New Zoo

Calvin and I met Daddy in Chicago a few weeks ago. We checked out Lincoln Park Zoo while Daddy was working. 

 There were lots of neat animals to see. 

 And things to climb on. Some things weren't meant to be climbed on

 and others were specifically for climbing. 

 Follow the little blue hat going up

 up, up!

He also loved to climb on this gorilla statue.

I feel like Calvin's daddy can relate to how this statue was treated. 

 He also liked to climb the fences. 

Calvin loved the Bambi water fountain and was good about not climbing on it. 

Overall, he was very good so I finally let him do the penny souvenir thing. 

 We also got to ride a neat carousel. First time with no safety belt! 

 Then he got to see the real gorillas. 

 "King Kong!" he kept saying. 

 One last fun thing was a ride on this nice little train. 

 And a successful trip to the gift shop (successful in getting him out of there without having to buy anything, that is).

 We took a taxi back to Grandma and Grandpa's house and he went from chatting away to zonked in no time flat. 

Another fun zoo trip!

McConnell Mini-Reunion

Grandpa's cousin Kathy was visiting Chicago from Arkansas so we had a mini McConnell family reunion at the lake. 

 Great-Grandma came up and Uncle John flew in from New Mexico. 

 Once we wandered down to the pier, Calvin quickly found an abandoned ball

 and balls must be played with in Calvin's book. 

 It quickly ended up in the water but that didn't stop Calvin. 

 In he went, clothes and all. 

 Calvin had a small audience, which made continuing to go in the water more attractive and fun. 

 He, of course, changed it into a baseball game with a random toy he found in the sand. 

 He even got Grandpa to get in the water in his clothes, too. 

 After finally getting cold, we headed back up. 

 Lots of people saw this picture on facebook and thought it was cute, which it was. It was just rather nerve-racking for me. 

 Because while he wasn't pulling hard on her hand, it was enough wiggling that I was kinda afraid he might make her lose her balance. Luckily, that didn't happen. 

 Calvin wanted to show Uncle John his big wheel, or motorcycle as he calls it. 

 Very impressed, I'm sure. 

A nice little family gathering!

Baseball Training

Wow! It's been a while since I posted. Sorry!

One thing I signed Calvin up for this summer was a baseball activity. 

 Each day, they would start with stretching and then practice going base to base. 

 They practiced throwing while kneeling to improve arm strength. 

 The first day they didn't bat (much to Calvin's disappointment) but he harassed the coach about it enough that they batted every other day. 

 They got a stamp at the end of each day. 

 They practiced throwing accuracy. 

 And more batting. 

 They always ended with a team cheer. 

 The coach was very patient with this rascally little crew. 

Calvin loved his first baseball experience.