When toddlers dress themselves...

For heaven's sake

As you can probably tell by the stagnant conditions on the blog, I've been away for a short trip.   My loving husband sent me on a four day retreat to  Northern Michigan where I spent my time window shopping,  hiking ski hills, taking in the brilliant fall colors, and scrapbooking at a weekend convention.  It was a much enjoyed break, but I have always suffered from an overactive homesickness gene, an affliction that was not improved upon with the advent of motherhood, and was, therefore, itching to get home as the final day drew to a close.  I relished that first pint sized hug when I finally  arrived home, sat down to spend some play time, and though I was gone for only four days I could swear that Calvin's language developed tenfold while I was away.  Maybe it's a trick of the memory, having been working with pictures and notes taken nearly a year ago, but when I first arrived and sat down to play he was talking a mile a minute, in full sentences, and without much space for breathing.  It was while I was trying to drink in this wonderful moment that I apparently erred in my toy placement, to which Calvin responded "No, not there, the dude goes down here.  Oh for heaven's sake."  Yep, definitely tenfold.  And I really was only gone four days.

The most fuel efficient car in our garage

Now if only it had enough room for our groceries...

On a collision course with the photographer

Impact in T minus 3.... 2.... 1....

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!