Already a stand out at two

It's hard to believe that we have already arrived at that point in our parenting lives when our family calendar is defined by various children's activities.  Calvin may not be in school yet, but strangely enough the year end has brought with it a plethora of celebrations and activities: last Friday morning we attended the Summer Reading Program Kick-Off Party at our local library, complete with cake, comedian, and petting farm; on Tuesday we will attend the first of two year end picnics, this one being for his dance class, then the second one, for his music class, takes place next Friday.  The most notable of all these events, however, was the one that took place today - his very first dance recital.  The performance has been a whole year in the making.  Calvin and Cortney started the weekly classes last September.  At the first class Calvin mostly watched and asked to be picked up, but his improvement was steady from there, and by show time today he was incredibly willing to walk out on the stage of the rented middle school auditorium (with his mother, of course, and the other toddlers from his class) and go through the small, choreographed circle dance that we have been practicing since that very first class oh so many months ago.  He "performed" very well, only forgetting to twirl one time, and his determined calm throughout the whole affair was refreshing, but what really made him stand out amongst all his dancing peers?  Of all the performers, ranging in age from 2 years to 4th grade, he was the only boy.

The superfluity of pictures this month has warranted a second June album, so more pictures can be found in the new June 2008, too album.

The tastes of summer

We celebrate many tastes throughout the summer, but one of the best and earliest is arrival, in early June, of the Michigan strawberries.  Sure, the California berries that are imported year round (albeit at a price) are pretty decent themselves, but put an imported berry next to a Michigan berry and there really is no contest - the deceptively small Michigan berry can look pretty scraggly next to its beefcake California counterpart, but inside its much deeper red color is an equal depth of flavor that beats the California berry hands down.  They aren't available for long, so we have to take advantage of them when we can and last night we did just that, enjoying our first summer taste alongside homemade shortcake and topped with homemade whipped cream.  Yum.

Slip sliding away

Yes, the good old Slip n' Slide, that great water toy of the 80s, is still alive and well.  It's been "improved upon," mind you - no more banana shaped sprinkler, your hose now attaches directly to the slide itself, and forget the grass stained swimshorts, you now end your slide in an inflated reservoir with a great big splash - but all in all it's still a great toy that packs a lot of fun in its punch, or whatever the saying is.  Of course, Calvin's problem is that he isn't quite weighty enough to make it all the way down the slide, even with a great big push from a parent, and he isn't quite coordinated enough to run and slide for himself, so we end up getting awfully wet in the process, but really it was worth it.  We wonder if they really mean it when they say not for use by children over the age of twelve.
More pictures here. 

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.

Fudging the dates

Calvin's birthday is just around the corner - only two days away - but since this year it happens to fall on a Monday, and since a two year old doesn't care about dates, we celebrated today instead.  As with most things that are new to him, we spent the week preparing by reading books about birthdays and talking about our plans for the day.  Although he did have a solid opinion on what he wanted for dinner, that being "pizza, artichokes, strawberries, happy birthday cake" (honestly, in his words), two year olds are, thankfully, blissfully unaware of the usual birthday hullabaloo, and our party planning consisted of buying ingredients for a carrot cake, digging the last year's leftover decorations out of the basement, and deciding whether to pick up the pizza or have it delivered.  Calvin  With the recent heat-wave we decided to bake the cake (carrot) early, before it got too hot to use the oven (another great reason to order pizza for dinner) and then walk into town for the Dexter Ice Cream Social in order to get out of the house for the morning.  That turned out to be a great choice - the breeze and cloud cover made it more comfortable to be out of doors than in, and Calvin enjoyed the Social like it was one big birthday party.  He got a balloon, he got to feed llamas and goats, and he even got to take part in the all essential birthday pony ride.  Twice.  And he wasn't particularly shy about telling everyone that it was his birthday ("oh, and how old are you?"  "two!").  Then, following a much needed afternoon nap, he woke up ready to have a party all over again, which was a good thing, since the kitchen was already filled with one.  And, what the family party lacked in pony rides, it made up for tenfold with good company (his four favorite grandparents, his favorite aunt, and his favorite mom and favorite dad), food, and presents (of which his favorites happen to be a helicopter, a dollhouse, and condiments - yes condiments.  Who knew they made wooden condiments???).  We just hope he doesn't expect pony rides and a petting zoo every year.

The usual picture overkill can be found in the June 2008 album.