Excuse Me Sir... You are Soaking Wet!

We went fishing Thursday night. Bryce was supposed to catch us dinner, but it didn't happen. It was a nice hike though:)
Bryce was watering the new sod he put down and Calvin decided he wanted to run through the sprinkler... and then pick it up and chase Bryce, Milo and I down with it.
Calvin was kind enough to take off his shirt before he ran through the sprinklers. So he is just in his onesie and shorts... funny that he forgot to take off his shoes though.

He was soaking wet and loved it!

Here he is chasing me with it.

Toothbrush Training & A Boy & His Dog.

I am not a frequent contestant to the blogging game so pardon my rusty writing. I am usually writing financing proposals and don't get to loosen my pen much.

Below is a picture of Calvin learning to brush his teeth. Melissa's brother is a dentist and has recommended that we start brushing his teeth (whether he likes it or not). This is great place for one of those great "Dad" commentary's like "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of the cure". Well Calvin as you can see hasn't figured out that the brush part is supposed to scrub the teeth.

He either sucks on bristles to get that fresh tasty feeling that only comes from sucking on a wet toothbrush.

Bites the handle

Or he jabs the whole darn thing in his mouth and nearly chokes on it

After we have let him practice, I take the brush and finish the job which he is not a big fan of but at least his teeth end up clean.

The other teaching of my little buddy has come in the bail-out of the crib. From day one Calvin has hated his crib. It was sheer torture if he woke up and realized he was in his crib. So after finally saying "Why do we keep putting him in there? Lets try a real bed." We brought a mattress in for him and put it on the ground becuase he squirms like a worm when he is asleep as evidenced by the picture below. He has loved the bed and sleeps through the night and even sleeps in.
Now most of you might be saying "well my little angel sleeps through the night and in a crib" But what most of you dont get to enjoy is the sight of your big dog Milo sleeping on the rug, right next to your little guy. Then in the morning hearing Calvin wake up and call out for Milo. A boy and his dog. It's a dads daydream that his kids fall in love with the dog. Milo sometimes may wish there was not so much love coming his way but Calvin pours it on and Milo eats it up (except when he is trying to sleep).

Random Happenings

Calvin helped Bryce plant the garden this year. He really helped Bryce plant the green beans. He dropped the whole bag into the garden. Now we have a million green beans growing! Anyone want some?
Calvin's first haircut. It was about time! I was in the shower and came out and Calvin's hair was cut. Bryce had cut his hair while I was in the shower!!! So I made him sit him back up there and cut a little again so I could take a picture.

Bryce took Calvin to the fathers and sons campout. This was the first night away from Calvin for me :) Don't worry... I slept in the next day.

Congrats Laura Joy!!

Calvin and I headed down to UVU to see my sister Laura's graduation. She graduated and is on her way to the U of U to get her Masters in Social Work. I am so proud of her! Love you Laura.
My brother Todd came with me. We stopped at his house and played for a little while. This was my farewell. I couldn't resist taking a picture. They are so cute!

What do These Two have in Common??

For those who didn't grow up in the 80's. This is Rock Eater from Never Ending Story. For some reason Calvin loves to eat rocks. I will catch him with a rock in each hand and two in his mouth. He grinds his teeth on it (you will probably have to do dental work Todd). I try to stop him but if I don't watch for two seconds, he has another rock in his mouth! Please stop eating rocks Calvin :)
And for those who are wondering what Bryce and I are up to... This is what we did tonight...

We kicked the nerf soccer ball at each other. At one point, Bryce was picking weeds off the lawn and I pegged him in the bum. I had really good aim until we started making bets. After that, I couldn't hit him for the life of me! Dang... I was going to get a foot massage tonight!

Good Times

Bryce, Calvin and I all had an awesome trip to Snow Canyon this past weekend. We were really thankful the Mottishaws planned this trip. There were supposed to be more families, but little by little they all couldn't come. So it was just us and the Mottishaws from up North. My friends Brit and Dave and their kids (from St. George) came and hung out as well. We had such a good time!

Calvin helping dad put up the tent in Snow Canyon Campground

Like father like son. Rather sleep in a tent then in his own bed.

Bike ride up Green Valley Trail

Hiking in Snow Canyon. Bryce was the tore guide for the kids. He showed them how lizard make their tracks. We all decided he should be a kindergarten teacher :)

We were twenty minutes out of St. George Saturday night, when Bryce decided he didn't want to go home yet. He turned around, bought a hotel room, and we spent the rest of the trip together just us as a family. We walked around the temple grounds.

Calvin was playing hide and go seek with Bryce on the temple lawn.
We went miniture golfing at the "Fiesta Fun." Calvin won. He got a hole in one each hole. He would pick up his ball and put it in the hole and say "uh oh" We just had fun playing with Calvin.

Of course, on our way home, we had to stop at Kolob Canyon. It is part of Zions that not a lot of people know about. It is just before Cedar City and tucked behind the mountains off of I-15. Bryce and I hiked in 8 miles and camped a few years ago. It was an awesome experience and we recommend it to anyone.

Blue! Blue! Blue!

I think everyone knows that I am surrounded by boys... Bryce, Calvin and Milo... and you probably guessed already... But we are having a BOY!
Don't worry though. We both were so excited. I thought we were having a girl, but when we found out we were having a boy, I was relieved. Calvin and this little boy will be best friends. They will go camping together, have bunk beds together, and even possibly be out on missions together. We are excited!

Are Kids Supposed to Act Like this at 16 Months?

He looks pretty innocent and cute doesn't he???

This is my morning: (this is an email I sent to Bryce)

So… I was reading book with Calvin this morning. He took them all out. So I thought it would be a good opportunity to teach him to put his things away. So I said. .. Calvin can you put your book away? I picked one up and put it in the basket… and then handed one to him. He took the book and threw it on the ground. I then said “here, it goes in the basket” He again threw it on the ground. This went on for about 5 minutes. I am being very patient and using a kind voice. Really trying to teach him. I even help him put one in the basket and I praise him up and down… he takes the book back out and throws it on the floor.

So then he goes into our room and picks up all the cloths out of the basket and brings them into his room and starts throwing them everywhere. I just sit there and don’t do anything… I think he is trying to get my attention. So… he then picks up his pants off the floor and starts throwing them at me. He does it over and over. I just sit there. He finally gets sick of me not reacting to him… So he grabs my nose and pinches me so hard. I have a big scrape on the bottom of my nose. So I just picked him up and put him in his crib. He is now screaming for me.

DO YOU THINK I TAUGHT HIM A LESSON??? Probably not. I don’t know what to do. He hates me… I love him. Just thought I would share it with you :)

Love you

Melissa Joy… I really am having more patience :)

Linton Family Easter Egg Hunt

Uncle Daniel Helping Calvin

It looks like Calvin is the only one hunting for the eggs... there were other kids. We just let Calvin cheat and pick up the eggs before any of the other kids came out.
Calvin caught on that there was candy in the eggs. He picked up the egg, took the candy out and threw the egg back on the ground... what are the eggs for?

My moms family gets together every year to have an Easter Egg Hunt. It is at my grandparents house. They have both passed on but my brother lives in the house now. It was fun to watch Calvin. It took him a while to get it. P.S. For my family members... there are more pictures of all the family on the family blog.

So Fresh and So Clean... Sort of!

While I was doing this on one side of the kitchen

Calvin is doing this on the other side

And now he is finally doing this :)

Why do I even clean?? Is there really a point? I guess it is good for sanitation purposes. My sister tries to explain to her husband what it is like to stay home with the kids. She tells him... It is like if you had a big huge project and you finally finish it... someone comes along and pushes delete. That is my life in a nut shell. But I love being a mom. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
(I was going to post this yesterday, but while I was cleaning, Calvin hid the camera plug... just found it under my bed :)

Late Night Snack

Bryce and Calvin's snack before bed is cereal. Bryce has taught him well... he now knows to drink the left over milk out of the bowl. I am realizing most my post are about Calvin eating. He is always eating... can you imagine when he is a teenager?!

Where's Daddy? Where's Milo?

I ask Calvin where Daddy or Milo is. He puts his hand up and says "daddy?" "Milo?" It is so cute. I love it. I don't know where he got it. Maybe I do that.
He also loves his bananas. This is right after eat ate Two and a half bananas. He would rather eat bananas than chocolate. I tried to only give him one and he pushed the chair up to the fruit bowl and grabbed a banana. Before i could get to him, he had taken a bite out of the skin of the banana. So I had to open it up and give it to him.
I hope everyone's April Fool went well. Bryce's work pulled a joke on him. Last night they told him that his best friend from work got fired. He came home totally depressed. He kept telling me that he didn't think it was a prank. He even prayed... "please bless the Hilton's... Unless it is a joke." Well he went to work this morning and in walked Cassidy. I am glad somone got Bryce though... because he has pulled plenty of pranks on me :)

My Journal

For some reason Calvin crosses his fingers while he walks around and clicks his mouth.

Calvin trying to pour more cereal into his bowl. He ate TWO full bowls of rice krispies today!!!

My new goal is to try and post pictures of what Calvin does every day. I know that is a far off goal but I really am going to try. I have been kind of slacking on my journal writing the past two weeks. I am realizing that he is growing and learning so much each day. I just dont want to miss anything. Hope you enjoy :)
And just so you are aware!!! April 1st is tomorrow. I have never been a big fan of pulling jokes, but it is known in the Huff family to watch your back on this day. Just so you are aware:)

Sunny Arizona!

Calvin took a lot of baths! Sorry about your water bill Scott!

The zoo was a ton of fun. Calvin loved it when the polar bear swam in front of him. This my niece Izzy. She was the lucky one who got the curly red hair!

Such a beautiful day at the zoo. Calvin kept saying "wow" to everything. Specially the piranhas.

Swimming in the cold water. I thought they were all crazy!

Bryce acting like a goof as usual.

We went to Arizona for a week. Calvin and I left Monday and Bryce came down on Thursday. Calvin and I both got the flu. I feel really bad because we gave it to some of the Tollers. But we still had fun. We just hung out and watched movies most the time. By the time Bryce came, we were all feeling a little better. We went to the zoo and then went out to dinner after. We also went for a hike in Sabino Canyon ( I will have to post about that later when I get the pictures).
Arizona was so much fun! Thank you Tollers for having us and helping us when we were sick :) I love my sister Janelle so much and I miss her! Thank you for sharing your good weather with us!

Create

This is part of a talk from Elder Uchtdorf from the last Relief Society General Conference. It is one of my favorite talks. I have read it many times. It is an amazing talk and I really recommend my family and friends read it. One of my favorite quotes from the talk is from the author of Peter Pan "Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves."
My friend posted this video on her blog and it made me remember why I love the talk so much. So enjoy!(for those who want to read the talk, it is in the November 2008 Ensign General Conference issue "Happiness, Your Heritage"... it is the last talk in the magazine)Also... if you would like to see other movies like this... you can go to lds.org and they have a link for "Mormon Messages on You Tube."