"Happy Anniversary, Grandma & Grandpa!" From Calla :)

Above: Calla playing the piano with Grandma's help (notice Calla is naked and Teddy is wearing all her clothes)


Above: Calla preparing dinner with Grandpa's help. :)

"Vintage photo of the day" - This is Calla in May of last year. This is one of my favorite pictures of her because of her goofy but adorable expression!

TODAY Calla and I slept in a bit. She ate waffles for breakfast and watched Winnie the Pooh (which has quickly replaced "Mickey Mouse" as her favorite show...she only gets to watch one 25-minute episode a day but often points at the TV and says "pooh" when she wants to see more) while I got ready. Then we went to a friend's house to play with her two daughters, who are two and a half and 8 months. We also met another friend there who has a four and a half year old daughter and a son, Jake, who is only 3 months older than Calla. Calla enjoyed the girls but the highlight for her was most definitely all the toys! She was very, very, very busy the whole time we were there.

In fact she was so busy that after being there about two hours we sat down for lunch. The four and a half year old turned and said something to Calla and Calla responded (not sure what noise she made). The girl looked at me in shock and said, "She speaks!!!!" (As if Calla was a little puppy or something.) I guess Calla hadn't said anything until then! She does keep very quiet when she's busy playing.

There were a couple times when the older girls were laughing at something that Calla started laughing along (I guess to be polite).

I thought after such a busy morning that she would take a nice, long nap but it took forever for her to fall asleep (although she did fall asleep on her own in her crib) and she only slept an hour.

Tonight we had Uncle Stephen visit us for dinner and then to watch American Idol. Calla enjoyed messing around with Jonathan and him while I cooked dinner.

We did have a very sad moment tonight. Calla tripped on her Mickey Mouse toy and fell into the glass coffee table! I have been waiting for the day when she'd fall and bang her head on that table. She got a big gash over her right eye and a black and blue mark on her forehead. It was really horrible! She really cried, so we knew it was bad.

Jonathan got her ice and a fruit snack to help get her mind off of it. Once she polished off a couple pouches (I couldn't turn down a "more, please" from her with a big gash over her eye!), she became more interested in eating the ice than having it against her head. She seemed completely normal the rest of the evening though. She recovers well. I will have to post a photo of the wounds tomorrow.

Anyway, shout out to Grandma and Grandpa for their 53rd wedding anniversary! It's hard to believe it's been 3 years since the anniversary party we had for them over Christmastime when all the college kids were home. Wait...that was 2 years ago. Never mind, Happy 52nd wedding anniversary!

Below: Uncle Stephen "wearing" all of Calla's friends.

Below: Calla watching Idol from her new favorite hangout and feeding Uncle Stephen pretzels.

Below: Calla has rediscovered her youth. Here she is playing in the exersaucer.

Below: Calla decided she wanted to go in her swing a couple days ago and spends about 15 minutes in it a day...about 14 and a half minutes longer than she ever did as an infant! I like this picture because i love her little hand on her cheek!

Below: Calla showing off her coloring skills.

Below: Calla helping Mommy clean...I kept spraying the table with windex and she'd wipe it off - it kept her occupied for it least 15 minutes while I got dinner together (although she wasted a fair amount of windex and it least 10 paper towels).

Panties!

Above: Calla modeling her new pair of panties!

TODAY was very low-key. In other words, not much going on. The highlight of the day was probably a trip to Target to pick out panties for Calla. I guess there's not much potty-training going on in the life of children under the age of 2, because there were no available sizes under 2T. Fortunately, one brand seemed to run very small as 2T started for kids 20 lbs. and up (Calla is 20 lbs). As you can see from the photo, Calla has a bit of extra breathing room but it least the panties stay up! She had a very hard time deciding between Tinkerbell panties and Dora the Explorer so I convinced her to go with Tinkerbell since I have no idea who Dora is....Aunt Corinne, any details?

So, this evening, we spent some time sitting on the panty and wearing the panties around the house. Calla thought it was great fun to have daddy put her panties on and then to take them off again, and try on a different pair. It kept her occupied for a long time. Jonathan was certain that she would pee on him, but she didn't pee...it least, not in her potty and not in her panties.

Calla went to bed on her own in her crib for her nap...it only took about 45 minutes so I was confident that I would try the same thing at bedtime. An hour and a half later, I finally gave up and rocked her. She fell asleep within 2 minutes on the rocking chair. Maybe she just needed a cuddle. :)

Here's what Calla did for the 90 minutes she spent (in the dark) in her crib:
1. Took huge gulps of her water...at one point, she must have gulped too enthusiastically because she began a coughing fit. Which gave her the idea to spend about 5 minutes fake coughing very dramatically...I think she thought that would get a reaction out of me (it didn't).
2. Very seriously patted her pillow down over and over. I'm not sure why her pillow needed patting. It's not a feather pillow.
3. Arranged Teddy, KC and Baby in different sleeping positions. At times, she would throw one of them over the edge to me to hold, then in a few minutes ask for them back. She typically likes to have Baby on the pillow closest to her, which is odd considering Teddy and KC seem much more comfortable (they're stuffed animals, after all).
4. Requested songs...I only sang when she had her head on the pillow. Sometimes, she would check and lift her head up a little to see if I noticed. I'd stop mid-note, and she'd lay down again. Up. Then back down. She knows how to request "Bible" and "Deep" (for deep and wide) but I guess doesn't know the titles to the others, so I sing them without her asking specifically. I made up a lullaby, but made the mistake of including the names of her friends in the song. So then she kept saying, "cup, cup" for me to sing about her cup...then "phone" (she had an old cell phone in the crib with her).
5. Jonathan has recently started scratching her back if she lays nicely, so she spent some time scratching her friends' backs...I glanced over at one point and saw she was scratching her cup's "back."
6. Fake-cried. She'd stand up and pretend to cry. I knew it was fake because (a) there were no tears; and (b) when I'd say "Calla" she'd stop instantly.
7. Fiddle around with her lullaby-machine thingie. The batteries are running out, so some of the settings sounds horribly out of tune. She says "uh oh" when it sounds weird.
8. Call my name (mind you, I am on the rocker with my eyes closed). When I don't answer to "mommy" or "mom" after a few tries, she switches to "Car." I think she would probably use my full name if she knew it.

Anyway, at naptime she was able to transition from all these crib activities to falling asleep, but tonight she fake-cried herself into a tizzy. Perhaps she still needs some practice at this.

Enjoy the videos!


Below: Trimming her toenails.

Below: on the potty

Below: This one is for Mom and Aunt Kelly...wedding invitation idea. I know it's too late, but I thought you might want to see it.

Below: Calla trying to jump (sorry, I am on the phone with Grandma so you can hear half the conversation...towards the end of the video I say something about a dad to Grandma and then Calla thinks daddy's home...)

Snow Day (Sorta)

Above: Calla laughing at Mommy in the car.


Above: Calla's friends...from L to R....Teddy, Baby & KC. Here she is after tucking them in for the night. As you can see, I tucked her in too. :)


TODAY we woke up to a dusting of snow. The grass was still poking through, but snow at the end of March is just gross. Nonetheless, on our drive to church, I thought it might be fun to get out Calla's barely-used snowsuit and see her walk around in it. But by the end of church, it was all melted. Phew! It's supposed to get back up in the 50s this week so I am considering the snow a fluke. (Jonathan's parents, who live about an hour north, got 5 inches!)

Calla did well at Sunday school. Some of the helpers change from week to week, but the same short Hispanic couple "lead" the group (as much as you lead 18-month olds I guess) and Calla likes the man (forget his name). She started saying "no, no, no" when we walked into the church lobby (which I guess is a sign she's recongizing the place) and crying when we walked in the room, but as soon as I handed her (and Teddy) over to the little Hispanic man, she stopped. It's like she gave up. :)

When I picked her up, the man said that they had spent a lot of time playing with her friends...no, not the other children...her Teddy, Baby and KC. He said he even set them up next to her with their own graham crackers at snack time. And they also blew bubbles, which made her hesitant to leave. (The man actually put her coat and hat on and said bye, and she still wanted to stay with the bubbles.)

We went to this casual, kid-friendly place called "Danby Station" with a couple families from church. Calla decided she wanted to eat ketchup...plain. So I put some in a bowl and she grabbed her spoon and ate it least two tablespoons. It kept her occupied until the food came (she had some of Daddy's french toast and almost a whole strip of bacon!).

This afternoon was low-key...Calla took a nap. She snacked on a pickle. Later on, Opa came down for a visit. She pronounces "Opa" pretty clearly! It can sound a bit like "apple."

In other news, it took 2 hours to get Calla to sleep tonight. Sometimes, I just laugh. (She kept putting her blanket over her feet and saying, "Where'd they go?" and then ripping it off and saying, "There they are!") But sometimes, I picture myself in there with a newborn strapped into the baby bjourn and it's just not so funny.

Below: Before the bedtime that took 2 hours to happen. (2 hours in darkness...this was the wind-down time prior to the 2 hours!)

Below: She was on a roll with everyone's names! See if you can hear yours. :)

Calla goes bowling!

Above: After breakfast, Calla must have felt a chill because she insisted on putting on one of her winter coats. BUT she insisted on wearing it with the sleeves rolled up. :)

TODAY was a pretty typical Saturday until after Calla's nap, when we took her bowling for the first time. :) The "young marrieds" group from church went bowling at a nearby bowling alley in Wheaton, and everyone brought their kids. I didn't get any pictures because it was "cosmic" bowling which means it was dark and everyone's clothes glowed, but you can imagine that Calla had a great time. She had just woke up from her nap when we arrived, but it didn't take her long to embrace all the noise, odd smells, and bright-colored balls. In fact, about 45 minutes into our time there, she just got really silly! She kept throwing her head back and laughing loudly at who knows what.

Jonathan took Calla up to the lane to help "push" the ball down the alley. She loved it! Jonathan thought her favorite part might be "clapping" while the ball moved in slow motion down the alley. I was definitely sensing a prime "father/daughter" activity for years to come (I hate bowling).

After bowling, we went with friends to Red Robin. I've never been there with kids so I've noticed what a kid-friendly restaurant it is...they even gave Calla a pink balloon on our way out. She was very excited, and kept it on her wrist the rest of the evening.

Calla's new word...I mean, PHRASE...of the day: "thank you" (yay! i've been working on this for a long time...finally, at Red Robin, she randomly repeated it after Jonathan. now she officially has manners...she is pretty good at "please")

Calla's Top 5 "Distractions" She Likes to Use to Distract Mommy while Mommy is Putting Her Down for a Nap:

5. Begin naming my body parts..."nose," "eyes," "belly button," etc. while pointing to them
4. Lately, she likes to keep her toothbrush on hand so for the past couple days during naptime she tries to brush my teeth.
3. Yell out random things such as "Hey!" or "Mommy!" or "KC!"
2. Repeatably puts KC, Baby, and Teddy "to sleep" (this is when she's in the crib...she picks them up, lays them on the pillow, puts the blanket over them, repeat)
1. Kisses! She knows I can't resist them...she giggles and kisses me in odd places like my nose and chin.

Hope you all are having a good weekend!

p.s. Mimi ~ We might get a chance to use Calla's snowsuit...YUCK!!!...we're supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow tonight for some random reason.

Below: Calla with her balloon!



Below: Balloons make her smile!


Below: Watching basketball with Daddy on her potty. After a while, I took off her diaper and she sat there for about 5 minutes while I entertained her with puzzles. She decided she wanted to get off, I put on a diaper, and...not kidding...5 minutes later she pooed in her pants and it leaked EVERYWHERE! I was so bummed she missed her potty by 5 minutes!

Below: She didn't eat a lot at Red Robin, so after her big boo I served her some waffles! She loves waffles and usually eats 3/4 to a whole one. Tonight she ate a half of one. She likes extra syrup. :)

Below: Calla's Valentine's day card from Mimi & Pop...the gift that keeps on giving!

Below: Calla's puzzle skills.

Below: Calla being weird!

Below: Calla keeps wanting me to take pictures of "Teddy" (she says cheese!)

TODAY Calla began two obsessions: hair bows and rocking chairs. She asked for her hair bows from Aunt Corinne when she first woke up, and spent the better part of the morning putting bows on Teddy, Baby and KC...and Mommy. She also tried maintaining four of the bows in her hair, but as you can imagine that's a challenge.

She also became very attached to her rocking chair (picture above). She sat on it to watch Winnie the Pooh, she drug it in the bathroom every time I used the bathroom (we bring her in to show her how it's done), she sat it down in her room while I read her books, and cried and cried when I took her off of it to take her nap. (I guess I could have just set it in the crib, but that seemed like a safety hazard.)

In other news, I went to the doctor for Baby #2 and found out that "Kelly's wedding" is a great reason to be induced! Yay! In other words, the doctor will enduce for "personal reasons" as long as my request is after I've been pregnant 39 weeks and the baby looks healthy. This doctor's office does 30-week ultrasounds, which will give them another chance to make sure the baby looks 'average.' :) So....any requests? My due date is June 11th, but any special requests for the dates right before or right after? Haha.

Tonight Calla got to hang with her "friend" Norah (my friend Jenny's daughter) and Norah's baby brother who is about 6 months. The baby boy had a jumper thing that hung in the doorway like I know Mom and Dad used to have for us. I never got one for Calla, but apparently she loves it! Since she weighs about the same as the 6-month old, Jenny invited Calla to give it a try. Her legs were a little long, but she sat in it for a while. Every so often she would call for me to come over and look at her in it. :)

At about 7, Jenny took the baby upstairs to put him to bed and invited Calla to come with her. Calla stood in his room while Jenny shut the shades, started the lullaby machine thingie, and cuddled and kissed him goodnight. For some reason, Calla started crying when we all said goodnight and started to leave the baby's room! Maybe she doesn't realize that some babies go to sleep right in their cribs! She got really upset for some reason. I tried distracting her, but she kept crying, "Baby, baby." It was so cute!

New word of the day: Bob (there is a dog in one of her books named Bob and she enjoyed saying it throughout the day)

Below: Calla pronouncing her lunch food.

Below: An old video, from Tuesday, of Calla acting silly.

Below: a video from Tuesday night...

Below: This is an "oldie but goodie" from New Year's Eve of Josh and Kelly...Calla LOVES this video. It's only a couple seconds long, but she asks me to play it over and over. And, Aunt Kelly, the first time she saw it she definitely picked out you before Uncle Josh! p.s. Guess who's laughing in the background??

Calla's Big Breakthrough

Above: Who doesn't feel like a pickle at 9:00 at night? Calla's bedtime snack. :)

TODAY started again with the potty. Calla was content sitting there for about 2 minutes before she insisted on pulling her pants up. I didn't argue when I saw her little goosebumps up and down her legs. Who wants to sit in the living room without pants on? She announced later in the morning that she was going to boo and assumed her squatting position, but when I offered her the potty she said politely, "no." I resolved that tomorrow I will just matter-of-factly sweep the potty right under her little bottom, and not act like it's a matter of choice.

With the potty-training not going so hot, I decided to try something Aunt Corinne and I have attempted for...oh 18 and a half months! I thought I'd give it a go putting Calla to sleep in her own crib. That's right, folks, no outside assistance. When it comes to sleep, I have mastered putting Calla to sleep with pacing, bouncing in the dark, long walks in the stroller, carrying her around in the infant seat, driving her in the car, laying beside her and saying "shhh" in her ear, and - most recently - by way of rocking. I can't say I mind rocking her to sleep. It doesn't require any physical exertion on my side, and there's something sweet about feeling her tiny body get all limp in my arms. But my growing belly is making comfortable rocking positions harder for Calla to find, and I have this nagging image of me rocking Calla to sleep while holding an infant and it's not really coming together for me.

So, today I spent an hour and fifteen minutes waiting patiently for Calla to fall asleep in her crib. She started off by putting Teddy, KC and Baby to sleep. Then she proceeded to lay down and play with two slices of ham for a long time (don't ask), then she asked for her robe. A little while later she got interested in her bracelet, and eventually she lay there and stared into space for...well, like 30 minutes, before finally falling asleep. (Every ten minutes, when her lullaby player would stop, she'd pop up to push the "replay" button.) Corinne, I wish you were there to share in my victory dance! Unfortunately, tonight didn't go as well in the dark so I am going to try again at naptime tomorrow. Stay tuned!

New word of the day: "Oh!"
Favorite snacks right now: cheese, pretzels & pickles


Above: Okay, somehow tonight my pictures are chronologically backwards. So this is one from about 9pm tonight when Calla was talking to Mimi on the phone. She is watching herself talk (or listen, rather) in the microwave! Jonathan got this step-stool for me so I can reach the upper cabinets in my kitchen, and ever since I got out the waffle maker this morning Calla has been obsessed with climbing up it.


Above: THANK YOU Aunt Corinne for the beautiful hair bows! Calla's hair must have grown in the past month, because when you first sent us these for Valentine's Day they fell right out. But, as you can see, they sit rather nicely now! (As long as she doesn't shake her head too much.) Calla didn't want them in at first, but I modeled them first and she couldn't resist.

Above: Front shot of the bows. :)

Above: Calla in bed...falling asleep all by herself! KC and Baby are to her right, and Teddy, her robe and her bracelet are to her left. Plus, if you look closely, you may be able to spot the two slices of ham on her pillow!

Above: This morning I gave Calla a "horsey-ride" on my leg and she decided to take turns giving her friends rides! She really got a hoot out of it. They didn't seem real affected.

Above: Calla's favorite spot - the step stool.

Below: Calla in her "office."

Below: I tried getting Calla to say some words today.

Below: Last night Calla got an amusement-park worthy ride from Daddy. She was probably overtired! Today, he offered her the ride but she wasn't interested. (Baby got one instead.)

Calla begins potty training!

TODAY was Calla's official start to potty training! Yes, she's tasted a little bit of success on the potty at the early-Easter celebration at Mimi's when Aunt Rin rushed her over mid-boo, but today I decided to start in earnest. Well, or just to start.

So...today's goal was to get her to sit on the potty without her pants on. This is actually a bigger challenge then you'd think. She definitely understands the idea of the potty - she is often taking Teddy or Baby or KC over there "to boo," but Calla gets a little uneasy when it's time for her to lose her pants.

This morning we started with just a couple minutes of sitting on the potty, as you can see in the picture. She kept occupied by playing with the snaps on this pair of pajamas. She's been really into trying to put the snaps together. She especially likes to get serious about it when I am trying to read her books or put her to sleep.

After the potty training initation, Calla and I went to the grocery store. Once again, she didn't want to leave the shopping cart with the car on the front. She howled in the parking lot and strangers looked at me strangely.

The highlight of the afternoon was receiving her "Calla Book" (we call it) from Mimi. Mimi put together a book of photos just like the book of Kelly and Josh that Calla loved so much. (Did that ever turn up by the way??!??) She really enjoyed it multiple times, and even shared the viewing with some of her closest friends (Baby, KC, and Teddy).

This evening, I attempted to give Calla a bath. Ever since we moved, Calla has hated baths. Note to future parents: don't take baths with your babies without ever giving them a chance to bathe ALONE. She seems to think it's really unusual that I would want her to go in the tub without me. Which, I guess, would be unusual for her! So Monday evening, her bathtime was pretty much a disaster and she screamed the whole time and I ended up just giving her a sponge bath NEXT to the tub while she leaned over the edge and played with her toys in the water.

So, tonight, Jonathan and I were prepared for the complaining to start but after playing with the toys next to the tub for a couple minutes I went ahead and put her in. She acted completely normal. I think she forgot to complain! In fact, she felt so comfortable about it that she even let some boo out. (By the way, "boo" is "poo.")

Mom told me once when I was little that I booed in the tub and then proceeded to hand it to her. Calla was not going near her boo, let me tell you. She looked down in horror and said "Boo boo!" Actually, right before she booed she also warned me by saying, "Boo boo." But she had actually just recently booed so I didn't take her seriously. Word to the wise: never ignore a "boo" alarm.

Anyway, I acted like babies boo all the time because I didn't want to alarm her. I quickly got her out of the tub and she watched with great interest as Jonathan and I drained the tub and rescued her boo-contaminated toys. Calla waited patiently as Jonathan fished out the boo and flushed it down the potty ("bye-bye, boo" she said), I scrubbed the tub and cleaned all her toys. Then I filled up the tub and she got in again like a pro. She was still saying "bye bye boo" tonight while I was trying to put her to bed. We'll see if she remembers next bathtime!

Word of the Day: Calla learned "turtle." She also repeated Jonathan when he said "hysterical," but has yet to use it in context of a phrase. :)


Above: After sitting on her potty for 2 minutes tops, Calla decided it was Teddy's turn. He was on the potty for like 4 hours today.


Above: I acted really interested (at first) at watching Teddy "pee" on the potty that Calla decided she and KC should watch too.

Above: Giving "baby" a front-row seat.

Above: After breakfast, Calla insisted on standing in this odd position for a while.

Below: POTTY TIME!


Below: Acting silly during AI tonight!

Below: BORING ALERT! These next 3 videos are dedicated to Mimi. They are Calla's initial reactions to the book. I wish I had waited and taken videos of her later, because she had just woken up when we looked at the book AND she gets more excited and has more reactions (people's names, etc) the more she reads it. :)

Below: Boo boos in the tub!

Below: After the boo (still talking about it).

Another Tuesday without Mimi :(

Above: Daddy decided to lay down after dinner and Calla thought it'd be fun to join him! She is smiling big bc I told her to show me her teeth. :)

TODAY Calla and I went over to a friend's for a playdate. It is a lot of fun watching Calla interact with other kids. Four of the kids were older (almost 3) and two much younger (6 months), so she mostly followed the older kids around. She enjoyed the "new" toys to play with, and especially the dollhouse! It was a huge dollhouse (taller than her) and at one point Calla put her foot on the stairway of the dollhouse, pretending to "go up the stairs." She is funny! I got the joke, even though the kids didn't seem to. :) The kids seemed confused about Calla keeping her winter hat on while we were there (it was in the 60s today), but Calla insisted. One child took it off and put it on her diaper bag; another girl took it off and gave it to me. I think they thought they were doing her a favor. She definitely didn't appreciate it!

Calla is definitely doing a lot of imitating. Some words that I said that she found worth repeating today: Bob, new, pinky, Norah, Bumbo (a new favorite!...that's the little blue seat she has), bouncer, blue....

Tonight we were trying out some baby name ideas by having Calla repeat them. Then Jonathan and I asked her to say our names. Each time we told her to say Jonathan, she'd say, "Daddy!" When we told her to say, "Carly," she'd say, "Car."

We are researching different double-stroller ideas for when Baby #2 comes, so we went to this store called Buy, Buy Baby which is just like a Babies R'Us. Calla had a lot of fun there...her favorite part was probably a really tall wall full of hundreds of sippy cups. Her eyes got so wide! Fortunately, the wall of cups was so overwhelming that she never got to pinpoint which one she wanted!

p.s. Calla is wearing a very cute outfit, but decided to mix it up with the brown and pink pajama separate. She's always thinking!

Below: Here's Calla trying out some booster seats. As you can see from the price tag, we decided to keep looking for something more economical!



Below: A "little tikes" sample car that Daddy drove Calla around in all over the store. She LOVED it!


Below: This video actually is from last night. A telemarker called and once Jonathan hung up with them, Calla decided to take the phone over to the frig so you all could get a chance to talk!

Below: I know your church choirs may be just warming up for the Easter services, but Calla and I have moved ahead to Christmas preparations. Here she is with a rendition of "Away in a Manger."

A Case of the Mondays

Above: Calla recently has enjoyed watching "Winnie the Pooh" and today I noticed she decided to let "KC" and "Baby" in on it too. :)

Today was a pretty ho-hum day for Calla and I. We took a trip to Target for some Ant Killer (yuck) and ended up getting her a big-girl plate so she isn't always eating right off the table. She seemed very pleased with it.

Tonight she decided to start potty-training herself since I wasn't showing enough initiative. Jonathan called for her at one point in the evening since it seemed very quiet back in her toy room, and he found her sitting on her seat - in the dark - saying "boo boo." The next four or five times she did this (he turned the light on), she'd declare "boo boo" to us and run back to her potty. Then she'd proceed to call one of our names until we came and applauded. We each tried actually taking off her pants and diaper so she could feel free to actually "boo boo" in the potty, but she didn't like that idea. Seemed immodest, maybe.

Hope you all had a good start to your week!

Below: Calla hanging out with her friends (they usually just flop around on the floor).


Below: Wearing Mommy's sunglasses. (She put these on.)

Below: "Horse" taking a turn on the potty.

Below: Eating dinner with her big-girl plate!


Below: B-I-B-L-E!

Below: I don't think this video is working for some reason.

Sunny Sunday

"Vintage Photo of the Day" - This is Calla less than an hour old. I love this photo because I love how big and alert her eyes look. Hearing about my cousin Adrienne's baby today made me excited for the newborn stage again!!

TODAY was Calla's second time at church. She cried more (it started as we headed down the church hallway) but once I dropped her off she stopped after about 30 seconds. The lady in the nursery said when we picked her up that she insisted on wearing her coat again! Which was a shame since nobody got to see her pretty pink dress. :)

For lunch we went to a couple's house who have twins, Kyle and Ellie. They weren't the main attraction though, because the couple also has a yellow lab. Calla enjoyed showing their dog all her things ("baby," "teddy," she'd introduce and hold the stuffed animals in the dog's face) and calling the dog "KC!" She also liked playing with the "big kids' toys" (the twins are over a year older than Calla). She really liked sitting at their little tikes' table. For lunch, Calla enjoyed some strawberries, grilled cheese, a couple bites of hotdog, and some Wheat Thins (reduced fat).

After her nap, Jonathan and I took her to the park because the weather was so nice...high of 65! Which, on paper, doesn't sound very warm but somehow in March it feels like nice jacket weather. At the park there are 3 separate jungle gym things - one for tots, one for older kids, and a really tall one for elementary kids. Calla thumbed her nose up at the tots' one (the slides are pretty lame) right away, and halfway through our time there grew tired of the "medium-grade" one and went straight for the tall one. Fortunately, Jonathan was there to carry her up the tall steps and went down the really high slides with her. I am afraid to take her back to the park because there is no way I'm going up that high with her!

Hope you all are doing well! Thanks for your comments...Calla and I enjoy reading them. Besides watching the Wiggles on YouTube, this blog is by far her favorite website. She likes looking at the videos and saying, "Cal-Cal!"

New word for the day: "Blue"
Career choice for the day: "doctor" - today I was talking to a friend and Calla overheard them say "doctor" and kept repeating it. Now we can tell everyone when she has her P.h. D. that she was interested in being a doctor at 18 months!

Below: Uncle Stephen bought some very expensive gifts from the dollar store (!) and dropped by to treat Calla....she is modeling her Easter ears.

Below: Calla digs in Uncle Stephen's gift bags asking "More!"

Below: Uncle Stephen pretends that Calla is the "more" gift!

Below: Yesterday, when our company was over they had their baby boy in the bouncer seat so today Calla decided to take a turn. I told her the bouncer was for babies...

Below: ...so she went and fetched her Baby to sit in the bouncer seat!

Below: Then Calla decided to give Baby a chance in the activity center. :)

Below: Calla's favorite spot to watch and see if the "kids" (neighbors) or "KC" (their dog) are out playing.

Below: Calla eating dinner in the Bumbo. She is smiling so nicely because I asked her to "show me your teeth."

Below: Calla in her Bumbo...she got this idea from our company's baby sitting in it at dinner! It seems babies give Calla lots of ideas!

Below: All day Calla said "blue cup" and then when I tried to capture it on video, she acted like she had no idea what I was talking about!!!!

Below: Time for bed! She is modeling her "princess" pajamas from Matt & Sarah Halulko.

Below: Okay, NOW's it's time for bed. It might just be because it's really late right now, but Calla really got my funny bone in this one....she kept giving me things she wanted to "hear" the story. (By the way, this book is composed of all 10 verses of "eensy weensy spider"...i bet you all thought there was only one.)

Calla learns to brush her teeth!

Above: Calla and Daddy went and got her a toothbrush today! She was very excited about it. She kept it with her at all times. She fell asleep at naptime with it and then when she woke up went through all her covers and pillow in her crib saying, "Where'd it go??" (Jonathan had put it back in the bathroom.) And, at bedtime, she remembered she wanted it again. We better hide it before church tomorrow!

Today Calla had a "fun day with daddy" while I cleaned and got ready for company tonight. They went to the grocery store where she got to ride in the special grocery cart (with the car) again. (She cried when they left.) Then Daddy fed her lunch and put her down for her nap. And then they went to the park and played outside.

Tonight we had friends of ours over who have a 2-year old and 5-month old. The 5-month old weighs only a pound less than Calla, but she was not easily fooled. She still referred to him as "baby." The baby also gave Calla a newfound interest in her Bumbo seat. After he sat in it to eat his oatmeal, she requested to eat her dinner in it. :)

Calla did pretty well at sharing her toys with Norah, the 2-year old. They played with Calla's kitchen very nicely together.

Below: Calla's toys are all put away in anticipation of our company so she made good use of chapstick...

Calla's Busy Day

"Vintage Picture of the Day" - this is Calla at 6 months. I think she looks beautiful. :) She is wearing an outfit she got from Aunt Kimberly if I remember correctly! The headband went with a coat she got from Mema.

TODAY Calla had a busy day helping me clean. She started by helping me with the laundry...she does well with simple instructions. She managed to stuff all the dirty laundry into the dryer (I had to cut her some slack as she can't reach the washer). She gets nervous when the washer turns on though...after it started getting loud she changed her mind and started moving all the dirty piles of clothes from one side of the room to the other in lieu of making a trip into the laundry room.

She helped clean the bathroom...well, sorta. You can check out how she helped in the video below.

Then she gave me another reason to vacuum by spilling goldfish all over the floor and then walking on them. Thoughtful.

Tonight Calla, Daddy and I went to Mema and Opa's house for dinner. The highlight of the night was definitely Maverick, who Calla insisted on calling KC. Maverick took it all in stride. Maverick is more entertaining to Calla than TV, or any toy for that matter. She kept telling him to speak but he has such good manners he usually didn't oblige.

The trip up to Mema and Opa's was probably Calla's longest car ride with just Mommy. We drove to Arlington Heights (took 30 minutes) to meet up with Jonathan, who entertained Calla in the backseat for the next 30 minutes up to Mema and Opa's. I think it helped that she had a short nap today because she seemed more willing to sit in a seat. Plus, there was plenty for her to see. On the way up, we sang songs. She got a lot of pleasure out of singing "Running over, my cup is full and running over" since she actually had her cup in hand to use as a prop.

I also pointed out cars and trucks, and then on the way home we passed a truck and she said, "Truck!" I was so impressed.

She also said "tree" today which was a first (without prompting). And this week she began saying "Done" when she wants down from the high chair. Calla also says "peas" for "please" (two words in one!) but has never attempted "thank you." We'll keep trying.

Below are some photos of the house. I realized if I wait until the rooms are done then perhaps they'll never be photos!

Below: master bedroom. I still need to hang pictures, and find a towel storage thing for the pile of towels that are sitting to the right of my dresser. You may notice two doors on the right...the one furthest away is to the bathroom and the one closest is to the laundry room. There is a door to the left right which is the closet...the smallest closet Jonathan and I have ever had to share! It is not condusive at all to being in a hurry...I've learned that when you live in small spaces, you have to have plenty of time to get ready because you're forced to store things more.


Below: "baby's room" which is now Calla's room. I bought those two little ledges from Kohl's. As you can see, there are pink blocks on one of them but Calla doesn't like them there for some reason. In this picture she is about to tell me to take them down. I don't know why it bothers her!



Below: Baby/Calla's room again. As you can see, I still have to hang photos. Her closet is stuffed to the gills. There is a space heater which helps keep her cozy. Katelyn may take notice that I am using her leftover "C" from the wedding! Much appreciated!

Below: Corner of Calla's room.

Below: This room is the least finished in the house, as you can see. I'm still not sure how to organize the furniture, so I have to take some time to measure everything. This will be Calla's room once the baby comes. The white box there on the night stand are frames waiting to be hung.

Below: Other side of Calla's room. This one is about the same size as the Baby's room. The closet is the same size. There are two windows though, which makes the furniture placement a little tricker. The twin size bed seems way too old for Calla! If worse comes to worse and I can't fit everything, I may move the chair here out to my bedroom to help with space.

Below: Calla playing on the stairs...listen carefully, at the end she says "please!"

Below: Calla helping Mommy clean the bathroom this morning!