It Ain't Just A River In Egypt

Daddy Day this week was spent at the Delaware Children's Museum. Browsing through the pictures made me wonder...what's life going to be like in a few weeks when we try to do all this with a newborn in tow?

When I posed this question to Phil he literally said, "Well we live in chaos now, so adding another baby won't really change that much." I took that as either (a) Wise words of encouragement or (b) Complete denial.

Here's to denial.

Speaking of chaos...here's what happens when you cross paths with the Kerper boys. Poor kid just didn't know what he was walking into.

The Joy Of Cocoa Krispies

Phil has been spending his days off in July volunteering at a camp for special needs kids. Ry got to go with him on Wednesday and hung with one of the bunks while Phil worked as the camp nurse.

Apparently they did rock climbing and zip lines – activities that are sure to wow any kid. Ry, however, was most impressed by the fact that he got to pick his own cereal flavor at breakfast. He literally got out of bed last night to come find me and tell me this incredible fact.

Looks like they also made superhero costumes out of tablecloths…it really does not take a whole lot to impress this kid.

Refreshing

Ry asked me to buy him a new placemat with all of the US Presidents. He recently informed me (per said placemat) that our shortest President was James Madison at 64 inches. Who knew!

On the way home from the store he was studying it intently, which led to this conversation:

Ry: Barack Obama looks different than the other men
Me: Why do you think he looks different?
Ry: Because he has the biggest smile out of all of them. Most of the others aren't smiling and they look like they're bored with being President.

He also talked me into the placemat with the US map and all of the state capitals. It seemed like such a good idea at the time - but now he keeps quizzing me and I'm failing miserably.

Let's face it, I have a college degree but I can't tell you the capital of New Hampshire. Caught.

Just Say No

Following in the prestigious footsteps of his forebrothers, Charlie has learned a new party trick…saying “no!”

I spent the morning setting him up with such leading questions as, “Is your bib the right size?” and “Will the new baby be born on your birthday?”

This kid is like a living Magic 8 Ball. I’ll post another video when he starts hitting us with “Signs Point To Yes” or “Reply Hazy, Try Again.”

It's Not Hard To Entertain These Two

Between the gibberish (Cole, not Charlie) and the couch cannonballs, it was the usual circus tonight at the Kerper Brothers Barnum & Bailey.

Happy 4th

We channeled the spirits of our Bloomsburgian days and went party hopping this weekend with 5 shindigs in 2 days. Unlike college, we remembered everything the next morning and didn't have anyone at the Student Union to cook us breakfast. Oh well.

I threw this picture in there to show that life comes full circle. We've been going to Bobby & Ro's 4th of July party forever (around 20 years for Phil, 13 for me). In the beginning, it was pure debauchery. Then everyone started to get married and have babies, and it calmed down a bit. Now the kids are older, the tiki bar is up, and we're the lone suckers with the kiddos.

Ry did, however, get a kick out of sitting at the bar and getting served Shirley Temples.

The next day at another party, Ry and I had this interesting exchange as he was finishing up his dinner:

Ry: Is a hot dog a healthy choice?

Me: Not really.

Ry: Well it's a good thing that I ate those strawberries with my hot dog, 'cause I'm trying to eat a balanced diet.

Shirley Temples and hot dogs seem balanced in my book. God Bless America!

It's Summertime, Summertime, Sum-Sum-Summertime

Today was one of those good old ol' summer days. Phil worked a 12 hour shift, which left me at home with my 5 kids - Ry, Cole, Charlie, and my 2 swollen ankles (the ankles count because I consider them to be as high-maintenance as children).

To combat the heat I turned on the sprinkler and let them go wild.


Always one to kick it up a notch, our neighbor busted out the Slip & Slide. Slapping one's self onto the hard ground (protected only by water and a sheet of plastic) looked pretty painful to me, but the kids were into it. We'll see how many bruises start popping up tomorrow morning.


In a rare showing of timidness, Mr. Adventurous was totally confused about the entire situation. He needed to be delicately escorted down the slip, only to hide out on the deck for the rest of the afternoon.

The day wrapped up with dinner & Flavor Ice on the porch (not necessarily in that order) and 3 kids snoozing soundly upstairs. Victory!

Oh Those Wildwood Days

Phil took the older 2 boys to the beach for a quick 3 day getaway. Based on the pictures, it looks like the trip included lots of pooltime, sand, boardwalk, rides, and ice cream (as evidenced by the first picture below).

It can definitely be considered a job well done when you get both kids to pass out at naptime. Three snores and a hip hip for Daddy days at the shore!

One Sings, The Other Pees

I had one of "those moments" this morning. The story is below - you out there in blog land may not find it that interesting - but with my forgetful pregnant mind I wanted to make sure to capture the memory for myself.

We joined a Fellowship in our town and go there each week. Sunday School is on a break for the summer, so until September Ry hangs with us during the service (Cole and Charlie are quietly tucked away in the nursery).

Today was a hymn ceremony. Basically people called out numbers of hymns from the song book and we sang them. Simple concept.

A quick but relevant back story: Ry has been reading for around a year and a half. He doesn't like to advertise it and gets embarassed when we ask him to read out loud. So to encourage him, we give him a point for every book he finishes. We keep a log and 10 points equals a dollar...he's saving up for a Nerf gun.

I told him this morning that following along with the hymns would earn him a point...talk about divine inspiration.

In the beginning of the service he just read along in a quiet whisper while we sang. But by the end he was totally into it, and belted out the tunes (and by that I mean singing at the top of his lungs) while he clapped along to the music. It was so nice to watch him let go, and he picked up on it so naturally. That's my memory frozen in time.

Of course I need to wrap this up with the Cole icing on this cake. Phil snuck out early to get the younger boys in the nursery. We had just finished our last song and someone was giving the closing words. Cole ran into the sanctuary to give me a hug, and during a moment of complete silence he screamed (seriously, it was the opposite of a whisper), "MOMMY I WENT PEE ON THE POTTY!!"

Hallelujah!

Lazy Days Of Summer

The scene at the swim club this afternoon: Cannonballs, splashing, basketball, screaming. In the middle of all this hubub Charlie fell asleep on Phil's shoulder in the pool.

I guess living in our house trains you to ignore chaos and go with the flow, as evidenced here by our snoozing swimmer.

School's Out For Summer

Like the swollen ankles of a pregnant woman in June, my heart swells with pride. I was totally stressing about Ry starting summer camp...new kids, new routine, new backpack, new experiences, new locker!! He reminded me once again how adaptable kids can be and dove right in.

Despite my desperate attempts to micro-manage everything in my life, I know that he's ready to start figuring things out on his own. It may be small, but the fact that they make their own lunches and put on their own suntan lotion just seems so grown up to me.

Today was their first field trip and he also had his first bus ride. Stop one, summer camp. Stop two, college. Sigh.

Daddio

Happy Father's Day to all you rad Dad's out there. We really pulled out all the stops for the guest of honor - Phil got to sleep in (a.k.a. slept off a hangover), had a pizza party with Poppy, hung at the pool, and wrapped it all up with some late-night laundry folding. Ah, the luxurious life of a suburban dad!

When I was sitting by the pool, a woman was asking me about my pregnancy. She told me that she had 2 kids close together...it was hard...then she nodded towards the pool and said, "But it looks like your husband has your back."

I turned around to see Phil in the pool holding Charlie in one arm, shooting baskets with Cole on the other arm, and cheering on Ry as he swam laps. Has my back, indeed!

Gift from Cole:

Who's the world's greatest Dad? YOU ARE!

Gift from Ry:

Cute little magnet in that adorable chicken scratch handwriting

Gift from Charlie:

A book of pictures...that one on the right shows a twinkle in his eye that I just may need to keep an eye on...

Happy Father's Day to Phil, my Dad, my Dad-In-Law, and all you other Big Poppas!!

Random

Phil downloaded all the pics from his phone and I wanted to share some of the goodies. It's a random compilation of stuff but you know the drill: Charlie is cute and smiley, Ry is reflective, Cole is _______ (I left that blank because I kept writing an adjective...erasing it...putting in another one...erasing it...so please feel free to fill it in on your own depending on the day and the way the wind is blowing).

The pool is open and Cha is dressed to kill

Haircut


Chillin' at Smith Playground

Showing off the fact that his pancake is bigger than his head

Peekaboo

Playing lifeguard at the hot tub

Spelling...Ry-style (mei = my)

Fly, Coley Fly

Boys, Boys, Everywhere

In the 2 block radius of our alley there are 24 kids under the age of 12. And out of that crowd, 18 of them are boys.

To help wrangle the energy of our feisty young friends, our neighbor started a summer soccer team. He's the coach and the boys are his proteges - this past week was their first practice and it was quite a sight to behold.

Cole had his game face on despite the fact that he was playing the wrong sport. I guess practice makes perfect!

Lots Of Smiles, Just A Few Tears

I was going through some pictures to start catching up on here, and it struck me that every place we go there are pictures of Charlie showing off that adorable grin.

I have so many pics of his pearly white (still just one little tooth) and it makes me stop and thank my lucky stars to have such a happy baby.

Just tonight - he and Cole had a collision and Cha cried for a few seconds and moved on. Cole, on the other hand, milked it for all he could and then ended the drama by saying, "I'm wiping the crying water off my face by licking it with my tongue."

You just can't make this stuff up - kids really do say the darndest things.

Caught

Phil found Charlie in this compromising position earlier today. It reminded me of a similar shot of Cole circa 2008 (the second picture below).

These two really have it down - despite their rebellion they've perfected that look of total innocence. Well played boys!

Aloha

Sniff sniff - Ryan graduated from preschool today. To celebrate, his class held a luau and followed it up with an awards ceremony. Here's what Ry's certificate said:

The award for
BEST MEMORY
Is presented to Ryan Kerper
Ryan sure knows a lot about all different things (especially countries). He must read a lot of books. We are always amazed at what Ryan remembers and shares. We hope he remembers that we think he is pretty funny!

The cute part: When he received his certificate in front of the crowd and shook the teacher's hand after her speech

The not so cute part: When he walked back to his seat, waved the paper at his friend, and shouted, "In your FACE!"

Clearly, he won't be winning an award for humility anytime soon.