41 weeks - Bachelorette Weekend in Sea Isle City

This week Cal got to join the girls for a fun weekend getaway at the beach! We celebrated my dear friend Rachel and had a bachelorette weekend with some of her friends at this amazing house along the shore in Sea Isle City, NJ. We had the greatest time looking at the boats passing by, playing on the beach, and crawling all over the house. Cal LOVED all the attention from the girls, considering he was the only baby, and just hammed it up the whole time. Everyone would be sitting on the sectional the went around the outside of the living room and he would go to each person smiling at them and giggling, to get their attention. It was so fun celebrating Rachel's upcoming marriage to Joe, and relaxing at the shore together. Can't wait for the wedding in South Carolina in August!

I'll start with some funny sleeping positions that Cal has gotten himself into lately.

Then, I'll share that Cal loves to eat frozen blueberries. 

Here is Cal at the beach house looking out the window at the water, watching to see if any boats were passing by. 

Everybody needs a nap at the beach! I wish it could have been me! :)

Surprisingly, Cal did not put any sand in his mouth, all he wanted to do was dig like a puppy dog!

A good close up of his 4 little teeth!

Cal and my friend Meaghan sitting on a swing on the porch. 

Also, during this week we went to the downtown Philadelphia free library and went to baby story time.  They gave the babies instruments to use and Cal decided to eat them instead.

Cal and his friend Henry "sharing" the xylophone.

Then he stole Henry's pacifier.

Then, Henry showed him how to put the stick in his mouth. 

After the library, a group of us went to Sister Cities Park and had a picnic!

Lastly, Cal loves to take his baths. He loves that he doesn't need the plastic baby tub anymore, it gives him the ability to crawl all around, and fiddle with the drain plug. 

Squeaky clean.

40 weeks - 9 month stats and 4 teeth!

Cal went to his 9 month doctor's appointment this week and we found out yet again that he's a beast!
Here are his stats:
Weight: 21 lbs. 12.5 oz. (82nd percentile)
Length: 29.25 inches (82nd percentile)
Head Circumference: 46.4 cm (85th percentile)

I haven't been taking as many pictures lately because Cal is constantly on the move! This definitely requires me to have two hands free as he's getting into everything, which I love, mostly because I love to see what he's interested in.

Mischief in the kitchen...

Ignoring me at Music class...

Giving me a hug while he sleeps...

We had AMAZING weather last Saturday so we walked with Mike and Kim and Cal's cousins to the Farmer's Market. Our favorite weekend tradition, especially now that the weather is good again, it's the first time we have gone this season. They even had a new food truck called "Foolish" that had THE BEST waffles. Waffle breakfast sandwich, chicken and waffles, nutella and strawberry waffles... THE BEST, I tell you. We always get our breakfast and go to the grassy area next to the market and let the kids play. Cole and Cal were actually interested in each other this time.

Why not take some photos of 3 of the 4 cousins together? Good luck! I will say that Lena was quite the trooper trying to wrangle these two silly boys. 

Popeye, is that you?

Here's a picture of the twins.

This is my delicious Mother's Day breakfast made my wonderful, and handsome husband. He let me sleep in, he made me my favorite breakfast AND bought me an iced coffee from my favorite bakery AND flowers from a great florist down the street AND!! a gift certificate to get a massage and one other spa service of my choice! Wowowow. Thank you

And about that 4th tooth. It's there... so now we can take a break from teeth for awhile.. I hope. Pictures to come of his new toothy grin. :)

39 weeks - 9 months!! - Kitchen Antics, and 3 teeth!

And voila! Now I have a little boy. Isn't he just precious? He's so innocent still, and I wish I could keep him that way as long as possible. The other things I'd like to keep? Those chunky thighs, his cankles, and his little tiny nose, that I love to kiss, kiss, kiss. I know one day I won't be able to enjoy these things, so I take advantage of it often. 9 months has certainly moved by quickly, a week speeds past and I want to make sure I soak every bit of his sweet smile, teeny tiny teeth, his giggles when we play peek a boo, and all our little jokes that only him and I know about. However, there are moments that I wish would pass quickly, one of which is shown in the picture below. Cal has had some separation anxiety at night, and has woke up screaming many nights in the last couple of weeks. The only way he will go back to sleep is by being in our bed. I know these nights seem long, especially when he is waking up every hour to 2 hours to check and see if I'm still there, but this too will pass... right?

Not jewelry, just an amber teething necklace... hoping that will help him with the two little teeth that are trying to come in. According to the baby teeth charts, Cal was supposed to be getting his top teeth after his bottom two, but he sometimes marches to the beat of his own drum, and in this case he's getting the bottom lateral incisors (don't worry I looked it up, I didn't know that before) - which are the two next to his bottom middle two. So far, he has one that has popped up, so now he has three bottom teeth, and his smile is soo so cute.

Oops, you caught me!

We are now transporting Cal around in our hiking carrier, which he loves, contrary to the picture below. He can see everything around him so much better and he likes being able to help out with the chores!

See? He does like it. Here we are hiking with some friends in the Wissahickon. 

Cal's cousins came to visit the other morning and we played in the backyard. Cole and Cal were uninterested. 

Lastly, Cal has enjoyed exploring the kitchen while I make dinner. His latest interest is the cabinets. Enjoy.

38 weeks - Walks, stair climbing, picnics, playgrounds.

Wow! Lots of pictures and wonderful things this week! Let's start off with the amazing weather we've been having and how some of the moms were able to get together and walk in the Wissahickon. After a long winter hiatus, we have finally joined the babies together again. We now have two 1 year old babies in the group! I can't believe how fast a year has gone. 

Just waiting for Daddy to get home...

We've been taking lunch outside on the deck when the weather is sunny, and Cal is a big fan. He loves to hold his apple tightly and take big bites and fill his cheeks like a chipmunk.

This weekend Matt and I took Cal to a nice grassy area in Chestnut Hill and ate some pizza and watermelon. Cal only ate watermelon. Yum.

Someone LOVES to stand in his crib and scream, scream, scream. Happy screams of course.

And now, for Cal's latest trick, he can scale our entire set of stairs, but only with his tongue sticking out.  

Cal's favorite silly daddy.

Party in the crib!

Lastly, we went to the playground with a few of Cal's friends and found a neat little space for the babies to congregate and tell each other their secrets.

Fun with Mommy and Cal.

37 weeks - A trip to Raleigh

Hello Mr. Happy!

Over Easter weekend, Matt was had traveled to North Carolina for work, and I was going to bring Cal and meet up with him and our friends Kevin, Ponni, and Sean in Raleigh. Flying, of course, because I definitely not make Cal ride in the car that long by myself. Off  we went, and Cal did great! He was very talkative the entire flight, which may have sounded like loud squealing to some, but he was so pleasant and fun! Once we got to Raleigh, he was all tuckered out and took himself a little nap before his friend Anjali came home from daycare. Most of their time spent together consisted of Anj chasing him around the coffee table, and him trying to crawl away... for whatever reason. They often went back and forth squealing and eventually they became buddies as we made them ride in the double stroller. We took them to the North Carolina Zoo, such a fun day! They even napped on the drive there and on the drive home while we listened to This American Life on NPR. Thanks babies!

"You're kidding!"

Asleep in the Ergo carrier on a long walk. Love those sweet little lashes.

Matt and Anjali playing around.

Kevin pushing the two babes through the park, and Ponni and I in the background.

Delicious dinner that Ponni made! So many wings!

Sweet little sleepy babe.

36 weeks - La la la la - Oh there's my tongue!

Forgive me, I'm a little behind this week, and from here on out I will only be doing monthly pictures instead of weekly pictures. Cal wants to play with the blocks instead of sit by them. So for my sanity I will just post pictures from the week. 

We met up with Cal's cousins - Lena, James and Cole at the Trolley Car Diner last week, and had some delicious ice cream - Graham Slam flavor of course - my favorite pregnancy craving, and still a favorite post pregnancy. Cal can't have any yet, but he still enjoyed the ride. Here he is with our beautiful niece Lena.

Look at those meaty legs!

Cal has never been a baby to stick out his tongue, but one morning he decided to do some experimenting. That little tongue has never looked so cute!

Here is a video to document his new ability. "Cal, show me your tongue."

We walked to the seminary nearby that has a great grassy area - stick and pinecone free - with lots of space to crawl around. 

Bottom left - "Oh come on Mom." Bottom right - "Look, I can whistle!"

The favorite part of my week was this little diddy, titled, LA LA LA. This is the first consonant sound Cal has made and I love it!! Again, look at that cute tongue!