Boom

The boys recently hit up Boomers for some family fun (at least that's what the slogan on their website says). Charlie is navigating his way through the big boy toys and seems to be holding his own on the bounce.



Since I was absent from all the family fun (having to work and all), looking at this picture pretty much summed it all up for me.

Cole: It was me...I did it...I'm proud of it...and now I'm outta here so I can go do it again
Charlie: Why?! WHY?!?
Ry: I'm so over this. Let's go hit up the snack bar. Peace out.

Army Of One

When you have 3 young kids and another on the way, you quickly learn there are some battles that aren't worth fighting (Translation: we're tired and don't feel like negotiating).

With that in mind, the story.

Ryan claims he wants to be in the Army. He loves wearing camouflage, lines up his little soldier guys for battle, and has been writing back and forth with our cousin who is serving in Iraq.

So imagine his delight when our friends dropped off some hand-me-downs for the boys, and buried in the bag were a few Halloween costumes. He was "that kid" in Lowes stomping down the aisles in his full get-up chanting, "Hut, 2, 3, 4...hut, 2, 3, 4..." Awesome.

Feelin' Fine

It’s been a crazy week in Kerperville. Our little Charlie had to be admitted to the hospital for 3 days, but he’s been discharged and is doing great. His time away has taught me many things:

• We’re extremely lucky to live 30 short miles away from the #1 pediatric hospital in the country
• The boys are even more lucky to have a dad who happens to work at said hospital
• Phil is a saint for camping out in Charlie’s room for 3 days and sleeping on a tiny plastic couch

Cha was his usual smiling and happy self most of the time – I know this because I made Phil send me a picture approximately every 5 seconds so I could see with my own two eyes that he was okay. Three cheers for for smart phones!

The best thing I learned this week is that the boys have complete and total trust in their dad. When I first told them what was going on, this was the conversation I had with Ry:

Me: Guys, I have news. Charlie is sick and had to go to the hospital
Ry: Did he go to the Children’s Hospital?
Me: He sure did
Ry: Is Daddy taking care of him?
Me: He sure is
Ry: Okay, so Daddy’s got it

Here are some pics of the patient (the thing on his arm was just a brace to keep him from pulling out the IV that he had in his hand). As you can see he was all smiles – we’re just glad to have him home!

I Am Not Quick Enough To Answer All Of These Questions

The other day in the car, Ry was quizically studying a harmoncia he had been playing with. He asked me in a concerned voice, "Why do a lot of the toys that Santa brought me say 'Made In China'?"

Really?

Mess

One of Charlie's teachers sent me this pic. As she put it, "I turned around for one second to get more paper and this is what happened."

Atta boy, Cha...true artistes do not depend on conventional techniques. I'm sure that at one point Pollack covered himself in paint and threw himself against a canvas, only to generate a gazillion dollars.

I'll wait patiently for my cut of this particular masterpiece.

Spidey

We had a community yard sale last weekend, and our neighbor was painting faces for the kids.


The pros: Ry looked totally cool and spent the first few minutes hamming it up and shooting his pretend web blasters.

The cons: After those first few minutes were up and the mirror was put away, he started to forget that he had paint on his face. This eventually led to him spreading the red mark of Spidey all over himself, others, and most notably, the couches.

It didn’t take too long for me to burst his bubble and force him to wash it off. Call me cruel, but in the end my couches thanked me. At least I got a picture!

Silly

Last week Ry came home from school cradling a package. He told me I couldn't see it until Mother's Day and ran inside to hide it.

He came flying out of the house about 5 minutes later, saying that he found the perfect place for my present and no matter what, "Don't look between the fish tank and the typewriter."

Finally the big day came and I was sent on a hunt for my gift...Ry was shocked to find that I was able to quickly pinpoint its location. Inside the bag I found a bracelet buried underneath mounds of tissue paper:



He told me that his teacher had each kid in class think of a word that describes their Mommy. I like to think that his interpretation of "silly" means I'm fun and that I don't take life too seriously. I was truly touched by his sentiment - much more meaningful and personal than if my bracelet said "happy" or "loving".

A perfect present from a silly son to his silly Mom. Happy Mother's Day!

Sicko

Cole recently came down with a bug - I didn't realize how bad he looked until I compared a sick pic to a healthy pic. Yowsa!

The problem with a sick Cole is that he goes into absolute denial about his condition. He still tries to run at full throttle, only to eventually crash and burn and beg us for a nap.

Luckily he’s feeling better and back to tearing it up Cole-style. Batten down the hatches!

Heartbreaker

This morning Ry landed himself in time out for some offense I've since forgotten. I told him to go sit on the step and he said "Aw, c'mon. You're breaking my heart."

Happy Third To Cole

It was just three short years ago that we became a family of four. Cole's birthday was last week and his besties gathered at the Bouncehouse to burn off some energy and celebrate.

I made the fatal parenting mistake of telling him about the party when we booked it (about a month in advance) and of course, I paid the price. Every day I heard, "Are we going to my party?" or "My birthday is tomorrow!" Lesson learned.

Everyone had a good time - even poor Charlie (who learned the harsh reality of what happens when you catch a ball with your face instead of your hands).

Just for old time's sake, here's something I dug up from the archives. In true Cole fashion, he learned to run before he learned to walk.

To my spunky little fireball on your third birthday, you may exhaust me, but I love your energy...I love your zest for life...I love that twinkle in your eye...I love that you live with passion...I love it all!