A summer without a vacation...

is no summer at all.  That is why we decided to take the plunge and drive four hours in our Vibe with our three dogs and our seven week old infant to get to Harbor Springs, Michigan's center for relaxation.  We're not sure whether the plan would be considered more or less ambitious because we embarked on this trip at 9:15pm last Friday.  The point of travelling so late was to fit into Calvin's schedule, of course, since he now rules this household!  By leaving that late we were able to feed and bathe him and read him his bedtime story, all as usual, but then put him to bed in his car seat instead of his basinet, hoping he wouldn't notice and wake up.  We really lucked out and were able to drive straight through to Aunt Lonnie's without hearing a single peap from the little guy, or the dogs for that matter.  Whenever plausible this is clearly the way us to travel.

Calvin experienced a lot of new things.  We took him into Petoskey on Saturday to peruse the annual sidewalk sales and to pick out his baptismal outfit from The Circus Shop, a special children's clothing shop at which both Cortney and her mom shopped when they were younger.  On Sunday we took him for a walk through Harbor Springs and down to the marina to see the beautiful sailboats before the Regatta, and got to see a beautiful thunderstorm roll in, too.  On Monday we went back into Petoskey and took a walk through the marina there, and back into town for ice cream from Murdick's.  We ate lots of good food (which Calvin got to enjoy indirectly), and we enjoyed visits with people we don't get to see often - Aunt Lonnie, Uncle Smokey, and Helene.

Calvin must have enjoyed his first vacation.  How do we know?  The little guy was so enthralled he refused to take a nap!  We have heard the old saying about needing a vacation from your vacation, but now we understand oh so much more clearly.  He did sleep.  His nightime routine wasn't too off, and of course he slept through all of our excursions, but when we were trying to relax at home he demanded to be held by someone...anyone.  So vacation for Calvin meant constant attention and coddling.  We don't know what we would have done without three extra sets of arms (Nonnie, gram, and grandpa, that is).  Thanks to their help we actually returned home today feeling rested and ready to keep trucking through the days and nights of infanthood.

Three years and a baby

Today we celebrate three wonderful years of marriage, and all the wonderful things that those three years of marriage have brought:  We celebrate three years worth of nightly sleep overs, weekend zoo trips, and summer vacations;  We celebrate our house, our jobs, and our years of school;  We celebrate the joining of our families, the love of our pets, the birth of our son.  As usual we celebrated our anniversary by going back to the dinner spot of our first date - Macaroni Grill (what will we do if they close?), only this year we made an extra stop in order to drop Calvin off with his gram and grandpa.  This was our first evening out since June 9, and everyone took it well.  Look, Calvin even gave us a tentative wave during our send off ;o)

Beer and sports

Last night was Calvin's first "beer and sports" experience.  Yes, beer and sports.  After almost a week of near sleepless nights trying to get Calvin's schedule back on track we decided that an evening at the bar was in order.  Well, not really, but you go where the food is and Casey's is a great place for great food and just happens to be a (non-smoking) bar, so that's where we went.  Dinner was relaxing for us and strangely exciting for Calvin, who was wide eyed and looking around throughout the entire meal.  Then what better way to follow a great beer and burger at the bar than with a good sports game, so after ingesting said vices we took Calvin to watch his uncle Curtis play soccer.  The game was really enjoyable, especially in the cool evening breeze, and the fresh air was just as invigorating as the beers and burgers, except for Calvin who was rather sleepy after a day of extended alert periods.  Lucky for us, something worked and last night we actually got some good sleep again!

A pool party

Last night was Calvin's first trip to a pool.  Unfortunately for him it was only that, a trip to the pool and not an actual swim in the pool since he's a little young for chlorine and is still having some trouble with the skin on his shoulders.  But we weren't really there for the prime swimming anyhow, we were there for dinner.  Not as weird as it sounds, since we were joining Jon's bosses and their daughter and friends for a poolside evening complete with dinner from the country club.  It was beautiful and cool evening and both the food and the company were great, so we think Calvin had a nice time even without getting to go swimming.
In other news, we are finally experiencing baby meltdown.  Calvin's sleep schedule has been off for nearly a week now and sleep deprivation is starting to set in - for all three of us.  We figure it's about time since we hadn't experienced true lack of sleep yet, even when he was a newborn.  The real problem of the weekend, though, was that he was also having some trouble nursing, so we visited the doctor again today.  As always, Calvin wowed them with his rate of growth - he weighed in at 11 pounds, 3 ounces (a pound more than he weighed a week ago), and measured just shy of 24 inches.  Grow baby grow!  Obviously, nursing trouble or no, he is getting plenty to eat!  The visit did offer some hope of relief on all fronts and that relief is spelled z-a-n-t-a-c.  The pediatrician thinks that Calvin might be struggling with heartburn (guess he should lay off the chocolate and pizza...) so baby Zantac should help.  We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Now only six minutes to Africa

Last summer we surprised the world with our story of the seven minute tram to Africa that leaves from a station in Binder Park Zoo.  This year, we bring you the six minute tram to Africa (who would take the seven minute tram when the six minute tram is available?) - all we can say is that they must have found a way to shave a minute off somewhere!  The giraffe feeding was prime, the Red Pandas were up and wandering, and the tortoise was sharing his meal with a rabbit - a wild rabbit, that is (a smart wild rabbit).  Calvin had a great time and was actually awake for part of the trip!  One thing we must warn everyone about - if you plan on taking said trip to Africa, be forwearned that getting lunch there takes at least three times longer than the tram ride.