Ocean City, NJ

Back in September we went to the shore to enjoy the sights when it was a little less crowded and cool. This was Cal's first real beach experience where he was able to walk around and choose what he wanted to do. The excitement and joy that come with watching your child in a new space or experience is my favorite. 

Cal was not afraid of the water, and fortunately it was still somewhat warm! 

We walked up and down the boardwalk looking for tasty treats, which of course weren't hard to find. 

Before Kohr Bros. Custard

After Kohr Bros. Custard

The sun came out and it turned out to be a beautiful day in the upper 60s!

Daddy and Cal testing out the waters

We found a little slope for Cal to climb up and down and along the way he found lots of treasures.

Don't mind the sandy lips..he may have tasted a bit of sand. 

I'm going to eat this rock you guys...

No really, I'm going to eat it! 

Haha just kidding!

After a little face plant in the sand he was all smiles.

Naps on the beach are the best.

13 months - A Montage

13 months has been big for Cal in so many ways. Our big guy is changing rapidly and his knowledge of the world around him is exploding. It may be more reasonable for me to write a monthly blog instead of a weekly blog at this point, because we are always on the go. Every so often I will do a more frequent update if something super exciting happens, but for now I've decided to create a list of my favorite Cal things to share with you.

-Words Cal likes to say: Hello, Hi, Boom, Book, Ball, Bye, Apple, Mama, Dada, Daddy, Up, Dog "Be-Bah" for Beach Ball, "Dai" for Diaper,

- Questions he can answer: 

*What does a car say? "Vroom, Vroom"

*What does a dog say? "Ow, Ow"

*What does a chicken say? "Bock, Bock"

-Commands he can do:

*Point to your head

*Bring Mama a diaper

*Stand up

*Sit down

*Arms up

*Find Mommy's Belly Button

*Wave

*Get a book

*Go get your shoes

*Brush your teeth - says - "shh, shh"

-Communication - Signs he uses:

*All done

*More

*Eat

-Songs he likes:

*5 little monkeys - bounces up and down in his seat and pats head when I say, "bumped his head"

*Wheels on the bus - Moves hands around for wheels, Bounces up and down when people go bumpity, bump, Opens arms wide for doors open and shut, Arms go up and down for windows go up and down.

*Zoom, Zoom, Zoom - swishes hands up and down and squeals before 5,4,3,2,1

-Things he likes to do:

*Wave at himself

*Blowing bubbles - blows with his mouth to show he wants to blow bubbles

*Smelling flowers - sniffs with his nose

*LOVES cats and dogs - barks anytime he sees a dog

*Walking around outside

*Go to playgrounds

*Looking at pictures of all kinds of animals

*Reading books

*Music class

Sometimes you can find Cal laying on the ground for no apparent reason. 

Checking the plumbing.

Cal's first cow sighting.

Sometimes Cal gets really lucky and has lunch with his cousin Beck.

Snuggles with Moosey are a must.

Becoming so independent. Opening the gate by himself.

Loves throwing around the beach ball.

Cal is channeling his inner Oregonian and playing in the rain.

Batman came to visit. 

Philadelphia has everything that is fun. Petting zoos and lots of festivals.

Shocking...

All the little guys - Cole, Beck and Cal on the playground.

My little explorer.

13 months of yummy cuteness.

Celebrating my 29th birthday at The Cedar's House with Eunmi and Stephanie!

On my birthday there was an awesome food truck festival in Mt. Airy that we went to. 

We ran into one of Cal's favorite buddies - our neighbor Noah.

Sometimes we get to meet up with friends at the playground, but Cal isn't so sure how he feels about hugs.

He loves his slides.

October is for apple picking and pumpkin patches.

Matt and I took Cal to pick out pumpkins at a great local patch called Froehlich's Farm. It was a windy and cold day, so we made it a quick stop. Cal ran around in the mud and Matt and I carefully examined the patch for a perfectly round pumpkin. We came away with a few winners.  Unfortunately a few days after we came home, after carving 2 of them and leaving one uncarved, the nutty squirrels came and ate all of them. Literally, every last bit of the pumpkins. So, I had to go to a farmer's market and buy one on Halloween. Despite making our neighborhood squirrels nice and fat with our pumpkins, we were still able to enjoy the fact that we HAD pumpkins that we picked from a great pumpkin patch this year. 

We decided to continue on with the annual tradition of apple picking at Linvilla Orchards with Mike and Kim, Dave and Sheryl and all the kid cousins and this year was even more fun than the last!

Here are a few throw backs from previous years.

2012 - We were childless! Just enjoying Lena and James.

2013

2014

Cal trying to be a big helper.

Are we going to get more apples or what?