Swimming, Flying, a Ghost, and 5 Months!!

Last spring/summerish our tub decided to start turning itself on.  It started happening every once in a while. We endearingly called it our ghost because it only happened very rarely.  However, throughout the summer and into this fall the ghost apparently thought he needed to torture us.  The tub started turning on more and more. It got to the point where after one of us showered or Calin had his bath, the tub would turn on up to 10 times a day! It would often go off while we were gone and then run for hours...aaaahhhh!! And to make matters worse, in order to attempt to keep it off, I would have to pound the faucet (it's one of those pull out/push in) in to try to get it to stay off.  I'm pretty sure my hand is forever damaged. This last week it got to the point where it was waking Calin up (for some reason the sound of the tub turning on wakes him up-even though other louder noises don't-weird), going off while I was feeding him,  going off early morning and waking me up, it was just out of control.  This was no longer an endearing ghost.  It was definitely out to ruin our lives.  So I finally did what I should have done way back in July and called to get it fixed. 

We had had a guy look at it while here to fix the disposal and he said there was one small part that he would need to pull out.  He said sometimes the part comes out ok, but if it doesn't we will have to go in through the wall.  Well, this made me nervous so that's why I had put it off.  I really didn't want a big hole in the wall to deal with. 

Finally today it is fixed!! Hallelujah!!  It is so nice to take a shower and give Calin a bath knowing that I won't have a battle with the tub faucet for the rest of the day!! Yea!!

On a more fun note, here are some pictures of Calin swimming with us, and Robby and Calin outside flying airplanes.  I think Robby has more fun than Calin, but one day he will have just as much fun as dad!!

Also, Calin is 5 months old!!!  Where has the time gone??!! 

Here are some things about Calin over the last month:
-He learned to roll!!
-He is almost able to sit up on his own, but only for about 5 seconds before he crashes forward.
-He LOVES to eat!  He has had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, squash (not sure how well that sat in his tummy), and green beans.  The only time he made faces were his first couple experiences of rice cereal and when we fed him cold green beans.  Otherwise he just opens his little bird mouth and leans toward that spoon! 

 

I'm ready for my food! 

-He is also aware of when we are eating or drinking and sometimes opens his mouth waiting for us to give him some too!  (poor kid, you've got a while!)
-He likes a lot of the same things to play with Dad, but also now likes to go on bear hunts (or watch dad go on a bear hunt).
-He is focusing a lot and very aware of much more around him. 
-Although he loves to eat, he is also very distracted by Dad or any noise around him when he is breastfeeding.
-Just this last week I think he is discovering that there is a real person talking to him on the computer when we skype with my family instead of it just being noise. 
-When he gets excited he always sticks his hand right in his mouth like he is attacking it.
-He is still having some teething discomfort and likes to chew on our hands or his teething toys...no teeth yet though.
-His babbling has made a lot of progress.  He makes lots of different noises, changes volume, and moves his mouth differently like he is trying to talk. 
-Dad is trying to teach him to do a high five...it is getting better. ;)
-Sleeping schedule has been HORRIBLE!  The last 2-3 weeks we felt like we went back to a 1 month old waking up every 3 hours, but as a 5 month present to us he slept 9 1/2 hours last night!! WAHOO!
-Calin really likes Dad to pay attention to him when Calin is looking at Dad and will even "growl" to get his attention if Dad is not looking.
-He still loves to be outside.
-He loves when we sing to him and it is often a great way to calm him down.  His favorite songs when he is upset are "Popcorn Popping", "Book of Mormon Stories", "I am a Child of God", "Follow the Prophet", "Nephi's Courage".   His favorite songs to sing for fun are "Proud Mary", "Every Rose has it's Thorn", "The Unicorn Song" (these are all ones Dad plays on the guitar), "Mah na mah na", Raffi songs, and lots of various primary songs.  Robby is very excited to start singing Christmas songs with Calin as well (they are not allowed in our house until after Thanksgiving).
-He also still loves to read books.  He had some favorite Halloween ones that he really liked to read.  He will listen to almost any story though but loves ones that have fun rhymes, rhythms, or tunes that can go along with the story. 

 Whoa! Is it just me or are you shrinking??!

 I think I'll grab that fish now...

 ...and attack it with my mouth! (look at the poor fish's eyes!-so funny!)

 I'm so done with pictures and would rather look at my feet!

We can't believe it's been 5 months!  Calin is getting SO big!  We sure do love every minute with him though!  (although the 4am moments are a little harder to appreciate!) He is awesome!

Major Catch-up=Extremely long post

Way back on October 20th Robby did the Warrior Dash in Vegas.  It was a lot of fun to go down for the day and watch him race! He did awesome (especially considering his lack of training) and seemed to have a really good time! His two brother-in-laws, Jimmy and Austin, did it with him. 

 Everyone getting ready!

 Calin ready to watch Dad run! He was such a trooper the whole day!

 Before the race...happy and smiling!

 Off they go!

 Robby on a couple of the obstacles we were able to see.

 All done! Still happy and smiling!

Nice job boys!  Now go jump in the lake and get cleaned up!

That next week (October 24th) I got to experience what having twins might have been like.  My friend Maria, who lives in Vegas, had a meeting for work here in St. George.  I was lucky enough to watch Parker for her for the afternoon.  He is the exact same age as Calin to the day!  They are birthday twins!   It was a lot of fun, but I am very glad Robby came home about half way through to help me tag team.  Not sure how those moms out there with twins do it!!??

 Not sure what's going on...

 Every once in a while they would turn and look at each other and reach over and try to grab the other. It was pretty funny to watch them investigate and try to figure each other out.

 This is how Robby found me when he got home...they had both just gone through a little (or a lot) crying and fussing (Calin had had shots the day before and I think Parker was just missing mom) and after trading off one baby...then the other...and so on, I finally just picked them both up and went outside and sat on our porch.  They were both happy and content for a while!

 Maria hung out for a little while before she had to go and it was fun to watch these two together!  Hope we can have more play dates in the future!!

 

After Calin's 4 month check-up (October 23rd) we started him on Rice Cereal.  The first two times were pretty funny, but since then he is a pro! That boy sure does love his food!  We have given him sweet potatoes and squash and he just eats it right up (no funny faces).  So fun to have him starting to eat other foods besides just breast feeding and formula!! 

Mmmmmm...sweet potatoes!

The Saturday before Halloween was Dixie's homecoming.  We went downtown to watch the homecoming parade.  We then headed to town square where they were having a Halloween festival type thing as a fundraiser for the school district.  They had lots of booths and games and things that Calin was too little for and we were too big for.  It was still fun to be out in the nice weather!  We did go over and ride the Carousal though. Dad took Calin...I was worried about getting sick from going around in circles.  Rides are not my thing. 

 

 Getting ready to ride!

 

The week before Halloween Calin really started getting interested in his feet and also started to figure out that they could help his momentum to roll.  

 I love him playing with his feet like this! I think it is so cute! 

He didn't quite get the roll though until October 30th.  We were at the church for Young Women's and I had Calin playing on the floor while the girls were practicing a dance for Young Women in Excellence.  He was so excited to watch the cute girls he rolled himself right over so he could see better!! It was pretty funny.  He did it again that night at home and now is rolling to both sides!

He rolls! Ignore my excitement...I really wanted him to roll so Robby could see since he had missed it earlier. 

Halloween was a lot of fun.  We had a great day!  Here are some pictures to show you some of the things we did!

 Went trick-or-treating to Great Grandma Ila's!  We love visiting Great Grandma!

 We had Halloween sloppy joes for dinner!  (My mom did this sometimes for us and I thought it would be fun to do again!) 

 Trick-or-treating to Grandma and Grandpa Comeford's! They were quite excited to see our little lion!

 We were looking for Dorothy all night...never did find her??!!

 After trick-or-treating to a few neighbors (mostly just to show Calin off) we sat outside with the fire and handed out candy and visited with our neighbors that live in our little coldesac.  The ghost is Robby's new addition to the Halloween decor this year...he made it!!

 We stopped by the Salley's (Robby's sister Hollie and brother-in-law Jimmy) Halloween party for just a little bit.  They have quite the pirate decor and have a party every year! Calin was showing off his rolling skills and playing with cousin Gracie. 

 

Robby's full costume...he did not want to wear it all night...it was a little hard to move in. 

 

Our cute little lion...holding his tail! If I only had the nerve! 

Life has been busy, but lots of fun!  We are loving every minute with Calin and rejoice in all his milestones.  I wish he would nap better (naps last about 20-30 minutes) but once he gets to sleep at night (around 10 or 11) he sleeps pretty good.  I can't complain too much, he is a wonderful little boy!  He is growing so fast and learning new things every day!  We are such proud parents! 

 Look! I can hold my own bottle! (with a little help every now and again!)