Family Photo

Our neighbors had a beautiful baby boy last week. On their way to the hospital we stopped them outside the house to take a picture.

To return the favor, their sweet Granny from Ireland asked to take our picture as well. Not only do I love to see the flowering bush in full bloom, I think this photo is hilarious because it totally sums up our family. Below is a breakdown of what I imagine each one of us thinking:

COLE: [Would be spoken at a very fast pace, I'm sure] Must...escape...now. Gotta run...gotta go...places to be...no time for pictures...what's that over there? A squirrel? Some grass? A tree? Must...escape...now!!!

MOM: [With monster-tight grip on Cole] There's no way that Cole is going to sit still for this picture. Will try to smile anyway so I can look half-decent despite the crazy 2 year old in my arms. At least the elbow that's jabbing into me during the escape attempt is hiding my belly!

RY: [Using suspicious undertone] Suuuuure, I'll let you take my picture...what's in it for me?

PHIL: [No back-stories, undertones, or special voices...why does he have to be so simple????] Cheese!

Memorial Day

For the past 30 or so years, the Kerpers have hosted Memorial Day. Poppy's studio is right on the Wyndmoor Parade route, so everyone hangs in his parking lot for the best views of the Mummers, fire trucks, and bagpipers. (Yes, that's a Slurpee in my hand...yes, it was 9 in the morning. It was the baby that wanted the Slurpee for breakfast, not me).

After the parade we head to the park for pony rides and bounce houses. We top it all off with a BBQ back at the house - this year we erected a kiddie pool in the yard and the kids went to town.

So many new babies this year...Cole LOVES babies. They really bring out his nurturing side and whenever he's around a little peanut he wants to hug, love, kiss, and tickle toes.

His new little bro will have plenty of Cole lovin' - he keeps lifting up my shirt to say hey to the baby (even in public places such as the grocery store - thanks Cole - just what the poor customers at the Giant wanted to see).

Wishing everyone a Happy Memorial Day - especially to all of the incredibly brave people who are serving or have served in the past. To you and your families who sacrifice to make this country free for my family - thank you!!!

My Favorite Parts About Saturday

1. Finally a 3-ring circus I can deal with (versus the one that goes on in my house daily): We went to see the circus at the Spectrum...they're tearing it down later this year so it was cool to see the show and soak in the memories at the same time

2. Sweet moment: When we were walking in, Ry reached out to grab Cole's hand. Cue heart melting

3. Swimming freedom: After we got home we went to the pool...it opened for the season and the smell of sunscreen on our skin signified the start of summer for me. The water was fa-fa-freezing but Phil and the boys jumped in - the best part was that Ry held his own (albeit in an inner tube) while Phil held onto Cole - but the point is that we have our first taste of swimming freedom.

Summer's here...time to kick it.

Kicking Off Memorial Day Weekend

The boys went to Valley Forge Park today to get a taste of our nation's history (and most likely more deer ticks...yes, I'm now obsessed!!)

Phil took this picture of Cole a year or so ago at Valley Forge, so he plopped him in the same spot for comparison. Who is that little peanut with the old man comb-over?!?

At some point Ry took over the camera and started snapping pictures of Phil. He did a pretty good job...perhaps the Kerper Photography bug is getting passed on to the next generation??

When I got home from work we headed up to The Scoop for ice cream with friends. 8 kids, a handful of adults, lots of bikes, multiple sugar rushes...one bite of an Oatmeal Cookie cone is so worth the craziness that ensues on the walk up there!!

Batter's Up

Stroud Preserve

This Sunday we went for a hike at Stroud Preserve - it has a bunch of trails and ponds (and I'm sure a zillion ticks...I've been obsessively checking everyone since we got back).

Phil had been out all night at a pub crawl with his buddies...let's just say that he wasn't running on all cylinders. I was completely unprepared for the cooler weather with no jacket and my flip flops on (why am I always wearing the most unfortunate footwear??) - but we pressed on.

There isn't really a moral to this story - we basically just went for a walk and threw some rocks in a pond - I just think these pictures are cute and therefore we have a blog post.

P.S. Here's an oldie but goody that Phil took of Cole when they went to this park last year. He was such a little peanut back then!!

Zoo Trip With Daddy-O

Phil took the boys to the zoo last week and from the looks of it they tore it up.



Ry seemed to have no problem striking some diva poses with the gorilla for his photo opps...Cole on the other hand chose to play hard to get.

I doubt that I want to know the back-story of this picture...

And finally, proof that I'm not kidding when I tell you that Cole prefers to live his life with one arm hanging out of his shirt...

Easy Like Saturday Morning

Now that the weather is nice again, our Saturday mornings are back on track. Start at the soft pretzel store...head to the Grower's Market...to the Courthouse to play by the fountain (and watch the protesters)...end at the koi pond down the street.

I'm at a much slower pace these days - and have to stop for more bathroom breaks - but still keeping up with the pack. By July I'll probably need a lift in the stroller myself, but for now I'm managing!!

Tongue Tied

Watching Ry color is hilarious. When he concentrates his tongue sticks out the corner of his mouth - at one point I swear it was dripping off of his chin.

Last Night

Important Cliff Notes For Understanding This Story:

1. We converted the crib to a toddler bed (i.e. lowered it, took one side off and added safety rails). This is the first step of transitioning Cole to the real toddler bed so we can use the crib for the baby. He's been sleeping in this concoction for a week or 2 now
2. The real toddler bed is in Ry's room waiting for Cole to take the plunge

Now that you have the background, here is what happened last night:

1. Cole falls out of the crib-bed in the middle of the night. Goes to the door and cries for Daddy
2. Put him back in crib-bed
3. Cole is now awake and goes back to the door about 47 more times. We put him back each time
4. On the 48th time he asks to sleep in the "new bed". Phil puts him to sleep in Ry's room
5. He gets out about 67 times but finally settles in
6. Wakes up in the morning saying "Hi Ry! Good Morning Ry! Hi Ry!"

Cute but tiring. What will tonight bring? Stay tuned...

Progress

Shoulders

As I sit here with a heating pad on my back thinking "whyyyyy oh why did we pack so much into this one weekend?!?!" - I wanted to make sure that I wrote about one of our many adventures. We didn't have a camera with us and it's one of those moments that I want to store into my little brain for the future.

We took Grammy and the boys to Valley Green today with the original intention of feeding the ducks. Valley Green is a little section of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia - it's really close to Phil's parent's house and the day was beautiful so we headed out.

After we threw all of our bread into the water for the ducks to fight over, we started walking on one of the trails. We headed to a waterfall and Phil and Ry climbed to the top - it was really cute to see him teaching Ry the ropes and giving him just enough space to do things himself.

Of course, Cole wanted part of the action so I had to maneuver us as high as we could go. My little daredevil would have either (a) climbed to the top with Dad and Ry or (b) jumped into the water below, so I had to turn back about mid-way. Also take into account that I'm over 7 months pregnant and had on flip flops (remember the original plan was just to feed the ducks, so I still contend that my wardrobe choice was justified).

Anyhoo...on the walk back Ry asked to get on Phil's shoulders. The look on his face was absolutely priceless...he looked so incredibly content and happy. He bent forward and hugged Phil's head and you could tell he was in complete heaven.

Of course I'm keeping in mind that he had just climbed to the top of a waterfall and it was lunchtime, but I'm still going with my original premise which is that he just totally loves his dad. I was wishing that I was getting carried by the time we go to the car, hence the heating pad on my back right now...but the pain was worth it just for the mental image I have of Ry's proud little face.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, grandmoms, and moms-to-be out there in blogland! I go to sleep completely pooped but so happy to have my boys. Next year I'll be climbing to the top of that waterfall with you, watch out!!

Ghost Whisperer

Work It...Own It

Cole's class made Mother's Day cards for us today in school:

His little Rico Suave pose totally reminded me of a picture we took of Ry when he was only a few months old. There's just something about their come-hither looks that says "I'm a ladies man in the making." Work it boys!

What You Talkin Bout Ry?

Ry had some classic thoughts this morning...

"My new vitamin is really yummy but it makes my eye move!"

Apparently the new vitamins are a little on the sour side. You had to see his eye twitching uncontrolably while he was making this statement.

"Big Blue is a cool car. I like the awesome stuff that's inside!!"

I'm assuming that by "awesome stuff" he's referring to the totally radical cupholders and possibly the old granola bar wrapper that was sitting on the passenger's seat. Who knew it was so easy to impress the youth of America!

Armed And Dangerous

Cole has this really weird habit. It's a short and sweet little vice...he likes to take one arm out of the sleeve of his shirt.

I don't know where this came from, it's just his signature move. He does it ALL the time, and Ry will often follow suit so I have 2 little boys walking around with 1 arm hanging out of their shirts.

They looked so silly tonight that I had to take some pics...couldn't find the camera so I settled for my phone. They're fuzzy but you get the point...crazy boys!

Cole attacking Ry with some 1-sleeved love

One-armed Ry showing off his new toothbrush. One-armed Cole looking evil but really just caught in the middle of saying "cheese"

Camera hog

Still

A friend wrote a blog entry around the word "still" and I thought I'd give it a go...

• Still laughing at Phil's corny jokes after 13 years
• Still eating ice cream every night even though it gives me a major stomach ache
• Still turn the music up obnoxiously loud in the car despite the fact that I look weird rocking out to Bon Jovi in the mini van
• Still sneak into the boys' rooms every night to watch them sleep for a minute or two
• Still able to trick my younger sister into thinking I know sign language
• Still wishing I had stuck with piano lessons as a kid
• Still at the Q after almost 10 years
• Still missing my red Mitsubishi Eclipse with sunroof, spoiler, and manual transmission
• Still living with a nurse and get no sympathy when I'm sick (started with my mom and transitioned to my hubs)
• Still cannot handle spicy foods, no matter how hard I've tried to eat salsa and wasabi
• Still read the last page of a book before I get started
• Still think about my summers at the beach...Wildwood with the boys and Seaside Heights craziness...oh to be that free again!!
• Still have not seen any of the Godfather movies
• Still waiting to meet the next little Kerper boy and wondering if he'll have blue eyes like his brothers

P.S. After writing this and then re-reading it, "still" doesn't seem like a word to me anymore P.P.S. Still haven't thought of a witty ending for this blog post. Peace out

etsy

I feel like I'm 5 minutes behind on this...but has everyone checked out etsy.com? It's a site with all sorts of handmade stuff and if you have a Paypal account setup you can just use that for checkout.

First on my hit list was patches and iron-ons to make new baby onesies. A lot of our old ones are "gently used" (i.e. clean but gross from puke stains) and I needed a way to get some cheap but cute new things. My current fave is the one below that will say "Kerp" instead of Alex. Hip hip for Baby Kerp!

Speaking of handmade, thanks to Aunt Mel I have a new pattern for baby hats. Due to my left-handedness it was always a challenge to learn knitting and crocheting, so I'm taking this approach instead. Hey maybe if they're easy to make I'll slap some up on etsy and charge a sizeable mark-up!!! Send over your old t-shirts if you've got 'em!

Hold On For The Ride

When I wasn't looking my second trimester ended and here I am sitting in the home stretch of pregnancy. Only about 2 months to go...how on earth did this happen?!?!

There's a lot to do before the next peanut rolls into town. It's time to dig into the depths of the basement for the baby must-haves...the big bin with 0-3 months onesies is down there somewhere, the car seat needs to be dusted off, and I'm pretty sure the swing squeaks but still does the job.

We're also working on moving the boys into one room, and that's turning into a process within itself...transitioning Cole to a toddler bed, re-arranging all of the furniture, and getting their clothes coordinated (I reached for a pair of Cole's pants the other day and there were still some 6 month pairs in the drawer, oops!)

Somewhere in between all this we have to keep up with the daily life of swim lessons, school, spontaneous nesting moments, sickness, organizing things at work, and life.

Okay...deep breaths...I'm going to consider this blog entry my to-do list and will try to check one thing off at a time. If you see me buried in a pile of little tiny clothes, hats and socks...come rescue me!!!