- Calan continues swimming…and excels
- Calan discovers some new books
- Yard project takes over (but Calan helps)
- Evan continues to eat and grow 😉
Calan
For Calan this month, and for the family at large really, we mainly focused on swimming…and well a small outdoor project we referred to as “the yard project.” Despite those two themes for the month, we still managed a few notable highlights.
Swimming Lessons:
Swimming was by far Calan’s most consistent activity for the month. It also propelled him from a semi-timid kid wearing a safety vest and mostly splashing around in the water to one with confidence and new abilities that could take him gliding from one end of the pool to the other. The transformation was fun to watch, and comes with a pretty nice feeling of accomplishment (at least for his parents).
He definitely showed his “good student” skills throughout the six weeks of lessons with Coach Lynn. He was always an attentive listener and followed Lynn’s instructions willingly with a no non-sense attitude. In fact, you could call Lynn the “Calan Whisperer” when it comes to the pool, since Calan responded so well to her firm but supportive orders. This was unlike any direction he was responding to when Mom or Dad gave him the tips Lynn wanted him to work on before lessons started. His listening skills with Lynn definitely paid off as he really surprised us with how well he did in the water even after the first couple of lessons. Lynn told us on the second lesson, “this is right where I want him.” She said, he’s confident and ready to really learn now, but obviously we have to watch him more as he ventures out in the water with a lot less fear.
So, from the end of June until the first week of August, Calan did 30 minutes of instruction four days a week. The first two weeks were at our pool, the next two at someone else’s house, then he finished up the last two back at our pool. Most of the weeks, he had he friend Jacob with him but he met a couple new friends too – namely Anthony and Jude. The other boys made big strides too, but Calan was the one that stuck out among the group. In fact, one week Lynn invited Calan to the more advanced class with some slightly older and more advanced kids. He handled it really well. All in all, it was one of the most positive and growth experiences we’ve seen with Calan in such a short amount of time, and we can’t wait to meet up with Lynn again next summer.
New Books:
On the reading front, Dada made an in the moment decision one night at reading time and grabbed the first book of the Harry Potter series. Calan was showing an interest, so why not? Well…as would be obvious to anyone who’s read the series there is definitely some content and themes in these books that are geared towards a more mature audience. Mama saved the day though by finishing up the first book with him, editing some of the facts and events as she went. Then, with a little research found two new book series at the library that Calan would surely get into. The Magic Tree House and Mr. Putter and Tabby book series were instant hits. They are just the right level for Calan for their stories, imagination and book length. In fact, we’ve learned that Calan is a lot like his mama where it becomes hard to put a book down that you’ve become all enraptured with…right at bedtime. 😉
Allergy Treatment:
On the allergy front, Calan started his SLIT treatments this month. He’s started off doing well with this, carefully taking the couple of necessary squirts under his tongue and holding it there in his “well” for a minute or more. He does this each morning at the same time, along with his nasal spray as we set out on our plan to tackle the less offensive enemies of his immune system. The SLIT will give him a dose of environmental allergens as a way to get his body to accept these better over time. Then, when it comes time to introduce peanuts, his system will be more ready.
“The Yard Project”
For the yard project, there were weeks of digging and digging and more digging, then weeks of hauling and installing and more hauling as grass and dirt was uplifted to make room for artificial grass and landscape rock. As this went on (Dada doing most of the labor), there wasn’t a week that Calan didn’t help out during a day or two.
Early on, he would help “dig holes” in the yard as we worked to remove dead grass, soil and old sprinklers. His favorite tools was Uncle Brandyn’s old rock pick from childhood we keep in the shed. When it was time, huge piles of sub-base materials for the artificial grass piled up high like small hills in the driveway. Then, a couple of large mounds of landscape rock were delivered. Calan was great at shoveling this stuff into his own little yellow sand bucket and transporting it to a place in the yard. By the time we got to the landscape rock (gravel), Calan had graduated to using his large, plastic sand shovel to scoop rocks into a mortar tub, then pushing it to the back yard on a four-wheeled dolly. “This is hard work”, he would often exclaim. Calan was especially good at placing the rocks one-by-one into the smaller areas where the rock was designated. Calan also liked going to the base of Conejo Mountain to gather small boulders used in the front yard and for the future waterfall. His favorite job though was testing out a patch of newly installed artificial grass, getting down on it and rolling all around to feel it’s soft and tingly texture. It gave Dada an extra incentive to finish each section, knowing the little guy would be the first to take it for a spin. After some finishing touches like adding a new hammock, a 60+’ zip line for Calan and moving the cantera fountain, we’re all glad “the yard project” is over.
Some notable quotes this month:
Curled up in window seat, reading one of his Magic Tree books, Calan released a loud and stinky fart. Then he said, “Did you know that toot toots tell you it’s almost time to go poo poo?”
One day in the kitchen:
Dada: “You need to finish your eggs and sausage please.”
Calan: “Well, I’m sorry Dada…sometimes you just don’t get what you want.” This last punchline being one of Mama’s go-to sayings when Calan is insistent on something he can’t have. 😉
Evan
Evan continues his slow n’ steady pace in development. We’ve spotted him taking a small step here and there (and maybe up to two), but in the end he plumps right back down on the floor without any concern that he could’ve kept going. This “looking like” he’s going to walk maneuver feels like a sure sign that more steps are just around the corner. The days of always carrying him around or watching him crawl from one place to another are certainly numbered.
When it comes to making sounds, we’ve noticed a few accidental syllables he’s recently put together that could pass for an attempt on a word, but we did get to hear him repeating the word “baby” after pointing to the “baby” character in the Mommy Loves Me book. He seemed to want to say what we were saying, and more than once, sounded out a “Be-be”. On the non-verbal side Evan went through a phase where he would flutter his tongue and hum during play time and even in moments where he was struggling against something. With his high-pitched baby tones fluttering across his lips, he sounded like some small animal from a magical place in the wilderness. We dubbed him our “small woodland creature” for a while.
Evan still loves to eat, there’s no doubt about that. Aside from trying new foods like blueberries and roasted veges (broccoli and cauliflower), Evan is migrating more to finger foods for his meals instead of us spoon feeding him everything. We’ve learned that when he’s done with something, say a banana, he simply picks up a piece, dangles it over the side of his tray and lets it drop to the floor. He’s completely unemotional as he does this. After it hits the floor, he eases his head over and peers down at the fallen parcel of food. That’s mama and dada’s cue to put the rest (if any) away!
This month, Evan also got in the pool more with Dada. He not only doesn’t mind the water, but he gets a big grin on his face as soon as his body submerges beneath the surface. We haven’t gone under with his head yet, but he seems to enjoy experimenting with what happens when he puts his mouth under. At any rate, I think Evan is one who will really like the water as he gets older.
Something Evan didn’t care for so much was his first dental visit this month. Despite Calan showing him how easy it is, Evan struggled a bit with the dentist handling his mouth and messing around inside. He got through it though and was instructed to begin brushing the little baby teeth he has so far.