Rainy fall days

We like to spend them oustide.  Calvin is the proud owner of a great second run rain coat and pair of (luckily) matching boots which he begs to put on every time the ground even appears to be wet, so when we actually saw rain falling this morning we headed out to catch some rain drops and puddles before music class. Unfortunately the fall weather in Michigan is as fickle as a contestant on elimidate and by the time we stepped off the porch the rain had stopped and we were forced to make do with meager puddles and damp grass.  Oh the utter disappointments of childhood–if only we could embrace them as adults we would never lament a rainy day in all our lives.

For heaven's sake

As you can probably tell by the stagnant conditions on the blog, I've been away for a short trip.   My loving husband sent me on a four day retreat to  Northern Michigan where I spent my time window shopping,  hiking ski hills, taking in the brilliant fall colors, and scrapbooking at a weekend convention.  It was a much enjoyed break, but I have always suffered from an overactive homesickness gene, an affliction that was not improved upon with the advent of motherhood, and was, therefore, itching to get home as the final day drew to a close.  I relished that first pint sized hug when I finally  arrived home, sat down to spend some play time, and though I was gone for only four days I could swear that Calvin's language developed tenfold while I was away.  Maybe it's a trick of the memory, having been working with pictures and notes taken nearly a year ago, but when I first arrived and sat down to play he was talking a mile a minute, in full sentences, and without much space for breathing.  It was while I was trying to drink in this wonderful moment that I apparently erred in my toy placement, to which Calvin responded "No, not there, the dude goes down here.  Oh for heaven's sake."  Yep, definitely tenfold.  And I really was only gone four days.

Game Day with Calvin

Lee Corso may understand play making and statistics, but he's got nothing on Calvin in the enthusiasm category. While this is really his third season of  the Michigan Football Experience it is only his first truly conscious one, and that makes it especially fun for us.  Over the past few weeks we've been preparing him for the game day phenomenon by talking about college, football, college football, and, of course, the maize and blue (there is no such color as yellow).  The Friday before the first game we went to the resale shop to pick out some clothing in those particular colors and on our way out the door Calvin gave a rousing cry of "Let's Go Blue!" that he kept up through the parking lot, and I knew we had done our job well.  In good weather we start our home game celebrations with a Friday evening picnic at the Michigan Marching Band rehearsal.  The Friday evening band rehearsals are a popular Ann Arbor event and this week we spread our blanket and picnic foods out on the ground between several other families with young children and settled in for a good show (Calvin, we mean, who kept pointing out and naming all   the instruments and repeatedly remarking "they're marching down the field with their instruments, mommy!").  Calvin's favorite part of home game weekends, though, is probably the Saturday morning tailgate, where food, playmates, and adoration are all abundant.  My family has been tailgating with the same group since before I was even born, and the kids that I grew up with now all have families of their own that take part – the next generation of  the Go Blue club.  And though we don't go to the games themselves, after some great tailgating we trek back through the crowds (Calvin imparting an emphatic "Go Blue" to all we pass) to take in the action on TV.  Football games are the only television Calvin is allowed to watch (really it's the only television WE watch), and he has yet to take any interest, but it's clear that he's listening when we hear him repeat phrases such as "overthrown pass" and "missing offense."  Hopefully in years to come he'll be learning different phrases, like "great recruiting" and "experienced team."

On Safari

Today we drove into Saline to take in "preschool day" at the Saline Community Fair.   Since the fair website wasn't altogether informative as to what "preschool day" meant, I wasn't at all sure what to expect, and as it turned out I never really got a chance to find out.  The only specified preschool activiity that Calvin was interested in was the Gemini concert that was already underway when we arrived, and as soon as the performance was over he wanted nothing to do with the remaining preschool activities (which seemed to include a number of kiddie games with junk candy prizes  anyway), and instead made a beeline for the animal showing barns.  He clearly remembered the animals from the Chelsea Fair and was raring for a repeat.  I have no idea how the two events truly compare, but the barns at the Chelsea Fair felt larger, fuller, more informative, and more inviting, which, after the bombing of "preschool day", left only one major draw at the Saline Fair - the Whipsering Pines Animal Sanctuary.  When Jon and I  first became acquainted with this group several years ago, we had the opportunity to pet a juvenile Okapi, one of our very favorite (very rare) animals, and we have been fans of the event ever since.  Every year their visit is a little different, and while there were no Okapis this year, Calvin had a great time feeding and petting llamas, goats, sheep, a baby bison, and two kangaroos.  Oh, and he road a camel.  All by himself.  The man running the  exhibit was a little hesitant to put such a youngster on a camel alone, but I assured him that Calvin had ridden quarter horses with no assistance, so he tried it.  Calvin was quite at ease, and quite content, on his camel (most kids ask for ponies...we see where this is going).  The morning was so much fun that Calvin asked to take daddy back after nap time (he wanted to show him the bison and the camels), and he was such a good boy that morning  that we decided to go ahead and go.  We didn't ride any camels the second time around, but we did feed all the animals again, and got the chance to hold an armadillo (Jon) and a fenec fox (me).  Calvin wasn't so sure about the armadillo–he really kept his eye on him at all times and only gave him a brief pet–but he was much more at home with the charming little fenec fox.  Our own little zoo at home will never feel the same again.

More pictures in the Sept 2008 Album. 

For every season...

...there's a time, and today was fall's day.  After several cold and windy days today's temperatures reached into the lower 60s and we opened our doors and windows to let in a little sunshine and air.  We also played outside for the first time in what seems like an eternity.  With only three small trees in our yard there's not much raking to do, but in order to have a pile of leaves to jump in one must first rake the leaves into a pile, and so that's what we did.  Calvin liked the raking, he liked the leaves, and he liked the "mess" he was allowed to make with the leaves.  The best part of the Calvin's first foray into this traditional fall activity was the long afternoon nap he took after exhausting himself while frolicking in said leaves.  Now that's fun all around.

Pictures can be found, by those who choose to seek them, in the Nov 10-16 album.