The Fastest Men in Mendon

Every year we always go to Mendon to participate in their fun celebration of the 24th of July.  It's become a tradition, and we always have a great time!

It all started the year before Craig left on his mission.  He showed up to run the 5k, and happened to win it, donning the title "The Fastest Man in Mendon" and bragging rights for a year, until the next race the next year.  After his mission, Craig wasn't even able to make it to the race that summer, but one of his best friends did, and took the title.  So since then, we have run the race (and the boys don't even win it anymore, they are beat by the high schoolers) every year, and it is something we look forward to.

This year, the race looked a little different for our family.

Craig ran with Calder, and he still did great!  I ran, and finished, which is all I was going for.  However, Calder did cross the finish line before Craig.  So I guess there are two fastest men in our family!

After breakfast, we go back and watch the parade and the Great Race.  The Great Race is a compilation of various tasks and contests, like a watermelon eating contest, log sawing, hammering a nail, and many others all piled into one Great Race.  Each ward in Mendon puts a team together to compete.  We root for the Mendon 2nd ward (Craig's family's ward) who ALWAYS wins.  Every year.  It is pretty funny, the other wards have started rumors that Mendon 2nd ward holds tryouts to be on their team.  Heh. 

Here are my boys watching the parade. :-)

We finish up the day by watching the fireworks that night.  I love the Mendon Fireworks.  They are short and sweet.  

Thanks Mendon for letting us come celebrate the 24th there every year!

Chartered Financial Analyst

On June 4th, Craig took the level one CFA Exam.  We got the results back today, and he passed!!  They don't give a score, but a summary of how he did in all the different areas, and he did so well in all of them!  I am so proud of him!  Of the people that took the test in June, only 39% passed.  Way to go Craig!!

4 Months

These are some things I want to remember about our little boy at 4 months:

• At his 4 month check-up, he weighed 15 lbs, 8 oz (75th percentile) and was 26 1/2 in. long (95th percentile).  He is such a tall little boy!
• Calder is becoming such a content little baby.  He smiles all the time, and laughs occasionally.  The first time we heard him laugh was once when Craig sneezed.  I guess he thought it was pretty funny.  His laugh is more like a little chuckle, it is super cute!  He hardly fusses at all anymore, unless we have been busy and his schedule has been off for a few days, or he is overly tired.

What a handsome little guy!

• He loves to stand all the time, especially in the bathtub (for some reason, this is so exciting to him.  He gets the proudest look on his face) and also on the bathroom counter in front of the mirror.  He gets so excited to see himself standing in the mirror!  It is adorable.
• Calder loves everything about his fingers, mouth, and tongue.  His latest favorite is sticking his thumb and pointer finger in his mouth and he grabs his tongue and plays with it.   It is pretty funny.  But he always has at least one finger in his mouth, sometimes two, or sometimes his whole fist.  If he can reach my arm or hands or Craig's arm or hands, he will grab it and try to eat it as well. 

Fingers are so tasty!

• He is such a good sleeper!  (Which is SO nice for me!  I can be such a better mom when I am well rested.)  He will sleep 9 - 10 hours at once during the night, wake up to eat, and then will sleep for another 2, sometimes 2 1/2.  The rest of the day, he will only take 40 min. naps, but he takes 3 of those usually.
• Calder is a talker!  He loves to coo and squeal, especially when he is finished eating, or when he is trying not to go to sleep.

Loving the grass

• He loves to go swimming!  There is a pool in our apartment complex, so we go "swimming" a couple times a week.  He prefers the pool to the lake though. When we went to the lake, the water was a little cold there, so he didn't think that was so fun.
• He gets so excited when we put him in the stroller to go for walks.  His favorite place to be is outside!  He loves to grab the grass with his toes and feet.

He loves his daddy!

• He loves to play sitting up now, whether it is propped up on the couch or in his little chair.
• I think he is really excited to eat real food.  Every time he sees me or Craig eat, he just has this jealous stare on his face.  We are going to try to give him rice cereal next week.  

So big!  He's the boss.

We love you, Calder! We have so much fun with you!

4th of July Goodness

I LOVE the 4th of July.  It is probably one of my favorite holidays, because it is filled with some of my favorite things!  Family, food, trips to the cabin to go boating, fireworks, warm weather, etc.  Not to mention we got engaged on July 4th 3 years ago!

I think Calder is already getting the hang of some things the 4th of July brings...

 Even if you aren't playing in the water, sleeping on the beach with Grandma is SO relaxing!

 And then sleeping with Dad afterward in the cabin is a must.  We wore ourselves out playing at the lake.

Followed by an evening watching the fireworks.  Calder loved chewing on his finger and watching them!

We had a great weekend!  We are so grateful for the opportunity we have to live here in the good ol' USA.