strawberryland

Today Callan and I went on a Mommy-Son date.  I always love going out with Callan.  He's at such a fun age and is usually very obedient in public.  Today we went to pick strawberries together.  We got to ride in the big wagon that was pulled by a tractor, which took us to the strawberry fields.  I then picked about 8.5 pounds of strawberries while Callan ate "all the big ones" he could find.  

We both got back on the wagon to head to the car with red fingers (and one of us had a very red mouth, too).  Callan told the girls sitting next to us that he wanted to make strawberry ice cream and strawberry smoothies.  

When we got back Callan wanted to ride down the large slides that they have on the property.  So we raced up the hill together ("Come on, Mommy!  Let's run!") and slid down several times on the burlap bag together.  He was very hesitant at first, but after going down once with me, he LOVED it!  

He wanted to race me back to the car (I felt like a kid again...and so free without a baby on my hip for once!), and we both slid into our hot car seats and blasted the air conditioner on the way home.  I asked him what his favorite part of the day was and he said the tractor ride.  My favorite part was just being with him and spending some one-on-one time with my first-born.  

Here are some funny/memorable parts of our date:

--watching him wave bye to the strawberry fields as we rode away in the tractor

--hearing him say, "Come on, Mommy!  Let's race!" and "Mommy, let's hold hands." (as we ran down the hill to the car together) 

--laughing as he asked, "Are we leaving Strawberryland now Mommy?"

--watching him use a port-a-potty for the first time and opening the door while saying, "Eww!  Yuck!"  (while I was screaming, "DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!")  Even a 4-year-old knows it's gross to have to pee on top of someone else's pee.

I didn't get any pictures of our day together, but I figured I would have strawberry-covered fingers and be sweating like a pig as I picked most of the strawberries for us (which is what happened), so taking my big camera along wasn't a part of my plan.  We might head back to get some more soon.  Right now about 7 pounds of our 8 pounds are in the freezer, all ready for smoothies and ice cream in the months to come!

our "thanks"giving turkey

This year I figured Callan was old enough to help me with a little activity in November. I was going through some of my old school supplies the other day and found this turkey bulletin board set that I used to use with my students. I thought that Callan might really love to help me put the turkey on the kitchen wall and add the name of something/someone that he's thankful for on a feather each day in November leading up to Thanksgiving.

My goal was to add one thing each day, but today he insisted on adding everybody's name in our family (as well as his "green dinosaur" that he carries everywhere with him) today.

callan's crush

If we even mention the "H" word in our house, Callan won't stop saying it. "HANNAH" is a word that we don't say in front of Callan unless we know he is going to see her soon. Yesterday Hannah and Callan got to play together at the park. Let's just say I've never seen such incredible cuteness before!! They ran around the playground holding hands and hugging....and let's not forget the kiss she gave him when they hugged before we left. I'd say it's a mutual crush.

Alexis took some pics and video of them. You can see them here.

only one in diapers

After three grueling days, we officially only have one child in diapers! I had two friends who used the Three Day Potty Training Method with their toddler and had success. Gene really wanted to get Callan potty trained. I was fine with waiting a few more months since I already had my hands full with learning how to take care of two kiddos. But, when Gene found out that he had off school this whole week due to the snow, we decided to give it a try.

The 3 Day Potty Training Method (by Lora Jensen) is an intense 3 days of basically doing nothing but following your toddler around and "catching" them when they start to pee in their underwear. It took A LOT of patience from Gene and me, but it was well worth it. On the third night, just as Ms. Jensen promised, it "clicked" with Callan...and he has only had one accident since. He is even sleeping through the night (10-12 hours) and taking naps with no accidents.

I highly recommend this method if you are looking for a way to train your toddler.

18 months

The boy turned 18 months on Oct 1st! What I love about him...

--when we pray with him before he eats he folds his hands (like he's always done) but now he repeats after us, "Dear Jesus.......(and at the end of our prayer) Amen." It melts my heart!

--he's obsessed with elephants and birds. At his 18 month appt the other day, he wouldn't stop pointing at the elephant in the book he was looking at and making the elephant noise for the dr. and nurse. He cracked everyone up.

--he's very efficient at his "chore" that he has to do now. He crawls down the steps to the basement and grunts until I look down at him pointing at the dirt outside Heman's cage. His job is to use the dustbuster to vacuum it up each day. He LOVES using the dustbuster and is very good about cleaning up every spec of dirt on the floor around Heman's cage.

--he started sitting with Gene while he's watching hockey and clapping for the players when Gene claps. Gene couldn't be more proud of his son during these moments. :)

--he finally successfully signs "please" instead of signing "more" for please and more.

--he's eating A LOT these days. He must be hitting a growth spurt (weighed 25 lb last Thursday). He comes into the living room, grabs our hand and pulls us into the kitchen to the refrigerator. He knows where we keep the goods. :)

--he's very compassionate towards other kids. When another child is crying he immediately goes up to them and gives them a hug. Can't wait to see how he is around his little sister/brother.

He loves to chill on his beanbag and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Whenever Mickey calls for "Toodles" to come help him solve the problem, Callan tilts his head back (just like Mickey) and repeats after him, "Oh, Toodles." It cracks me up.

Callan giving Heman "hugs."

More Airplanes

After we watched the airplanes fly right over our heads at Gravelly Point, we headed to the new Air and Space Museum out at Dulles Airport for some MORE airplanes. These ones were a lot quieter, which Avery appreciated. :)

The weekend ended with a quick bath for the two boys. This was back when Callan's mouth bruise was still "fresh."

Airplanes

A few weeks ago, my sister, Brian, Avery & Caitlin all came to visit for a weekend. We thought that it would be fun to pack a picnic lunch and go to Gravelly Point, the park by the DC airport where you can sit at the end of the runway and watch the airplanes fly right over your head. Well, after Avery got the hang of covering his ears, the boys seemed to have a decent time. We didn't anticipate how loud it would be for poor little Caitlin, though.

father and son watching for the next plane to take off down the runway

poor Caitlin...we had to keep covering her ears every time a plane flew over head

Brian---"Are you ready, Avery? Here comes another one?"

Avery---"I'm ready, Daddy!"

Sick

Sorry....not much happening around here lately. We're all sick. Well, Gene is recovered but the boy and I are still wiping our noses several times a minute! Fun, fun!

I forgot...

I forgot to add one of my favorite Callan moments to the list the other day. Last week I got Callan's wooden blocks out to play with him before bed. He was building towers and sorting the blocks by color. I took one of the long log-type blocks and started using it as a microphone. I belted some tunes out and then laughed to myself as Callan looked at me like I was crazy. Then I put the "microphone" up to his mouth and told him to sing...and he did! It was so cute. He "belted out" a few tunes of his own for a few seconds. Let's just hope that he inherits Nana's good singing voice.

New header picture

After talking to my dad tonight, he said that he wanted me to change the header on our blog because he hated to see Callan with food all over his face. (I don't know...he's just weird I guess. haha) My mom didn't agree....she thought he looked cute with Shepherd's Pie smeared all over his face. Anyway, I told him that I would take the Shepherd's Pie picture off and change it to something else tonight just for him.

I'm sure he'll love the "Chocolate pancake" picture a lot better. :)

Love you, Dad!

Fruit Fanatic

I found out recently that there is another fruit fanatic in the family besides me. With lots of great summer fruits available these days, Callan has learned to love Mommy's favorites, too. He tried strawberries a few weeks ago and didn't really make any fuss over them. But the other day we went as a family, along with the Techts, to pick strawberries, and all he did was sit in the field and eat/squish one strawberry after another! He'd eat them all day if we'd let him (I guess he's learning some things from his cousin).

The other day while in the grocery store, I thought he was going to have a hernia when I pushed the cart right by the fruit section. Hundreds of strawberries, apples, peaches, and blueberries right at his fingertips! I thought he'd never stop crying when I passed the bananas without stopping to get some.

Hopefully I'll get to post some pictures of when we picked strawberries. Of course I forgot my camera after looking forward to being outside and getting an opportunity to take some outdoor photos, but luckily my camera-ready friend, Beth, remembered to bring hers along. No doubt hers turned out better than mine would have anyway. So, Beth, no pressure. :) I'm only dying to see how yours turned out!

Father's Day #2

This is Father's Day #2 for the hubby. I've been jealous of my husband lately. Ever since he's been off school for the summer (a whole 2 days so far), he's already taught Callan several things that I've been trying to teach him for months, and Callan cries whenever Gene leaves the room. They have become quite the buddies in the past two days. Cries of "Dadda! Dadda! Dadda!" fill the room whenever Gene walks into the house after being away. Callan barely notices when I come home. haha

It's very cute to see him latch on to Gene, though. Callan couldn't have a better role model to look up to or learn from. I love seeing my two men bond over the movie, Ice Age, or building a tower with blocks...just to knock it over.

I'm extremely grateful for how Gene has cared for me the past few months since I found out I was pregnant. He's been quick to get up early to care for Callan and let me sleep in. These extra hours have been precious to me!

Thanks, Babe, for being a great father! Next year at this time you'll have two kiddos who will adore you.


Here are some pics of when we visited the zoo in May. Gene's doing what he does best...teaching Callan all about useless animal facts! (By the way, the one animal in the whole zoo that Callan was scared of was the cow in the petting zoo!)

"This little light of mine..."

Last night Callan was not cooperating and going to bed when I wanted him to. I was holding him beside his crib for the second time that night trying to settle him down and get him in "sleep mode." For some reason, the song "This Little Light of Mine" popped into my head, so I began singing it to Callan. When I got to the part about "don't let Satan blow it out..." I blew a puff of air into his face, which got him giggling. When I got to that part again, he stuck his nose up to my nose and began blowing back at me. Needless to say, he had me giggling, too. (But he did lay right down and go to sleep afterwards. I guess all the blowing wore him out.)

Zzzzzz....

When my dad was down helping us move, he taught Callan how to pretend that he's sleeping/snoring. My dad pretended to sleep on the floor with his eyes closed and started snoring. Now Callan will come up to me and put his head in my lap and start "snoring." So funny!

Update

HOME UPDATE:
We're moved in, the boxes are basically all unpacked except for a few stashed in the basement, and it's all thanks to my mom who stayed for an extra four days to help unpack and watch Callan.

BABY UPDATE:
I'm almost out of my first trimester already, and I'm happy to report I haven't been nauseous for the past week and a half! Most foods actually look good again. I also already have a little baby bump that showed up at about week #9. I'm just entering into that "my-pants-really-don't-fit-all-that-well-but-it's-still-awkward-to-do-the-loop-thing-with-the rubberband" stage.

CALLAN UPDATE:
May was a busy month for this boy! While we were visiting his new cousin, Caitlin, in State College on May 28th, Callan decided that he wanted to learn to walk on his own. He had been taking 3-6 steps by himself for a few weeks, but while away he learned how to walk all over the place. Of course he had to do it while carrying a toy golf club and a little Fisher Price "popper" toy in his hand. We told him it was easier to learn to walk without the extra baggage, but he had to keep carrying the toys in his hand.

His current vocabulary has expanded to include: MaMa (he only says it when he wants to, though), all done, Dada (he loves to scream this in a high pitched girlie voice when Gene comes home from work...so cute!), and last night he said "rainbow" after he heard me read it to him in his book. So random.

Oh, and the newest "action" that he loves to do is wave like he's in a parade. My mom was waving like this to him last week, and he just picked up on it and now that's how he waves (side to side instead of opening and closing his hand like babies do). We were at a picnic the other day and Gene had Callan up on his shoulders. Callan started waving like that. It was so funny! We call it his "queen" wave.

Pictures to come at some point. We still don't have internet, so blogging is not a regular thing yet.

Changing...

It's no secret....our boy is changing by the day! Lately he's changed the way he smiles. He now flashes us a sly smile with his lips pressed together while his eyes stare you down while they scream "cuteness!!!" He's constantly cracking me up.

Another new surprise is how fast he's (finally) picking up sign language. After taking 10 months or so to learn the sign for "more," he learned the sign for "thank you" and "milk" in a day. Sometimes he does all three signs at once just to get our attention....or maybe he's just confused now.

I'm loving each day with my boy!

13 Months

Callan is 13 months today. He's officially entered the "hide and seek" stage. The other day I saw him playing with his shoes, which he loves to do, but I didn't watch him carefully. Of course they were no where to be found when we were ready to leave the house later in the day. I said, "Callan we have to find your shoes because we have to leave." He went over to this one door that's on our entertainment center that he loves to open and close all the time. I said, "Callan, we don't have time to play right now in the cabinet. We have to find your shoes." He then opened the door and began pointing while grunting. I looked and saw that he had hid his shoes in the cabinet!

Later that day I looked in the cabinet to get something out and saw that he had hid his cup of milk in there.

That same evening Gene and I went up to go to bed. I went into our master bathroom and lifted the toilet lid and found out that Callan had hid the pen from my purse in the toilet.

This is going to be a fun stage....

The Klinger Cousin Count is Increasing!

YEA!! Callan is going to have a new cousin to play with next June! (CLICK HERE)

My new favorite picture

Uncle Spud with his nephew
(they both must get their good looks from me)

Callan's Tree

Wow...look at me doing a regular blog! Things have been kinda busy at the Huston household and I've just started teaching summer school.

Anyway, I thought I'd update everyone on the reason for having a TREE in our living room. Yep, a "wild" tree right there in our living room. Renee is worried about having a wild tree in our home, but I calmly explained that the tree was not in fact a wild raccoon or anything, but in fact a simple oxygen dispensing tree.....safe for the whole family. We have 3 "domesticated" trees in our house right now which were purchased with little worry and I am pretty sure this new addition won't hurt anyone, but who knows :)

Here's the reasoning for this wild tree. When Renee and I went on our very first date, I bought her a little bamboo tree, because she professed to kill plants and as everyone know bamboo cannot be killed. Anyway I thought it was a nice symbol for our relationship. Over 4 years later the little bamboo is doing fine and also in our living room.

So I wanted to do the same thing for Callan. I chose a white birch tree, figuring I'd plant it in a pot and plant this tree in our front yard once we finally buy a house. The little wild tree has sprouted many new branches and has grown quite a little bit in the month we've had it. Hustons might have a problem, if this continues because it may just need a front yard sized pot! I guess for "safety's sake" we'll have to keep an eye on this little tree and if it gets too frisky or rambunctious, we may just have to release it back into the wild. :)