Trip to Arizona

About a week ago, Calvin and I got back from Arizona visiting my family. Although it was a lot of work taking care of Calvin by myself (Trevor couldn't take time off work), we had an enjoyable time! We flew on a plane down there and then drove back to Utah with my sister, mom, and dad. I must say I've learned Calvin does much better flying than driving.

One afternoon, Kathryn stopped by my parents home and we had a dance party. She brought a lot of instruments, flags, and scarves for nieces and nephews and turned up the music (she's a music therapist)! Everyone had a great time!


Calvin even had a good time!


Calvin really enjoyed playing with all of Grandma's toys. He also enjoyed playing with his cousins. I think they were less intimidating than Uncles/Aunts/Grandparents because they are "smaller people."

This was a hat that his cousin Jessica made, but ran out of yarn. Calvin didn't really care to wear it, but his cousins thought it was so funny when he wore it so they kept putting it on him.



We went to the Hamilton Pool in Chandler, AZ. I couldn't believe how cheap it was! The pools in Utah are almost four times the cost! Calvin really liked swimming once he got over the initial shock of the water. He loved splashing and going down the "lazy river" as they call it.


He also really liked the kiddie section and putting his hand under the fountain as shown above.




I can't remember why I took this picture. I think I was trying to cheer Calvin up because he likes the camera. Apparently it worked! :0)


Ah! He finally fell asleep for about 30 minutes on the car ride home. It was a long 12 hours for the both of us, but we made it through it!

Don't be deceived by all these happy faces. :0) I had to take a picture of Calvin when he wasn't happy. I think the funny thing about this picture is my dad is sleeping though his crying. I think Calvin had a hard time being away from everything he knew, most importantly his daddy. We tried to make the best of it! As long as mom was in sight he was okay. If I left the room for even a split second we had a major meltdown on our hands. I even had to walk around the front of the car in order to get him out of his car seat just so he could keep an eye on me.


The day we drove back to Utah, we went to a picnic for Computer Science BYU Alumni at Rock Canyon Park. It was good food and we were just glad to be together again as a family!
Calvin was so happy to see Trevor. They really are good buddies.

Here is Calvin sporting his new suit we recently got him. He is looking so grown up!


Last Sunday we went to my Grandparents house for a family dinner. Calvin really liked the grass.


I also couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a four-generation picture. These are my mom's parents.

Hodgepodge of events

We had enchiladas for dinner tonight. Calvin really liked them (except he doesn't care too much for chicken). I think he mostly enjoyed getting it ALL over himself.

I gave Calvin his first hair cut (with clippers) this past week. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision only because I was tired of it being uneven. I was a little surprised he wasn't afraid of the clippers (he can be a really sensitive little boy sometimes) and allowed me to cut it. Granted he moved his head a lot and it isn't the greatest cut, but it's a lot better than it used to be. This is the "after shot." I forgot to get a "before shot." I guess you can look at the picture below this one.

I'm also surprised by how many people ask me where Calvin gets his red hair from (while I'm right next to him). I guess my hair doesn't look that red, but I still find it humorous when I tell them I have red hair and to see their reaction.

Calvin is slightly afraid of rotating fans. We think this is because when he was first introduced to one, Trevor thought it would be fun to speak into and get up real close. Apparently Calvin didn't find it so fun. He's getting better, though, and at least we can put one in his room for those warm evenings without him crying.


One day Calvin decided to climb inside of his truck all by himself. It's actually not meant to be ridden like this (you have to put the seat down in the back first), but he loved it and enjoyed being pushed around. You can always tell when he's excited or likes something when he sticks his tongue out!

We went to Sears today to get pictures taken of Calvin. They turned out better than I expected (While she was taking the pictures I didn't think they would turn out very good). If you want to see the pictures I think you can click on this link: Calvin's Photo Shoot. Let me know if it doesn't work. It was kind of comical that right before we got them taken, Trevor was having Calvin walk by himself and he fell and got a big red bump on his forehead. While I wasn't laughing at the time (I didn't want him to have a big red bump in his pictures), I'm sure I'll laugh about it later. :0)

Also exciting news is that Calvin is doing much better with his walking! All of a sudden yesterday I think he figured out balance and is able to walk much further than before! He is becoming more confident with himself and will let go of our fingers more often to walk by himself.

In other news besides Calvin, Trevor's thesis is progressing pretty well. His program is mostly written and now he just has to write his thesis and do a user study. I'll be so glad when he's done and we can have him home for more than a few hours a day!

Memorial Day and other happenings

Going back in time about a week, I wanted to record what we did for Calvin's birthday. On his actual birthday we just spent the day together as a family (well, for the time that Trevor wasn't at work). We opened presents in the morning (thank you Grandpas and Grandmas for the gifts!) and had buttermilk pancakes which Calvin really likes.
Calvin got a Tonka truck which he LOVES to push around. He also likes to ride it as shown in the picture below. I think it's really helped him learn balance and how to walk better.

During the evening we went on a picnic and then to the Bean Museum. It's a taxidermy museum. Calvin seemed to enjoy looking at all the animals (sometimes it's hard for us to know if he likes something or not). Then we went to the Creamery and got ice cream.


On Sunday we took a little drive up to the base of the "Y" mountain to check out the view. We wanted to show Calvin the view of our city.
Calvin reaching for the camera. Typical.






We spent Memorial Day with Trevor's sisters. We went to a really cool park near the Orem Walmart (I don't know the name of the park). It was such a nice day and all the threats of rain never came to pass. At the park they had a cool swing set that actually rotated! Trevor was determined to get it to go fast so he tried to push it along with Summer (she was a good sport!) :0).

Here's Calvin swinging on that swing set. He seemed to like it so long as it wasn't going too high or too fast.


Calvin has started to take some steps the past couple days. We should really thank my cousin's daughter, Riley, for encouraging and teaching Calvin how to stand by himself. He's not completely interested in walking yet (and I'm not impatient to get him to walk) but it's so cute when he walks I can't help but want him to try it!

The video below shows some of Calvin's first attempts at walking. The first clip just shows his babbling. This is what he loves to do all day long and especially during church! :0)

Also notice the change in Trevor's hair style. I cut his hair on Memorial Day.

Here's a video of Calvin on his birthday learning to walk with his truck. He loves pushing this back and forth across our living room.

Happy First Birthday Calvin!!!

Dear Calvin,

It is possible you are turning one year old already?!?!? Oh how time flies! You have been a source of joy and happiness ever since you became a part of our family. Your dad and I feel extremely blessed that you are our first-born and the oldest sibling to all your future brothers and/or sisters. You will be a great example to them in their lives of how to be righteous and happy. You have already taught me so much and have been a great example to me. You are teaching me how to find joy in the simple things of life.

I don’t think a day has gone by that you have not made me smile or laugh. Even people who have never met you before always comment about what a happy child you are! Always—I’m not exaggerating. You have a gift for making others happy. I also get asked a lot if you ever cry. Well, you do cry I can assure you of that, but never very often or for very long. I was very spoiled having you as my first child!

I also love going on adventures with you. We both love to get out of the house and you are very good at sitting in the shopping cart or stroller for long periods of time. We have been on many different adventures so far in your short life. You’ve been to Alcatraz, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Golden Gate Park/Bridge, Muir Woods, Stanford University, Utah State Fair, Seattle, and Arizona only to name a few. We plan to go on many more adventures in your lifetime!

Your father and I love you so much. We are so happy that you will forever be a part of our family. We try to be good parents, but please forgive us when we make mistakes. I can’t wait to see what you will do with your life and what you will accomplish.

Love,
Mom


Here's a video I put together of some highlights from the past year. Hope you enjoy!



Note: Once you start playing the movie, if you want you can click on "HQ" to get a higher quality picture and sound. Only do it, though, if you have a pretty fast Internet connection speed.

Update from the past month

Wow! It has been a long time since I've updated and I apologize. Things got a little hectic last month and blogging just wasn't a priority for me at the time.

Last Sunday Trevor's family had a combined birthday party for Olivia and Calvin. Olivia is six days older than Calvin. We had amazing Indian food, presents, and birthday cake!
Calvin kind of got the hang of opening presents. Well, not really, but Summer was a big help in showing him how to do it! He really likes the new toys he got and loves playing with them.

Olivia and Calvin!


Summer and Calvin.


Trevor and Summer.


Summer and Olivia.


Calvin looks like he's reading the paper in this picture. We thought it was pretty cute!


Heather asked me to make the birthday cake for Sunday's party. I thought it would be cute to have two bears (one for Olivia and one for Calvin). The alphabet blocks aren't edible, but I just thought they would look cute on the cake.

I was really pushed for time decorating this cake and I experimented doing an all-butter frosting instead of half butter and half shortening (I'm not a fan of shortening). The frosting was really soft and kind of hard to decorate with, but oh well! Live and learn. Definitely not my best work, but at least it turned out okay.

Our camera was full so we didn't get any more pictures (hopefully other siblings maybe did and will send them to us!) Calvin was really tired by this time as evident in the picture. He liked the frosting, but I think he was too tired to eat very much.



This was just a funny picture of Trevor. I'm just so proud of him for all the hard work he's done in school. He finished his classes in April and now he just has to finish his Thesis this Summer. He's working full-time in the Internet Security Lab at BYU until we leave Provo. Yesterday was his Thesis proposal and he passed! We are hoping he'll defend his Thesis the end of July, but who knows how long these things will really take.


Nothing better than a peacefully sleeping baby! :0)



Calvin has actually gotten a lot better at feeding himself (despite what's shown in this picture...).
He now prefers to always have a fork or spoon and tries to eat with them. Sometimes he gives up and uses his hands, but we are so proud of him the few times he actually gets the food on the fork or spoon and into his mouth. He is starting to eat more and more of what we have for dinner. It's so nice not having to prepare him a separate meal. It saves me a lot of time.

Just a cute picture of Calvin.


We decorated Easter eggs early April and invited one of Trevor's co-workers in the Internet Security lab over to our home to do it with us. He's from India and had never decorated Easter eggs before. It was fun to teach him some of the different things you can do. We mostly just had fun experimenting with the dye, scotch tape, and crayon.


Ha ha! This is what happens sometimes when Calvin is drinking a bottle of milk and he takes it out of his mouth and shakes it.

In other news I finished teaching for the semester! Hooray! I'm glad to be done even though it was a good experience for me and I really enjoyed teaching. People ask me if I'm planning on working when we get to California and the answer is "only as a stay-at-home mom." Truth be told I love not working outside the home. Sure it's hard some days, but for me personally I love having the time to spend with Calvin and Trevor and just focus on my family and other little projects. This is how I am, not how everyone else needs to be. Maybe when my kids are all grown and I'm not needed as much at home or if we really need the money then I might consider working again.

Speaking of Calvin the little lad just woke up from his nap. I also have some video to post, but that will have to wait until later.