I love this boy

Just as I finished writing the title to this blog, Calder came running over (there, he's done it just now again), pulled me away from my laptop and pulled me into a hug. Why, you ask? Well he was watching hockey recaps with Daddy on TV and saw a goal, and just had to share in his joy. One of the gazillion reasons why I love him. He exhibits pure joy.

Also some of the things that have lately caused me to be in awe (well, what's new) of my growing boy is the joy he gets out of pushing a car back and forth over the coffee table, bringing the 'Q' book to me and putting his finger to his lips (for Quiet, a picture in the book) - now how does he know that? Pretty smart, no? ;) I love it when he says 'hi' to me in the morning when I come in to get him up, and when he calls 'Mama' when he wakes up.

I love the way he is becoming so independent and must feed himself almost everything (although it also makes me sad), I love the way he grabs a tissue when he needs to wipe his nose or his hands (he's quite fastidious). I love the way he 'wakes' Gary up when he's pretending to sleep - quietly putting his hand on Gary's arm and shaking it. There are so many things I love about Calder, I couldn't possibly list them all - and it grows every day!!

Lately we all haven't been feeling well, to say the least. Calder, Gary and I had a visit from Auntie Colleen and Dave on Saturday and all was well, until I went to check on Calder at almost 10 pm in bed and he had been sick probably two times. What a mess. After giving a shaking Calder a bath, and Gary was on clean-up duty, I sat with Calder in the bathroom for about 2 hours or more while the poor baby dry-heaved. What an experience for a little one to handle, for ANYone to handle. I slept with Calder on the air mattress that night and handled his hourly dry-heaves, waiting until he quickly passed off into a deep sleep again. Sunday he seemed to be better, but also took a 5 hour nap and then one 1.5 hour nap before an early bed time.

Come Monday morning, when Calder seemed as right as rain again, Gary and I were feeling sick to our stomachs. Flash forward a few hours and I was back at home from work (I left mid-day) and Gary was home in bed sleeping and being sick for most of the night.

Gary and I were both at home today sick, and while I feel much better, but still not myself, Gary is still feeling quite blech. I guess, 'tis the season.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the past little while. Enjoy!!


Calder LOVES his yogurt drink through his twisty straw.

Calder loves pushing his cars back and forth across the coffee table (preferably with someone!)

I just like these pictures of Calder watching TV so nicely on the couch.

Calder likes to help Mommy vaccuum.

I bought Calder a robe recently because he likes to run from the bathroom to his bedroom naked after a bath. Brrrrrrr! He doesn't really like the robe yet, though.

I just like this picture. Lately all the pictures I can get of his face are while he is at the computer or watching TV. Those are the only times he's not running around! :)

Scattered ramblings

Sometimes I sit back and all of a sudden realize something - I'm a MOM. Wow. It's still weird, even almost 17 months after this fact became a reality. Maybe it's because I went so long dreaming of one day being a mom, maybe it's because I still haven't had many people ask questions like - "do you have children?" - I don't know the reason. But at any rate, sometimes it just hits me. Life has changed in so many ways over the last few years, all for the good - but here I am a Mom, and my life is so much better for it.

Calder is such a wonderful little boy. I have said this before, but Gary and I are truly blessed that Calder chose us as parents. We are blessed countless times over. Lately Calder has been full of antics and smiles. He makes us smile every day.

Lately Gary and I decided to count up how many (and what) words Calder can say. Not what he knows, because he understands pretty much everything we say. We counted 30 words! We just added one the other day - Calder now says "bye" and sounds so cute saying it!

Calder is still contending with an unknown cough for the last 2 months - we have him on a steroidal nasal spray for one more week (out of a 2 week period) and if that doesn't help, then we are going to get referred to a pediatrician to see what the next steps are - for example, should he be tested for asthma. Calder is also just fighting off the last remnants of a cold, but other than that, he is doing wonderfully - and so are we.
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Lately we changed around the family room a bit and I found Calder behind this chair one day - I guess he thought this the perfect little place to hide and play with his cars. He was quite excited for me to have found him.
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We took a rather rare, but fun, trip to McDonald's the other day after Sportball. Ok, I know it's not healthy, but it's only about the 2nd time in 16 months! Calder sat either next to Daddy or on his lap for breakfast (he is starting to develop an aversion to highchairs) and was quite a handful - but I still managed to get a few cute shots of him.
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Calder's Grandpa and Avo came for a visit on Saturday, and as always, Calder had a fun time with them, playing in the family room and in the basement (which is like an unfinished playroom - Calder loves it there). Here is a cute picture of Calder and his Avo.
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A tickle session with Mommy (he's very ticklish on the back of his neck)!

A plethora of photos

More pictures

Well I took a couple dozen pictures today - still trying to get used to the new camera and all it's settings - and while some were not-so-great shots - some were okay - so I thought I would share them with you! Enjoy! Calder's a great subject - although I must say - he doesn't like the camera as much as he used to. Finn, he just sits there, unimpressed by me - and Gary doesn't even look at the camera! :) At least I'm never in the shots. :)
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This is from the other night when Calder was watching a bit of TV before he went to bed. He loves TV. Now he has a Diego 'backpack' chair that he loves to sit on.



Calder does headstands now - well, his version of them. I am not sure why, but he (and I) think it's funny. Today he was trying to grab his book through his legs, upside down. Funny times!!






Love these next two shots - the first one I love because...well, I just love it. The last one is Calder laughing out loud while having fun with Daddy this afternoon.

Quick post

Well Calder is on the move so much lately and I have been trying to figure out our new camera, that I haven't gotten any shots that I thought were nice enough to put up on the blog! Either Calder was all blurry or it was a picture of the back of his head or an eye.

Tonight before he went to bed he was running around the dining room in relative darkness so I was able to get some shots (as he couldn't really see them coming - I know, sneaky!). They turned out nice enough, I think - so here they are.

I hope everyone's New Year is off to a great start, I am looking forward to the year ahead and what exciting things it may bring.