Calvin's First Birthday

Calvin celebrated his first birthday a few weeks ago on September 21. I cannot believe he is already one! We had a really fun birthday celebration. Melissa and Anna drove all the way down from Bear Lake to join us on Calvin's special day! They spoiled him with presents and were as sweet as can be. Calvin sure loves his Aunt Melissa and cousin Anna! Calvin is NOT a cuddly baby - at least not with me. But when Melissa holds him, watch out. This boy is cuddling up a storm. I am jealous! She must have the magic touch. :)

In the morning, we made peaches and cream waffles with the AMAZING peaches Melissa brought us from Brigham City on her way down to see us. They were the juiciest, sweetest peaches I've ever eaten in my life. The entire box was gone in less than 4 days! 

Calvin LOVED his special birthday breakfast. Although his expression is stony. You'll just have to believe me. :)

I did a Calvin and Hobbes theme for Calvin's birthday (naturally) and made dark chocolate ganache cupcakes with vanilla bean buttercream. So good, if I don't say so myself. :) I printed off little pictures of Calvin and Hobbes and had fun coloring each one I put on the cupcakes. 

Calvin got his own special cake to eat on his special day. He didn't quite know what to do with it! He ate off all the raspberries first and then dug into the chocolate cake after a little coaxing. He loves fresh fruit, so I understand. :) 

Happy birthday to my sweet, adorable, handsome, cute, kissable little man! I love him more than words can say. He is so special and such a joy in my life. 

As far as Calvin's milesetones go, he is still VERY close to walking but is not quite there yet. He can roll the ball to me and can now point and clap and sign "more" and "food" (kind of). TJ taught him how to rub his finger against his lips and go "bu bu bu bu bu" and Calvin will do that if you ask him. He eats very well, though he's shown signs of not liking certain foods and it makes me worried he's going to become a picky eater. I need to prevent this! I think I need to vary his diet a little more - we tend to have the same things on hand each day, which means he eats a pretty simple diet (oranges, raspberries, wheat bread, string cheese, yogurt, grapes, avocado, turkey, etc). Boring! I need to spice it up. He understands the word "no" and listens to me about 1/2 the time when I say it. I think that's pretty good for 1 year. :) He LOVES his baths and taking showers with either me or TJ. He sleeps great and still is rocking two naps a day most days. His bedtime is still at 6:30pm and he wakes up between 6-6:30am each day. He hates hates HATES getting his diaper changed or getting his pajamas put on. He hates corn and tomatoes. He still has no teeth, though I think I feel two little bumps on his lower gums where the first teeth will be coming in soon. He doesn't like to sit in the grocery cart seat at the store and will scream until I hold him. I think he gets scared in the store. Calvin has very little interest in his toys right now and would much rather crawl around the house and explore. He needs a lot of new stimulation and gets tired of his old toys very easily. We still do independent playtime every day in his pack 'n play and he will play in there for about 45-50 minutes every morning. I think it is helping him learn to play on his own and to learn patience. He loves to read with you and will turn the pages when you ask him. We read scriptures every morning while he has his cup of almond milk. He is completely weaned from the bottle and drinks only out of a straw sippy cup with Elmo on it. The doctor says he is right on track with all his milestones. :)

In other news...

TJ and I are expecting another baby! It's sooo crazy to think I'm going to go through this whole adventure of pregnancy all over again. Yikes... I'm not sure how I feel about it just yet. The morning sickness is finally subsiding and was pretty brutal this go-around. It made it hard to get excited. Now that I'm feeling a little better, I'm able to embrace this new baby and gear up for what is coming! It really hit me for the first time when I saw the ultrasound. You can clearly see the baby's profile and it's completely surreal that an actual baby is in there. I am 13 weeks pregnant and so far, everything with the baby looks fantastic. I have an amazing new doctor who is compassionate, kind, and ready to "go with the flow" - something I am going to be better about doing this time around. I have a good chance of having a VBAC, which is something I really want. While a c-section wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, I would rather not go through it again if I can help it. I know better than to make such a detailed birth plan this time around. If a c-section ends up happening because the baby is in distress again, I'll do it. Calvin wouldn't be here if I didn't have a c-section (read his story here in case you forgot). I am grateful for medical technology and the lives it saves. 

Bumpin' it up already! Here we go...