Shoes

Learning to put them on got a lot easier with the introduction of velcro, but you still have to get them on the right feet all by yourself.  Or not.

Penny for your toddler thoughts

Oh to know what exactly is going on inside that toddler thinking machine.

(scene - bedtime a few nights ago, after lights out before songs)

Calvin - "talk about God."

Jon - "Okay.  God made you, God made me..."

Calvin (interrupting) - "God made everybody.  Yeah.  That must have been haaaaaard work."

(scene - grocery store produce section, picking up a ginger root)

Calvin (holding aforementioned item in his hands) - "This is a ginger root."

Me - "Yes, we need it for dinner."

Calvin - "This is an ooooodd thing."

(insert hysterical laughing coming from the nice man stocking the lettuce)

12 days: What do YOU want for Christmas?

Twelve days separate us from Christmas morning. Today we got up, had a quick breakfast (because it was way later than it should have been), dressed in our outdoor finery, and headed to town for the Victorian Christmas celebration. While there we took in story time, snacks, and crafts at the library; met and pet a real live reindeer (Donner, if you ask the elf who was handling him); and walked into downtown Dexter to watch ice carving demonstrations (now really, I don't think chainsaw powered ice carving can actually be considered Victorian). Also there, in the middle of the park, was Saint Nicholas, with whom Calvin has been eagerly awaiting a short visit. He was patient waiting in line and when his turn arrived waltzed right up, without parental chaperone, and was quite at ease when Santa picked him up and placed him on his lap. He wouldn't look at me for a picture - I have no idea what he was looking at - but he was chatty enough with Santa himself; when asked what he wanted for Christmas he answered, without any pause, and just as crystal clear as you please, "an African Wild Dog". Now, do you think that's better or worse than wanting a hippopotamus for Christmas?

The bus in our living room

PB & J

For a boy who's not seen a speck of TV, he has a pretty convincing 2-year-old's imitation of Brian as a banana (this is for the Family Guy fans out there. I lovingly blame his father.)