9 Months

This past month Calin . . .

learned to stand up on his own, and cruise along furniture

got 3 more teeth in

stopped taking a paci {all on his own!}

started sitting up by himself

has been a little better at eating solids - still has a long way to go though!

started a new super cheesy smile - as if his other smile isn't cheesy enough :D

started "creeping" but still "crawls" most of the time {in motor development terms creeping is crawling, and crawling is army crawling - confused? me too, haha}

loves to play "simon says" games {copy things we do, or have us copy him}

Which leads me to this funny story:

We had ward conference yesterday at church. Each time the ward members would raise their arm to sustain church leaders, Calin would look around, then once everyone would put their arms down, and as soon as they said "Any opposed?" Calin would raise his right arm, smile, and look around at everyone. Every Time! It was so funny! I was hoping Jordan would look down from the stand and see it, but he never did. Everyone else in the ward did though :) haha

I take Calin in for his 9 month stats on Wednesday. So I'll post those later.

Cuddle Day

Since that last post, Calin has had two more teeth break through (his top two). And he has one more on top that is just starting to break through. These teeth haven't been bothering him much though. Thank goodness! I don't know what it was about that one tooth in particular last week, but he was not happy with it.

Here's a silly Calin face. That yellow thing he's holding is one of his FaVoriTe toys! That and a toothbrush :)


He has started doing this funny thing with his tongue. He constantly curls it like this . . .



Calin has been super cuddly today. Which is super rare for him! He usually has too much energy to cuddle. But that's all he's wanted to do today :) Because of that, these blog posts are about the only thing I've gotten done today (and it's 4pm!) hahaha
Maybe I should go put some makeup on before Jordan gets home :)

Snickers Salad

Jordan loves snickers salads. I finally made one a couple weeks ago. I searched through SO many different recipes (some call for pineapple, some for bananas, some yogurt, milk, marshmallows, red apples, etc). I finally just picked one and made it. YUM! It tastes like a caramel apple! And I Love caramel apples! I don't think I'll be changing recipes. We've already made it three times since then! So I decided it was 'Recipe Scrapbook' worthy :)

Allergies

Calin's voice started getting raspy a couple days ago. It seems to be getting worse, so today I took him to the doctor just in case.

He was great at the doctor's office, and he weighed in at 19 lbs! He'll go back in a couple weeks for his 9 month checkup.

When we got home, Calin had lots to say about what went on at the doctor's office

{ please excuse his not-so-polite boy moment }

The doctor checked his ears, throat, and chest/lungs. All seem great. So he said most likely it's just allergies. I'm glad he's not sick! He hasn't been sick yet, but I know that won't last forever. It has been super windy here in Rexburg lately, and the doctor said almost everyone has been feeling the effects. Jordan and I never thought it might be allergies since we've never had any. Hopefully it's not something that will last. And since that bottom tooth finally broke through, he's been a lot happier :)

Teething Pain

Calin has a tooth coming in that is giving him big problems.

Yesterday was a rough day. And it looks like today will be rough too.

Luckily he still gives an occasional smile in the midst of his painful cries. Sometimes I get lucky and he gives me a kiss too :)

{ Other Stuff }

This is one of Calin's favorite spots. I think it's about time we do something about all those cords back there!!

Calin might not look like he's enjoying himself here, but trust me, he loves having lunch with dad on campus!

What do you guys use to sooth your teething babies pain?

I've been using teething tablets and baby orajel, but neither seem to be doing the job. Since the Tylenol recall, I have yet to pick up a generic brand. I guess my little Cal will just have to endure it for a day or two more and stick to the chilled teething rings :)

Milestones

This week has been full of milestones for Calin

Sunday he learned how to sit up from his tummy

Yesterday he began pulling himself up on the furniture and slowly cruising along it

Yesterday he also began to crawl. He still likes to army crawl, but he has been throwing some real crawling in there with it now too

I didn't get one of him pulling himself up, but this one is pretty cute of him playing and giggling with Jordan

Spences' Play Date {Caution! Teething}

Sometimes it can be hard making friends in a married student ward here in Rexburg. And most of the time they move away TOO quickly! But I love when they come back to visit! Especially Jessie!

Jessie's staying in Idaho Falls for a couple weeks watching her brother's 4 kids. Plus she has her own little Spencer who is 9 months. 5 kids, by herself. Sounds a little crazy huh?! But I'm sure it's cake to her! She's that amazing!

Yesterday Calin and I drove down to visit them. Both Calin and Spence love watching videos of each other on the blogs, so it was fun to see them finally meet and play together. We tease that they must have for sure been friends in heaven :)

Jessie's nine year old neice said Spencer and Calin look alike. And though their physical features are very different, they seem to have very similar personalities and mannerisms. Maybe it's because they're only 3 weeks apart, but I don't think Calin has been around another baby that was so similar. They are both very active and playful, happy and super smiley, social and talkative. And they're both pretty chubby. Spence is about 4lbs heavier than my { little } Calin. They have always seemed to hit the same developmental milestones at the same time. And just like Calin, Spencer isn't much of a solids fan either.

They were both so content chewing on any toy they could find. Then they would trade. It was cute.

I love how they both have the same facial expressions, with their big blue eyes, in these pictures. Do you think they're teething or what?!

{the other baby, Jessie's nephew, is 6 months}

Calin loved the two girls! Becca (the one in the pic) loved giving Calin hugs, and every time she did Calin would smile so big!

Spencer is a tricky one to catch smiling on camera. He is SUPER smiley, just not for the camera. But I caught him a few times, and this one is my favorite!

We're planning on getting together again on Friday. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can get outside a bit :)

Mother's Day

{My First Mother's Day}

Calin woke us up at 7:30. I fed him, then went back to sleep for an hour while Calin and Jordan made me breakfast.

Jordan told Calin to wake me up at 8:30. And sure enough, right as it turned 8:30, Calin came crawling down the hall saying "Mom! Momma! Mom!" and woke me up Hahaha. (of course I know he didn't know what time it was, nor was he following orders, but it was still a funny coincidence)

Jordan made me buttermilk waffles, with buttermilk syrup :)

After breakfast I opened one of my gifts

Then saw a picture of my other gift - {it's on it's way}

I've wanted a kitchenaid for quite a while, but told Jordan NOT to get me one. I can't say I'm disappointed in him for not listening :) I can't wait for it to come!!

{if i ever learn how to make my grandma Valponi's famous straight-from-italy ravioi's, then i'm getting the ravioli attachment and making LOTS}

Calin also learned how to go from him tummy to sitting up by himself yesterday.

We would turn our back for a second, and he would be sitting up. The weird thing was we would never even see him "trying" We kept wondering how he was doing it, and would watch and wait for him to sit up, but no luck. So finally I said "Calin, will you show mommy how you sit up by yourself, please?" He looked up at me, smiled, and sat up. Haha haha. He's so obedient :)

I had a great mother's day. It was very relaxing. No cooking, no dishes, no cleaning. Just lots of love and kisses from my handsome husband and sweet little boy.

And for my wonderful mom:

I love You!

Texas Sheet Cake & Fruit Dip

I was surprised last that week was the first time I made this cake while married. And even more surprised that my Texan husband had never had it! What? haha

It is a delicious cake! And the fact that it can be done and ready to eat in about 30 minutes is even better!

The key is to frost it as soon as you take it out of the oven and let the frosting soak into the cake. Yummmm!

These are two of my favorite fruit dips. My old roommates used to make them all the time. The fruit goes fast when you have these dips, so make sure to have lots :)

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!