Santa Claus

Yesterday we finally made our visit to Santa Claus. He was visiting Canada, so we thought we would go so Calvin could tell him what he wanted. Even though Aiden wasn't feeling well, both him & Calvin did a wonderful job. Calvin told Santa that he wanted hockey sticks for Christmas. This was after he kept telling us that he wanted apples.

Hope everyone has a safe & Merry Christmas!!

Calvin's Mug Shot

So, I'm talking to a friend on the phone this evening while Calvin is eating his dinner and look up only to see him looking a complete mess! Then it occurred to me that I should take a picture. After taking the picture it struck me that my son looked a bit like Nick Nolte after a rough night! Anyone else see the resemblance?

Snow Day

We have been pumping Calvin up about the snow for when we go to Canada for Christmas and he got a little taste on Friday. Below is the best picture we got of Calvin & Aiden. Aiden didn't really know what to do, so he just kinda sat there.

They Grow Up So Fast!

Everyone always tells you that your kids grow up so fast and I now find myself saying the same thing. I swear that the next time I blink, the boys will be in college. Aiden is almost 9-months old and needs a lot of attention. I don't remember Calvin going through this stage... I think he was a lot more independent than Aiden. Someone always has to be in sight... ALWAYS! He is starting to have major separation anxiety... guess he's at that age. He is crawling at lightening speed and cruising all around. He absolutely adores his big brother and wants to do everything that he does. Tonight as I was getting them ready for bed, I was singing with Aiden and doing some motions with his arms and Calvin said "me too, mommy", so I did the same with him. Calvin loved it and was laughing histerically, at which time Aiden started laughing histerically also. It was one of the happiest times I have seen them together. Don't get me wrong... the sibling rivalry has already begun. My parents always used to tell me "one day your brother will be bigger than you"... wow, how that was true!

Calvin is now our "big boy". He has moved up to the Pre-School 1 class and is back with his original classmates. He is the youngest in the class, which is sometimes a challenge for him. He has become much more independent (when he wants to be) and that is often frustrating for me. We took the pacifier away a few weeks ago and he has done very well with the transition. The first night it took him about 2 hours to fall asleep and he woke up once during the night, but after that he was okay. Thank goodness we're done with that germ-infested, stinky thing!

Calvin is about 75% of the way potty-trained. I'm so proud of him and almost cried last week when the teacher said "we're ready to start trying underwear if you are." How can my baby already be ready for underwear?!?! So, that evening we loaded up the car and headed to Target to buy Calvin some "big boy undies." He chose some Spiderman & friends, Thomas the Train, and Elmo ones and the first morning he put them on came running downstairs to proclaim "Look mommy, I wearing big boy undies!!!!" He now tells me that they are not "undies", but are rather "underwear"... sorry, buddy! We are so proud of our big boy and can't believe the accomplishments he has made already.

We have been talking to Calvin about Christmas and that we're going to Canada to play in the snow. He is so funny because when we ask who we are going to see his first response is Mark (Ashley's boyfriend). Guess he really made an impression on him! We just bought him some snow boots and some gloves so we can play outside in the snow. It "snowed" (I'll use that word loosely) yesterday and he was so excited... hopefully he'll like the snow more this year.

Calvin after eating his chocolate doughnut

Playing in the tub... with his "are we done yet?!" smile

Playing in the tub... one of his favorite things to do!

Our little plumber

Would you want this kid to be your doctor?

Pumpkin Patch & 6 (sort of) Month Pictures

We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday with Aiden and Grumpy. Since Calvin was not in a good mood, we weren't able to get many pictures of him. We did get some pumpkins, though, which was the reason we went.

Later that evening, we went to the Predators game. Calvin had so much fun and when the Predators scored, he would jump out of his chair and start clapping. He got a bunch of high fives from the people around him and had fun watching everything that was happening on the ice (including the fights).

This morning we went to get Aiden's 6-month pictures taken (about a month late). Aiden had a blast, but Calvin (once again) was not impressed. We had to bribe him to get him to do anything. I think we got one real smile, while the rest were the "let's get this over with" smiles. Below are some of the pictures that were taken.

Aiden... sleeping at the pumpkin patch

Calvin & daddy at the pumpkin patch

Calvin & daddy in the teepee at the pumpkin patch

SLOW DOWN!!!!

So, from the time I posted on Monday and last night (Thursday) Aiden has decided that he is ready to pull up on things. He had been working on it all week, and I got a note from daycare that he had pulled up on the Leap Frog center, but I saw it for my own eyes when we were all in Calvin's room playing. My goodness was I surprised and oh how Aiden was so proud of himself.

In Calvin news, it was his teacher's birthday yesterday, so we decorated her room and took her a rice krispie treat cake. She was super surprised! In the midst of all the fun yesterday, Calvin managed to run into a big kid and got a nice bruise under his left eye. How the heck do they know when it is picture time?!?!

It's Fall in Tennessee!

Fall is all around us in Tennessee. Although you can't tell by the temperatures (it's been in the 80s), the colors are beautiful and it is definitely football time!

Calvin & Aiden are growing way too fast and I'm in denial that Aiden is thinking of standing. Calvin is turning into quite the disciplinarian... telling Aiden "that not nice" when he spits while eating. He loves to point out when the cats walk by and is now gentle enough to pet them, or at least Gordie. Aiden is crawling at full speed and loves to "chase" Calvin and other kids. In less than a week, he learned how to go from a laying to a sitting position. His new trick that he is working on is climbing onto things. If we leave the play room, he gets both hands on the bottom step and starts bouncing on his knees and sometimes straightening his legs. I'm scared!!

We are going to be getting 6-month and Christmas pictures taken this weekend and will be making a visit to the local pumpkin patch, which Calvin will not let us forget. We'll post pics after the weekend.

This was after we told Calvin that he had to take one more picture before he could play in the leaves

Calvin & daddy playing in the leaves

Canada & Such

All I can say is that I think my hubby deserves Father of the Year. We had a trip planned to Canada to surprise Scott's mom for her birthday. I just started a new job on Monday, so was not able to make the trip. Scott took both the boys to Canada by himself. An almost 2 hour plane ride each way, customs, etc. and they all came back alive. I was able to go to the gate in Nashville to help see them off. Scott had a lot of help with the boys getting on and off the plane, so that made me feel better. The boys slept most of the way, which was a huge relief for Scott.

The boys arrived in Canada and were met at the airport by Papa H. They arrived at the house and were able to surprise Gma C. She was so shocked and surprised to see them, and they were happy to see her. They met some new friends, went to play putt putt, had Dairy Queen ice cream, and hung out with family. Aiden was all smiles all weekend and Calvin had so much fun playing with everyone.

Calvin & Aiden have been "playing" together more and Calvin has become pretty useful. He'll put Aiden's paci in if he's crying and will take him toys. Now, don't get me wrong... they are also "fighting". Aiden will be playing with a toy and Calvin will want it, come take it away, and then we will hear a loud yelp from Aiden. Boys!