Airing of Grievances

Festivus already? Actually, I think it has been awhile since I've done some complaining, which is impressive since there is so much to complain about when raising a two and three year old. This is a minor complaint, but I am sick and tired of the same old children books. Cole and Henry always pick the same books. I'm even sick of the good ones. We have a handful of books that are just awful. I think they must have been on sale (a savings not at all worth it). They are horrible and the kids pick them constantly. Cole will typically pick the same books for weeks straight with little variation. Henry usually isn't as bad, but the other night I had to read the same book twice in row. I'm considering cutting back the nightly reading from three books each to one per child.

Since I'm complaining, as I'm typing this I'm about to make my third trip upstairs in the past two hours because the boys keep waking up. I guess that just doesn't end. Cole has been waking up screaming in pain from foot cramps. After an unnecessary trip to the doctor (thanks to the new nurse Kristin talked to on the phone) we have been told they are just growing pains. Too bad they likely won't go away for 12 or so years.

I'm thinking Hen could make some money starring in a horror movie as an evil toddler-clown.

In other news, Henry has developed a bit of a stutter. We took advantage of that unnecessary trip to the doctor to address all new issues, and supposedly the stutter is normal. It is much more prevalent when he is tired, but hopefully it will be completely gone soon. Google told us the same thing as our Pediatrician and doesn't charge a co-pay.

And finally, I will end with some potty humor:  For about a week now, every morning we wake up to find Cole on the shitter taking his morning dump. He's nice and regular. He sits there for a real long time because he spends so much time making a nice pile of single square pieces of toilet paper for wiping. He is not a very good wiper yet though, so we eventually have to get out of bed and help.

Cole likes to play guitar like the blind guy in Road House. I think I once wanted to name Cole, Clint Dalton Fuchs. The Dalton in honor of the Swayze character in Road House. (The Clint was for Clint Eastwood, of course).

Some pics for ya

We have been pretty busy (and lazy) lately, and admittedly it has affected our blogging. We, of course, continue to take many pictures of the boys though, so I thought we would post some. This past weekend we hung out with the Hamilton's, had brunch with Ben and met his new girlfriend Kim (who Cole calls Tim), went to the Estabrook Biergarten and ate dinner at Festa.

I like how kids just run around. I don't think they even know what the hell they're doing.

Steve and I worked pretty hard to set up this pic. Too bad I didn't get a picture of the pant-less crack whore who stopped by to inquire about the public workout equipment. 

Walt wanted to show he was strong enough to carry Henry. Luckily for Henry it looks like he was right.

The kids also went to the dentist recently, which reminds me...

Cole talked Grammie Debbie into buying him some new shoes. Sucker!

Reunion in Rhinelander

We are back from our mini vacation to Rhinelander. As predicted sleeping was terrible but the boys had a blast. They did lots of running, swimming, throwing "ploppers" in the lake, playing with cousins, and getting dirty.  We took them kayaking and fishing and went for hikes, it was really a lot of wilderness and nature...and did we mention not a lot of sleep?
* ploppers are rocks 

We had to stop on the way and get another pair of sunglasses so the kids would stop fighting over the one pair we had. It only took us 3 stores to find a pair.

I showed Kristin our future home paint job.

We drove around for over 2 hours one day so the kids could nap...and we could get some peace and quiet.

Yep, Henry likes the water.

Not much happening...part 2

Somehow it is already July and we are gearing up for a Webster Family Reunion (Kristin's Mom's extended family) this weekend. There will be lots of little ones (somehow related; second cousins or first cousins once removed) for the boys to play with and tons of sun, sand and swimming..and hopefully some sleep too. According to Grandma Debbie I am super excited for tons of water skiing (FYI - I don't water ski and never have). Anyway, I'm sure we will have plenty of pics and kids story for you upon our return. In the meantime, we thought we would just post some recent pics. Enjoy.

"I hiding!" Surprisingly he is actually improving his hide and seek game.

So peaceful...wish these moments could last longer.

We were shocked he fell asleep at all this night because we had been at a BBQ and our friend Tim wanted to be Cole's BFF SO badly he fed him like 72 Starbursts and gave him 3 juice boxes - more candy and juice than Cole has had in his entire 3 years of living. Must have been a good party because he was passed out before we even hit the highway to head home.

I don't know how he wakes up so happy every morning.

That's my boy! Although, I'm more of an ass slapper than a hugger. 

America, F&$K Yeah!

We didn't see any fireworks, but we still had a pretty fun-filled 4th of July. Although, we did hear plenty. Henry woke up once saying, "No boom." We started the 4th with the Brookfield parade. I scored a good amount of candy, but really had to push Cole to get after it. He was pretty hesitant, but luckily there was not a lot of competition in our immediate area. We then went to the Stear's house for a BBQ. There were lots of dips so I was happy. The boys, as always, enjoyed playing outside and I discovered how nice it is to have Uncle Ben back in town to take on some of the "parenting" duties. We later walked to Whole Foods for dinner. The boys got popsicles on the way there and I think Henry set a record for how messy one can get from eating a single pop.

Cole's so-called ready position. We will be working on this before next year.

Henry was not very active at the parade. I think he immediately over heated, so he was basically always just on someone's lap.

No, I'm not super amazed by walking on stilts. Look close...the one on the left has quite the hairy armpit. Hey, it's not like she is going to be in a parade or anything. Oh wait...

Catching some shade with Grammie's BFF Janet

Cole actually slid off this roof by himself. Not a great landing, but no tears.

Cole gave Henry a sudden surprise with a shot of water. Luckily Hen just laughed and the one-sided water fight ensued.

Actually a pretty close race between Cole and Kristin. She's never been the fastest.

Bampa and the old kink in the hose trick.

Cole getting a taste of his own medicine.

Clean... (Cole refused to change after nap so he went out on the town in his jams)

Messier...

"I messy!"

In the words of Chris Farley, "Brothers don't shake hands, brothers hug."