CALVIN 4 MONTHS

My baby is getting so big. He is 4 months old now and can do many awesome things. He can roll over from his back to his tummy. He can sit up with a little bit of help. He loves to stick his whole fist in his mouth. He loves to bite on his fingers. He is beginning to eat solid foods now and doing a really good job. He has begun to mimmick your expression (if you stick your tongue out, he sometimes does the same). He loves to look at himself in the mirror. He loves to be surprised. He likes it when you blow in his face. He scooted backward on his tummy today for the first time. He has a new walker and loves to sit in it. He can go forward and backward sometimes. He LOVES to scream. That has to be the new favorite. He has definitely found his voice. Joe gave him his first hair cut the other day. He is losing his hair in the back and it was still so long in front. Now he looks so cute. Like a little boy. I think he is beginning to teeth a bit, so here we go!!!!!


He is looking at Joe in this picture and copying Joe by sticking out his tongue

He graduated to a big boy tub from the smaller mesh one we had before. He loves to splash the water

His new "jeep" He looks so excited here.

BEEP! BEEP! Watch out here I come!!!

He is surprised here when Joe was blowing in his face. He loves this

He loves to reach for his toes now

Here he is rolling from his back to his tummy

Sitting up on his hands

Falling over after sitting up for a second

Again with the legs and feet.

FIRST ATTEMPTS AT FOOD

Calvin has been acting like he is ready to try some solid foods. I wasn't planning on starting him this early, but his bottle doesn't seem to be doing the trick these days. Plus he's eyeing us while we eat. Pretty cute. So a few days a go, before we came to California, we tried to give him a few bites of rice cereal. He did okay. He did good with the spoon, but he wasn't really liking the texture I think. So, we waited until we got back to Arizona. Now he loves it. He's a pretty messy eater and loves to stick his hand in his mouth between spoonfuls.

Here is Calvin with his first attempts at food

These are the most recent pictures. You can't tell by the picture, but he does actually eat more than is on his face!!

I love the awesome pink bib. Hey, it was clean!

A GREAT WEEKEND

This past weekend, Joe, Calvin and I drove up to Escalon to be with friends and family. It was an easy drive when we left on Wednesday night. We chose to drive through the night in hopes that Calvin would sleep most of the way. And he did. He was such a good baby. We only had to stop a few times for gas and once to feed him. It took us 12 hours to get there. We arrived at my parent's house around 8:45. My mom was there to great us. It was so much fun to see her with Calvin. He looks so much different from the last time anyone saw him. Later that afternoon after a much needed nap, we visited the Archuleta's for a few hours. Friday was fun. Calvin and I went to go visit his grandmothers. We first visited his great grandma Schuler. Then it was off to see his GREAT GREAT grandma King. I am so glad we got to visit with them. They are both neat ladies. Friday night we ate at D'boni's with my Grandpa, cousins, and family. That was such a great night. Just like old times. Saturday, the Archuleta family decided to get portraits taken. It's not very often that we are all together anymore. Rachel lives in San Francisco and Becky and her family live in LA. So, we took the opportunity to take some family photos and they turned out great. Sunday was a very special day. Calvin and his cousin, Madalynn, were blessed. it was very special. His grandpa Archuleta blessed him. And it was very nice because my parents came to the blessing as well. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful and supportive family. Calvin, we are also blessed to have you in our lives. We had a Sunday bbq at the archuleta's afterwards and just spent the afternoon together. Monday I got to see some friends. Had lunch with Misty, Lorilee and Tami at Cancun Restaurant. I love them alot. They are great friends and it was just like old times. Later, my friend Heather came over with her son Nolan. It was such a great day visiting with friends. Then, sadly, Tuesday we left to come back to Arizona. We were hoping calvin would do just as good on the way back. and he did!!! we have such a calm baby. the only adventure of the day was shredding a tire on the trailer we were using to haul Joe's motorcycle. It was not so fun to stop on the side of the freeway with a baby when it was almost getting dark. luckily the spare tire to our car fit well enough to the trailer. i called a tire place that said they would remain open for us to get the new tire. Lesson learned....keep a spare!!! I was just talking to Joe about an hour before that happened that we needed to get a spare for the trailer. But everything turned out ok. However, our 12 hour drive turned into a 16 hour trek. We got home about 1 am. Now we're getting back to our routine and missing everyone like crazy. I hope we are able to go back home pretty often. It was such a great weekend.


Tami, Me, Misty and Lorilee at Cancun Restaurant Sweet little Madalynn. She is so petite and cute!!!

My parents with Calvin. they are so fun to watch with him.

Grandma Archuleta with Calvin.

Cute profile of Calvin

Grandpa Schuler with Calvin

Grandpa Archuleta with Calvin. they are "super buddies"

Us on Calvin's blessing day

I am so glad my parents came to calvin's blessing

My two handsome men

My cousin Staci and her son Alex at D'boni's

Having fun at the mall after the family photos

It's such a cute photo.

calvin with his GREAT GREAT grandma King

Calvin with his great grandma Schuler

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORILEE

Lorilee's birthday is today. I am so glad she is my friend. She is an amazing lady. I think she is a wonderful primary president, and great mom and wife and a true friend. She's the type of person that will stop what they are doing to help you. In fact she took me to the ER around midnight a while back because I was home alone. She didn't even hesitate. She's one of the funniest people I know. Her sacrastic wit will make anyone laugh and she loves to quote movie lines. She is a lot of fun to be around. I look up to her in many ways. She's been there for me when I really needed an ear to listen and advice given. I miss her a lot and I just want her to know that I love her and that she is definitely an eternal friend. And even though we don't live close by anymore, I think of her often and hope she has a wonderful birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LORILEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MONSOON SEASON ARRIVES....

So, Arizona is known to have some crazy weather. I've heard about the monsoons, but never really experienced one....that is, until last night. I was driving home from work, and right as I pulled into the security gate here on base, a bunch of lightening starts flashing in the sky. Within seconds, a downpour begins. Not only was I driving in this monster, I was also parinoid because I thought Joe and Calvin might be out in this storm. Joe had arrived at the baby sitter's a few minutes earlier to pick up Calvin. They live on base too, but several blocks away from our house. So, driving blind (because the rain was so heavy and practically sideways because of the wind), I'm driving towards their house to see if they were stuck out in the rain while walking home. I couldn't find them, so I went to our house. The light was on but nobody was home. Just then lightening practically struck in our back yard. Very scary. Finally Joe called as I was about to get in the car again to go looking for them. They were safe, thank goodness, just a little wet. Our friend was driving them home. When we got back in the house, we realized our floor in our kitchen was flooded. The weather stripping on our back door is not so great. So, it got our laundry room and kitchen floors all wet. Needless to say, we will be getting that fixed in the next few days. All night long, thunder and lightening kept us up. It was INSANE. It is great to have the moisture. It's not so great to have 100 plus temperatures and the humidity. Oh well, welcome to life in the desert.

YUMMY

So, I've been trying new recipes out lately. I came across this one a few months back. Joe and I really like it and the best part is, it's pretty healthy. So, I thought I'd share because we can all use a bit of a change now and then.

SPICY ORANGE BEEF WITH VEGETABLES
4 servings, but i usually double it because it's yummy.

3/4 pound beef top round, cut into thin strips (i just buy whatever thin cheap steaks are out there, the thinner the better)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch, divided
2 tsp. orange rind, finely chopped
1/2 c. beef broth
1/4 c. orange juice
2 Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
4 tsp. canola oil
1 tsp. ground ginger or 1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
1/4 pound green beans, cut in bite-size pieces
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 carrot, cut into thin strips (I just grate it for sake of time)

Combine beef, 1 Tbsp of cornstarch and orange rind in bowl. toss well to coat and set aside. Combine remaining cornstarch, broth, orange juice, soy sauce, sugar and chili flakes in small bowl. set aside. heat nonstick deep skillet. add 2 Tbsp of oil. stir-fry beef until cooked through (about 2-3 minutes). transfer to a plate. add remaining oil to skillet and add all of the vegetables and ginger. cook until done5-7 minutes. add the broth mixture and cook, stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens, about 1 minute. add the beef back to the skillet and cook about 1 more minutes. this dish is GREAT over white rice.

if anyone tries it let me know how they liked it

1 cup serving: 227 calories, 8 g. fat, 2 g . saturated fat 16 g. carbs, 2 g. fiber, 22 g. protien. this is without the rice.

PICTURES

I just can't get enough of this little guy. He's so much fun. He's starting to show his personality and it is so cute. He is a happy baby boy who rarely ever fusses. But on those rare occassions, I get to hear his scream and other fun noises. He is getting so big. Here are a few fun pictures from the past few weeks.


He has the funnest time when we change his diaper. That is usually when he is the most talkative for some reason.

It is so fun to watch him grab for toys. He doesn't always hit his target, but he is doing great.

I think this is my favorite one. He can roll over most of the time from his belly to his back. but sometimes he can't figure it out. Here is one of those times. Check out the drool!

hanging upside down. Joe always plays rough with him. I'm trying to get used to it, but he is still so little. However, Calvin doesn't seem to mind one bit

Calvin playing with his daddy

CALVIN 15 WEEKS

Calvin is getting so big. He loves to smile and scream now. His new mastery skills are blowing bubbles, laying on his tummy and rolling over. He is growing so fast and it is so much fun to see what he can do.