Sending Logan our Love!

Please keep praying for Matt's cousin's son, Logan.  He is recovering from chemo and a bone marrow transplant to treat a rare form of Leukemia.  Since the transplant, he has been battling Graft vs. Host Disease in his intestines which has caused an ulcer and he has had to recover from at least one staph infection.  I probably don't have all the details right, not being a medically minded person, but the gist of it is that he has had a very rough time of it so far and things are finally starting to calm down.  His parents are more than ready to bring him home from the hospital and get their life with their sweet baby boy back to some kind of normal.  Callie sent him this Yo Gabba guitar.  Hopefully by this time next summer he and Callie will be running around at Pa's house together, competing for his attention.

Longer Sea Legs and Flippers

We are loving this warm swimming weather.  The pool is open on the weekends until school lets out and we have even gotten to spend a weekend swimming at the lake.   We spent four days over Memorial weekend there which gave Callie plenty of opportunities to conquer the last of her water fears and hasn't looked back.   She was very uneasy when Nana and I both tried to put her feet in the water.  But once Daddy took her in, she was back to her normal water baby self.   You would think that all the splashing and flopping would mean great sleep but instead, she stayed up a good portion of three of the four nights we were there.  It was like she was way too excited about where she was to sleep.  And then there was a very unfortunate vomit incident on the way home that we still haven't figured out the reason for.  But we are all back to normal now and she is not a bit shy about the water at the pool and loves that she is not tall enough and capable of walking around in the kiddie section. 

Every body wants to throw Callie around!

Splashing Papa is still her main priority.

She just splashes a little bigger this year than she did last summer.

She hasn't met a sprinkler she didn't like.

Such a show-off.  My fault since I follow her around with a camera constantly!

Nana kisses were abundant.

She practiced riding in Nana and Papa's wagon so she would be ready for the Calliewagon that Grampie is fixing for her.

Last year the boat seemed to bore her.

This year it is much more exciting and she is tolerating the life jacket better.  She can make anything look good!

And to think summer is just beginning!

Building, Destroying , Shredding and Strolling

Our Callie Mae is so smart that she has taken up the study of architecture as her new daily activity.  Actually, we all have.  She is also studying the art of demolition, apparently.  We bought a huge box of blocks at a yard sale last week and they have been the center of our little world since.  Matt and I have each taken a turn trying to construct amazing edifices while attempting to keep our little monster truck from plowing them down before we are finished.  Matt tried at least seven times to make a tower that reached the ceiling.  It mostly fell over on its own but his persistence paid off and we were all so...um...proud, I guess.  Callie is amazing us everyday with her development.  She has added "uh-oh" to her vocabulary of "Da-dee" and "Ma-ma" and she is showing amazing dexterity lately in the way she plays with her toys and problem solves.  The boys are enjoying her more and she is getting much better at giving big hugs and pats rather than pulling whiskers or  tails.  Matt taught her to put her play scarves on top of them so she chases them around the family room trying to "dress" them.  She also knows how to use a phone (she has known how to use the remote to turn up the volume for months!).  She will pick up any phone, play or real, and sometimes just random objects, hold them up near her ear and say, "hu-waaa Da-deeee"  She always wants to call Daddy!  And, finally, her eating habits are terrific.  I really can't complain except about how much of each meal ends up in her hair.  She eats almost any fruit, chicken, ham and beef, yogurt, drinks her juice and milk well AND has now added peas and steamed broccoli to her diet.  Oh, and egg tacos (cheese omelets) that Daddy makes for her.  All this good food gives her plenty of energy to destroy and scatter and keep me moving all day long!

We have spent a lot of time with Matt's family the last few weekends, going to Richmond for Mother's Day and a party at friends and then celebrating Scott's graduation at Michelle's condo.  And, important to slip into this post is that Scott is officially on the track to becoming family and there is bling on Michelle's finger to prove it!  Yay for Uncle Dr. Scott! 

An early attempt at the "tower".

The bull in the china shop stalking her prey.

A proud moment!

Handing Daddy things to shred.  Notice the disaster in the background.

Such a good helper.  She already knows how to prevent identity theft.

The block box is good for many things!

I rearranged her room and bought a trunk and shelf so she could also play and destroy in there.

Grammie and Grampie took her to the church playground down by their house.

This is her "I am about to do something crazy" face.  She glazes over for a minute and then takes off.

  She and I have been on a lot of walks lately.  This one was on the boardwalk.  It was very hot that day!

We had to take a break and have a snack.  Callie really knows how to "chillax". 

callie in sprinkler 5-10.m2ts

hotdog dance.m2ts

magic blanket ride.m2ts

Spring Cleaning in Summer Weather

Callie is quickly leaving her baby year behind her as she streaks into toddlerdom.  She is a complete ball of giggly, squealing energy.  She had her one year check-up and, even though she has barely grown, dropping to 50% in height and 40% in weight (29-1/4 inches and 19.8 lbs) since her last visit, she has grown by leaps and bounds in her motor skills and intellect.  She is now saying "Dad -dee" and has called me "mumma" a few times.  Usually I am "baabaa" which I am not suspecting is her way of saying "booba".  She is weened now to nursing just at night so hopefully I will get a new identity soon!  She has done so many new things, it is hard to recall them all.  Matt is proud of how she will walk herself to her crib when it is nap time and I love how she runs "nakey" to the tub at night for a bath.  She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and giggles with glee when she hears it come on.  We have some footage of her doing the "hot dog: dance that I will post soon.  I am finding it increasingly difficult to keep the house even close to clean because she is runs right behind me and messes up everything I just straightened.  And when I have painting deadlines to meet, I might as well just give up.  Our little house can barely contain our little monster.  The other day, Matt found some of her toys in the garage making the cat door just another place she likes to stash things.  We have been taking the fun and destruction outside whenever possible.  It has been very hot already and so we introduced Callie to what Matt calls the "redneck pool" - running through the sprinkler in just a diaper.  She is a huge fan of this new activity and wasn't fazed by the cold water.  We have pictures and video and I hope to get the videos posted soon.  Here is a sampling of our little princess' not so lady-like adventures.

One last Sunday in a winter outfit that I love.  We had to take her tights off so she wouldn't burn up in the corduroy jumper.  Rarely is she this still in her chair.  It has become a jungle gym.

She has the run of the house now and she surprised me one day by walking into the art room wearing this hat backwards and carrying my yellow shoe--a treasure she found in our closet, one of her favorite places to "tear it up!"

I think she will eventually become a great helper.  She got this floor mop out completely on her own and when I came to check on her, she met me in the hall like this.  She loves watching me clean, so I guess she is learning what to do from watching!

This is her new toy that Daddy picked out for her.  It connects to the TV and is like a little video game for babies.  She loves riding it, even when it is not hooked up.  It plays music when she bounces on it.  She thinks it is a good place to just sit and watch Mickey Mouse too!

 Another great way to beat the heat is to take a trip to Tropical Smoothie for lunch.  Callie got to experience her first Mango Magic and she loved it!  Look how cold her little nose is from slurping it so fast!


And finally, our pastey-white princess in her finest bloomers: