'Twas The Night Before Christmas

Ahh, Christmas Eve. That magical evening of childhood innocence, dancing sugar plums, homecooked deliciousness...


Okay time for a reality check...instead of visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, the kids went bonkers from excitement and cookie overload. But I guess that's what Christmas is all about?


Dean chose to eat the whipped cream off of his cookie by dipping a Christmas card into the cream and licking it off. I figured...he wasn't crying...so have at it kid.


Time for the obligatory pose around the Christmas tree shot...we had 1 out of 4 kids cooperating (thanks Cha!)


Then we worked our way up to 2 out of 4 kids cooperating - a Christmas miracle.


The church service was beautiful...luminaries lined all of the walkways and we all lit candles and sang Silent Night at the end. Cole was particulary impressed that the minister asked us to light the chalice at the start of the service...a 4 year old's version of his 15 minutes of fame.



After the service everyone brought something sweet to eat...Dean decided to skip the cookies and cake and went right for the shoe.


Another Christmas miracle...when we got home the boys asked to go to bed. Huh?!? So we willingly obliged and went to our neighbors for drinks.

After settling into their kitchen stools with wine glass firmly planted in hand, I realized what Christmas means to me (besides the alcohol). Sitting with your friends and laughing about our crazy life. Making the kid's favorite foods and hearing them say thank you. Seeing their excitement about Santa coming to town. Hearing hundreds of people at church sing together by candlelight.

When you strip away the chaos it really was a fantastic day. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Tis The Season

Ahh, the joy of family traditions. When we say it out loud it sounds so nice: "We go to a farm every year to cut down our own Christmas Tree."

The reality of this adventure includes 4 crazy boys, a maze of trees to get lost in, old dull saws, and an unfortunate situation of having to go uphill both ways (still haven't figured that one out).

Before we even made it out to the field, Cole got put in time out for fighting with Ry over who would pull the cart.



He snapped out of it quickly since it was his year to pick the tree. He chose this beaut which didn't seem so big out in the field...until we brought it home and realized it was taller than the ceiling.


Charlie was truly trying to help...


...Ry was not.


And here she is all decorated and lit up in the front window.


These videos are so classic Kerper - chaos and whining mixed in with laughter and love. Wishing you the latter as you celebrate your own holiday traditions.

Coley, Defined.

My dear, sweet, headstrong Cole. No one's going to tell him how to have his fun.

Exhibit A: At the end of a recent Cub Scout hayride, there was a big bonfire. Everyone gathered round to toast marshmallows and have a Coombaya kinda night. Cole, instead, sat on this here log.


Exhibit B: During a recent trip to the zoo the lion was feeling photogenic and plopped himself right in front of the viewing window. Charlie, Ryan, and Dean were understandably glued to the glass. Cole, on the other hand, was too busy reading the zoo map to notice.


Exhibit C: Tonight he had a choice: let me cut his nails or sit in Time Out. He chose to sit in time out for almost an hour, and finally relented with: "Oh fine - I'll let you cut my nails now."

Raising this child takes lots of deep breaths...but his nails are cut. Oh yes, his nails are cut (a.k.a. I won.)

Boo To The Flu

At the beginning of the summer we started going to a new church. It's been a great experience for the family and we really like the modern twists of the congregation (i.e. the sermons are all available on podcast and the minister likes to use 80's movie references in his sermons.)

This weekend we volunteered with a few other families at The Clinic in Phoenixville to disinfect from top to bottom as they prepare for flu season.

I brought Ryan and Cole, and was so proud of them for rolling up their sleeves and helping. I think they may have just been excited for the opportunity to wear rubber gloves, but they also asked a lot of smart questions like, "Why do people have to come here instead of a regular doctor's office?"

When we left Cole gave a hug to the Director of the Clinic and said, "I hope everyone feels better soon!" My little charmer strikes again.

Sugar High

I've decided that Halloween is officially my favorite holiday. Seeing kids dressed up is as cute, scary, or hilarious as it gets. People give you free candy, and it's a great excuse to get out and re-connect with the neighborhood.

We kicked off the holiday extravaganza with a parade at daycare. I kept telling people that Cole's scraggly hair was part of his costume.



Next adventure: get a picture of the boys all together in costume looking somewhat cute. I'd say mission is slightly accomplished.


How cool is this pic? Here's Harry Potter flying on his broomstick on the front porch.



Before we went trick or treating we went to our friend's annual pre-party. Apparently Dean took this concept very seriously and found the backup supply. Luckily we caught him before he busted out the corkscrew.


Aaaaand....they're off. Cha hung the whole time, and even went back out with Phil after they stopped home to drop off the first round of goodies.


Here's Cole inspecting the loot. We're still working through all of their hard-earned treasure, including nightly negotations and trade agreements. I allow the nonsense because I figure it's good training for their future political careers. Or law school. Or I'm just numb to the fighting. Hmm...

Hockey & Wine

Ryan and Cole asked to try out floor hockey this season. Things we've learned:

1. Setting ground rules for boys and hockey sticks is always a good thing
2. Cole would rather slide on the floor with his pads than actually play floor hockey
3. An empty racquetball court is the best place to kill time with 2 toddlers while waiting for their older brother's games to finish

And the best lesson of all that was a total "duh" when I learned it: When giving water to a kid wearing a hockey mask, use a straw






After their final game, we went to a party at our friends house during a freak October snow storm. There was lots of food and lots of wine, which led to lots of laughs and a quick stumble home to snuggle with the family.

Looks like it's going to be a long winter...good thing we live near a discount liquor store. Cheers!

Straight From The Art History Books

Phil took the boys to Ridley Creek State Park on a recent Daddy Day. I'm not sure what they did there, but based on the pictures he downloaded I can assume that it involved a lot standing on picnic tables and screaming.



Apparently riding on this thing-a-ma-jig takes a lot of concentration - the boys had their tongues hanging out as they rode the day away.



Posing as an old retired man in his windbreaker and white sneaks, Dean strolled around the park looking for trouble.



This picture cracked me up. I couldn't put my finger on why I thought it was so funny, then I realized it reminded me of the American Gothic painting.


May they grow old together like these other crazy cats!

The Worst Morning Of His Life

Cole wanted to bring his stuffed dog (Winston) to school for naptime. When we pulled out of the driveway he realized he had forgotten the poor pup, which of course was cause for a major freak out attack.

I’m talking the ENTIRE RIDE TO SCHOOL he screamed about the dang dog. He cried. He foamed at the mouth. He wailed, “This is the worst morning of my life.” He wept.

Then we pulled into the school parking lot and he said, “Oh, there’s Winston. He’s on the chair next to me.”

So the little bugger grabbed the dog, hopped out of the car, and strolled into school. The end.

Sigh.

You'll Probably Only Appreciate This Post If You Know Harry Potter. Sorry.

It was quite an eventful couple of days for us Muggles. Chestnut Hill held their Annual Harry Potter weekend complete with Quidditch Training, Defense Against The Dark Arts classes, and a Wizarding Chess Match.

Of course all our boys wanted to do was eat candy and buy Potter paraphernalia (they were particularly impressed when Daddy ate a barf-flavored Bertie Bott's Bean), but they did get a kick out of the sorting hat.

We were standing in line for a few minutes, and Ry started to get stressed. Really stressed. "I better get picked for Gryffindor" led to "I better not get picked for Hufflepuff" which led to "I don't want to do this."

By the time we got to the front of the line I could actually see the panic on his face. As I hollered, "I'm SURE you'll get into Gryffindor" while staring at Dumbledore with a threatening face, he reluctantly stepped up to the plate. Low and behold, GRRRRRRYFFINDOR!


Cole hopped right up and said to Dumbledore, "I hope I get into Slytherin." The sorting hat agreed, and I have to say that there's something to Cole getting into the house associated with "ambition, cunning, leadership, and resourcefulness."


After all of this excitement the boys were begging for Hogwarts robes. And with a flip of our magic wand (i.e. wallet) their wish came true.

Happy early Halloween to all you witches, wizards, and Muggles out there in blogland!

Apple Of My Eye

The boys went to the orchard to pick apples yesterday. A quote from Ry: "When I'm in heaven, I'm going to thank God for planting apple trees - 'cause I really love apples."

Amen my man!

I Wanna Donut

I absolutely love 2 year olds. They're finally out of the baby stage, their personalities really start to come out, they start talking, and you know that you still have a solid year before the terror of the 3's begins.

My favorite part about Charlie's 2 year old transition is how he talks. It sounds like he has a French accent the way he says "Bay-geul" or "Coco Pebbeuls" (that one's the best).

Here he tells Dad that he wants a donut. Yes all of my references have to do with food...those that know Cha are well aware that he's no stranger to eating well and thoroughly speaking his mind (as evidenced below).

Daddy Day Gone Wild

We all have our own approaches to parenting. Some go with the "Let them use their imaginations and explore the world" approach.


Others choose the "Foster their creativity by any means possible" approach.


Then there's those who choose the "Let your 1 year old run around in a room filled with paint, then photograph him lying on the floor wearing 2 different shoes, and finally take off half his clothes in a public museum so he can splash in the water" approach.




Luckily for our boys, Phil chooses all three of the above. I don't think there's any right or wrong way to do this parenting thing - but I do know that some fun along the way should definitely be part of the equation.