A maelstrom of runaway days

If time usually flies, then the vortex of runaway days that has us caught chasing our tails to try and catch up is the reason we haven't posted an update in nine full days.  Between the 11th and now we have had visitors at the house and visited houses, parties at church both to welcome and to send off, trips to parks, festivals, and stores, and just a general business that has kept us on our toes.  And if you are looking for an eddy of your own to get swept up in we suggest summertime in Ann Arbor.  That, at least, is what has done it for us.  We spent at least one night a week at the Summer Festival on campus, then soon after close of that event the Rolling Sculptures Show drove into town on July 13, once again drawing us out into the sunshine and crowds.  Calvin loves the crowds.  He was not as in love with the old Model Ts, Mercedes, or R.E.O. Speedwagons as we were, but he loved the tiny fairy car that ran on Vernors.  And close on the heals of the Rolling Sculptures show was the arrival of the Ann Arbor Art Fairs - more sun and more crowds, and again Calvin was more interested in the crowds, and in the manhole cover, than he was in the art, but each person enjoys art in their own way and at least he had fun.  With all of the goings ons lately we haven't even been able to get back to our zoos and visit our animals.  Yes, the one thing that keeps us somewhat grounded and sane is the twice daily occurrence of nap time - some days for all of us - but even this is about to give way to the "more mature" once daily nap occurrence, at which time we are somewhat like to combust, so be prepared. 

All the car show pictures are in the July 7-13 album

All the Art Fairs pictures are in the July 14-20 album

Strange Fruit

We spent both last night and tonight in downtown Ann Arbor taking in the sites, smells, tastes, and sounds of the Top of the Park Summer Festival.  We look forward to this local annual tradition and try to make it to the month long festival evenings as often as possible, and both the weather and the entertainment this weekend made it the perfect opportunity.  Who can pass up the chance to watch people performing a modern theatrical dance routine from atop 4 meter fiber glass poles?  We enjoyed them enough the first night to take them in again tonight, this time from much closer seats, and the second time was the charm - being almost underneath the performers made all the difference and Calvin even sat still for 15 out of the 20 minutes of the performance, sitting in his stroller, bouncing up and down in time with the music (yes, we swear that he is already developing a good sense of rhythm), his eyes glued to those strange people high over his head, a wide smile glued on his face.  This wonderful performing group goes by the name of Strange Fruit, appropriate since strange would definitely describe it - strange and really cool.  Coincidentally, that is probably what Calvin thought of the raspberry sorbet that his gram was feeding him - with each tiny bite he would shiver, then giggle, then ask for more.  That continued for only a few bites, though, before he decided that darting in and out of the sidewalk traffic was way more fun and got him way more attention from his adoring fans (read: strangers walking by).

There are, of course, lots more Strange Fruit pictures in this week's photo album. 

A Father's Weekend Hike

Ninety degrees!  Ninety!  Without trying to tell Mother Nature what to do, can we gently remind her that it is June?  The dog days of summer don't come until August!  With weather like this it was too hot to make the 45 minute (or more) drive to any of the zoos because Calvin gets so hot in his carseat, so we took a 15 minute drive to a nature area for a shady picnic and hike instead (and by shady we mean tree covered, not suspect).  Lunch was good, the terrain was gentle, and the shade was kind.  Calvin hiked like a champ, spending most of his time urging his dad to go faster from the relaxing seat in his backpack carrier, although he did get a chance to do some of his own hiking (read: playing in the dirt).  And we played a great game of I spy when we found this waiting for us around a corner...

Happy first birthday, Calvin!

Well, it happened.  Calvin turned one.  For so long this day seemed like it was far, far away.  Even yesterday it seemed like it couldn't possibly be here, and yet it arrived.  We tried to keep his party small so that he wouldn't become overwhelmed, but he did very well and our concerns were likely unfounded.  In fact, he spent most of the party wandering around ingratiating himself to his guests, asking for food, and being generally adventursome.  He enjoyed eating dinner outside, and took his time doing it... savoring either the food or the attention, or possibly both.  Of course, the dinner was nothing compared to the cake!  For his very first cake we made him a sugar free carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (both sweetened with applejuice) and when he was presented with his own personal cupcake he poked at it for only a brief second before diving right in, trying to fit the whole thing in his mouth!  We expected some frosting mess, but he was too in love to waste any of it on such nonsense.  And though we know that the first birthday is really more about the parents and their guests, Calvin seemed to know that he was the star of the day... or maybe he just always assumes he's the star of the day, but either way it was a very successful and fun evening, and we are sad that it is behind us.  When the sun dawned today we still had a baby, but now with the official age defining party in our past, tomorrow the sun will dawn on the parents of a toddler.

You can see all of the pictures from his party in his 6/9-15 album. 

May 13, 2007...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!