After a long day.

Callum and I were getting his dinner ready, when I snapped this picture. He's so tired here that he was a bit wobbly and was drooling. Admittedly, there was a bit of mouth breathing as well. According to Dr. Lemke, children don't really start to breath through their noses until around 2 years of age.



Here are Callum's stats:

76.2 cm long (2 ft. 6")
9.5 kg (21 lbs)
4 teeth
Very little hair

Callum clearly recognizes his name now and some things we are saying. Most of the time he will come to us if we tell him to. He understands the word, 'no' but seems to pick and choose when he listens - ack! "This Little Piggy" game just thrills him and he laughs hysterically, it's very cute! Oh yeah, the word sushi gets him in knots laughing as well :)

He is experimenting with his own communication and says "Da Da" indiscriminately most of the time, but more frequently uses the word when looking at Graham.

Climbing, climbing and more climbing is the name of the game these days. There is no way one can stop this wee man from exploring anything and everything. He is able to pull himself up on just about anything, including movable objects. A few times he has been able to 'cruise' along the furniture, but not much yet. I was helping him stand without furniture the other day and when I let go he didn't fall down right away. It must have been about 2 seconds before his butt hit the ground. I figure by Xmas he will be walking.

Our near goals are to get him off the bottle feeds and onto using a sippy cup. Right now he will put the nipple of the bottle in his mouth very confidentally, but he refuses to hold it while he's drinking it. I really think he should be feeding himself his bottle by now, but even more, he should be giving up the bottle.

I've had many people e-mail lately asking what size Callum wears now and for now, he is just coming into the 12-18 months range.



Over and out!

- Allison

He's figured it out.

Callum has officially figured out how to sneak his way into the H.O.V. (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane - hitch a ride with the Cat in the Hat!



Lisa and I were trying to get Callum to sit down while driving, but to no avail. He decided that standing while reefing on the steering wheel was much more appealing, oh yeah and jumping up and down. Now I'm not saying he's going to be a crappy driver in the future, but let's hope this doesn't set a precedent.

One thing is for sure, he looks very cute!

Here's a more intimate look at the two of them in the car.



Cat doesn't look upset, so maybe the ride wasn't as crazy as it seemed!

First trip to the dentist!

Well, Callum is now officially a member of the toothed brigade, thus he needed to have his first appointment with the Dentist. Dr. Rosebush is a great dentist and was pretty sure that Callum was his youngest patient ever! Of course, like most people, Callum was slightly freaked out by lying down in the chair.



Good thing was, Dr. Rosebush was very patient and Callum got a good, clean bill of health. Also, I finally got to see his teeth! Whenever I try and pry my fingers into his mouth so I can have a gander, he clamps down like a dog on a bone. It's not the most flattering picture of Callum, but being at the Dentist has never really been a pretty thing anyway!



And that's the tooth!

Callum's First Halloween!

Our little chicken is anxious to get to the mall to hear the Mayor of Burnaby read out scary stories. Too bad the Mayor has absolutely no experience reading to children and was dreadfully boring! Nonetheless, it was very nice of him to take time out of his day for the kids.

Although, after looking at how intensely Callum is listening to the story, maybe it was just boring for me!

I took Callum to the children's play area at Brentwood Mall so that he could see all the kids playing. He seems to get a real kick out of seeing other children. Because he's so little, I wasn't going to take him into play because I didn't want him to get hurt. I changed my mind, not about wanting him not to get hurt (!), but taking him into play. I figured now that he can crawl it might be fun for him and boy was I right! He was scooting all over the place!

There were so many cute kids dressed up in sweet little suits that you just couldn't help laughing and smiling! I loved watching Callum play and laugh, although there were a few close calls with bigger kids almost falling on him - ack! Check out Eeyore going arse over tea kettle in the background!!!

Callum really liked playing with the giant eraser and crayons.


After we left Brentwood I took Callum home for a nap and to be honest, I kind of needed a rest too! Later in the afternoon I took him over to Lougheed Town Centre to see what was going on there. I was a bit floored at how many children there were trick-or-treating in the mall! I guess this is the new safety trend is to have your child collect candy in the mall. I guess it's an okay idea, but I like the old school idea of getting all bundled up and going out in the cold.

Here's Callum on his way into Lougheed Mall. As my friend Terry said, he looks like a chicken on a mission and I agree!

Here, our seemingly innocent, resting chicken waits...

...and then pounces on the camera! Feral chicken!!!


Tired, out of his costume, done sifting through his candy (he didn't really have any, I'm just saying it for the good of the story!), Callum rests in front of the t.v. (that isn't on). There's something Tim Burton-esque about his little stripey suit. All in all, a good Halloween was had by the McKinnons.


Hope you all had a spooky and enjoyable Halloween too!

Boohaahaahaa!

Family walk.

It's so rare that Graham, Callum and I get to spend any family time together that I suggest a 'family walk' whenever possible. The other day we were privvy to such an event and it proved to be loads of fun!

I bundled up Callum in his new sweater and hat, and as you can see, he looks terribly stylish!



As soon as Graham and I put Callum in the swing he started laughing. If you're used to being around babies, you'll know that once they laugh you feel so light-hearted and important. It might sound a bit on the self-important side, but I don't really care! Graham was given the honour of pushing Callum on the swing. He prepped Callum for what was about to transpire.



There wasn't any need to tell Callum to hold on because he loves to hold on to, well, just about anything and always has done. He used to hang on to his infant car seat handle as soon as we strapped him in. Now he holds on to the shopping cart handle, or the stroller arms, whatever helps him feel more stable, he'll hold it! I'm not knockin' it though, at least we don't have to worry quite as much about him falling.



If you look really closely, you might be able to see Callum's top two teeth. One of them has grown in quite a bit and the other is madly pushing it's way through, much to Callum's displeasure. The good thing is, he has decided that Nutrios (the toddler version of Cheerios) are acceptable and he might actually consume around six of them per day! The bad thing is, now that he is using his front teeth to try and chew, he still uses them for smooth foods and then ends up grinding his teeth. I shudder at the mere thought of the sound - ack!



And this face folks is what makes it all worth while!



Over and out!
- Allison

9 months!

Trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house (more to come).

Gorgeous fall day with my gorgeous Callum.

I know, it's seems like forever.

Welcome back! It's been a long time since I have made a post, but to my credit, I have been very busy. Not to mention, Callum and I went away to visit my parents for a month. Excuses are now over and regular postings will resume.

Callum is now just over 9 months old and his stats are as follows:
20.4 pounds
2'4 1/2" tall

He is crawling forwards now, whereas for the last couple of months he was crawling backwards. I suppose he was really just pushing himself backwards, but I like to think he was experimenting with different methods of crawling before he decided to commit to a specific style.

Solid food is in the mix now, just as long as there are no lumps. Lumps mean gagging, coughing and eventually vomiting. It's really not a pretty sight and I'm sure it must just ruin his lunching experience. I don't exactly want to throw up at the table, but that's just me!

During out trip to see my parents Callum met the following family members (I will list them off as he would refer to them): Great Grandma and Great Grandpa; Great Uncle Fred and Great Aunt Judy; Great Uncle Ralph and Great Aunt Pauline; Great Aunt Doreen and 2nd Cousin (?) Kristen. Of course he has spent loads of time with his Grandma and Grandpa before so that was a really nice experience having Callum get to know them much better.

We all have our special games we play with Callum to make him smile. My Dad's being a silly game with the soother, where he takes the soother out of Callum's mouth using his mouth and this makes Callum laugh like crazy! Then he comes back towards Callum with the soother in his mouth to deposit it in Callum's mouth. It is hilarious!

My Mom invented the Hoochie Koochie dance and that was also a huge hit! She also taught him how to put a plastic ring on it's stand; that is a huge event in a baby's life!

My Grandpa discovered by accident that much like cats and dogs, Callum became very interested in the light reflecting off of Grandpa's watch onto the wall. This made for quite a few minutes of fun while Callum actively followed the light! Very funny!

All in all the trip was very successful and we all had a great time.

Callum is now occassionally pulling himself up on furniture, but still seems a bit freaked out. He has 3 teeth, well really 2.5 and they look so cute!

The next big decision is whether or not I will be going back to work. What a massively difficult decision this is to make. Financially we are okay if I don't go back, so really the decision is being made on whether or not I want to go back. I find it hard to believe that I will be okay with someone telling me what to do all the time, but I do miss some aspects of work without a doubt. I am going away to my parent's place for all of December, so I need to be respectful to my workplace and make the decision within the next month...ack!

I find it hard to think about leaving Callum with a total stranger to help bring him up when I am fully capable of staying home to raise him myself. I have put so much hard work into this first year of his life and it seems kind of weird to not share the more exciting times with him as he is able to have fun at the park, etc. Any opinions on the subject? I would love to hear what people have to say.

I need to go to bed!

- Allison

Picture of perfection.

Picture of perfection.
Originally uploaded by honig.

Standing with Daddy's help.

Standing with Daddy's help.
Originally uploaded by honig.

I love the fact that Callum's shorts pretty much cover his whole legs. I am hoping that he isn't going to be cursed with my family's short legs, long torso thing. Nonetheless, he is perfect!

Tiddly pom.

Tiddly pom.
Originally uploaded by honig.

I couldn't resist.

Tired.

Tired.
Originally uploaded by honig.

The wee man was very tired, but we are determined to keep him on some sort of routine. He was watching the dogs run around the back garden like crazed maniacs, but he still doesn't look overly impressed!

Sitting with a safety net.

Sitting with a safety net.
Originally uploaded by honig.

Callum can pretty much sit on his own now, but we are always concerned that he is going to fall. He might be sitting really well for ages and then all of a sudden he topples over. When there are pillows around it's okay, but the grass would probably be a different story. He isn't very keen on the grass, much as I wasn't when I was his age, but it must be awfully prickly on that sensitive baby skin.

Creeping on Daddy.

Creeping on Daddy.
Originally uploaded by honig.

Callum loves to practise his crawling stance on our chests. I think a month from now he might be independently mobile - ack! I'm really excited about the prospect of him being able to move around, but I am a bit nervous too!

He's just a wee speck in his high chair!

He's just a wee speck in his high chair!
Originally uploaded by honig.

Sweet potatoes were on the menu for the first time today, and let's just say they didn't go over very well. The first spoonful went down with just a bit of a scrunched nose and screwed up look on his face. The second spoonful entailed his mouth gaping open, him crying and dribbling sweet potato out of his mouth. Not exactly the hit that pears were...

He be chillin'.

He be chillin'.
Originally uploaded by honig.

He's like an old pro now...not really, I am standing directly in front of him with my heart pounding, hoping he doesn't decide to launch himself off!

Sitting, not launching off the sofa!

Sitting, not launching off the sofa!
Originally uploaded by honig.

What a perfectly gorgeous wee man. I just love him to bits!

Ch-ch-chaaanges!

Rice, oatmeal and organic pears, what do these things have in common? Our wee man has had the recent opportunity to try all of these foods. The rice cereal wasn't much of a hit; he got all sorts of little bumps on his face from it. Needless to say we stopped the rice cereal in short order. The oatmeal went down well, but it's so bland that he doesn't seem to care much for it, but will accept it anyway. This crap cereal thing was all build up for the best thing ever - organic pears! Callum absolutely loves pears! I would to if I were him. Months of eating disgusting formula; Graham and I tried it and it was vile.

Today is a very hard day for me, as the Doctor has recommended letting Callum 'cry it out'. See, Callum has a really hard time sleeping and for the last (almost) 7 months I have done everything and anything I could to try and help our wee man sleep without having him cry. I have walked, rocked, glided, jiggled, swayed, nursed, picked up, put down, laid down, slept beside, shared a bed with, bounced, swung and dream fed our wee man, but nothing really worked. I would work hard for an hour and a half to get him to sleep only to have him wake up half an hour later, bawling his eyes out. I had no tricks left up my sleeve and he still wasn't sleeping. So tonight not only has Callum been crying, but I have been too. It breaks my heart to hear him cry. I'm so afraid that he is going to think I don't love him and that I have abandoned him. People I love and trust, as well as strangers and people of medical authority assure me he will still love me in the morning...we'll see. If anything happens to my wee man I will seek out all of you and annihilate you!!!

Graham recently got a new, well paying job that will likely not require as many hours of work as his job at the firms. I am going to be very happy, as will Callum, that he is going to be home more. I really want to be a proper family. The job is at a company called Cardiome and they are located on the UBC campus. It's quite the trek for Graham, but so was coming home at 3 a.m. from his current job! Cardiome's share price just rose 30% on Friday, we like to think it's because word got out that Graham got hired - ha ha!

Callum is starting swimming lessons on Monday; he's at Starfish level - I think that's so cute! I bought him Nemo swimming diapers so that he doesn't have a big ol' swollen butt from absorbing half the pool into his regular diaper. In actual fact, for health reasons I don't think he would've been allowed to wear regular diapers anyway. I will post pictures of him in the pool, but not of me in a swimsuit, don't worry!!!

Well, I best get back to crying my eyes out worrying if my son is going to ever trust me again.

Mummy, not so extraordinaire (today) - Allison.

Look at that talented wee man!

Look at that talented wee man!
Originally uploaded by honig.

This picture was taken one day at the mall when I looked over at Callum and realized he had picked up his bottle and started drinking it! I feel like he's growing up so quickly, but it's nice. I can't wait for us to be able to have a conversation!

Very dapper in his one of a kind shirt made by Mummy.

Very dapper in his one of a kind shirt made by Mummy.
Originally uploaded by honig.

For Jenny and Matt's wedding I couldn't find anything 'formal' for Callum to wear, so I sewed on a 'tie' and gave him a fancy tie clip. My litt'l rude boy! I can hear The Specials rankin' in the background all ready.

Oh Mummy, you're so weird!

Oh Mummy, you're so weird!
Originally uploaded by honig.

I'm pretty sure Callum thinks I'm mental sometimes because I take so many pictures of him.

Look at that great job of sitting!

2407
Originally uploaded by honig.