We attempted our second date night A.C. (after Calvin) tonight in honor of Jon's upcoming birthday, but Calvin had other plans. It seems he believes he is at the 7-month-old's separation anxiety mark well ahead of his time. We met at Macaroni Grill and managed to just receive our appetizer when we got the phone call that Calvin had been a screaming mess ever since Cortney left, and was inconsolable. Fortunately, Macaroni Grill is set up for to-go orders just as well, so Cortney raced back to her babysitting parents while Jon waited for the dinners. Sure enough, Calvin calmed down right away for Cortney, and remained calm the rest of the evening. And we can't help but note the irony that, as we sat eating our date-night dinners, Jon glanced over to where Calvin was cooing away in his umbrella stroller watching us, and all Jon could see of the stroller's warning label was: "Warning: Never leave..."
We need to warn all of you who might be owners of video game consoles - there is a video troll on the loose. We returned home today to find that our house had been visited by said troll, and, though we have not removed our gaming equipment from the TV cupboard for over three months, this (see picture) is how we found our living room upon our return - two controllers and a microphone removed and left on the floor. We don't believe there is any danger in being the receiver of such visits - nothing else in the house was disturbed, and even the gaming equipment was unharmed and left in neat little piles, but we wanted to let you all know anyhow.
[Disclaimer - it is highly likely that no such troll exists and that, instead, the disruption of equipment that was noted upon our return is due, in its entirety, to a cat wishing to enjoy the warmth inside the entertainment cabinet. ]
It is hard to believe that another month has passed us by. In the past month you have grown so much and in so many ways! Physically you have gotten much bigger and stronger. You are now just shy of fifteen pounds and twenty-five inches! You regulary push yourself up on your hands while on your tummy now, can sit up with minimal assistance, and will pull yourself into a standing position while holding onto our hands. But it is your mental growth that continues to catch us off guard and awe and amaze us. Over the past month you have become far more involved with the world around you. You no longer just stare at your toys, now you talk to them, bat at and grab them, and put them in your mouth. You also have favorites, like the yellow giraffe, the blue elephant, Baby Whoozit, and, definitely, The Bear! You also have favorite games that you like to play, like "fly Baby Calvin, fly!" Of course, having favorites means that you are beginning to remember, and it has been a wonderful gift to see your face light up with the smiles of recognition! Another delightful gift that you have given us has been the gift of your conversation. Your coos and gurgles have become more varied and expressive, and you love to converse, not just with us but also with the dogs and with your toys. It has been an exhausting month of amazing growth for all of us, so it's a good thing that you made one final accomplishment in the last two weeks - sleeping through the night! We'll say it again (and probably again), we love you more every day.
We were enjoying a casual Labor Day visit to the Detroit Zoo today with Jon's parents and sister when we stumbled upon a correspondent and a cameraman from FOX2 News. The news that they delivered was quite the surprise: Steve Irwin, the famous Crocodile Hunter, had died in a freak accident with a stingray in Australia. The informant's delivery was a bit over the top; as we approached him he turned to his cameraman and asked "should we tell them?" Then he seemed to grapple with the decision over whether or not he should be the one to break our hearts. Ultimately he broke down and, deeply saddened by the weight of the secret he had been carrying, he apologized for being the bearer of bad news and told us that "the beloved Crocodile Hunter" had died. The delivery was so sappy, in fact, that we found ourselves asking "Is this a joke?" No, it was the real thing and they were collecting reactions from zoogoers for the evening news. So we were interviewed, Cortney trying to look sad while still laughing over the news man's tragicomic acting and Jon doing a much better job of expressing concern for the man's family. When our interviews were over we turned to go and, as we did so, overheard the newsman reading his card and practicing to record his opener "what's the man's name again? Steve. Steve Irwin. Irwin. Irwin. Right, let's do this." It was clear testimony to America's create-a-tragedy-if-you-have-to attitude about the news. At the same time, we can't really point fingers. Since The Crocodile Hunter, appealing mainly to the younger generations, didn't air until the second half of 1996 when we were already well into our teens, neither of us watched it and neither of us will miss him, making our own interview reactions a bit forced. That being said, we do feel sorry for his wife and his two children.
The rest of the visit proved to be a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend the holiday - in the great out of doors with animals and family. Like his Friday visit, Calvin continued to spend more time awake than he did on his very first zoo trip. He even seemed to watch the otters play. And we could not have been more pleased to see the old friends Capybara and Pudu together again after a habitat refurbishment. Until next time, this is Jon and Cortney Ophoff, FOX2 News.
We have finally reached that pivotal point in our lives where we have overcome our personal fears of not being as interesting or funny as we'd like to think we are and have, thus, turned on the comments function on our site. This of course means that anyone can let us know what they're thinking by simply clicking on the "post a comment" link at the bottom of any given journal entry. It is quite likely that this new-found confidence is due in large part to our coming to terms with our new roles in life as Calvin's stewards. We accept that the growing amount of daily traffic on this site is comprised mostly of Calvin's admirers and that any posted comments are likely to be mainly fan mail in response to his growing stardom. We are not hurt by this. The power will swing back around when we are in charge of his allowance.
Friday, September 29, 2006
