R.I.P.D.

Sadly, I'm not going to give you a review of the not so good movie, R.I.P.D. Rather, we are saying good-bye to Cole's first pet, Dusty. Rest in peace buddy. You were not around long, but you were a good pet and annoyed me less than Bella (sorry Bella).

It happened last night. Cole and I went to feed him and discovered him upside down in his bowl. Cole didn't even really notice. I had to quick call Kristin because she was at the pet store buying some more fish stuff, obviously no longer needed. Although Cole did say, "I guess I need to get a new fish." He really didn't seem to care all that much. I actually had to try and get Cole and Henry to take the whole situation more seriously because they thought it was hilarious that we were going to flush him down the toilet. In the end, we had a nice good-bye. Cole, Henry and I all said some kind words and then Cole did the flushing. He finished by telling us, "I will remember Dusty."

I'm pretty sure it was the dirty water that killed him. I was seriously just about to change it.

On a weird note, Cole now wears "night gloves." An invention of his own that are really just socks on his hands. 

Pizza Party, Holiday Spirit

We had Cole's pizza party over the weekend and also started to get into the holiday spirit. Overall, I think Cole's party was a success. We were a little mad at Palermo's because they didn't specifically tell us that their lines were not going to be operating for the tour. It would have been a lot cooler seeing everyone at work. The kids seemed to have a good time which is all that matters, I guess.

We asked everyone to wear Cole's favorite color for his party. Hen even sported orange undies. 

Getting party-ready. Don't worry, we fixed that hair

2 hours has never dragged by so slowly, 4-5 year olds are exhausting!

The boys got some goodies for St. Nick, so it seemed like we better get the tree up and start the Christmas celebration. We put up an ugly fake tree that will be finding its way in the garbage after this Christmas. Cole did most of the tree decorating. I also found a nail on the outside of our house to hang a wreath. Done!

The boys even hauled up Xmas bins from the basement.

Bella has an anxiety disorder so the vet suggested this "Thunder Shirt." She hates it and cries while wearing it 

Cole took a decorating break to platy some Mario Kart in the Man Cave. He's getting pretty good, but I still lap him.

On Saturday we went to the Country Inn & Suites for the Country Christmas lights. The boys love this and love sitting up front with us as we drive through. Cole seemed close to shedding tears of joy so I'm guessing we'll end up doing it again this season. 

On Sunday we went to Great Gandma's and Grandpa's to watch the Christmas train go by. Well, we watched and watched, had many false alarms, but no train. Around 8:45 p.m. we finally left since the kids were getting tired and asking to go home. At about 9:00 p.m. the train came by. Damn it. So close.

Holy S*@! I have a 5 year old

Kristin and I recently turned 35 and Cole turned 5. I am starting to feel old. Kristin and I even discussed watching 60 minutes and Dateline and enjoying them. Definitely a sign of old age. As I feel pretty horrible about 35, Cole on the other hand, was very excited and happy to be turning 5. He woke up on Saturday and claimed to be bigger and stronger (just so happens I woke up fatter and weaker thanks to our Thanksgiving dinner).

Thanksgiving was nice and we all enjoyed it. Surprisingly, I don't think I took any pictures though, so we will just jump to Sunday and Cole's birthday.

We had the family over for brunch, which I have now figured out is definitely just for college kids (and they just call it breakfast). Poor Cole had to wait until after 10:00 a.m. to start opening his presents. He did pretty well being patient. We also all got very hungry waiting for brunch to start.

Cole got a ton of presents. Looked like Christmas had come early in our living room. He got a lot of Hot Wheels and Lego stuff. We also took him to the pet store and let him pick out a goldfish. He named him Dusty. For a brief time he changed it from Dusty to Lamp, but luckily changed it back to Dusty.

This Saturday will be Cole's party with his school friends. We are going on a pizza factory tour at Palermo's. Should be fun.

Henry got three presents of his own, so I'm not sure why he seems to have an attitude.

Bampa impressed us all with his pancake skills and made Cole a special 5 pancake

Birthday donut/ice cream sundae (at 11am)

Again with the attitude Henry!

And this starts again. 

We also had our family pictures over the weekend. The kids did not do great, but we should at least get a Christmas card out of it. You can check them out here.

Some other recent pictures are below. I also wanted to share the new game Henry started to play recently:  Punch Fighting. It is exactly what it sounds like, a fist fight. He'll just call out "punch fight!"and then starts to throw down. There are apparently no rules as he challenged me to a punch fight and then proceeded to kick me in the nuts.

I bet dollars to doughnuts Grammie DJ made a comment about Cole being her little angel.

Day Off

I took off on Tuesday and played a little Mr. Mom, since the grandmas decided to ditch out of their duties. The boys and I did some work, ran errands, made their first trip to George Webb and learned how to cook. Not a bad day.

We also recently recorded some Master Chef Junior shows, so maybe we'll have some future chefs. Although learning from Kristin and I will not be much help. We made sloppy Joe's for Henry and I and Mac and Cheese for Kristin and Cole. That is about as high level as my cooking goes, so I've already shown them everything I know. I was kinda surprised Kristin didn't give me any grief for letting the boys near a hot stove and boiling water. I wasn't even in the kitchen most of the time (just kidding).

Eating, the best part.

Fall

I think Fall is becoming a favorite season for the boys. We now have a tree big enough to make a pretty decent size leaf pile. The raking part not so great, but the boys loved the pile and it was fun to toss them in. They would completely sink and I would have to rescue them by an ankle and pull them out.

Then there is Halloween in the Fall for the kids to enjoy. And what kid doesn't like to get candy. This year Cole decided to go as a cheeseburger and Henry dressed up as a sticker book. They definitely love these items, so I'm not too surprised that's what they went with. Kristin made the cheeseburger costume (and did a good job). I helped hot glue the stickers on Henry's outfit (girl jeans by the way). At first I used a hot glue gone that was my Dad's or maybe even Grandpa's. The thing sucked, got super hot everywhere and I ended up burning myself several times. Finally I decided to trash the thing and just hand Kristin stickers.

At first Henry didn't want to wear his sticker outfit. He was being quite the pain. I was pretty happy to get to Kroner's for a beer.

We went trick or treating in our new neighborhood with the Kroner's, Schilz's and  Hansen's. It was not possible to get all the kids lined up and looking forward for picture. We tried.

Then there is my Fall birthday for the kids to enjoy. I'm sure that bumps Fall up to their favorite season. Ugh, 35 seems old. I hate aging. Luckily enough, I look damn good doin' it.

For my birthday the kids got me some fudge and bacon popcorn and bacon peanuts. I also got a bacon McGriddle from Grammie and I bought Krispy Kremes for work, so breakfast was a bit much. Then I treated myself to my first Chick-Fil-A for lunch. We also went out to dinner at the Red Dot to celebrate. The Poutine was delicious, the service was horrible and Henry took his first public dump. BUT, it looks like he has finally gotten tired of pooping his undies. Praise the Lord!

Not sure what is older - me or that sweet wallpaper

Henry loves the birthday banner they made. He keeps talking about it and gazes at it commenting on it's beauty

On an unrelated note:  Cole has always been a bit of a sandwich maker (when we let him). Grammie let him make a breakfast sandwich. Left up to me, I would probably make something resembling a sausage egg McMuffin. Cole went a different route. He went with pickles with pepperoni on top and some peanut butter on the bread to "glue" it all together. Yum. Kristin's dinners suddenly look much more appetizing.

Football at BCHS, Museums and more

A while back we went to the Brookfield Farmer's Market with the Schilz family. Afterwards we decided to break into Central (it was unlocked) and roam the halls. Dustin refused so it was just Kristin, Amy and I and the kids. We also got in a football practice.

Henry liked to get a running start. He may have over done it a bit.

Still coming.

A few seconds later...

Finally. Contact.

And he knocks himself down.

Last week/weekend, both Grandmas were in FL so Auntie Jess helped us out with babysitting on Monday and Tuesday. She took the boys to the kids museum and Hen got dirty fixing cars. 

Since the grandmas were gone and Jess couldn't cover everyday (selfishly she had to go work), I had to use vacation days to stay home with the kids. Hopefully the grandparents will be more considerate of their unpaid babysitting gig next time they plan their vacations (and obviously no more traveling together). Since I had off, I decided to plan a fun outing, so I took the kids to the Public Museum. Henry was a little crabby, but overall a pretty nice trip. Always nice when the Three D's can hang out.

Cole made a friend. 

We also went to Stonefire Pizza Company over the weekend with the Schilz's. That was horrible. The place was super crowded and people suck. Plus it was really expensive. Not surprisingly, the kids loved it. They really liked playing the racing games, which wasn't bad since you could sit in the chair and avoid the surroundings. 

Pretty good form for a first timer.

When we got home in the afternoon after the museum, I decided that I was so sick of Henry in diapers that I would give potty training a try. Well, once again, I was successful (after numerous failures by Kristin). I'll try to not rub it in, but clearly I am the better parent. 

As if there are not enough pics within this post, below are a few more random ones.

I was surprised that Cole can carry Henry. He's stronger than he looks.

Playing a video game together. Now that Henry is potty trained, he can have his Kindle that was purchased a long time ago.

Yikes!!!

I just like the highlighters clipped to the shirt. Screams nerd.