Rainy, lazy Monday

Topeka 501 blessed its employees with Monday off in honor of President's Day.  Cal and I hunkered down inside the warm house while it rained.  He's fighting off the cold that I unfortunately gave to him.  :(  Aside from the chest rattling coughing fits and congested nose, he's in pretty good spirits!  The Dr. said he has Bronchialitis and a mild form of RSV, but at this point it's nothing she's too concerned about.  His chest is shiny in these pictures because of the baby Vicks.

He decided to try his hand at art today.  Not too shabby!

 "Ta da!!!"

After his art project, it was bathtime! 

 

He likes drinking water from his sippy cup, and apparently he doesn't limit himself when it comes to consuming liquids.  Cal's not picky...."Give me the bath cup, I'm thirsty!"

YUMMY!!

"Oh, am I not supposed to drink from this?"



8 months old

Cal learned how to clap this weekend and clap, clap, clap he does!  He claps when he wakes up in the middle of the night and doesn't want to go back to sleep, he claps at 5:30am and talks (LOUDLY!!!), he claps when he plays, he claps when he eats....you get the picture! 

The last week of January offered ample opportunities to spend time outdoors.  The temperatures were in the upper 60's, so we were able to walk the dogs and play outside daily.  Cal loved pruning and pulling the grass while watching the dogs run around the yard.  He also brought to my attention that we apparently have numerous rabbits that inhabit our property when the dogs are inside.  The tiny pellets of "dirt" that he was grabbing along with the grass forced his germaphobe Mama to eventually retreat to the safe, poo-free patio slab. 

Cal met Lilah Beth Sawyer at the KSU game.  Lilah's mom, Johnna, and I grew up together and are so excited that your little ones are close in age.  It wasn't the warmest first impression, but I'm sure they'll become good friends.  They're going to be spending many-a-Saturdays in the K-State football parking lot, so I hope that friendship forms quickly!

 

  Cal to Lilah: "Hey chick.  I'm supposed to be the cutest baby in here....you're treadin' on my turf."

Lilah to Cal:  "Hey buddy, get used to it.  Just wait until I wear my purple tutu.....it gets the crowd everytime." 






Last Sunday, I set Cal on the carpet in the living room and left him to play with his toys while I washed a few dishes.  Imagine my surprise when I returned to check on him and found him 5 feet away....under the coffee table!!!  He doesn't really crawl yet, but he rolls, scoots, pivots, etc.  He was so proud of himself!!

Our silly little boy keeps grabbing for anything that we're eating, so I've started introducing him to more solids.  Here he is convincing me that he should eat the sugar cookie that was in my hand.

I opted to not share my confectionary delight, but instead give him some spagetti!  He was NOT a fan and the meal ended in tears.  We'll try again in a few weeks, perhaps with some buttery rotini noodles instead!

Cheerios, puffs, and baby crackers are all acceptable menu items.  He really likes banana bits and small chunks of pears and peaches, too.

   

  This is just the sweetest picture.  Cal won't rock to sleep with Mommy, but he sleeps soundly when Daddy does it!

First snow!  We only got 2" of the white stuff, but it still counts. 

 Our 8 month old boy is changing daily.  Aside from learning new skills, he's becoming more opinionated and showing his personality more every day.  Happy 8 month birthday, sweet boy!

Don't sit too close to the screen. It's bad for your eyes.

I hope you've been craving some videos lately.  Whet your appetite, as a gourmet video meal is comin' your way!

We're trying to catch the many faces and sounds of Cal.  Here's the move that we've dubbed "The Tomahawk".  He exhibits this motion daily while he plays and eats.

Next up is the sound that we like to call "The Bird of Prey".  He started making this sound in imitation.  Oh and in case you were wondering....yes, I now realize that when I play with him and am excited about something that my pitch goes up to octaves that only dogs should hear.  He's started making this sound independently, lucky for us and our eardrums, and it is usually accompanied by a piercing scream or shriek.  The shrieks and screams are some things that I did NOT teach him.

Cal is quite the giggle box and loves engaging in the back and forth exchange of laughter.  All you have to do is look at him and he'll chuckle.  As made evident by this video, he apparently enjoys being tickled by feet.  I've done the research and NO, this is not a precursor for a foot fetish.

To wrap things up,  here's a video that features our little man showing how much he yearns to be mobile.  He's made progress and can now go from sitting to a crawling position, which was too difficult for him just last week.  With this newfound, emerging mobility I've realized that my window of 'leaving Cal on the carpet in the living room while I run to another room' is quickly closing.  In fact, I feel like it's slamming shut after last Saturday morning.  I put him on the carpet and went to the kitchen to wash some dishes.  When I poked my head around the corner to check on him, our little Caligator was proudly crouched 3 feet away....underneath the coffee table!!  Let the baby proofing commence!!

I'll upload some pictures after Wednesday and his 8 month photo shoot.  That sock monkey is starting to get a chip on i's stitched shoulder when hefty Cal sits next to him.  Keep your eyes peeled, for the next blog post will debut more of Cal's signature moves in still photos.  Have a Happy Valentines Day!