Me And My Teddy Bear...Have No Worries Have No Cares

We went to a birthday party this weekend for our niece Maya. Ironically, we don't have any pictures of Maya, but trust me, she was cute.




Charlie plopped himself into the biggest bag he could find and was perfectly content in there for almost 10 minutes. I immediately ran out and bought a neverending supply of big party bags.


We went to the park after the party to shake out any excess energy. Dean was so happy to be on the swings...doesn't he look totally grown up?


On the walk home Ry and Cole kept running ahead. They would fall down at the intersection and hold each other while Ry pet Cole's head. He later explained that he liked the feel of Cole's hair (he had gotten a haircut that morning) and was pretending he was his teddy bear.

I know I've said this before...you just can't make this stuff up.

The Kerpers Hit The Zoo

When the weather shows any sign of warming up, we get out of the house. STAT. One of our first adventures of the season was to the Philadelphia Zoo. My hands down favorite animal of all time is the orangutan, and this was the first time I got to see her new little baby named Batu. You. Must. Go. See. This. Baby. Cutest thing ever.

Every time Cole saw an animal statue he hopped on and yelled "CHEESE!" Nice to see we've got him conditioned already.

We must have been to this zoo about 50 million times, but we've never seen the sea otters. They were a huge hit with the boys - they were eating their fish right in front of Ry and he got a kick out of watching "the guts flying everywhere."

We tried to get a group shot. Then we tried, and tried again. Although I wouldn't say we succeeded, I'd say we're starting to see the light. Give us a year and I think we may be in good shape.

Overheard

As I was getting dressed this morning, I overheard the boys in the bathroom:

Ry: I'm gonna give you an ATOMIC WEDGIE!!!
Cole: Thanks Ry-Ry. Does that mean I'm getting a big hug and kiss?
Ry: [slaps hand against forehead] Ohhhh, brother

We're Living Here In Allentown

Today was Shaye's First Holy Communion. Seeing her in her princess dress and hairsprayed curls made me realize how quickly time flies by...it literally feels like yesterday that she was toddling around and snuggling in my lap.

My crazy kids have a way of snapping me right out of my sentimental mood. Almost two hours in the car makes for four very antsy boys, and poor Aunt Lori's house took a hit from their energy.

Not only was the stuffed monkey a hit (I'm still not sure why that was hanging from the ceiling...), so was the gigantic yard. All I had to do was kick a ball as far as I could, and they chased after it time and time again. Score.

The day was going so well until Ryan called stomachache. I tried to tell him that eating approximately 75,000 pieces of chocolate wouldn't be a good idea in the long run, but he chose to take his own path.

Ry eventually rebounded (when the cake was served) and we tried for another feeble attempt at a family picture. At least Shaye looks cute...congrats to my girl. Love you loads.

Have Mercy

I was telling a story about Cole today and the people I was talking to were cracking up. It never really struck me as out of the ordinary that he likes to pretend he's a cat named Princess and play fetch with a Mickey Mouse PEZ dispenser, but I guess it is sort of odd.

This kids is a character, to say the least.

For the record, he had a "boo-boo" on his middle finger and was showing it to me all day on Sunday. This included the church service when he was in the front row with said boo-boo finger sticking straight up in the air. Lord, have mercy.

St. Rebecca

This Saturday we went to the Delaware Museum Of Natural History to check out their tarantula exhibit. I'm not sure what was freakier: The exhibit itself, watching Charlie bang on every cage while I pictured the spiders escaping through the broken glass, or Phil sneaking behind me to tickle my neck while screaming, "TARANTULA!!!"


Ry was, in a word, impressed. He ran from cage to cage to read the information, then raced over to me breathless with fun facts. He kept asking to get his picture taken with every spider - here he does a Dr. Evil impression without even knowing it.

Charlie on the other hand - not so impressed.

This picture doesn't really have a story behind it - Phil snapped it as we were leaving and Cha seems to have a "come hither" look that I thought was funny.

As I look ahead to my life with 4 boys, I forsee many more of these types of outings in my future. Between spider exhibits, wrestling matches, and bodily functions...I figure I'm headed toward sainthood for sure.

The Low Down

I was clearing out the pictures on my phone when I realized - there are a ton of pics I haven't posted for the 1 or 2 loyal people who read this blog. So here's a treat just for you!

We were in Target the other day and Cole got himself all jazzed up. I actually like most of the things he picked out...he's like my little accessories apprentice

Whenever I had an ultrasound of Dean he always had his hand over his face, exactly like this. So weird to see those ultrasound pics translated into real life

Bathtime mohawks

Whenever I see a face like this and a body moving at full speed, I know that either (a) Someone will soon be crying (b) Something spilled (c) Something broke, or (d) All of the above


Cole loves his swim lessons. Thumbs up for the pool at the Y...thumbs down for the haircut

Showing off his "beautiful hair" (clearly better than the pic above)

Snug as a bug in a rug

Dean had surgery a few weeks ago (he's doing really well - thanks for all your thoughts). I'm such a sucker for a baby in a hospital gown

Sammie has a new-found love for Ryan

Best part of the night...snuggle time with Grammy

Ry discovered the Star Wars section at the library (i.e. Heaven)

Do not be fooled by this angelic face. He is schooled in the art of deception

Ry had a dentist appointment the other day and came home BEGGING to floss his teeth. I figured I would document the moment so I could show it to him during his hygeine rebellion in the teenage years

So there you have it, a glimpse into the last few months as seen through the lens of my iPhone. I realize now that I've conditioned the kids to getting their picture taken - the other day I took out my phone to check an email and Charlie said, "CHEESE!"

My Life Before 8 am

People ask me all the time what my mornings look like. To me it all seems very normal and manageable – until you throw in the inevitable tantrum or have to spend 10 minutes convincing your almost-4-year-old that his legs are not broken and he CAN get out of bed if he would just try (true story - see bullet #6).

For all of you who have asked, here is my account of a typical morning (this morning, to be exact):

• Woke up and scanned work emails for any overnight drama. More importantly, played my turns on Words With Friends


• Folded laundry/put in new load (truthfully I just needed clean socks, I'm usually not that motivated)


• Threw together dinner and revved up the crock pot


• Got myself showered, dressed, and presentable for work


• Woke up #1 and #2 out of Daylight Savings coma


• Convinced #2 that his legs were not broken, he was just tired. Got #1 and #2 dressed, teeth brushed, wrestled with cowlicks


• Woke up #3. Dressed, teeth brushed, wrestled with cold medicine


• Woke up #4. Changed clothes, fed bottle, wrestled with reflux medicine


• Reflux medicine rebelled. #4 puked on me – back to the closet to change shirt


• Brief moment of scowling due to the fact that I really liked how I looked in the now-puked-filled shirt


• Hustled all kids downstairs for granola bars and juice


• Crawled around on hands & knees searching for the stuffed hippo so #2 could bring something grey to show & tell. Finally located said hippo in pantry


• Corralled #2 and #3 into van. Drove to daycare


• Dropped kids off, completely forgot that #3 is out of diapers


• Drove to drug store, picked up overly priced diapers. Drove back to daycare to drop them off


• Back into van, convinced myself to ignore the gas light and wait until after work to fill up


• Drove to the Q to start my second job. Settled into desk at 8 am


• Sipped lukewarm tea in peace and quiet. Ohm.
  
  

Rolling With The Punches

Dean has been a bit slower to hit some of his baby milestones (i.e. sitting up, crawling, etc.) There's a perfectly logical explanation for this - we can't ever put him down on the floor. This video will give you an idea why.