Our big boy

Calvin is a good eater.  There isn't anything that we have given him that he has turned down: we tried asparagus, he loved it; beets, he enjoyed them; strong, fancy cheeses, he begged for more.  Yet tonight we thought maybe we would stump him by trying him out on artichoke.  Nope.  In fact, even though we gave it to him sans salt and butter, he loved it so much he laughed and reached for more, which is a lot for a kid who takes his eating so seriously.  And tonight marks the first night that he had a plate all his own that looked exactly like his parents' - curried pork, potato, and artichoke.  We did have some pureed zucchini and eggplant on hand just in case, and he ate those, too (we think he's growing, he's been a very big eater lately).

And we were so excited about his first time eating a big kid meal, and his love for his first taste of artichoke, that we decided it had to make it on the blog, and so it did.  But immediately after dinner he did something else that we would denote as blog-worthy.  Maybe it was the lack of pants tying down his legs, or the big kid dinner making him feel so old and capable, but whatever the reason, after dinner tonight he stopped crawling.  He's been alternating between walking and crawling for several weeks now, and he is by no means a good walker yet, but tonight he was determined to be a toddler instead of a cruiser, and the footage we got was just so darn funny, we thought we'd better share.  We hope it doesn't eclipse our artichoke story.

To Calvin, who is 11 months old today,

Unbelievable:  Almost a year has gone by since you were born!  And you have really made the most of your time here so far.   You started your eleventh month with only two teeth, but now have six, yes six!  There are four on top, and two on the bottom, making for a very adorable lopsided grin.  You also started the month taking a few steps here and there, but now you can walk clear across the room without assistance, and are able to stand straight up right in the middle of the floor - no more crawling over to tall objects to pull yourself up anymore!  This has given you a new sense of freedom, and the smile that decorates your face when you totter around the house is brilliant and endearing!  When we see you doing that we can't help but laugh ourselves.  In fact, we spend a lot more time laughing with you these days.  Your fine motor skills have also advanced and you now use your toys in the more intricate ways in which they were intended to be used.  We love watching you sort shapes, your face showing your deep concentration then breaking into a giggling smile as each of the shapes goes in, just to start over again.

But you aren't the only one learning:  your parents sure have come a long way in the past month, too.  Just a week ago we decided that we could embark on our first family vacation and we loaded up the car and headed to Holland, Michigan, to introduce you to the tulip festival there.  That trip taught us that you are a wonderfully well natured child and a miraculously good sleeper, and that the stuff we pack for you takes up way more space than the stuff we pack for ourselves!  A couple of weeks ago you spiked your first real fever - all the way up to 102.5 - and we were really scared, until a quick call reassured us that the doctors aren't really concerned until 105 degrees.  Yes, we still have a lot to learn about lightening up, but we are working on it, especially in the food department.  Before April you had tried chicken, several standard fruits and green veggies, and a few cereal grains.  Over the past month we have added pork and beef, several new fruits and veggies, and even new spices to your repertoire.  You especially loved the curried chicken, and  also seem to enjoy garlic and cinnamon.  You like flavor, and you like he eating.  You are just full of life and you bring great joy to our days.

Tulip Time!

Plagued by an overwhelming case of spring fever and the need to get out and do something, and faced with the generous offer by Jon's bosses to use their condo on the big lake, we found ourselves forced to go out of town this past weekend and take in the sights of Holland, Michigan's Tulip Time! festival.  Twist our arm, right?  This was the first time that just the three of us had traveled and we were a little worried about the logistics of the long drive with Calvin and getting him to sleep in a house that wasn't his own.  We shouldn't have been worried.  On the trip out, Thursday evening, he babbled for 40 minutes, cried for 20, then slept for 90.  And lucky for us, after we arrived and gave him a bath and a quick cuddle, he went right back to sleep and slept the whole night!  He napped and slept well while we were gone, and the trip home was much the same, minus the 20 minutes of crying!  It seems that he has his parents' penchant for traveling.

All three of us really seemed to love the break from the routine, too.  Friday was a beautiful weather day and we had a great time checking out the tulips and the tourist spots;  at Dutch Village Calvin was intrigued by the flowers, enthralled by the farm animals, and only slightly worried about the carousel;  back in town he was still intrigued by the flowers, tickled by the dancers, and confused by eating outside;  and back at the condo he loved the walk down to the beach, was curious about the sand, and thought the waves were funny.  Saturday was cloudy and a little chillier, but it was still a fine day and we spent it visiting the local food haunts, with breakfast at the Windmill restaurant (what a line!) and lunch at the 8th Street Grille, and laughing at more flowers and more fun animals to pet.  We finished our visit with one last tourist stop, this one to Veldheer Tulip Gardens with its rows and rows of tulips and acres and acres of bison, as well as a wooden shoe factory.  It was a wonderful weekend and we really have to hand it to Calvin.  We asked a lot of him this weekend, expecting him to sleep in a strange place, miss naps and still be good in restaurants and interact with lots of strangers and strange things, but he adapted to the situation without flaw and that made the whole trip very enjoyable and very worth while.  He was certainly our little angel the whole trip!

 And of course there are tons of pictures in the May4-11 photo album.

Strange friends

Yes, our cat and our son have a very strange relationship, and this video gives only a brief glimpse of it. And before start feeling sorry for the cat let us remind you that she clearly hangs around, even coming back for more. Besides, she has a room all to herself where she can get far away from his grabby little hands whenever she wants.

No girls allowed

It was a like a secret club weekend around here.  Cortney had an all day scrapbook cropping party on both Saturday and Sunday, which is like a secret club on its own, so Jon and Calvin got a healthy dose of a boys only weekend.  There was swimming, Taco Bell (for Jon, that is), swinging and sliding at the park, walks in the stroller, and general outdoor mischief.  Thankfully everyone has arrived at Monday morning all in one piece.