No Hablo Espanol

Patrick is a Spanish speaker. He served his mission in Chile many moons ago!

I am always encouraging him to speak to Cal in Spanish so we can have a super smart bi-lingual child.

All day long I am talking to Cal... telling him the plans for the day. Telling him how much we love him. Telling him how long we have waited to have him join our little family. Talking, talking, talking...

One day I walked into the room and heard Patrick speaking to Cal in Spanish. "Cal can"t understand a word of what you are saying" was the thought that came to my mind.

Then I just had to laugh outloud- because in my mind he can understand every English word I'm saying... and secretly, I know he can!

Because of you...

This Mother's Day was all I ever dreamed it would be!

It started at 4am with a feeding, a rocking and a diaper change... It was perfect!

As I held our little guy tight, I felt so much love I could hardly keep back the tears- I am so blessed!

I am so blessed because of those around me that have blessed me with this opportunity...

Because of you...

.

So long I dreamed you'd come find me

And you and I would become 'we'

Patrick my darling, the love of my life

Because of you I am a wife

.

Dear birth-mother, what can I say

We thank God for you everyday

A sacrifice given above any other

Because of you, I am a mother

.

Calan David, our precious son

Our life with you has just begun

My heart's so full, no more longing

Because of you I am a mommy

.

Heavenly Father my special friend

You've loved me always, without end

You see in me the very best

Because of You I am so blessed

Mother's Day

Patrick is incredibly thoughtful when it comes to celebrations and holidays. This year was especially special and he spoiled me rotten!

Several days before Mother's Day he brought me these beautiful flowers. I love getting flowers, but what I loved even more was overhearing the conversation he had with Cal as he held him up to see the flowers... "Hey buddy, this is how you get in good with the ladies." So true my love, so true!

This was my favorite gift... Patrick had a mold made of Cal's hand and foot and then he found this glass dome to mount it into... a forever keepsake. How thoughtful! How precious!

Not only did I get beautiful cut flowers, but I also got this great hanging pot of flowers. This one I can keep for the whole summer.

I love it!

It has become a tradition, and this is the 4th year in a row that Patrick has given me perfume for Mother's day. I LOVE to think of him at the counter at the department store smelling all the different kinds to pick one just for me. That makes me smile!

Now this last gift just cracks me up. This has also become a crazy tradition... I love Cheetos- love them! But I rarely buy them. So this year for mother's day... you guessed it! In my Christmas stocking- yep! My Easter basket- well, you get the idea!

I love you baby! Thank you for making this such a wonderful day for me... my first year as a...

MOTHER

Houdini, eat your heart out!

Cal loves to be swaddled! He sleeps so well when he is snuggled up tight! Patrick is the master swaddler. When daddy swaddles, the blanket stays put...

.

This morning when I heard Cal fussing a bit and went in to get I got quite a surprise...

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His blankets stayed put, but HE managed to wiggle his way out- leaving his PJ's and the blanket behind.

.

Way to go Houdini! We are totally impressed!

Happy Birthday Little Guy...

My brother was born when I was 3 years old. I don't really remember much about him joining our family... because I don't remember my life before he arrived.

But, still to this day I have a very vivid memory of my baby brother- something that was quite difficult for my young mind to grasp... his age.

I had just turned 3 right before he was born... and a few months later I was still 3. But his age was changing all the time. He was a month, then 2 months, 3 months etc. and I was still only 3 years old.

A three year old has no concept of time, so the fact that his age was changing seemed a bit confusing to my little girl mind. I thought it a bit unfair that he was having "birthdays" so often... and I was still only THREE.

Well, today our little guy had a "birthday" celebration of his own.

Today he is one month old. A whole month!

Someone asked me the other day if the new-ness had worn off yet. To be completely honest everyday still feels like a new day... our first trip to the store, our first walk around the neighborhood, his first time to squirt mommy twice while being changed. Everyday has brought something new and we LOVE it.

Here are some of our favorites in his first month of life:

• Cal LOVES bath time. He kicks and smiles the whole time, even when I wash his little face.


• Cal loves us to sing to him. He is rarely fussy, but if he's having a hard time we just start singing to him and he calms right down. Last night I sang to him for about 20 minutes straight and he just starred at me until he drifted off to sleep.


• He also loves story time. The other day I was telling him a story and he "listened" intently the entire time.


• He is constantly making silly faces. Sometimes we think he can understand us because his facial expressions match so perfectly. For example, when we say something goofy he rolls his eyes or he'll smile when we tell him how cute he is. The other day he was so sleepy but still had his eyes open so I told him that he could go to sleep... instantly he closed his eyes and fell asleep. He just makes us smile.


• He has become quite aware of his little hands. We have seen him push his pacifier back into his mouth several times or he will put his hand over his eyes to block out the light.


• We LOVE the little noises he makes while he's drinking his bottle- adorable!


• He HATES to have his nose cleaned out, but hey, who wouldn't? Daddy is our designated nose sucker-outter. Cal screams until the second it is over and then calms right down... he is very forgiving!


• Cal LOVES to be held and snuggle. We have family nap time almost every day. :)


• We love when he flairs his nostrils.


• He loves to be swaddled at night, but he is becoming quite the escape artist!


• He is a great sleeper. In fact, Patrick has tried to wake him up several times to play and could not do it.


• His hair is still nice and thick- he hasn't lost any of it yet.


• He makes us smile all the time and we love that we can start to see a glimpse of his cute personality.

"Happy birthday" little guy!

We love you SO much and look forward to being with you everyday!

Our sweet friend Marta took some ADORABLE pictures of Cal for us. You can check them out at her blog: More Than Memories Photography. Scroll down to find him.