Calla's Big Adventure

Calla and I had a big adventure over the weekend. We flew to Des Moines, Iowa to visit Calla's great-grandpa. We flew out at 6:30 am on Friday and had a very long day. Our flight to Minneapolis, MN was uneventful. We had a short layover and then boarded our flight to Des Moines, a short 45 minutes. However, about 30 minutes into the flight we were told that the airport was closed due to a snow storm. After circling the airport for 30 minutes we were diverted to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We then were loaded onto a bus for a short 1 1/2 bus ride to the Des Moines airport. However, the bus ride turned into a 4 1/2 hour ride due to poor visibility and very bad road conditions. Everyone on the bus was very nice and Calla was amazing. She slept a lot during the day and was generally in a happy mood most of the time. She never ceases to amaze me. Calla and I were very happy to finally arrive at grandpa's house. Here are a few pictures of our visit.

Calla and great-grandpa all dressed up.

Three generations of Culpeppers.

Great-grandpa and Calla enjoying some time on the floor. Calla gave her great-grandpa lots and lots of smiles and laughs. She loved shaking her head "no" at him after he smiled at her.

Calla's great-grandpa makes the best apple crisp and Calla got to sample some of it. Most of it made it in her mouth and lots hit the floor.

Calla's uncle Tom from Ohio also came for a visit. We all had a wonderful time hanging out.

Grat-grandpa, Calla, and her great-(in so many ways) Aunt Ginger.

Grandpa Rex and Grandma Cindy's Visit

We just had a great visit with the Grandparents from Ohio. They got to spend a lot if time hanging out with Calla and we all had a good time. Here are some pics from their visit and a few other shots of Calla being silly. We start baby swim class tomorrow which should be a lot of fun! We hope to get some good underwater photos from the class.

Let's go people, I am all dressed up and waiting on you!

Showing off for the Gandparents.

It has been a long week at daycare, time for a little couch time!

Nothing like a bottle from Grandma.

I love my pretzels!

Duh!

Even though I have nothing to brush, it is fun to brush my gums with dad in the morning.

Reading a book with Grandma Cindy.

Gotta do the pose, I think I am getting good at it! Work the camera people, work it!

John and Charlotte's Wedding

Calla had a fun and busy weekend. On Wednesday night we flew to Phoenix, AZ to participate in and celebrate Uncle John's wedding to Charlotte. We had a wonderful time and Calla was a superstar on both flights and through the busy weekend. Here are some photos of our family adventures.

Calla and Grandma Shaff.

Calla really likes to drink out of cups. Here she is sharing a glass of water with Daddy.

Calla and Charlotte's nephew Grant were the life of the party. Calla loved to look at and laugh at Grant. She can't wait until she is that mobile.
Great Aunt Sharon, Calla, and Grandma Lynda. Calla enjoyed being social with all the family that was visiting this weekend.


Wow, this grass is really cool, but it is really hard to pick-up.

Calla has been working hard on developing her fine moter skills and now wants to grab everything that she sees.

Look at this leaf and the rocks, what fun!

Can I eat these mom? Maybe not, but don't I look really really cute!!

Calla also really enjoys touching and looking at flowers.

Hi everyone, it sure is nice to be able to play outside in the grass in January. We should visit AZ more often in the winter.

Calla is a very observant little girl and loves to look at things and people. These next few photos show her enjoying the sites around AZ.



Calla got all dressed up for the wedding. She had a great time and I think everyone enjoyed her.


Wow dad, you look really nice. We should get dressed up more often.

9 months old!

Calla turned 9 months old on Thursday this week and as you can see she is becoming a big girl. She is now facinated with her toes and loves everything Aspen does. I think she wants to see Aspen in the morning before she says hi to me. She makes us laugh everyday. Another one of her new tricks is she "talks" in a really low voice, we call it her Gremlin voice. It is both a little scary and really funny. Enjoy the photos below.

She wants to grab everything she sees now.

Calla and her best buddy Aspen giving her a kiss.

She loves to touch and feel our faces.

Like I said, she likes to grab everything she see, and then she directly stick it in her mouth!

I almost got it mom, a little more help please!

"I wonder if these things taste any good?"

So cute, look at those chub rolls!

I got both of them at once, YES! Now what do I do?

Check out my new jumparoo, thanks Grandma Lynda!

Yum, beats.

More Pictures

Here are a few more photos from our Christmas adventures.

The Shaff Family photo on Christmas Eve.

Super Calla photo on Christmas morning.

Calla's first Christmas. She is beautiful!!

The Shaff Family women.

Bob and Lynda with their first granddaughter.

Mom and Super Calla. Yes, we all know you are amazing little girl!!

Calla and Claire on New Year's Eve. Claire is 4 months younger then Calla, but just a little bigger.


Happy New Year's!!!

Calla's New Tricks

Happy New Year everyone. We hope 2009 treats everyone well!

Here are some new trick Calla has learned over the last week. The first trick, Wiggle Worm, she learned down in Tucson. Her second trick, sitting up, she started to learn in Tucson but has mastered it back home just the other day.