Know Your States

Before Cole goes to bed we have started teaching the location of different states. I don't know any other two year olds, so I'm really not sure if this is impressive or maybe Cole's slow and he should know them all by now. I'm impressed but I am also his parent...and admittedly not the brightest. After this video we taught him Michigan, Maine, Iowa and Oregon as well, so I think he knows about 17 states. We'll see how quickly he can point to all 50; although, once he can read this exercise will seem to have been pretty pointless. If I only knew my capitals better we could try that next.

Private - Keep Out

I have never really lived alone. Throughout college I had roommates, after college I had a roommate for a bit and and since then I have been stuck living with Kristin. The point being I have never really experienced a great deal of privacy in my life. Now that I have kids, my privacy has hit an all time low.  It is bad enough that I often have to pee or shower with the bathroom door open but I could deal with that if I could just get a little private time while sitting down to "take care of business." Our bathroom door doesn't lock and recently Cole has busted in on me while I was "taking care of business" (twice). It’s not just a quick peek or to check how things are going. He brings his pacifiers, blankets and toys. He is apparently coming in for an extended stay. He also hugged my leg once, which was very awkward. Although, not expressly a right in the constitution (I think) I feel that I should still get a little privacy from time to time, especially while "taking care of business."

Mark?

This weekend Cole and I were playing upstairs while Kristin was feeding Henry. Cole got very excited and ran to our bedroom window, pointed and said, "Where is Mark?" I was confused and wasn't sure what he was looking for as his new favorite game is to wonder where people and objects went and we aren't always sure what he has in mind. He will yell, "where are you?" to just about anything...books, balls, Bella, his milk cup, Henry etc. and then go searching for said item. I brushed off "Mark" and tried to engage him in something else but he was intent on finding Mark. After much fuss about Mark I started to wonder if Mark was Kristin's daytime boyfriend who comes over when I am at work and plays with my kids. Cole and I stormed downstairs to confront Kristin and her adulterous ways...she was not sure who Mark was either. Then Cole ran to our downstairs window, pointed and again started calling, "Mark where are you?" And saying, "Mark's turn." By now I was pretty certain my kid liked this Mark person better than me and that Kristin certainly was cheating. After a few more attempts to find Mark, Kristin figured out that Cole was talking about our neighbor, Margaret, who they watched shovel the other day. When Margaret and her husband Cosmo (who Cole is also obsessed with) were shoveling they took turns dumping the snow on the sidewalk - thus "Mark's turn." That's Kristin's explaination at least.

I really didn't think Kristin had a daytime boyfriend but pretty funny regardless. I wonder how many real-life affairs have been blow open by a toddler's loose lips.

Mo' Babies Mo' Problems

I have discovered that having kids means there is always a problem or issue. No one is ever happy at the same time. If one is sleeping well, the other isn't eating. If one is happy, the other is hitting the dog. Nothing stays the same for too long and new issues always crop up. I have a feeling this doesn't end until they leave the house, which is sort of depressing. Anyway, Henry is the cause of the latest issues. Over the past couple weeks we have been dealing with a rash (due to a possible peach allergy) that requires a lot of prescription cream and then we have to cover the cream with Aquaphor...and then try to cover his sticky mess of a body with clothes.  I have no idea how Henry gets comfortable at night. I imagine his onesie just gets glued to his body. He doesn't seem to mind though.

Another current event we are dealing with is Henry's nighttime peeing habits. I don't know if he just saves it all for middle of the night peeing or he is mostly bladder on the inside, but either way there seems to be no diaper able to contain the amount of pee he dispenses throughout the night. We went to nighttime diapers which always worked for Cole, but they are no match for Henry as evidenced by the pictures below. Every morning we have to strip off the pee soaked jammies and give him a quick bath to wash off the diaper crystals and pee. A morning bath is a lot of work so we are brainstorming ideas to combat the excessive amount of pee that gets everywhere. Kristin wants to stuff a "lady product" in his diaper, but I don't think I can allow that. Seems weird and could affect his manhood in the future. Maybe we rubberband that little thing so he can't go at all at night. Hmmm...

Thankfully everything is alright in Cole's world right now....so just as we rid Henry of his rash and get control of the urination situation we will be on the edge of our seats to see what problem Cole tosses our way.

Now that's a pee spot!

Look at the size of the diaper. Trust me, all pee.

Guys Night

This weekend Cole, Henry and I had a guys night and a little bit of a guys day. It didn't start great. After Kristin left for the store, Cole cried at the door for her for, what I felt, was an unreasonably long time. At first I felt pretty bad for him, but then remembered he can barely be bothered to say goodbye to me in the mornings, then I decided to feel bad for myself and not Cole. This is certainly not the first time these kids have been mean to their Dad.

After Cole recovered he decided he should take his anger and frustration out on Bella, so I had to enforce my first timeout. Usually Kristin does the disciplining. She has given many timeouts already (the boys and I call her "Kriscipline" when she is not home). I really did hate giving Cole a timeout. Its no fun. I'm glad to say the night was not a total disaster. We did have some fun. Cole likes to turn on the ipod and "dance," which really means run in a circle while saying, "Nice dancing Cole!" The highlight of his night was definitely snagging my Gatorade. He loved it and slammed it pretty quickly. I think my favorite was guys day when I actually got to watch a good chunk of two football games. Not bad.

Kristin had to run to the store on Sunday to get some breathable/mesh bumpers (the reason for guys day) because Henry likes to sleep with his head pressed up against the bars of his crib. He did a number on his soft spot. The picture really doesn't do it justice. It was super indented and dark purple for awhile.

2011 Wrap-up

The Fuchs' 2011 holiday season as told by pictures...

After a present filled Christmas Eve at my parent's, the boys woke to lots of presents from Santa

Cole did a lot of grunting trying to open presents

Later the Grandparents Stear and Uncle Ben came over for more present opening and failed brunch



The aftermath



The breakfast pizza as attempted by Grandma DJ. The egg dripped all over the oven and smoke was everywhere. Our house stunk for two days.





The oven was a mess!



No smoke detector went off during the breakfast pizza debacle, so Cole and I strapped on our tool belts and installed two more smoke detectors in the house.



New Year's was pretty wild this year with many games of Yahtzee and Rummy 500...and Henry crying for an hour. Look how much fun we're having. Kristin is trying to get Henry to bed after my failed attempt. Obviously not a big party...no one there, Kristin is drinking a Gatorade and it looks like she decided to read a magazine mid-game.