Well this weekend it was Laura's turn to get a break, this may be the first break on her own since Miles was born other than a vacation with me. So what does Laura do when she gets time to herself? She makes curtains. Almost as exciting as video games. She said some of the other highlights were making breakfast and getting to just sit and eat it along with getting to go out and eat some sushi. Anyways, hopefully she is enjoying it because I am once more reminded why I would never be a stay at home today. Let's run through some highlights.
Sleep or lack there of. I'm pretty sure they have secret councils where they decide who will get up at three AM. First night Miles, second night Chase. Then both up at 5 AM screaming Dad at the top of his lungs. This results in some bad parenting when you only have 4 or 5 hours of sleep. It may start with watching a movie at 4 AM and then letting them watch the same movie again at 11 so you can have a little break while Miles naps.
Miles is understanding more and more each day. Last night at around 7:30 I told him if he played by himself he wouldn't have to go to bed. That stinker spent the next hour playing quietly by himself, stacking blocks, playing with toys, just walking around. Normally this kid doesn't give you 15 minutes to yourself, but he knew what was going on. I would ask him if he wanted to go to bed and he would emphatically say "NO"
You can also tell both kids miss their mom and being at home. Miles keeps pointing to the door and saying he wants to go bye-bye. It's not that they don't have a great time here, but you can tell they like their normal routine. Their mom is probably more fun than me as well.
I have no idea how Laura does the contact by herself. I tried for around 15 minutes this morning by myself and had no luck. You need a third hand to make it work, so basically I was just torturing him. Grandma had a good iron grip though of the head and got the eye open just long enough.
Chase also got his first real sledding experience on the old St. Joe hill. Not a bad gig for the kid, he gets to ride down and then someone pulls him back up. Thankfully grandpa was there so we could trade off on the rides.
One day to go and then back to work for me and Laura comes back on down. I'm sure that will be a fun goodbye tomorrow. ISU game tonight to see if they can knock off Kansas.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Stupid Wii
You know those stories you heard about stupid people who threw their Wii remotes through their TV. Welcome our family to this fun little group. I got home today and turned on my TV upstairs. It wasn't working. This is normal with this TV as it usually has to restart itself for about a minute before you can use it. This is what they call a "smart tv" I guess. Well then I notice a little crack in the corner of the TV and I was pretty sure I knew what happened.
I called Laura over and she confirmed that Chase had got a little excited and threw the wii remote into the TV while he was bowling. This is why you should use the wrist strap. How he got it to go that far and right into the TV is a little ridiculous. So now I'm in the market for a TV again, fantastic.
Miles has decided he is done with hi-chair (debating how to spell this). Laura asked if he wanted to sit it in and he said "no", then he walked over to the chair and pointed to it and said "sit". So time to take the hi-chair to Val and Scott, we won't be needing that again.
We also found out that Miles needs some help walking. He is flat footed and rolling his ankles a little bit. So he gets to have braces for the next year and a half along with his contact. This kid is going to owe us. He is getting some cool comic book braces though so he's got that going for him. At the end of the day if these are the main issues he has during childhood, we will deal with it.
So basically my kids cost us about $1000 dollars today between the TV and the leg braces. I'm keeping all of this in a ledger for them to pay us back later.
Laura was in charge of Valentine's day this year and I was pretty sure she had decided we didn't have time to do anything. She surprised me Friday night by telling me we were going to go to the Children's museum, but when I met her after work there were no kids. I thought it would be awkward if we still went to the children's museum so we decided to go out to eat and go to the "Book of Mormon" instead. Very good musical, although slightly innapropriate.
I called Laura over and she confirmed that Chase had got a little excited and threw the wii remote into the TV while he was bowling. This is why you should use the wrist strap. How he got it to go that far and right into the TV is a little ridiculous. So now I'm in the market for a TV again, fantastic.
Miles has decided he is done with hi-chair (debating how to spell this). Laura asked if he wanted to sit it in and he said "no", then he walked over to the chair and pointed to it and said "sit". So time to take the hi-chair to Val and Scott, we won't be needing that again.
We also found out that Miles needs some help walking. He is flat footed and rolling his ankles a little bit. So he gets to have braces for the next year and a half along with his contact. This kid is going to owe us. He is getting some cool comic book braces though so he's got that going for him. At the end of the day if these are the main issues he has during childhood, we will deal with it.
So basically my kids cost us about $1000 dollars today between the TV and the leg braces. I'm keeping all of this in a ledger for them to pay us back later.
Laura was in charge of Valentine's day this year and I was pretty sure she had decided we didn't have time to do anything. She surprised me Friday night by telling me we were going to go to the Children's museum, but when I met her after work there were no kids. I thought it would be awkward if we still went to the children's museum so we decided to go out to eat and go to the "Book of Mormon" instead. Very good musical, although slightly innapropriate.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
My Bottom is Sick
Chase was having some issues this past Thursday and after taking a bathroom break he yelled out to Laura. "My butt is sick, My butt is sick!" Laura went in to check what was going on and he told her "My butt threw up, I need to eat healthy foods to make it better" Supposedly this went on all day. I used it to my advantage when I got home and he wanted to eat my ice cream. I told him it would make his stomach feel sick again. That's the key, use their own logic against them.
Laura tried to get Chase to call me to and tell me but I wasn't around at work. So then she tried to get him to leave me a message. Let's just say that Chase doesn't quite understand how that works. He just kept yelling my name into the phone and I would hear Laura saying "He's not there, you have to just leave him a message". Eventually she just had to hang up the phone.
Miles has learned how to say yes and no, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Instead of the pointing and yelling I now get a very emphatic head shake either up and down or side to side. On the down side I hear a lot of "No's" as I try to figure out what he exactly wants. It is a very high pitched "no" at this point as well.
Next weekend is Laura's free weekend as long as a blizzard doesn't hit Iowa. We are heading down to watch some ISU basketball and hang out with the family.
Laura tried to get Chase to call me to and tell me but I wasn't around at work. So then she tried to get him to leave me a message. Let's just say that Chase doesn't quite understand how that works. He just kept yelling my name into the phone and I would hear Laura saying "He's not there, you have to just leave him a message". Eventually she just had to hang up the phone.
Miles has learned how to say yes and no, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Instead of the pointing and yelling I now get a very emphatic head shake either up and down or side to side. On the down side I hear a lot of "No's" as I try to figure out what he exactly wants. It is a very high pitched "no" at this point as well.
Next weekend is Laura's free weekend as long as a blizzard doesn't hit Iowa. We are heading down to watch some ISU basketball and hang out with the family.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Bachelor Weekend
What does a weekend without kids look like? Basically it looks like me in a chair for over 10 hours a day watching TV and playing video games. It includes things like Chipotle dinner, taco doritos, cans of pop, and ice cream. If you are currently a parent and don't give yourself a break every once in a while, you should. Laura and I have decided to take the kids to Iowa on our own every once in a while. It's a win-win, grandparents get to see the kids, the parent gets a much needed break. Not to say you don't miss your kids during the timeframe, because here's all the fun things you miss.
Chase basically asks me every time he sees me if I'm staying home for the day. If I say yes, I get a loud "yes" from Chase with a fist pump included. Laura's even taught him how to do a double fist pump. Miles meanwhile laughs hysterically every time he sees me, except on facetime tonight. There he gave me the cold shoulder for awhile. I should really record these so I can play them back the first time they miss curfew and are not excited to see me sitting on the couch waiting.
Miles has progressed to full blown walking or waddling everywhere. He's pretty impressed with himself as he motors around. The only issue is he can get to you a lot faster now, so escaping him does not come with much success at this point. We are also at the point and yell stage of communication. I'm ready for more words and less anger.
Miles also loves sports at this moment. Any ballgame causes a wild reaction with a lot of pointing and yelling of ball. He can even just hear a ball bouncing and get excited. Hopefully this continues.
Steph bought Chase a Kids dance game for the Xbox and that kid has got some moves! His favorite right now is the song Despicable me, so I'm sure he's walking into school right now singing "I'm having a bad, bad day, something something something get out of my way. Whoever picks the dance moves for those songs is terrible, I think I could do better. We will have to put it on youtube later.
Well back to StarCraft for me. One more day of silence. :)
Chase basically asks me every time he sees me if I'm staying home for the day. If I say yes, I get a loud "yes" from Chase with a fist pump included. Laura's even taught him how to do a double fist pump. Miles meanwhile laughs hysterically every time he sees me, except on facetime tonight. There he gave me the cold shoulder for awhile. I should really record these so I can play them back the first time they miss curfew and are not excited to see me sitting on the couch waiting.
Miles has progressed to full blown walking or waddling everywhere. He's pretty impressed with himself as he motors around. The only issue is he can get to you a lot faster now, so escaping him does not come with much success at this point. We are also at the point and yell stage of communication. I'm ready for more words and less anger.
Miles also loves sports at this moment. Any ballgame causes a wild reaction with a lot of pointing and yelling of ball. He can even just hear a ball bouncing and get excited. Hopefully this continues.
Steph bought Chase a Kids dance game for the Xbox and that kid has got some moves! His favorite right now is the song Despicable me, so I'm sure he's walking into school right now singing "I'm having a bad, bad day, something something something get out of my way. Whoever picks the dance moves for those songs is terrible, I think I could do better. We will have to put it on youtube later.
Well back to StarCraft for me. One more day of silence. :)
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Everyone out of the water!!!
The most feared words of people swimming with sharks? No, the most feared words of parents with toddlers in the community swimming pool. Chase and I were swimming in the pool on Saturday when they asked us to get out, I figured they wanted us to take a break or something, which was a little odd. Then about 5 lifeguards sprinted to the far end of the pool with nets and gloves and concerned looks on their faces. Yes, it takes 5 lifeguards to find some floaters.
Immediately all of the parents start checking swimsuits and diapers to make sure it wasn't their kid. We all take it as an opportunity to remind our kids again that we do not poop in the pool, number one is OK, sometimes, but never number 2. The kids enjoyed saying the word poop.
I never did get to see the kid who caused it. They should have made the parents do the walk of shame and explain to all of the other kids why we couldn't go swimming for the next hour as they cleaned it out. Thank god it wasn't Chase and that their was an indoor playground upstairs
On another milestone note almost as important as witnessing our first exit from the pool, Mr. Miles decided he should try to start walking. He now will waddle about 5 or 6 steps from one person to the other. Although the sense of balance isn't quite there as evidenced by some faceplants. So basically the kid could walk if he would just quit relying on things to hold onto.
Chase has also started to get into board games. We decided to skip the games like Chutes and Ladders and jump right into risk and settlers of Cataan. He's advanced for his age. While we were playing risk Laura and I thought it would be a good time to teach him some geography. We showed him that we live in the Western United States, and Mom came from somewhere south of Japan. Then I asked him who the President of the United States was. Chase's response.... Santa.
Immediately all of the parents start checking swimsuits and diapers to make sure it wasn't their kid. We all take it as an opportunity to remind our kids again that we do not poop in the pool, number one is OK, sometimes, but never number 2. The kids enjoyed saying the word poop.
I never did get to see the kid who caused it. They should have made the parents do the walk of shame and explain to all of the other kids why we couldn't go swimming for the next hour as they cleaned it out. Thank god it wasn't Chase and that their was an indoor playground upstairs
On another milestone note almost as important as witnessing our first exit from the pool, Mr. Miles decided he should try to start walking. He now will waddle about 5 or 6 steps from one person to the other. Although the sense of balance isn't quite there as evidenced by some faceplants. So basically the kid could walk if he would just quit relying on things to hold onto.
Chase has also started to get into board games. We decided to skip the games like Chutes and Ladders and jump right into risk and settlers of Cataan. He's advanced for his age. While we were playing risk Laura and I thought it would be a good time to teach him some geography. We showed him that we live in the Western United States, and Mom came from somewhere south of Japan. Then I asked him who the President of the United States was. Chase's response.... Santa.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Christmas 2012
Laura and I decided to pat ourselves on the back for how well we informed Santa this year. I think we are batting 100% on presents that Chase and Miles actually enjoy, or at least 90%. This after the unfortunate incident last year with the red kitchen that Laura was very excited about, but Chase wasn't ready to be a top chef quite yet. There's still hope down the line that it will get used.
We now have 6 different sets of trains and train tracks, and no that is not an exaggeration. We have trains in the bathroom now so that there is always one in sight. What was Chase's favorite gift you ask? Probably Miles' train set, which consisted of a simple round track and trains that make no noise. I have no idea why he latches on to gifts that are his brothers.
Another shining star was one of my favorite movies from childhood, "The brave little toaster". Laura and Stephani were skeptical, but Chase loved it. Who doesn't love talking appliances that travel cross country to find their master. What we realized today is that Toy Story 3 completely just ripped off the brave little toaster. Owner leaves them behind, they try to get back to him, they end up in a dump, and in the end he finds them again.
The boys seem to be sharing presents, at least when they are not around each other. Miles tried rolling an orange down the car race track or anything else that will move. So even though Miles only got a couple of presents this year, I think he will have enough to play with.
I'll leave it short and simple today and leave you with a link to updated pictures and videos if you want more details. More videos still coming.
Coming down the stairs video
Christmas Morning Part 1
Presents part 2
Presents part 3
Train Table
2012 Pictures
2012 pictures v2
We now have 6 different sets of trains and train tracks, and no that is not an exaggeration. We have trains in the bathroom now so that there is always one in sight. What was Chase's favorite gift you ask? Probably Miles' train set, which consisted of a simple round track and trains that make no noise. I have no idea why he latches on to gifts that are his brothers.
Another shining star was one of my favorite movies from childhood, "The brave little toaster". Laura and Stephani were skeptical, but Chase loved it. Who doesn't love talking appliances that travel cross country to find their master. What we realized today is that Toy Story 3 completely just ripped off the brave little toaster. Owner leaves them behind, they try to get back to him, they end up in a dump, and in the end he finds them again.
The boys seem to be sharing presents, at least when they are not around each other. Miles tried rolling an orange down the car race track or anything else that will move. So even though Miles only got a couple of presents this year, I think he will have enough to play with.
I'll leave it short and simple today and leave you with a link to updated pictures and videos if you want more details. More videos still coming.
Coming down the stairs video
Christmas Morning Part 1
Presents part 2
Presents part 3
Train Table
2012 Pictures
2012 pictures v2
Monday, December 24, 2012
Twas the Night Before Christmas 2012
Twas the Night Before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring... Wait a minute, this is my family, of course people are stirring, it's 5:30 in the morning right? We hear the myth that there are kids out there that sleep from 7 to 7, must be nice. We have Chase who's bladder is too small so 5:30 is his wake up call which then leads him to our room to see what is going on. He then pronounces quite loudly that it is time to get dressed, which in turn wakes up Miles who is the lightest sleeper I have ever seen. Seriously, a pin drops into carpet and the kid immediately pops up to make sure he is not missing anything. Needless to say, this post comes on little sleep.
Slight Interlude:
You know what else is pretty lame about this blog. I just noticed that 4 posts ago, I used the same exact title. I'm really creative. I am now changing this title to add 2012 to the end. Just to make it slightly unique. You may continue.
One and a half Christmas' in the book and the boys have made out pretty well. We will have 4 different types of train sets set up around the house after this Christmas. We can now put one in every room to ensure their is always a train nearby. Recently we discovered Chase's new favorite place in the world in Choo Choo Bob's. Choo Choo Bob's is a train store that very cleverly put 6 kid train tables in the back of the store to get people to come in. Even though we have train sets at home, Chase would go here every day to play with train sets that 500 snotty, germ filled kids have touched.
Santa was a fail again this year, although we thought we were so close. Chase was excited, ready to tell him that he wanted two things, a train table and sunglasses. So we are in line, still excited, we are next to go in, still excited, we turn the corner, still excited, we see Santa.... and immediately bee line out of the room trying to escape. This kid does not like Santa, which he will tell you if you ask him. Except he still wants him to bring presents of course. We wrote a letter instead.
We had the first of what I assume are thousands of kids events over the next 18 years, Chase's preschool concert. Chase was in the front row "singing" at the top of his lungs. The best line was when he sang "one small voice" as the loudest kid in the building. Doesn't quite understand the words he was singing. We showed this video over Christmas and all the comments are, wow he can stand still and listen to people, he can be quiet. Yup, as long as he is not around his parents he seems to behave quite admirably. I guess that means we are doing something right, just not when he is around us.
Miles is taking after his Great Grandpa Nichols and has decided to point at what he wants instead of learning his words like any normal 15 month old should. This usually involves me carrying him around for 30 minutes as he points at the door to look outside, the wall of pictures so he can show me who everyone is, the fridge to get milk, the pantry for his cheerios. I'm his personal butler who gets the privelige of lugging a 25 pound kid wherever he wants to go. The crawling and walking with help has also begun, which has led to some good arguments already. Chase likes the hip check method of dealing with his brother to shove him out of the way.
Back home today to prep for Christmas, pretty sure we haven't wrapped any gifts yet, so we will be up until midnight doing that, and then up at 5:30 to open them I'm sure.
Slight Interlude:
You know what else is pretty lame about this blog. I just noticed that 4 posts ago, I used the same exact title. I'm really creative. I am now changing this title to add 2012 to the end. Just to make it slightly unique. You may continue.
One and a half Christmas' in the book and the boys have made out pretty well. We will have 4 different types of train sets set up around the house after this Christmas. We can now put one in every room to ensure their is always a train nearby. Recently we discovered Chase's new favorite place in the world in Choo Choo Bob's. Choo Choo Bob's is a train store that very cleverly put 6 kid train tables in the back of the store to get people to come in. Even though we have train sets at home, Chase would go here every day to play with train sets that 500 snotty, germ filled kids have touched.
Santa was a fail again this year, although we thought we were so close. Chase was excited, ready to tell him that he wanted two things, a train table and sunglasses. So we are in line, still excited, we are next to go in, still excited, we turn the corner, still excited, we see Santa.... and immediately bee line out of the room trying to escape. This kid does not like Santa, which he will tell you if you ask him. Except he still wants him to bring presents of course. We wrote a letter instead.
We had the first of what I assume are thousands of kids events over the next 18 years, Chase's preschool concert. Chase was in the front row "singing" at the top of his lungs. The best line was when he sang "one small voice" as the loudest kid in the building. Doesn't quite understand the words he was singing. We showed this video over Christmas and all the comments are, wow he can stand still and listen to people, he can be quiet. Yup, as long as he is not around his parents he seems to behave quite admirably. I guess that means we are doing something right, just not when he is around us.
Miles is taking after his Great Grandpa Nichols and has decided to point at what he wants instead of learning his words like any normal 15 month old should. This usually involves me carrying him around for 30 minutes as he points at the door to look outside, the wall of pictures so he can show me who everyone is, the fridge to get milk, the pantry for his cheerios. I'm his personal butler who gets the privelige of lugging a 25 pound kid wherever he wants to go. The crawling and walking with help has also begun, which has led to some good arguments already. Chase likes the hip check method of dealing with his brother to shove him out of the way.
Back home today to prep for Christmas, pretty sure we haven't wrapped any gifts yet, so we will be up until midnight doing that, and then up at 5:30 to open them I'm sure.
Monday, August 13, 2012
4 month gap, it's getting worse
Well, another 4 months just flew by without any comments from me. We've now got a 10 month old who gets very angry if his every need is not being met whether it is more food, dirty diaper, or someone just not looking at him when he wants. I thought he was going to be the mellow one, just like me, unfortunately he is becoming just as energized as his brother.
Speaking of Chase, my favorite story over the past four months is about my friend Greg. Greg is a fly, and the great thing is he can be any fly. One day I just pointed at a random fly and told Chase, "Hey look, it's my friend Greg". So now whenever we see a fly, whether it is in our house or in Iowa, Chase will yell "Look, it's Daddy's friend Greg!" Never gets old. I haven't killed Greg in front of Chase yet, but the day is coming.
Laura tried a week of vacation bible school with Chase this summer. I'll stress the word "tried". We had a success rate of 40%. The other three days I would just get a call at work saying that he didn't make it. It usually involved Chase sprinting back out of the Church saying he didn't want to stay. He has a tough time making decisions and will spend hours going back and forth. Laura didn't feel comfortable just sprinting out of there and leaving him with some high school kids who didn't really seem to be paying attention.
I'm waiting for the day Miles can start moving, and it's coming soon. I'm anticipating him getting back at his brother over these first 10 months. Crawling around, destroying train tracks, knocking over blocks, and just being annoying. It will be good for Chase. Miles is starting to get the basics down. He says "Mama, Da, Banana, Hi, Bye, and shrieks". He's also learned to wave, clap, and blow kisses.
We continue to traumatize our kids by leaving them behind for weeks at a time while we go on vacation. I think we may be creating a complex in Chase as he is very concerned about us leaving him places. I figure it will make him a tougher 4 year old.
Finally, whenever I ask Chase what he did that day, he basically recites the same thing. Basically it is his dream day and it goes like this. "Uhhh... I went to the gym and played trains with the other kids, and then mommy picked me up and we went to Wendy's and I had chicken nuggets, apple slices, and a frosty. Then I went to the baseball game with Grandma and Grandpa and I had popcorn and ice cream and I played with Grandma's Iphone" That's basically it, as you can see a lot of it revolves around food.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
It's amazing what gets you excited
I'm back, only a 3 month hiatus. Just like how the second kid doesn't get photographed, you quickly get to busy to do little things like this as well.
It's potty training time... Fantastic. Let me replay a conversation that happened while I was at work.
Laura: Can you Facetime
Matt: No, that doesn't work while I'm at work
Laura: Oh, Chase has something to tell you
Chase: I pooped!
Laura: Where did you poop?
Chase: In the potty!
Matt: Nice job, buddy. That's fantastic.
Laura: I was going to send you a picture of it, but then I realized that may be a little gross.
You think? Like I want a picture of a turd in my text messages. Something I could show everyone at work. At the same time, I probably would have thought it was pretty cool. Also just awkward having these conversations at work where people can overhear you.
We are making progress though, so that's good since he's almost three. Chase and I went to the Twins opener. Nothing like baseball in 30 degree weather. Nice that Chase is getting more into it, he basically watched the first 5 innings, refused to go indoors because "I want to watch the game", and at one point handed me the Ipad and said "Dad, hold this, I need to watch the game." Now I just need to teach him to hit a baseball.
Miles is still progressing nicely with the contact. So no issues there. We had him sleeping through the night, but just recently he's back to waking up every 2 hours. The worst is when he screams so loud that he wakes me up. :) We also have the kids who think 8 hours is enough for a kid. Those parents who say that their kids sleep from 7 to 7 drive me nuts.
Here's some pictures of the boys.
It's potty training time... Fantastic. Let me replay a conversation that happened while I was at work.
Laura: Can you Facetime
Matt: No, that doesn't work while I'm at work
Laura: Oh, Chase has something to tell you
Chase: I pooped!
Laura: Where did you poop?
Chase: In the potty!
Matt: Nice job, buddy. That's fantastic.
Laura: I was going to send you a picture of it, but then I realized that may be a little gross.
You think? Like I want a picture of a turd in my text messages. Something I could show everyone at work. At the same time, I probably would have thought it was pretty cool. Also just awkward having these conversations at work where people can overhear you.
We are making progress though, so that's good since he's almost three. Chase and I went to the Twins opener. Nothing like baseball in 30 degree weather. Nice that Chase is getting more into it, he basically watched the first 5 innings, refused to go indoors because "I want to watch the game", and at one point handed me the Ipad and said "Dad, hold this, I need to watch the game." Now I just need to teach him to hit a baseball.
Miles is still progressing nicely with the contact. So no issues there. We had him sleeping through the night, but just recently he's back to waking up every 2 hours. The worst is when he screams so loud that he wakes me up. :) We also have the kids who think 8 hours is enough for a kid. Those parents who say that their kids sleep from 7 to 7 drive me nuts.
Here's some pictures of the boys.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Christmas 2012 or better known as best Chase tantrums yet
So Christmas came and went about three weeks ago. As you can tell I'm a little behind the ball on getting something written down. I also do not have the pictures downloaded yet, so maybe I will get around to that later.
Christmas day was good at our house. It started with Chase coming down the stairs and asking if he could go downstairs to watch a movie. We tried to point him to the presents, but he wasn't too interested until we forced him over there. Then it was time for the big present which Laura wanted him to open first. His brand new kitchen. Laura waited with anticipation as he slowly began to unwrap the gift. He poked his way through, saw what it is, and walked away saying "I need to find my train present." Needless to say Laura was a little dissapointed.
After that before every single present Chase said "This is my new train set." Funny thing was we didn't get him a train present. We figured that 50 trains was enough, I guess not. Oh and what about Miles. Well we figured he wouldn't know any better so he got one present. He can use this against us later, but he didn't seem to mind this year.
After that we had back to back weekends in Iowa. This made 4 straight weekends in that great state. What we found is that sugar, plus lack of consistent naps, can lead to some great tantrums. The best was at Laura's parents and involved some cold lasagna. After an hour of ignoring it and telling me he didn't want it, I informed him it was time for bed. He then decided the lasagna looked pretty good and tried a bite. After realizing that didn't taste good, he decided it was done, but didn't like the whole bed idea very much. So I grabbed him, kicking and screaming, and carried him past the rest of the family. He screamed for a good 20 months with some great phrases like "Not you, Dad", "Leave, Dad", "I want Mom" all while sobbing. We decided it was probably time to get on a normal schedule.
This was pretty much a nightly occurance while we were at both inlaws, so we looked like great parents. Either that or we scared my sister into never having kids. While Laura's siblings were thankful that those days were mostly behind them.
All in all a good but stressful Christmas
Christmas day was good at our house. It started with Chase coming down the stairs and asking if he could go downstairs to watch a movie. We tried to point him to the presents, but he wasn't too interested until we forced him over there. Then it was time for the big present which Laura wanted him to open first. His brand new kitchen. Laura waited with anticipation as he slowly began to unwrap the gift. He poked his way through, saw what it is, and walked away saying "I need to find my train present." Needless to say Laura was a little dissapointed.
After that before every single present Chase said "This is my new train set." Funny thing was we didn't get him a train present. We figured that 50 trains was enough, I guess not. Oh and what about Miles. Well we figured he wouldn't know any better so he got one present. He can use this against us later, but he didn't seem to mind this year.
After that we had back to back weekends in Iowa. This made 4 straight weekends in that great state. What we found is that sugar, plus lack of consistent naps, can lead to some great tantrums. The best was at Laura's parents and involved some cold lasagna. After an hour of ignoring it and telling me he didn't want it, I informed him it was time for bed. He then decided the lasagna looked pretty good and tried a bite. After realizing that didn't taste good, he decided it was done, but didn't like the whole bed idea very much. So I grabbed him, kicking and screaming, and carried him past the rest of the family. He screamed for a good 20 months with some great phrases like "Not you, Dad", "Leave, Dad", "I want Mom" all while sobbing. We decided it was probably time to get on a normal schedule.
This was pretty much a nightly occurance while we were at both inlaws, so we looked like great parents. Either that or we scared my sister into never having kids. While Laura's siblings were thankful that those days were mostly behind them.
All in all a good but stressful Christmas
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Twas the night before Christmas
Or at least our Christmas. We figured we could get away with this one last year. Chase still doesn't really get Christmas and since we have two other family Christmas events we're celebrating a couple days early. You may remember last year and our attempt to visit Santa. Well we tried again. Here were the results.
So yeah, we still don't like Santa. We thought we were ready this time. We asked, "are you ready to sit on Santa's lap?" Chase replied, "yes". "Are you going to tell him what you want?" Chase replied "trains". OK, we were ready to go. We went through the curtain, Chase peered around the corner, saw Santa and started wailing. We had to force him into the room because they had to shut the door. Meanwhile I just handed Miles to Santa and basically figured he could handle him. We'll try to traumatize them again next year.
On top of that, Miles' contact fell out right as we were walking in. Yes, you heard that right we have a 3 month old with a contact. This was the first time it fell out all week. So two wailing kids, a contact that falls on the floor, and Santa wondering "what is wrong with these people". Kudos to Laura, she popped that thing right back in after we got out of there.
So for those of you that don't know, Miles was born with a cataract in his left eye. Odds of this are about 3 in 10,000. So that was neat. Miles had to have surgery to remove the lens, and then he will wear a contact for the next 8 years at least. Basically he has to learn how to use the left eye, so he will be patched for half of his waking hours over the same time frame. We call him "Patch" now.
So yeah, we still don't like Santa. We thought we were ready this time. We asked, "are you ready to sit on Santa's lap?" Chase replied, "yes". "Are you going to tell him what you want?" Chase replied "trains". OK, we were ready to go. We went through the curtain, Chase peered around the corner, saw Santa and started wailing. We had to force him into the room because they had to shut the door. Meanwhile I just handed Miles to Santa and basically figured he could handle him. We'll try to traumatize them again next year.
On top of that, Miles' contact fell out right as we were walking in. Yes, you heard that right we have a 3 month old with a contact. This was the first time it fell out all week. So two wailing kids, a contact that falls on the floor, and Santa wondering "what is wrong with these people". Kudos to Laura, she popped that thing right back in after we got out of there.
So for those of you that don't know, Miles was born with a cataract in his left eye. Odds of this are about 3 in 10,000. So that was neat. Miles had to have surgery to remove the lens, and then he will wear a contact for the next 8 years at least. Basically he has to learn how to use the left eye, so he will be patched for half of his waking hours over the same time frame. We call him "Patch" now.
Everything went great and so far the contact has went well. The hospital gave us great perspective. A lot of kids who were really sick. If you are going to have a rare condition, we were glad this was all it was.
Miles also got a chance to meet his great Grandpa a few weeks ago. Unfortunately Grandpa Nichols has found out he has acute Leukemia and has hospice taking care of him now. We try to get down and see him as much as we can and am glad that his family is getting a chance to talk with him. So we are keeping him in our thoughts and remembering what is really important during the holidays. Chase has come with me a couple of times, we are working our way into entering the room, he seems to not like hospitals. He brings a smile to a lot of people in the nursing home as he sprints up and down the hallways.
Well, it's time for Santa to go to bed and get ready for tomorrow. Here's hoping for a 7 o' clock wake up call. We need to go eat the cookie, milk, and the cheese. I guess Santa needs some extra calcium at our house. Hopefully Chase enjoys the presents, if he doesn't like his play kitchen his mom is going to pretty upset.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Daylight Savings Time is one cruel joke
You know how normal people love the fall and the time switch because you pick up an extra hour of sleep. Well with our two year old, daylight savings does not exist. He used to get up at 6 AM, now he gets up at 5 AM. Basically I have to go to bed at 9:00 just to keep up. It's not like Chase is groggy at 5 AM either, he's ready to go. He will tell me, "I'll be right back", which basically means he's going to try and jump into bed with Mom. So he's learned to lie to do what he wants, fantastic.
We've tried one of those fancy clocks that lights up a different color when he can leave the room, he doesn't care. So bascially we have a kid who already only needs 8 hours of sleep at night, which means we are only getting about 6. We also have this great sliding door now for Chase's room that Laura thought of and my Dad constructed. Couple of problems: Chase can get out, and it is extremely loud when he slides that door open. So at 5 AM, my alarm clock is that stupid sliding door.
This past weekend, Laura and Miles headed down to Kansas to welcome Corey back from Iraq. So that meant Chase and I headed to Ames for a double header weekend. A little football and basketball. On the way to the football game Saturday, Chase took a little nap. Little did I know that waking him from that nap was going to lead to the biggest meltdown I had ever seen.
It started with me trying to put a stocking cap on him. This set him off and the crying began. So I dragged him out of the car and put him on the sidewalk wailing. He immediately ripped his hat and jacket off. Realize that it is 45 degrees out with a 30 MPH wind. Then as a parent you start dipping into your bag of tricks to make something work.
- Start with asking nicely. "Don't you want to go to the football game, see grandma and grandpa" Chase's response was a lot of screaming
- Move on to force. Just pick him up and start walking. It's amazing how kids can contort their bodies to try to wiggle out of your hands. It involves arching the back, going limp, kicking you where it counts, all while screaming as loud as possible.
- Try to make him laugh. This involved me trying to run my head into a mailbox. Because my pain gives my son joy. Didn't work.
- Just ignore and try to wait it out. We did this on the corner of the street as people walked by. Just to give a little context this sidewalk was right next to a busy highway. Chase's response was to try and shove me in front of traffic. I tried to explain that this would hurt and possibly kill his dad. This made him push me harder.
- Take him away from everyone and leave him alone: So we went back to the car, I put him in the back seat, turned on the heat, and then just let him calm down. After about 10 minutes he decided maybe we should go to the game. The joys of a 2 year old.
Finally, it was a little bit of a scramble putting together the Halloween costumes this year. We tried this one on Chase.
He wasn't buying it. He wouldn't even try it on. (Quick sidenote - doesn't Laura remind you of Justin Timberlake in the SNL skits. If you haven't seen them, look it up on youtube.) So we decided to go simple. Since he was a baseball player last year, and we still had the pants and a football jersey. We went with this costume.
One problem, we used the same pants from last year. Chase has grown slightly from last year, so we told him he couldn't bend over.
Oh, and what was Miles you are asking.
He was a banana. And not just any banana, he was a dog costume banana. He didn't seem to mind. Trick or treating went much better than last year, which is probably described like 4 posts ago since I have been so lazy with this. Chase went to about 15 houses, said trick or treat and thank you. Mostly he just wanted to run up the middle of the street though. So we were out about an hour headed home and then Laura and I have been eating his candy.
Until next time...
We've tried one of those fancy clocks that lights up a different color when he can leave the room, he doesn't care. So bascially we have a kid who already only needs 8 hours of sleep at night, which means we are only getting about 6. We also have this great sliding door now for Chase's room that Laura thought of and my Dad constructed. Couple of problems: Chase can get out, and it is extremely loud when he slides that door open. So at 5 AM, my alarm clock is that stupid sliding door.
This past weekend, Laura and Miles headed down to Kansas to welcome Corey back from Iraq. So that meant Chase and I headed to Ames for a double header weekend. A little football and basketball. On the way to the football game Saturday, Chase took a little nap. Little did I know that waking him from that nap was going to lead to the biggest meltdown I had ever seen.
It started with me trying to put a stocking cap on him. This set him off and the crying began. So I dragged him out of the car and put him on the sidewalk wailing. He immediately ripped his hat and jacket off. Realize that it is 45 degrees out with a 30 MPH wind. Then as a parent you start dipping into your bag of tricks to make something work.
- Start with asking nicely. "Don't you want to go to the football game, see grandma and grandpa" Chase's response was a lot of screaming
- Move on to force. Just pick him up and start walking. It's amazing how kids can contort their bodies to try to wiggle out of your hands. It involves arching the back, going limp, kicking you where it counts, all while screaming as loud as possible.
- Try to make him laugh. This involved me trying to run my head into a mailbox. Because my pain gives my son joy. Didn't work.
- Just ignore and try to wait it out. We did this on the corner of the street as people walked by. Just to give a little context this sidewalk was right next to a busy highway. Chase's response was to try and shove me in front of traffic. I tried to explain that this would hurt and possibly kill his dad. This made him push me harder.
- Take him away from everyone and leave him alone: So we went back to the car, I put him in the back seat, turned on the heat, and then just let him calm down. After about 10 minutes he decided maybe we should go to the game. The joys of a 2 year old.
Finally, it was a little bit of a scramble putting together the Halloween costumes this year. We tried this one on Chase.
He wasn't buying it. He wouldn't even try it on. (Quick sidenote - doesn't Laura remind you of Justin Timberlake in the SNL skits. If you haven't seen them, look it up on youtube.) So we decided to go simple. Since he was a baseball player last year, and we still had the pants and a football jersey. We went with this costume.
One problem, we used the same pants from last year. Chase has grown slightly from last year, so we told him he couldn't bend over.
Oh, and what was Miles you are asking.
He was a banana. And not just any banana, he was a dog costume banana. He didn't seem to mind. Trick or treating went much better than last year, which is probably described like 4 posts ago since I have been so lazy with this. Chase went to about 15 houses, said trick or treat and thank you. Mostly he just wanted to run up the middle of the street though. So we were out about an hour headed home and then Laura and I have been eating his candy.
Until next time...
Monday, October 24, 2011
Chase's Modeling Career is Over
Well, we've had our first accident that warranted a hospital visit as Chase took a little stumble and his face met the corner of our piano bench. Hysteria ensued. Laura panicked, blood was gushing everywhere, chase was screaming, laura was screaming, and I was thinking, "crap, where is that hospital at again".
In the moments that followed here were some of the quotes heard.
- "We have to go to the hospital, grab the baby too." - Laura
- "We don't need the baby, isn't that what Steph is for?" - Matt
- "AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH" - Chase
- "Where are your shoes?" - Matt to Laura as she's in the car
- "He's not going to die" - Matt to Steph (outside of Laura's ears)
- "Look there's the moon" - Chase, 2 minutes into the car ride, with an open gash bleeding down his face
- "My phone's going to die, hopefully we find the hospital soon" - Matt
Three hours later we arrived back home with a doped up Chase with 5 new stitches in his head. Chase was pretty funny after being drugged up. Supposedly he told Laura that she was missing some teeth and that she could buy some more at Target. He also couldn't walk too well, he looked like a drunk two year old. The funny thing is that he insisted on walking, so we are basically following him around to make sure he doesn't fall into another corner and we finally roped him into bed.
Here's the damage, his modeling career is over unless he goes for the tough guy look.
As far as the other kid, he's doing great. Basically eating constantly now. We had his weight checked today and he came in at like 9 lbs 6 oz. So I think he's gaining weight just fine. He's going to catch his brother's pace soon. Pretty crazy to think he wasn't supposed to be born until last Friday.
We are adapting to the whole two kid thing. It means a little more work for both of us, and probably a lot more work for me since Laura took care of a lot when it was just Chase. I've learned to master some great meals like cardboard pizza, PB&J's, and Mac and Cheese in the last couple of weeks. Chase and I have spent some quality time together. At some point in the weekend we usually go to Target just so he can run around and play with toys.
We also spent a weekend in Cedar Falls with my college roomate Dale and Jessica, along with Chase's birthday buddy Will who is exactly one year younger. They spent about 3 hours of the weekend running in circles, with Chase bossing Will around.
Will's kind of a little ham...
We also went to a pumpkin patch in Cedar Falls. It had a haunted corn field maze. Parenting tip #5, don't take a two year old into a haunted corn field maze. This thing had aliens, headless men, scary music, bloody hands, etc... At one point Chase wanted to turn around, so I had to scoop him up and carry him the rest of the way.
Well one month in, everyone's doing great. We bid a sad farewell to everyone's favorite dog Dakota as he left us tonight to go to his new home. We had a love/hate relationship with Dakota. By that I mean 1% love, 99% hate. Just kidding Dakota, kind of. Dakota's heading closer to the big city to live with another dog along with Steph. Suburban life with two kids is not the most exciting thing in the world.
I'll leave you with a couple pictures of Miles. Definitely looks like Chase, except for the hair. That's a little crazy.
In the moments that followed here were some of the quotes heard.
- "We have to go to the hospital, grab the baby too." - Laura
- "We don't need the baby, isn't that what Steph is for?" - Matt
- "AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH" - Chase
- "Where are your shoes?" - Matt to Laura as she's in the car
- "He's not going to die" - Matt to Steph (outside of Laura's ears)
- "Look there's the moon" - Chase, 2 minutes into the car ride, with an open gash bleeding down his face
- "My phone's going to die, hopefully we find the hospital soon" - Matt
Three hours later we arrived back home with a doped up Chase with 5 new stitches in his head. Chase was pretty funny after being drugged up. Supposedly he told Laura that she was missing some teeth and that she could buy some more at Target. He also couldn't walk too well, he looked like a drunk two year old. The funny thing is that he insisted on walking, so we are basically following him around to make sure he doesn't fall into another corner and we finally roped him into bed.
Here's the damage, his modeling career is over unless he goes for the tough guy look.
As far as the other kid, he's doing great. Basically eating constantly now. We had his weight checked today and he came in at like 9 lbs 6 oz. So I think he's gaining weight just fine. He's going to catch his brother's pace soon. Pretty crazy to think he wasn't supposed to be born until last Friday.
We are adapting to the whole two kid thing. It means a little more work for both of us, and probably a lot more work for me since Laura took care of a lot when it was just Chase. I've learned to master some great meals like cardboard pizza, PB&J's, and Mac and Cheese in the last couple of weeks. Chase and I have spent some quality time together. At some point in the weekend we usually go to Target just so he can run around and play with toys.
We also spent a weekend in Cedar Falls with my college roomate Dale and Jessica, along with Chase's birthday buddy Will who is exactly one year younger. They spent about 3 hours of the weekend running in circles, with Chase bossing Will around.
Will's kind of a little ham...
We also went to a pumpkin patch in Cedar Falls. It had a haunted corn field maze. Parenting tip #5, don't take a two year old into a haunted corn field maze. This thing had aliens, headless men, scary music, bloody hands, etc... At one point Chase wanted to turn around, so I had to scoop him up and carry him the rest of the way.
Well one month in, everyone's doing great. We bid a sad farewell to everyone's favorite dog Dakota as he left us tonight to go to his new home. We had a love/hate relationship with Dakota. By that I mean 1% love, 99% hate. Just kidding Dakota, kind of. Dakota's heading closer to the big city to live with another dog along with Steph. Suburban life with two kids is not the most exciting thing in the world.
I'll leave you with a couple pictures of Miles. Definitely looks like Chase, except for the hair. That's a little crazy.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Baby 2 does come faster
So as I had told Laura many times in the past few months, I wanted to have a game plan on how this baby was going to be delivered. Especially if I was at work which meant we were an hour and a half from the hospital. This conversation usually resulted in Laura getting very angry at me and saying she would just drive herself to the hospital.
Well thankfully, Mr. Miles decided to come while I was at home, and it's a good thing he did.
Laura started havings some contractions during the afternoon which became regular at around 6:30, by 9:00 we realized this really was going to happen a month early. We got to the hospital, which is very nice, but they definitely took their time in getting everything registered. After about an hour they finally decided to check her, and I'm pretty sure this is what went through the nurse's mind: "Holy Crap". All of a sudden everything was a little more urgent as we realized we were a couple of hours away from delivery.
About this time the contractions started getting painful, and Laura started getting ANGRY. Now I know most of you would say, "Laura, angry? I can't believe that nice person ever gets angry, she's always just so happy" Well, every once in awhile I get to see that this is not the case, and I'm pretty sure the nurse and the guy giving the pain shot was about 2 minutes from getting punched. The best was that this bag of fluid had to get drained prior to her getting to the shot, which was basically like watching a pot boil. Thanks to our nurse, who realizing she may get punched soon, started squeezing that bag like crazy.
You ever want to see someone's personality change 180 degrees in a 30 seconds. Give them painkillers. Immediately happy Laura came back. The pain killers caused the baby's heartbeat to drop a little bit, so the doctor sped everything up. About 10 minutes of labor later, Miles Sebastian Becker entered the world wailing away.
6 lbs 6 oz and around 20 inches long, with a full head of hair. Also, Steph had wanted to be here for the delivery, so we had arraged for a friend to drop by with Chase. Laura had originally told Steph, take your time, we will be sitting around all night, it should be no problem. Well Steph, driving as fast as possible, supposedly hitting a farm animal on the way here, still missed it by about two minutes. Oh, and I know everyone is wondering, I did not faint. Come on people, it only has happened once in my life, I'm not going to faint at everything.
So other women who have had babies feel free to give Laura some grief, she didn't even break a sweat and looked great after delivery. You will also notice that she quickly changed out of her flowery gown this time, the things you learn with the second child.
Chasers dropped by yesterday morning to meet his new brother. He was interested for about 5 minutes, and then it was on to other things. So we will see how bringing Miles home goes. I think we may have a little terror on our hands as he realizes he has competition for Mom's attention now.
I'll wrap this one up with our new family picture. Welcome Miles to the fam.
Well thankfully, Mr. Miles decided to come while I was at home, and it's a good thing he did.
Laura started havings some contractions during the afternoon which became regular at around 6:30, by 9:00 we realized this really was going to happen a month early. We got to the hospital, which is very nice, but they definitely took their time in getting everything registered. After about an hour they finally decided to check her, and I'm pretty sure this is what went through the nurse's mind: "Holy Crap". All of a sudden everything was a little more urgent as we realized we were a couple of hours away from delivery.
About this time the contractions started getting painful, and Laura started getting ANGRY. Now I know most of you would say, "Laura, angry? I can't believe that nice person ever gets angry, she's always just so happy" Well, every once in awhile I get to see that this is not the case, and I'm pretty sure the nurse and the guy giving the pain shot was about 2 minutes from getting punched. The best was that this bag of fluid had to get drained prior to her getting to the shot, which was basically like watching a pot boil. Thanks to our nurse, who realizing she may get punched soon, started squeezing that bag like crazy.
You ever want to see someone's personality change 180 degrees in a 30 seconds. Give them painkillers. Immediately happy Laura came back. The pain killers caused the baby's heartbeat to drop a little bit, so the doctor sped everything up. About 10 minutes of labor later, Miles Sebastian Becker entered the world wailing away.
6 lbs 6 oz and around 20 inches long, with a full head of hair. Also, Steph had wanted to be here for the delivery, so we had arraged for a friend to drop by with Chase. Laura had originally told Steph, take your time, we will be sitting around all night, it should be no problem. Well Steph, driving as fast as possible, supposedly hitting a farm animal on the way here, still missed it by about two minutes. Oh, and I know everyone is wondering, I did not faint. Come on people, it only has happened once in my life, I'm not going to faint at everything.
So other women who have had babies feel free to give Laura some grief, she didn't even break a sweat and looked great after delivery. You will also notice that she quickly changed out of her flowery gown this time, the things you learn with the second child.
Chasers dropped by yesterday morning to meet his new brother. He was interested for about 5 minutes, and then it was on to other things. So we will see how bringing Miles home goes. I think we may have a little terror on our hands as he realizes he has competition for Mom's attention now.
I'll wrap this one up with our new family picture. Welcome Miles to the fam.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Chase's First Movie Experience
So, you know those parents who can't control their kids and let them run around a theatre screaming and just running around. They are really annoying people that you just look at and go, "why did they bring a two year old to a movie theatre, get the hell out of here!" That's us.
Everything started out so great. I was excited to take him to see Cars 2 even though I heard there were guns and explosions, etc... My argument is that in other Disney movies you have to explain why Bambi's mom gets shot, why a shark is trying to eat Nemo's dad, why dragons are trying to blow up a village, and why do wildebeasts run down Simba's dad. So I thought it was fine.
So Chase had his little bag of popcorn and was just chowing it down. He laughed at some of the previews and yelled "plane" as the cars movie started. This lasted for about 30 minutes. Then he decided to stand and calmly watch the movie. Then, he decided he was bored. He started running up the stairs and walking into random rows, walking behind his mom and smacking her on the head. Then he stood behind this kid and started yelling at the screen. This kid looked back at us a couple of times with a really annoyed look on his face.
Then he ran down and started running up and down the handicap area in front of the theatre. At this point I told him he had to stop and he started wailing. We figured it was about time for the first movie experience to be over. So we made it about halfway through the movie. I told Laura to go back and ask for half our money back, but she thought that was a bad idea.
So lesson learned that A. You should not take a 2 year old to a movie unless the theatre is empty B. or take him to a movie that is only 30 minutes long C. never get angry at parents who cannot control their kid, it could be you some day.
So we are pretty much at the stage where we cannot attend any event that requires silence, because Chase hates silence. He will fill it with just loud "BLAAHHHH's", the phrase "Bobby Glick" (no idea what that means), or just a lot of crying. So church, weddings, movies, piano concerts, and story time are pretty much out.
Oh well, hopefully this only lasts like a year or something, until then you can find Laura and I at home or outside where our little hellion can yell as load as he wants.
P.S. the hour I did see of Cars 2 was OK, but not great, I may go back later tonight and ask to see the second half
Everything started out so great. I was excited to take him to see Cars 2 even though I heard there were guns and explosions, etc... My argument is that in other Disney movies you have to explain why Bambi's mom gets shot, why a shark is trying to eat Nemo's dad, why dragons are trying to blow up a village, and why do wildebeasts run down Simba's dad. So I thought it was fine.
So Chase had his little bag of popcorn and was just chowing it down. He laughed at some of the previews and yelled "plane" as the cars movie started. This lasted for about 30 minutes. Then he decided to stand and calmly watch the movie. Then, he decided he was bored. He started running up the stairs and walking into random rows, walking behind his mom and smacking her on the head. Then he stood behind this kid and started yelling at the screen. This kid looked back at us a couple of times with a really annoyed look on his face.
Then he ran down and started running up and down the handicap area in front of the theatre. At this point I told him he had to stop and he started wailing. We figured it was about time for the first movie experience to be over. So we made it about halfway through the movie. I told Laura to go back and ask for half our money back, but she thought that was a bad idea.
So lesson learned that A. You should not take a 2 year old to a movie unless the theatre is empty B. or take him to a movie that is only 30 minutes long C. never get angry at parents who cannot control their kid, it could be you some day.
So we are pretty much at the stage where we cannot attend any event that requires silence, because Chase hates silence. He will fill it with just loud "BLAAHHHH's", the phrase "Bobby Glick" (no idea what that means), or just a lot of crying. So church, weddings, movies, piano concerts, and story time are pretty much out.
Oh well, hopefully this only lasts like a year or something, until then you can find Laura and I at home or outside where our little hellion can yell as load as he wants.
P.S. the hour I did see of Cars 2 was OK, but not great, I may go back later tonight and ask to see the second half
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Let's try this again
Well, in case you haven't heard by now, Laura's got a little bump growing from her stomach again as number two is on the way. Crazy to think about going back to an infant once again as we just got done celebrating a 2 year old's birthday. Back to no sleep, 20 diapers a day, crying, and somehow doing this while still watching a 2 year old.
We've asked Chase if he is excited about having a baby brother or sister, which he responds to with a resounding "No!" So it should be interesting. We've taught him to answer the question "what's in mom's belly?" with "baby", but then we see him pointing to anyone's stomach including his own and saying "baby inside". So I don't think he quite gets it.
So time to create a new bedroom, get a toddler bed, and do all of that other baby stuff. We are still trying to decide if we want to find out the sex. Laura is voting for not finding out and saying it is one of the few suprises you can have. I say let's find out because it is more efficient, we can remove half of the name book that way. Because that is going to be tough enough as it is.
As for the details, we are in week 17 or 18 right now, the ultrasound is the first week of June, and right now the due date is sometime around mid October. The one thing we are trying to figure out is if we can still fly somewhere at the end of August, any other pregnant women that have flown at week 34? Anyways, we're excited for the next baby to come!
We've asked Chase if he is excited about having a baby brother or sister, which he responds to with a resounding "No!" So it should be interesting. We've taught him to answer the question "what's in mom's belly?" with "baby", but then we see him pointing to anyone's stomach including his own and saying "baby inside". So I don't think he quite gets it.
So time to create a new bedroom, get a toddler bed, and do all of that other baby stuff. We are still trying to decide if we want to find out the sex. Laura is voting for not finding out and saying it is one of the few suprises you can have. I say let's find out because it is more efficient, we can remove half of the name book that way. Because that is going to be tough enough as it is.
As for the details, we are in week 17 or 18 right now, the ultrasound is the first week of June, and right now the due date is sometime around mid October. The one thing we are trying to figure out is if we can still fly somewhere at the end of August, any other pregnant women that have flown at week 34? Anyways, we're excited for the next baby to come!
Actual Birthday
So I realize that this is about three weeks post his actual birthday, but better late than never. As Chase wrapped up his 2nd year of life, you start to realize how important a nap can be for a toddler. Also, be careful trying to cram too much into one day, which is what we tried to do with presents, an easter egg hunt, and some birthday cake.
We probably had our biggest meltdown to date on his birthday. Here's some pictures. Chase had some issues with the song "Happy Birthday", you may have heard of it. This was literally his face as we were singing it.
Notice the pretty sweet cake that Laura and my mom created. Doc Hudson from cars. Chase got a lot of trains for his birthday. Currently ranked as his top toy.
The first meltdown of the day had been around doing an easter egg hunt. You know what is great about an easter egg hunt at the age of two? You can just stand on the deck and chuck the plastic eggs into the yard since you don't need to be too creative in hiding them yet. After a 15 minute melt down, Chase decided an easter egg hunt was pretty fun, supposedly later that week Laura had to hide eggs around the house so he could do it again.
So we begin the terrible two's. Pretty sure we saw the switch turn on the very day he turned two. So hopefully we can survive the next year. :) Here's some nice pictures from the day.
We probably had our biggest meltdown to date on his birthday. Here's some pictures. Chase had some issues with the song "Happy Birthday", you may have heard of it. This was literally his face as we were singing it.
Notice the pretty sweet cake that Laura and my mom created. Doc Hudson from cars. Chase got a lot of trains for his birthday. Currently ranked as his top toy.
The first meltdown of the day had been around doing an easter egg hunt. You know what is great about an easter egg hunt at the age of two? You can just stand on the deck and chuck the plastic eggs into the yard since you don't need to be too creative in hiding them yet. After a 15 minute melt down, Chase decided an easter egg hunt was pretty fun, supposedly later that week Laura had to hide eggs around the house so he could do it again.
So we begin the terrible two's. Pretty sure we saw the switch turn on the very day he turned two. So hopefully we can survive the next year. :) Here's some nice pictures from the day.
Monday, April 18, 2011
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 |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)