Some of Summer

Wow, it has been awhile!  Our air conditioner isn't working right now, and hasn't for a couple of days.  So while we wait for our landlord to get it fixed, Calder and I are hanging out at my parent's house during the day. So since I can't do any house work of my own during his nap, I figured I would get to work on this blog.   Prepare yourself for a long post that is mostly about Calder (surprise, surprise) and a little bit of what we've been up to.

Calder is 16 months old!  I can't believe he is getting old enough for me to soon start saying his age as "one and a half" or "two" instead of how many months he is.  He is learning so much every day, and is becoming so independent!

He can point to his head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, teeth, arms, legs, belly, feet, hands, toes, shirt, hat, shoes, socks, and pants.  (There are probably others that I am forgetting about, too.)

He doesn't say a whole lot of words, but he chatters all day long, and fully expects me (or anyone else around) to listen attentively and understand what he is saying.  And although he only says a few words (mommy, daddy, this, ball, waffle, maybe one or two others...) he is VERY good about nodding his head yes, or shaking his head no, and is really good about communicating what he wants, or if he likes something or not. 

Calder is still a little book worm.  Reading is one of his favorite things to do!  He will grab a book and then come weasel his way onto my lap so I can read it with him.  But he also loves to sit on the rocking chair in his room, lean over and pick a book, sit down and read it, then pick another one.  

 Calder would be outside all day if I let him!  Luckily, the yard area right outside our apartment is fairly shaded and there is quite a bit of space between all the buildings. So when it is too hot to go to the park (which it has been a lot lately) we just spend time outside at our apartment running around the grass areas, or we go to the pool (which we do a lot, too.)  

 Every time we go outside, he has to check our flowers that he helped to plant, and helps water every day. (I am sorry to say they definitely don't look this good anymore.  I think I have one plant living still, and it's on it's way out. Bummer)

 Some of Calder's favorite things to do is to play with bubbles (like the ones from dish soap) or just play in a sink full of water.  I have wised up since the picture below, and now just strip him down to his diaper so that his clothes don't get soaked.  (The bib was my first meager attempt at keeping him semi-dry.  It wasn't successful.)

 We went camping recently, and Calder was in heaven!  He loved running around with the other little girl that was there, playing in the dirt, and watching the campfire.  (Yes, it was awhile ago, before all the fires that are going on now.)

 We had a lot of fun and look forward to plenty of other camping trips this summer.

 We even were able to squeeze in a little hike.  It was gorgeous!

We even let Calder get down and hike a little.  He's a natural!  

I can't believe how big he is getting.  The other day, he made it very clear that he was done drinking from cups with lids.  And now he drinks from normal cups!  I still make sure he is sitting down, to make it a little easier for him, but he does such a good job!  He is so proud of himself!!

He has also started doing somersaults by himself, too!  And he not only walks, but practically runs everywhere, and turns in circles (to play ring around the roses by himself), and can walk backwards (which is probably my favorite to watch).

He surprises me with something else he's learned all the time.   The other day, he went to play in the kitchen, while I was in the living room.  He came running back to me and pointed to the kitchen.  So I followed him, and he pointed out a spider!  So I was able to kill and get rid of it. He is so observant and notices anything that is out of the ordinary.

I feel like he is teething all the time.  Poor kid.  He still only has 5 teeth, and at least 3 on the way.  They just have been on their way for a REALLY long time.  But he does really well eating pretty much everything we do.

I am so grateful that Calder is part of our family! We have so much fun with him, and he brings so much joy to our home!!