- Gran and Grandpa come to visit (for Heidi’s 40th, Calan’s graduation and Evan’s 1st)
- Calan enjoys his last days of school for the year…and beyond?
- Calan goes to Sky High (trampoline park) for the first time
- Evan continues honing his physical skills and communicates more
- Uncle Joe comes over for a BBQ
- We celebrate Heidi’s 40th birthday
Calan
Whether Calan understood his pre-school stint was nearing it’s end or not, he showed no outward signs that he was sad or glad that May was winding down the school year and his pre-school career. He kept busy, participating in his second Trike-a-thon (a fundraiser for the school) and preparing for his first ever class presentation (a Q&A on the Humpback Whale). The presentation consisted of learning some key facts about the Humpback Whale, memorizing a few questions about where they live, what they eat, etc. and then asking the class to try and guess which animal he is. We’re not sure just how he did, just that he did it. School can feel so secretive sometimes.
We also continued our Tuesday carpool routine with his friend and our neighbor Josiah, giving him a ride home after Lunch Bunch. Calan really enjoyed the couple of times we ended up staying at Josiah’s house for more than two hours in the afternoon so he could play.
Despite pre-school winding down, Heidi ordered some pre-school level home-study books for Calan. He actually really got into starting some of the books – just simple-lish tasks with easy to follow directions for now, and with no pressure to do them. It’s kind of fun to see him read instructions and then follow the simple steps required to complete the little assignments.
We all know kids say funny things. This month Calan gave us a couple of memorable lines:
One was when we were picking up his room a little before bedtime and Heidi found his baby pillow “Bobo” and teddy bear he used to sleep with every night up until about a year ago. They were on the side of the bed, lost in the dark crevasse between the bed and wall. Just as Heidi pulled them free, Calan took notice and said, “I don’t sleep with those guys anymore.” Heidi asked, “Why not?” Calan replied, “Because I started to grow up.”
Another time this month was on Mother’s Day, as he was preparing to take a nap. Looking up at Heidi he said, “How about while I’m napping you run over to Trader Joe’s and get one bouquet of Mother’s Day flowers for yourself. Can you go do that?”
Evan
What stood out this month for Evan were the signs that he’s slowly becoming a person – not just a cute, helpless baby we take care of, but a guy who will soon be communicating more like we do. We noticed this fun development a few times during the past weeks.
- Several situations came up where he would make a small sound or put up a hand while playing, and when you made eye contact you realized he’s actually trying to get your attention (very calmly). These gestures sort of beckon you over so you can give him a hand. The needed assistance is usually straightforward, that he wanted to be stood up to walk with his walker or seated up on his alpha train riding toy.
- Another instance that stood out was on our play-date at Josiah’s house. Calan and Josiah were off playing, and Evan and Dada were hanging out in the living room with Josiah’s mom Erica. Erica had gone to get one of her 18-month old twins, Eli, up from his nap. Eli was a little out of sorts and chose to just sit quietly in Erica’s lap sucking away on his pacifier. Evan crawled over to their chair several times, and pulled himself up in front of Eli. He would just stand there, caressing Eli’s blankie with him, and begin sucking his thumb while Eli sucked on his pacifier. It was as if the two were taking a break from the hard day and sharing a drink together.
- One more to note was just after a nap. He’d awakened, and after a few minutes Dada went to get him. Since the room was dark Dada decided to rock in the chair for just a few seconds to let him wake up a little more and adjust to the brighter afternoon light before heading downstairs where Gran and Grandpa were playing with Calan. A few seconds after sitting down though, Evan looked out at the open door to his room, and started pointing with his hand, waving ever so slightly. He was simply saying “No, I’d actually like to go downstairs and play right now.” And sure enough, as soon as he got down into the action, his face beamed, and he went to full-on play mode. His eyes adjusted instantly. 😉
Speaking of pulling up to stand, Evan completely mastered that this month. He can pull himself up to just about anything (his walker, the couch, the wall, etc.). He can also stand longer after being propped up with his back against something. His crawling has also become more refined too, looking more like a regular baby crawl and not as much an Army crawl. He’s learning to come down the stairs on his own too, on his belly while being spotted. Going up is a breeze, as he crawls up the steps effortlessly. He’s a little more tentative going down, which we don’t mind. He’s getting used to it.
Evan’s become pretty speedy with his walker now too, although not steering yet. He especially liked “showing off” to his grandparents shortly after they arrived for their visit. He’d taken a break from the walker for a few days, but he talked Grandpa into following him around the house lap after lap to help him steer and spot him. It was clear he was proud of his abilities and wanted Grandpa to see it over and over.