Heidi, Tyson, Calan & Evan

 

This month went so fast, it seems we’re on the express train to having a one-year-old. It’s really hard to believe that in just a few weeks, Calan will have his first birthday!

We didn’t see a lot of new milestones this month, but plenty of practicing “old” skills. The most significant advancement however came when we “stood” Calan up against the front of the couch and let go. It was a site to see this tiny guy staying up on his own two legs and feet without our help. He doesn’t seem to mind at all, as long as his bum is pressed against whatever surface can support him. In fact, he usually begins verbalizing in these moments. His grandpa termed it “orating”, and it became a treat for us to watch Calan orate after propping him up. His speeches are in his own language of course, but his accompanying hand gestures do help a little. Needless to say, this is one step closer to walking.
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Calan still doesn’t crawl as of his 11-month birthday, but sits up on his own, rolls, pivots, scoots, and gets around really easily. Over the last few weeks, we have turned a mobility corner – we can no longer just plop him down in a play area and dash away for a moment. He’s bound to be on the other side of room exploring an outlet or cord if we do. Even so, I think our transition to toddlerhood and the stage of constantly running after the baby, is going smoothly. Calan is very easy on his tired old parents:)

He’s also still “talking” up a storm. No words that we recognize, at least attached to their proper meaning, but LOTS of exploring sounds, syllables, and inflections. He’s also getting really silly and extra fun to play with:)

The big event of the month was our trip to Oregon to see Mommy’s parents. Aside from an airline snafu, things went really well. We didn’t do as much as we had planned while we were there, but instead spent a lot of nice, relaxing time at home with the grandparents, playing, barbecuing, enjoying the beautiful company, weather, and scenery. Mommy and Daddy (and Grandmother and Grandpa!!) planned and thought so much about the trip to make sure that Calan would be comfortable and stay on schedule, and he did great! The only thing we didn’t see coming was a sudden fear of the shower/bathtub. It started when we had to spend the night in San Francisco. Something about the shower/tub in the hotel room really scared him. It was so sad, but every time he took his bath after that, he became terrified. For his last bath in Oregon, though, we pulled out all the stops – filled up the tub with extra bubbles, had his toys and bath book, plus his favorite star playing songs, AND Mommy got in with him (Daddy also nearby), and we read and sang, and he overcame his fear:)

Speaking of “fear”, Calan also started to show some very mild stranger and separation anxiety on and just after his trip. It was fleeting and very mild, so we feel lucky. Otherwise, our little guy is a happily and easily social little man, always interested in meeting new faces, recognizing and flirting with familiar ones. 🙂

Well, it’s on to the final stretch of baby-hood. Little C is getting bigger and more grown-up every minute. See you next month!

 

We can’t believe how Calan is turning into a little boy before our eyes. One month ago, it seemed impossible to think of our little guy becoming mobile and talking. Now, he scoots like a pro, talks our ears off, and is sporting a trendy new hairdo, just the right kind of spiky 🙂  (see pics). It’s so amazing how many little leaps can happen all of a sudden!

The first two weeks of his tenth month were pretty “normal”. Then one day, almost exactly mid-month, Calan had a big day. He got to meet and play with his new nanny, Elisha. Maybe she inspired him, because the very same day, he began scooting and babbling (real syllables, mostly “da da”, no “mama” yet though). He warmed up to scooting over the next few days, as he perfected his frog-like push-pull maneuver, but the babbling/talking was like a light switch. It was so crazy to sit there and watch him talk that first day, almost like meeting our son all over again:) That afternoon after Tyson came home, we played and videoed his talking at bath time. To date, that was my favorite afternoon of parenthood:)

Scooting and talking were definitely the big events of the month, but Calan learned a couple of other new things too. Just this past week, he started turning the pages at reading time. This was really exciting! He seems to love “reading” more than ever, and most of the time turns the page at the right time. We have to lift the page slightly, but then he reaches across his body with his left hand, and turns it himself! And a couple of days after learning this trick, he finally started banging two objects together. I’m sure we’ll look back on this time fondly in the coming months. Right now his scooting and banging is new and really manageable, but soon . . . .

As for eating, Calan is still doing well. He’s not eating quite as much as last month, when it seemed impossible to feed him enough, but he’s eating more complex meals now, and really developing his palate with yummy seasonings like garlic, parsley, cilantro, cayenne, cumin, onion, olive oil, pepper, lemon. And on June 10th, he tried spaghetti for the first time, yum! Mommy made homemade sauce with tomatoes, steamed carrots, fresh garlic, parsley, basil, pepper, and of course olive oil. We added some of his homemade, seasoned, pureed beef (organic, local, grass-fed of course!) and served over whole wheat angel hair.

Socially, Calan had a fun month. We had a child-birth class reunion in the park, where he got to hang out with three other babies, and we got to swap stories and tips with the other Mommies and Daddies. Then over Memorial Day weekend, our friends Dan, Denise, and Luca came for a visit. The boys hadn’t seen each other since Christmas, so it was great to see how far they’ve come, and watch them play:) Then we went to a BBQ at the Guerra Senior’s house. Lots of yummy food and great! company for Mommy and Daddy, and Calan too. And all month long, Calan has had his Aunt Ginny and Uncle Brandyn around to play with, since they’ve been staying at our house. They move to Santa Monica soon, but we’re sure they’ll come back to visit and play some more!

It’s hard to believe that another month has flown, and that in two short months, Calan will have his first birthday. These days are so sweet, and we’re soaking them up, happy to watch him grow, but a little sad to know that this version of our son is leaving us (Mommy’s getting teary-eyed). We’ll try not to think about it too much, and just have fun, looking forward to all the adventures right around the corner . . .

Calan has officially made it to three-quarters of a year old. For the past month, he has continued to charm us with his little milestones. He started smiling when we put him down at naptime and bedtime, so there’s no more sneaking out, hoping he doesn’t realize we’re leaving. He is actually happy and contented, and falls asleep on his own:) And he’s shown great strides at actually sleeping too! He now takes just two long naps – good ones:) – instead of three shorter, and potentially challenging, naps. And to top it all off, he started truly sleeping through the night. Eleven or twelve hours almost every single night!! We don’t know what to do with ourselves we have so much free time;)

The past few weeks have brought several musical strides forward as well. Calan now reaches for the keyboard. He knows what it does, and he loves to play!! His “compositions” are becoming purposeful, emotional, and complex, even if they are a bit abstract and atonal. In addition to his skills at the piano, he has taken up singing. He has a high, pure soprano, with far more upper range and agility than his mama, as he demonstrated one Wednesday spent rehearsing for his debut as Queen of the Night. Still needs a little work on the intonation and rhythm, but otherwise, he’s pretty close. And, he is buzzing more than ever! He really is walking in his parents footsteps, preparing to be a singing, trumpet-playing pianist.

On the academic front, Calan is also showing great progress. He loves reading and now has several favorite books that he asks for by grunting, groaning, and reaching. Now, if only we could make some progress on saying words . . . might make the guesswork a little easier;) He also continues to study things intently when he plays quietly. We often watch him staring and poring over tiny details (a small flap in a blanket for example) or watching with great focus people talking or moving around him. He usually doesn’t show much expression in these moments, unless it’s a cat (Cole!) or a dog (Wyatt!). When he spots these critters, he lights up with a smile, rocks back and forth and reaches for his small friends.

Lastly, as you may know, Calan is a late bloomer in the mobility department (not that we’re complaining!), but he finally got up on all fours, and any day now, we expect some movement . . . or maybe not . . . the doc said this kid may go straight to walking. We’ll see what the next month brings . . .

5/12/11:

Height: 28 1/4″
Weight: 20 lbs. 14 oz.