Tubing at Whitetail (Mercersburg, PA)

Calvin all dressed up and ready to go spend a day with grandma and grandpa Nelson.

Calvin looking like the Silly Monkey from his T-shirt.

Andy's parents work at Whitetail and gave us their free passes to go tubing (although we did notice that Dick only had two passes and insisted on "making sure they worked" and then I later found a receipt where he paid for the third person. Thank you!!!)

The treadmill that takes you up the hill to the top of the slope. Horray for not having to walk up every time!

Andy liked to run and push us and then jump on his tube as we sped down the hill. I tried it once, but I was scared, so Andy became the champion runner and jumper.


Carrie flying down the hill. Lots of the redneck boys liked to stare at her. Ooh-la-la!

Andy and Emma.

Calvin and his grandparents after a day spent playing together. When we got back from tubing, Calvin was sprawled across grandpa's chest fast asleep and grandma was in the kitchen making us steamers (sloppy-joes) and french-fries. Delicious. It was a very fun day for all of us. Thank you Dick and Hazel!

The Hottest Party

For Christmas Danny, Annette, Ariana, and Lindsey gave us Dance Dance Revolution for the Wii. We love it. Calvin and I usually see a lot of Andy's and Carrie's rear-ends as they play, but then the other night daddy taught Calvin how to play and he was amazing. It's the perfect family activity.

Everyday's A Holiday with Carrie

Some fun pictures of Carrie playing with Calvin. He loves my big exercise ball. We either sit on it with him and bounce, or else lay him on the top and hold the back of his pants while we roll him back and forth. He thinks it's the greatest thing ever since he's been sick and we don't let him outside anymore.

Today when Carrie was getting him dressed his head got stuck. Usually he gets frustrated by that, but today he thought it was amusing. He smiled and cooed as we struggled to pull his big noggin through the small shirt opening. After he was dressed, Carrie did his hair like a punk rocker. Poor Calvin. I wonder if he knows how much he exists simply for OUR amusement - rolling him around on balls and playing dress-up.

Another Great Invention

Second only to the Baby Bjorn in its entertainment value for Calvin is his little Safari Swing. My mom gave us some money and told us to go get a swing, so I went to Target to see what I could find. They had two that I liked, this one and a Winnie the Pooh swing, but I couldn't find this one anywhere on the shelves, so I picked up the Winnie swing. After wandering around the store, I decided that I really liked the Safari better, so I went back to the swing isle and dug through the shelves. Finally, on the bottom shelf in the very back of a million boxes, I found one! As I crawled under the display and dragged it out from behind some large, heavy boxes I saw the bright orange sticker showing that it was 60% off. The swing of our dreams at a steal of a price. THAT was a great day.

Calvin's a sweetheart. He has been sick this week with a cold, but besides a few screams when we've attacked him with the nasty blue suction bulb, he has remained mostly happy and cute.

So Many Smiles

Since we've learned that you all care less about my prose than you do seeing cute pictures of the boy, I'll keep it simple. He smiles a lot. We love him. Enjoy.

Being Adorable Is So Exhausting!

Nanny Carrie

Yesterday I went back to work after two months of maternity leave. I cried all the way to work and tried to remember all of the reasons why I thought it would be a good idea to leave my sweet baby for a stupid job. The only consolation I have at this point is that I have Carrie living with me, and I have rarely seen anyone who is as good with children as she is. In fact, after only one day of leaving them together, when I came home from work, Calvin would smile and stare at her and wouldn't look at me. Traitor. I'm glad Calvin likes her, but I'll be honest, if I ever come home and Andy only looks and smiles at her - she's fired.

It's fun to have Carrie here. She's a very positive and effervescent person. She's already added a lot to our home, and we are so lucky to have her taking care of our most important treasure.

Like Father, Like Son

Today as we were leaving for Church, I realized what handsome boys I have and had to take some pictures. I think Andy is starting to regret the new camera. As most of you know, today was testimony meeting at church where anyone and everyone is able to stand up and share whatever they choose from the pulpit. Our Home Teacher calls it "Open Mic" which seems appropriate and has stuck with us. As we sat down today in the chapel, Calvin was happy and smiley right until church started at which point he started to scream. We tried a bottle and tried bouncing him, but nothing worked so Andy took him out in the hall. He was gone for about five minutes and then returned with a happy baby. As soon as he sat down however, Calvin started to scream inconsolably again. I took him out this time. I played with him and calmed him down until he was happy and cooing and then went to sit down. As soon as I sat down he started to scream again. We played the same game for an hour. As we were leaving the chapel, I looked over to see Andy laughing. I asked what was so funny and he said, "Looks like my son likes church about as much as I do." Sigh.

Two Months Old Today

Today Calvin is two months old. We are still trying to figure out the whole parenting thing and sleeping in the crib and through the night are still a disaster, but we wouldn't trade the past two months for anything. Calvin has started to smile quite often, he loves taking walks and drives, and he has discovered his fists and feet and is fascinated by what he can do with them. We love our little guy. We're sad to have the time pass so quickly, but we are excited to see him grow and look forward to every day. We can't wait to see how he develops next. Happy two month birthday, Calvin!

2 Month Check-up

Today was Calvin's two month check-up. The report was mostly good, but the bad part was that he also received his first round of immunization shots. He had two shots in each leg and one oral dose. He screamed, of course, but calmed down quickly and was very good. His stats are below:

- Height 23.5 inches - 75th percentile

- Weight 12lbs 9oz - 75th percentile

- Head - 16 inches - 90th percentile (we think it's his magnificently large brain)

- Umbilical Hernia (Dr's say it will repair itself as he gets older)

They say he's developing perfectly and will be ready for Harvard in no time. (Seriously. They said Harvard. In a Boston accent.)

Happy New Year!

Wishing all of you the very best in 2008.