Accomplishment. It's a wonderful thing.

The joy of reading

From the very beginning, we made reading an integral part of Calvin's daily routine. These days he has many "scheduled" book sessions—when he wakes up, just before nap, and just before bed—and he adores every minute of them. But there are also many "unscheduled" sessions, the times when he picks up a book of his own accord for the sheer pleasure of it, and those are the moments we treasure most. It is in these times when we see just how much attention Calvin has paid to the books as he retells the stories out loud, all by himself, page by page.

Calvin has become aware of the video camera these days, so we have to be more stealthy about capturing his spontaneous moments. Forgive the slight hidden camera approach as we present Calvin's interpretations of two current favorites: My Big Boy Potty by Joanna Cole and Moose Tracks by Karma Wilson. We've used subtitles to show the actual texts, but Calvin's version is pretty darn close!

To Calvin, who is two today,

Is it even possible to sum up an entire year of a young life in just a few paragraphs?  And yet, looking at you today, just today, we would be at a loss trying to describe what that year of changes entailed.  As the time passes, each day melts into the next, and sometimes whole weeks, even months, will blend together in our memories.  But in sitting down to reminisce about the past year, and looking at those pictures and videos from a year ago, we are reminded of just how far you really have come over the past 366 days:  from toddling to running, climbing stairs, turning somersaults, and even to full blown jumping; from a baby of few words, a handful at best, to a toddler with over 600 of them, and a growing grasp of phrases and sentences; from a shy introvert, to a full participant in dance, music, and library classes, and in Sunday School play room as well;  from a face stuffing, floor decorating eater, to a boy who uses his silverware and his napkin (most of the time), drinks from a glass, and will even set and clear the table and help load the dishwasher.  

We are coming to know you as a calm, gentle, and sensitive little boy who spends as much time thinking as acting, watching as doing, and listening as talking.  If we worried a year ago about your development without the daily exposure so many kids get in daycare, our fears have been set aside as we have seen you grow.  You love to share (even down to the very last fish cracker in your bowl or the only toy giraffe in the library), you are patient with others (always waiting your turn in line, never afraid to be last), and you have begun to fully take part in cooperative play (building towers or playing house with other kids in Sunday School).We absolutely love to hear you talk, especially to hear you practice your good manners with words and phrases like please, thank you, and excuse me, and we are so very proud of your happy and friendly demeanor, even when speaking with strangers (as long as your parents are near). 

You can sing your ABCs (mostly correctly), count to ten (though you sometimes forget "5"), and most days remember to do your chores (feeding the pets and setting the table), but perhaps one of our favorite developments has been that of imaginative play.  It was around Thanksgiving that you got your first play food set, and from then on there has been no stopping you.  You were so in love with that first set of food, pretending to cook all sorts of things, that it was soon followed by more food, then a set of pots and pans, plates and silverware, the kitchen itself, and now even condiments.  You can spend an uninterrupted hour playing by yourself in your kitchen, and we love to listen to you as you talk to yourself about your play.  But your imagination is far more active than even that.  The funniest example is the way you use one of your Maracas to vacuum the floor (when it isn't busy being an instrument, that is), and our favorite is probably the way you run around the house on all fours, roaring like a lion, barking like a dog, or meowing like a cat, and demand to be pet or fed.

If we had to sum up the past year in just a word or phrase it would be difficult to choose between a year of physical growth, intellectual achievements, or social advancements, but more likely than not we'd just have to say that the past year has been just plain fun.

Amazing

Absolutely every day with a toddler is amazing.  We continually find ourselves asking "did you know he could do that?" or "has he done that before?" the answer to which is more often than not "no," sending us down that great spiraling path of utter amazement.  Calvin is growing so fast, learning so many things, and gaining so many skills right before our eyes.  He has boundless energy and a growing imagination, and every day is a completely new adventure.  We know that sounds cliche, but the longer we live, the more we find life to be full of those.  After asking his age, people invariably respond with "oh, what a fun age," and yes, we agree, but besides being fun, it's also absolutely amazing.  Every day we are reminded to count our blessings, and there certainly are many of those.

Let the conversation begin.

A child's first words are a coveted moment, that turning point when the family's video library stops resembling a collection of Rudolph Valentino clips and enters the era of talkies.  And as with all childhood milestones, those first forays into speech are often surrounded by controversy.  In our case the incessant, pressure creating queries started coming before the first year was even up, and only increased in frequency thereafter:  Is he talking?  Has he started talking yet?  Isn't he talking yet?  Nevermind the fact that he started walking three months earlier than the norm, or the fact that he was communicating with over 30 appropriate hand signs with an efficiency that probably surpassed anything early speech could have provided.  In fact, as time passed the most inappropriately forward of people at church felt it their responsibility to ask such questions as "do you think teaching sign was a bad idea?" and our all time favorite, "are you worried about autism?"  No.  Our wonderful pediatrician was very encouraging.  His son, he told us, did not say a word until he was upwards of two years old.  So we settled in for the long wait, and were greatly surprised, therefore, when in October, Calvin suddenly started repeating animal sounds.  He could moo, quack, woof, meow, and even sound like a siren. 

December, 2007
And then during the gap between Christmas and New Years we were delighted by a sudden flourish of new words.  Like a ship taking on water, Calvin's vocabulary increased exponentially right before our eyes.  He mimicked every word he heard and quickly tucked it away in his mind's dictionary, and this trend has continued.  And after what had seemed like an excruciating wait under the caring yet disparaging eyes of our church community, I'm sure you can imagine our vexation when, just the other day, we were told "he is such a good talker for a boy his age!  You must be so proud!"  Yes, in fact, we are.

January, 2008