Me and the Boys during my time off (this one's a big one)

We are now completing our 4th week of Paternity Time. Alone time with Daddy is fleeting away very quickly...almost too quickly. I'm very much enjoying spending all this time with my boys. I've taken pictures when I've been able to do so, but, as anyone can imagine, when you've got 2 kids under the age of 3, extra time not doing anything is, fair to say, nonexistent. We've had many adventures, going outside to play, going to the grocery store, Christmas shopping, and surprising Nana for her birthday....just to name a few. I thought that I would share the photos I've taken thus far and, for lack of a better term, document the times we've had thus far.

Good pictures of the boys...

***************************************************

Christopher and Uncle Pat, "Hmmmmm.......let me think." (a slight alteration to Christopher and my rubbing our chins and saying, "Hmmmmm....let's see." but equally as cute.)

Christopher being forced to wear a stupid Christmas hat...its become a tradition of sorts....

**************************************************

Christopher at the last Notre Dame game...rocking the kelly green jersey...well, sir, they're not quite number 1, but they did make a bowl...somehow...

Our earnings from Black Friday shopping. Its something I'm not proud of, but Colleen really enjoys it because she hangs out with her family. They really have a good time and that is fun to be a part of it. Seeing Colleen have a good time makes it all worth the b.s. (I'm usually Colleen's "safety buffer"...keeping the crazy people at a safe distance while she's walking through the stores.) The actual shopping part of it is...well, dare I say, bonus.

Matthew showing off his goodies...he was laughing up a storm at everything all evening and we decided to get it in pictures...

Nana Marianne with the Matt-Man...I'm not sure if he's trying to get away or he's just trying to watch whats on t.v....well, he could also be keeping a beat on Christopher who painfully adores him...and I mean that literally...

Most kids go to bed with toys of some kind...stuffed animals...cars...balls. Christopher? Nope, books. I don't have the heart to tell him that he can't take books to bed. Why would I discourage a good thing, right? "Daddy? You go bye-bye now?" Love it.

**************************************************

Some of "Bug's" antics....

1.) Running...which is all he ever does when he's awake and not otherwise consumed with eating or drinking

2.) Finding places for random objects....such as a beer bottle cap he found on the table at my mother-in-law's house that needed a place to stay. He found that Uncle Patrick's birthday cake was a perfect place for the bottle cap to roost...and elegantly modeled by cousin Emily.

3.) He got a package of random mini-baseball helmets from Aunt Christine...so they're always being placed on someone's head...he loves wearing them...

Matt-Man...

1.) Cradle-Cap...Matthew has Cradle-Cap pretty bad. One of the remedies for cradle-cap is to rub olive oil into the scalp, let it sit for 15 minutes, brush the scalp firmly (but not too firm obviously), then wash it out. We, and by "we" I mean "me", decided to take advantage of the opportunity to make funny hairstyles out of the hot mess on his head...this one was our favorite.

2.) Christopher looks like he's about to give Matt-Man bunny ears...he probably is...

3.) Matthew post bath-time with Daddy...

*************************************************

"You see, Dad, its actually quite elementary. If you're going to continually attempt to constrain me within the dark bowels of my bedroom at nap-time, then you really must evaluate the environment within the said, "bowels", if you will. Planning and initiating my plan of escape was quite simple, the escape itself gave me a fantastic and...dare I say...[snidely] quite amazing rush...[evil laughter] MWAHA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! YOU CANNOT KEEP ME IMPRISONED WITHIN THE DARK CHASMS OF MY BEDROOM!!!!! YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME!!!!! [more evil laughter] MWAHA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"

***************************************************

"I love my Bumbo-Seat,..."



"but I can't stand my parents..."

***************************************************

Surprising Nana Marianne at work for her 60th birthday. We brought her flowers and took her out to lunch. These were the best pictures I could get as I had my hands a bit full! Christopher, as you can tell, wasn't as interested in surprising Nana as he was getting to her office to play with the toy busses! But she was elated nonetheless. It was a great time for all of us.

***************************************************

The Boys:

"Matt-Man" and "Bug"

Mr. Daddy Mom Day Care...

Its been almost a full week since Colleen had to return to work, much to her dismay. She's coping, but barely as her maternity leave replacement has apparently made a bigger mess of things in an already completely messed up system. That being said, I have spent the same amount of time with the boys during the day, utilizing a recent New Jersey statute, Family Illness/Baby Bonding Insurance Benefits, wherein I get 12 total weeks, but get paid up to 66% of my income for up to 6 weeks (or $527/week). Colleen and I did our finances and determined that it would be less expensive for me to utilize this benefit than to pay for Day Care for 2 kids...and, best of all, I get to chill with my boys and get some quality time with them...which I've taken advantage of to the utmost of my ability thus far...and have made time to get some house and personal projects done.

I can say that, thus far, it has been a relatively injury-free week for all involved. We've only had one minor incident that could have been major, but, thankfully, was not. Matthew has a small scar on his dome due to this, but otherwise, no other evidence of his injury. I was attempting to put him in his little swing and my hip pushed the tray down on his head....thankfully, I reacted swiftly and used the faulted hip to slow the tray...saving the day. Well, I don't know if "saving the day" would be the phrase I would use...maybe "minimizing the potential injury of" the day would be more appropriate.

Otherwise, it has been a good week...me and the boys have done a lot together....running errands, getting outside play time, getting inside play time, wrestling (for Christopher), standing up with Daddy's help (Matthew), cleaning up spit-up, attempting to potty train, et. al....can't say I'm sorry for taking the time off...not yet anyway. Its been pretty cool to hang out with the boys...I think I'm going to miss it when I return to work (Jan. 3)

Halloween Festivities at the Kane House

Halloween is typically a festival-like atmosphere out here in Levittown, PA. There's the in-law family, the fact that some of us work with children, many of us have children, costumes...make up...the whole-9. This year was a very exciting year for Halloween because this was the first year that Christopher would probably "get it"...and by "get it" I mean put it all together that he can get candy merely by being a kid (of course, being cute doesn't hurt either, right?)

Prior to our Halloween pilgrimage, we had to tucker our eldest out to ensure maximum nappage efficiency (MNE). In order to effectively do this, we had to take him outside and let him get in some hard play for an hour or so. We played some baseball, soccer, football, catch, and mowed the lawn. After this fun, he went directly in for his nap, with Daddy pulling his "Nanny 911" treatment, again to ensure MNE. The tactics proved to be a success for Christopher as he did achieve MNE. During all of this, Colleen managed Matthew, who is coming into his own...

We finally get to the point in the day when Christopher and Matthew have to costume up in preparation for the candoblivion that was about to go down. Colleen and I drew straws to decide who would get which kid to costume...Colleen got Matthew, who gave her no problems. I, however, had to go tete-a-tete with a child-samurai...fighting me tooth and nail not wanting to wear his costume. Daddy, however, was determined, and, with some help from Mommy (attempting bribery), defeated the great samurai after close to a 10-minute struggle. "KING KONG AIN't GOT NOTHIN' ON ME!" (not that I should feel any great pride for all but physically abusing my 2 1/2 year old son merely to get him into a costume, but I take victories when I get them as they are few and far between). Christopher was dressed at Mickey Mouse (a fine costume we got from Cindy, a former employee of my mother-in-law's...and it was quite affordable! FREE!) and Matthew was a monkey (equally as affordable as this costume was purchased by my mother-in-law herself...thanks to both Marianne and Cindy).

We did the obligatory family visits, which was bittersweet as we first visited my in-law's home. It was great for them to see the boys in their costumes (Christopher had humbled from his sound defeat merely a few minutes prior to this), but it was sad because we all thought of how, Bob, my father-in-law, would have loved to see the boys in their costumes. Leaving there somewhat somber, we left for Colleen's Aunt Christine's house. Her house is Trick-or-Treat Central. We converged, at some dinner, and began Trick-or-Treating. Christopher was quite skeptic for the first 2 or 3 houses. He didn't get that the candy was to go in his Trick-or-Treat bag and that he couldn't eat the candy yet. He was also skeptical of having to go to random people's homes for these treats. The process noted below.

House 1: Not a fan of the whole process. Would not put the chips in the bag

insisted on holding the candy in his hand and asking for Daddy to

open it.

House 2: Skeptical, but let the hostess put candy in his bag, which he quickly

removed from the bag, asking Daddy to open it immediately. Also

had the problem of having only two hands with which to hold a

Trick-or-Treat bag, a bag of chips, and a full-size Butterfinger.

Opted to hold the Butterfinger.

House 3: Not bashful at all. Knocked on the door after Daddy's suggestion to

do so. Realized that holding the Butterfinger wasn't very practical

and put it in his Trick-or-Treat bag, then offered his hand for the

hostess to place candy...which was promptly put into his bag. After

this, Christopher takes off running as if he's running from the police

to the next house in line...Daddy has to take off running after him.

This behavior continued for the next hour as we were Trick-or-

Treating.

It was a fun night for all of us. Colleen had Matthew in the stroller, who loves to be out for walks regardless...and, thanks to our friend Jen Ramirez, we had a sit-and-stand stroller for the boys. Christopher even took advantage of having the "limo" at the ready towards the end of the night. Don't hate the player, hate the game. The family regrouped at Central...went through candy, left, did some T-orT'ing in our neighborhood (neighbors, one of Colleen's former teachers from grade school, and a co-worker of Colleen), then met up at Uncle Jack's house. We stayed there for about an hour, then came home...put the tuckered out boys to bed, went thought candy (of course we had to sample a few to ensure safety). Overall it was a great night and both boys enjoyed their evenings (although at different levels). It was fun to watch Christopher "get it" so quickly and have so much fun Trick-or-Treating...I can't wait until Matthew "gets it". Regardless, good times were had by all.

Too Cool for School

My main man with his cool shades from Sonic drive-in...

The Boys

Just some cute shots of the boys taken yesterday....and, honestly, one of the few times that Christopher hasn't almost loved Matthew to death.

Some Updated Photosd

1.) There are few cuter things than a sleeping baby.

2.a.) Christopher comes running from the kitchen shouting at the top of his lungs, "DADDY! I HAVE GLASSES!"

2.b.) He demanded I try them on, too...