Summer Updates

I cannot believe that summer is coming to an end, and little baby Calvin is 4 months old! Time really does move fast. Calvin has come a long way in the past month. He has such a passion for learning and is one of the most easy-going, good-natured people I have ever known.

This month's big milestone was that Calvin learned how to roll over! A few weeks ago, we began to find him playing on his stomach when we would leave him on his back. The scariest would be when we would put him on his back to sleep, and we'd find him on his stomach in the morning. He couldn't seem to get from his stomach back to his back. Usually babies learn this the other way around. The sad thing for Calvin is that he doesn't much like being on his stomach, so after he would excitedly roll over, he'd be upset to discover that he was stuck in a perpetual ab exercise. This got to be very frustrating to him. He has since learned how to roll back to his back again.

Now if you leave him alone on the floor, he just rolls around exploring every part of the room. It doesn't seem like a bad way to travel. The only problem is that he can only roll one way- to his left. This doesn't seem to bother him, though. Once he has reached a wall and cannot travel in that direction any longer, he maneuvers around so that he has another straight shot. His movement patterns are actually very similar to Roomba.

Besides being so rollie, he also laughs and babbles a ton. He seems so happy all the time. When we went down to Tucson for a week, I thought the change of environment and all the attention would throw him off, but he responded so cheerfully. He was an angel on the plane, slept great in the Pack N Play, and just got giggly when he was surrounded by dozens of cousins! Tyler and I are trying to follow his example and be a bit more cheery in the throes of normal life. Calvin helps us to realize what a great life we have surrounded by so many people that love us. I have felt so happy and peaceful in the past month! I am so grateful for the amazing families we have!

I am going to try to keep this short and update more often. Enjoy!

Rule of Three

Calvin is now three months old. I really cannot believe it. Every morning, I wake up to find him bigger and heavier than when I put him down the night before. It is quite amazing how fast they grow.

You can also really see babies' minds working and making connections. Calvin has figured out how to control his arms with his brain (though clumsy). He will very slowly reach out and grab something he is interested in. It is almost painful watching how hard he concentrates to perform such a seemingly simple task. I am constantly amazed at how many things become second nature.

The other large development is that he has started to laugh--though he is a pretty tough critic. We have discovered that he has a similar sense of humor to Tyler and me since the first time he laughed was when he spit up all over me. I was shrieking and squealing trying to find a rag to wipe my body, the pillow, and his face off, and meanwhile, he was cackling. This, of course, made us laugh, which in turn made him laugh harder. It was a very sweet moment.

Tyler and I seek his laughs for validation, but he is only interested in fresh material. We'll do something silly, and he'll bust up laughing so we do it again. He'll laugh harder! When we do it a third time, he laughs so hard he can hardly contain himself. Of course, we always try for more, but upon the fourth time we do a bit, all we get is complete silence. It is no longer funny. Sometimes he gives us a courtesy smile, but it seems that he already understands that when it comes to comedy, funny things always come in threes.

He may be selective about what he laughs at, but he is not as picky when it comes to his smiles! Calvin smiles all day long. He is such a good-natured little kid. I just love his chubby cheeks!

Two Months Old Already!

Every day goes by so fast! Calvin's big accomplishment this month was learning how to smile. The first time he really did it on purpose was when we went to go get him one morning at 5:30. He was yelling for us and when he saw us pop our heads over the side of the crib, he gave us a toothless grin. It melted my heart.

It makes each morning like Christmas morning as I sneak into his room only to find the greatest gift I've ever gotten smiling back at me from inside the crib.

We love him.

Here is a montage of smiles!

Shepherd Baby warming up after bath time.

Our Little Meerkat Pup

I don't know why, but he loves to stretch like this. He is such a little bean. He remained like this for about 5 minutes until he decided to go back to his back again.

Another happening this month was his baby blessing on May 30.

Tyler performed a beautiful blessing in our ward here in Provo.

That's about all the news about us this month. He goes in on Friday for his 2-month checkup. I am nervous for his shots...It is too sad when he cries in pain. Not fun, poor little guy.

More updates next month!