Now that Calvin is mobile, I can’t just sit him on the floor while I do dishes or make supper. He has to be entertained otherwise he will get into trouble. So I let him play in the Tupperware cupboard. It is something that my mom did for me and my siblings, and I think it’s a great idea! Except when he learns that it is something he is allowed, so he doesn’t want it anymore.
Today Calvin learned how to clap! All it took was a couple days of singing “If You’re Happy and You Know It”. The really neat and exciting thing about it is that it’s the first thing he learned that wasn’t natural, like rolling over or smiling. He had to observe and learn. It makes me proud.
Please excuse my singing voice… I have a cold.
6 days ago I was shocked to find a tooth coming out of Calvin’s gums. I was sure he would be cranky and whiny for a bit beforehand, so it completely caught me off guard. Since then, I have been trying to capture it in a photo to prove it, but it’s difficult since his lips and/or tongue can be in the way at any given moment. But this afternoon I got a shot of it! Behold, the tooth!
(you can click on the photo to get a closer view if you like)
And yesterday I noticed the one beside it starting to come up too. So crazy!
I have had requests for more pictures of Calvin, so here you are!
In the past week or so, he has taken a big liking to this stuffed rhino. The horn/tusk/whatever fits nicely into his mouth to suck on.
Sometimes he even takes it a long for a ride!
I think it’s hilarious every time he does this. Future pole dancer? If he wasn’t wearing long sleeves, you would totally be able to see his bulging biceps.
I am used to the downtown life of Victoria when it comes to special events and fun activities, so when I heard that Edmonton’s Christmas Tree Light Up was happening this weekend, I was excited to go! When we got there, there weren’t too many people, but by the end of the night, it was shoulder to shoulder in the square.
Amy was singing lovely Christmas carols with her choir as part of the entertainment.
Right in front of city hall, they flooded the square so it made an ice rink. We stood Calvin on the ice, and right away he got his excited, jumpy legs on. You could say he took to it like a hockey player to the rink. Don’t look too closely at the ice…it’s pretty gross looking.
After the tree was lit up, there were fireworks and Calvin loved to watch them. I was quite impressed with them! Every Canada Day in Victoria, people are disappointed with the display, but these, for the humble little Christmas Tree lighting day, were quite comparable Let’s see what they pull out of their hat for other holidays!
It was a fun evening, but cold. I have never seen so many children in show suits all in one place! And it did a good job of getting me in the Christmas spirit, although that isn’t hard to do.
Are you looking forward to any specific Christmas events in your town?
While Tim was up in Fort McMurray on his business trip (he returned on the 10th), I tried to complete a photo scavenger hunt he created for me to work through so I stay busy and he can get new photos of our boy.
(see the whole list here)
Mommy and Calvin’s best artwork (Mommy can help Calvin draw!).
I mis-remembered what the list actually said, so I don’t have a picture of what he drew, but you can be assured that it was a masterpiece!
Calvin helping mommy make dinner.
Mommy and Calvin reading books.
Calvin and mommy upside-down together.
Mommy and Calvin wearing some of each other’s clothes.
Yes, I am giving him bunny ears while wearing his socks on my fingers.
Now if only he would appreciate the fun to be had when we do these things. Truthfully, the extent of our hang out time normally is me showing him how a truck can roll along the floor, and him showing me that he would prefer to eat it.
How do YOU play with a baby who doesn’t know how to interact with toys and books yet?
While Tim is up in Fort McMurray on his business trip, I am completing a photo scavenger hunt he created for me to work through so I stay busy and he can get new photos of our boy.
(see the whole list here)
Calvin getting a shoulder ride from Auntie Michelle.
Last Thursday Tim’s sister, Michelle, flew in for a visit over the long weekend. It was looking like Tim might have been gone for the whole time, but he was able to finish the work up North and fly back down to join us on Saturday. I don’t have many pictures from her visit, but I did get the one I needed to check one off the list!
We had a good visit, with the exception of the two of us girls getting the flu and being rendered useless all day Monday. But I think I am pretty much back to normal, and hopefully she is too!
I also have to share my experience with picking her up when she arrived.
The day before she flew in, Edmonton got a pretty major snow storm and no clean up had happened between then and Thursday late evening when her plane was scheduled to arrive. The parent’s of friends of hers offered to pick her up and have her stay with them the first night since they lived fairly close to the airport and that meant I didn’t have to drive there in the middle of the night with Calvin. What a great idea!
So the next morning I got the address and directions from Michelle. The address was pretty remote, but Google pulled it up when I typed it in. However it didn’t match the directions Michelle gave me, so I kinda winged it. Google’s directions ended up to be completely incorrect, and Michelle’s directions looked to me like it was not quite right compared to what Google showed me, so I was completely lost. I stopped at a coffee shop and some guy looked up the address for me again, and found it! So I drove there (on a completely remote township road with tons of snow…don’t worry, it wasn’t slippery, and I stayed in control of my car the whole time), but I ended up at the end of the road at the banks of a lake before I got the house that matched the address.
I called Michelle and she looked it up and directed me from there. However, the road numbers she saw were differently named at the place I was, so I went out of my way yet again and made another call when it looked like I would be going way farther than I thought I should be. Here is a map that maybe makes it all clearer.
1: Where Google told me it was (makes sense – close to the airport)
2: Where the coffee shop guy showed me it was
3: Where it really was (not quite as close to the airport as I was expecting – maybe “close” means something different in more remote places)
The highlighted portion is where I drove. Not shown is another exit further north I took then got back on the highway.
So what should have taken me half an hour took about an hour and a half, but we made it there safe and sound!
Thanks for coming, Michelle!