E-I-E-I-O

Old McDonald from courtney on Vimeo.

Calder's absolute favorite song is Old McDonald (Wheels on the Bus comes in at a distant 2nd). He loves to fill in the animal noises as we sing. When he wants to hear the song he will yell 'I E?' over and over and over until we comply. We usually have to sing it several times before he is satisfied (or before we can successfully distract his attention to something else!) This video is a bit long, but I promise it's worth it -- the cuteness factor is very high!

18 Months Old!

Calder turned 18 months old on Tuesday! His checkup was today and he weighed in at 30 lbs 1 oz. and is 33 1/2 inches tall. He's definitely slowing down in his weight gain -- must be due to all that picky eating!
It is so hard to believe he is already 1 1/2! We are amazed every day at how much he grows, learns and changes. He continues to be a true joy in our lives.

Calder's current favorite activities include coloring (during which he takes the occasional bite out of a crayon); doing puzzles; reading books; brushing his teeth; playing outside (he often brings his coat and shoes to us as a 'hint'); pointing out every car, bus and hat that he sees; playing with puppets; and his most favorite of all -- singing Old McDonald Had A Farm.

While Mommy's Away...

While I was off exploring Vegas, Calder was in great hands with Daddy. Nonna and Zaidy also came in for the weekend, so Dave would not have to take off both Friday and Monday from work.
Fun was had by all!

Hoover Dam

Before the weekend came to a close, we squeezed in a trip to the Hoover Dam. We had a great tour guide, although I initially thought he was a little foul-mouthed....until I realized that he was just making a lot of 'dam' jokes! Ha ha!


Looking out at the Colorado River.

Half in Nevada, half in Arizona! Fun!

Enjoying a breathtaking lookout over Lake Mead.


After our tour, we raced back to Vegas to make our lunch reservation at the restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere. More great views!

Red Rock Canyon

On Saturday, Betsy and I embarked on a beautiful hike through Red Rock Canyon, which is a convenient 20 minutes from her house! Here's Betsy as we were just getting started.

It was an absolutely perfect day for hiking. Mid 60s and a perfectly clear sky! Here's just one of the beautiful views that we came across as we climbed.
This hike was labeled as a moderate hiking trail in Betsy's hiking book. But we begged to differ! We decided it should have been labeled

'Moderate hiking plus moderate to severe rock climbing plus mild mountain scaling'!

We made it! It was so worth it. We hung out at the top of the mountain for a good 30 minutes and enjoyed the view.

A view of Vegas from the top!

Viva Las Vegas!

I escaped to Vegas this weekend for my first 'Mommy's weekend away' and to visit my friends Betsy and Stan. It was hard to leave Calder (and Dave), but Betsy and Stan showed me a great time and the weekend went by so fast! Here's the view from the balcony at The Venetian.

The really cool glass ceiling in the Bellagio.
Getting the inside scoop on upcoming Jerry Springer episodes!


Betsy chatting up Don King!

Two games of Bingo and a few rounds of Keno was the extent of my gambling, but both were really fun! We had no luck in the Bingo Hall, but we each won a round of Keno. I won $1 by matching 2 numbers on a pick four. My 2 winning numbers? 8 and 19 -- Calder's birthday!

Betsy and Stan enjoying the 'Fremont Experience'.

Betsy and Courtney hanging out in Old Las Vegas (Fremont).

Barley has grown a lot since we last saw her in March 2007!

Great-Grandma's Colorful Scrubbers

Learning his colors from courtney on Vimeo.

My Grandma crochets these great kitchen scrubbers, and I tend to always have a colorful collection of them. The other day, Calder found my stockpile and started carting them around the house and shouting out the colors. It was just so adorable. He amazes us every day at how much he has learned at such a young age. In terms of colors, he knows blue (bwoo), green (geen), red (dar or dra), pink (mink), purple (pur pur), yellow (deddo), and orange (orn). He doesn't get them right 100% of the time, but he is pretty darn close. I love to hear him say pink and orange the most -- it is the cutest!

Cars, Trucks and Trees, Oh My!

Cars, Trucks and Trees, Oh My! from courtney on Vimeo.

We are having absolutely gorgeous weather today - 70 degrees in February! Calder, Lucky and I enjoyed a nice long walk this morning. Just over the last few days he has become crazy about cars. Not toy cars, but real ones. While on our walk, he had to point out every car that he saw. And with a little prompting from Mommy he also pointed out a few trucks and trees.

Off to the park!

We had a great time this morning at an amazing park that we recently discovered. It's about a half hour from our house, so it's not terribly convenient, but it was definitely worth the trip! There were an infinite number of activities for the little ones!

The wheels on the bus go round and round!

Calder and Sandhya sharing a ride in the racecar!
Is this where Santa lives?

Pilot and co-pilot ready for take-off!

First Slippers

I bought these slippers for Calder thinking he'd instantly love them, since he loves shoes and tigers. But when I brought them home he hated them and didn't want anything to do with them. Three weeks later, I finally convinced him to try them on. Now he loves them!

Boys will be boys

Calder and his buddy Landon had a great time playing together yesterday morning! They chased each other around with balls until they bonked heads and ended up with matching goose eggs! Ouch!