Birthday Finale

Our morning started off with a pancake breakfast. #5 pancakes in fact. Along with some turkey sausage, blueberries, kiwi and milk duds. Mmm, Mmm good. The breakfast of champions, or at least the breakfast of the birthday boy. For the record, he requested pancakes for his birthday breakfast, however he only consumed a tiny bite about the size of a dime. The fruit and candy were down in 2 seconds flat. That's my boy!

Within an hour or so we were off to Chuck E Cheese. We arrived just before 9am. Yes folks, CEC opens at 9am. And might we say that it's the best time to go! There's no one there, allowing you to have more than a 2 inch leash on your children. And the staff is super friendly. (Could be because the kids haven't grated their nerves quite yet.) Even if you don't have an organized party, they will still give the birthday child a sticker and a couple of tokens. Sweet!

This is Jack's absolute favorite game. The one where you get to kill spiders. I love S's face here. It's priceless.

Check out that form! He's a big fan of the green machine on the end. It has an alien who swings its hand back and forth. You have the opportunity to hit it while rolling the ball into the machine. Jack gave the 5 balls a whirl and missed. He looked up and said, "I don't understand Mommy, I was able to hit the target when I was 4. Now I'm 5 and I can't do it." After a "Try one more time Buddy", he hit the target 2 of 5 attempts. He did a little dance and played 3 more times.

Another one of his priceless faces! That's our Jack. Always livin' it up!

A group shot of the party-goers. Thanks M, E & S for spending the day with Jack, he had a blast!

Now that this birthday weekend is over (it was at about 8:15pm when Jack finally fell asleep), Kyle and I agreed that we couldn't be happier. It's not that we wanted to rush the time along, it's just that we are completely worn out. Kyle is back at work tonight for a couple of hours trying to prep for trial and in much need of some sleep. I'm off to bed hoping the boys will rest peacefully all night. (Hey, a girl can dream, right?) We love you to the moon and back, Jack. We hope you continue to grow and be as brilliant and entertaining this year as you have in the past.

until next time...lc

And the parties continue...

This year we allowed Jackson to have total input on his party. Down to each and every detail, including the color of his plates. This year he chose to have a nacho bar, grapes, mixed veggies with dip, tootsie rolls, candy cane mints, York peppermint patties and an ice cream sundae bar in lieu of cake or cupcakes. His choices were enjoyed by all. I do want to take a second and apologize to all who attended and witnessed Kian's 101 meltdowns. He was in rare form last night and I do want to say sorry.

I wanted to get a shot of our Nacho Bar set up, but we jumped right in and enjoyed the dinner. However, we did get some fun shots of the present opening. Since Jackson is reading, I wanted to give him the opportunity to read his cards. He did pretty well. Although when he came across one that was written in cursive, he'd say, "This ones in fancy, Mom." Too cute!

I wish that our camera would have cooperated and taken nice pictures. I'm sure you can tell from the picture below that Jack's expressions are priceless. He seemed genuinely surprise and pleased each time he opened a gift. I love that dropped-jaw look he has.

It seemed as though they had a great time building their own sundaes.

Jackson had to load up on the whipped topping to support all of his candles.

And the day wouldn't be complete without a "cheese" shot.

We started the tradition of taking a picture with each family/person that attended the party with the birthday child when Jack had his first party. Over the years, Jack has been fairly cooperative. Years one and two are difficult, but it did improve. Last night he was a bit of a challenge. He always wants to be the center of attention, and what better day to be so clown-like than his birthday, right? Here he is with his Uncle Joe, Aunt Adrienne, and cousins Nolan and Mel.

Here he is pictured with his Uncle Poo Poo, Aunt Ashley, and cousins Brooklyn and Adalyn.

Hammin' it up with Uncle Ryan, cousin Ethan and Aunt Sara. Sorry you couldn't make it Aunt Miss, cousin Dylan and Uncle Dangle.

Last but not least, Nana P, Aunt Katy and Uncle Bo.

Jack received a few Bakugan toys.

And what kind of party would it be if someone didn't get naked? Just kidding, Frank and Ashley changed the girls into their PJs before taking off. Once Kian saw that someone was naked, it was only appropriate for him to strip down too. We did fight to keep the diaper on though. Most nights you can find our two hooligans running around being "nakie boys".

until next time...lc

Let's get these parties started, let's get 'em started now!

Birthdays are quite special and deserve much attention. Jackson's family party is later this afternoon, and since his Nana and Papaw Hop are not able to attend, they took us all out for dinner earlier this week. Jack's choice: Red Robin. We had great company and great food!

Jackson was very happy to get Lincoln Logs. (Secretly Kyle and I were too! A great childhood memory.) He did not want to pose for a picture though.

Kian chowed down his dinner and thought he could steal Jack's toy. He tried to make a break for it, but didn't succeed.

A little play time

We hope to have a great birthday weekend. More pictures and stories to follow.

until next time...lc

p.s. on a side note, I blogged quite a bit this morning. Please continue to read on.

Painting Pottery 101

Needing to burn some time with the kids and finish some Christmas shopping, I decided to lump the two together and take the kiddos to paint pottery at Kiln Creations in Broad Ripple. What a fantastic place I must say! We had a great time and didn't pay for anything we didn't paint. (That was my biggest fear taking Kian along.) However, we survived, and so did they. Some photos to document the fun had...

Jackson thought it would be a great idea to take a family picture. He's so thoughtful!

Jack was absolutely fabulous. He sat there and took his time painting, nearly 2 hours. He was very serious when considering what colors to put together. He amazes me daily. Not sure if you can tell that he has blue hair. He and a couple of his friends at day care sprayed their hair blue and spiked it up. He really enjoyed his new look and referred to himself as a "rock star".

Again, Kian taking a priceless picture. He didn't eat the paintbrush as it appears in the photo. You'll also notice his black eye, taking forever to heal.

until next time...lc

Let it snow...let it snow...let it snow

Last Saturday we were surprised when the snow accumulated as much as it did. Okay, we wouldn't have been as surprised if we watched the weather report, but who has time for that? First rule instituted, no throwing snowballs at each other. Second rule, don't eat the snow, especially if it's yellow. Lastly, have fun. And boy did they! Kian didn't want anything to do with the snow last year. This year, he couldn't get enough of it. Of course it was much more fun with his beloved horses. Seriously, we cannot go anywhere without taking them or talking about them every few minutes. Limited to 2 horses, he had a great time. He since has learned that the horses aren't great at playing hide-n-seek in the snow. Once the snow melted, it was confirmed that they gray horse did run away. Please don't worry, he's making do with the 101 other animals that he totes around.

With only one pair of old snow boots in the house, we resorted to rain boots. Hey, they worked just as well.

As I finished up in the front of the house, I heard lots of squeals and laughter coming from the back yard. Below is a video of the boys playing a game of chicken...in the snow. Thank goodness they had on a mass amount of padding. I was not so shocked that Kyle allowed this to happen, but no one ended up leaving injured. We are in for it once they get a little older.

until next time...lc

St. Nick's Day

Growing up we celebrated St. Nick's Day. I knew it would be a tradition that I wanted to carry on with my children when the time came around. When I was in college and away from home, I'd receive a package via USPS from good 'ole St. Nick. (Thanks Mom!!!) Even while Kyle and I were dating, he took it upon himself to carry out the tradition with me and made sure I was never let down. Now that Jackson is a little older, I think he's starting to enjoy it more. This year was no exception. A couple of weeks ago, we sat around and wrote out our lists to Santa for St. Nick to pick up.

Jackson's Letter:

Kian's Letter:

That morning they woke up and went about their normal morning routine...running straight to the kitchen to get something to eat and drink, completely bypassing the set-up. Once we pointed it out, they were more than thrilled.

His favorite....York Peppermint Patty Snowflakes.

We are having quite the issue getting Kian's picture without some ridiculous face in return.

Don't mind their lack of PJs. They both fell asleep in the car on the way home the night before and I was flying solo. I didn't want to risk them waking up and not going back to sleep, so in their outfits they slept. Besides, the next days agenda included washing bedsheets.

until next time...lc

Obviously

They mean it when they say it...dryer sheets belong in the dryer, not the washer. Espcially a half-full box of dryer sheets. What a mess!

until next time...lc

Happy Holidays!

First off, we hope everyone has a very happy, health, and safe holiday season. We tend to cram as many events/visits into the six-week span between mid-November and the end of December as our schedule allows. While we often think of ourselves as absolutely insane during the said time frame, we never regret the memories we take away.

If this is the first time you are visiting our blog, welcome! If not, thanks for stopping by again. We started this blog about a year ago as an online journal for ourselves and to also share with our family and friends that we don't have the opportunity to interact with as often as we'd like. So, welcome/welcome back, and enjoy! We promise to keep you updated on the never-ending happenings in our lives.

Also, in our Holiday Letter we failed to congratulate the Cuadros family on the little boy Anthony. We tried to recall the events of this past year, but didn't succeed. Regardless, we wish you the best of luck as you continue to grow as a family.

Until next time,
Laura & Kyle

This Ain't My Tempurpedic, but It'll Do, I S'pose...

Saturday night we were out and about, and decided to go ahead and eat dinner at a restaurant somewhere in Plainfield - where we'd done a majority of our errand-running just before dinnertime. Laura and I debated whether to eat at a trusted, good ol' stand-by like Culver's or Chili's, or branching out and trying something sort of new.

We opted for the latter, and settled on Logan's Roadhouse. We'd considered going there before, and many of my friends had told me it was a good place to eat, so we went with it.

If you've ever been to a Texas Roadhouse, you've been to a Logan's. Same idea: steakhouse, buckets of peanuts, country music, but not enough Patrick Swayze.

Anyway, it's been bitter cold and snowy all day long. The parking lot at Logan's was pretty well covered in about an inch of snow in most parts. We pull into a spot at the end of a bank of parking spots, and proceed to extricate ourselves, and the boys, into the frigid, blowing air. Laura's out first, and at Jack's door in seconds. I shut off the car, open my door, then plant my foot on the ground below and start to hoist myself out.

Only, my foot doesn't properly plant on the pavement.

I never feel a bit of traction, yet continued to jettison myself from the car door. Well, it doesn't take a physics whiz to figure out that inertia, minus friction or resistance, plus fatassery (aka significant mass) is an equation wrought with unhappy results. I just kind of slid under the door, smacked my hand/wrist and shoulder on the ice-covered blacktop, and just crumpled the rest of the way out of the car. I let out a loud groan, accompanied by a profane word or two (I'm sure, though I don't clearly recall, now), and just lay there in shock, embarrassment, and a bit of pain.

I hear Laura yell, "Are you OK? What happened?!?!?!" Then, she begins to run over to my side of the car, around the back-end of the car.

"Yeah, ooowwwww....I'm fine," is my response.

Laura gets to my side, and is staring at me writhing on the ground, then asks, "Did you slip?"

I layed there for what felt like 30-45 seconds, asking myself if I'd actually heard her ask me if I'd slipped. Finally, I look up at her and say, "Well, no, actually, I figured this was just about as good a place as any to take a goddamned nap."

Ha ha ha...seriously? We both had a good laugh at that one.

(K)

Tennessee Thanksgiving Vacation!

Last year, around this time of the year, Laura's brother, Frank, proposed a vacation idea to us. We'd join he and his family, along with all of Laura's other brothers and sister, her older brother's families, her mom, dad, step-mom, and her sister-in-law's parents and sister and that sister's family, for a 5-day stay in a cabin down in the Tennessee hills. Sounds like a potential powder keg just itchin' to be detonated, doesn't it? We agreed, and, we're REALLY glad we did - this ended up being a tremendously fun time for everyone - especially Jack and Kian.

We left in the afternoon on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and drove as far as Corbin, Kentucky. There, we met Frank and his family, along with his sister- and mother-in-law and his nephew, and stayed in a hotel for the night. The main goal was to try to break up the car time a bit for the kids, because we knew the trip home was going to be a straight shot. So, we swam and did all the fun hotel stuff (including a highly-welcomed surprise serving of milk and cookies that night before bedtime), and made the rest of the trip Wednesday afternoon.

The cabin was a part of the Black Bear Ridge Resort, down in Pigeon Forge, and it was really nice! The rooms were spacious, there were garden tubs with jets in each bathroom, a TV in each room, a large-screen with a projector projecting TV and DVD feed, a pool table, airhockey table and a foosball table. Seriously, this cabin had it ALL! Oh, yeah, and a hot tub.

Pigeon Forge, the town, is pretty tourist-trappy, but it had plenty of activities and things to keep us all busy, as a large group, and as individual families. We took the boys to play miniature golf one day, we tried getting out to a nature reserve Thanksgiving afternoon, we took Jackson to play LaserTag and to drive go-karts one night, we visited an aquarium, and we went to the Dixie Stampede - a Dolly Parton-owned western-themed dinner theatre. I used the word "tried" in describing our trip out to the nature reserve, because the drive out to it took three times longer than we thought it would, leaving us with just a short time to get out of the car, stretch our legs, then make the trip back to the chalet for Thanksgiving dinner.

We have to thank all the Kiefers, the Breedings, and the Meyers family for inviting us and helping us have a wonderful time in Tennessee! We're hoping to make an every-other-year tradition of this trip, and anxiously await the next installment!

Here are some of my favorite, selected photos; and, then a slideshow of the remaining pictures, from our trip. We hope you enjoy viewing them as much as we enjoyed taking them. There are some captions with the pictures, too, so turn them on, if you'd like. You do that by hovering your mouse over the slideshow, and then clicking on the word bubble in the lower-left corner.

Sunset from the back deck on our chalet, Wednesday afternoon/evening

Our chalet, in the foreground, on the right, as Laura photo'ed it from across the ravine

Kian, in the aforementioned nature reserve, showing he's master of all he surveys

Mini golf air guitar, part 1

Mini golf air guitar, part 2...the apex of the solo

These next couple of pictures were taken at Patriot Park in Pigeon Forge. The first one, Jack and Kian show us what they really think about the Liberty Bell re-creation; in the second, we had to go all the way to Tennessee to get a pretty shot of the Indiana state flag.

These last few are from the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Aquarium over in Gatlinburg. I swear, Mr. Ripley has a stranglehold on that whole area - the name's on freaking EVERYTHING. An aquarium, a gift shop, a miniature golf course - Hell, I half-expected to see a Ripley's Believe It Or Not restroom with a gargantuan floater hanging out in a commode!

Anyway, look at the second picture - it was too funny not to point out! Mason's face got all distorted, then the reflection of my hand makes it look like the boys have been shrunk to fit in a test tube or something...this picture should be viewed with caution by anyone reading this blog while in a chemically-altered state!

Oh, and by the way, a big THUMBS DOWN to the states of Tennessee and Kentucky, for their respective drivers' education programs. Driving through these states was maddening! People on the interstates BRAKING for no apparent reason, drivers who'd apparently disabled their turn signals, and just general buffoonery on the roads! During the 10 hour drive home on Sunday, we dealt with that crap, then, shortly after crossing the Indiana state line, traffic becomes more stop-and-go than northbound Meridian out of downtown Indy on a Friday evening. It got so bad, we got over to US-31 just outside of Edinburgh, and took that the rest of the way up to Indy. That was easily the roughest drive I've made in a long, long time.

(K)

How Our Life, for a Moment, Resembled "White Men Can't Jump"

So, hopefully you're familiar with the now nearly-ubiquitous 1992 film "White Men Can't Jump"...if you are, the following will make a bit more sense. If not, well, maybe it'll at least be humorous.

For the past couple of weeks, Kian's protestations of bedtime have returned anew, to the point where he's been up until nearly 10PM fighting our insistance he go to sleep. As is well-documented in this blog, when the kid sets his mind to something, he's rather difficult to deter. Couple this with the fact that, at daycare, Michelle is working diligently to get him to potty-train, particularly in the number two department. He pees pretty regularly in the toilet, but poops, not so much. She's figured out his routine, though, and she's apparently making him poop before he lays down for a nap. Last night, this really created a big obstacle for us.

Laura's prett much the only one Kian will let put him to bed, if she's around. If it's just me, solo, with the boys, he does pretty well going to bed for me. If Laura's in the house, though, he'll have nothing to do with me. So, last night, she gets him in bed, then takes a break, telling him she has to go take her medicine, and will return when she's done. This is her way of kind of easing him into bed. Upon her return to his bedside, though, he's grunting and groaning and says, "Mommy, I go poop."

To which Laura replies, "Did you already poop?"

"No, I trying."

"Well, come on, let's go poop on the potty!"

So, she gets him up, takes him to his bathroom, and positions him on the throne. During this, I'm getting the boys' laundry going, and straightening up things from our post-dinner shopping trip. I go in to the bathroom to see what's going on, and see Laura sitting on the floor and Kian just kind of piddling around on the toilet. Laura relays that he's trying to poop, and pleads with Kian to hurry up because she's tired and wants to go to bed. I offer some words of encouragement, but it appears to me that he's more interested in playing around, so my mind begins scheming: how can I get Kian off the toilet, get Laura to bed, and de-fuse this situation?

"He's not pooping, just ripping some farts, right?" I think to myself. "Maybe we can trick him into thinking he's pooped...Trick...Trick...Trick or treat! Halloween! There's leftover Halloween candy around here!"

Quickly, I walk over to the kitchen to find the boys' bags of Halloween candy they were allowed to salvage before the balance was set out for the Halloween Fairy. I look in Kian's bag, and find my saving grace - a mini Almond Joy bar.

I rip open the package, re-shape the candy bar to look like a little 2-year-old's turd, then go back over to the bathroom, where Laura's continuing to admonish Kian to poop so they can both get to bed. I walk in, look at her and smile. I then ask Kian, after another fart, "Can Daddy look in the toilet, buddy?"

"Yeah!"

I scoot him forward on the seat a bit, then sneak the candy bar into the toilet, and exclaim, "Oh, look Kian! You did it! You pooped in the potty!" I take him off the toilet, and he looks in, a bit befuddled...clearly he doesn't think he's pooped, but he's having trouble denying the faux-fecal evidence staring back at him from the bottom of the bowl. He finally accepts it and says, "Oh, Mommy, I pooped."

I look over to Laura, probably with an inappropriately-smug grin on my face, only to see her glaring at me in disbelief. Thinking I've been a great dad and husband, and have arrived at an acceptable solution to everyone's problems, I walk out of the bathroom and say, "Almond Joy."

In this Billy Hoyle-esque moment, I think I'm the righter-of-wrongs. I've provided an answer, and should be exalted for my quick resolution to an obviously-challenging situation. Not so much, because I then hear Laura ask, "Kian, do you still have to poop?" The incompletness of his actions are clearly coming back to him at this point, because he answers, "Yes, mommy, I still poop."

Why did I not take to heart the lesson Gloria tried to teach Billy? I should have sympathized with her. Instead of fashioning a fake turd out of a candy bar, I should have sat on the floor with her, and said, "I, too, have felt the frustration of a child keeping me from bed because he insists on pooping. I will sit here with you and extol this poo from our child's behind as a team mate, a partner, and as a father, dear."

Instead, I formed a hand-made child-sized Cleveland Steamer and try to trick my son into thinking he's accomplished something significant, all in the interest of the quick resolution and exhibiting control over the situation.

Well, anyway, Kian eventually gave up, and I got him to sleep by taking him on a car ride with me as I went to put gas in my tank. Lesson learned. Billy Hoyled.










(K)

Remember...

That is, if you haven't already!

or...if you're in Chicago, go ahead and vote again. And, again. And, maybe a third time, just for good measure. Just be sure to vote the same way each time, or it loses its efficacy.

(K)

Seeing Stars

While Trick or Treating on Friday evening, Kian looked up and said, "I see a star Mommy." He immediately started singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Melissa said that she thought that was adorable. I agreed and said that each time we see a star, we sing the song and watch for more songs to appear. He and Jack are very much into looking for stars and for the moon.

Again tonight he spotted the moon and stars on the way home from day care and started singing again. Once we were home and settled in, we headed out back and looked at the hundreds of stars in the sky. Kyle tells the boys that some of the brightest stars are planets. I think Jack must have seen 25 planets. We didn't see the star where people go to heaven though. Perhaps we'll get to see it tomorrow night.


until next time.....lc

Misc. Sayings

The boys continue to entertain us on a daily basis. Here are a few recent exchanges:


We took the boys with us this past Saturday to early vote. Due to long lines, and Jackson's horrible timing, we ended up leaving Kyle with the intentions of picking him up in a couple of hours. While at home, Jack and I had this conversation:

Me: Hey buddy, can you go put your shoes on so we can go get Daddy?
Jack: I don't want to go voting.
Me: You don't have to, but we still need to pick up your Dad.
Jack: I don't want to go.
Me: C'mon Jack, we need to go get him.
Jack: He should have thought about that before and drove his own car.


Kian and I went to McDonald's to grab breakfast on Sunday morning. As I pull up to the window I hear:

Kian: Trick or Trear. Give me candy.
Me: Kian, we don't say that. What do you say?
Kian: Um, give me chocolate?



until next time...lc

C.L.E.A.M., the Re-Mix

My brother and I went to the Colts game tonight (a WIN, thank you!), and as we were walking back to my car, this dude drops $2 from his pocket or something.

Take 3 guesses as to who swooped in to give those neglected Washingtons a safe, warm, cozy home in his hip pocket.

$47 and counting this year...

(K)

Happy Halloween!!!

We had a great Halloween. It started out on Thursday evening when we decided to "practice" Trick or Treating. Practice you say? Well, we're working on using manners. And do you really need an excuse to put on costumes and burn off energy? Yeah, I didn't think so. We let the boys go from bedroom to bedroom in our house and the front door was our last stop. Once they gave their formal "Happy Halloween...Trick or Treat" they were allowed to pick on treat. After all, the hands on method is the best, right?

Friday evening we had Ryan, Melissa, Ethan and Dylan over for dinner and then a night out in the neighborhood. Being craft, I decided it wouldn't be the best Halloween ever unless we took it to the next level. Here's a snapshot of our menu.

Thanks to Pillsbury for this great idea. Mummy Hot Dogs...need I say more? They were very yummy!!!!!


Kian didn't fool around. He saw Melissa and I putting plates at the table and he helped himself. I love that we can all fit around the table and enojoy our dinner.

Jack & Dylan

Dylan - I think he was making sure I got all of his Halloween shirt in the shot!

Ethan, what a character!

Kian, not allowing anyone to out-do his silliness.

Don't worry mummy, I'll take it easy on you. - Kian making nice with his food before tearing it apart.

Kyle, what a cutie! His costume this year....Colts fan. Hopefully he and Ryan can cheer a win for the game on Sunday.

Ryan and Miss

Courtesy of Jackson: a shot of Mommy & Miss modeling our Jack 'O Lantern Fruit Cups

Once dinner was gobbled up, we dressed the boys and headed out the door. Kylie, our next door neighbor, joined in on the fun. (L to R: Kylie, Jackson, Kian, Dylan & Ethan)

All of the candy was dumped onto a community pile. Each boy was allowed to have a sandwich bag that he could cram full with whatever he chose. All the leftover candy was set outside for the "Pumpkin Fairy" to pick up and take to children who didn't get a chance to Trick or Treat.

The boys with their acquired stashes.

Since it wasn't too late, they boys played until they couldn't play anymore. Evidently Kian was jealous of all the other boys having masks, so he grabbed Ethans and ran around with it. He loved chasing the older boys!

The night was topped off with a good 'ole fashion sleep over.

We cannot wait until next year to do it all over again.

until next time...lc