Tag: Calvin

  • Here We Go

    Here We Go

    Calvin has a book that with sound-effect buttons (Here We Go, by Eric Carle). There are car noises and horn honks, but also a radio station that plays snippets of classical music. He likes the songs, and I started playing the real versions for him. It was time for bed, so I kept the music on and gave him another book to keep him occupied while I went downstairs for a minute. I returned to find my two-year-old quietly sitting in bed with a book, legs crossed and wearing only a diaper, listening to Ride of the Valkyries.

    Calling that a parenting win.

    (Unrelated other than the subject, but I present to you a boy and his dog from our time in the Northwoods this summer. He’s more kid than toddler now.)

    A Boy and His Dog in the Woods

  • Sixteen, Seventeen, and Eighteen Months Old (Calvin’s Monthly Photos)

    Sixteen, Seventeen, and Eighteen Months Old (Calvin’s Monthly Photos)

    Guess what. I took 64 monthly photos of my kids (24 for Eleanor, 24 for August, and 16 for Calvin) before missing one. And then I went and missed two in a row. I feel a great deal of guilt over this, which is all self-induced. Brandon’s like, well? It’s kid #3. (Note: Brandon is kid #3 in his family.)

    Sorry, Calvin. We love you, we do!

    Sixteen Months Old

    Sixteen Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)

    Sixteen Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)

    Seventeen Months Old

    Yep, let’s go with this. A photo taken with my phone, and a still from a SnapChat video. But such joy! We were watching our former guinea pig, Gingerbread (now a class pet), over spring break.

    Seventeen Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)

    Eighteen Months Old

    What a cutie! It messes with my grid and the side by side comparisons I could do with such consistent monthly photos, but the staged shots didn’t always capture the full personality. When you can pick from an entire month’s worth of shots, you can go with the smiliest.

    Eighteen Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)

    Calvin's Monthly Baby Photos (One to Twelve Months Old)
    Calvin's Monthly Photos, Thirteen to Eighteen Months

    Today, Calvin is nineteen months old. I’ve got the shot set up and ready to go once he’s up from his nap. Back on track, kid!

    Previous Photos
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  • Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen Months Old (Calvin’s Monthly Photos)

    Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen Months Old (Calvin’s Monthly Photos)

    Calvin is walking, hooray! His vocabulary is growing, his teeth are numerous (he went from six to twelve, maybe more, all in the last couple of months), and he has had his first haircut. We also have a change of outfit for these photos. Bodysuits are for babies, and we have a toddler!

    Calvin's Monthly Photos, to Fifteen Months

    Here are Calvin’s latest monthly baby pictures! And do take a look at the little Christmas tree my kids elegantly decorated.
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  • One Year Old (Calvin’s Monthly Photos)

    One Year Old (Calvin’s Monthly Photos)

    This kid! The world’s happiest, smiliest, giggling-est baby is growing up with a big mischievous streak. You know something is up when you’re one room over and suddenly things are a little too quiet. The other day he was standing at the fiddle leaf fig, just flinging handfuls of dirt in the air and when I caught him, he turned on the charm with a huge grin.

    Calvin's Monthly Baby Photos (Twelve Months Old!)

    He isn’t walking yet (all of my kids have been late walkers), but he cruises around furniture and likes to walk with a bit of hand-holding assistance. His crawl is adorable and lopsided. He says mama, dada, dog, cat, and wow. Apparently he has decided to stop nursing (three days of refusal and he’s old enough, so we’re done? Unexpected! I wasn’t ready!). Six teeth. Blue eyes. A polka dot patch of lighter hair at the front, on top, that seems to be staying.

    We love, love, love him.

    Ten Months Old

    Ten Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)
    Ten Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)

    Eleven Months Old

    Eleven Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)
    Eleven Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)

    Twelve Months Old

    One Year Old! (Calvin's Monthly Photo)
    One Year Old! (Calvin's Monthly Photo)

    (I’ll be taking a photo of Calvin sitting in the Eames rocker and wearing his pin each month until he’s two years old. I also took monthly photos of his sister, Eleanor, and his brother, August.)

    Previous Photos
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  • A Birthday, A Surgery

    A Birthday, A Surgery

    Calvin had his first birthday!

    Calvin and His First Birthday Cake

    First piece of cake, too. He’s a fan.

    Calvin and Ginger, the Dog

    Nicole and Calvin

    Calvin

    We celebrated his birthday the night before because Brandon was scheduled to go into surgery the next day.

    Calvin and Brandon

    Brandon hasn’t been well for a while and he delayed his surgery until after my sister’s wedding so that he could take part, but then the next available date was Calvin’s birthday. It was an outpatient procedure and I was able to take him home after a brief recovery period in the hospital. He isn’t feeling much better yet (there’s still a lot of pain), but hopefully he’s on the mend. He is supposed to take it easy and rest so that he can heal, and he won’t be able to lift anything heavy for several weeks at least, which means no picking up the baby.

    Calvin and Brandon

    It’s frustrating for him, feeling so weak right now. Hoping for a speedy and full recovery.

    Brandon and Calvin

  • Seven, Eight, and Nine Months Old (Calvin’s Monthly Photos)

    Seven, Eight, and Nine Months Old (Calvin’s Monthly Photos)

    I’m still doing my monthly photographs with Calvin, but I’ll be sharing them here as quarterly updates now, instead of as each photo is taken.

    Nine Months of Calvin's Monthly Photos

    Our little guy is nine months old now! He’s so close to crawling. Sometimes he surprises himself by getting into a sitting position after having been on his tummy, he can pull himself up to stand, and he likes to walk around with a little help. He has two teeth on the bottom and three (soon to be four, I think) teeth on the top. Still nursing four or five times a day, but he’s eating more food — some of it spoon-fed, some of it from his own chubby little hands.

    Also, I win! He said his first word a couple of weeks ago: Mama.

    Seven Months Old

    Seven Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)
    Seven Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)

    Eight Months Old

    Eight Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)
    Eight Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)

    Nine Months Old

    Nine Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)
    Nine Months Old (Calvin's Monthly Photo)

    (I’ll be taking a photo of Calvin sitting in the Eames rocker and wearing his pin each month until he’s two years old. I also took monthly photos of his sister, Eleanor, and his brother, August.)

    Previous Photos
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