Why is it that most kids spend such a large portion of their childhood trying really hard to grow up, 
while so many adults spend their grown up years trying to be young again? Cliche, we know, but only now is this becoming so very obvious to us. Calvin spends all day trying to do what we are doing. For a while there we were spending what seemed like much of our days enduring tantrums after explaining to him that he was too little for this or that, but a month ago we did a little soul searching and reassessed our previously set boundaries, bringing peace back to the neighborhood. You'd think we'd taken him to 
Disney World when we gave him the basket from the dishwasher and let him put the utensils away. It's now his favorite chore (he even puts them in the right places). Same with setting the table, feeding the animals, and even washing the dishes (sans the sharp knives, of course). And while he's not allowed to actually help us cook, he is allowed to pull a chair up to the counter and use his own pans to "cook" nearby. No matter 
what we are doing he wants to be part of it, from talking on the phone or folding laundry, to putting away toys and yes, that is a picture of him putting a diaper on his stuffed bear (heck, tonight he tried to give it a sippy cup and then put it to bed). We know we should be thankful - he really is helpful in so many ways, and provides a heck of a lot of comedic entertainment to boot - but think that somebody ought to be enjoying childhood here. Maybe the next time he's loading the dryer or putting away his laundry we'll play with his toys (we've had our eyes on that soft rocking horse for a while now).
We've added pictures to the February Album.
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.
development, 