6 months old, posing for Grandad's photo shoot.

Enjoying a wee drive in Grandma's yard.

On the beach in Carpinteria.

In his kilt!

Calan loves to chew EVERYTHING!

Family fun in Carpinteria!

To celebrate Patti and Tod's 45th wedding anniversary, Kevin, Calan and I went to Carpinteria for a long weekend. It was great to catch up with Uncle Scott and family from Oregon and his girls came up from LA too, which was a lot of fun. We also saw aunt Patty and cousin Dena with her lovely children, who I met for the first time. They had a wonderful time playing on the beach with Taryn, Peyton and Chase. Aunty Whitney struck up a great friendship with our little guy, who was more than happy to be cuddling with her!

Back here in Baywood Park, Calan and I have been out walking with our new friend Lindy, mama to 5 month old Brody. It's great to have another mummy/baby pal, especially as our little buddy Atticus has been in LA with his mum for the last week or so. We have also been out for another North Coast Mommies event at the local coffee shop, and we will be meeting again on Monday. Calan and I are building a great community for ourselves here, we love it!

Calan had his 6 month check at the pediatricians on Thursday. He now weighs 16.5 (25%), up from 13.15 (24%) from his 4 month check. His height shot up from 24 inches (22%) to 27 inches (75%!!) which is an amzing growth spurt and his wee head is still on the 10 percentile range but is growing consistently and we think perfectly in proportion to his little body!

Now that Calan is 27 weeks old, we see excellent sitting for long periods and some more rolling over. He particularly loves his new vocal range, squealing and trying out new sounds all of the time. He is using toys like his "gumball" machine with purpose, hitting the lever specifically and I have introduced him to his spoon and Nuby net to chew on in preparation for feeding times. He seems to enjoy looking at his hands, holding them up high and gazing at them in front of his face. He shows a real interest in other babies and reaches out to touch them (and eat their toys!). We haven't seen any sign of teeth yet, but he is certainly chewing on everything he can get his wee hands on, particularly pushing things to the rear of his gums to gnaw on. He has added a morning stroll to his daily requirements, fussing and letting me know when it is time to get out and about, usually around 8 a.m! He now "encourages" us to walk at least twice daily, and this from a boy who used to really dislike his stroller!

And finally, Many Happy returns to Kevin who celebrates his birthday on Sunday.

Calan and Daddy at Carpinteria beach, 26 weeks.

Calan in his walker, 26 weeks.

Calan turns 6 months old today!

Calan, 24 weeks .

Test-driving the Kelty backpack!

Oh mum, really...?

At "Boatzart", Baywood's music at the pier.

I sit at the table with mummy and daddy!

Calan, amongst the wildflowers down by the bay.

Calan, can sit up for short periods now.

Play-dates with our Parent participation buddies.

Our wonderful little community.........

We are really enjoying being out and about locally, it's such a baby friendly community! We joined the North Coast Mommies group and met up with lots of other mamas and their little people for coffee today. It was a lot of fun and we were made to feel so welcome. We are going to meet again for breakfast tomorrow, I even baked muffins!
Calan and I had our last coffee morning with our friends from parent participation, sadly some of the mamas are going back to work. Parent participation classes finished for Summer a couple of weeks ago, but Calan and I were invited to come along for a longstanding coffee date on Tuesdays with some of the mamas and we've really enjoyed it. We will keep in contact though and hope to still meet up, through the "Osos girls get crafty!" craft evenings.
Kevin and I took Cal' to the free music on the pier event, at the weekend. The whole community seemed to have turned out and were listening to the music, either out on the bay in Kayaks or in deck chairs by the pier. It was a fun event and Calan did wonderfully with the small crowds.
On Saturday evening we went out to Atascedero Lake with friends for more free music. The weather was lovely and warm and the guys threw a frisbee while the mum's and babes chatted, it was a very family oriented event and a fun night out.

Now at 25 weeks, Calan is sitting up and is getting stronger and more stable with every day. He will reach out with great precision for toys now and transfers them easily from hand to hand. He likes to suck on his toe at diaper change time and has discovered a new love for bath times and being clothing free! He is happy to be out and about, often letting us know that he is ready for an after dinner stroll at nights! His nap schedule went completley to pot after our mini vacation earlier this month (even though we stuck to his routine perfectly while we were away), but we seem to be back on track again now. We are just waiting for Calan to show signs of needing to start solids (ie. an increased and sustained desire to nurse) and we will then start baby rice with him daily. After a lot of research, Kevin and I found a BPA/PVC (phthalate) free high chair and he likes to sit in it at dinner and breakfast times. We found a great website http://thesoftlanding.com/bpafrte.html
which has BPA/PVC free teethers, toys and feeding essentials so we bought a few things and have put all potentially toxic plastic toys out of mouths reach until Calan is old enough to play with them WITHOUT eating them! Better to be safe than sorry right?
We have also introduced Calan to his Kelty backpack, he fell asleep in it both times, so it must be pretty comfortable! We went to see the Seals and Pelicans between Cayucos and Cambria, what a beautiful spot it was for a wee walk.

Yup, I love our little slice of Paradise here in San Luis Obispo county!