The School of Life

I think Calum changes daily. I don't want to miss a beat with this crazy kid but he just keeps going and growin. It is hard to keep up with all the new things he learns each day and all of his fun and not so fun personality changes. When I briefly taught school it was always hard to keep on top of the students grades. We would be doing all sorts of fun projects, test and assignments and the kids and parents always wanted to know how they were doing. Here is me doing my best to stay on top of things by evaluating Calum's activities :)

Climbing: A+

When we got home last week Calum decided he was going to start a climbing phase.

His ambitions were small at first.

But he soon started searching for greater altitude.

Yikes!! Not only did he climb up here multiple times to try and look out the window, but yesterday he climbed up on our kitchen chair and started rocking it back and forth. Crazy kid is too big for his britches. I thought I's have a few more years before he would become a daredevil like his dad.

Eating: C

I told Kevin the other day that feeding Calum might be the most frustrating part of my day.

Why, you ask? He looks so cute and harmless? True he is ridiculously cute, but he feels the need to be picky and independent. Which is so frustrating!! He used to be the best eater in the entire world. He would eat more than his 3 year old cousins and still beg for more. He used to love the new textures and flavors and gobble up every last bite. Sadly those days are long gone. His latest, he spits out and throws his food. It doesn't matter what the food is. It could be his most favorite thing or something new. He has now reservations in dumping it on the floor. The other fun thing is he gets frustrated and screams when he doesn't get his way. For example if he wants to feed himself and I try to he throws his head back and screams and all hope of us having a nice meal together is gone. It is now a struggle to figure out what he wants and to get him that thing before he explodes. I worry that he's not getting enough to eat because I really think he only eats like 3 bites at most meals. So I'll just say this area need improvement.

Now there are exceptions when he is happy and eats good. One such occasion: I gave him a banana to eat and he took a huge bite out of it and then another huge bite. His mouth was entirely full but that didn't stop him from inhaling the rest of his banana. It's moments like this that I'm grateful for.

On a side note, don't try to give Calum a kiss when he is eating. He will think you are food and try to eat your face!! :)

Kisses: A++

Speaking of kisses, Calum will now kiss us when we ask him. It is seriously the cutest thing ever!! He is all soft and tender and lightly touches his cute little lips to yours. Makes my little heart melt. Love him.
Click to have your heart melt

Calum has also learned to blow kisses to people. It's so funny when he does it because he mainly just pats his face. Funny.

Talking: A

Calum has started using more and more words each day. It started with ball, now he says hi, and off. Those are just the words he uses without being prompted. He will mimic us and try to say what we said, which is so cute. And he understand things that I tell him to do. I ask him to hand me his pacifier, and he does. I ask him to turn around, and he does. I ask him to get the ball, and he does. And the list goes on and on! It amazes me how smart he is already.

Play: A

Calum is such a fun boy. Even with his ever more frequent tantrums. He loves to play ball.

Not only has he perfected the donkey kick to make tsunami sized waves in the tub, he will also blow bubbles and squirt us with his bath toys.

Calum likes to whistle. It is the craziest thing but he does it all the time. The other day he found our train whistle and figured out how to make it work. Having his whole mouth around it wasn't super efficient but it would squeak a little and he thought it was so awesome!

I thought he was done with the whole putting things in his mouth phase but I guess sometimes things are too fun not to put in his mouth, like this fridge letter. It was an "O" and he kept sticking his tongue through the little whole in the middle. I kept taking it out of his mouth and it wouldn't be long until he would find it and do it again. Such a goof.

Walking: A

Calum's walking improves daily. Watch Calum's mad skills I thought he might have forgotten how to walk since we carried him around New York for 3 days straight but he proved me wrong. He cruises everywhere. His walking skills came in pretty handy at the ward dance this weekend :)

He wasn't to sure about the loud music and people at first, but he warmed up after a few songs and was bobbin his head like a mad man.

Calum was tuckered out after a long week of learning so much new stuff and just wanted to kick back, relax and watch G.I. Joe's with his dad :)

To sum up my evaluation I would have to say Calum is an all around good kid. There are definitely some areas that we need to work on. But his lack of dinner skills in no way affects his overall awesomeness in being a little boy. Keep up the good work little man! :)