Birthday suit
Calvin got his first suit for his birthday. He was so proud to be dressed up like his daddy!
Labels: Calvin, Steve
The essentials
I learned the absolute essentials for a birthday party today. Calvin turned 3, my sweet little guy, and I was trying to plan his party with him. I asked him what he wanted to do. Answer? Presents and cake.
Trying to flesh out the plan, I probed more. "Do you want a pinata?"
"No."
"Balloons?"
"Too scawwy."
"Sprinklers? Swimming? Games???"
"NO! Mom, pwesents and cake. JUST DOSE TWO!!!"
Really, those are the absolute essentials. Everything else is just a time filler to get you to the important part. He, at the tender age of three, apparently can sort out the extraneous from the necessary. Can't fault him for that!
So I obliged with the bare minimum party. Fortunately for Calvin, he is related to the wonderful and extremely talented
Andrea, who made him this completely darling car cake.
I'm sure everyone wishes they had an Andrea to make every kids birthday perfection. Remember
Chloe's party? Yeah, Andrea's amazing.
Here's my sweet Calvin boy. He is sunshiny, quirky, crazy, and all boy. He is so fun to have around, and those big brown eyes of his get me every time. I love this kid!!
Labels: Calvin, parties
Definition of family
We just spent a fabulous couple of days at a condo in the mountains with my whole family. Swimming, games and more games, movies and snacks were the only things on the agenda.
In the middle of an afternoon swim, surrounded by cousins, aunts, and siblings, my little Calvin stopped in his tracks. He looked around, then announced joyfully, "All of dese people is makin' me SO HAPPY!"
That's gotta be the perfect definition of a family.
Labels: Calvin, family
A Day
So Calvin had a day yesterday. Maybe that should be capitalized. He had a DAY. He was tired and cranky, but I HAD to get to the chiropractor, so into the car we went. I'd just fed them pizza and slushies (please don't judge me!) but even sugar water couldn't soothe his savage beast. It was one of those wrestle the screaming flailing child into the carseat moments, but I can totally deal with that. Continual screaming? Doesn't faze me. Crying so hard he vomits everywhere--ok, now he has my attention.
Not a wet wipe in sight in the whole car. Napkins, nope. Bottled water? None of that either. Fortunately, being the stellar prepared mother that I am I DID have spare diapers, so I mopped up the mess with those and some stray socks that were floating around the van. And all the time I'm trying just to
like this little offspring of mine. Not succeeding too well. But he eventually got a 15 minute nap in the car, and all was beautiful again.
We get home, and he decides that the worst thing in the world is for me to get him OUT of that carseat. Another major tantrum ensues, I unbuckle the kid, drag him in the house, lock the van and the house and think I've outsmarted him. Well, after going to the bathroom, he's disappeared. The little stinker got into my purse, found my keys, unlocked the van and buckled himself back into his carseat. He's 2. Good grief!! Fortunately, I'd just gone to the library, so I had some brain candy book and I sat in there with him in the driveway while he sniffled and moped and fell asleep again.
But holy cow!! So much willpower and determination and butting heads over stooopid stuff. He's normally such a delightful child, but wow, when he has a DAY he does it up right!
Labels: Calvin
Ouch!!
It was a happy peaceful homeschool morning. Hazel was doing her copywork at the kitchen table, Chloe was working on reading with me on the couch, and Calvin was in the other room, coloring.
Suddenly the peace was shattered with one of those cries; the ones where your heart stops for a second because you know it's bad. Calvin staggered towards me, blood dripping from his mouth. I grabbed him and started to clean him up and figure out what had happened. Since he was playing with a pencil, I started to look for cuts in his mouth. Sure enough, there was a huge gash mark in the roof of his mouth.
Then the blood started to come out his nose, also. That's when an injury goes from sad and poor kid, to what on earth do I do? The pencil had pierced through his soft palate to his nasal cavity. That's beyond my comfort level of deal-with-myself injuries, so I threw everyone in the car and we ran to the instacare.
Good news is, after looking him over, we didn't have to go up to Primary Children's for a CT scan. Thankfully. It's just a really really yucky gross mess in his little mouth. So I'll keep a close eye on him, and if he develops any weird secondary symptoms we'll head up there.
Man, this motherhood thing kind of works you over!! Just when everything is running smoothly...BAM! Something hits. I was pretty shaken up for a while, but he's napping and the house is quiet and I had some ice cream, so things are ok now.
Labels: Calvin
My heart's in big melty puddles
I don't think he knows it's a holiday, but my sweet Calvin boy just gave me my best Valentine's present yet.
He had one of those legendary toddler diapers and I was cleaning him up. We were talking and I was telling him that Mommy's are here to take care of little boys and keep them clean and sweet. We finished and I went to give him our customary post-diaper change big hug. Then he melted my heart forever and completely.
He planted a big kiss on one cheek, turned my head and kissed my other cheek, then turned my head again and planted a big kiss on my mouth. "T'ank you Mommy take care me! Wub you!"
Then he ran off to play.
Be still my mother's heart.
Labels: Calvin, family
How??
Calvin and I were just having a talk about the potty. He's showing a sign or two of being ready, but just a bit. So he got all excited and wanted to sit on the toilet. Great! I love it when they get so excited about things.
We got him all situated and he was looking very proud, then he looked puzzled. "How do it wet??" He looked down at his anatomy, confused. "Not working!"
And that right there is the whole crux of the matter of potty training. Getting the 'how' part down.
Labels: Calvin
Questions
Hazel came out of her room carrying something with a very puzzled look on her face. "Mom, why is there a red pepper on my bed?"
As I looked up I saw something out of place in the living room. "For the same reason there is a jar of hoisin sauce under the couch and Christmas ornaments in the dryer."
We looked at each other, sighed resignedly, and chimed together, "CALVIN!!!"
Labels: Calvin, mess
Do they come with a mute button?
Can we talk for just a minute about toddler boys? Because somehow I'm just not understanding mine very much right now. Are they
supposed to be so. very. different. from their sisters? The endless running from one end of the house to the other, the hopping, the jumping off anything that is elevated?
And then there's the stubbornness. And the sheer physicalness of himself. He
needs to wrestle, hard, every day. And if he doesn't get it, he'll walk up to me or his sisters and just start hitting over and over until we engage him. We saw my BIL tonight and Calvin was overjoyed to see a male--couldn't start the wrestling fast enough.
Did I mention the stubbornness? It's 10:00 and the kid just
barely fell asleep, and not from lack of trying on my part! Worst part is, he was up LAST night until 10:30, was a raving beast of a baby all day, refused to nap, and then was on crazy whirlwind mode until just now. I AM READY TO TEAR OUT MY HAIR!!!!! And he
laughs at my punishments, either that or they turn into 20 minute death battles of will. I am tired.
It is such a merciful thing that God made the two year olds cute. If this kid didn't have big brown eyes and a headful of curls, I'm not sure what might happen!
Labels: Calvin, parenting
Prayers
Calvin has all kinds of random fears. Like scary handsome prince capes, or having his favorite sandals taken off his feet, or the dark. Big time fear of the dark. Since he's all of two, I'm humoring most of these. He sleeps with his light on in his room--no nightlights will do, no sir. Overhead light or no sleeping!! I'll switch it off as I'm heading to bed and he'll sit straight up and yell, "HEY!! LIGHT ON!!"
Oh well. Some battles aren't worth fighting at the moment.
But we were all staying in a hotel the other night, and really needed the light off in order for the girls to be able to go to bed. So as I was helping him say his prayers, I asked that Calvin would be able to turn off the light. He always parrots back exactly what I tell him, so I thought this might work. Kid has a mind of his own! As he repeated back my phrases, he came to that one and did some swift editing. "Calwin, lights...ON!"
Labels: Calvin, funny
Cozy
At 10 in the morning, Calvin pulled his 'me-me' (blanket) into my big tub and curled up. Hazel thought it was hilarious, so ran and got his pillow and 'woggie.' He slept there peacefully for an hour!!
Labels: Calvin
It's a dang good thing...
he has big brown eyes and curls. Little stinker got into some window markers, and well...
Labels: Calvin
Smatterings
I'm sitting here at the computer, but not exactly sure what I want to post. So I think I'll just ramble and see where we end up.
The last two days we've spent nearly every moment outside. This whole weeding thing is going to be the death of me, but I'm not going to let it get out of control like I did last summer. I figure if I weed one bed a day, taking Sunday off, then they shouldn't take too long if i'm just maintaining. Right? Of course, the vegetable garden isn't scheduled in there, so I'll have to squeeze that one in, too. Provided I can ever get neighbor boy-who-has-the-rototiller over and I can actually plant said vegetable garden.
We went miniature golfing last night for family night. Steve's home now for the summer (HOORAY!!) so we're spending tons of family time, just soaking it in. Calvin in particular is so attached to him. I think he's afraid if he lets Steve out of his sight, he'll go on another plane. But anyway. Mini golf. So fun!! A lot chaotic, and definitely no scorecards for anyone. I would hit the ball with Calvin, then he'd chase after it and go drop it in the whole, then clap proudly for himself. Hazel worked doggedly at it, and could get the ball in herself after 20 or so shots. Chloe golfed with Steve's help, and danced and sang and daydreamed as she's want to do. Altogether as fun a night as you could imagine.
We read Barbara McClintock's version of The Little Princess about 3 times today. Also the book Dahlia, by her, that my girls adored. So fun! We've been doing Gulliver's Travels (an abridged version, but still very rich in language and detail) for a read aloud. It has sparked some fabulous conversations and imaginations.
It's amazing just how quickly the whole house can go from spotless to umm, not. One day of gardening, not cleaning, plus an afternoon of playdough and a large Calvin spill from dinner. Oy vey. Lots of work this evening.
Oh, speaking of Calvin. I was transferring laundry yesterday. Pulled out of the washing machine 2 markers, thankfully with the lids on, 7 foam stamp things, and 1 tube of Strawberry Shortcake toothpaste, also miraculously still closed. Oy vey indeed!!
Labels: Books, Calvin, random
He's got skills
How does the boy child do it?? I went to pour the morning orange juice, and a paintbrush came slithering out of the carton.
It's not like he has unlimited access to
food and
drink. Really, his opportunities are quite limited. A trip to the bathroom while they're eating breakfast, perhaps. A few brief moments, but I certainly don't leave the fridge open all day for him to create his dubious works of art.
So tell me, is this something to endure (and honestly, laugh really hard at) until he reaches some kind of cognitive ability? Or maybe he'll just move from beverages to some kind of different medium for his artistic expressions.
Labels: Calvin
A place of his own
The boy was silent for a few minutes, and I couldn't see him anywhere. A bad sign. I went on a Calvin hunt, and this is where I found him.
Cozied up in the garbage can, munching contraband jelly beans.
Labels: Calvin, funny
Verizon doesn't stand a chance against him
Things have been rough around here for the phones. Calvin seems to have it out for anything with a dial tone, and he's taking this vendetta pretty seriously. now granted, all these incidents are completely my own fault and could have been avoided, but still!!
We took Steve to the airport this morning at the crack of dawn. When I got home I was TIRED. We piled on the bed for a round of cartoons while I snoozed. Well, I thought Calvin was snuggled up next to me. Apparently not! When I got up, he was sitting happily on the kitchen counter with an open jar of peanut butter, various kitchen implements that he'd dragged out, a bag of tortilla chips, and a pitcher of Crystal Light. Floating eerily in the punch were chips, spoons...and the phone. Yeah, that one is pretty much dead. It wasn't quite as grisly as the end for the
digital camera, but it still drowned in aspartame. Yuck.
Then this afternoon, after church, I went to the bathroom. When I came out, my cell phone was stuffed deep into the jar of peanut butter. Fortunately for it's little pink Razor self, the peanut butter didn't suffocate it, and it's fine. I should have gotten pictures, but I didn't realize that there was going to be a theme for the day. Oy.
Of course, I've learned my lesson. Never go to the bathroom while Calvin is on the loose. That, and come to grips with the fact that there is no place anywhere in my kitchen where I can leave things unattended. Dang it!!
Labels: Calvin, mess
Wordless Wednesday--- While Mama showers...
Labels: Calvin
He got into what????
It's 5 degrees outside. High today of about 14 degrees. At least we're not dealing with the ice storms that some people are. Here, it's just plain cold.
It's funny how quickly we fall back into the routine of Mom-ness. Even after that blissful vacation, a couple of hours home and it's business as usual. Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love business as usual.
Last night we had some friends over for dinner who we haven't seen in about 4 years. They have a little girl with some ...quirky... tastebuds. When she was playing at our house years ago, she mentioned how she loved to drink pickle juice. Steve, being the ever obliging man that he is, whipped her up a quick drink and she had 2 cups of the stuff. So last night, in the spirit of reminiscing, we were talking about it. Sure enough, she begged for a glass. No one but Steve would ever actually give a child pickle juice to drink, but as he puts it, "Why limit their experiences based on our prejudices?" So, to all our great disgust, she drank a great big glass of fluorescent green juice. Eeewww!!!
We had Sunday dinner at my mom's the other night. It was my brother's birthday dinner. Their darling little girl is just three weeks younger than Calvin, and the two of them are so adorable as they chase and toddle around together.
As we were all sitting around chatting after dinner, I idly wondered where Calvin was. Surely he's in the other room with all the kids, right? Note to self: idly wondering where Calvin is = bad idea. When he was
not in the other room, we went on a Calvin hunt. And oh, we found him!
Cat food, cat water, and yes, cat litter. Holy. Cow.
Labels: Calvin
Toddler days
Toddlers have kind of a bad rap. Whenever I mention my Calvin's age, or encounter another mom with little ones, the response is usually a sympathetic look and a murmured, "it's a hard age, isn't it."
And it is. Don't get me wrong. It's a crazy, rocky, frustrating,
tiring age.
Calvin is 16 months old. He pulls hair, sits on top of his sisters' coloring books, steals spoons and puts them in people's shoes, breaks Christmas ornaments, and throws things (like my camera) in the toilet. But there's another side to this baby boy of mine. And oh, that side makes all the other things so inconsequential.
Calvin dances that delightful toddler dance with bum outstretched, arms pumping, and knees bouncing. His face radiates joy as his whole body shakes with the music. If you could only bottle toddler dancing and uncork it when they're smelly teenagers, how wonderful it would be! Calvin is old enough now to adore reading. He drags his little animal picture books around the house, and in his funny babyspeak, tells me quite plainly that he wants to be read to, NOW. He plunks down in my lap and we make the signs and sounds of cows and lions and kittens. His favorite book has a page with baby seals on it. He turns to it and goes, "ark ark ark" over and over again. There's another memory to bottle up and cherish.
There is nothing quite like the heavy satisfying feeling of a toddler sitting in your lap. When you're putting on their shoes, and for a brief moment their busy legs are sitting still, and you rejoice in the sturdyness of their bodies, of the intoxicating smell of their heads, and the unbelievable softness of their peach skin cheeks.
We went to see Frosty the Snowman at the Children's Theatre today. I was worried about Mr. Perpetual Motion and a live performance, but he was entranced. He sat on my lap the whole time, spell bound by the lights and singing. He clapped enthusiastically and chuckled. When he was really excited, he shook his fists and made the Mr. Furious face. Then the second the house lights came up, all the pent up energy of 30 minutes of sitting still broke through, and he ran like a little dervish.
He loves to play not really catch, more like fetch with us. We throw a ball and he runs so fast on his stubby little baby legs and brings it back, like an exuberant little puppy. Watching that run of his cracks me up every single time.
He was on my lap while I was sitting next to Steve. I leaned over and kissed Steve, then Calvin put up his little face expectantly, waiting for his. I want to eat him up! Since it's so easy to be frustrated with the craziness that is a toddler, I'm so grateful for days like these that remind me of the loveliness of that life.
Labels: Calvin
