A Flood of Christmas

With Christmas rapidly approaching we have not really watched as many Christmas movies as we would like. Mostly we've watched The Grinch and Rudolph repeatedly. Added this year is a movie that Elliott improperly called Thomas's Winter Merry Wish which is watchable and The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas which is not our favorite.

The boys love them so what can you say?


Lately one way to entertain Josephine has been putting her on top of the piano while I play. It's just a little dangerous so more often I put her in her high chair or Boppy beside the piano. This works better when her brothers aren't around to tackle her with hugs.


Josephine had her first spinach.


She did not love it.


She may also not love us anymore after our deep betrayal.


The boys liked White Christmas far more than I would have guessed. I didn't think it would be a huge hit since it essentially has nothing to do with anything Christmas related other than the first five minute and the last five minutes.

Elliott particularly enjoyed the first dance number with Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen. That is when he turned to me and famously said, "If he got cheese on his wonderful clothes I would eat it off."

This is the highest form of praise that anyone has ever laid at the feet of Danny Kaye.


We got tickets for a Boy Scout pancake breakfast which we attended and reminded me of the Boy Scout pancake breakfasts of yesteryear. This is the first time I've been on the other end of the breakfast, being served by awkward tweens who were exceptionally polite.

The boys ate about fifteen sausage links each.


We took the boys on a Christmas light tour in their pajamas while drinking hot chocolate. It started off very promising but Elliott was in a weird mood where he wouldn't talk to us then he started whining on the way home and not explaining what was the matter. Then he had an all out tantrum and screamed for about 45 minutes. When they were finally in their room I told them we could look at pictures of the lights we saw.

When we got to the above picture Elliott said, "That was my favorite. I didn't want to leave." I asked if that's why he was upset and he whimpered, "Yes." I then explained to him that telling us he wanted to stay a little easier would have made for a much more enjoyable 90 minutes for all of us.

It was both the saddest and most frustrating parenting moment of 2015.


We went out in search of a Christmas tree and the boys had a blast running in and out of the maze and mostly avoiding being hit by any cars after reminders to not go out into the parking lot.


I set up some festive Christmas lighting in the studio and we had some real fun playing down there, mostly Batman and Robin, the boys' favorite game where I am Batman, Elliott is also Batman, and Martin is Robin. Then there are bad guys and we have to get them and put them in jail.

Martin is a little obsessed with being Robin. This is concerning because no one should want> to be Robin.


We had an unexpected visit from Uncle Adam and there was a wild wrestling-filled evening before getting the boys to bed.


Jen has attempted many Christmas crafts with the boys in an attempt to send letters to family and Santa. I think she's probably put about 40 solid hours of work into generating maybe eight letters total.


Josie can almost stand using her Learning Farm which is a huge milestone for her. Unfortunately she has also hit a milestone of fussing and whining all the time whenever her most favorite person in the world (Mummy) walks more than two feet away from her. She does the same to me but only when Mummy is not around. Jen is first class. Grandma is fourth class. I'm fifth class. And everyone else is solidly around ninetieth class.


It's been exceptionally warm with temperatures in the 60s such that we've played out in the yard several times without even needing any jackets. All the toys are put away for winter so mostly they've had to improvise being superheros and building fences around the sand box.


The weather has brought many mushrooms to sprout form the lawn, this one in particular caught Elliott's interest enough to attempt to eat it. This left me calling poison control and being pretty sure that he was going to be okay.

So far, so good.


I also continued my insane crusade to decorate our house with excessive amounts of lights for Christmas. My goal is to not need to use our horrible overhead lights for Christmas dinner.


The boys have been extremely interested in coloring recently. I've been printing pages and pages of pictures for them on a daily basis. They are both extremely specific and very selective about exactly what it is that they color. Usually the selection process takes about 15-20 minutes and the coloring process lasts about 5-10.


We took them to the Arboretum on a rainy night to see the beautiful lights and this ended up being a huge fiasco.


While it was beautiful everyone was soaked and Josephine began freaking out.


Martin passed out on the way back as I sprinted in time trial position back to the cafe and seating area where a very good band was warming out to play songs.


Josephine's carrier was soaked and she uttered her first words, "Do not ever take me here again, Daddy."

Impressive.



After getting everyone home and out of their wet clothes I made a pot of hot cocoa for them to drink while in the tub. Elliott, of course, spilled his hot cocoa in the tub which meant we needed to drain it and hop in the shower.


This week started with the unthinkable: a basement flood. Our carpet was completely destroyed and, of course, nothing was covered by insurance. This left our basement in need of four days of drying and the days of music and playing Batman have come to a close until we can get it carpeted again.


It was a sad, sad day.


Elliott was obsessed with the men who were working hard to save our basement from a huge mold growth.


He was so obsessed that he grabbed a fork Christmas decoration and began pulling up the throw rug in our living room.


The two of them spent the afternoon rolling up our perfectly good carpet to dispose of it.



One day we'll be able to rebuild, I hope, as I have spent the little free time I have over the past two years to get the recording studio to a place where it was functional. With a concrete floor and tacks sticking out of the ground there isn't much I can do down there, especially without the boys.


Josephine discovered the glory of Mum-Mums and has been downing several a day. I think she is relieved that we finally seem to be getting the hint that she wants actualy, real food.


We took the boys to see Santa downtown. Martin was delighted and chatted him up. Elliott was extremely shy and didn't want to say anything. Josephine was fine with Santa until she remembered that she was starving and lost her mind.

Overall it went better than we expected.


Josephine has gotten her first tooth and is happy to bite your finger at any point to remind you of this.


The boys had a school pajama party in which the parents were all told to wear their pajamas as well. Jen and I were about 50% of the total parents who actually did this so we spent most of the time sitting on the floor feeling extremely awkward and avoiding eye contact with the other parents.


My parents arrived on Friday and were volunteered to watch the children as Jen and I left to go see the new Star Wars movie. Of course we didn't tell the boys why we were leaving. I can only imagine how pissed they'd be if they knew we were going to the movies, and to watch Star Wars without them nonetheless.

Some day they may read this and learn of this great betrayal. I can only respond by saying this was Daddy's first movie since 2011, before they were born. Also, it was a little too much for three-and-a-half year olds.

Also, I will watch any of the original movies with you at any time!

Three On One

Thanksgiving came very quickly. Before long the day was upon us and we were spending a fun morning with the kids at home before heading out to dinner.


The boys got to wear the pajamas all day which is pretty much their goal every single day. The only difference is that we didn't have to have a battle with them about changing out of pajamas until about 3pm.


We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade together as a family. This is a television event that, quite frankly, I could do without. However it brings Jen much joy so we have watched it the past few years. Martin was pretty interested in it and asked a lot of questions. Elliott seemed to have as much use for it as his father. He kept asking, "Is it over yet? It just keeps going on and on and on!"

I hear ya, Buddy.


Thanksgiving was also the last day we attempted to put them down for a nap. It didn't work, despite how close we came as I could have also used a nap with them. We realized it's not worth the wasted time and aggravation any longer. Therefore, the afternoon nap, a thing of beauty for any parent, is now a thing of the past.


Dinner was something of a disaster. All children present had meltdowns at various times. All except Josie. Josie simply sat in her seat, smiled, and blew raspberries, her new favorite activity.


We actually went out on Black Friday. Not to get deals or anything, we went out around 3:00 in the afternoon to get a few Christmas decorations and the stores were mostly empty. Unfortunately the combination of the time of day and the recently departed naps lead to a toddler meltdown in the Star Wars aisle which was totally my fault.

Martin wanted us to buy some sort of coloring book and I wouldn't let him and it was getting pretty ugly by the checkout.


Then Jen spotted a free horse ride and acted quick to distract, saving the day.


Jen left for Austin after the weekend and I had the week off of work, partly to care for these rambunctious children. After day one things were pretty good. All children were passed out in various states, the boys enjoying their newly redecorated beds for Christmas.


The following morning we got our second snowfall of the year causing the boys to ask if it was Christmas.


Jen left me with a fantastic gift as she left: a Beervent Calendar. She made this beautiful creation leaving me with a new beer every day. It may be the smartest gift anyone has ever gotten me.


On the last day before Mummy returned home I broke out some ninja costumes which endlessly entertained the boys through the afternoon. There was much battling, acrobatics, and quite a few unintentional injuries. Unintentional injuries are a daily occurrence anyway, this time they just happened while in costume.


We also received the delivery of a piano which was generously donated by a neighbor getting rid of theirs. This was great timing and I am hoping to put this instrument to good use as soon as it gets tuned.


Elliott took an interest in it right away and listened to me when I told him to play gently. He played each note, in reverse order, gently and deliberately. I was mostly expecting him to climb the piano then use it as a tactical advantafe for leaping on his brother so this impressed me greatly.


As Jen's plane landed and all the children were in bed I enjoyed my beervent calendar and a rare moment of silence in the house.


Here's to hoping this little lady sleeps through the night. She will be extra happy to see her mother as she has been pretty spoiled and does not enjoy drinking out of a bottle at all. She'll do it, but she'll make sure you know she doesn't like it.

Last night she refused to eat from a bottle but did eat an entire banana, half an avocado, and a bowl of rice cereal. I'm sure she'd have eaten more if I would have prepared more but I was starting to run out of ideas. She easily ate three times what her brothers ate by volume for dinner.

Of course she hasn't figured out how to lobby for dessert after three bites yet. That will come in time.

Old Friends

When in the basement cleaning up Martin came across Jen's old "yoga map" that she was going to discard. Martin would have none of it and immediately commandeered it.


He then showed us a number of yoga poses that Aunt Lauren had taught him including the popular move, "down dog."


When Auntie Caolan, Uncle Paul, and Jane came to visit, Martin wasted no time opening his studio and giving Jane a quick crash course.


We also took a trip downtown to the library, river walk, and eventually had lunch before returning home to nap.


We have a pretty strict practice of not starting Christmas music, movies, or decorating until after Thanksgiving. However, this year was special with friends visiting and a sudden cold snap. We decided to have our first fire of the season and play Elf for the kids. Even though it was a little premature it was nice to spend a portion of the forced holiday with old friends.


Uncle Paul entertained with many read books which all the kids enjoyed immensely.


When the kids were napping Paul finally got around to putting down a bass track to a song we initially recorded in 1998. Our band, Spruce Avenue Jam was known as "the earliest band in rock" because the only studio time we could get was at 6:00 AM. However, our struggle to complete this album has taken the better part of twenty years. Now we are one step closer to getting this one in the bag.

Look for it available for free download sometime in 2020.


Martin and Elliott were both battling ear infections leading up to the visit. Elliott had mostly kicked his and had almost finished his antibiotics before Martin developed a fever and screamed himself to sleep one night. We took him to the doctor where we had to wait 45 minutes alone in the room waiting for the doctor. The boys could not have been better behaved. Martin played with toys and Elliott read a book the entire time. I think they dealt with the wait more maturely than Jen and I did.


After a few days off Caolan, Paul, and Jane returned and Josie had a reprise of some sweet Uncle Paul snuggles which she really enjoyed during the visit.


We took the kids to the newly reopened children's museum where they had a blast and Caolan played with Josie in the baby area. We took turns trying to manage three easily-distracted toddlers throughout the establishment.


Sadly, after and on-and-off week, it had to come to an end and we had to say goodbye. While we used to see each other all the time our visits these days are few and far between. Usually they are also short so it was great to be able to spend numerous days with some great friends. We're really looking forward to the next time we can do this again.


The boys have been agitating for more reading time at night so Jen cleverly rigged up these Christmas lights on their beds so they could read by them. This has bought us a little more sanity at night for bedtime and you cannot put a cost on that.


Josephine continues to try new foods. The other day she tried her first carrots.


She did not like them.


After her first bite she began to search out an exit route.


The other day I took Martin Christmas shopping for Elliott and Josephine, a concept that was sort of lost on him. It was his first time in a toy store and he handled it better than I'd expected, but still ended up just giving the mask he'd picked out for Elliott as soon as he got home.

Jen had better luck with Elliott but he still blurted out what he'd gotten Martin for Christmas the second he walked in the door.


The boys agreed to help me, once again, hang the Christmas lights. With the biggest November snowstorm to hit Chicago in 120 years we had to act fast. I foolishly hung lights across the top of the house and set up Santa and Frosty which Elliott alternately hugged and proclaimed his love for and dismembered.

Toddlers have a tough time expressing love.


Jen made a huge batch of dumplings. Martin talked a lot about how they were just meatballs in a wrapper as his toddler brain tried to process what this new food was.


During the messy snowstorm we took the kids to the mall for a harrowing photo shoot. We were reminded why we haven't done this in a while. The kids were great and well behaved but they reached their limit quickly and the photo shoot lasted far longer than we'd hoped so we ended up racing home to try to have a late dinner with three children who were at the end of their rope and one baby who didn't really care either way.

Each year the photo shoot gets easier. This year we had two 3-year-olds, a 2-year-old, and a 7-month-old. Next year it will be two 4-year-olds, a 3-year-old, an 18-month-old, and a 11-month-old.

It doesn't sound it but that should be easier.

Halloween Wrap Up

Jen left town for a couple of days to visit family in Canada. I was left alone with the boys and, I feel guilty saying I got the best sleep I've gotten since Josie was born. The first morning they were gone I woke up at 6:00 AM feeling better than I've felt since I was a teenager.


While I missed Josie and her sweet smiles, it was incredible how easy it was only taking care of the two boys. I got them some construction worker costumes to wear while they play construction. Construction usually just consists of them dragging all the spare lumber out of the garage and piling it up in the driveway. They told the neighborhood girls that they were building a house for children that didn't have one. That sounds nice until you see the quality of house they build. Shoddy craftsmanship.


When Jen got back she worked at painting their shields for their Halloween costume.


Josephine turned six months old so we had some cupcakes to celebrate. The boys were delighted, Josephine was as annoyed as she is every time we eat something in front of her that she would like to partake in. This girl is ready for some cupcakes.


Trunk or Treat was a bit of a bust this year. It ended very early, about five minutes after I arrived. I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of my trunk but I did take this picture of Martin and Elliott in Auntie Lauren's trunk before getting in my car and driving home.


Josephine has now had butternut squash, sweet potato, applesauce, avocado, banana, and rice cereal. Applesauce and banana are probably the two favorites thus far.


We have wrapped up October and begun November with some incredible weather. Even on some of the cooler days we've played outside. Grandpa worked for hours on the frustrating task of getting the boys dressed to play in the yard. In the end they just wanted him to read them a book outside.


Later Martin fell asleep on Nana while she was reading to him. This is completely out of character. Then he slept on the couch and no amount of shaking or movement could wake him.

There is no precedent for this. This kid never wants to sleep.


I tried to get the boys involved in carving the pumpkin but they had exactly zero interest in doing this. In the end Evelyn ended up helping me scoop and was the only child with any sort of interest at all in making a jack-o'-lantern. This undoubtedly foreshadows future Halloweens when the boys are just a little too old and I'm still trying to push holiday traditions on them.

At least I got a taste of the rejection early so I know how it will feel.


We went to Grandma and Grandad's to trick or treat for a bit before heading back to our neighborhood.


There was a house on our street with a giant animatronic spider that would jump out at trick or treaters as they approached. The boys were startled by this. For Evelyn it was the end of her Halloween and we had to meet her back at home after finishing up the block with just the boys.


Then Elliott gave a dramatic retelling of what happened to my father. In the retelling he downplayed his own fright at the spider.



The weather was lousy, cold, and rainy but it was far better than last year where it took everything we had to make it through three houses.


The following night we had a nice birthday celebration for me complete with cake and pumpkin pie.


Immediately following this everyone started getting sick. First Elliott, then Josephine, then me and Jen. Martin was the last hold out but he too gave in to coughs, fever, and general lethargy.

Upcoming we have our first visit in Illinois from Caolan, Paul, and Jane and everyone is looking forward to it. The doctor says the boys aren't contagious any longer as we all just recover to get over the lingering cough.

Now we're just hoping we don't spread the joy of this virus to the rest of the world.