Away games

Louie and Benny love sports. Doesn't matter what it is, they love to watch and play. (Well...baseball probably tops anything else.) They do pretty well at whatever they take on, but the one thing they don't understand is "home" and "away." If the crowd is into the game, they want to join in the fun. Especially when the home arena is playing JOCK JAMS! I tried to explain that we were rooting for the blue team, but whatever the kids in the stands were doing, they did, too.

Kevin was able to take a day of vacation on Wednesday, so our family activity was to go down to the Cintas Center for a basketball game. The XU women played league rivals, the Billikens of St. Louis. Maggie Hennegan is in her sophomore year, and although they lost she had a great game with 16 points! (I babysat Maggie starting when she was two, then eventually her and younger brother, Andrew.)

Maggie Hennegan, #5
Not the clearest picture, but we were sitting on the other end of the court!

Maggie shooting (and making!) a free throw.

Part of Maggie's fan club.

And then came the end of the first half. This is the look on their faces for the spectacle that was the halftime show.

OK, I've tried a number of times to upload the video of halftime, but it won't work. I'll edit it later to see if it can be put on here, so I'll try to describe it here. You may have seen it before, about 500 kids, ten and under, run out onto the court, whip out plastic jump ropes, pogo sticks, and two things from the '80s that I can't remember their names. One looks like Saturn that you jump on and the other is like a "ball and chain" that old time prisoners use but my sister would skip over hers and it kept track of how many revelations it did. Have you seen this before? Well, the boys hadn't and they didn't know what to think of the chaos of children running rampant all over the court. It did keep their attention, though!

By the end, they definitely knew who they were rooting for: "the blue team" and "number 5, Mommy's friend," but when the fans did the cheer where one side yells "X" and the other "U", Lou just couldn't resist! Hey, the kid's got spirit, oh yes he does, he's got spirit, how 'bout YOU?

Buzzzzzzzz

Lou & Ben got their hair cut!

Kevin asked what length I wanted and I said to take it all! They wear nice warm hats, so I am not worried about them getting cold. Their hair has been out of control and now...

Ben, post-shearing, watching Lou's hair cut.

Had to pull out the dustbuster to help get rid of the mass amounts of hair!

Now Charlie looks more like his big brothers!

Guten Tag!

Kevin returned home Saturday night and we celebrated by going to Mecklenburg Gardens Bier Dinner. Yes, that is a full beard on his face and no, he's not trying to be the guy from "A Mighty Wind."

Benny & Louie with Grandma & Grandpa and Tom Harten

Charlie's first Warsteiner Dunkel

January Birthdays

After taking down Christmas decorations it can be somewhat depressing. Your house seems so barren, there are fewer parties to attend, and not as many good things to eat. That is, unless you know a lot of people who have January birthdays!

We have been lucky enough to have three birthdays to celebrate in our family! Grandpa celebrated his on January 9th, Aunt Erin was on January 10th, and Uncle Paul celebrated his on January 23rd. Here are some pictures of the parties that were held for each.

Delicious homemade chocolate cake by Mom (Ben got a finger in before "Happy Birthday" was sung.) Thank you to Jill and Nick for bringing the crowd-favorite Graeter's Black Raspberry Chip.

Earlier in the day we were down at the Arnoff to see "Wicked," then at Benihana's for dinner.

Louie wasn't quite as excited as Uncle Nick that they both were wearing a pirate's favorite sweater (ARRRGyle!).

Sorry, Erin. I wasn't on my game that night. I got a handful of pictures, but most aren't worth revisiting. The culprit may be in the picture...fabulous Orange Dream cake, though!

Grandpa giving Charlie a zerbert. Does anyone else call it that? Not sure if that's how it's spelled, but ever since the days of "The Cosby Show" our family has called it that. I wish you could see Charlie's sweater--it has a furry skunk and says "Lil' Stinker." Too cute!

Benny & Louie helping Uncle Paul blow out the candles on the-best-German-Chocolate-cake -ever, made by Aunt Cassie.

So, if you're looking for a good month to have a baby, try around April! Everyone will appreciate it.

This is fun!

Today Lou couldn't stop talking about his "cantaloupe" horns. There's this really cute website made by the New York Zoos and Aquarium where kids (and adults) can come up with creatures from all these really neat options. The boys got a kick out of it...and learned a lot about animals in the process. I'm such a nerd!

Here is Ben's creature, and if you'd like to make your own click on New York Zoos & Aquarium.

The Doctor's Office

Today we headed over to Dr. Joseph's for Charlie's six-month appointment. Unbeknownst to Charlie (or to me, for that matter), he was in for three shots today. He (as opposed to his brothers) was so good the entire time we were there and then the nurse went and stuck him three times. Fortunately, he fell immediately asleep when I put him in the car seat and continues to sleep as I type this.

His big brothers started out OK, but keeping toddlers waiting in a tiny examining room is never a good idea. They were in their orangutan mood, galloping around the room making ape noises. Dr. Joseph was amused...for a minute.

Charlie is growing well. He weighs 19 lbs. 1 oz. and is 26 inches long. Apparently, he isn't as long as the other two were, but he'll catch up soon enough.

World's Best Dad!

When we came back from Charlie's doctor appointment we had a surprise waiting on the front porch!

Louie & Benny were so happy to get this cookie basket from their Daddy that said "I'll be home soon!" It's made by Cookies by Design in Kenwood, and the first time I heard of them was when Charlie was born and we got two "baby boy" baskets. The boys immediately wanted one, had half, and I'm trying to talk them into waiting for the second half until later. Charlie slept through it all, hopefully recovering from the shots.