When Daddy Comes Home

Lately Calvin has had a hard time every time his dad leaves town (which has been just about every week). Tonight when Andy walked through the door the boy pulled him down on the couch, gave him one of his favorite blankets, and laid down to cuddle. I thought it was cute.

Cleaning the Walls

One thing I hate about those tub crayons is that they make my kid think it's okay to write on everything. We have entered the phase of crayons on walls and markers on furniture. I hate that.

Except for times like this...

With no prompting whatsoever, Calvin grabbed some tissue from the bathroom and started scrubbing some crayon off the walls. We upgraded him to a wet paper towel and he scrubbed vigorously until it was mostly gone. The entire time he sang the Wonder Pets song "what's gonna work? team work! what's gonna work? team work!" It was so darling it was all I could do not to eat him.

9 Fingers

This morning Calvin came up to me and held up both of his hands saying "Two hands. Ten fingers." After I told him how smart he was, he proceeded to count all of his fingers. At the end he had missed somewhere and counted only nine fingers. At first he looked confused, and then shocked, and then he started to freak out. He looked back and forth between me and his fingers saying, "oh no! nine fingers!" He looked so panicked that it was hilarious. We recounted more slowly and the next time around he got to ten. He was very relieved that he had all of his fingers after all.

Later in the day we were playing a game called "snowball" that he made up. I wiggle my fingers up high and say "it's snowing" and then I turn into a big snowball and fall down on him and smash him. He laughs hysterically every time. In the middle of the game Autumn started to cry so I left him to go get her. I walked exactly two steps before he dramatically threw up his hand and yelled, "Stop! Don't touch that baby!" He's such a diva.

After naps we went over to his cousins' house to see their new baby chicks. We stayed for dinner and had a fun time playing in their bouncing room and running around outside. Calvin loved it and was sad to come home. It was late when we got back so I threw him straight into the bathtub where he spent the whole time yelling "Calvin a jelly fish!" and gyrating in seizure-like fashion all through the water. I also wrote his name on the tub and he was able to point out C-A-L-V-I-B. He fell apart at the end, but could spell most of his name.

Seriously, could I possibly love this kid any more?

3 Months Old

Dear Autumn,

It's hard to believe that you're three months old. With your brother we studied every single next step and pushed for him to progress. With you we're just enjoying each day as it comes, and you seem to be growing so much more quickly that way. Every day you feel heavier and taller. My tiny little newborn left me while I wasn't watching. I miss her, but you are so darling that it's hard to be too sad about the changes.

You have such strong head control. You love to look around and watch everything happening around you.

You are the smiliest baby I've ever seen. The first thing you do when you wake up in the mornings is give me a huge smile. You'll smile at everyone around you and with very few exceptions, you always seem so content.

You are so curious about everything and can stare at the same thing for such long amounts of time. You especially love studying your fists and your toes. Some days I worry that you'll go cross-eyed from focusing so intently.

I've decided that just because something is cute does not mean it should have ever been made for a baby. Like this turtle-neck. You hate it and can't move your head when you wear it. Sorry I make you wear such silly things sometimes.

You love reaching for things and playing with toys. You have a very firm grasp and once you latch on to something you like, you don't let go. You are so great at entertaining yourself for fairly long stretches of time.

Autumn your sweet, good-natured personality is just what this family needed. You're even winning your big brother over with your huge smile and constant cooing and chattering. You are well-loved by everyone who meets you and we are so excited to see what the next months will bring. I could kiss your soft baby cheeks all day long.

Love,

Mom

RE: Vegas

As I previously mentioned about our trip to Vegas, Andy gave a presentation that was a big deal for his career. It was in front of a panel who judged his technical, analytical, and presentation abilities as well as his ability to think on the fly. In order to get to that stage of the process, he had to pass several tests and a virtual lab simulation. He finally heard back last week and we were thrilled to find out that he had passed. There are 39 engineers in the entire world with this certification, of which he is number 33. I am very proud of him for this accomplishment and in general for his tenacity in always working towards something bigger and better.

He needed a picture for the bio they will post of him, so I told him to use this one since he looks super hot. I married him for his face, but it's nice that he has some brains too.