Pinkeye and Hives!

Our poor little boy has had a rough week. Earlier this week, we noticed a few sniffles, a mild cough and red eyes. Then, he woke up on Thursday morning with his little eyes practically glued shut with goop -- the telltale sign of pinkeye. It broke my heart when he cried and said "Mommy, face hurts!" So, we were off to the pediatrician and he was feeling fine in no time.

Until...Friday morning when he woke up with his tummy covered in red bumps and blotches!!! We weren't sure what they were, and as we set off for the pediatrician for the 2nd day in a row, I was really hoping that we weren't going to be the silly parents taking their child to the doctor for mosquito bites! (They looked a lot like little bites.)

The verdict? Hives. The pediatrician tested him for strep, which was negative, so they are likely the result of some other virus. They come and go, and tend to alternate between covering his tummy and covering his back. Staying cool helps a lot, as does benadryl and hydrocortisone cream.
Remarkably, Calder has remained in a pretty good mood throughout! He is such a little trooper when he is sick! He hates the eye drops, but loves the taste of benadryl, so I guess it all balances out. :)

By the way, I realize his hair looks incredibly dirty in these pictures. It's not -- he's just an incredibly sweaty kid. Before he was born, Dave and I took a baby care class in which we were told that kids don't sweat until they are about 8 or 9 years old. Calder has definitely proved that statement wrong!!!

Presenting...

21 Months and Counting from courtney on Vimeo.

...our boy genius!!! We couldn't be any prouder. :)

An engineer in the making...

...albeit a different kind of engineer than Daddy!

I bought this dress up set thinking we might give it to him as part of his birthday present. But, he has been SO into trains lately, we had to break it out this weekend. Too cute!

Sidewalk Art

While Daddy was in Atlantic City on Saturday, we decided to craft a little welcome-home message for him. Calder was really into the sidewalk chalk, and was intent on making one pink slash on every sidewalk square -- all the way down the street! (Pink is still his favorite color.)















Taking a break for some sustenance. Probably some of the most intense apple-eating you'll ever see!

More Singing and Dancing

More songs and dancing from courtney on Vimeo.

We had a great afternoon with friends today! We started with a kids music event at a local coffee house, followed by dinner and ice cream!

Calder, Landon and Sam getting musical with Mr. Don! They had him all to themselves towards the end of his show.

Side Note: This may be my last posting for a while. Our computer goes in the shop tomorrow for a random sparking sound and mysterious smoking. Oh, and it has a very distinct B.O. smell. Who would have thought??

The Choo Choo Dance

Untitled from courtney on Vimeo.

This is Calder's Choo Choo Dance. We believe he picked it up by watching a kids 'music video' that came on right after Mickey Mouse Clubhouse the other day. The music video was all about trains, and Calder was digging it! I actually didn't get the camera out in time for the much better performance that he gave moments earlier...but you'll get the idea from this video.

Elefun!

Untitled from courtney on Vimeo.

My friend Kelly bought Calder this adorable Elephant game. It has a little fan inside that blows 'butterflies' out of the elephant's trunk, and the idea is to catch the butterflies with your butterfly net. Calder gets so excited when we play! He's not too keen on catching the butterflies himself -- he prefers to wait until Mommy or Daddy have caught some, and then he steals their net. And he also enjoys wearing the nets as hats. :)

Yard Sale Fun

Calder and Sandhya enjoyed playing outside in the beautiful weather last Saturday during our yard sale.
Cutest bus passenger!

They also enjoyed their first joint wagon ride!

21 Months Old

Without question, Calder's favorite toy right now is this train set. He seriously spends 90% of his

playtime with it. He's actually gotten really good at connecting the tracks as well as fixing the bridge when it falls. He's so busy when he's playing with it that I've found it nearly impossible to get a good picture of him with it. This is the best I could do!

Oh, and at 21 months, Calder is about 34 1/2 inches tall and tips the scales at 33.2 pounds!

Calder's Very Own Slide

A few weeks ago I got a great deal on this climbing cube/slide at a yard sale. We were definitely in need of more yard toys, since I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time outside this summer -- Calder is definitely an outdoor kid!

His favorite thing to do is to gather up all of his little cars at the top of the slide. Then he says "Set, Go!" as he sends each little car down the slide. Once all the cars have had a turn, he takes his turn! Then, he repeats the process over and over and over and over...

Happy Mother's Day!

We enjoyed a lovely Mother's Day brunch today, as well as some family photo ops!


After a fun-filled weekend, Calder was pooped out and ready for a long nap. :)

Choo Choo and Neigh Neigh!

We had a great time this weekend with John, Lauren and Madison (Dave's brother and family)! After the rain cleared on Saturday, we headed to a local park where Calder and Madison enjoyed a train ride and a carousel ride!!

Calder and Madison are ready for the ride!
Aunt Lauren giving Calder a lift.
Lauren and Madison as they whizzed by on the carousel.

Calder petting his horse very gently. Calder had his first carousel ride at this very spot, when he was just 2 months old!

Calder's message to all the mommies out there!

Happy Mother's Day from courtney on Vimeo.

Exploration...

When Calder wakes up in the morning, he is always content to play in his crib until we come in and get him. This is a wonderful thing -- especially on weekends! So, this morning I had a killer headache, and decided to let him play a little longer than usual so I could try and steal a few more zzzz's. To be quite honest, I'm not exactly sure how long he was playing. When I finally went in to get him, it was clear he had decided to use this extra time to do a little exploring...inside his pajamas. He was standing up in his crib with his pajamas halfway unzipped, one half of his diaper undone, completely exposing himself. When I walked in, he pointed 'down there' and proudly said "Mickey Mouse!" (Mickey is on his overnite diapers, and Calder has been crazy about him lately.) I had to smile, even though his sheets, blankets and pj's were completely soaked. Thank god for mattress covers!