8 months old

Well, it comes to no surprise that Callum quickly picked up on his rocking and scooting and elevated it to full on CRAWLING in just a few short days! He's been making his way around the house on his very own for many many weeks now and is becoming an old pro. He's also extremely eager to stand - and pulls himself up on anything he is able to (when he's strong enough, some of the taller pieces of furniture still allude him). He'll "walk" a few steps while holding onto your fingers but he hasn't quite got the balance down enough to take a few steps on his own. In due time - we know it's around the corner!

He doesn't speak anything more than cooing, babbling, and a constant stream of "dadadadada" :) but he knows what he wants and how to get it. If you walk into the room that he's in, and he wants you to pick him up, he'll immediately crawl to your feet and PULL on your pant legs, whining at the same time, until you give in (or until he escalates to crying if he's really upset, tired or hungry).

He's doing really well at eating - and even though he's been battling one ear infection after another, he's still able to take down a bottle or put a jar of food away no problem. I had started him on some "puffs" and yogurt melts, to give him some practice at picking small objects up with his fingers, but because he's been so sick, it hasn't gone really well (he LOVES to eat them, but if he gets one caught down his throat the wrong way, or inhales one mid-cough, that's the end of the puff AND all of the peas, or squash or yogurt we just fed him, since the choking leads to puking everything back up). So, we're taking a break on "harder" solids for now and sticking with the stuff that doesn't cause him to lose his meal.

He did get a chance to try some juice for the first time this past weekend. Since he's been on so many anti-biotics, the doctors have told us to keep him REALLY hydrated, but on the flip side, milk isn't great when you've got a head cold and are congested, so Dr. Safir gave us the ok this past week to start giving a bit of juice or water instead. Callum was more interested in biting the sippy cup's handles and nipple than he was at drinking the juice. :)

He now has both bottom front teeth in, quite visible and sharp as all hell. A third has been threatening to appear (next to his bottom front left) for a few days now - which makes it hard to tell if all the biting and mouthing and drooling and runny nose is due to (yet) another cold, or just more teething?

Along with (or because of?) the teething and cooing, Callum has discovered his lips and tongue. He absolutely LOVES to play with his lips and make sounds while plucking them with his fingers. And, he's recently discovered the fun art of clicking his tongue - which he does all the time, but particularly if I'm not fast enough with the food at the dinner table. ;-)

In fact, now that he's mobile, sounds are taking on a whole new meaning for Callum. He is free to pick up anything he sees and throw it, drop it, or most often, bang it on the floor or other hard surface. He seems to be pretty curious as he tests out everything he sees to figure out the sound it makes and what happens when he drops it or hits it on something else. It can be nerve-racking for us (not to mention, it upsets Logan anytime Callum rips apart a train track or two from his table!), but we know it's all just a part of the learning and soaking in that he's doing right now. :)

While we love Callum to pieces, we definitely are getting tired of the mid-night wake up calls. It's particularly trying when Logan wakes up too, and/or the two of them are sick. But, we're doing the best we can right now. Days when Logan and Callum are peacefully playing side by side in the living room, with Logan talking to his best friend and expecting answers back, definitely make it all worth while. :)

7 months and 35 months old

Whee!  I'm behind again.  What's new?  Can I blame it on my surgery this time?  ;-)

Callum is looking more and more like Jonathan every day.  I love it - I feel like Logan is a mini-me, and Callum is a mini-Jon.  We've got one of each of us!  Of course, Logan's looks changed completely (in my opinion) from his baby days to his toddler days - so it'll be interesting to see if Callum continues to look like Jon once he outgrows his baby face, or if he takes on more of my looks too.

Jon and his creepy used car salesman look: mustache and all

Callum's a joy to be with and I'm so in love watching him grow up and continue to develop.  Of course, the big news this month is his rocking and scooting.  I thought it would take him longer to pick up on the crawling, because he's not good at sitting up on his own for long periods of time, nor can he get himself into a sitting position on his own!  And yet, those things don't seem to matter as he's full steam ahead on MOVING.  He has always loved to kick his legs and stand - but he's doing it more and more now that he has got the hang of his jumperoo, and now that he knows he can sorta scoot around.  He's not great at scooting forward, he hasn't quite got all the mechanics down, but as I posted earlier, he's a pro at scooting backwards (and eventually, getting himself into predicaments underneath furniture!).

He continues to enjoy being the center of attention, but given his new found interest in movin' and shakin', we're actually able to leave him alone for longer periods of time to explore on his own.  I have to admit I love that.  ;-)  Logan has found a new interest in watching over his little brother as well (since I'll often times set Callum down in the same room with Logan so that they can play together).  Sadly, he mostly loves to torment Callum with a lot of "claw" hands and roaring.... thankfully, Callum is usually in great spirits and takes all of this in stride.

His dexterity is improving each day as well - he's not only able to grab (and hold on for dear life), but he's moving objects back and forth between his two hands (and into his mouth), showing an improvement in his fine motor skills.  He still has trouble picking up smaller objects with his thumb and forefinger, but we've been practicing that as well, with bits of finger foods here and there.

He's also become quite a talker this past month - much more goo-goos, ga-gas, ba-bas, and ughs.  He loves to babble, particularly when he's practicing his jumping or crawling.  I'm not sure what it is but he just puts his entire being into his exercise!

Perhaps his chattiness comes from his continuing awareness of Logan.  Logan talks nonstop, continues to develop a demanding, loving, funny and quirky little personality.  I was describing Logan to a coworker of mine just last week and he said "Gee Bree, I'm not really surprised that your son has quite the personality.  Look at his mom!"  I thought it was a funny, and ironic, comment.  Since I think of myself as the boring wall flower in our family household compared to the boys and Jon.  ;-)

"I got Callum's nose!"

Logan has constant energy as well - and it wears Jon and I out just trying to keep up.  He LOVES school and playtime with his friends, but he's also become more aware of the time he spends at home with Mom and Dad.  Or perhaps he's becoming more aware of our time dedicated to Callum and wants some of his own.  Whatever the reason, I've noticed he asks for our time more - he wants us to play with him, to read to him, to watch TV with him, to lay down in bed with him.  He likes our company and enjoys our time together.  How can I resist or deny such requests?  I have to say, I eat up every second of playtime, cherishing every minute I have with him.

Most of the play time that he and I do together are these wild crazy "Mr. Dinosaur attacks Mr. Shark" episodes, but I've noticed his imagination kicking up a notch or two as well.  He dreams up these funny stories and situations for his animals that we will then enact as we're lying together in bed.  Or, he'll talk to me about what is happening with the characters in the book that I haven't started reading yet.  It's actually quite nice - because as much as he likes to play with us and his friends, he's also content to play on his own, talking to his trains and cars like they are listening, narrating out the story playing in his head, and their (usually) ultimate demise.

I suppose it goes with having a vivid imagination, but Logan has been waking up more and more each night.  He has dreams that make him cry and dreams that make him laugh.  Often times Jon or I will crawl into bed with him and spend the rest of the night by his side - it makes for a rough night on us, but he seems to sleep much better with one of us there, and to me, that's most important than anything else right now.

Any day now...

Late last week Callum's teachers (and we) started noticing Mr. Callum "rocking" on all fours.  He continued practicing a bit through the weekend, whenever I'd set him on the floor.

When I picked him up from school today, there he was, in the middle of the classroom floor, on his hands and knees, rocking back and forth, doing everything he could to will himself closer to the toy (strategically placed) in front of him.  When he got tired, his legs would give out and he'd fall onto his tummy, but then 2 seconds later I'd see him POP his knees up under him to support his weight again.  BAM.

He did this several times in the span of a few minutes, which makes me (and one of his teachers, Danielle) think that he could be crawling any day now.  We'll see!