Be careful what you ask for...

you just might get it.  It was just last week that we were beginning to worry a bit about Calvin's speech development, or actually the lack thereof.  Our concern stemmed from the fact that most other babies his age, even other baby boys, had begun to mimic speech sounds, saying things like dada and mama, even if they were not attached to any specific meaning, and Calvin had not yet decided to enter this stage of "babbling."  Of course, only one day after we expressed this concern to others Calvin decided to start babbling, and babble he did!  He didn't just step into this new phase, he bolted into it!  He now cruises around the house saying "dadadada" and "yayayaya," and other such thought provoking things.  An increasing number of times he has said "da da" when Jon has picked him up, or when he is crawling towards Jon.  His favorite time to talk, however, is while music is playing, either in the car or on the stereo, and we think at these times he considers himself to be singing.  We love it.

Swimming lessons

Today we celebrate an important milestone in our lives:  as of today Calvin has been out longer than he has been in (think about it - you'll understand).  Actually, it's more of a realization than it is a celebration, really.  In fact, today would have been just like any other day if we hadn't already had something really cool scheduled:  swim lessons!  For Calvin, that is.  We've been wanting to do this for a long time and were excited from the minute we woke up this morning.  Unfortunately the class time really bites into Calvin's morning nap time, and that meant that we had to get him up after only 30 minutes of sleep (instead of his normal 2 hours) to put him in the car and head to the pool.  The shortened nap time probably contributed to the wariness he exhibited as he and his mom headed into the water.  We were just sure that he would love swimming because he loves his bath so much, but the first five minutes were actually pretty iffy.  As Cortney held him, swaying him with the water up to his chest the way the instructor showed, we were a little concerned to see him begin to pout with a very concerned look on his face.  The other six babies seemed to be loving it!  Only Calvin had some reservations.  But after we spent a few minutes of "close circle time" where the babies toes were all touching, he really seemed to get into it.  In true Calvin fashion he refused to crack a smile during most of the half hour class, but we have come to accept that our child takes discovery quite seriously, and the fact that he spent nearly his entire time in the pool with a stern look of steady concentration glued on his face doesn't mean that he didn't have fun.  On the contrary, it means that he was so excited about what he was doing and learning that he just couldn't take time out to smile!  That's our Calvin.  And in the last ten minutes, while playing with a floating octopus, he finally got comfortable enough to start kicking and splashing the way he does almost nightly in his bath water.  Strangely enough, it was about this time that all the other babies had lost their patience with the  event and started whining or crying.  Calvin, however, was just warming up, and he even cracked a smile for us during the "up and down" activity at the very end.  Survey says?  Success.  We can't wait for next week when daddy takes his turn in the water!  And, of course, there are lots more pictures in the Calvin's 38th week photo album.

There's no getting away from him now!

Wow it's amazing what a difference just a few days can make.  Last week you could set Calvin in his carefully baby-proofed room with some toys and head into the bedroom to get yourself dressed for the day, or head to the kitchen to wash a few dishes, or start the laundry.  Whatever the task, we never left him long, but we always knew where he'd be when we went back.  In fact, the farthest he might move was from sitting to laying, or maybe a couple of rolls away, but not so much now.  Now if you leave him in his room and go to get dressed you're likely to be snuck up on long before you are done.  Thankfully the house is mostly baby-proofed now, though there are a handful of things that are still out, like the dogs' dishes and Jon's music.  The new word of the week has been "no," and we've been pleasantly surprised by Calvin's reaction, which is this:  First he looks at you, pauses, then sits back away from the [fill in the blank], screws up his face, turns beet red, then starts screaming and crying with frustration.  Okay, we're not really pleased with the actual reaction so much as the fact that he does respond that way 95% of the time.

Awwww, Calvin's parents are growing up.

We often flaunt the wonderful milestones that Calvin achieves, but rarely do we pat ourselves on the back.  Well, we think it's time that we got excited about something we did for once (hey, this blog used to be about us and only us), and tonight we are busy congratulating ourselves on finally moving Calvin into his own room.  Before he was born we'd said he would sleep in our room for a few weeks.  Then a few weeks became a few months, and we just kept adding months after that.  Every time we thought we were ready we changed our minds.  Well, Saturday night we finally did it.  We can't really say that we got brave, in all actuality once he started crawling and sitting himself up he could no longer safely sleep in the bassinet so the move was a few days overdue.  And, as with most fears of this type, once the move was done we felt much better.  Calvin had no trouble with the move at all, and this morning we were awakened an hour early by the sound of the spinner on the Aquarium crib toy - he had woken up early and was amusing himself!  He then fell back asleep and we all got up at 7 as usual. 

And the special today is....

We've had a special week filled with milestones and celebrations.  Monday's special was a birthday dinner at the Hillers' house.  Tuesday's special was Calvin's introduction to bananas, and to "chunks" of food.  Wednesday had several specials:  Cortney's birthday (the big 3-0 - shhhhhh);  Moose's birthday (the big 3-5, in human years, that is); Calvin learning to sit himself up; and, Calvin learning to truly crawl (Not on his tummy like in December, and not backwards like earlier this month, but forward while on hands and knees); Thursday's special was...well, Thursday actually wasn't special; but Friday?  Friday's special was (is) a celebratory work party with Jon's bosses and co-workers and Calvin's introduction to drinking water (which, by the way, he loves).  We think our downfall was Wednesday, when Calvin's friend, Liesl, came over to celebrate [Moose's] birthday and showed him how to crawl, but it was worth it because she brought with her Cortney's friends Becky and Julie who took her to lunch (a very courageous outing with three kids under the age of 14 months), and even brought a maize and blue cake, Spartans though they are.  This afternoon may have brought some reprieve, though, following a nice birthday lunch that Cortney and Calvin shared with friends Erinn and Leah, in the form of a book that doubles as a sort of play pen.  Yes, a book/play pen of sorts (thank you, Leah).  You'd have to see it to believe it so we took pictures.  It may not be sturdy enough to hold a determined child, it might be just the thing to deter a considering one.