Dirty Feet

Okay, so I don't want you to get the wrong idea. Calvin isn't always barefoot and dirty when he's with Grandma. But he definitely has a lot of fun -- with or without shoes.

While we were in town we crashed a surprise party for Grandma and Grandpa's friend, John. He thought he was in for a family dinner but was joined by a few close friends, too. ... and their daughter and grandson.

We all had fun since there were contemporaries for everyone; even Calvin had a friend to play with. Calvin ran around the backyard with John's grand-daughter, and even joined the party at the friends' house next door. Hence the dirty feet.

After dinner we threw the two kids in the bath to wash up before bed. But Grandma didn't wait for clean feet to snuggle up with Cal. Her lap is available for a little R&R and a good cup of milk any time of day.

Weekend With The Girls

Covenant Women hold a retreat at camp every September. Women from our church and others in the conference escape from responsibilities of daily life -- and from family, as there are no kids allowed. No Cheriths allowed, either, (since Calvin was born) as retreat weekends are busy times for camp, and therefore for Eric. So while Eric had a weekend with the girls, Calvin did too; we went to my mom's.

Grandpa was out of town for most of the weekend, so Calvin really was with just the girls. We played around the house with Grandma's good friend, Julie, but a highlight was a trip to the Morton Arboretum. They have a children's area that is out of this world! They've created a play land that highlights the natural wonder of the outdoors with ponds and streams and a suspended walkway up into the trees, Swiss Family Robinson-style!

As expected, Calvin was drawn to every water feature. Whether it was a giant marble sphere brought to life by its water base or a rock pond with spitting frog fountains, our little guy was all in. But it was a stream that actually drew him into the water. We could hardly get his shoes off before he waded in with Grandma, and the two went "creeking" for the first time.

A word about creeking: Grandma is a (capital "C") Creeker. She, too, gets her feet into any body of water nearby, as if a life source. So when we learned that we were pregnant with Calvin, we gave her a pair of kid's boots, encouraging her to share this passion with our child. Turns out she didn't have to work hard at this. Calvin finds these boots on his own when he visits Grandma's house, and even puts them on to walk around the house. They might have come in handy for this first creeking expedition if we had thought to bring them along.

Yes, this was a weekend with the girls, but the Caldwell girls. No shopping. No primping. Just good, old fashioned, boot-stompin' fun.

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Gotta Scoot!

Alright, so this barely qualifies for Calvin's blog, but it's noteworthy news for these parts, so here you have it: we bought a scooter.

Eric has wanted one for years, now, finding it especially appealing for his 2-mile commute to work. This week, he took the plunge and signed on the dotted line.

We opted for one with enough umph to require a motorcycle license, but it still doesn't go above 65 mph. But, like our neighbors who have gone before us, we hope to beetle around town on it, and someday take Cal to school on the back, or who knows, maybe these will be Cal's first wheels when he's old enough. (In which case, look Cal, this is what it looked like when it was new!)

For now, he just calls from the sidelines: "Bye bye. Daddy. See ya."

Cal's word for motorcycle: "coe coe coal"

Cal's word for scooter (when I correct him): "tooter"

Back to the Farm

After working for two week straight, Eric took a day off from work. And since I have mornings off, too, the whole family went to Royal Oaks Farm to take in this beautiful fall weather.

When Calvin and I went earlier this summer, it was mostly closed. But now in full swing, they've added a little train, a carousel, and a whole bunch of fall decorations.

Cal went straight for the playground to run around on the big trucks, train, and boat. And from there, he cooed over to the roosters, sheep and goats in the petting area.

But then there was a train whistle ... and we were off to see what it was all about. Cal and Dad did a few laps in the caboose before we found our way to the carousel. Mom got to ride this time.

Then it was time for lunch, and a quick trip through the shop for a sugar and spice donut and a (heavy) jug of cider to take home.

Sir Mix-a-Lot

I try to involve Calvin in kitchen work as often as my patience permits. (Truly, it's easier without him.) This usually means that he splashes along beside me as I wash dishes. But tonight as I threw together some strawberry-rhubarb crisp, I thought Calvin might enjoy the process, too.

The ingredients (oatmeal, wheat germ, flax seed, quinoa, brown sugar, flour, nutmeg, and some chopped pecans) don't require precise measurements, especially since I've added half of them on my own, and dry ingredients allow easy clean-up for spillage.

It was a short-lived adventure, (dry ingredients don't take long to throw together), but it was long enough to take a couple of pictures for posterity, and nearly dump the bowl twice.

Ahoy, Ye Matey!

Anja and Lukas have been important friends for us. They are the two (non-related) kids closest to our family.

Theirs was one of the two houses to which Calvin trick-or-treated last year, and Calvin can always count on having Lukas as a playmate in the church nursery.

So it was appropriate that Calvin's first non-family birthday party was for his good friends, Anja (5) and Lukas (3).

In honor of "talk like a pirate day", it was a pirate school party --argh! The invitation was a letter in a bottle, so cute!

This being our first party, I wasn't sure whether Calvin should dress like a pirate before the party, or whether he would don the proper attire as part of the festivities at the party. So I put him in pirate stripes beforehand and was pleased to find that the hosts provided bandannas for all the kids.

The party was pirate school for the kids. They were each tattooed before learning how to speak like a pirate, shoot cannonballs, fish (for ducks), and follow a treasure map for gold!

Calvin was the youngest of the 12 children present. He played each of the games, but a modified version. He wasn't blindfolded while fishing, for example, and he was first in line so he had the best shot. He kept up well, though, traipsing around the neighborhoods and sitting on the ledge with the big kids as they divided the booty.

Now we're ready to hit the party circuit, and definitely have some good ideas for our own parties to come!

Big Kid Shoes

Since he outgrew his sandals and big kids everywhere got new shoes for school, Calvin got some new "kicks", too.

I can't believe how big they are (6.5). They come in shoe boxes now, not bins!

Just look at the soles on these puppies! No more smooth leather. And no more toddling around holding on to furniture; now we climb hammocks!

Word Coupling

I've all but given up on trying to keep track of Calvin's developing vocabulary. But I thought I'd make note of his word coupling. He combines two words, but keeps them separated in delivery.

For example, from his crib one morning, I heard, "Diaper. Pees." (Diaper, please) with a full stop between the two words.

Calvin likes to boss Jake, the cat, around so we hear a lot of "Geek. Down." (Jake, down) as he wanders the house, whether Jake is in the room, or not.

Adding an apostrophe introduces a third syllable. For example, "Daddy. Ss. Soos." (Daddy's shoes) Or "Nalnin. ss. Gook". (Calvin's book).

He hasn't moved on to a three word combo, yet. His attempt at "More juice, please" gets jumbled. All three words, individually, are as clear as crystal. "Moor. Joose. Pees." But strung together, it's "pee pee pees". Go figure.

Struttin' His Stuff

Calvin has discovered his pockets, and with them, the fast-forward button. He's suddenly a teenager, or at least he looks like one.

I know that these expressions are just clicks of the shutter and not his intended look, but I can't get over what they've captured.

It's Not Over 'Til ...

... the toes poke out of the sandals.

Yes, summer is coming to a close, and it's not the dropping temperature that telling us; it's Calvin's increasingly prominent big toe.

When Calvin outgrows his sandals, it's time to find a good scarf and a vest ... or at least a pair of closed toe shoes!

Labor Day Weekend with Grammy & Papa

Eric and I were excited about our trip to Duluth for our good friends, Aaron and Aimee's, wedding. But we weren't thrilled at the thought of keeping our little guy captive for an eight-hour car ride, nor entertaining him while we were at the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and wedding festivities. We thought he'd be much more comfortable with his grandparents. And right we were.

I took Calvin to Grammy and Papa's to help him adjust to new surroundings and the festivities began immediately: dinner starting with his first calamari and coconut shrimp! The appetizers were intended for the adults, so we watched in amazement as Calvin dipped his squid in cocktail sauce and chewed it up. (Then took it out of his mouth, dipped it again, and chewed some more.)

But that was just the beginning. Friday morning meant a trip to see Grammy Great along with Cousin Ava, Uncle Ryan, and GA Deb. The six walked the grounds, lunched in the dining room, and made their way to a nearby zoo-ette. Then home for naps -- and a jump in the crib afterwards!

On Saturday, Grammy, Papa, Uncle Kurt, Aunt Denee, and Cousin Ava gave our little guy a tour of Brookfield Zoo. We caught them here when we called to say good morning and Calvin growled at us. Grammy assured us that he was looking at lions, and wasn't mad at us.

Calvin and Ava had a great time together, walking hand in hand and practicing staying in step. Left, right, left, right. ...

Our home church was happy to host Calvin on Sunday morning. Cousin Ava has moved up to the toddler room, now, so Cal joined her and kept up with the best of the big kids without trouble.

Then they were off to the big city to see Uncle Ryan's place. Cousin Ava went too, and even Pooh Bear! A walk along the lake by Montrose Harbor rounded out the afternoon, then the group dined at the restaurant where Cal's parents ate as they announced their engagement to family and friends.

Monday was a great day to be at the Petersen's pool. Our little fish splashed with Papa and his cousin. Then he wrapped up Labor Day with a little manual labor, helping Papa move some plants around the yard.

Grammy and Papa met us at McDonald's to give Calvin back. They showed pictures and told stories of the weekend over ice cream cones. Then Cal climbed back into our car for home. "Home." he said, as we drove away. "Home."

We thought we'd leave Calvin behind while his parents were off for an adventure, but he did us one better. He had a ball with Grammy and Papa. Check these out:

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