Thanksgiving

Down

  • Wednesday afternoon/evening was bad. Calvin was so cranky and crying the entire time, even when I gave him constant attention. When Jaeger got home, I practically threw Calvin at him in relief. Calvin wore us both out and by the time it was his bedtime, Jaeger and I were getting snippy with each other. Neither of us wanted to face having 4 days with Calvin all to ourselves.
  • My oven is dying. At the moment, it takes 45 min-1 hr to preheat to 350 degrees. I did manage to use it for Thanksgiving dinner but I had to leave the oven on practically the entire day to get it hot enough.

Ups

  • Jaeger bought Agricola and taught me how to play it Wednesday night. So far, we’ve fit in three games either after Calvin goes to bed or during his nap. I’ve lost every time but I’m starting to get a better grasp of the strategies involved. It’s all about balance which is hard for me to deal with. Last game I pretty much definitely proved one could not win based on fences/livestock alone :-)
  • Fortunately, Calvin recovered from whatever was wrong Wednesday night and Thursday and Friday were surprisingly pleasant. I woke up Thursday morning and made crepes stuffed with apples and topped with almond whipped cream. Jaeger played with Calvin while I did food prep for Thanksgiving meal. Calvin resisted his afternoon nap but did eventually sleep and I took a brief nap and then Jaeger and I played another game of Agricola. Once Calvin woke up, I did my final dinner prep and we ate Thanksgiving meal around 4.
  • Yesterday, we went to the zoo. We got there at 10, around opening time, and parked exceptionally close to the entrance. Calvin seemed a little dazed the first hour but revived after having lunch at 11. This time, the giraffes were inside so it was easier to get close to them. Calvin seemed very impressed by their height. There was a baby giraffe that was born in October that weighed about as much as Jaeger at its birth. Calvin also enjoyed many of the other animals but seemed to have a special fascination for the ducks. I need to see if we have any duck ponds in our area. After the zoo, we went to Watercourse, a very good vegetarian restaurant in Denver, for lunch. Jaeger was dubious about trying to fit in lunch before Calvin’s nap but it seemed to work out okay. Calvin fell asleep almost as soon as he got back in the car.
  • This last week I decided to up our potty training intensity. The only time I’ve put Calvin in diapers since a week ago Friday evening is for naps or bedtime. For other trips, such as at the zoo, I put him in disposable pull-ups but I’m not very impressed with them. He’s been making pretty good progress. Yesterday, he didn’t have any accidents at home though we started out with a big one this morning.

Calvin Moment

  • Calvin is really into hats at the moment. He’ll take all sorts of random objects, place them on his head, and then announce, “haat! haat!” In addition to real hats, current other favorites include waffle blocks and empty egg cartons.

Simplification

  • Packed three boxes from the basement for the thrift store. Now I just need to schedule another pickup.