Calvin got a haircut

Last weekend I took Calvin for his first haircut. His hair was getting a bit long in back and wild in the front and so I decided it was time for a haircut. Although I was a bit worried about how it would turn out...I've never actually asked for or talked to a hairdresser about a guy's haircut. "Clean it up a bit" has a different meaning for girl's long hair than it does for boys. I don't speak shavers or razors or anything like that. Fortunately, I took Calvin to the same place we take Ellie, a children's haircut place without gimmicky stuff and frustrated stylists. The stylists at this place really care about kids and are well trained. Plus, the atmosphere doesn't make me vomit with cutesy kid stuff.

Unfortunately right before it was Calvin's turn, there was a little boy (probably about 3) who started a haircut right before him (two chairs at the salon). He was not excited about getting a haircut and threw a full on fit. Tears, screaming, all sorts of excitement. Calvin just watched him and then when it was Cal's turn he was a bit weary. As soon as the stylist starts the haircut, while the little boy in the chair next to Calvin is still freaking out...like majorly freaking out, Calvin decided that he wasn't so sure about this and shed a few tears.

However, after a few minutes of the haircut Calvin realized that the haircut thing wasn't so bad and stopped crying. Then he started eyeing the little boy, who was still freaking out and by now his mom was holding him down, with a look like, "I don't get why you are so upset...this isn't that bad...". Calvin was very well behaved for the rest of the haircut. He did move a little bit when the stylist got out the razor to clean up around his ears, I think it tickled him a little bit.

The whole haircut went well and the final result was really nice. He now looks like a little boy. I tried to get an after photo, but he wouldn't sit still...

Calvin is 16 months old!

Today Calvin is 16 months old!

He is growing fast and is only short two teeth until he has all of them (and those two are starting to erupt already). His language is developing and he has added some words including bye-bye and more.

Today I heard a funny story from his teacher. Apparently he kept running back and forth between the outside sink and their water table (although they weren't doing water play) and the teachers didn't know what he was up to. Until they looked closer...apparently the outside sink had a little drip. Well Calvin was catching a drip in his hands and then carrying it to the water table trying to fill it up or understanding that the water belonged there. That is my little water conservator...he hath learned well from our examples at home apparently.

We got some good tiger pictures today. After I brought out Big Hobbes he sat down with the tiger and looked right at me and smiled. He knows the drill and was happy to sit still and hang out.

Happy 4th of July

We hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. We sure did.




There was parades, pools, playgrounds and fireworks, friends, and food.




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Daddy's In Charge...

...for a couple days anyway as Mommy is in Chicago (Northbrook) for a work function. Also.. this post should probably be on Ellie & Calvin 365, but I just realized I don't have access to post on that one. Whoops. Maybe it can be slid over at a later date.

Anyway.. yesterday was Father's Day Happy Hour at Kid's Klub.. and they laid out quite the spread! Barbecued pulled pork, Swedish meatballs, chicken nuggets (mostly for the kids), King's Hawaiian rolls, a whole bunch of fruit (including watermelon), plus homemade brownies, cheesecake, and ice cream for dessert. All were great!

Calvin didn't seem TOO interested in taking a selfie with me...







...but he WAS interested in eating my food. I mean.. I shared willingly, but the kid has an appetite!


Here is a photo of the Father's Day gift Cal made for me. He painted the canvass and struck the Superman pose (or was surprised when crawling) all on his own!



Also.. those mountains SuperCal is flying over are his footprints. On the other side is a footprint and handprint superhero. Pretty clever!



This morning Calvin was a little unsure of the oatmeal he was given for (second) breakfast, but eventually seemed to get into it.






And this evening, after her piano lesson, Ellie nicely helped Calvin on his walk through Kids Klub as we headed out to the car.








It was a good couple days, but everybody is excited for Mommy to come home tonight!

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Dance Recital

Among all the end of school year excitement, start of summer, piano recitals, etc we had one more thing...today Ellie had a ballet recital. It was a ballet choreographed by her ballet teacher and followed the story of Alice in Wonderland. Ellie was a rabbit in the tea party scene.

It was a bit chaotic and a long day, especially seeing as Nick is in Chicago this weekend and missed the shoe. There were two performances and we had to be there early for a rehearsal. The recital was held at PCC, but in the BIG auditorium this time. The stage was huge and there were plenty of seats for Calvin to run around. Calvin actually stayed awake through the first performance and then slept through the second one (so I got better photos from the second performance). Ellie's good friends are still taking ballet and were in the show. In addition, good family friends came to watch E and her classmates, which of course was awesome because I had extra hands to help with Calvin during the first performance and videotape the performance for Nick.

Everyone did so well and the whole performance was great. Ellie had a blast, especially hanging out backstage which made her feel like a real ballet dancer. My favorite photo of the day was when I captured her helping her friend with her ballet shoes.

Of course...she forgot my advice that if she could see the audience, they could see her and to stay back in the wings.

Calvin is 15 months old!

Our little man is 15 months old today. And he hasn't been to the doctor since our last visit after he was released from the hospital! (Its the small things...one month without taking Calvin to the doctor is pretty exciting in our household).

He has become pretty adventurous and is more sure on his feet, we even got him some kicks with real soles and not just thin soft leather that really feels like he is barefoot. He wants to find a way to climb up anything and get into anything. He got into the bathtub this morning by himself.

His teachers at school always tell me he keeps them on their toes. And they are surprised at his keen observation skills, like today apparently the phone in his room doesn't ring but blinks a light and Calvin saw the blinking light and went and got a teacher and kept pointing and yelling at the phone until someone picked it up. He makes people laugh and is super cuddly. Actually, he has been more cuddly and has more stranger fears since he got released from the hospital.

We all agree that once he has words he will not stop talking and once he grows a little bit more he will be difficult to keep up with as he will move faster and be physically able to climb more.

When Ellie was this age, it was a lot easier to get her to sit still for her dolphin photos. Actually, every dolphin photo with Ellie was easier than every tiger photo with Calvin. Different kids, different personalities and their respective monthly photos really reflect that.

Ellie's last day of kindergarten

 Today was the last day of school for Ellie, the conclusion of her first year of school and kindergarten. We are so fortunate that our neighborhood public school is such a great school with fantastic teachers, a hands-on principal, and awesome and dedicated parents. Also, we are fortunate that Ellie had such a great teacher this year and a fantastic introduction to school.

If I'm completely honest she was not challenged academically. But that's not what kindergarten is about. Its about learning and honing your social skills and adapting to this new world that is school. Its about learning to work with others. Developing self reliance skills, a sense of independence, and figuring out things at school without your parents being there. Its about responsibility and remembering your ID number when you buy lunch. And Ellie gained all of this and more this year. There was plenty of hands-on learning in the school garden and art loft. As well as five field trips. She gained computer skills as well as teamwork. She made some great new friends that I know will be a part of her life for a long time. She grew emotionally as well as a few inches in height. Her report cards this year were terrific. This last one she got an ES (exceeds standards) or O (outstanding) in every category except for mastery of grammar (I'll take that one) and math with higher numbers (let's blame Nick) where she got a MS (meets standards). Her teacher only has ever had good things to say about her and that she was a joy in class.

While Ellie is looking forward to the summer and everything that is planned, she is also looking forward to heading back to Webster for first grade. She's a little bummed that she will have a new teacher and that her friends may not be in her class, but she is so excited to be in first grade and all the benefits that come with that, including getting to be on the big kid playground.