Downs

• Calvin’s temper has gotten worse the last month or so. I think a lot of this has to do with not getting enough naps. However, some of it is probably just being 2 1/2. I’m working on deciding what behavior I let slide and what I think is unacceptable. It’s tricky. I think this is one of the big upsides to being in a relationship when you have a child, you have someone else to brainstorm with you and tell you when a stance is reasonable or not worth the effort.
• I started exercising more consistently after daylight savings ended. That extra hour was helpful for both Calvin and I. However, this last week has been pretty bad. I don’t think I’ve gotten up early to exercise since before Thanksgiving.

Ups

• We had swim class today and Calvin participated in most of the exercises. Calvin loves playing in the water but actual classes are hit or miss because he usually doesn’t want to follow someones else’s schedule.
• When Jaeger got a raise this fall we assigned most of it to hiring bi-weekly housecleaning. It’s so nice having someone else worry about dusting the piano, etc. The weeks they don’t come I still clean the toilets and the bathtub but that doesn’t take too long.
• I’m happy it’s the Christmas season. I bought a fake Christmas tree this year with my expenditure allocation. Jaeger grumbled but told me I could put it up as long as I used my allowance for the tree. I really would prefer a real tree but Jaeger’s mom told me it’s really hard to keep a tree alive in Colorado and I wanted to put it up the day after Thanksgiving and not take it down till the New Year. It turns out that buying a tree this year was a good idea as the Logan’s are going to be visiting us for Christmas instead of us having to travel to east Washington.

Cute Calvin Moments

• Calvin is excited about Christmas. I’ve wrestled with how to address the Santa Claus issue as I don’t see any reason Calvin should believe in Santa Claus. I know people think you can’t have a magical Christmas without Santa Claus but I don’t agree. I never believed in Santa Claus and I always loved Christmas. However, I don’t want Calvin going around and ruining other kids’ day if their parents teach them Santa Clause is real. I’ve compromised by starting most sentences with “some people believe that Santa Claus . . . ” We’ll see how it goes.
• Calvin is picking up more of my speech patterns. It’s weird hearing myself parroted back. When he drops something now he’ll say, “Oh bother!”
• Calvin wants to help with everything. His two favorite phrases are, “I can do it” or “Can I help?” It’s charming but would be much more useful if he was coordinated enough to do much.