Long Overdue!!

Life has been so busy lately!!  But it is still so fabulous! 

A few weeks ago, we moved to a new apartment across town.  I absolutely HATE packing boxes.  I am the worst at it.  But it has definitely been worth it.  We LOVE our new apartment.  Bigger, newer, cleaner, and just laid out better.  Calvin is a crawling machine these days and is just loving having space to roam.  It has been so much fun watching him explore every nook and cranny of the new house.  We also have a pool in the clubhouse, and a fun pond with ducks! 

The Crawler!!

It has been so much fun watching Calvin grow and change.  It is amazing how quickly he is developing.  A little bittersweet, as I already miss the "baby" days of a snuggly little bundle.  But I just love my wiggly little energetic boy more than I have words to describe.  He is pretty much smiling all of the time.  Except when he is tired, or sees his bottle being shaken, and he gets desperate, thinking we'll forget that he is the one we made it for!  He cracks us up constantly! 

This is my recent favorite...what a sweetie!

Calvin will be nine months in just a few days.  Nine months!!!???? I still can hardly believe it.  That means in three months, we will have a one year old on our hands!  How did this happen?  I can still vividly remember the day he was born, and when we brought him home from the hospital.  But the last nine months have flown!  I am convinced he will be walking at ten months...which is a combination of exciting and utterly terrifying!  Life never slows down, but we are enjoying every day. 

Lovely Day!!

It was so beautiful out today!!  It is so much fun to have more and more nice days to go outside and play. Calvin and I have really enjoyed taking walks on the trails around our house.  Although I am a true Northwesterner, and I think it's "nice" as long as it's not raining.  And flip flop season starts somewhere around April 1, when the temperatures pop up over 50 degrees, and typically lasts until October, as long as it isn't raining :)  Friends from warmer climates think I'm crazy!  

Today, after daddy got home from work, we took Calvin for his first trip to the park.  He'd spent a little time on the grass outside our apartment, so he was ready to go!!

He loves everything about grass...especially how it tastes!

Daddy was NOT a very good influence!

We are looking forward to many more sunny days as summer approaches!  I saw on the weather forecast that it's supposed to get up to 70 in the next few weeks!  Woohoo!! 

And in other news...

Calvin is such a scooter!! He is crawling around like crazy, and getting so fast.  He also is now pulling himself up to standing at tables, chairs, or anything that holds his weight.  He is growing so fast and it is amazing to watch.  He is a gigantic ball of goof and we crack up watching him every single day.  Oh, and the "crying it out" has had great success!  We've had two nights this week that neither of us have had to get up with Calvin!  I will get up if he is absolutely screaming, but otherwise, he is figuring it out himself.  What a big boy! 

Such a goof!!

Catch me if you can!!

Crying it out...

For all of you mom's who have successfully let your baby cry it out, I commend you.  It is hard!!  I've had people telling me for weeks that I needed to let Calvin cry it out, learn to soothe himself, and hopefully start sleeping better through the night.  I honestly didn't mind getting up with him and rocking him in the night.  In fact, rocking him to sleep is pretty much my favorite thing to do.  But I knew it couldn't last forever.  And it didn't.  After a particularly difficult night of getting Calvin to sleep, I decided it was time, and we've been working on it all week.  It started out pretty well, but we're on day five and it's gone down hill a little.  We've had some really easy times and a few great nights, which is encouraging.  But it is SOOOO hard to listen to my baby screaming!! 

I know, I know, it will be worth it, but it's still hard! 

So when you think of it, pray for us!! 

My Boys...

I just love saying that!!  One of the many blessings of having a little boy is getting to describe my family as "my boys"...it's so sweet! 

BBQ Buddies :) 

This is what happens when dad is in charge of getting Calvin dressed...I love the look on Calvin's face!

I just love watching my hubby fall more and more in love with Calvin, and imagining them becoming pals. I can totally picture Calvin trotting all over the house following dad everywhere he goes.  There is already a great joy that comes over Calvin the second he sees daddy, or when daddy walks in the door from work.  I forget how blessed I am to be with him all day long, seeing his smiles, hearing his giggles, and watching him learn.  As frustrating as some days can get, I feel so blessed to get to be the one who stays home with this little dude.  He is growing so fast!! 

Seven Months!!

AHHHH!! I'm Seven Months Old!!

Can you believe this little goof ball is seven months old already??  I can hardly believe how quickly time has flown by!  It is a joy to be this boy's mother.  Jake and I have learned so much about being parents, depending on God, depending on each other, and how to just roll with what life brings us.  But really, it is SO MUCH FUN!!  I feel beyond blessed to be able to be at home with Calvin every day.  If I had to go to work, even part-time, I'm pretty sure I would cry every time I left him.  I don't want to miss a thing!  I love watching him learn things, making him laugh, comforting him when he cries and trying to capture his crazy moments on camera :) 

What a sweetie!  I bought this sweatshirt the day we had the ultrasound telling us we were having a boy!

Here are a few random things we've learned about Calvin in his first seven months:

• His two favorite people are mom and dad, but he will smile at anyone who is willing to look at him. 
• He won't fall asleep unless he is swaddled and loves to bury his face into the bumper in his crib.
• He would probably rather chew on a shoe, chair leg, or DVD case than any baby toy we've given him.
• His favorite things to play with are drawstrings...on your sweatshirt, sweats, anywhere. 
• He loves all vegetables and can't wait to get his hands on more food!
• He behaves far better when we are out and there are other people to impress, which is a blessing. 
• He is so close to crawling, and gets easily frustrated that he can't get exactly where he wants to go. 
• And most importantly...we love him to bits, are so grateful to be the ones God chose to care for him, and can't wait for the joys and challenges of all the stages to come. 

Star Wars Nerds!!

We took a little family field trip down to the Pacific Science Center to see the Star Wars exhibit.  It was pretty cool, full of costumes and puppets from the movie and model space ships that were used in filming.  It was pretty funny, too, to watch a whole bunch of dads drooling over all the stuff, trying to get their kids excited, most of whom had never even seen the movies!  It was one of the first all day outings we had taken Calvin where we were literally "out" all day, not going to someone's house, or spending time with family.  He did great!!  It was the first time we had him in his stroller without the infant carseat, so he got to enjoy looking around, like the big boy that he already is :) 

We also had fun exploring the dinosaur exhibits, butterfly house, and all the other fun stuff there is to do at the science center.  It had been years since Jake or I had been down there, so it was a great day! 



And it wouldn't be a trip to Seattle without going to Top Pot Donuts...one of my favorites :) 

It was a great family day and we can't wait until our next adventure!!

I'm pretty sure...

...I have the cutest, friendliest, sweetest, goofiest little boy in the entire world!! 

How could you not smile at this face? 

I love him!!