Calvin is 1-1/2 years old!

So the little dude had a half-birthday today. And as things are till in flux with the bathroom remodels his pictures were with Big Hobbes this month (Calvin is back to sleeping in his room) but of course the floor protections are still in place, so excuse the mess.

Calvin was pretty cooperative during the photo process today, keeping a close eye on his sister who was acting silly and even taking direction, including kissing his tiger for a picture.

And check out those new shoes! Nick, Ellie and Calvin went to the mall recently with a goal of getting Calvin some new shoes. Apparently he was pretty picky and vocalized some opinions about a few pairs before trying these on and giving Nick a big smile. Kid has style.

Calvin's personality is really starting to shine. I think that the week he spent in the hospital and the subsequent time at home being sick made him clingy and a little territorial and maybe even made him a little reserved. However, in the past month he has really become more open, social, and happy as his teachers at school have even commented. He still is a class clown. He loves bananas (aka "nanas"). There isn't something he can't climb, or try to climb. He is particular about certain things (He needs two pacifiers, a blanket, and his Hobbes stuffed animal in his crib to sleep. He doesn't cuddle with anything, but just wants them there). He wants to be very helpful, he will drop whatever he is doing to hand you toilet paper if the bathroom door is open. He will do things just to get a laugh out of you, which is the best. He is starting to get a little free with the temper tantrums, but they are few and far between. He also loves apples and olives (little sneak stole the olives off of my pizza at dinner last weekend!). He is talking more and more, he said apple the other day. He sleeps well but likes to wake up early and is a very light sleeper (when we were sleeping all together in the guest house he would wake up and stare at me waiting for any indication I was awake...and then he would cry/yell until I got him. If played possum well enough he would go back to sleep.) He loves his animal noises...especially roaring!


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First Day of First Grade

So on August 18, 2015 Ellie start first grade.

She was super excited to get back to school to see her friends and get back into the groove of things. Plus, an added bonus of excitement, she would get to be on the big kid upper playground and not just the kindergarten playground. The upper playground has hula hoops and jump ropes and a what she thinks is a way more fun playground. Despite not seeing some of her friends all summer, it was like they hadn't missed a beat and were so excited to see each other. It was pretty cute.

Her teacher is Mrs. Kim and I was a fan early on just based on her initial impressions including the classroom set-up (all kids had name tags and books at their seats) and how kind she was when we first got to the classroom.

Nick wasn't able to come to school with us the first day due to work, so I over took photos of the requisite first day photos. Lots of them. We tried a few with Calvin but he didn't want to cooperate.

Calvin is 17 months old!

Today the little man turned 17 mo. Unfortunately because we are renovating the bathroom we didn't get tiger photos (because of dust and Cals history of lung issues and hospital visits his room is shut down and super protected from dust). Anyway, we will do tiger pictures as soon as we can.


But he had fun with Aunt Susu today and enjoys himself some food. Lots of food. Kid eats more than his older sister.

(In this last photo, Cal is using sign language to ask for "more").

He is growing and talking and laughing and climbing and running and...he doesn't stop. Ever. He throws and kicks balls and tries to dribble. He is hilarious and will do things to make you laugh. Yep, he's a class clown.

Bonus: sneak peek of the bathroom (floor started going in today!)




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Calvin got a haircut

Last weekend I took Calvin for his first haircut. His hair was getting a bit long in back and wild in the front and so I decided it was time for a haircut. Although I was a bit worried about how it would turn out...I've never actually asked for or talked to a hairdresser about a guy's haircut. "Clean it up a bit" has a different meaning for girl's long hair than it does for boys. I don't speak shavers or razors or anything like that. Fortunately, I took Calvin to the same place we take Ellie, a children's haircut place without gimmicky stuff and frustrated stylists. The stylists at this place really care about kids and are well trained. Plus, the atmosphere doesn't make me vomit with cutesy kid stuff.

Unfortunately right before it was Calvin's turn, there was a little boy (probably about 3) who started a haircut right before him (two chairs at the salon). He was not excited about getting a haircut and threw a full on fit. Tears, screaming, all sorts of excitement. Calvin just watched him and then when it was Cal's turn he was a bit weary. As soon as the stylist starts the haircut, while the little boy in the chair next to Calvin is still freaking out...like majorly freaking out, Calvin decided that he wasn't so sure about this and shed a few tears.

However, after a few minutes of the haircut Calvin realized that the haircut thing wasn't so bad and stopped crying. Then he started eyeing the little boy, who was still freaking out and by now his mom was holding him down, with a look like, "I don't get why you are so upset...this isn't that bad...". Calvin was very well behaved for the rest of the haircut. He did move a little bit when the stylist got out the razor to clean up around his ears, I think it tickled him a little bit.

The whole haircut went well and the final result was really nice. He now looks like a little boy. I tried to get an after photo, but he wouldn't sit still...

Calvin is 16 months old!

Today Calvin is 16 months old!

He is growing fast and is only short two teeth until he has all of them (and those two are starting to erupt already). His language is developing and he has added some words including bye-bye and more.

Today I heard a funny story from his teacher. Apparently he kept running back and forth between the outside sink and their water table (although they weren't doing water play) and the teachers didn't know what he was up to. Until they looked closer...apparently the outside sink had a little drip. Well Calvin was catching a drip in his hands and then carrying it to the water table trying to fill it up or understanding that the water belonged there. That is my little water conservator...he hath learned well from our examples at home apparently.

We got some good tiger pictures today. After I brought out Big Hobbes he sat down with the tiger and looked right at me and smiled. He knows the drill and was happy to sit still and hang out.

Happy 4th of July

We hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. We sure did.




There was parades, pools, playgrounds and fireworks, friends, and food.




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Daddy's In Charge...

...for a couple days anyway as Mommy is in Chicago (Northbrook) for a work function. Also.. this post should probably be on Ellie & Calvin 365, but I just realized I don't have access to post on that one. Whoops. Maybe it can be slid over at a later date.

Anyway.. yesterday was Father's Day Happy Hour at Kid's Klub.. and they laid out quite the spread! Barbecued pulled pork, Swedish meatballs, chicken nuggets (mostly for the kids), King's Hawaiian rolls, a whole bunch of fruit (including watermelon), plus homemade brownies, cheesecake, and ice cream for dessert. All were great!

Calvin didn't seem TOO interested in taking a selfie with me...







...but he WAS interested in eating my food. I mean.. I shared willingly, but the kid has an appetite!


Here is a photo of the Father's Day gift Cal made for me. He painted the canvass and struck the Superman pose (or was surprised when crawling) all on his own!



Also.. those mountains SuperCal is flying over are his footprints. On the other side is a footprint and handprint superhero. Pretty clever!



This morning Calvin was a little unsure of the oatmeal he was given for (second) breakfast, but eventually seemed to get into it.






And this evening, after her piano lesson, Ellie nicely helped Calvin on his walk through Kids Klub as we headed out to the car.








It was a good couple days, but everybody is excited for Mommy to come home tonight!

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