Calvin is three months old! He celebrated this milestone on nice walks with Grandma (Caldwell) in the bright April sun. They went down to the lake (for a nap) and to the park next door (to scope out his future playground). Aww....
As he wraps up his ninety day probationary period, I'm glad to report that we're going to keep him! He passed with flying colors.
Calvin has more control over his extremeties these days and he loves to kick his big strong legs. This development has made bath time interesting. Gone are the days of quiet baths by the window. After a few consecutive days of floor-soaking kick fests, we moved his little blue tub into the big tub. Here he can kick all he wants. 
Easter weekend produced beautiful, "can't possibly stay inside" weather, and before long, Cal found himself lying in fresh green grass under blooming daffodils. Delicious.When I first learned that we'd have a January baby, I was worried about being cooped up inside all winter until a friend told me that her winter birth was wonderful. They hibernated for the first few months, and by the time she was ready to go outside, so was her little one.
That has proven true for Calvin and me, too. After a relaxing and restful winter, spring has sprung in the Midwest, and we're ready to play.
When Cal is finished eating, he "dismounts" with pizzazz. He stretches so that I need to lay him down on my lap, at which point he assumes the position pictured here.Maybe he's flying high on milk, but with one hand behind his head and the other straight up, it's kind of like his own version of the Superman flight pose.
It cracks me up every time.
My Grandma Caldwell was a special woman. In fact, her grand-daughters have talked of naming their own child after her. So it's fitting that when there's a new Grandma Caldwell on the block, she, too, is a woman worthy of a namesake.
Calvin spent his first two months in a moses basket next to our bed. It was cozy for him and convenient for me when he awoke to eat every two hours. At nine weeks, though, it was a little too cozy, and I was ready for a little more distance between us. (See? I'm learning. I'm growing.)
Legend: I came out of the womb with callouses on my thumbs from sucking them in utero.
Alright, so it was technically still March, but just barely. To set the scene, Cal triumphantly made a mess of things just before he was to get a bath of his own. So since I was already in the shower, in with me he went.
I wondered how he would react to rain drop effec
t when he's used to still waters, but he took to it like a pro -- even when directly under the faucet to rinse his shampoo.
Bath time is still the best, but it's good to know that we can shower, too, in a pinch.
A family dinner in honor of Grammy (Anderson's) birthday went later than little Cal could. However, not one to miss out on a party, he wasn't thrilled at the idea of sleeping in another room. So Grammy graciously offered to hold him while he slept contently in her arms. Her love for this little guy is evident, isn't it? Calvin is a lucky boy to have this much love and tenderness in his life.
After offering (perhaps even threatening?) to take a rolling pin to my belly in order to get Calvin out before his return to England in early January, Eric's brother,Uncle Ryan, reluctantly boarded the plane and resumed his studies abroad. However, he kept close tabs on his new nephew with pictures and updates, and returned to the States at his first opportunity to meet the little guy, now just two months old. Not bad considering the miles separating them.
Their first meeting was a little less than eventful. Eric's brother, Uncle Kurt, could hardly keep Aunt Denee away, but Ava was more interested in the cat. Naturally. Jake moves around more. And he has a tail.
When Cherith's brother, Uncle Shane, received the call that we were in labor, he and his girlfriend, Cassie, jumped in the car and made their way to Lake Geneva. However, school midterms meant that they could only stay for the first 15 of our 45 hour adventure.
Calvin's first outing included a visit to Grammy Great, Eric's maternal grandmother. Cal and I teamed up with Grammy (Anderson) and met her for lunch. Along with being a special person in her own right, Vera was also Elom's wife. She was pleased to meet her first great grandson, named for her late husband.
Calvin is so adaptable. We have initiated a routine around bed time to provide some stability in his life, but he doesn't seem to mind if we switch things up a little. For example, while staying at Grandma & Grandpa (Caldwell's) house, we bathed him in the kitchen sink instead of in his blue tub. He loved it. And he couldn't take his eyes off of Aunt Jenifer, who lent a helping hand.
We were lucky enough to have a visit from Cherith's brother, Uncle Chris, the day after Calvin was born. However, because they live in Salt Lake City, Aunt Jenifer and Cousin Chloe had to wait a month to meet little Cal. The visit was well worth the wait. 
We had so much fun together, and Chloe ... well, she loves her cousin already. She crawled right over to him with a big hug all prepared.
From his first moments of life, Calvin has had many people excited to meet him. Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and close friends have come from far and wide to see our little guy. And while they are each precious to us, we were thrilled when my best friend, Julie, brought her son to town before Cal was even one month old.
Calvin hated the first bath that his dad and I gave him. We straddled his blue tub across our kitchen sink and went at it, our little one screaming the whole time. Disheartened, we skipped bath time the next day.
