19 December 2016

Rasmussen family, 2016 edition

Another year, another family picture. We took these back in September, with what we believe to be all of us.
We are complete!
Calista was really good for the photos.
And, surprisingly, Craig was mostly pretty good, too.
It helps that we promised them ice cream after.
The hardest ones were the pictures of all three of them.
Still, it could be much worse!
Caleb ended up being the most difficult child to work with. It was almost impossible to get a smile out of him.
No matter. Smile or not, he's adorable.

09 December 2016

Six month Caleb!

Caleb is still our happy, smiling, chill baby. He loves when people talk to him, especially Calista and Craig.
Calista and Craig love him right back.
Calista does this thing where she takes off her socks to let him play with her toes.
It's gross and adorable, all at once.
Craig loves to lay next to Caleb and give him kisses.
Again, adorable... and sometimes life-threatening.
Still the third child is still surviving. 
And sometimes, I see a glimpse of the future. I know they'll fight and get on each other's nerves, but I also know they will love each other.
It's a future that will have its ups and downs, but these three will always have each other.

Caleb will try and reach for anything he can, and if he succeeds in grabbing something, it immediately goes into his mouth.
Caleb currently has 2 teeth, which surprised us a little bit. We didn't realize he was teething because we all had colds and just assumed that's all it was until he grabbed Kyler's finger and bit it. Brand new baby teeth are sharp!
He loves to stick out his tongue to feel his teeth over and over.





Most of the time he spend on the floor is spent on his tummy.
Caleb can roll both ways, but seems to prefer to be on his tummy. Maybe that's because he's starting to turn like a clock and think about crawling.
My primary kids said he was doing push ups and swimming on the floor, and that's basically what it looks like. Soon he'll actually be able to go somewhere, I'm sure.


I'm hesitant to write this, but Caleb seems to be sleeping pretty well lately.
He often sleeps from 10:30 or 11 until 6:30 or 7, straight. Sometimes he wakes up once.
It isn't always easy getting him to stay asleep, with him waking up 15 minutes after I put him down all evening, but once he is actually asleep for the night, he's not doing too bad.
Getting a full night's sleep makes it easier for me to deal with the evening, so I'm not complaining too much.

We've had some chilly weather in the last few months, and so we've busted out the mittens, hats, and snowsuits.
Caleb doesn't mind them once they are on, though getting him all dressed up he's less pleased with.

Caleb has started to babble more, using some decent consonant sounds, like "ma," "ba," and "gug." I love listening to his voice, and can't wait until that "mama" actually means me!





We have pulled out the high chair again, finally, so Caleb gets to join us at the table for meals like a proper gentleman.
Soon he'll be eating our meals, too, but we haven't really done that yet.

While he isn't quite sitting up by himself yet, I'm sure Caleb will be soon. He kind of is in what I call the "Weebles wobble and they DO fall down" stage. If you sit him up, he'll stay for a moment or two, and the slowly tiiiiiip over until he's laying down again. Or he'll reach for his toes and end up folded in half, which starts to annoy him after a while.





There are relatively few things that annoy him, though. Caleb is a pretty easy going baby. Keep him well fed and he'll put up with almost anything I make him do.
It's rare for him to cry for very long. In fact, the other night, he was crying and I didn't know how to get him calm and I was starting to get concerned with how long he was crying... until I realized it was about 5 minutes. Total. I know, it's not long at all, but for Caleb, it was about 5 times longer than the longest he normally cries. I am so grateful for his demeanor and personality. He is such a joy to be around.
Happy half-year, baby boy!

01 December 2016

Snow men, angels, and babies

Happy December!

In true winter fashion, it snowed today. Perfect, fluffy snow. And it was hovering right around freezing, without much wind. So to celebrate the snow and December, we...
Shoveled the walk! Which, by the way, she begged to do with me.

We also made snow angels (while Caleb and Craig fell asleep) on the walk home from school.
Why yes, that is just in a random person's driveway. What can I say, she's five.

And snow is so exciting!

After we finally got home, ate lunch, and the boys woke up, we headed out to go play in the snow. I'd promised Calista and Craig before Calista went to school this morning we'd build a snowman when she got home, and I am a woman of my word.
While we're working on it, Calista asked me how big of a snowman we were going to make. "A big snow man!" I told her.
As we kept going, she asked again. I asked her how big she wanted it to be. "How about a medium snowman?" she said.
After working a minute or so longer, she says to me, "This is taking too long!" So, instead, we made this little guy:
 Can you spot him? Right next to Craig's boot? No? Let me help you out.
There he is! The first snowman of the season!

Speaking of firsts, it was this little guy's first time "playing" in the snow!
He didn't think it was too bad, at all.

26 November 2016

Presenting Doctor Kyler, PhD

On November 10, 2016, we celebrated a moment that has been a long time coming:
Kyler getting his PhD in experimental psychology. Technically, he defended his dissertation, thus actually completing his degree, back in May before Caleb was born. Side note: apparently his adviser was worried the whole time that I would go into labor even though it was, like, 3 weeks before my due date. Kyler and I were not concerned. But this was the day we celebrated all the hard work and countless hours Kyler has spent working, writing, editing, analyzing data, reviewing, teaching, grading, learning, and growing the last five years.
And what celebration is complete without a string quartet?
This was Kyler's first convocation since high school. When he skipped out on walking for his Bachelor's, he promised my mom he'd walk for his PhD, and so here we are.
I was actually really anxious about coming to graduation with all three kiddos, 
until my mom told me she booked a flight and was coming, too!
Oh, did that decrease my stress levels about the impending ceremony!
Although, I really needn't have worried. Craig slept through half of it,
and all three of them were fantastic. People around us even complimented them (and me) on how well behaved they were. I tried not to act too surprised by their behavior...
There was a bagpipe, by the way, and I'm assuming that kilt is in the official University of Calgary tartan, because yes, the school totally has one.
I wasn't expecting to cry at Kyler's graduation. But when the Chancellor told the graduates to point to the people who deserve "the assist" (like in hockey after you score a goal! What? It is Canada.), and Kyler pointed at me and grinned, I started to tear up.
I was so proud of what he'd accomplished. What we'd accomplished, I suppose. Kyler has worked so hard the last five years, waking up at dawn (or before!), staying up late, spending countless hours poring over data and writing papers. And we were here. We were done!
And he was pointing at me and blowing me a kiss. And so I cried, grinned, and blew him a kiss.
He later got a real one.
After the ceremony was over, we headed out to get pictures.
And cuddle babies, while the pictures were being set up!
Of course, we had to get one of the classics:
The iconic parents flanking the grad pose!
And finally, Kyler, me, and some of his greatest accomplishments the last five years.
Congratulations, Dr. Rasmussen! I couldn't be more proud of you.
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