Five O'Watch

Calvin has been borrowing his dad's watch of late. He cons Eric into relinquishing it while he's still half awake, slips it on to his own wrist and by the time Eric leaves for work, none of us have any idea where it is.

Solution: a watch for Calvin!

His response to the $6 digital with a few Cars on it was utter delight. "A watch for me?! I can wear it all the time, every day!"

Once fastened, we spent a few minutes identifying the numbers on its face; they change every sixty seconds! And we talked about the term o'clock.

"Yeah, he said, "but when it's on my wrist it's five o'watch."

Eavesdroping

Just overheard in the family room:

Calvin picks up a play phone and calls to me, "Mom, I'm calling Ethan's mom to see when he's going to school."

Now, what follows was a conversation with himself, of course, but he played both parts so beautifully that I need to name each character.

Calvin: Hi, Ethan's Mom? When are you taking Ethan to school today? Are you going when I'm going? This is Calvin Anderson.

Ethan's Mom: Calvin Anderson? Wow, that's a cool name.

Calvin: Thanks. What's your name?

Ethan's Mom: Cherith Anderson

Calvin: Cherith Anderson? That's my mom's name, too! Ok, see you at school.

Sugar Bugs

Life According to Calvin: Brushing Your Teeth

Mom, do you know why we use toothpaste to get rid of sugar bugs? It's because bugs don't like water. So when we get them wet, they go back to their home.

(We borrowed "sugar bugs" from Aunt Jenifer. We brush our teeth so the sugar bugs don't eat them!)

A Piece of What?

Mom: "The Lord bless you, Calvin, and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord life up his countenance upon you and give you his peace."

Calvin: "A piece? A piece of what?"

A Reasonable Request

Calvin's song:

"My body lies over the ocean.

My body lies over the sea.

My body lies over the ocean.

So bring back parts of my body to me."

Nora's growing up.

Noting his eight month-old sister in a new outfit, Calvin reported, "That girl, Nora, she's really growing up. She can wear jeans now!"

Relationships

Calvin: "You're my mom , Mom. I'm your son."

Sweet Dreams

It didn't take long for Calvin to find a reason to cozy in on the top bunk. As it turns out, a faulty sippy cup propelled him upward.

When the leaking cap left his bed sopping wet just minutes into nap time we were both happy for an alternative literally steps away. Cal climbed up the ladder, settled in with Pooh, and closed his eyes.

Still, a two-hour nap is different than a twelve-hour night. He was allowed to nap up there (but sleep down below) for a week before we were confident that he would stay put.

Isn't he adorable? A sleeping child restores all gushy, lovey-dovey feelings that might have waned slightly during the three hour-long "why?" game, or the forty-five minute "but I don't want to pick up my toys" stand-off.

Sleep, child, sleep.

Big Boy Bunk Bed!

With child number two on the way, we -- well, Eric -- decided to renovate the spare bedroom, which also served as our office. In short, he tore off the tongue and groove paneling and vaulted the ceiling. But it was no small job! Throw in new windows, new floor, new electrical work, and a not-so minor flood when one of the radiators busted mid-project, and you'll believe me when I say that he has been keeping himself busy this year.

The end result, however, is beautiful. And just perfect for a Big Brother.

Calvin moved into his new room after Nora was born but before she moves into the crib. (She's staying in our room for a couple of months.) Of course, we've been talking it up for a while now and his anticipation has been growing, giving tours to visitors.

We moved the pre-renovation bedroom set back to the room upon completion. It happens to be Eric's first big-boy bedroom set, including two twin (bunk) beds, a dresser and desk. But while Cal's excitement about his room was growing, his attachment to his crib had not waned. I envisioned moving the crib to the room, as well. Which, for the record, was fine with me. I wasn't in a hurry to move him to a new bed.

However ... we did set up the furniture while he was in Montana with Grandma.

We talked to him by phone as the carpet was laid, and I let him know that I was setting up new beds for him. He was stoked. We brought him home from Montana in the middle of the night so he slept in the crib. But first thing the next morning he scoped out his new digs.

Not surprisingly, he immediately climbed to the top bunk and wanted to nap there later in the day. I agreed to let him sleep on the bottom bunk (not so keen on the idea of going straight from a crib to the TOP bunk!) but he was too excited, too fidgety, to actually sleep. He ended up crashing in his crib. But that night he tried again and fell right to sleep in his big boy bed.

There's no turning back now. This kid's growing up.

A Big Brother is Born

Calvin was the first on the scene when Nora was born.

He woke up to Grammy and Papa at his house and the three made their way to the hospital lickety-split.

A wide-eyed boy entered our room and climbed into the bed with Nora and me. Taking note of the baby in my arms, he turned his attention to the subtle details, like my hospital gown and Nora's oxygen tube.

But he soon found Nora's eyes and her nose, and it wasn't long before he wanted to take an active role in caring for his sister. "I want to hold my baby in my arms", he said.

He settled in next to me and held out his arms. Handing over Nora, I wrapped my arms around both of my kids for the first time; what a feeling!

And just like that, a big brother is born.

If you'd like to meet Calvin's little sister, check out her blog.

A Day at the Movies

I haven't been chomping at the bit to take Calvin to a movie theater.

He's not overly interested in television and even his favorite videos don't hold his attention for more than thirty minutes, if that.

Cal has watched one feature-length film in its entirety exactly once: Toy Story II (I think the original is too scary, with that neighbor kid, Sid, destroying toys and whatnot.) And while he periodically asks for Buzz and Woody, he's up and playing after fifteen minutes.

What I'm trying to say is that it was fully out of character for us to take Calvin to a movie today.

I'm not sure whether it was the promise of another Pixar film (do you love them as much as we do?) or just an excuse to get out of the house on a rainy afternoon, but we were suddenly off to the theater with peanut M&Ms and Pooh Bear in hand. Just incase we needed a little comfort.

We watched the trailer at home to introduce Cal to Wall-e and talked about sitting in a chair in front of a big, big, BIG screen ... but one has to experience the theater to know it.

Honestly, I thought he'd find it loud and overwhelming and we'd head home after 30 minutes. But Cal surprised me. He sat adorably in his own chair, between Mom & Dad, Pooh Bear in his lap and munched on his M&Ms. He stared awestruck at the screen. He loved the previews -- more cartoons -- and would talk quietly to the characters just like he does at home. He laughed and 'ouched' at appropriate times, and seemed quite at home at the theater. Must be our kid.

Of course, thirty minutes later ... his M&Ms were gone and he was ready to play. He seemed to understand that he needed to be quiet, but found the moving seat remarkable and, if there had been more available for him, he would have sat in every one of them!

After a few minutes of playing he would settle in on one of our laps for a few minutes, then stand, then sit, then stand, and finally nestled in on Dad's lap for the remaining twenty minutes.

Calvin clapped at the end. And he deserved a round of applause, too.

That's For My Baby!

With the birth of our baby just around the corner, we've started to prepare the house. We pulled out items we haven't seen in years: a swing, a bouncy chair, a moses basket....

Our intention was to make things easier for us when we return home with a little one who needs to be set down somewhere, but this served as good preparation for Calvin, too. I was pleased with how quickly he figured out what was going on.

He came down in the morning, looked at the bouncy chair and said, "That's for my baby?!"

Now, at least once a day, he'll make the rounds pointing out everything that belongs to his baby.

Back in the Pool

I had hoped to get back in the pool with Calvin before summer, and before our little little one arrives at the end of June. When friends of ours said that they had signed up for a swim class at the YMCA, I broke my one-activity-at-a-time rule and hopped on to that bandwagon, too.

Yay! Back in the pool!!

For kids Calvin's age, swim instruction consists of water acclimation, getting kids used to the water. Well, this is not an issue for our little guy.

Perhaps it's because we took this class when he was six months old, or maybe he's just naturally drawn to water, but if Cal can get his toes -- even better, his whole self -- into the water at any time, there's no holding him back!

As first time parents were easing their first time children into the water, Calvin was jumping in, fully engulfed, and working hard to land anywhere BUT in my arms.

Our teacher (who remembered us from nearly two years ago) suggested that we put Cal in a life jacket and give him a little freedom. He loved it!

So each week he straps on a life jacket and hops in the pool. I'm not sure that he's learning much but he loves our 30-minutes in the pool each week.

He spends most of his time jumping in, kicking and paddling back to the side of the pool, climbing up the ladder to get out, and hopping back in.

And his mother, at eight months pregnant, loves this independence!

There's Juice in There!

Quite innocently, while eating a clementine today, Calvin looked up at me and said, "There's juice in there!".

Brilliant little boy. He's right!

Then he proceeded to line up his pieces "like a couch".

I love to see this little guy's mind at work.

The Times, They Are A-Changin'

Leave it to the expert marketing teams at Huggies to provide a reality check for the status of our home.

With our names on baby lists all over the place, we've been getting coupons and free samples of various baby products as long as Calvin has been alive. They track his development better than we do, sending the next size of diaper just as he's moving up, etc.

So we weren't surprised when we received a Pull-Up potty training diaper in the mail. We were surprised when a newborn diaper with umbilical cord care arrived with it!

Oh yes, indeed. The times are a-changin' 'round these parts.

I'd Rather Be Swimming

Calvin and I met Aunt Julie, Uncle Peter, Wil and Josh in Chicago for a quick overnight at Grammy and Papa's new place.

Still with me?

Actually, we christened the apartment with this visit, as the first overnight guests. After making the beds and gorging on deep dish pizza, the boys fell asleep and the adults had a quiet visit.

The next day promised a train ride to Denver, so we dressed comfortably as we left for breakfast: warm-up pants and a t-shirt. But when Calvin saw his swim suit, he wanted to wear it, too.

Now, as a rule, he's taking an interest in choosing his clothing -- and mine! And I'm generally happy oblige his leading, even if it means that we wear his "Henry" socks six days in a row. This particular get-up was a little unusual, but we were in the city and he's two, so why not.

So here you have it, kids: Calvin and his "I'd rather be swimming" outfit.

He wore it until we boarded the train mid-afternoon. While changing a diaper it just made more sense to leave it off.

Pronouns and Prepositions

I admit that I haven't paid much attention to developmental benchmarks. I figure that each child learns at their own pace, so as long as Calvin demonstrates consistent growth, we're fine. Perhaps that's a simplistic approach, but it's working so far.

One side effect is utter amazement when my little guy exhibits a new skill set, especially with language. The latest shocker is his use of pronouns and prepositions.

Settling into dinner one night, Calvin was outlining who should sit where. But instead of speaking in the third person, "Calvin sits in Calvin's chair", he said, "Calvin sits in his chair", "Mommy sits in her chair"!

Which reminds me, his complete sentences now include prepositional phrases. Cal has a great grasp on whether he'd like to sit on or beside me, if he would prefer to go up or down the stairs, or whether I should walk in front of or behind him.

And it seems that Cal has a good grip on sentence structure. Spotting our cat the other day, he told me, "Mommy, Jake is in chair." Then immediately corrected himself. "Jake is in the chair."

Of course, he hasn't mastered everything. Cal still says, "mines" instead of "mine". As in, "This cup is mines." An adorable mix-up, I think, and it makes perfect sense. If this is yours, or hers, or his ... then it should be mines as well. He almost has me convinced!

Bravo, Son!!

There's a Baby in Your Belly

People keep asking Calvin if there's a baby in Mommy's belly and he has always given the same answer: "No". This response is accompanied by the best "why would you ask such a crazy question?!" look on his little face.

Of course, as soon as I start to tell people that Cal might figure out that a baby's coming when we bring one home from the hospital, he changes his tune.

When Eric asked him to say "hi" to the baby, he leaned into my abdomen and said, "Hi Baby!". To the follow-up question, "What's in Mommy's belly?" he answered confidently, "A baby! There's a baby in your belly!"

Smarty pants.

Happy Birthday, Dear Calvin (x2)

CALVIN IS TWO!

The family celebrated our "good seed" with a John Deere party.

We were happy to share the day with our family and friends, many of whom were with us for Cal's first birthday.






Including:

Grammy and Papa
Grandma and Grandpa
Kurt, Denee, and Ava
Uncle Shane
Uncle Ryan
Surrogate Grandparents and neighbors, Jerry and Diane Bauman
Pastor Ryan

And we were especially honored to have some out of town family with us. Cal's Great Uncle, Dwayne, was visiting from Colorado with Cousins Andrew and Timi, expecting their first child.

Especially during this long, cold winter, our home was warmed with the love of these good people.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy.

Bless You, Mommy! (and other adorable phrases)

As Cal's vocabulary expands the most adorable phrases present themselves, much to our delight.

One of my favorites, Bless you, Mommy! pops up for any of my sneezes and even more often for Calvin's fake coughs. So far, "Bless you, Mommy" applies to anyone who clears their throat nearby.

Although I offer less frequently these days, Calvin remembers well my offer to help him up the stairs. ("Do you want mommy to carry you?") So it's only natural that "Mommy carry you" would stick in his vocabulary. Of course it means "Mommy carry ME", but it's too cute to correct. It applies to Pooh Bear, too, "Mommy carry you, Pooh".

Patting the spot next to him on the couch, Calvin beckons company with a sweet, "C'mon Mommy, sit here!" If we're walking it's even cuter, as the tender request is accompanied by hand motions: palm up, fingers bending in a c'mon motion. Tell me you wouldn't go wherever he wanted!

What once just described how he liked his morning tea, "nice and warm" now applies to how his bath water feels, his winter coat, and why he needs his mittens.

As sweet as his beckoning to come closer, "See you later!" is a precious good-bye.