The lion has arrived

We were awakened in the wee hours of the morning by the sound of ice pellets hitting our windows and roof.  Wow that can be a loud sound!  Then for the second time this year Jon decided to start the day by working at home due to rather iffy road conditions, and the ice continued to come down until about 10:00 a.m. when it turned into a really hard, pouring rain.  What was really striking about this morning's weather, though, was the return of thunder.  In this part of the country the first thunder of the year has the same kind of significance as the first robin, or the first tulip, and we figure that spring is on its way.  Of course, just as with the first robin or tulip, it doesn't mean we won't see any more winter, it just means that we can feel ourselves getting a toe hold on the incoming warmer weather, a hold we will be reluctant to let go of.  And the timing of today's first thunderstorm of the season can't be missed either, because it just drives home the old saying "in like a lion."  With that kind of literal translation opening the month we expect the end of March to be all fluffy and white this year.

Swimming lessons

Today we celebrate an important milestone in our lives:  as of today Calvin has been out longer than he has been in (think about it - you'll understand).  Actually, it's more of a realization than it is a celebration, really.  In fact, today would have been just like any other day if we hadn't already had something really cool scheduled:  swim lessons!  For Calvin, that is.  We've been wanting to do this for a long time and were excited from the minute we woke up this morning.  Unfortunately the class time really bites into Calvin's morning nap time, and that meant that we had to get him up after only 30 minutes of sleep (instead of his normal 2 hours) to put him in the car and head to the pool.  The shortened nap time probably contributed to the wariness he exhibited as he and his mom headed into the water.  We were just sure that he would love swimming because he loves his bath so much, but the first five minutes were actually pretty iffy.  As Cortney held him, swaying him with the water up to his chest the way the instructor showed, we were a little concerned to see him begin to pout with a very concerned look on his face.  The other six babies seemed to be loving it!  Only Calvin had some reservations.  But after we spent a few minutes of "close circle time" where the babies toes were all touching, he really seemed to get into it.  In true Calvin fashion he refused to crack a smile during most of the half hour class, but we have come to accept that our child takes discovery quite seriously, and the fact that he spent nearly his entire time in the pool with a stern look of steady concentration glued on his face doesn't mean that he didn't have fun.  On the contrary, it means that he was so excited about what he was doing and learning that he just couldn't take time out to smile!  That's our Calvin.  And in the last ten minutes, while playing with a floating octopus, he finally got comfortable enough to start kicking and splashing the way he does almost nightly in his bath water.  Strangely enough, it was about this time that all the other babies had lost their patience with the  event and started whining or crying.  Calvin, however, was just warming up, and he even cracked a smile for us during the "up and down" activity at the very end.  Survey says?  Success.  We can't wait for next week when daddy takes his turn in the water!  And, of course, there are lots more pictures in the Calvin's 38th week photo album.

Taking carrots from a baby

Calvin had carrots for the first time yesterday and they were a big hit, but there's more to the story.  Since Cortney makes Calvin's food there's quite a bit of prep work involved, so while she stood at the sink washing, peeling, and chopping whole, organic carrots, she gave Calvin one to play with.  It seemed like a good idea - it was too big to swallow, it was cold on his teeth, it was clean and organic, and it made Calvin pretty happy to explore the strange orange thing.  And while she stood at the sink peeling carrots she was not surprised to hear Moose trot into the room, because he is always checking on the baby.  And it was even less surprising that when she heard Moose trot out of the kitchen Calvin let out a little cry, because Calvin always gets frustrated when the animals get away from him.  But what was surprising was that Calvin didn't stop crying, and when she looked down his carrot was gone, and Moose was in the other room chewing happily on it under the piano.  The situation was quickly rectified - Calvin got a new carrot and Moose lost his, but it looks like both Calvin, the dogs, AND the parents have a new lesson to learn.

The weather indoors

We really enjoyed last Tuesday's beautiful snow storm and the white blanket of snow that covered everything last Wednesday in its aftermath.  Heck, we even enjoyed shoveling it.  But snow is really only enjoyable when it's frozen, because when it isn't frozen it's water and water just isn't as pretty, especially when it's dripping through your ceiling.  Yup.  Through the ceiling.  What started as beautiful, fluffy, white snow that blew through our roof vent and into our crawl space during last week's high wind snow storm has, during the course of the recent sunny and warmer days, become water, and that water has seeped into our insulation, and then through our recessed lighting and now right through the seem in the dry wall.  Somehow it just looked prettier as snow on our lawn than it does as water in the three strategically placed bowls in our hallway.  And how do we work Calvin into this blog entry, since he's the only reason most of you read it anyway?  Let's just say he's not the only thing that leaks in our house anymore.

It's February 14th...

Happy Valentine's Day!