This is us today.

Yes, we know it's actually February, but Calvin's letter set only came with one of each letter, and it was easier to come up with a make-shift "A" than a make-shift "R" for February.  Creativity can be so stifling.

(nobody's supposed to notice that we couldn't find the "8" either). 

Indoor Activities

Entering into the deep months of winter we knew we were going to have our work cut out for us:  wintering with an infant is one thing, but being stuck inside all winter with a toddler?  We wouldn't wish it on anyone.  Cortney is increasingly thankful that we had the foresight to sign up for an abundance of activities this season, and with dance class on Tuesdays, library class on Wednesdays, and music class on Thursdays, the monotony of the season has been greatly livened.  Still, with the mild January that we've had, rather than having snow for sledding, we have rain to keep us inside all the other four days of the week so we've had to be creative when it comes to activities in order to keep the whole household entertained.  Calvin does pretty well building with his blocks, playing his musical instruments, or "reading" the pictures in his books, but we find ourselves needing stimulation as well, and Calvin is our usual project.  So far this winter Calvin has learned how to hold his pencil correctly, how to set the table (we shared the fruits of that labor with you yesterday), and how to play high vs. low notes, white vs. black keys, and loud vs. (more importantly) soft on the piano.  And we have whiled away what would have otherwise been many a boring hour by drying the bathroom after water play time in hopes that this will bring back thoughts of warm days at the pool or beach.  It's not working, so instead we find ourselves hoping that April is a lot closer than it looks.

More pictures in the Jan 19-31 album. 

Chores

As you can see, Calvin has begun helping us with the nightly chore of setting the table.

 

Let the conversation begin.

A child's first words are a coveted moment, that turning point when the family's video library stops resembling a collection of Rudolph Valentino clips and enters the era of talkies.  And as with all childhood milestones, those first forays into speech are often surrounded by controversy.  In our case the incessant, pressure creating queries started coming before the first year was even up, and only increased in frequency thereafter:  Is he talking?  Has he started talking yet?  Isn't he talking yet?  Nevermind the fact that he started walking three months earlier than the norm, or the fact that he was communicating with over 30 appropriate hand signs with an efficiency that probably surpassed anything early speech could have provided.  In fact, as time passed the most inappropriately forward of people at church felt it their responsibility to ask such questions as "do you think teaching sign was a bad idea?" and our all time favorite, "are you worried about autism?"  No.  Our wonderful pediatrician was very encouraging.  His son, he told us, did not say a word until he was upwards of two years old.  So we settled in for the long wait, and were greatly surprised, therefore, when in October, Calvin suddenly started repeating animal sounds.  He could moo, quack, woof, meow, and even sound like a siren. 

December, 2007
And then during the gap between Christmas and New Years we were delighted by a sudden flourish of new words.  Like a ship taking on water, Calvin's vocabulary increased exponentially right before our eyes.  He mimicked every word he heard and quickly tucked it away in his mind's dictionary, and this trend has continued.  And after what had seemed like an excruciating wait under the caring yet disparaging eyes of our church community, I'm sure you can imagine our vexation when, just the other day, we were told "he is such a good talker for a boy his age!  You must be so proud!"  Yes, in fact, we are.

January, 2008

Snow, we miss you.

It's January, where is the snow?  They're getting feet upon feet of it in New England, so how come we can't be that lucky?  Come on, where's our snow!?!?  Today we are posting a picture of Calvin thoroughly enjoying the snow we had two weeks ago as our version of a  snow dance, our mouse's clock (as from "Twas the Night Before Christmas"), in hopes of enticing Jack Frost to visit our area once again.  There are more snow pictures in the January 5-11 album, just in case you are missing the snow as much as we are.