November has been Cal’s “industrial age.” I term it this because the whole baby paradigm changed in his 10th month on the outside. During November, Cal began pointing, climbing, walking and talking. This fistful of milestones has me joyful but also discombobulated. It’s sort of like the anticipation over something that we love like Christmas – you look forward to it and plan for it, but it comes so quick and you kind of forget how crazy the aftermath can be. It's wonderful, but things are different now.I can’t wrap my head around this fact: just a handful of months ago Cal learned to sit well. Now he has joined the ranks of the ranting bipeds who tinker endlessly. I think parenthood is the best biological study of human growth that one can undertake.
And now we’re to last week, Thanksgiving. Calvin is a great host, the shining star of any party, the twin t-days were no exception. Our holiday was so full. For me, I can still taste the sweet and bitters of our huge meals, smell the perfume cloud of food at our house and feel the energies of bouncing human emotions. But Calvin was as happy as ever amid the storm of love and food. Even with missed naps and stim overdrive, he sailed on through with hardly a fuss (to tell you the truth, he’s more fussy at home where there’s not a stream of entertaining characters and in their place only me and our boring baby-proofed house).
Shaun and I took our first vacation days in awhile in preparation of fixing our very own Thanksgiving meal on Thursday. We were able to prepare for the holiday with the time needed to pick out and cook a beautiful and fine feast and also hang with our Bubbas. Shaun did most of the cooking (his mushroom stuffing was epic), but I made some oddly delicious bean brownies and helped with salad dressing while Cal was strapped to me. We also made the most of Friday, the buffer day between big meals, to relax and pack for the big Saturday dinner production in Nevada City.
I have to say, Cal is just hilarious at his ripe old age of almost 11 months. Around the 15th of November, Cal uttered his first words: light (mostly says and points to them to remind us to flip switches on) and hot (says in reference to candles, fireplaces and ovens). At first he was just experimenting, but now his delivery has gotten fancy – the “h” in hot is given much attention in the delivery, with Cal exaggerating the beautiful hissing sound and opening his mouth in an oval shape. Then suddenly the tiny “t” noise hits and the word is complete. He is utterly transfixed with all the things he calls hot and wishes in his bones that he could touch each of them, especially since he cannot have even one. This must be a part of their mysterious allure.
So Saturday, Cal showed my mom’s side his “Frankenstein” tottering and his affection for all things that flame. One particular memory I have is dancing to Michael Jackson in the kitchen while my Aunt Denisse moved Cal along with the beat. Cal beamed at us all dancing around him, like fawning fans, and giggled and cocked his head when I busted some of my special moves.
Attending family occasions can be utterly exhausting, but it is a treat that family members swoop in and steal Cal for chunks at a time so I can focus on others. Aunt Beth took Cal on multiple walks along the big evergreens to escape the kitchen buzz.
After Cal fell asleep on Saturday night, the eating commenced. At one point, my mom remembered that last Thanksgiving we’d each written a note to our future selves, with three sincere hopes and dreams for 2009. It was a twist on the traditional “I’m thankful because” and good use of the spirit of hope and family of last Thanksgiving (I think we all had our eyes on Cal’s impending arrival).
So we found the notes hidden up high and we shared them. I was touched by a truly common theme: hopefulness for a happy, healthy baby boy. And that is exactly what we have. What a blessing to feel the love and support that envelops Cal, that surrounds all of us. It's never been a secret, but this year it was louder and clearer than ever. We are blessed, indeed.
