A summary of past weeks

Well despite the lack of posts the past few weeks, we have been very busy. Calder and Mommy have been busy taking our Salsa Babies and StrollerFit classes once a week and Daddy successfully (and very easily, I might add) put Calder down to nap this past weekend! Yay! I felt very relieved to say the least, and I know Daddy was very proud (and rightfully so) of himself and Calder, too.

Here's a rundown of what's been going on the last few weeks and a few pictures to accompany some of them!

- Calder had his first ride in a swing - omigosh, how he loved it!! He laughed deep belly laughs at this (will post a picture later).

- Calder had his first trip to the Zoo...he was fascinated by the Tamarind Monkeys (they moved fast and there was a lot of them) and also loved watching the Gorilla at Window (he startled Mommy, in fact!) and also was intrigued and in awe by the stately grace of the swimming Polar Bear. We got a pass because we plan to go a lot over the summer. In fact, Mommy has already gone again with her friend this past Friday and we walked 2 1/2 hours! (Mommy is hoping all that walking will help some weight come off (ha ha), but the main goal is to give Calder exposure to a world of animals he most likely will never see in person!)






- Calder helped Mommy celebrate her 33rd birthday with family. Just think - last year I celebrated with Calder in my belly, and here he is now - all smiles and kisses...



- The three of us attended a baptismal dinner for Calder's friend (and my friend's baby) Scott - who is one week older. Calder got to hear lots of loud music and dance to a lot of Latin and some Romanian music. As ever, he was such a flirt with the ladies and I even heard a few comments like he was 'delicious'.

- The family also attended Calder's cousin's Peter's first Communion recently and he seemed to love being in a large Church with tall ceilings, lots of lights and people. He loved to talk out loud there! Afterwards we all went to his Aunt and Uncle's house for dinner where we had a feast commemorating the occasion.

- Calder and I have seen a couple of more 'Stars and Strollers' movies - the last one we were lucky enough to have Grandma come with us to watch a movie and stay overnight.

- This past Saturday (as I mentioned before) Daddy successfully put Calder down for a nap while I was at my High School's 50th Anniversary/Reunion. I would have loved to have been able to show him off, but as it was, there were only 3 (yes, 3!) people that I recognized from my year there! Also, it was great for Gary and Calder - they had a wonderful boy's day - also spending a portion of the day with one of Gary's friends, Steve.

- Sunday was my sister's 31st Birthday (Happy Birthday, Beana!!!!!! I love you!!!) and Gary, Calder and I were there along with my mother and Grandmother to celebrate it. Calder had his 3rd trip out for Dim Sum and had a wonderful time, eating his baby Mum-Mums and charming all those around him, especially his Auntie, Grandma and Great-Grandma. Afterwards we all went to my Grandmother's for cake and presents. :)




Some Calder developments/milestones:

- Calder now has consonants y,b,w,d,g,m in his repertoire along with what I think are most vowel sounds, give or take some long and short ones. Sometimes I swear he really is saying something, it does have an English language 'ring' to it....he is still saying 'Mama' (although sometimes it is out of context, but it does seem to apply to me often) and has recently started saying 'Dada' - we are waiting for the moment when he actually applies it to Gary. He has also started saying 'uh-oh' on occasion when he drops something that he is really interested in.

- Calder is starting to cruise more and more - going from toy piano to futon and back again - and just tonight started pushing his little walker. Just the other day he started kneeling - and I don't mean leaning back on his feet - I mean raised up on his knees!

- For a while now, Calder has been giving kisses (more like slobbery open-mouthed gnawings of the cheeks) but gives them when asked for 'kisses'!!

- Calder has recently (over the past weeks) started to wave to 'hi' and 'goodbye' often waving a bit late, but waving to people (familiar and not!) nonetheless!

Here are also some random pics that I just can't resist posting.


Trying a Farley's biscuit for the first time...

Trying peaches for the first time...

Trying pears for the first time...

Calder just loves his piano...

Yay!! (a new development over recent weeks)
So that's about it from here...busy busy! It's good to keep busy, I have found - but also sometimes, I just have to stop and smell the roses and let Calder do the same. But, with Calder, he doesn't stop so much as to do a drive-by smelling of the roses, he is always on the go. :)