Entries in holidays (295)
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...
activities, family, holidays, nature, parenting 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.
family, friends, holidays, milestones Holiday Weekend
Everyone needs holiday weekends in their lives in order to bring some spice to the monotony of everyday schedules. 
Of course, when you're a baby there is nothing monotonous about your every day - sure the naps are a regularly attended event, but there is so much to discover in the world that all other moments are already peppered with variety and change. So even though Friday might have been a day of new discovery for Calvin, who found out that day how much fun it is to kick a ball around the house (do we have a soccer player?), Jon was more than happy to arrive home with the news that he'd been given Monday off - what a special treat! 
And what did we plan? Spring cleaning. But the weather threw a wrench in our plans (the weather is another thing that knows nothing of monotony, especially in Michigan), so we spring cleaned all day Saturday while it rained and went about our usual church and music lesson schedule on Sunday, and moved our planned trip to the Detroit Zoo with Jon's parents and sister to Monday instead. What a great choice! 
Rain is perfect for spring cleaning, but not so perfect for the zoo, and vice versa with the sun that showered us with brilliantly warm rays come Memorial day. Of course, between the good weather and the national holiday, the zoo was packed, but another bonus point for the Detroit Zoo over both Toledo and Binder is the amount of space - wide walkways and a plethora of exhibits really know how to spread out a crowd and the six of us had a great time, complete with a picnic lunch. 
Calvin loved talking to, and showing off for, his aunt and grandparents. And to our delight his interest in the animals grows with every zoo trip we take (which means that at this rate by the end of the summer he'll be trying to climb into their enclosures). It was a great zoo trip, and we finished of our Memorial Day with a traditional summer meal - grilled hamburgers (Calvin had his mini-burger without a bun) corn on the cob, and watermelon (which Calvin LOVED), followed by a little swimming and a lot of bubbles. Boy is it hard to return to the monotony of Tuesday.
