Brrrrr!

Last week's cold spell kept us indoors for most of the week. At one point I heard that the average temperature across the USA was 17 degrees! I know many places were in the negatives. Thankful for us, the worst I saw was 9 degrees one morning when I went to the YMCA to exercise. Callen and I took advantage of the cold weather to stay inside and have a good ol' time together! It was great hanging out in our PJs or comfy clothes all day without anywhere to be or anything specific to do. We spent the days playing with toys on the floor, working on rolling from back to belly (almost there, but can't quite get it on his own), and doing a little reading. We took it easy for sure!

If a toy isn't in the mouth, the hand will find its way there

Catching up on our reading!

Trying to decide which toy to play with! He looks like such a big boy in this picture.

Callen is so much fun these days. His little personality is sooooo cute. He smiles and laughs at most everything. When he goes somewhere new, he stares at everybody and everything in order to take it all in. Once he feels comfortable, he starts talking, laughing, and smiling nonstop. Right now, he is going to everybody I give him to without a fuss. He does look around for me, but so far doesn't get upset that I am leaving him with someone else. We have taken him to the church nursery the last 2 Sundays in order to get used to other people watching him, and to be around other kids. There is only one other baby in the nursery at church, so he has a good time watching the older kids play. I also took him to the Y nursery once last week. I want to take him more often to become familiar and used to 'playing' with other kids. However, they didn't take him out of his carseat. Next time I will carry him in so they have to make him interact with the other kiddos.

Happy Boy! Loves sticking out his tongue while smiling

I could listen to this laugh all day long. It makes me smile so big every time I hear it and see the big grin it brings to his face. We are so blessed with how good of a baby he is. Such a joy to be around! (Thanks to my friend Kim for her help in figuring out how to post videos. I should be able to add videos whenever I want now...and they will play for more than 1-2 seconds! We will really be able to capture his personality for everyone reading this blog.)

Not too much going on here other than enjoying time with our growing boy. We are super thankful for warmer temps and a bright sunshine to warm things even more. We plan to get out and hike this weekend to enjoy the great weather.

A Victory Celebration

Everyone knows we are big Clemson fans. Callen has been to several games already, with his first tailgate at only 4 weeks old. I am pretty sure Callen has more orange and Clemson outfits in his wardrobe than I do. So, we were pretty pumped about Clemson making it to the Orange Bowl! Because the BCS games don't come on until after 8:00pm, poor Callen wasn't even able to make it to see the Tigers run onto the field with his 7:30pm bedtime. But, the little guy was dressed in his tiger PJs with tiger feet and a tiger on the bootie. Even if he couldn't be awake to watch the game, he was going to 'dress for success!' Needless to say, we were super excited for a Clemson win!!!

The football team was scheduled to return to Clemson between 2:30 and 3:00pm the next day. Doug and I met the team in Clemson several years ago after they won the ACC Championship game in Charlotte. We had such a good time taking pictures with the players, and seeing the excitement of Dabo and all the staff, we decided to do the same this year. We got ourselves all bundled up (and were going to go hiking, but were unable because of time conflicts), and headed to Clemson. We met my dad, brother, and sister at the West End Zone. Before long, the buses were arriving, and the crowd of about 1000 or so fans started cheering and welcoming home the Tigers. The players unloaded from the bus and were immediately attacked by fans wanting autographs and pictures.We were some of those fans!!

Waiting for the Tigers!

Trying to stay warm. Callen is a little heater!

Getting a better look at the buses driving in

They're here!

I would take Callen and push through the masses of people...and then place him in the arms of the players for pictures. The guys were so good with Callen, and had big smiles on their faces while holding him. Callen just hung out in their arms and allowed us to take pictures of him. It was pretty cool for Doug and me, but I am sure Callen will appreciate the pictures in the years to come. We were able to take pictures with some of the big name guys, many of whom will probably be playing on Sundays in the future.

Corey Crawford (#93)

Stephone Anthony (#42)

Shaq Lawson (#90)

Roderick McDowell (#25)

Vic Beasley (#3)

Chandler Catanzaro (#39)

There were also several news stations there reporting live. A group in front of us was being interviewed by WYFF News 4. Kim held up Callen so he would be in the background. He made it on the video! (I can't find a link to this newscast...Boo!)

Fox 21 was also there and had several of us start a cheer. Callen made it on this newscast as well. We have a popular little fellow!
Fans welcome Clemson players home

Dabo, Tahj Boyd, and Sammy Watkins all stayed back in Florida. We were kind of bummed they weren't there, but it was still a great time. I hope we have more chances to do more of this type activity in the years to come...that will mean we are playing some great football!

A Very Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

We had a wonderful time the last 2 weeks. I have been hanging out with my 2 favorite boys and soaking up all the fun times. Doug took almost 2 weeks off of work, and it has been so nice having him at home. Enjoying our day to day routine with him is great, as well as having an extra set of hands to play with Callen is pretty nice too!

The Friday before Christmas, we left for Charleston, and spent until Christmas Day with Doug's mom's side of the family. We had lots of down time there, swinging on the veranda, reading magazines on the couch, and just enjoying the beautiful weather. We took Callen on his first beach outing as well as to a local park for more sliding. 

We are outside, so he must be sound asleep!

Bundled in daddy's coat

My favorite thing we did with Callen was taking him on his first boat ride. I had suggested we just ride up the creek at a slow pace and allow Cal to take in the fresh air and see the scenery. Too bad he slept for most of that! Oupa needed to drain the water out of the back of the boat, so he took us back to the dock so they could go fast. Cal had woken up by this time and was quite content riding in daddy's lap, so we decided to take him for a 'fast ride!' Cal just sat there and looked around at everything. He loved it! He even drove the boat back to the dock for Oupa! You may ask if they make life jackets for babies that small. If they do, we don't have one (our dear friends gave us one to use but it is still a bit big for Cal, so it is hanging in his closet for now.). Uncle Dave got clever and tied a line of rope to a buoy and then tied the rope around Cal. It wouldn't keep him afloat if he fell in, but it would let us know where he was in the water!! (Please no one call DSS on us. I promise we are fit parents!!!). 

Safe and secure!!

Ahhhh! The wind is in my face!

This rope is extra yummy!

Driving the boat is serious business

Uncle Dave also took Callen out into the marsh. They walked out along the tree roots/limbs to find a great sitting spot. Once again Cal seemed pretty content; he was outside and enjoying the warm sunshine!

Doug was sick almost the entire time in Charleston with a version of the flu. No fun for him. He finally got the flu knocked out, but that turned into a head cold. Poor Callen caught something of what Doug had, and developed his first fever, cough, and runny nose. He was still as happy as he could be, although a little more tired than normal and sleeping longer periods of time. You would never know the boy didn't feel well. Both of them were troopers!

Catching some extra zzzzz's

Christmas Day was just as much fun. We spent the morning in Charleston and then left and headed back to Greenville to spend the afternoon and evening with my family. Although Callen didn't quite understand what was going on, he did enjoy helping unwrap gifts. Most of the paper and presents ended up in his mouth. Sorry if your gift has a corner missing or is extra soggy!!

Uncle Dave got me an ABC book

How did I end up in this box?!

A book about my favorite toy. WOW!!

Snuggling with my Kimber

Uncle Scuba...you are scary!

Love my Papa

Big smiles for Mimi Malinda

Photo Bomb by Uncle Michael!

Aunt B wearing the sweatshirt my mom made years ago. Hand glued every sequins on the sweatshirt.                   She loved that shirt!

My Clemson helmet bank!

Peek A Boo Elmo! He's cute, but I am not so sure about him yet.

After all the Christmas family celebrations, we finally made it home Christmas night (after Cal's bedtime). Lucky for us, Santa had written a note telling us that he had misplaced Callen's gifts on his sleigh and would return Christmas night to deliver them. So, the next morning, Cal was able to have his Christmas from Santa!! Santa knew Callen didn't need much...he knew he would be starting solid foods in February, so bowls, bibs, and spoons were brought along with a sippy cup. He also figured Callen would like a swing since he loves to be outside so much.

Wow, more stuff for me to put in my mouth!

Come on! Let's go swing.

Where's the water? I need something in this cup.

This is so much fun!

Sorry for such a long post with so many pictures. But, a lot went on in the last 2 weeks since I last posted. We had a wonderful first Christmas with Callen and look forward to the years to come when he is more aware of what is going on and into EVERYTHING!!