Yard Work AKA The Day Calvin Tried to Kill Himself

With spring weather peaking through the clouds, we just had to get ourselves outside.

First things first, we put up the tree swing. Calvin enjoyed the breeze for a while, but he really wanted to use his legs.

So while Dad picked up fallen branches and Mom raked around trees and flower beds, Calvin ran wild.

He loves the stairs. And although he has started trying to walk up and down them, he generally pauses at the edge to take a hand for assistance. Not today.

No, with the concrete sidewalk tempting his fate, the boy climbed the front steps, ran around the platform for a while, then tumbled down, head over foot. Laughing, he mounted the steps again, played on the platform and -- boom! -- down he went. Unfazed, he made a break for it before Mom's suggestions for alternative play shifted to commands.

We continued to steer him away from the steps with distractions like tree and flower trivia (useless) and silly songs (short lived). But it was John Deere that eventually came to the rescue. Cal happily pushed his tractor around the yard ... and down the hill!

Honestly, this kid.