Three years and a baby

Today we celebrate three wonderful years of marriage, and all the wonderful things that those three years of marriage have brought:  We celebrate three years worth of nightly sleep overs, weekend zoo trips, and summer vacations;  We celebrate our house, our jobs, and our years of school;  We celebrate the joining of our families, the love of our pets, the birth of our son.  As usual we celebrated our anniversary by going back to the dinner spot of our first date - Macaroni Grill (what will we do if they close?), only this year we made an extra stop in order to drop Calvin off with his gram and grandpa.  This was our first evening out since June 9, and everyone took it well.  Look, Calvin even gave us a tentative wave during our send off ;o)

Just Calvin having Saturday fun

Calvin wants you to know that being a baby is hard work - you don't even get the weekends off!  It's Saturday afternoon and already he has played games, eaten, endured several diaper changes, and napped - twice!

Playing the "standing" game (likes to stand, but needs help with balance).

 
Smiling in the magic fingers (read: bouncy chair)

 Hearing a story before naptime in the nursery 

To Calvin, who is one month old today

It is hard for us to believe that you have already been here for a whole month. We still stare in awe at your perfect little fingers and perfect little toes and wonder about the miracle of you. We still cannot believe that you are real, that you are here, that you are ours. There are so many things that we want to teach you, show you, and share with you, but you have already been here a whole month and the time is flying by. It may be a cliche, but it truly feels as though we held you in our arms for the very first time just yesterday. You may not remember that day, but we always will.

And sometimes it's hard to believe that you have been here for only a month. Hasn't it been more like a year? You have proven yourself to be a precocious baby, already in control of your own head and able to roll over and support your whole weight on your legs (you love to "stand"!). We were astounded to find out that you had gained nearly two pounds and over two and a half inches in your first two weeks of life! We have enjoyed watching you discover faces, sounds, and colors. We felt rewarded the day it was clear that you recognized us specifically. We were overjoyed the day you gave us your first real smile! Every day we go outside for a walk and we look for birds and bunnies. Every day we read at least three books together, sing many songs, and practice naming all the parts of your body. Every other evening we bathe you while you rediscover the comfort and fun of the warm water. Every night we lay in bed listening to you breathing and stretching in your bassinet, even when we know we should be sleeping. You will not remember these days, but we always will. We love you, Calvin.

A day of returns

Today marked our return to church following Calvin's birth, which means it also marked Calvin's first day at church.  We were very excited about introducing our son to our church family - all throughout Cortney's pregnancy the different arms of the church were arguing about who held more claim to the Ophoff baby - the office staff?  The deacons?  The choir?  To us they are all one big family, and today Calvin got to meet many of them.  It was a successful return, too.  While Jon played for the 8:00 service, Cortney and Calvin parked themselves in the lobby area and got to greet a lot of choir members and ministers as they came in the door.  During the 9:30 service we sat in the very back, which made it easy to step outside to feed the little guy when he got hungry and then back in again when we were done.  And Calvin was a big hit during coffee hour, too.  In fact, it just so happened that today was Calvin's introduction day, so he was announced in the bulletin and greeted by a red rosebud on the organ as well.

Today was also a return on two family fronts.  On Calvin's maternal side because we stopped at Cortney's parents for what used to be a regular post-church brunch of scrambled eggs with hash browns and salami, toast with jam, and good coffee.  This was something we haven't done in a while, and something Calvin, of course, had never done, so it was also a wonderful return.  It was also a day of returns on Calvin's paternal side because Jon's parents had just returned from a trip to The Netherlands and got the chance to see Calvin for the first time since they visited him in the hospital.  So Calvin got to hear all about this other country and even got to see his aunt again while we were there for dinner.  Yes, it was definitely a day of returns for us and firsts again for Calvin.

Firsts for Calvin, regression for his parents

Calvin is definitely growing.  He just feels heavier.  Most people who see him still think he looks like a preemie, but we are pretty sure we can see a growth difference.  Not that he fits into anything any better, he just seems bigger to us.  And he is definitely growing in other ways, too.  He has gradually become more vocal - not crying, just more talkative - and today he started talking while eating.  His amount of alert time has gradually increased every day, and he has really started to look at things now.  Actual firsts for today included napping with Cortney in his sling and going for a walk in his stroller.  It was also his first day of regulated living - Cortney started introducing a feeding/sleeping/activity schedule today.  Right.  We'll see how that goes.

But while Calvin is progressing by leaps and bounds, his parents seem to be regressing, at least where the menu is concerned.  Though Jon did grill a couple of hamburgers last week, our meals lately have consisted mainly of little kid type dinners - frozen fish sticks and tater tots, frozen pizza, and, the ultimate, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese with hot dogs.  Call it what you like, we call nostalgia.