December 28, 2012

The best of friends

The friendship developing between Audia and Callen is something that I feel so very grateful to be able to witness. Since the day Chris and I decided we wanted to have a second child, I've been worried about how it would affect Audia and how the two siblings would get along. I know plenty of people who either do not get along with their siblings, or for whom it took YEARS before they started getting along. I am not naive enough to believe that Audia and Cal will always be such close friends; all relationships wax and wane, and there are of course moments where one or the other of them wants nothing to do with their sibling. But overall, I really don't think they could be any luckier to have one-another. From the day Callen was born, Audia has been right there, wanting to help keep him happy, play with him, snuggle him, and love on him. And as Callen gets older and more independent, he turns more and more to his sister for play and assistance and hugs and loves. If Audia is upset about something, Cal is right there to give her a hug. Audia will give Callen half of her cookie, or snack, or whatever she has that he wants, usually without even thinking twice about it. And pretty much every time we go for a ride anywhere in the car, they can be found holding hands. It melts my heart every. single. time. I can only hope that their relationship will continue to blossom in such an incredibly sweet way, and that no matter where life takes them, they will always find their way to one-another.

December 18, 2012

Callen at 18 Months

Well, our tall and skinny boy is getting taller and skinnier! At 35.5" tall, Cal is the height of the average 28 month old boy! He's 26 lbs, 3 oz, which puts him smack dab at the 50th percentile for his age. This explains why 18 month size clothes are too short and 2T are too baggy!! Doc S says Cal looks great, and is right on track with speech, motor skills, social skills, etc.

At 18 months, Cal is
  • Saying new words every day! He has difficulty annunciating some things, but generally he is easy to understand if you pay attention to what he's doing/looking at. His favorite words these days are "wheel" and "ball." He will point at and name every ball, wheel, and light wherever we are!
  • Still obsessed with wheels. He loves anything on wheels, and even just plain old lego wheels. I have a feeling this kid is going to be a total gearhead.
  • Loving playing with his sister as much as ever! He gets frustrated when she goes off and does her own thing, but also has moments where he'd rather play by himself.
  • Getting much better at being gentle with Fievel. He went through a phase where everytime he'd see Fievel, he'd go over and push him off of whatever Fievel was sitting on, or chase him around with his cars. He's been a lot better about being gentle and petting Fievel lately, however.
  • Such a great helper!! He is pretty good at helping pick up toys, and loves to help take dishes out of the dishwasher and put the laundry in the dryer. He will frequently pick up little crumbs or fuzzies off the floor and put them in the garbage on his own, and hates it when his hands get dirty!
  • Very into playing pretend. He likes to pretend to cook at the play kitchen, take care of the baby dolls, and play snuggle his stuffed animals
  • Surprisingly good at building with legos and duplos! He will build something and then proudly show it to whomever's around, saying "Ta da!"
  • Such a sweetheart. He loves to give kisses, cheers everyone at the table, and snuggle. Whenever Audia is upset, he gives her hugs and kisses.