Calvin goes to Missouri

Not long after discovering that planes exist, Calvin got to ride on one. Two, actually. Calvin flew with us to Missouri for a weekend reunion with friends and family in mid-August. He did pretty well on both flights - cried a little, slept a lot, ate, played, and spent the rest of the time wondering what the heck was going on. While in Missouri, Calvin flirted with the ladies......took a few naps......met Great-Grandma Betty......and learned some jokes from Grandpa Jim.

Calvin goes for a ride

After trying out the pilot's seat in his Grandpa Mike's plane, Calvin climbed into his own seat on his dad's shoulders. Even though Calvin's arms can hardly reach past his own tummy and his feet hardly make it past Bryan's face, the view from up on dad's shoulders is great.
Over the months since Calvin's first ride on Bryan's shoulders, Calvin has gotten pretty good at it (it helps that he's getting bigger).

Calvin sits in his grandpa's seat

Okay, it's time for a new theme: Calvin's adventures over the past many months.

A few months ago, Grandpa Mike stopped in for a quick visit on his way back from Oshkosh where he and nearly a million or so other pilots, planes, and plane-enthusiasts gathered for a week-long airshow.

While Grandpa Mike and the Cessna 180 were in town, Calvin got to try out the pilot's seat. Calvin has a little while before he's big enough for his feet to touch the pedals.One of these days, he won't need dad's help to reach the steering wheel. Thankfully I've got some time to get used to the idea. ;)

bath time video, as promised

Bath Time!

Calvin has had a rough time with teething lately, and one day last week was particularly bad - lots of crying and fussing and pain, not eating or sleeping well, and wanting to be held non-stop (still no teeth, by the way). But, somehow, all that torture was forgotten during the evening bath. After making a few tidal waves that soaked the floor and me, Calvin laughed and giggled and snorted and laughed some more at the bath toys and the squirts of water the produced.We have a great video of this, but for some reason I'm not able to upload video tonight. I'll try again tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Calvin's new do

Pedro totally approves.

Hera the Cat

Hera the Cat is a very special member of our family. Though she didn't come to live with us until after we moved to Colorado, Hera and I have known each other for over 20 years, longer than anyone else living in this house. She was my sister's cat when I was a kid; we go way back.

With her age comes some well-earned attitude toward anything and anyone who threatens her right to live out her remaining days/years in peace, especially obnoxious dogs who bark too loudly in her presence or mistakenly think they can intimidate her. She has an impressive resume of dog-training experience, including special kitty karate moves that she has perfected over the years and the ability to chase a dog around the house in true horror film fashion until they bow to her superiority. Hera may be old and feeble, but there's no question that she's in charge.

So when we brought Calvin home, we were more than a little nervous about her response to him. For the first many months we kept the two apart. Now, though, we have relaxed a little, allowing contact between Hera and Calvin only when Hera approaches him, and only when we are there to closely monitor every second. Calvin of course is thoroughly delighted by Hera's presence, and Hera will occasionally respond with a nice purr. She's been remarkably patient with him, not even flinching when her fur, skin, ears wind up in a tightly-clenched fist and fist-fulls of her fur get pulled out. Of course her patience has limits, and we don't wait around to see what those are. It's clear, though, that she has learned to appreciate Calvin's presence in our home in one immensely important (to her) way: with a baby comes many fantastic napping spots.

Calvin's first word? Probably not...

I think Calvin has been using his first word (signed, not spoken) for a couple of weeks now, but Bryan is skeptical. I admit, maybe my mom-eyes are seeing more than what Calvin really means to do. But I have photographic evidence!The word is the baby sign for 'dog' that Calvin's daycare uses (tongue out with a little pant like a dog). Calvin has totally been sticking his tongue out when the dogs are around. But then he is a baby, and sticks his tongue out at other times too.

Okay, so maybe it's just my imagination and Calvin isn't really 'saying' anything on purpose. It would be a fitting first word, though. ;)

Oh, and that's Pedro on the right, saying goodnight to Calvin before Grandma Donna took over.

On the job

When Calvin learned how to sit about a month ago, he decided it was time to learn how to play piano with his hands (as opposed to with his feet, which he had mastered months ago).
Pedro dutifully took his place behind Calvin where he could keep an eye on him and lend a helping hand when needed.


Good doggie!

The Dog Days of Summer

Pedro often kept Calvin company while playing in the backyard this summer.

Picture-of-the-Day begins!

Here starts my picture-a-day plan for catching up with what's been going on with the Hokes. I'll start with a picture of one of my favorite themes: Pedro and Calvin.

It was love-at-first-sight for Pedro. As I've mentioned before, Pedro immediately took on the nanny role with Calvin, and his devotion to his 'puppy' hasn't wavered for a single moment since. When Pedro isn't tending to Calvin's bathing needs (which are way more often than even I think is necessary), he's monitoring Calvin's diaper status, demonstrating to Calvin how to walk and talk and gnaw on toys, or is resting nearby, ready to spring into action at the first whimper or cry or threat of invasion from the neighborhood cats.

Here Pedro is demonstrating the correct way to sniff flowers.