A Dream Come True

You know the scene in Parenthood where the little boy puts a bucket on his head and just keeps running into walls? Many years ago, Phil and I watched that movie together and he said "I hope my son is just like that."

What I think he meant by that statement is he wants children who are carefree and willing to take risks (at least that's what I hope he meant by that statement). The pictures and video below are a glimpse into Phil and Ry livin' the dream. Keep in mind that this was only one of the 18,000 times in a row that he did this.

Here's the progression of the event...

Mom to Ry: Do you really think this is a good idea?

Ry To Mom: Yes

Ry To Ry: Maybe I'll reconsider

Ry To No One In Particular: D'oh!

Ry To The Entire Downtown West Chester Area: Wah

And finally, I've got this down! Here I go (again and again and again...)

Help Please!

Debbie and I are desperately trying to remember the name of an ice cream bar that was popular back in the day. It was on a stick...vanilla ice cream...chocolate crunchies (or strawberry) on the outside. They're currently marketed as "eclairs" and it's similar to that concept...just without the extra chocolate layer on the inside. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. We're going crazy!!

Phil Is Very Happy Right Now

LATEST UPDATE: Phil is REALLY happy right now. We're in the Playoffs! GO PHILS!!!! He felt compelled to take pictures of the boys in front of the TV when the game was over. It doesn't look like they're as excited as their Dad but at least it's documented for posterity.





UPDATE: Okay now he's very nervous. All will be answered on Sunday!

The last time they were in the playoffs Phil was a freshman in college (1993). Go Phils!

Cole Swing

Cole's normal morning routine includes a cat nap around 08:30. He was asleep so Ry and I went outside to play. 5 minutes later we came back inside & this is what I found!!

Enough Said

Phil's Best Story Ever

The story of the Carolina Boy Scouts that got lost brought up memories of a similar event in my life. It was '86 it happened. I remember we were looking for Haley's comet the night we were lost...lost in the wilderness.

The best part of this whole story is how we never even thought we were lost...we just didn't know where our Scoutmaster was. Apparently the 150 fire rescue teams and MedEvac helicopters scouring the woods throughout the night disagreed.

To sum up the best quotes from the incident (it was clearly a slow news day):

• "When found, they were in good spirits but cold"
• "He [the Scoutmaster] could not explain how the group had become lost"
• "One rescue worker suffered a sprained ankle while searching the trail. He was taken by Ambulance Corps to the hospital where he was treated and released"
• "McMannon (Rescue Chief) said hikers get lost on the trail infrequently"

You can click on the articles below to make them bigger.

5 Years!

Life before children...I remember it well.

Our 5 year anniversary is coming up soon (10/12/02). I'm sure I'll post something very setimental as the date approaches, but to keep you satisfied until then (I know you'll be chomping at the bit) here are some wedding pictures.

P.S. This was before digital cameras were big - although we did get one as a wedding present...thank you very much Eli!! These were scanned from (gasp!) paper prints, so please pardon the quality :-)

P.P.S. For a real flashback check out the wedding website I created back in the day. I guess I've come a long way...I used to code my websites by hand in HTML and now I'm blogging!

Ry's Baby Laugh

I dug this out of the Kerper archives...after soaking up all of Cole's giggles lately I forgot how cute Ry's baby laugh was. Here he is in August 2005 having fun with Pop Pop.

Ry vs Cole 5 Months

This is a fun little exercise...I'll try to do this going forward to see how alike/different the boys are looking as they hit new milestones. Here they are both at 5 months (Ry August 2005 and Cole September 2007).

What do you think?

Musical Maestros

Clearly Sarah and Ry have inherited the musical gene...Ry really brings it home at the end with a dramatic finish.

Ry is extremely into this piece.

Cute

Highland Orchards

Highland Orchards started their Fall Festival yesterday, so we took a trip out for a day of excitement. Ry and Cole took their first hay ride and Ry took a stab at milking a "cow." We also ran through a corn maze...at first I was a little scared we were going to loose Ry inside, until I realized the maze was about 10' x 10' and the exit was also the entrance. Phew!

Delaware Waterfront

Phil, Ry and Cole took an adventure to the mighty Wilmington waterfront on Thursday. Phil thought there would be playgrounds and fun kids stuff to do, but from the looks of the pictures there were just big cranes and power lines. Oh well, I guess it's the bonding between father and sons that really matters.

UPDATE: Phil said they ate hot dogs too.

Breaking News

Potty Watch: Ry Edition

Yesterday....2 times on the potty at school
Today...Once at home and once at school

Stay tuned for the latest breaking news from the Kerper can!!

Cole: A Rainbow Of Emotion

I folded to peer pressure today and cut Cole's baby mohawk. After seeing his new look he experienced many emotions...

Happiness...

Surprise...
Confusion...
Shock...
And lastly, complete and total terror.

I guess your day in the Kerper household isn't complete until you've gone through all of the above!

Thanks For The Partay!

Thanks to everyone who came to my surprise 30th yesterday. It was great! If anyone wasn't able to make it you should definitely check out the Arts Scene on East Union Street in West Chester. It has awesome contemporary art and is very low key.

A big thanks to Phil for pulling everything together. You're the bomb!

Pictures to follow...if anyone has any please email them to me so I can post them. Thanks again!!!

He's Baaaaaaack

After a brief encounter away from us, Samurai is back. Absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder...we're so glad that he's here to stay!

Marsh Creek & Labor Day

We went to Marsh Creek in Chester County on Labor Day and had a nice relaxing day. We went down to the lake and Ry stuck his feet in the water. He was picking up rocks and throwing them...next thing we know he's soaking wet and swimming in it like a pool. We were completely unprepared for this extravaganza and ended up toweling him off with some socks and calling it a day.

Bookcase Complete

Our built-in bookcases were installed Sunday and they look great. This is a wierd angle but it gives you an idea...

Our Proudest Moment

We like to play music on our digital cable and Ry has a little dance party. We were firing it up this morning and Ry said "Bon Jovi PLEASE!" And then a little tear ran down my cheek.

Solid Food...Bring It

They say babies can have solid food at 4 months of age. So like the good parents we are, we waited it out and gave him his first taste of baby cereal tonight. Sad face is only because he wanted more. Little man was litereally grabbing the spoon and trying to shove more into his mouth himself. Ry was also quite thrilled with the situation.

Of course, there's heart-stopping video to accompany this moment in time. But something's wacky with the upload right now so I'll try to post it later.

What A Weirdo

Taken just a few days ago when Ry still...sigh...had hair. Anyway, the point is that he's clearly working on perfecting his game with this wicked wink.

Cole Creates His Blue Steel

Work it...Own it...
Cole took some inspiration from Mr. Derek Zoolander himself and rocked out this fierce photo shoot.

Haircut

2 lollipops later, we came out with this. Not exactly what I was thinking, but I wanted to try a real short cut at least once. Ry wasn't exactly a still model so I'll take what I can get.

Ry's Sayings

Someone suggested to me today that I should start writing down what Ry says. That way we can look back and remember his cuteness. I'm just going to put down some things off the top of my head and will keep adding to it!

"Carry you" : Still trying to grasp "me" vs "you". When he wants someone to pick him up he says "carry you please!"

"Mommy's at Happy Hour" : One night I went out to Happy Hour with some friends. Now every time I'm not in the room he thinks I'm at the bar, go figure.

"Daddy's at the hospital with the ambulance" : Ry loves all things with sirens. Imagine his glee when he found out Daddy works with ambulances every day!

"Let's Rock and Roll, Baby!" : What he yells we pull out of the alley in the car

"Tickle Armpit" : He doesn't yet realize that tickling is equal to torture and asks for his armpit to be tickled all the time

Strike A Pose, There's Nothing To It....Vogue.

This is totally random...but I found this picture today and thought it was funny. This was taken on the day that we became best Aunt and Uncle ever. We went into town to watch the bike race and Sarah got her picture in the newspaper. We rock.

Franklin Institute Adventures with Daddio & Ry

Phil took Ry Guy on one of his famous field trips last weekend. They ended up at the Franklin Institute and Ry got to walk through the heart for the first time...

Stuck in a clogged artery...the irony

What the?!

Who the?!

Phil's favorite view in the city. Click on it you can see the larger picture for true impact.

MOVE THAT BUS!

UPDATE: So we didn't make it. Jyl said it went great and Ry is still saying MOVE THAT BUS, so I suppose it was a win all around.

Aunt Jyl is working on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. They're doing a house in Camden NJ and she asked us to come down to check out the set. This morning Ry started saying "MOVE THAT BUS" complete with fist raised in the air. Too cute.

Our Dear Little Samurai

Oh goodness...has the time really come? We've been toying with the idea of having Sammie go live with another family. Life has just gotten so crazy and we haven't had time to give him the love and belly rubs that he needs.

A friend came over tonight to meet him and wants to bring her kids over tomorrow to check him out.

Are we really ready to go our separate ways???