Technolove and Waking Cal Devine

Brigham is now almost 17 months old and full of more life, enthusiasm, determination and blond hair than should be possible in one toddler size boy. Here is what little man is up to these days:

1. Brig is obsessed with keys and knows how use them to power his cozy coupe, almost unlock a door, and press the emergency button on the back of my keyless entry--mainly just to watch mom and dad run frantically towards him. When Brig hears the loud noise, he usually runs to me with a worried and concerned look on his face, but as soon as I turn off the beeps, he takes the keys and presses it again. It makes for some fun times, so long as the neighbors don't complain.

2. He is not only walking, but also running. And making his own decisions -- which is not a good combination. This morning he removed three boxes placed in front of the tv and opened the roll top so that he could push the buttons and make the dvd tray open and close. In fact he spent three different time out sessions for that infraction. Time out is not a deterrent for technolove.
3. Last week Brig's cousins Max and Sophia came to visit from Arizona. That was cool and Brig learned a ton watching the big kids. We had been teaching him to fold his arms at prayer for three weeks; to no avail. And just two meals after the cousins got here he had it down pat. "If the big kids do it, I'm in." I think that line of thinking is how I got busted for shoplifting when I was a teenager. The day after they left I sat down for breakfast and ate a quick spoonful of cereal, anteoration. We heard a squawk from the high chair and there sat Brig with a pair of beautifully folded arms and a look of great disgust on his young little face. We curtly corrected our mistake and prayed with him.

And as to baby Capone:

1. At 7 weeks, Little Cal is a very enthusiastic and veracious eater. Now this is taking into account that he is still smaller than most babies when they are born but with an appetite like this, I am sure Calvin will catch up and surpass many soon (or later as in the case of his redheaded battle tank of a cousin Ava).
2. Since he was born three weeks early the little man has been asleep for most of his life. But as of late he has decided that it is finally time to wake up. His eyes have become huge and just in time his neck has become strong enough to hold that amazing head for long looks around the room. Indeed, today I could not calm the littlest man down no matter what I tried. I cuddled him, I wrapped him, I laid him on his belly, I got him a chupeta and I still found nothing short of whipping out my man boob that would console him; until I sat him upright. He could then watch his brother run around the living room and see the beautiful pictures on the walls. There is a big world out there and he's finally ready to let it come his way.

3. Little Cal is cuddlie (is that even a word?). He loves to nestle into anyone's arms and just melt. Last night we went to cousin Ruth's graduation from Texas Tech Law School and Aunt Stormie held a sleeping Calvin for two hours while screaming and fog horns and even cow bells (this is Texas) were going off all around him. And for Mother's Day today, Calvin slept on his dad's belly for an hour and a half (yes, I did say Mother's Day and dad's belly, but the dad loved every minute). Calvin loves to be swaddled and cuddled and I have to say, that based on how quickly Brig became this bounding ball of toddler boy, his mom and dad are realizing what a priceless time this is.