Galena: Party of Four

After a few special Big Brother days with Grammy and Papa, (about which I hope we'll hear more soon ... ) we joined our little guy in Galena, reuniting us as a new family of four.

It was a pretty quiet visit for Nora and me, (she was just four days old, afterall) but Cal and his Dad managed to keep busy. The big adventure was our evening at the pool.

Yes, that's my two-year old jumping off of a diving board. Granted, it's about two feet above the water, but still -- look at him -- he's flying!

Cal watched others jumping for a while before he and Eric swam over to give it a try. But he didn't hesitate. Holding my hand, he stepped up on the board, walked to the end and jumped.

And then he did it again. And again. And again. And again. ... and again.

There were quieter times as well. He cuddled up with Baby Nora, too, even sharing his beloved Pooh Bear with his new sister. I don't sense jealousy or competition in him yet. It was his idea to let Nora rest on his bear, and his choice to join her when she looked comfortable (instead of pulling it back for himself).

My son.

A Perfect Blend

Friends from Dad's alma mater gathered for some good, clean, fall fun in the backyard of Mom's alma mater; a perfect combination.

We all piled (comfortably) into a house on Lake Michigan with games and food and campfires on the beach -- delightful! I love weekends away! And though the lake, the yard, and our companions were enough for all of us, it was an afternoon on a farm in Holland, MI was a highlight for Calvin.

Sunny and warm and surprisingly comfortable, our gang thoroughly enjoyed a hayride through the country. I mean, c'mon, we were being pulled by a tractor! For Calvin there were laps-a-plenty and shoes hidden in the hay to untangle.

Calvin was definitely the country kid among this group of city slickers. Seeing a petting zoo on every corner this fall, he's quite comfortable around animals. He'd grab a handful of food and stride up until he was face to face with the sheep. One 'bah-ed' at him and he responded in kind: 'bah!'

If that wasn't enough, this farm boasted a hay maze. Familiar? It's a maze of hay bales fully covered over by more hay bales. This means that you crawl through darkness; enough to turn off more than a few adults. Calvin? Nah. He went through once with Dad, came out smiling, turned on his heels and went back in by himself. He surfaced again quickly,still smiling, and went in again! This continued until we were ready to go. Even then, we had to go in for him. We're thinking about a new theme for his bedroom; anyone know where we can get some hay bales?

Behold, The Naughty Chair

As Calvin reached a year and a half we found it necessary to introduce boundaries.

It's not okay, for example, to ram one's tractor into the bottom step while complaining wildly that it doesn't miraculously transport itself to the top. I understand his frustration, but there are more acceptable and effective ways to communicate it.

So we implemented the 'naughty chair', AKA 'time out'. We have a kid-sized chair in the corner of the dining room and another in a nook of the upstairs hallway. Both are away from distraction / entertainment, but within view of most points of interest surrounding it.

The first time I sat Calvin in his chair, he screamed bloody murder. I got down on his level, told him why he was there and that he would need to sit there until he could calm down. Then I turned around and folded laundry while he wallowed in my betrayal. But after about a minute, he stopped, and I returned to his side (and to his level) for a recap.

I told him, again, why he was in the chair (excessive whining and crying for juice) and that I was proud of him for calming himself down. I asked him to tell Mommy he was sorry. "Saw-ee" he repeated (to my knowledge this was the first time he used this word) and I told him that I loved him. "Uv-ooo", he repeated and we hugged.

Aha! Success!

Two hours later, when he rammed the tractor into the stairs, we returned to the chair and to the screaming. This didn't last long, however, and when he stopped crying he said, "all done?". We recapped the offense and talked about a better approach, he apologized, and we confirmed our love for each other before returning to life as usual.

We've had many unhappy returns to the naughty chair, averaging maybe once a day, but the concept makes sense to him. A warning to stop the bad behavior or you'll need to sit in the chair seems effective.

It didn't take Cal long to find the rhythm in the routine. Now when placed in the chair, he immediately starts shaking his head and saying, "noooo", as if to kick start my correction, and his release!

Amazingly, he stays put. If he's particularly spirited, he'll spin around in the chair, or turn around, putting his legs through the back. But he doesn't get up and leave ... yet. He tends to sit quietly, often with his hands folded in his lap, until I return for him (a minute or two later). Such a good naughty little boy.

Lately he's even taken to confessing before God ... at least when I point the camera in his direction.

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!

The Way Things Work

An unofficial study provided the following data: a bubble maker is a fun toy for children ages 1-3.

The kids at Jeff and Kira's barbecue had a ball running through the bubble-filled yard, Calvin among them. But one thing that set Calvin apart from the others (who, for the record, were all girls) was that Calvin had to figure out how it worked.

He'd run around for a while, laughing with the others, but would settle in, time after time, to figure out where these bubbles were coming from, and how. The mechanics were plastic and would stop when he inserted his fingers, so sticky fingers and quickly drained bubbles were the only downside.

Eventually, perhaps after full comprehension of these airborn toys was achieved, or when he gave in to the wonder of it all, Calvin collapsed in the grass and enjoyed.

Dad's Birthday

We celebrated Eric's birthday in Galena and took a trip to the local vineyard for a tour.

Calvin found more pleasure in the echo of the tasting room and the steps to the porch than he did in the content of the outing, but that's to be expected. The group took pleasure in his antics and provided space to let him run.

Of course, I wanted to take advantage of a picturesque setting to snap a picture or two of Calvin on a stationary wagon. You can see what he thought of that idea. Where did he want to be instead of sitting nicely on the front seat? Why, standing, of course, on the barrels on the back of the wagon!

He's a different child these days ... a boy on the move.

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.