To Calvin, who is two months old today

Your second month was equally as amazing as your first, if not more so. You have experienced many new things. In July you went on your first vacation when we took you to Harbor Springs and Petoskey, Michigan. Then in August we took you to Holland, Michigan, where you got your first feel of lake waves washing over your toes. Of course you also went to the Art Fair in Ann Arbor and enjoyed meeting lots of relatives on many occasions. These are just some of the things that we have been impatient to share with you since the day we knew about you, and there is so much more to come.
Your daily life continues to change, too. You've taught us a routine now: You start your mornings very early, playing with dad at the break of dawn; you spend your days with mom, eating, sleeping, and playing; in the evenings the three of us play together before we give you a bath and read you to sleep for the night. You always wake up at least once before morning, but usually go right back to sleep after eating. You continue to grow with a speed that awes us and you now weigh 12lbs, 10oz and are over 23 inches long. You are still a strong boy, able to push yourself forward and actually cover ground. We have to watch you every minute! Your mind is growing strong, too, and you have discovered many new things about yourself: You have begun to kick and swing at your toys in deliberate fashion; you will grab things that come into your path; perhaps the most amazing discovery to you is your voice, and the wonderful and loud new sounds it can make!
There is another side to growing, too, and though you are strong, healthy, and happy, you struggle with some discomforts that we are trying hard to name and fix. medicine has helped with the reflux disease that plagues you, and now we are trying to find the food in mom's diet that is causing you to be uncomfortable. Seeing you hurting and unhappy brings on terrible feelings of frustration and misery when we are unable to fix it, but we are trying so hard and, through it all, you are strong and brave and want to be a happy baby boy. You smile all the time and your giggling, gurgling, and cooing has an incredible way of making both your parents melt at any time, day or night. You are beautiful in every way.

Hey out there!

Watcha doin?

 

Calvin's trip to the big lake

Well, last weekend was Calvin's trip to the northern lands of relaxation, a.k.a. Cortney's childhood summer destination, and this week we bring you Calvin's trip to the western lands of beach fun, a.k.a. Jon's childhood summer destination on Lake Michigan in Holland.  On the way there we made a quick stop in Grand Rapids at our friend Sue's house - just long enough to feed the little man and get back on the road.  Then Calvin was a big hit at the cottage gathering in Holland, but was the cottage gathering a big hit with Calvin?  He really seemed to like the sand and the water.  Of course it's not like we threw him into the surf, but we did dangle his toes in the waves and press them into the waterlogged sand, an activity which really made Calvin go into deep thought mode.  But we figure that he enjoyed it because it triggered a 20 minute run of smiles and cooing that the whole family enjoyed - you can fool some of the people all of the time...
In any case, the day on the lake was enjoyable for all of us and there are lots of pictures in the "Calvin's ninth week album." 

Yes, he has grown

We often comment to each other about how big Calvin seems to be, but those comments take on real meaning when we do some side by side picture comparisons.

3 days versus 7 weeks, 5 days 

 
2 weeks, 1 day versus 8 weeks 

Growth spurts - several of them.

Well, Calvin is eight weeks old today.  According to our own measurements at home Calvin is hovering somewhere around 12 pounds and over 23 inches.  He is already in a size 2 diaper (our sadness at his outgrowing the newborn size is just a distant memory at this point) and is wearing mostly 3-6 month clothing.  Will someone please tell the kid that eight weeks is not the same as three months?  It's not even quite two months!  It is hard to remember that he was below average size when he came home eight weeks ago. 
In fact, today was the first time that Calvin was called "big."  Cortney was in the waiting room at her allergist's office today when another bored patient asked how old "the cute baby" was.  When Cortney replied that he was eight weeks old today (what mother doesn't enjoy attention being lavished on their baby?), the woman was awed that he was "such a big baby for his age" (insert gasp here).  Ever the proud mother, Cortney came back with the information that he was only 6 and half pounds when he came home, to which the offending woman replied "well he sure is fattening up, isn't he?  You'll want to slow him down a little..." (insert snottiness here - yes, snottiness).  Too proud to be daunted, Cortney happily informed the woman that a quickly growing baby is an indication of good milk, good environment, and good genes, but even with such reinforcement, Calvin pouted all afternoon.