Sliding In The Sun (Remember Sun??)

Sue just sent me some pictures from the Fall when we were playing at the park with the boys. It makes me long for the cold to break...I'm itching to get back outside!!

The Newest Campaign Signs

Thanks to Mel for the hot tip!

Blast Off

Fans of Little Einsteins will appreciate this...

Shaye Amanda Is 9

Wha-wha-what?!?!?!?

How did this happen? Our niece (Phil's god daughter) had her 9th birthday party on Saturday night. I seriously remember being at the hospital the night she was born, such a peanut. Now she's a sassy little 9 year old lady. Sigh!

We got her 2 fish - Christina and Aguilera.

Happy Birthday Shaye!!!

Next Stop...Great Wolf Lodge

Okay if you haven't been there already you must immediately pack the car and go to Great Wolf Lodge. And if you've already taken a trip up there you're pickin' up what I'm layin' down. It's the bomb!

GWL is this huge resort in the Poconos. The biggest attraction is their waterpark - it's absolutely gigantic and even I got into the water (it's 85 degrees, ahhh). There are huge slides for bigger kids (after Phil went down the first time he was giddy) and smaller slides for Cole's age. They have a wave pool, a lazy river, and even a super soaker bucket that fills up with 1,0o0 gallons of water and dumps onto the people underneath it.

The room was a big hit with the boys. We got the Wolf Den suite - they had their own little area that was cave-themed with bunk beds and their own TV. Ry just couldn't get over the fact that he could watch Spongebob from the top bunk.

At 8 pm they have storytime for this kids in the lobby. Before they headed over Phil took Ry to the arcade. The little guy may not be accurate, but at least he's persistent...

Ry showed no fear and went down the biggest slides with Phil...maybe next year he'll be able to tackle them by himself. Our next trip will be with 3 little ones, oy!

As Cole says...peace out. Word to your mother.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

We had a fabulous 5 days off. After traveling back and forth from here to there and back again, it's nice to be home. As Phil said, it's also nice to be eating vegetables again. Almost 5 days of over-indulging on pizza and fries has taken a toll!!

The adventures began Wednesday in Allentown - Phil took Ry snow tubing at Blue Mountain. Despite the layering, after the first trip down the hill Ry proclaimed through chattering teeth that he was freezing and wanted to go inside. Having already paid (and having too much fun himself), Phil dragged the kid back up the mountain and they had 3 or 4 more rides back down.

I think it was an overall success - maybe next time we need to be better prepared. We really had no snowsuit for Ry and squeezed him into Cole's 18 month size. Oops!

Caught

Pack The Car...They're Off To College

Sigh. How do I freeze time? In the past week the boys have both had these teeny tiny milestones that make me feel like they're completely grown up.

Cole...

Started in the 2-year classroom on Monday. They drink out of real cups (not the kind with lids - it's quite a mess) and use the bathroom instead of having diaper changes

Ry...

Now officially takes a shower instead of a bath. He doesn't even play with his water toys...unless you count his fake razor but he takes the shaving portion of his shower very seriously.

Cole...

Is talking up a storm and can sort of hold a conversation with you. His newfound joy is talking on the phone...which doesn't EVER end so if you see our number on Caller ID you may want to think twice before picking up.

Ry...

Taught himself how to read and will sit quietly with his books. It's really the only time he's ever quiet for an extended period of time (unless you count sleeping...although according to Phil he was talking in his sleep last night...a story for another post). Thank goodness he still lets me read to him...when that's over I'll truly be depressed!!!

I know all of this development is good...I just can't believe these kids aren't babies anymore. When I saw Cole sitting at the table with all of those 2 year olds drinking out of regular cups, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If I squinted my eyes just right I could see a little graduation cap on his head as he waved goodbye to me on his way to college...

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!

Pizza on game day...

Hamming it up with their jerseys...


Testing me...oh he has that look in his eyes...

Unfortunate Series Of Events

Like I've always said, it wouldn't be an evening in the Kerper household without someone crying or peeing on the floor. How ironic - that's just what happened tonight!!!

I brought the boys upstairs for Cole's bath and here is the path of destrucion we ended up on. Unfortunately I can't disagree with Phil's assesment of the situation - I brought this all on myself!

1. Cole runs into the bathroom and points to his little potty. He says "pee on the potty." I believe him. He pulls his pants down so I willingly oblige and remove the diaper.

2. Somewhere between getting into the bathroom and pulling down the pants, Ry freaks out (when he fell asleep on the 2 mile car ride home from school I should have known I was in for it). For some reason he decides to throw his toothbrush at me, and for this he gets a time out.

3. I take Ry to the step for said time out, leaving Cole in the bathroom with his pants around his ankles.

4. I get back from putting Ry on the step to find Cole standing next to his potty in a puddle of his own pee (you had to have seen that one coming)

5. I take Cole into his room to get off his wet clothes. While I'm bringing him back to the bathroom to put him in the tub I hear Ry saying I'm "stupid." This is breaking a cardinal Kerper law so I have to go give him more time on the step

6. As I leave Cole alone in the bathroom again (yes I did it again and this time he was naked) I turn just in time to watch him slip and fall in the puddle of his own urine. Nice.

7. I'm torn between helping pee-boy and giving Ry more punishment. My cold heart wins and Ry gets an extra 3 minutes.

8. I finally get Cole in the bath. Ry gets out of time out and tells me he's sorry. I clean up the pee. All is right in the world again.

My life is so glam!

There's A Wild Thing In My Bathtub

All you loyal fans of Where The Wild Things Are will appreciate this...

I was giving Cole his bath tonight, and he was doing his usual diving / swimming / splashing / butterfly stroke / general tub craziness. Ry looked down at him and said "I think Coley is having a wild rumpus."

Little Boys And Stinky Words

As mentioned in my last post, we went to the Davenports last night for a holiday party. Roy had all of his friends over so they were playing video games in his room.

Ry took it upon himself to join them...he was in absolute heaven hanging out with the big kids. Every time I checked in on them he was either hysterical laughing or gazing at the TV screen in amazement.

When I went up to tell him it was time to go, he was literally lying on the bed all snuggled up with one of the boys. He looked at me and said very definitively "Mommy ... you are a Stinky Butt!!!"

The room got silent. If it had been a movie, a record player would have come to a screeching halt.

All of the older kid's heads whipped around at the same time to see my reaction. Then they simultaneously pointed their fingers to the boy sitting on the bed with Ry and said "HE'S BEEN TEACHING THE LITTLE KID BAD WORDS!!! LIKE STINKY AND BUTT!!" (P.S. thanks kids - I sort of figured that out on my own when he called me Stinky Butt.)

I had to take Ry out of there and give him a dose of reality - we had a long talk about what words are appropriate to use (this talk happened in the bathroom since it was the only quiet place in the house...hard to give a life lesson when you're sitting on the floor next to the toilet).

Although he served some hard time for the language, I silently had to give him props for jumping in and making new friends. I guess that's part of the fun of parenting...balancing between the good and the bad. I'll have to keep a closer eye on him the next time he decides to hang with a gang of rebellious young pre-teens.

Lesson learned...for both Ry and Mom!!!

Tales Of A Kerper Christmas

Wow...did that just happen?! Christmas week came and went in a blur but we really had a good time. As exhausting as it was to keep up with the boys, I'm going to miss spending so much time with them. 4 days off is a good thing!

To document our holidays will be a long post...so hold onto your hats...

I'll start with Christmas Eve. The Langans had us over for dinner and the kids let off some of their pre-Santa energy by running circles around the house. Rachel whipped up her usual deliciousness and by the time we got home everyone was ready to pass out. Phil had to work and got home around 8:30 pm, just in time to find me in a sea of wrapping paper, tape, and talking toys.

We woke up Christmas morning (Phil had to work again so it was just me and the boys) and they were pumped to open up the presents. Ry kept saying "Mommy look at this!!" or "Oh...my...gosh..." with every one he opened. Cole, of course, just kept playing with one of his balls and was totally happy.

We went to CHOP to have lunch with Phil and then headed off to his parent's house. Ry insisted that we bring the cupcake maker so he could cook with Grammy. The whole ride there he kept saying "Mommy are you SURE the cupcake maker is in the back??"

Around 3 pm Phil gave us a surprise phone call...they were having a slower-than-usual day at the hospital and he was able to leave work early. It was a Christmas miracle! We all had dinner together and then headed home.

The next day we headed back to Phil's parent's house with the whole family. We all exchanged presents...I must say the Hulk gloves were a hit.

Last night we were off to the Davenports for their holiday Open House. Their son Roy is around 11 and he had all of his friends over. Ry marched right upstairs and bonded with the big boys - they were playing video games together and took Ry under their wing. More stories on that experience for a future post...

So as I end this tale I wish everyone a very Happy New Year. Lots to look forward to...especially because we're expecting baby #3 in July!! The next holiday season will be much different...we will be driving a mini-van by then, oy vae!!

Panic

I woke Ry up this morning and he said "is it Thursday???" I told him that Christmas isn't until tomorrow, but that Santa would be coming tonight while he was sleeping.

He said "Santa is going to bring me 2 presents. All I want is a new Transformer and a Cupcake Maker."

Hold up, stop the presses...a cupcake maker?!?! This is the first I've heard about this. Darn commercials!

So all morning he was talking about the cupcake maker. I dropped the boys off at daycare (yes, I have to work today, ugh) and I ran in a panic to KMart before heading to the Q. I raced through the aisles like I was on Supermarket Sweep looking for this thing but alas, no cupcake maker.

I'm holding out hope that our Studio Store happens to have one...it will be a Christmas miracle!!

UPDATE: I love QVC!! I ran down to the store and lo and behold, there on a shelf sat the Girl Gourmet cupcake maker. It's like an Easy Bake Oven for the next generation.

This is probably the most boring post...I mean who really cares about cupcakes...but give me a break I was sort of stressed out for a moment. Bring on Christmas!

Holiday Excitement And Little Hats

This is the first year that Ry has "gotten" it. He is so incredibly excited for the holiday season that you can't help but catch his spirit...

When we were leaving his classroom today, he turned around to his teachers and yelled out "Hey everybody, Happy Holidays!!" It was so random and the whole room cracked up laughing.

Tonight we lit the candles for the second night of Hanukkah. As I was getting everything ready, he said "hold on Mommy I need to get my hat!" He ran to the other room and grabbed his little yamulke. It's the same one that he and Cole both wore for their briss. Ry also wears it for our annual holiday picture, so he must have put everything together.

Since we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, we've been talking to the boys about Santa. Tonight when I put Ry to bed he said "tomorrow is Tuesday...then comes Wednesday...then Santa comes on Thursday!!! We need to leave him cookies because he's going to be so tired from flying to all of the kids' houses all night long." I asked him how Santa is going to stay warm when he's flying outside, and Ry said "he just needs to keep on his big red coat and he'll be okay."

I can't wait to see his face when he comes downstairs on Christmas morning. Hopefully Santa's sleigh will be filled with the Transformers he's been hoping for. If only they weren't so hard to put together!!

Bouncing The Night Away

Logan turned 5 this weekend - so crazy how fast time goes by. So last year's Bounce House party was such a hit that they decided to do it again. We were sitting outside of the same place from his 4th birthday when I said - "I don't recognize anyone's car here." Phil called his brother and lo and behold, the party was at a different place. Supposedly reading an invitation helps…oops!

We turned around and got there with plenty of time for the boys to bounce, slide, and run to their heart's content. And what better post-bouncing activitiy than to load up on pizza and cake. These kids have iron stomachs, I swear.

Slumber Party

While the boys watched a movie, Phil and I celebrated his birthday with crab legs and sweet potatoes.

They settled into bed with flashlights and matching pajamas, too cute.

Introducing Steph

Although Cole is a true Momma's boy, he can also be a little rough. I guess that part of being a little brother is learning to fend for yourself - this sometimes translates into WWF behavior.

We have a new baby doll and I'm hoping that it helps him learn to be a little more gentle. Here he is tending to his little girl (named "Steph" by Ry) until he decides to ditch the doll and feed himself the bottle.

It...Was...So...Cold...

The Old Fashioned Christmas Parade was in town on Friday night...and even thought it was 2 nights ago I swear I'm still thawing out! Despite the cold it was a great parade. Lots of bands, big horses, firetrucks, the works. Santa made his seasonal debut at the end and Ry was literally jumping up and down to get his attention. Ever since then he keeps handing me the phone and asking me to call Santa.

When we got home Cole decided to run face-first into a wall. Sound familiar? Never fear, the Iron Man cried for about 2 seconds and then moved on (note the unfortunate lump starting to grow on his forehead, poor thing).

December

We put the Christmas tree up on Friday. The next morning Ry came running downstairs, eyed the tree up and down, and asked with sad eyes "where are the presents?"

So we tried to explain to him that Santa doesn't come until Christmas.

This morning I went into his room to wake him up for school. He said "Is it Christmas? Did Santa come?" I told him no, that it wasn't Christmas yet. He said "But Mo-om, it's December!"

Looks like it's time to bust out the calendar for a more visual explanation!