Holiday preparations are underway!

Tree? Check. Presents? Check.














Christmas sweater? Check. Elmer Fudd hat? Check.














So we're covered, right?

LA is currently in the middle of a week of non-stop rain. We've started strolling around the apartment with Calvin behind the stroller, holding on. He appears quite happy in this new position.

Travels and Turkey

Well, more than 10% of Calvin's life has elapsed since the last post, so here are the major events!

1. In mid-November, we made the drive up to Northern CA to visit some relatives. Calvin enjoyed the plush hotel bed, drinking water from a glass with Great Aunt Maggie, and being walked down the Santa Cruz wharf by an entourage.

































2. Calvin took his first step the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and his second step the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Both were accidental, occurring in the standing-to-crawling transition. He is yet to take a third step, but he now stands for "extended" periods of time (5-10 seconds).

3. Calvin has 4 visible, sharp teeth. He sometimes clicks them together, which makes me wince.

4. For Thanksgiving, we went to the Boston area. Calvin got to meet friends and relatives and two very friendly dogs and experience cold. A great time was had and Calvin behaved well on his second cross-country round trip.














5. Now we're back in LA without any travel plans for several months. Calvin is testing the limits of our childproofing, babbling constantly, and generally enjoying life.

Calvinlantern

Happy Halloween! It's an hour before bedtime and Calvin is still enjoying his first Halloween. We'd planned to dress him as a monkey, but he had zero tolerance for the hat portion of the costume. And without the hat, it was just a brown body suit. Here he is resisting the monkey costume.











On to plan B: a used pumpkin costume. A little more run-of-the-mill, but unambiguous, even with the hood down. Here he is playing in costume.











We went to a Halloween party hosted by a family around the corner where there were many babies. Here, Calvin is with another baby dressed as a bee. He was especially interested in winged costumes.











On an unrelated note, Calvin is finally getting teeth! He has one bottom tooth that can be seen up close and another one next to it that has just cut through. Neither tooth has been caught on film yet.

Slow news month

We have no major milestones to report, so here are the minor ones. Some are very minor. Calvin pulls himself up on everything in sight. Here he is trying to get into trouble.














Sometimes we play minor tricks on Calvin. Keith made him a tutu out of the foam tiles he plays with/on.














He now eats yogurt mixed with fruit and is getting better at getting finger foods from his tray to his mouth. Here he is post-yogurt, contemplating a cereal bit.











Calvin also made his first trip to Las Vegas 2 weeks ago to. Since we didn't want to risk Calvin chain smoking at a slot machine, yelling for more drinks, he mostly hung out at the hotel where extended family doted on him. Here he is with a few relatives. Thanks to Uncle Teddy for the photo.











Here is Calvin showing off his guns. If his shirt didn't button around his diaper, he'd probably rip that off to show off his pecs as well.











And finally, for lovers of baby noises, here is Calvin laughing as he and Keith play peekaboo.

Everyday stuff

Sorry about the long hiatus. Calvin's been battling a cold and it's hard to take pictures and wipe snot at the same time.

No major news. Calvin is getting stronger and steadier and more vocal. In this video, he's just doing some typical playing. But doesn't he look dapper in a polo shirt?



He now sees everything as something that he might be able to stand against. The couch was an early success.




Calvin now responds to his name, often with a look like this:

Breaking news! Cruising!

Calvin did his first "cruising" today, taking little steps while holding on to his crib rail. Keith captured it on film!

Big changes

Since the last post, Calvin's had a lot of excitement.
1. He figured out how to pull himself up to standing position, first using his crib railings (dimly lit video below), and then using anything he can reach that will support him.
2. He has started part-time day care. Three days in, he seems to be enjoying himself and the company of other babies. He also has developed a runny nose.
3. He occasionally opts for a proper crawl, up on his hands and knees, belly off the ground.



His now speaks with passion and volume. Here's a typical rant.