Happy Official 6 Months Cal!

It's amazing that tomorrow Calvin turns 6 months old. Time has really flown by for us but as I sat on the couch today reflecting on his time with us and how much my love for him and Tayva has grown I got a little teary and thought it best to write a bit.

Before Cal was born I loved how we would lay on the bed and I would tell him made up stories and he'd cuddle up next to where my voice was coming from.

When Cal was born he came out dark purple, with squinty eyes and a long head. He looked like a mix between an ancient Egyptian, an African American, and a Chinese person--I didn't know what to think! As the minutes and hours went on he started looking a little more normal. I remember accompanying him to the nursery while Tayva got moved down to her room. When we got there they were worried about him and had to take some blood. When they put the needle in his vein I watched his little blood squirt on the table and then into the tube and my heart broke. He didn't have that much to begin with, how could they take more? I didn't know what was going on and I didn't know if I could handle it. I asked the nurse if my mother-in-law could come stay with him and I'd go to Tayva because I was more confident she'd handle it right but they wouldn't allow it so I stayed with Calvin in the nursery for many long, lonely hours and prayed for him.

A few days after we got home Tayva was sleeping and I got to hold Cal and we had our first scripture study together. I taught him all 6 missionary discussions...not sure how much he retained :)

Shortly after he was born I had to go back to full-time work and school and leave he and Tayva home. It breaks my heart that my family is at home growing and bonding together while I'm away from them, but I am so glad that Tayva can stay home.

Calvin's got the greatest sense of humor and timing: whenever anything gets a little too sentimental he seems to notice because he'll "pass gas" or throw up right then causing us to laugh.

I love Calvin's laugh and his smile. He just brightens up, especially when I make silly noises. Tayva always acts so excited when I walk in the door and Calvin started taking her cue because the moment I walk in the door a HUGE grin breaks across his face and she holds him and says "It's your Dada Calvin!" (thank you Tayva for making me feel loved by my little boy!). I love our ritual of laying him on our bed and Tayva and I will pretend to eat him and he giggles. I love how attached he is to his mama. He adores her with everything in his heart--she is his, and my, whole world. He doesn't get the concept of kissing so often he'll just open his mouth REAL wide and put whatever part of her face that is closest in his mouth--be it eye, chin, forehead, cheek, etc. When he gets tired he nuzzles up to her and whimpers. I love how inquisitive he is. Since he was born he's always studying things or trying to touch things (like trying to grab the stripes off the couch). I love how active he is, Calvin hates laying down. If he's awake he either has to be sitting or standing (and since about 3 weeks old his preferred method is standing). He is like his daddy in that he starts the morning as an adorable ball of energy which fades as the day goes on so that he's grumpy by the time we reach the afternoon...poor Tayva, she's got two boys like that.

As I sat on the couch today reading to them, Tayva was giving Calvin a bath in his blue tupperware tub. I watched them for a moment and was filled with awe, humility, gratitude and a lump in my throat. There was Calvin, trying to be independent and doing his best to stand up in the bath tub and there was Tayva sweetly holding him up, encouraging him, and rinsing him off and putting him into his dragon towel. She was so tender and gentle and loving. It was like the perfect painting and I wish I could've captured it.

I couldn't round this out without saying a bit about Tayva. One of the things that attracted me to her is that I knew she'd be a great mama--even then I was underestimating how good she'd be. Tayva is a miracle, a saint, my greatest treasure, and greatest friend all rolled into one fine looking lady :) . She's infinitely patient with me and with Calvin. She always seeks the comfort of others (as evidenced in active labor when between contractions she'd go around the room and ask everybody how they were holding up).

Tayva sacrifices so much for both Cal and I. Because I work so early I go to bed often before she does. She'll stay up with Cal just playing with him in the family room so I can get some sleep, some nights I lie in bed getting a little choked up thinking about her out there with him staying up so I can get rest although she's had the baby all day. I try to compensate by doing little things for her or grabbing something she needs or thinking up other little ways that I can sacrifice to show how grateful I am for her but she's always one step ahead.

Because I work so much and go to school so much Calvin and I aren't used to each other as much as he and Tayva are--couple that with the fact that I was never around kids growing up so this is new to me. But because Cal and I are new to each other sometimes I'm more successful taking him for a couple hours while she's at school or doing something and sometimes I'm not. When I first took him for a couple hours while she went to school he went berserk and I didn't know what to do. After that she made sure that if I was feeling out of my league she'd stay home from her class and spend time with us (coincidentally she failed that class this semester and I have lots of guilt but she's not blaming me). I can't express how much I love her and am grateful for all she does for our family. She always sets the bar so high by her example and I'm left in awe of her feeling completely undeserving of her as a spouse but I'm glad she chose me anyway.

I've got the perfect family and have been blessed infinitely more by the Lord than I suppose I deserve but I don't take it for granted. I am constantly so grateful for my little Cal-cal and my wonderful eternal companion.

Happy 6 months Cal and Happy Mother's Day Tayva!

Love Peter

Six Months

Well, okay, almost six months. But close enough.
Calvin just gets more fun every day. Although he still has his grumpy moments, overall he's a pretty happy boy (as long as mama's around). I'm a little bit afraid I've given him some sort of complex because after this last semester of school he gets upset whenever I get ready in the morning.
We've started giving him "solid" foods, which has been SO much fun! It's the cutest thing ever to see how excited he gets when we put him in his high chair. So far he's tried tastes of pureed bananas, sweet potatoes, peaches, and rice cereal, and he's liked them all very, very much. The first bite always makes him pause in surprise, but then he starts waving his hands around and making little impatient noises. After that, he always tries to help guide in the hand with the spoon, which means that whoever is feeding him gets slimy up past the wrist.
Just in the past couple days he's started "singing" along with mom and dad, which leaves me and Peter laughing too hard to keep singing. The first time we realized what he was doing was in church, when the song hit a high note and he threw in his own very high note, and then kept up a kind of happy "AaaaAaaaAaaaa" in other parts of the song. It was completely and totally awesome.
And Calvin went to park for the first time! Peter planned a surprise picnic for us all and we went to a little park nearby to have some fun in the beautiful sunshine. Calvin went on all the slides with mama (even the BIG twisty one) and sat uncertainly in the bucket swing while his parents laughed at how tiny he still is (could have fit another baby in the swing with him!). Then we spent some fun time playing on the grass, and Calvin demonstrated once again how he is (probably) the cutest kid in all existence.

Four And A Half Months of AWESOME!

After a long break--ta daaa! News of our family!

Calvin is now four and half months old and trying to crawl. He can sit on his own for short periods of time and LOVES to wriggle all over the place. He's a pretty smiley little boy, and will give smiles to just about any friendly face. He's at the point where absolutely everything goes in his mouth, which can be entertaining and exasperating. Although he still likes Momma to hold him when really upset, after much determined hard work he will now usually calm down for Dad, and sometimes even fall asleep for Dad! And, as always, Dad and Cal love their playtime together. You can tell how much Calvin is enjoying the game by the pitch and volume of his shrieks. We've decided it's his war cry. :)
We had his first time playing outside the other day. He was fascinated by the grass, and even liked swinging with Momma for a bit on the playset out back.

As for Tayva and Peter news, Peter will be able to graduate with his Bachelor's at the end of this(!) summer, and will then take a year off to study for the GMAT (grad school test) and spend time with the fam before starting his Master's Degree.
Tayva is passing her classes despite a certain's miniature gentleman's attempt at monopolizing her every waking (and sleeping) moment, and should be able to graduate in April of 2012. She's still writing in her very sparse spare time, and is currently working to improve her cooking skills. (Any good, healthy recipes?)
Other than that, all is running fairly normally. I wish it didn't take so long to load pictures. I would put on a million!

Short and Overdue

Alright, I'm a bad blogger. Here is a video to make up for it. Sorry for the lame quality--it's from my phone. I'll do a real post soon. Promise.

Welcome to...Calvin James Case!

Sorry it's taken so long to update--this month has been CRAZY.

Calvin was born November 3rd at 6:20 pm in the American Fork Hospital. He weighed 9 pounds and 1 ounce, and was 20.5 inches long. He was born with a full head of dark hair (with reddish highlights!) that has only gotten thicker and redder as time has gone on.

Fun things about Cal:

-He likes car rides and being bounced in his carrier seat.

-He likes Daddy to make loud, weird, and obnoxious noises, including reinactments of the Vietnam war, emergency sirens, foghorns, indian war chants, and Daddy's impression of Calvin screaming

-He's ticklish, especially on his feet

-He likes Momma and Daddy to pretend to eat him (nomnomnom)

-He hates baths, getting dressed, having his diaper changed, and when his pacifier falls out (he's getting better at holding it in, though!)

-He likes to keep his hands up by his face as much as possible

-He makes some great expressions (pirate, mobster/fahget-about-it, zombie, overdose)

-He calms down for his grandmas WAY faster and easier than he does for his mom and dad, which his parents agree is completely unfair

-People in stores think he's a girl because of his lovely locks

In other news , we have put up our Christmas tree and bought Calvin a little stocking and an ornament, both of which say Baby's First Christmas.

And now, since I know you've been waiting for them, the pictures!

In the hospital, right after delivery.

Still in the hospital, back in our room.This is his overdose face, and it means he'll be out like a light for the next couple hours.

Hangin' out with Dad


When it's dark and his big, dark eyes are open all the way, he looks like an alien. This effect is slowly fading, however, as his cheeks get rounder and his skin doesn't look so loose.

In his Halloween costume, only a few days late.

Calvin as elf baby

Due Date Comes...And Goes...

Tayva: Well, we held off posting in the hopes that we would have bebe pictures by now, but he is a stubborn child and wants to do things HIS way. Fine, baby, fine. But if you wait too long then we will EVICT you from your comfy little coccoon. Just keep that in mind...
In lieu of actual baby pictures, I will post some of the preggo pictures that Keeli (my sister) took. These last three weeks have been fairly uneventful, with a few exceptions. We got our new curtains up over the big living room window and the door, we bought a book telling us how to actually take care of an infant, and we got new phones (ones that actually work, yay!). All projects we were set on finishing before the baby came have been completed (except for binding Logan's books, which, sadly, must wait). Peter even got his homework done for Monday, in the hopes that baby was compassionately waiting for him to finish. But, alas, the seventeenth came and went, and baby did not put in an appearance.

We have tried everything that we can think of to convince him to come: bribery (ten dollars, ice cream, a pony), threats (of rent, eviction, poking), singing, reasoning, and even good, old begging. Yet Baby is impervious to them all. There is the possibility that he is gleefully fulfilling a form of the mother's curse (my mom's upon me), and waiting until the very last second to be born. You see, MY due date was October 17th as well--yet my birthday is October 31st. I can only hope and pray that my baby is kinder than I was. If he is not, however, he WILL be forced to wear the Jack O'Lantern onesie home from the hospital. That will be his punishment.

37 Weeks!! 3...ish to go?

Peter: Well we've made it to Full-Termsville. It's a great place to be. We don't have the jitters of worrying if he'll be a premie baby and so now we just have the jitters of "we hope he's a healthy baby boy with no problems." Of course Tayva's handling it like a trooper. It's not been til recently that she's okay if he comes now. I realize a lot of women are ready for the pregnancy to be over around 5 months because of the discomfort but Tayva's just now hit that phase. Of course Tayva's a tough chick and so wonderfuly patient which is one of the many things I love about her. For my part I'm scared to death. I saw those movies in our class: my wife is in immense pain for like 2 days and I'm helpless, all I can do is rub her back with a tennis ball and make sure not to give her more than 2 fingers to squeeze (so she can't break my hand).

Although Tayva assures me that there aren't a lot of women who die during child birth anymore that doesn't mean it doesn't scare me to death. Last week her family threw her a baby shower and her dad and I were talking and I mentioned giving her a blessing and he looked at me and said "sounds like you're the one who needs the blessing." Touche Ethan.

We've made a bet as to when we think he'll come. The stakes are whoever is within 5 days of their guess the other one has to plan the first post-baby date. I've guessed the 13th so if he comes between the 8th (my dad's birthday) and the 18th I win. Tayva guessed the 21st so if he comes between the 16th and the 26th she wins. If he comes in the 2 days that our guesses overlap then it's a paper-rock-scissors cage match. I really hope he comes between the 8th and the 16th because I've got a test the 7th and then midterms the 22nd-24th, so...

We're pretty sure that we're going to name him Calvin James Case. (most people think of Calvin and Hobbes when they hear the name Calvin although for some strange reason I think of President Calvin Coolidge whom up to this week when I wikipedia'd him I knew nothing about).

(the two Calvins)

Calvin was the middle name of my great-grandpa Childs a man I love and look up to. I always felt on my mission that my Great Grandpa Dean and Bob (Robert Calvin) were with me, comforting me and keeping me going. The first time I went into the Toronto Temple I felt them both very near. And then the middle name James was Tayva's Grandpa's name. Tayva's grandpa was a great man. He had his share of difficulties but he loved his family and was so proud of Tayva. He would tell people who Tayva introduced him to that Tayva taught herself to read at the age of 2, smartest little kid he knew. He was the one rooting for us to get married before we had talked about it. When we told them we were engaged he jumped off his chair (which wasn't easy for him at that time) and said "No foolin?!" A couple days before he passed away we went to help him get out of his seat. He was pretty out of it but Tayva's grandma said "Jim, Peter and Tayva are here. You remember Peter?" He said "Sure I do. Hell of a nice guy." That was the last thing he said to me. I loved him as well. So Calvin James Case....unless he doesn't look like a Calvin. Maybe he'll look like a Rutegar but what does a Rutegar look like?

(Like this?)

Tayva: I have to laugh whenever Peter stresses about me giving birth. Isn't that my job? But I guess I'm not really that worried (anxious, nervous, excited, yes, but not really worried, as such) so I guess one of us has to be stressing out.

We've been trying to get some final preparations done (without overdoing it, hopefully) for when our munchkin arrives: washing the bedding for the crib, doing a load of the newborn/0-3 months clothes along with receiving blankets, etc. I am really excited to dress him up in the cute little Halloween costume his Grandma Tina bought him (see little tiger of awesomeness picture), so he'd better come in time to wear it!

I'm starting to realize that there are a good number of things that are just not going to get done before he gets here, so I'm trying to pick and choose the most important/most do-able. This has basically come to mean finishing the front room curtains (and the bedroom ones, hopefully), finishing the books I'm binding for my Chinese-learning brother, making sure the house is ready for a new baby (nursery finished and CLEAN, changing table cleared off so as to be usable, diaper stockpile arranged in a useful order), and the hospital bag packed. So far the hospital bag contains a towel and two pairs of warm socks. And a couple spare toothbrushes. I'm not actually sure what the towel is supposed to be for, actually, since the hospital will definitely provide one. I just put it in because some list recommended it. (Maybe for sitting on in case my water breaks?)

(The inspiration for new curtains--yes, it is a pillowcase. Held up by magnets.)

My bookbinding station, complete with supplies, instruction manuals, paper for covers, and the three sections of the book-in-progress itself.

The nursery corner of the bedroom. Not shown: second-hand rocker-glider, hamper of baby clothes, Baby.

Baby is definitely putting on the pounds, as is reflected by his mama's exponentially (Well...maybe not. But it feels like it.) growing belly. As the poet Gaston once sang so eloquently: "Now I am roughly the size of a barge." Sadly, like so many others of the artistic bent, Gaston Lefrenchperson's life was cut tragically short when he lost his balance during a rooftop excursion in the rain, in the course of his attempt to, as it were, "Kill the Beast."

Authorities fear drinking may have been a factor.

You have all the pictures to corroborate the wild tales we have been telling you. I am now going to eat a slice of apple pie.