The Condo

Cal made his second visit to the condo in Harbor Springs - Mommy's favorite place to be.  The logistics of going with a toddler were a little more involved than our trip with a 4 week old last year.  Cal had more luggage than me - and I had all my ski gear too!

He was a like a dog in a new environment.  While my dad and I unpacked the car, he crawled all over checking the place out. He loved going up the stairs and peeking at you through the slats.

Taking a nap in Great Grandma's chair with Aunt Britt.

On Tuesday night we went out to one of our favorite restaurants: Chandlers.  We were shown to our table in the wine cellar (my favorite place to sit) and when I asked for a highchair I was surprised to hear they had none!  Guess not many people take their toddlers to a really nice restaurant with walls that are covered floor to ceiling with very breakable glass bottles!  As I was preparing to spend dinner with a kid on my lap, we noticed that my cousin Benny had disappeared.  Everyone figured he was looking for a TV to watch the football game or talking on his phone, but imagine our shock when he walked in the door with a highchair!  Without being asked, he went down the street until he found a restaurant with a highchair and left his new vest as collateral!  Somewhere under that annoying teenage exterior lies a great kid. 

Despite a snow drought, Mommy was able to get a few runs in. We also went for a swim in the pool and visited the Man family for dinner.  Callahan did great in the car, and I can't wait to take him back again.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day is always a whirlwind - in a good way!  I started the day off strong, but by the time we made our third stop, I pretty much stopped taking pictures.  Hopefully my mom has some!

We started the day at home, with stockings and gifts in front of our tree.

His stocking was stuffed.

Mega-Blocks!



Checking out his name puzzle.

 Cal got 3 puzzles, two pairs of shoes, some shirts, a sled, a new truck, Mega-Blocks and a Fridge Farm.  He also got a bunch of feeding things (bibs, cups, utensils), a new toothbrush and an awesome stuffed elephant from Oh My! Ophelia.

Then we headed to the Carr's for our traditional brunch.  With 5 little boys is was happy chaos. Between the great food, good company and making sure my child did not go crazy, I took zero pictures. 

With full bellies, we then travelled across the lake to my parents for gifts with them and my sister and broth-in-law.  Cal got Tiny Toms and a savings bond from his aunt and uncle. His grandparents gave him the Parum Pum Pum Drum, a monogrammed overnight bag, some books and an outfit.  Cal was very interested in his ornaments (a Pinocchio my parents picked up in Italy and a red wagon from my sister).  He also tried to steal daddy's present.

20 more years buddy.

Our last stop of the day was to visit my family at my aunt and uncles house. Cal got a cute outfit, a Green Toys recycling truck and two books signed by the author, including Chuck the Wrong Way Duck. He could have cared less about his presents though, because he was enamored with the Roomba - which was nice because he made a huge mess with his roll!

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

... and Mommy needs a break from wrapping!  I had grand intentions of being done early this year, but having an (almost) toddler makes things difficult. 

Cal had a great Christmas Eve.  We hung out at home in the morning (and Mommy went to yoga) and then headed over to Grandma and Grandpa L's for an early dinner and gifts. After our recent discussion about age appropriate toys, I was sure we had a few more years before we faced motorized vehicles, but we came home with this:


Why yes - that is a toddler sized Power Wheel.



Learning to drive!

Cal loves that freaking thing! He can climb on and off by himself and knows how to push the button to make it go.  He cannot, however, steer.  He just goes until he runs into something.  Hopefully we can work on steering.

After our trip to Grandma and Grandpa's, we came home to put on our Christmas jammies and open up Cal's Christmas Eve gift - a book.  This year he got "Llama Llama Holiday Drama."  Billy read it to him, then Cal and I snuggled during his bottle and read "Twas the Night Before Christmas."

 

It was a good day.  Now to wrap the rest of these presents...

Handy Man

Daddy better watch out - there's a new handy man around this house!

The Many Faces of Callahan

O Christmas Tree!

Despite being convinced we would have to gate off the tree, Cal has been pretty good about it. He has pulled off a few low hanging ornaments, but we specifically put durable, non-sentimental ones down there.  He seems to like the round ones the best, and he likes to throw them.  I guess they look like balls to him.  He has left the two wrapped packages that are currently there alone too. 

All in all, Cal has been pretty unfazed by all of the holiday decorations - maybe because most of them are out of his reach!

Baby You Can Drive My Car

Hey baby - want to go for a ride?

Coxsackie Virus

Cal has the Coxsackie virus (go ahead and giggle a little), also known as Hand-Foot-Mouth disease.  Parenting fail - we totally missed the signs, thinking it was teething.  His nose was running, he was drooling excessively, was clingy and whiny.  He wouldn't eat, only drink.  We went from 3 bottles a day to 6 or 7. We checked for fever multiple times, but he never got above 98.  It wasn't until the rash started that we began to worry.

It started around his mouth.  Red, bumpy, irritated looking.  Because he had been so miserable, we had allowed him to use his paci outside of his crib and car seat.  That, plus the snot and drool - we weren't really surprised by the rash.  Then there was a small spot on his butt - which we treated with a little cream.  Suddenly, it was on his hands and legs.  It looked a lot like the virus induced hives he had a few months back, so we gave a dose of Benadryl and called the on-call Pedi.  They agreed Benadryl was a good idea and told us to bring him in the morning if he was worse.  He was.

I had to work, so Billy took him in.  When I called at lunch I got the diagnosis, and as soon as I googled, it made total sense.  The excessive drooling is from the small, ulcer type sores in his mouth and throat.  He wouldn't eat because it hurt, but he would drink because the milk was cool and soothing.  Tylenol helped because he was in pain, Benadryl because the rash itched.  My poor babe.  He spent all day cuddling with Daddy - and our busy boy does not usually cuddle.

Because it is a virus, there is no medicine to treat it.  Cal is currently on a Maalox/Benadryl combo that helps ease his discomfort (coats his throat so he will eat, makes the itching less annoying).  Luckily, our kid LOVES medicine and will eagerly open his little mouth like a bird for the syringe!  He is now eating some solids, but still not what he normally does.  He goes through spurts where he seems totally fine and playful, then he is fussy and clingy.  I can't say I mind the clingy, but the fussy I can do without.

A Visit to Santa

Last year, my sister started a tradition of visiting Santa's Cabin for family pictures.  It is a fantastic place with no lines and you are able to take all of your own pictures.  Cal's first trip to see Santa was very uneventful - he was 3 weeks old and slept the whole time.

It was such a great expereience that we eagerly booked TWO appointments as soon as they became available for this year - one for each set of grandparents.  They were supposed to be a week apart, but some scheduling issues caused us to rebook one - on the same day as the other!  They were about 4 hours apart, with nap time nicely sandwiched in between.

I wish I could say that it went well.  Cal wasn't afraid of Santa - as long as he wasn't trying to touch him.  He happily played on the floor near Santa's feet.



Oh - Hey Santa.  I like yout truck.



He would sit near Santa, but on his lap?  Melt down.



Daddy!  Come back and get me!



He wouldn't even tolerate Mrs. Claus.



I was super bummed.  Where was my happy baby?  He had been whiny, clingy, snotty and drooly all day.  He had a rash around his mouth that we assumed was from the snot/drool/paci combo.  He appeared to by cutting his molars in the roughest way possible.   All around a bad day to see Santa.  Maybe next year will be better. 

Presents!

I love buying presents.  The hunt for the perfect gift excites me.  This year, I was happy to get involved in two birthday gift exchanges for two fabulous mom's groups I am involved in.  One exchange was for the November birth month club.  These women are so supportive and sweet! We chose to exchange onesies or shirts.  I bought and returned several shirts until I settled on two shirts that I finally sent out right before little Mathew's birthday (of course I liked them so much I bought one for Cal too!)  Cal got this adorable outfit from Clara.  It is perfect for lazy winter days!

The other exchange was for a message board I am a member of.  These women are fantastically smart and snarky and I always enjoy reading what they have to say.  Cal was matched with a little girl named Judith.  We sent her an adorable handmade Game Boy teether I found on Etsy (because her parents love video games), the girl version of Cal's favorite toy (Fisher Price Lil Zoomers) and an ornament with our group mascot on it.  In return, Cal got a present from an awesome little boy named Eli.  Eli and his mom sent Cal some Chuck and Friends toys.  He loved them and was saying "car" before we even got the package out of the box.  They are the perfect size for little hands.

Now we are onto some holiday gift exchanges for both groups!  One for the mommies and one for the babies...and I can't wait to shop some more!