Well, its official. I can no longer consider myself cool. I, well actually Katie is, am the oh not so proud new owner of a Minivan. Yep, you did just witness a pig fly by your window. And I'm pretty sure the Devil now needs a space heater in his office because every ounce of macho that I had has been sucked out of me faster than Larkin can slurp down a sippycup full of apple juice. I knew it was coming. Heck, it was inevitable. I was fully aware that my days being known as "Beast" and "Hams" were going to be coming to an end. Only to have such machismo spouted by friends and teammates be replaced by tiny children's voices referring to me as "Da Da" and "Daddy". I have to admit, I'd gladly accept the later any day of the week but its still tough. Giving up a macho mans view of the world for a fathers view isn't always the easiest thing for men to do. Especially for me. Growing up a lot of boys are told phrases like, "Take no prisoners" and "Kick A-- and take names later". It is impressed upon so many of us to never give up and do whatever it takes to outlast the other guy in whatever sport or competition you are in. We dedicate ourselves to practice and spend hours upon hours perfecting our craft. Whether its hitting a baseball or strumming a guitar there is always an inner drive to be the best. And if you can't be the absolute best than at least be better than most. Its how men define their lives. Its how we develop so much of our self worth. I will always remember myself as the two sport athlete. I was pretty good in both. As time goes by however, I've come to realize that those past accolades or beliefs do not actually determine the kind of person that one is. Yes they are a piece of that person. They may help someone decide upon a certain path in life or help them reach a dream but they do not define who the person is inside. Our actions towards the people we love determine that. Are we willing to make sacrifices for those people. Are we willing to put your wants and needs aside and put theirs up front and center. That is what truly defines who a person is. Which leads me to the minivan purchase. I'll admit, I've given Katie a lot of good natured ribbing about buying it and I swore up and down that I would never be caught dead in one. I told her that even if we did buy one she could bet her pretty little self that this dad would never drive it. And yes, I'll admit that there was a part of me that did feel a little bit that way. But no matter how macho or tough I may want to believe I am I am no match for the three rosy cheeked semi-toothless grins standing in their cribs smiling at me each morning. Those boys and that sweet little girl deserve the safest and most comfortable mode of transportation available to them and if that's a Minivan then so be it. Not to mention there is a super mom that loves all the mommy features the car provides. So, if you are out there reading this and thinking to yourself that "I don't care what he says, I'd still never drive a minivan"then you and I did have a lot in common. After all, I said it for years and years. Heck, I fought it for the past year or so but in the end I think its going to be the best decision I ever made.
Take a look for yourselves
Fordham Family Truckster
Mamma's new cockpit
Maggie, what do you think about your new transport?
I get the back row all to myself now Daddy!
A few weeks ago Katie and I took the kids on their first picnic. We packed them into the care and went to the Cottonwood clubhouse playground. We had grilled cheese's and bananas for lunch. Maggie walked around the playground nonstop, Kade had his first ride on a slide and Larkin hung out in the swing. Take a look
Grilled Cheese! Yummy
We like picnics
This ground feels weird
Daddy, will you take me down the slide?
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
So, the Doctor gave us the OK to give the kids pizza so we made a cheese pizza the other night and the kids LOVED it. Check out the aftermath below
PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA
Yummy to my tummy
More Please!
Why you been holding out on us man?
If you show this picture to anyone I'll throw my bottle at you
That was GOOOOOD Clark
OOOOOOOO
Mommy, where did you go with our pizza?
Lastly, since we officially own a Minivan now we decide the other morning that we should load up the family truckster and take the family to the grocery store for the first time. We love the shopping carts for the kids!
Kade, this is my favorite place in the whole world :)
I've attached a video that shows 5 mins of our life with the Trio. They never stop moving and are always into something. On an average day they are awake from 5:30 am till 9am, 11am-1pm and 3pm-7pm. That's about 10.5 hours of nonstop action. Try to imagine that after watching this video. Oh, and add in feeding breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as daily baths :)
So, we are off and running into our second year. The first week in has been one of the tougher ones for us. You see, this is the second time we have had everyone sick at the same time. At some period or another everyone has run a fever. Larkin topped out at 103, Kade 102 and Maggie at 101. We aren't really sure what they have but Katie is pretty sure it is some type of virus. And, of course, if the kids get it then Katie and I get it. Her on Thursday and Friday and Me Friday and Sat. Everyone still has some lingering effects even now and sleep patterns must be relearned but we'll all survive :)
As we enter into this new year of their life we are excited to face new challenges. One of those being able to handle three new people in the world and their thirst for knowledge. We love to let the kids explore the house and explore they do. They are constantly in drawers, playing with toys or digging through the pantry. It seems that every night when we come down after putting them to sleep we spend about 20 mins picking up all the objects of their curiosity. While they all really like to get into everything we have found a couple things that each child seems to revolve around. In other word, objects that they always seem to be looking for.
For Kade its the remote control. It is the first thing that he looks for whenever you put him down. He will look high and low for the remote. That's fine that he likes it but its not good for our guests when he actually gets his hands on it. Why just the other day I received a urgent (J/K - I was just a regular call but as Katie says I have a flare for the dramatic) call from Katie while I was at work asking me where the remote was. While I didn't at the time remember Kade walking off with it, that actually was the case. I thought it was on the couch where I usually leave it and he can't reach it. However, he somehow was able to get to it and now it was MIA. Katie's dad and Jean were over helping out with the kids and trying to watch the Olympics but were unable to change the channel without the remote. So, after several mins of searching they were able to find it under some obscure piece of furniture. We even have two dummy remotes for him that don't go to anything but he always seems to end up with the real thing.
For Maggie its a few things. Her hairbrush, mom's watch, her stuffed dog or her bunny blanket. She isn't as much into the playing with toys as she is into power walking. As long as she has one of the aforementioned items all is good in her world. She will literally walk for two straight hours if you let her. If you are sitting on the ground when she walks by its almost like you aren't even there. She just blows by you whilst on some internal course around the playroom/den/kitchen that only she is aware of. You will ofter hear her just laugh out loud for no reason as she walks around. No one has done anything funny or anything its just like she has remembered something amusing from the past and it made her giggle. :)
Larkin loves anything and everything. He does have a great love for the radio in his room but since he is in his crib the majority of his time in there (When awake he is in the playroom or downstairs with us) he doesn't get to play with it very often. He seems to be the most interested in electronics. He is always trying to get to the sound machine or fan. We have a toy basketball goal the lights up if they make a basket and he will just sit there and try to figure out how they work. It appears that he has a little more natural curiosity as to how things work. He has figured out how to turn on toys before the other two on numerous occasions. Not only that but he also seems have a knack for pushing objects around. Whether its one of the walking toys, his little pop walker, a box or even his sister in her radioflyer. I guess he just likes to see what will happen if he pushes this toy over here and that toy over there.
We received a great gift (All gifts are great btw) from Katie's friend Laurie for their bday. It is a wagon that you can hook up like train cars and pull the kids around it it. The kids love it. I was for sure as soon as we sat them down and started pulling them around it was going to be a mayday call for multiple man overboards. However, quite the opposite has been true. Every time we put them in they just sit there on their best behavior and enjoy the ride. In fact, we decided to take them out this afternoon for their first wagon ride around the block. I've attached a video below. Enjoy!
Oh yeah, and we are selling our car. Please let us know if you or anyone you know would be interested :)
