Monday, August 31, 2009

Just Another Manic Monday

This morning I was holding Charlie when I went into the boys' room to wake them up for school - I put Cha-Cha in Cole's bed so I had both hands to wrangle the troops. Cole was beyond excited about this situation and jumped back into his bed for a snuggle.

On a side note - this is Cole's preferred position at all times. No matter where Charlie is, he'll lay next to him (or climb on top of him), put his arm around the baby, put his thumb in his mouth, and say "Shh, shh, it's okay Chaahlie." Heaven.


Anyhoo - when Ry saw the lovefest, he asked if I could take a picture with all 3 of them. The resulting picture is hilarious to me on so many levels:

1. You'll notice that Ry is holding a quarter in his left hand. Yesterday at the pool, our neighbor found it on the ground and gave it to him. Ever since, he's been talking about how he wants to buy a toy with his money and the quarter hasn't left his sight. Time for a little lesson in economics.

2. This is Cole's picture face. He's saying "cheese" but I guess he doesn't realize that the ultimate goal is for him to actually smile.

3. Poor Charlie.


At the end of our impromtu little shoot, Cole said "I love you Ry" and went in for the kill. All this brotherly love...not a bad way to start off the week.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Three Cheers For Poppy

Friday, August 28, 2009

Oh Those Wildwood Days

We took a few days for a mini vacay down the shore. The weather rocked and the boys are getting more and more comfortable with the water each time we're there.




Someone had dug a giant hole in the sand, and the boys teamed up with some buddies to fill it in. Most other kids would have taken that in the other direction - but it kept them occupied so therefore - fill 'er in!

The day ended with your classic "run to the water, fall down, run back, repeat" game. Filling in holes...purposely throwing yourself onto cold wet sand...oh the joys of being so easily entertained!


Boardwalk

We gathered up the team for a trip to the Boardwalk. We learned quite a few things on that fateful night...

Ry has determined that he no longer wants to go on the "little kid" rides and has graduated to the ones that make you want to puke. Unfortunately Mom or Dad need to accompany him on most of these...for the drama that ensued please read on.





When you're young, it's fun to go on these things because all you think is "This is super fast!!" or "Look how high I'm going!!!" When you're an adult you think "The kid running this can't be older than 12, and he's certainly not First Aid certified" or "There's no way this was properly inspected in at least 15 years." Alas, I bravely hopped on the balloon ride and held on really, really tight.


Ry insisted that he wanted to ride the roller coaster. After waiting in line for half hour he was all smiles for take off. Fast forward to the next 2 minutes of screaming (not the good kind), a few tears (definitely not the good kind), and the declaration that roller coasters are "way too scary for little kids like him."


The most important lesson we learned - and one I've suspected all along - Hazel cannot deny the seductive power of the Kerper boys.


Friday, August 21, 2009

Sleepover

Aunt Mel came to visit last night. She arrived during bedtime, and when Ry saw her he said "Are we having a sleepover?!"

Trying to get a picture with these knuckleheads (the boys, not Mel) was easier said than done. I'll take what I can get.



A-B-C...Easy As 1-2-3

I picked Ry up from school yesterday and he came running over with a crumpled up piece of paper. Apparently this was his wrapping technique, because he announced that it was a present for me. I opened it up to find the names of our family inside (you have to look carefully but we're in there):



He shyly told me that he didn't know how to write Charlie's name, and declared we needed to get home "right away" so he could practice. I told him to sound it out and this is what he came up with:


This morning Cole was having a classic 2-year old moment, and Ry decided to document the situation. To translate the below: "Cole's Bad Day."



It's so cool to watch him celebrate these little victories. It's all happening so fast - it seems like just yesterday we were excited to watch him learn to walk, and now he's learning to write.

Pretty soon he'll be surpassing my general knowledge and I'll long for these simpler times (i.e. the days that I was smarter than him - won't last long, I'm sure.)

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Poolside

Is that the moon I see in broad daylight???



Tuesday, August 18, 2009

LMNOP

Coley has (sort of) learned his ABCs. I say "sort of" because he's still working on mastering the challenging "L-M-N-O-P" portion of the song.

That's really the best part of this video...he gets distracted by the baby at the end and Ry starts moaning about something or other...but this rendition is still a classic.

Twisted

When a fussy baby finds his comfy spot...don't move a muscle...even if he looks like a contortionist...just go with it...



Saturday, August 15, 2009

Cha Cha Smile

I looked down at Charlie the other day and he hit me with this smile. I thought it was one of those gassy / hiccupy situations, but turns out it was the real deal. I'm happy that he's starting to move into the cute interactive baby stage of life instead of the newborn I-just-need-you-to-take-care-of-me phase.

You go Cha-Cha!!

P.S. Cha-Cha is the official nickname bestowed on him by his brothers. This may not meet the cool factor once he reaches high school, but for now it's cute to hear a little 2 year old voice saying "Hi my Cha-Cha!"

Friday, August 14, 2009

What A Difference A Year Makes

We took our first trip to the shore this week with the whole gang. All five of us piled into the mini van and drove down to North Wildwood for some wild n' wacky adventures.





Last year, Ry absoltely refused to get into the ocean. Refused. This year he ran right into the water like it was his job, and stayed there until we dragged him out. He showed no fear (even when the waves knocked him over and his poor mom watched on - half tempted to go rescue him but half proud to watch him hold his own.)




By the time we got to the amusement pier, Ry was clearly over getting his picture taken. Alas - a good time was had by all and we made it home in one piece (covered in sand, but in one piece nonetheless).




Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Time For A Teeny Serving Of Salsa

The harvest down home at the Kerper Farm hasn't been very plentiful this year. We FINALLY pulled our first tomatoes off the vine...August seems a little late but we'll take what we can get!

We're going to start a compost pile - by next summer we should have some wonderfully gross and wormy dirt to mix in with the soil - and hopefully redeem ourselves on our pathetic 2009 crop.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

CANNONBALL!!!

Today we had a little breakthrough. For some reason, Ry completely came out of his swimming shell and showed the pool who was boss.

I was sitting with the baby when I saw Ry take a running start and jump into the pool (wearing his super-cool fish inner tube) screaming "CANNONBALL!!!!" This continued for the rest of the time we were there - which was great because while Ry was entertaining himself, Phil swam with Cole and I took care of Charlie.

Luckily it wasn't crowded, otherwise people may have started to get enough of a 4 year old screaming CANNONBALL every ten seconds. I, on the other hand, found it to be music to my ears.



Not sure what happened here...we'll chalk it up to the magic of the iPhone...just thought this pic was good enough to share.

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Bros

It was a gross day today and the boys were restless, so we tried to do as much as possible. After a romp at the arcade we hung out on the porch to watch the rain and burn some energy.

As soon as Charlie started crying Cole jumped up to soothe him. He's like a big cuddly teddy bear when it comes to the baby - always wanting to give him kisses or hold him.

Of course the next minute he's usually throwing something heavy at Ry's head or trying to tackle him to the ground - but for now I'll take the good with the bad and just appreciate his gentle spirit with his little bro.


All's Fair In Love And War

Put 'em up...put 'em up...


I win...ha.

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Where Have All The Piggies Gone?

This morning we went to Springton Manor Farm because we got word that there were ten new little pigs. These alleged piglets were nowhere to be found - maybe the humungaloid hog ate them - but we still had a good time checking out the other animals.

Highlights of the morning: Ry playing peek-a-boo with a horse, Cole making snorting sounds as an attempt to find the piglets, Ry using the port-a-potty and then singing a song about "urinals" the whole ride home (okay maybe that's not a highlight but it was still a little entertaining - you have to give him a few points for creativity).