't even answer my own front door unless I know exactly who is behind it. (Yes, I've even hidden from the UPS guy before.) But, hey, that's not such a terrible thing, right?

6. This isn't going to seem so random to those who know me well, but I'm a complete word nerd. I love any type of word game -- boggle, scrabble, crosswords, you name it -- I love it.

I am tagging:
1. Vandana
2. Elizabeth
3. Susannah
4. Reb
5. Lindsay
6. Neala

Big Boy Bed Update

Well, it's been 3 weeks since we made the switch to the big boy bed. It's working out great at night (knock on wood), but naps are another story. Calder simply cannot nap in his bed. Well...unless we stay in his room and sing and rub his back until he goes to sleep, which is a bad habit that I don't want to get into (especially with a baby on the way), so we only resort to that when absolutely necessary.

Two weekends ago, Dave and I were painting the living room while Calder was supposed to be napping. When we heard a noise at the top of the steps, we looked up to see our little darling watching us from the gate -- stark naked and giggling!

So, here's what he's doing right now as I write this. After boycotting his nap earlier this afternoon, Dave sat him down in the family room to watch a little bit of The Wiggles. He lasted about 15 minutes before I saw his little eyelids starting to get really heavy.

29 Weeks

Hmmm...I may decide to stop posting these in the next few weeks. I really had no idea how big I was getting until Dave took this picture of me!

I'm still feeling pretty good in general -- however I'm just starting to feel a little uncomfortable. And, I'm soooo tired of maternity clothes.

Striiiike!

While in Pittsburgh this weekend, Calder got to try his hand at bowling! He absolutely loved it.


It took a little bit of work at the beginning to convince him that he wasn't supposed to kick the ball...





Watching his ball with Daddy and cousin Madison.


Having a blast!

Little Steeler Fans

Hanging out with cousins Julia and Abigail before the big game!

Extreme Sharing

I like to call Calder's newest pasttime "Extreme Sharing." It goes something like this:

Calder: "Hey Mommy, want some?" [Shoves handful of green beans in my face.]
Mommy: "No thank you."
Calder: "You want some, Mommy?" [Shoves handful of green beans in my face again.]
Mommy: "No thanks, Sweetie."
Calder: "Mommy, want some beans?" [Shoves handful of green beans in my face again.]
Mommy: "That's ok, those are for Calder."

Repeat that about 15 times. You get the idea.

A Big Boy Bed!!

We transitioned our big boy into a big boy bed yesterday! Here's his last morning in the crib.

Daddy's little helper.












So excited that his big boy train bed is finally ready!!!









First nap in the big boy bed...

First night in the big boy bed. Hmmm... I had been listening intently on the monitor to make sure he didn't fall out of bed, and when he was finally asleep I went up to check on him, and this is what I found. I couldn't believe that I had no idea he had climbed out and made himself a new bed on the floor. Maybe we'll have better luck tonight...

Halloween Night

Tonight was the big night! You'll notice that Calder has a lollipop in his mouth in nearly every picture. It was the only surefire way to make sure he kept his costume on!

Before we set out on our trick-or-treating adventure, we got a visit from two sweet little monkeys - Aubrey and Alex!

Here he is marching from house to house. At our very first stop, he just welcomed himself right in and I ended up chasing him halfway through our neighbor's house! He tried it at the next house too, but we were onto him by then. I'm not sure what he was looking for!

As we were finishing up, Sandhya came by to say hello in her adorable ladybug costume.

After the turtle costume came off, Calder was excited to try on the Thomas costume that Aunt Vandana brought over! This should make for great dress-up fun until next Halloween!


And here's Jaiden! He was Thomas yesterday at their neighborhood Halloween party that Calder and I crashed.

Pumpkin Carving

Calder and I finally got around to carving his pumpkin this afternoon. Well, I carved, while he dictated which shapes to use. I tried encouraging him to help take the guts out, but he had no interest in touching them!


Where's his mouth, Mommy?

Posing with the finished product! It was even Calder's idea to give the pumpkin eyebrows!

You may remember Lucky's costume from last year (or was it 2 years ago?) Anyway -- it's a prisoner outfit, that says "Property of the Dog Pound". Calder took one look at it and excitedly said, "Lucky has zebra costume!!!" :)

Halloween Parade

On Thursday, all of the kids in Calder's daycare center came through our building for a Halloween Parade. It was so cute to see them all dressed up!


The little babies were adorable as they strolled through in the big red buggies!

Here comes Calder! I snapped this picture just as he realized that I was there. He immediately made a beeline for Mommy!

There was no way he was just going to wave and pass on by me, so I ended up walking with him for the rest of the parade. I have to admit, it was pretty fun to show off my cute little turtle to all of my coworkers!

A sleepy turtle, hiding in a corner.

First Guitar Lesson

First Guitar Lesson from courtney on Vimeo.

Poppa treated Calder to his first guitar lesson.

Endless Fall Fun

Calder and Sandhya had a blast playing in Grandma's leaves one chilly morning in Michigan.

This picture reminds me so much of some pictures that we took of him a year ago, in our backyard. He's such a big boy now! What a difference a year makes.

Getting covered in leaves!
Mommy breaks out her old high school jacket and gets in on the fun.

Grandma brought out the box to her new dishwasher for more instant fun!
Peek-a-boo!

Before heading back inside, we took a little tour of the corn field. Calder wanted to roam around in there sooo bad, but I was terrified of losing him! Lucky for me, it started raining, so it was time to go in!

Sandhya checking out the corn.