18 Months Old!

18 months old!

1 year old

 11 months old

10 months old

9 months old

8 months old

7 months old

6 months old

 
 5 months old

4 months old

3 months old

 2 months old

1 month old

2 weeks old

Dear Calvin,

Well, my fine fellow, here you are at a solid 1 1/2 years old. And you are, of course, ready to take on the world.

In news of late:

- You are an active scavenger. Extremely skilled at rifling through and displacing the contents of the kitchen cupboards, emptying the dirty dishes out of the dishwasher, and redistributing items from the recycling bag.

- You pick up on so much! Sometimes if I'm pulling together the last few things for lunch while everyone is gathered and waiting, we'll sing together, "God Is So Good." And you definitely join in! It's most precious to see you mouthing the words along with your brothers.

- You have also picked up the game Rock, Paper, Scissors, and you play a mean hand with Victor. (Although, as he noted, you always choose "rock.") Tried to video that this morning, but of course it was far more interesting to see what we were doing with our phones...

- Despite the cold weather, you definitely still love going outside. You're always up for accompanying me to get the mail, and any outings are exciting (until we have to actually buckle up in the car).

- You love the library and roam happily, sometimes checking out the Legos, sometimes wandering into the adult section, sometimes pulling books off the bottom shelves.

- You walk and run. No more Ergo unless we are headed somewhere for a real hike. But you most definitely still want to be held and carried (primarily so that you can see everything that is going on).


- You are a super happy camper at the babysitting group at homeschool co-op and nursery at church.

- You eat. A lot. You can polish off 3-4 pieces of pizza and frequently eat your own food, a 2nd helping, and then the rest of Elliot's (who is currently in a more selective phase). For all that, you are sporting a pretty trim physique and have lost a lot of the baby rolls. But I still love your chubby cheeks and those sweet little fingers.

- We did the stomach flu a couple weeks ago. Your first time really puking through the night. So not my favorite part of life. But you were a trooper and actually bounced back pretty quickly. Grateful for no trips to the ER this round!




It was in the aftermath of my own bout of the stomach flu that I reflected on this less-remembered aspect of the Christmas story.

The birth of Christ, announced by angels, welcomed by shepherds, promised by prophets, meant that God Himself entered creation. He didn't just walk through the pristine garden with Adam and Eve or bend down to see what was going on at the Tower of Babel. He actually stepped into humanity. And He tasted all the kinds of brokenness that sin brought. He left the smile of heaven and sweetest communion with the Father to join a world of stomach flu, pickpockets, head lice, plagues, and hypocritical church leaders. Every kind of bitter barb that sin has infested our lives with--He tasted it, walked through it, bore it.

Why would someone do that, little son? Having known the pain that sin brings, I can't imagine a willing choice to plunge into its cold, deadly, all pervasive presence. But the truth is, Jesus didn't come despite the pain of sin. He came because of it. Immanuel, God with us, joined this world to thwart the enemy's plans from the inside. He came to taste the bitter cup reserved for me. He came to die so that He might become the Victor over sin and death.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

A plan and a purpose that we could never dream up. This is the reason for such a festive, joyous celebration at Christmas. This is the reason for hope any time at all.

I love you, sweet Calvin, and I pray you will always love and worship our wonderful Jesus.
Your momma