Opinions

Hello, I am looking for your thoughts and opinions over on the blog where I keep all my crafty stuff. Please go look here and give me your thoughts on the new stroller cover.

Thanks!

Jam

Dear Mom,

I miss you like I miss your jam. I love that you brought me my own special raspberry with seeds and sugar jam, just the way I like it. Thank you. Unfortunately I ate it. I ate it all. I ate it fast. I mean you were here what, 2 weeks ago. That's ridiculous. Next time you come, could you bring me enough to make it through the long, hard, terrible winter?

Love,
Cami (the jamless one)

Tupperware and Lederhosen

This was Calder's church outfit this last Sunday. Fittingly we live in a neighborhood called German Village. I found the lederhosen at the thrift store for $1. They were a little snug but I think it's pretty cute. He probably won't be wearing them to Oktoberfest this fall since they're so snug, but maybe. He wasn't cooperating so you get three less than perfect pictures. He was probably trying to avoid future embarrassment.

Here are a few other random pictures as of late. This was before the grouchy teething monster arrived. We don't have any pictures of that. He does have one tooth that just poked through. I think there is a second one on the way. Oddly he didn't become grouchy until after the first tooth came in.

I love this picture. He was flailing his arms around and I caught it at just the right time.

10 Months

I chose these pictures because we spend a lot of time doing this every day. You unload and I throw everything back in. It's a fun game.

Dear Calder,

The last month went by like it was just a few days. We've been so incredibly busy. You have changed and grown so much. Here's what you've been doing:

• You now say 'all done', 'snack', 'amen' 'hi', 'hey' and of course 'mama' and 'daddy'. 'All done' is by far your favorite. I am trying to get it on film but every time I get out the camera you just smile and stop whatever you're doing.
  
• You fold your arms to pray and you like to do it randomly throughout the day. You'll sit patiently with your arms folded until I pray. We say a lot of prayers. The other day we were in the car and I couldn't see that you were folding your arms. You started grunting and finally said 'hey' so I would notice you.
• Last week you said 'Hi Daddy!' when I brought you into our room in the morning.
  
• You finally started signing 'please'.
• You mimic the number syllables in the words we say. Daddy said 'raining' the other day and you said 'maimnin'.
• Reading is a new love. You used to somewhat like it but now you just love it. Sometimes you like to look at books by yourself and sometimes you like me to read to you.
• A few weeks ago you were on the deck and decided you didn't want to scrape your belly by army crawling, so you started to crawl on your hand and knees. Now you do a mixture of both.
• You use everything to pull yourself up and love to walk by holding one of my hands.
• You still don't have any teeth but I'm sure they're on their way. That doesn't hold you back in the eating department. You can chew everything I throw at you. It's so nice that I don't have to puree everything anymore. String cheese, grapes and blueberries are your favorites.
  
• I cut your hair for the first time. It was just a little trim in the front. You were very curious about what I was doing.
  
• You can crawl up the stairs by yourself. You also race toward the stairs when we're upstairs. You think it's a fun game when I come running and lunging to catch you before you hit the stairs. I don't think it's funny.
• You started giving a few snuggles here and there. I LOVE IT.
  

I love the stage you're at now and am so proud of you.

Love,
Mommy

Calder still loves to climb in the laundry basket. He also loves to push it around as he walks behind. This time I thought he could help me carry his laundry upstairs. He thought it was the funniest thing. Not that you can tell that from the picture.

Grandma Jan

My mom was here this last week and I LOVED it. She spoiled us rotten. Here's a quick rundown of the things we did:

• Went to COSI
• Shopped
• Sewed
• Baked
• Took walks
• Went out to lunch
• Shopped some more
• Went to North Market
• Got my hair cut
• I got an Ohio license
• Went swimming in the back yard
• Went to the Farmers Market

My mom is really the sweetest. I love how much Calder opened up to her. She is so fun and Calder loved playing with her. She even cleaned my bathroom and did the dishes over and over again. I love you so much mom! I can't wait for you to come back.

Calder The Engineer / Beach Bum

I want to make sure Calder feels like he can do just about anything in life. So, instead of always dressing him a certain way, we try different career outfits. Today, I'm going to share Calder the Engineer and Calder the Beach Bum.

9 Month Stats

Calder is stuck under the chair. If you look closely it looks like Deebo is laughing at him. Poor guy.

Here are Calder's 9 month stats:

Height: 28 inches* (50th percentile)
Weight: 20 lbs even (50th percentile)
Head: 95th percentile.

I don't actually believe the height measurement. I don't think the assistant extended Calder's leg all the way. If it is correct, that would mean Calder only grew 1.25 inches in the last 3.5 months and something went very wrong with his pants in the wash. I will try to measure him again.

COSI

Today Calder and I went to COSI or the Center of Science and Industry. We love it and have an annual membership. I plan to take him at least once a week. The greatest part is that we can park at Jason's work and walk a few blocks to it. It's fun to stop by and say hello to Jason on our way to play.

Calder is practicing his lawn mowing for when he visits Oregon.

He is also enjoying this large tractor. Or at least the wheel.

This is Calder's friend Will. His mom Amy and I had a great time chatting while the boys played.

And this is Calder's favorite part of COSI. The water table. He cries every time I take him out of it. I think he could spend hours here. And I love the REI rain jackets that they give you to use.

Calder 9 Months

Calder,

I have been so proud of you this month. You have grown so much and are learning so many things. You have adjusted to your new home and bedroom. You didn't seem to notice that you don't share a room with your parents anymore. You love your bedroom and want to spend a big chunk of time there. Here are a few other things you've been up to this month:

• You have perfected your trilling. You especially like to use it to keep yourself awake.
• When I ask if you want a snack you say "nak".
• You are much better at using your fingers to pinch food. You can pick up just about anything including slippery beans and watermelon.
• You use everything to pull yourself up and stand. You LOVE to stand up. I think you could do it for hours.
• When I lay you down you automatically roll onto your stomach.
• You now sleep with a teddy bear named Bert. You love Bert and often talk to him when you wake up. You also sometimes throw him over the edge of your crib.
• When you eat you always share with Deebo. Usually when you are getting full you start throwing everything you can towards Deebo. He loves it.
• You always look for Deebo when you wake up.
  
• You love to play with your wooden train, ball and push toy.
  

I love you and I feel so blessed to share every day with you. I love how happy you are and hope you always are.

Love,
Mommy

Baked

The delish baking group just got featured on the Baked website. I had emailed them letting them know we existed, but not expecting anything to come of it. They were so excited. You can see the post here.