Life as of Late

 

 Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to.

 Consuming lots of Frozen Yo.

 Reading just about every book at the library.

 Doing a "Spanish salute". According to Calder this is how they do it in Spain.

 Teaching Calder to take dorky pictures. A worthwhile skill to have.

 Riding his bike to the park.

 Hanging out at the Audubon Society.

 This is where Calder is going to preschool next year. It is a magical place where you can go and explore. We have seen frogs, woodpeckers, water skimmers and deer. I can't wait for him to be able to explore there daily with his class.

 At the College Park Aviation Museum. Calder the pilot.

 The neighborhood Easter egg hunt. A total bust. Calder got one egg and he had to fall over to get it. It came out later that he actually pushed a girl so he could get the egg. Poor guy. He was rather upset by the whole thing and cried for a few minutes after the hunt was over. A little boy and his mom saw what was going on and gave Calder 4 of their eggs. It was really sweet and it helped his spirits. I think we are going to start doing our own eggs hunts at the park from now on. None of us enjoyed the craziness of an open field with tons of kids (and parents) scrambling for eggs.

 Calder has been taking swimming lessons once a week for the last few months. We both love getting in the water and I'm impressed how good Calder is getting. He can float on his back (although he freaks out if I let go of his neck), and he loves to put his whole face in the water. When we first bought his goggles he wore them everywhere for a few days. It was pretty awesome.

 It has been warm enough to play in the fountain in Downtown Silver Spring. We love that fountain.

And last but not least, Calder is growing. A lot. He outgrew his shoes and was so excited to get some special ones with a star on the side.

Trip to Utah

 Calder and I took a trip to Utah to meet up with my parents and most of my siblings at my Grandparents house. It was great to see everyone and we had a great time.

Picture dump #2

 I just found some more pictures, so I'll pass them along. This hat was Jason's when he was a kid. Calder loves it and pretends to be goofy pretty regularly. His Oregon shirt used to be one of my shirts that I sized down for him. He loves it.

 Jason taught Calder how to shave. He loves it. We just take the blade off of my razor and he uses the handle. I love the way he smells really good all day when he shaves with Jason in the morning.

 Calder went to the dentist last month. He did so well! He watched me get my teeth cleaned and then sat there perfectly to get his. Neither of us had x-rays (they wait until age 4) and neither of us had any obvious cavities.

Calder work makeup one day last week. We didn't have much planned so I let him wear it all day. He was so proud.

 Calder wrote his name on the newspaper one day and then came to show me. I am so proud of his writing abilities. He has really taken an interest in writing lately.

This was the last day of ice skating lessons two weeks ago. Calder got to put money in the Zamboni to take it for a ride. He was pretty thrilled.

Picture Dump

 I have been using my phone for picture taking lately because it is so convenient. And, now that I have a decent camera on my phone I don't feel like I'll be missing much as far as quality goes if I don't carry the big camera everywhere I go. So, here's a selection of pictures from my phone. The above picture is Calder "basking in the sun". Our apartment gets so much light thanks to floor to ceiling windows. Calder loves to soak up the sun. I'll admit, I love it too.

 This is after consuming a brownie. He said "Look Mommy, I growed a beard".  I have to admit that with his undershirt and unibrow (which seems to only be visible in this picture) he looks very funny.

 We live across the street from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). A few weeks ago they had a family fun day of sorts. Calder loved it! They served popcorn, gave out whale hats and taught him how to make an origami whale. He also got to pose with Miss Ohio.

 He also got to dress up at NOAA. They had all sorts of props and these are the ones he chose.

 We've been driving a lot lately. Calder always looks so cool hanging out in the back seat.

 Even when he's dressed like a construction worker/train engineer.

 The Capitals practice at a rink in Virginia that isn't too far from our house. Anyone can show up to watch them practice. Calder loves it! I am surprised there aren't that many people who go to watch. They have this cardboard head cutout at the rink and every time we go Calder makes me take a picture.

 Watching the Capitals.

Calder starts daddy and me hockey lessons on Saturday. He is required to have knee and elbow pads and is very excited to wear them everywhere. I'm very excited to go watch their first class. I think Jason might be a little nervous about his own skating abilities. We're switching Calder from ice skates to hockey skates, which are harder but give you more flexibility when you get really good, so maybe they'll be a little more evenly matched.

Calder and I also started swimming lessons this week. There is only one other kid in his class. The instructor is obviously a grandma and loves swimming. It was a lot of fun. 

I find it funny that there is only one other kid in Calder's swimming class (thus 8 open spots) but I had to register Calder at midnight to get a spot in the hockey class. He was the 5th kid to register at 12:04. And by 6:30 the following morning, it was all filled up. Crazy.

Baby Bump

Calder posing for his "belly shot".

This Friday is Calder's last ice skating lesson. He has absolutely loved it. Every other week the teacher lets them spend a few minutes with hockey pucks and sticks. That is by far Calder's favorite thing in life these days. He has been begging for a hockey stick and puck for his fourth birthday. He asks for a lot of things for his fourth birthday, but this is a definite front runner.

A few weeks ago we started participating in a mom preschool with some friends. There are four moms who rotate having it at their house. We get together once a week and Calder loves that too. We got to host it this week and it didn't really go as planned. During our craft project I went into my bedroom to get another pair of scissors when I heard water dripping in my bathroom. As I went in I saw lots of water dripping from the vent in the ceiling. Of course I call maintenance and they ran up. The boys all had a great time checking out the leak and watching them try to fix it. In the end they all had a great time, so I guess it doesn't really matter that we had less time than I hoped.

And I'll leave you with a parting shot of my 23 week belly.

Spending Fast 2012

If you've been reading this blog long, you know I like to challenge myself. I like to do hard things. I feel like doing hard things makes me a better person and helps me discover who I am. It also makes more more creative and happier in life. We can all do hard things. I assume you too will have the same results.

With that, I invite you to join me in the Spending Fast of 2012. This will be the third annual and I'm so excited! Here's how it works. You don't buy anything for the month of February. Okay, there are a few exceptions. You can pay your rent and other bills and you can buy gas. You can also buy food, but you should limit and stretch in this area. For my family of three I spend $50 a week during the Spending Fast. You can choose what works for your family. Also, no eating out.

I'm going to be doing giveaways throughout the month on the Candied Apples blog. Check it out here.

Okay, who's with me?

Jason's Thoughts on Calder

We are in the process of applying to preschools. This is not a fun activity. Each preschool has different requirements and some of them are a little crazy. Like, four page applications, character assessments from friends and teachers, school visits so the school can get to know your kid etc. It's crazy. Of course you have to apply to more than one and jump through all the hoops presented by each one. We are planning on applying to three and hope to get into two so we have a choice. 

On the first application I asked Jason to answer the questions and had to hold back the tears when reading what he wrote. I have always loved the way Jason writes and enjoy reading his work but when it's about our sweet little boy, I love it even more. I thought I would share. 

Jason's thoughts: 

Calder is rarely far from a book.  His days often start with one of his parents reading a book while he eats breakfast, and his days always end with several books while he relaxes and prepares for bed.  On a bright, sunny day, Calder can spend an entire afternoon lying in the sun looking for Waldo or exploring In the Town All Year Round.

When he sets the books down, Calder loves to spend his time engrossed in imagination play.  Many speeding drivers are pulled over by diligent police officers each day, and our couch often doubles as a garbage truck.  A menagerie of cows, donkeys, lions, dragons, and dogs--all of whom look surprisingly like a three-year-old boy to the untrained eye--pass through the living room each week.

Each afternoon, Calder spends an hour of "quiet time" in his room.  He uses that time to create amazing lego structures that stretch towards the sky.  And his musical performances with his drum, harmonica, and accordion make "quiet time" a misnomer.  A sweet, if less-than-pitch-perfect voice, echoes through the house as Calder sings his favorite songs from church and those we sing each evening before he goes to sleep.

Calder does not spend all of his days indoors.  During the summers, he loves to kick his way around the public pool or shout "here I come!" before leaping into the pool (and usually his parents' arms).  In the winter, you will often find Calder at the Wheaton Ice Arena chasing other children around the rink and counting down the minutes until the Zamboni takes the ice.  And every day is a perfect day in Calder's mind to circle the block on his balance bike or race his parents to the corner while laughing uncontrollably.

Calder has always been a surprisingly observant child.  As soon as he started talking, he started pointing out objects that excited him while riding in his car seat.  Often we could not see the dumpster, trash can, or sign Calder asked about.  But we quickly learned not to doubt Calder.  If we looked hard enough, we would often seen the dumpster or trash can tucked into a barely visible alley across the street.

His keen sense of observation is matched only by his sweetness towards others.  He recently learned his mother is pregnant, and ever since he has jealously guarded her sleep.  No longer insistent that she wake up from a weekend nap the second quiet time ends, Calder now attempts to talk his father out of any effort to wake his mother up.  The happiness of his months-from-birth sibling has also become his central concern.  Every decision has to account for whether it would make "the baby" happy.  Calder's compassion extends beyond the happiness of pregnant women and babies.  He frequently consoles friends at church who suffer from separation anxiety when their parents drop them off at Sunday School.  And Calder often thinks about the needs of others, rather than himself, while shopping at the store.  Last month, for example, he insisted on buying a scarf for his father after seeing one at the store and realizing his father did not have one.

That sweetness towards others reflects Calder's most important attribute:  He is almost always smiling and happy.  We cannot think of anyone else we would rather have with us to brighten our days.  We hope that, after you get to know Calder, your teachers and staff will feel the same way.

It's a...

Christmas 2011

We had the most wonderful Christmas this year. Calder is old enough to understand it and was so excited about it. He believes in Santa and was a little worried about the logistics of it. He was mostly worried about whether Santa would know which stocking was his. I obviously need to embroidery our names on the stockings. He asked Jason if he would stay up and wait for Santa and clear up the stocking predicament. 

Jason arranged to have Santa call Calder and talk about his upcoming visit on Christmas eve. It made him so happy. 

On Christmas Eve we went out for breakfast at a cute little diner. I think this will be a new tradition. I love going out to breakfast. I think it is probably my favorite meal to eat out. 

That afternoon we hosted a get together with some family and friends. Two of my cousins (Arn & Erik) live within a few hours of me and another came to DC for Christmas (Inger), so they all came over. We also had some of our favorite friends over, the McAllisters, the Olivers and the Marshalls. There were tons of people but it was perfect. We just had appetizers and desserts. I like that it was low key and so fun. 

That evening we went with the Marshall family to decorate a Christmas tree for the forest animals. We took popcorn and birdseed ornaments that Ariel made. The kids loved it and I'm sure the animals did too. I didn't have any plain popcorn so they got a very healthy mix of Kettle Corn and movie theatre butter. Hopefully we didn't harm any animals, or their hearts. The Marshalls also invited us to dinner. They served food representing each member of the nativity. There was angel hair pasta representing angels, salad with pomegranates representing Mary and fertility, dates representing the wise men and olive soup to represent baby Jesus. I don't remember if there was something for Joseph or the shepherds. It was really fun and I love the idea of having food that represents a person.

Calder woke up at 5:00 on Christmas morning to announce that he saw presents in the living room and that we should open them. So, our day got off to an early start. I don't think he is old enough to understand and agree to the 7:00 rule that my parents had. Especially because he gets up before 7:00 every morning. We are so spoiled and received many heart felt and beautiful gifts.

After opening presents and eating breakfast we went to church. Or at least tried. Calder fell asleep on the way and neither Jason or I wanted to wake him up. So we drove around enjoying this alone together time. It was fun and although I felt bad about not going to church on Christmas it was nice to just sit and talk without interruptions for an hour.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing with new toys. I enjoyed our relaxing Christmas day. I loved having more activities on Christmas Eve and reserve Christmas just for our little family. We had ham, potatoes and green beans for dinner. It was great but I want to switch things up a little next year. I think a more meaningful meal would be good. 

Here are some pictures of the big day.