Birthday Buddies

So we made a quick trip down to Iowa last weekend for a baby shower and got to stay with my college roomate Dale and his son Will.  Funny thing is Will and Chase were born on the same day exactly one year apart.  Laura made a couple of cakes and we got to see the advancement of one year.  Will immediately tore into his cake and started chucking it around, just like you are supposed to. He took about 2 total bites of the cake I think.  Chase on the other hand, stared at his cake, took a few attempts at a bite, and then decided he needed a fork.  He then (in a very proper manner) proceeded to dismantle his cake in small bites that he could eat. 

It took about 2 full days for Chase to warm up to Will.  Meanwhile Will was fascinated by this larger version of himself and followed Chase all over the place causing Chase to cry when someone 15 pounds lighter than him started stealing back his own toys.  Chase got his revenge with a few well timed hip checks that knocked Will over, followed by a face that said "I didn't do anything, this kid ran into me"  By the end of the weekend they were hugging it out and were best buds. 

On a personal note, I decided to show that I can still play bball with college kids and decided to head to the rec center to show them how a 29 year old hoops it up.  My most impressive plays were a tipback where I got 2 inches off of the ground and a block that I had.  I also destroyed my brother one on one.  OK, we each one a game, but I beat him in free throws.  After this, I headed back with a slight limp, but with my head held high.

Here's some more pictures from the weekend

Karate Chop

I just told a really funny joke, this is what most of our nights are like

Will wondering "what the hell is this guy doing"

Will's angry model face

Opening Day

One of the best days of every year, the home opener.  Especially now that it is actually outside and not under some teflon with seats that point towards center field.  We started a new traditioin today with just Chase and I going to the game.  It's not that we wanted to exclude Laura, we just thought it would be more fun without her.  I kid, I kid.  Our season tickets only allowed for two tickets to the opener, so me and the kid went.  Here's how it went.

First of all I had to wake him from a nap at daycare to get us on the road. (one sidenote, i forgot to leave his diapers there in the morning so I got a call at 9:30 asking where the diapers were.  They are probably thinking stupid dad, which is what Laura also told me when I relayed the story to her later.  She said she had told me not to forget this the night before, which I'm sure she did.  Must have slipped my mind) I walked in and he's clutching his sippy cup while in sleep, probably dreaming about cookies to go with the milk he's drinking.  It took me about a minute to wake him up, and when he finally realizes I'm there, he immediately hops up and starts running for the door, saying "get me the heck out of here".  We had to change into his twins jersey, Morneau not Mauer, and his twins stocking cap. 

Then we had to walk about a mile to get to the game.  Do you know how long it takes a toddler to walk a mile with his short stubby legs.  About 40 minutes.  Especially when they just wake up from a nap and they are not really sure where they are.  The slowest walk of my life, but thankfully I had planned for that.  God knows I can't carry him that far, he weighs like 35 pounds now, and with the 20 pound backpack of his stuff, that wouldn't work. 

Chase's favorite part of the game.  Probably the national anthem.  Not only did he get to see a big flag, but there were fireworks and some F-16's (I think) that flew over.  He thought that was pretty cool. Oh, we also saw a train while walking to the game.  He wanted to sprint across the highway to see that.  By the way train has two syllables when you are 2.  Chase was still pretty zoned for about the first couple of innings.  Then he remembered I had food.  We proceeded to eat for the next 7 innings, and when we got to the car he told Laura he was still hungry.  Really, he had 3 oranges, two muffins, 2 bags of fruit snacks, 2 boxes of raisins, and I'm sure I'm missing something. 

Also, with being by myself I had to change his diaper.  Normally Laura loves this job and takes care of it.  The diaper change went fine, it was afterwards when he started sprinting out of the bathroom before I was ready that was the problem.  I was the guy who then grabbed Chase by the arm and made him fall to the ground while I dragged him back towards our bag.  I'm sure it looked like good parenting. 

Chase continued to eat, started clapping with the crowd, and the Twins made a comeback in the 8th after having 2 hits the rest of the game to win 2-1.  Chase didn't see the end of the game since everyone was standing as Nathan got the save, but he didn't seem to care much.  He was still able to spot airplanes and birds, so the world was good. 

So the start of the new tradition went pretty well, hopefully next year he will actually care about the baseball itself, but we take it one step at a time.  He did tell the people behind us that someone was going to pitch it and then someone would hit it.  So we are getting somewhere.  All in all, a good day, with no catastrophies without mom. Probably a miracle in itself.