It's Spring!

 It is AWESOME that the weather is warming up. Absolutely AWESOME. I can't tell you how nice it is to be outside again and not worry about wearing a jacket. I find that as soon as the sun sets past 6pm I am in my happy place. I love it best when it is still light outside at 8pm! I also love it when the sun is up by 7am. I feel so alive.

With the weather warming up it's time to think about gardening again. It's bitter sweet. I love the vegetables we get in the Fall but I HATE the weeding and the caring of the plants when they get bugs on them and the tilling of the earth to get the soil ready. Sometimes, I'm surprised I haven't quit yet. I tell myself about the feeling of empowerment I'll get when I make tomato sauce and can beans and live off of squash soup. Crazy, I know. I try not to think of the Farmer's Market and how I can probably just buy the produce for what it would be worth in sweating all summer outside doing weeds and spraying. It's the feeling of empowerment, right?

Calvin seems to really enjoy being outside. The other day we went to the garden (we participate in a community garden since we dont have any spots near our home) to bring in new soil and to till it up. Calvin was pretty content just hanging out in his Pack-n-Play. He likes it when we stand him up and he can move around the side of it as he watches us work. He can't get up by himself but he can hold on for a long time. He loves being in the grass too. Sometimes when we're inside and he gets fussy I'll take him outside and we'll lie in the grass together. He touches the blades in his hand and then makes his way to dead leaves. *Whoa!* I'm keeping an eye out for dead leaves and when I think there are none Calvin surprises me by picking it up and trying to get it into his mouth. It's like he has dead leaf radar. :)

8 Months

I am just grateful that my son has survived 8 months! Is that the kind of thing a good mother should be grateful about? Sometimes I feel like there are more ways to screw up than there are otherwise. I still check on him in the middle of the night to see if he's still alive.

It is so fun to see how he is growing and what types of things he is fascinated with too. When I think about the milestones he reached last month I'm surprised about what he has accomplished. He is on a role... or rather "roll".

For 8 months:

-Wears 6 months clothes (can still fit into some 3-6)
-Loves to smile at strangers. LOVES IT.
-Can push himself backwards
-Matt & I like to believe that he understand what "give me your hand" means, because when we say it he sometimes gives us his hand. It could also be the fact that we are reaching out to him that makes him give us his hand---but still he knows our cue!

-He prefers to be standing up.

-He pushes himself backwards. This causes a problem when he pushes his legs underneath the couch and he realizes he can not move any more or when he pushes himself so that his legs are around the leg of a table and he can't push backwards any more.

-He loves to stare at you while you're eating and on occasion protests if you do not give him anything to eat either. He does a little grunting sound as he watches you feed yourself. This kid LOVES, LOVES, LOVES food.

Pumpkin

-He is eating lots pumpkin right now because I still have quite a few pumpkins left from Halloween. I'm glad he's eating it because I certainly would not! Pumpkin? Gross!

-I'd also like to say he loves to eat plastic bags, if I would let him. I'm wondering if someone makes child proof plastic bags. My son loves to yank on the bags and loves to put them in his mouth.