SwingDaddy

Games with Kids

2009-11-10T23:38:00.000-08:00

Buster slept through the night! He got up around 7:00, and M-lady got up with him. She brought him to bed a short time later, and Bud joined us. After Buster bounced around on the bed a little, I changed his diaper and got him into clean clothes. We hung out in the hexagon for a little while, and then headed downstairs to get some breakfast.

The kids ate pretty well, and M-lady took over breakfast duties while I got myself dressed. Nanny J arrived at 8:45, and M-lady and I headed for work.

The kids apparently went to the park and had a good time. Buster had his usual afternoon nap, and both kids had baths later in the afternoon. M-lady discovered a soaked shirt in Buster's laundry this evening, and the speculation is that he managed to get into the tub before Nanny J got all his clothes off. He loves to play in the water.

I got home a little after 5:00, and danced and played with the kids for a while after Nanny J departed. We settled down by watching an episode of Ace of Cakes before M-lady arrived home. Dinner followed.

After dinner, I played some card games with Bud. He's not much fun to play with right now, since he bends the rules so he can win. I need to teach him about playing by the rules so everyone can have fun. M-lady spent the time reading many, many books to Buster.

We had a snack and watched a little bit of The Clone Wars before heading for bed. I read Bud some more of The Hobbit, which he really seems to be enjoying, although he continues to ask innumerable questions. Eventually I called a moratorium on questions until morning, and we turned out the light. He fell asleep within a few minutes.

Buster has called out once, but hopefully will stay asleep for the rest of the night.

How We Play Football

2009-11-09T23:45:00.000-08:00

Buster woke a few times during the night, and I was up with him the first couple of times. M-lady got up with him when he woke around 7:00, and did the first morning shift with the kids. I got up a little before 8:00 to help out with Buster while M-lady and Bud got some breakfast.

Buster and I came down a short time later to have some breakfast, and then said goodbye to Bud and M-lady as they headed off to school. Buster and I played together for a bit in the playroom before Nanny J arrived and tempted Buster away with an apple. I headed off for work.

The kids apparently had a good day. I got home a little after 5:00, and the kids were running around the living room, playing football. After Nanny J took her leave, we all ran around together. Buster had the ball, I ran in circles around him, and Bud tried to tackle me. Buster alternated saying, "Hike! Hike! Hike!..." and, "Taggul! Taggul! Taggul!..." Every once in a while I'd let Bud catch me and we'd all fall down, and I'd get a few tickles in on both kids.

After getting both kids winded, we headed to the playroom to watch some Monday Night Football. M-lady arrived home a little later, and we got started on dinner.

Bud ate pretty well, and Buster ate a bit. Buster must be out of his growth phase right now, because he's not consuming his body weight at each meal. We all played in the playroom together a bit after dinner, watched a little more football, and then had a snack and headed for bed.

I was able to put Buster down pretty quickly after brushing teeth and watching a little bit of Sesame Street on the web. M-lady put Bud to bed after reading to him for a little while. Both kids have slept soundly so far this evening.

Park, Crafts, and Video Games

2009-11-08T23:22:00.000-08:00

Buster was up a little before 7:00, and M-lady got up with him. I got up around 7:30, and found Bud up in the office playing with Lego. We all headed downstairs before too long to get started on breakfast.

I got a batch of waffles together, which everyone seemed to enjoy. After waffles, I went back to be for about half an hour while M-lady watched the kids and got ready to go to ballet.

After M-lady left, I got myself dressed and loaded up the kids to go to the park. Bud picked the park, and we headed over there. The kids had a great time playing on the equipment. We started on the smaller jungle gym, and Buster tackled the stairs and slides on his own. Then Bud showed interested in the bigger gym, so we wandered over there. I chaperoned Buster, who still managed the stairs, and was all set to throw himself down some very large slides. I rode the slides with him repeatedly.

Bud showed off some good climbing and balance skills, and we had a lot of fun together. After about an hour, we got back in the car, and swung by REI on the way home just to look around a little bit. Bud was interested in the skis, but ready to head home pretty quickly. After a quick look around the store, we headed out and swung by a Jamba Juice on the way home to pick up a snack.

Bud sucked down his whole juice pretty quickly, and Buster had about half of mine. After juice we watched a little bit of TV, checking out the football scores before I noticed that there was a dog show on. The kids really liked it. Bud in particular found a show Shih Tzu to be hilarious.

We got started on lunch a short time later, and both kids ate pretty well. M-lady arrived home as we were wrapping up lunch, and after she had eaten her lunch I started getting ready for a bike ride. I put Buster down for a nap around 2:00, and then left Bud and M-lady working on origami together for the ride.

Buster apparently slept until about 3:30. I got home around 4:30, and found the boys in their football jerseys and everyone doing pretty well, although Buster seemed a bit grumpy. I plunked down to watch a little more football with them while M-lady got dinner together.

We had a good dinner, and afterward I was able to get both kids cycled through the shower pretty quickly. Bud was anxious to get into PJs so we could play some Wii Sports Resort before bedtime. We played sword fighting, table tennis, golf, and bowling before wrapping up and getting a snack.

M-lady put Buster to bed, and I read Bud another chapter from The Hobbit before we wrapped up for the night. When I finally turned out the light around 8:45, Bud fell asleep in about two minutes. Both kids have slept quietly so far this evening.

Mid-Day Crash

2009-11-07T23:15:00.000-08:00

Buster woke at about 5:45 this morning, and I got up with him. He was content hanging out in his crib, and I managed to snooze a bit on the couch, but I don't think he got back to sleep. I switched with M-lady at about 7:00, and Bud got up a bit before 8:00.

I got up a bit after 8:00 to help recover from a dispute over a toy between the kids, and ended up taking Buster downstairs to breakfast. Bud and M-lady joined us a few minutes later. After the kids had eaten, we all watched the results show of Dancing With The Stars together.

I played a little bit of a computer game with Bud, and then we packed up and headed over to Aunt O and Uncle C's place to celebrate Aunt O's birthday. Ama and Agu were there, and the boys were happy to see them. Cousin C looked a little suspicious of us at first, but didn't seem to mind having the playmates in the house.

We had a nice lunch, and the kids had a good time playing together. Buster was getting tired, though, having woken up so early, and we took off for home shortly after we had some cake. Buster and M-lady fell asleep on the drive home.

I was able to transfer Buster to his crib, and M-lady and I fell asleep as well. I think Bud played with Legos by himself for a bit. We all got up a bit before 4:00, and M-lady fed the kids a snack.

I watched a little bit of The Wiggles with the kids before we had some dinner. The kids ate a solid dinner, and afterward we all played together in the living room for a little while. I put on music from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and we had a big lightsaber fight and rolled balls around.

Eventually we had a snack, and started the bedtime routine a little earlier than usual. Buster and I watched some Sesame Street videos on the computer before wrapping up and going to bed a little after 8:00. Bud went to sleep around the same time. Buster has called out a few times this evening, but has gone back to sleep quickly each time.

Special Noodle Soup

2009-11-06T23:16:00.000-08:00

Buster was up early this morning again, around 6:00. M-lady was up with him first, and I got up with him around 6:45. Bud was up a short time later, and the standard morning proceeded, although Bud was a bit snorky, sounding like he might be coming down with something. We deemed him fit for school, though, and M-lady took Bud off to school around 8:15. Buster and I read stories together until Nanny J arrived.

M-lady was home a bit early today, and I managed to get home right at about 5:15. Nanny J had already left, and I took a few minutes to settle in before joining the family. I gave M-lady a break and sat with the kids in front of the TV for a bit, watching one of Bud's favorite shows, How It's Made on the Science Channel. Unfortunately I was knackered, and fell asleep, so I didn't shut the TV off to get dinner quickly enough.

Bud got a bit cranky (since he was hungry), and ended up heading up to his room for a timeout. A few minutes later, he was asleep. M-lady and I got Buster fed and finished up our own dinner, and then I started the process of getting Bud awake again to eat something.

I made Bud some ramen for dinner, (the Special Noodle Soup), which he really enjoyed after I'd gotten him to wake up a little bit. After dinner, we started on the bedtime routine. Buster was getting pretty tired after being pretty well behaved all evening, and M-lady got him into bed. I read more of The Hobbit to Bud before putting him to sleep. Hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow.

Rasp

2009-11-05T22:51:00.000-08:00

Buster was up again around 5:30, but went back to sleep until around 7:00. I got up to help Bud get dressed at about 7:15, but headed back to bed for a little while after that. M-lady got the kids headed downstairs for breakfast, where I joined them as they were finishing up.

The kids and I read some stories for a while, and the cleaners arrived around 8:30, followed shortly by Nanny J. The kids started playing with her quickly, and I packed up and headed off for work.

The kids had a good day, and did end up going to the park again, even though the weather turned a bit chillier today. It rained on my a little on the way home, and apparently poured (briefly) on M-lady's drive home.

I arrived home in time to see Nanny J off, and Bud and I immediately had dinner. Bud had asked to work on the workbench in the garage with me this evening, and I suggested that if we ate dinner quickly, we could spend the rest of the evening working in the garage as soon as M-lady got home.

Buster wasn't really interested in eating at the time, but Bud ate a very good meal. After dinner, we all watched a few minutes of football before M-lady arrived home. She started getting her and Buster's dinner ready, and Bud and I headed out to the garage.

Bud picked up a rasp out of the toolbox, and I showed him how to use it on a piece of scrap 2x4. He was entranced, and spent about an hour shaping the wood. He was very proud of the edge he managed to round off. He also managed to mostly cover himself in sawdust.

We headed in around 7:30, got into PJs, had a snack, and headed for bed. M-lady put Buster to bed, and I read a bit more of The Hobbit to Bud. Bud was asleep by about 8:45.

Buster apparently woke a couple times during the evening, but has slept quietly for a while now. Still hoping he'll start sleeping through the night again!

Another Photo Shoot

2009-11-04T23:28:00.000-08:00

Buster didn't wake up this morning until about 5:30, which definitely marked an improvement in his sleeping pattern. M-lady went and slept in his room for a while at that point. Bud came and got me up around 7:00, and I hung out with him in his room for about fifteen minutes before we got him dressed and got started on the standard morning routine.

Buster was bright-eyed by that point, but seemed happy hanging out with M-lady as she got ready, so I took Bud downstairs to breakfast. They joined us before too long, and I fed Buster some oatmeal as M-lady and Bud took their leave and headed off to school. Buster and I finished up breakfast and read stories until Nanny J arrived around 8:45.

The kids had a good day with Nanny J. They headed to the park in the afternoon, and Nanny J's husband met them there to try some more photos (we got a few good images from the photoshoot this weekend, but most were of us trying to stop Buster from chasing geese into the lake). The kids seemed happy as usual when I arrived home a little after 5:00.

After saying goodbye to Nanny J, we played in the living room for a while, before heading into the playroom and watching a little bit of TV before starting on dinner. Bud was interested in a nature program, so we watched some of that. Buster eventually let me know he was hungry, so we got started on dinner.

Both kids ate really well. M-lady arrived home as we were getting set up, and joined us for dinner. After dinner, I surprised Bud and M-lady with some treats I'd picked up during the day at a Chinese bakery, which was next door to the place I had lunch.

We all played together in the living room for a little while after dinner, and got started on the bedtime routine shortly after. I did the routine with Buster, and he was very cooperative. He usually tries to delay getting into his PJs, but offered up both arms to put them on tonight. We watched some videos, which Bud and M-lady joined us for, and then headed off to bed. I think he was pretty tired, because he fell asleep right away.

Both kids have slept quietly so far tonight, and I have high hopes that Buster will sleep until morning.

Another Evening Outing

2009-11-03T21:40:00.000-08:00

Buster was again restless last night, so M-lady was in his room for a while, and I slept there from about 4:00 to 7:00. M-lady got up with the kids at 7:00, as I tried to de-kink from sleeping on Buster's couch. Buster was very happy when he got up, though.

I got the kids some breakfast around 8:00, and we read stories together until Nanny J arrived at 8:45. I headed for work a short time later.

The kids apparently had a good day, and were running around the living room as usual when I got home shortly after 5:00. We said goodbye to Nanny J, and read stories again for a little while. Buster has recently become much more patient with stories, generally waiting for the reader to finish reading the page before turning to the next one.

We watched a little bit of Ace of Cakes, which wrapped up just as M-lady arrived home. We all had a good dinner, and then loading into the car to go vote. The polling place was at Bud's future elementary school. We explained to Bud that this was the school he'd be going to next year, and he looked around carefully.

After getting home, we had time to watch a few videos and look at pictures on the computer before going back downstairs for a snack. M-lady supervised the snack, and I took Bud upstairs and got him ready for bed. We read a little bit of The Hobbit, but cut short a little bit since Bud was jumping on the bed.

Both kids went to sleep without too much issue, and have slept peacefully so far. Hopefully Buster's restlessness the past couple of nights has been due to the time change, and he'll start settling down a bit more soon.

Dinner Quest

2009-11-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

Buster was again up a little early, and M-lady brought him to bed because we hadn't yet change the clock in his room, thinking it was time to get up in about 10 minutes. Buster poked me in the back for a few minutes before M-lady took him off to the hexagon for a while. I rose when Bud got me out of bed around 7:15.

The morning was pretty straightforward. Bud was good about getting ready for school, and he and M-lady took off around 8:15. Buster and I read stories together until Nanny J arrived at 8:45, and I started getting ready for work. Since it was already pretty warm out (time change again), Nanny J took Buster out for a walk/toddle.

Bud had a good day at school, and the kids were doing their usual running around the living room when I got home, although it was getting hard to see. M-lady arrived home a few minutes later, and we said goodbye to Nanny J. After M-lady got settled, we talked a little bit about our dinner plan.

We decided to all go out to the grocery store to get a few necessary items, including replenishing our supply of milk. On the drive to the store, we talked about generally about Thanksgiving plans. Buster got hold of a new word, 'turkey', and repeated it for a while. The kids were well behaved while shopping, and the trip went quickly. We were able to get home and get dinner in the oven in a pretty timely manner.

We watched a little bit of MNF before switching to The Wiggles while dinner cooked. Everyone ate well at dinner, and we were finished by about 7:00. Bud had a piece of Halloween candy for dessert, Buster got a piece of candy corn, and we watched a little more TV before starting the bedtime routine.

I put Buster to bed after brushing teeth, watching a couple of videos, and reading a few stories. He fell asleep pretty quickly, but has called out a few times this evening so far. Bud went to sleep after M-lady put him to bed, and has slept well. Hopefully Buster will quiet down and sleep in just a little longer tomorrow.

Face in the Soup Bowl

2009-11-01T23:05:00.000-08:00

Buster woke really early this morning, at something like 4:30. M-lady was up with him, and slept with him for a bit in the hexagon. We switched places at about 6:30, and I read stories with him in the hexagon until about 7:30, when Bud got up. M-lady helped Bud out of bed, and I headed downstairs with the kids while M-lady headed back to bed for a little while.

The kids and I played downstairs for a bit before watching a little bit of TV. When the program was over, I got started on breakfast, making pancakes. M-lady came and joined us, and everyone had a good breakfast. After cleaning up a bit, I headed upstairs to lie down again for a while as M-lady played with the boys.

I woke again around 11:00, and after getting dressed headed downstairs with the boys again for a bit. We headed out to the garage for a while, and they ran around on the driveway and front yard while I did some work on my workbench project. Buster was slightly distressed by the noise of the drill, but got over it quickly.

We headed back inside a little after noon, and got some lunch. The kids were really hungry, and ate well. M-lady joined us for lunch, and we all sat down together for a time. As lunch was wrapping up, Buster was getting sleepier and sleepier. He actually fell asleep in his chair, still holding a piece of quesadilla and with a small grin on his face. I cleaned him up and took him up to his room for a nap.

Bud and M-lady spent some time playing together while I ran an errand, and enjoyed putting together a model of the solar system that Bud had acquired. Bud can now name all the planets in order (including Pluto), and so really enjoyed putting the model together with M-lady. They showed it to me when I arrived home.

Bud and I did some more work in the garage, and when M-lady headed out for an early evening blog-related event, Bud and I headed back inside, since Buster was still asleep. We had a nice video chat with Granddad B and Grandma Nese, during which Buster woke and joined us.

After the chat, we had a little snack, and played together for a bit before getting started on dinner. The kids were good about dinner, and we all had a nice meal together. After dinner, we had a video chat with Grandma W and Granddad B, which both the boys participated in. They ended up getting a little rambunctious, though, and we eventually said goodnight. M-lady arrived home a short time later, and we I got the kids bathed before we had snacks and started the bedtime routine.

I read the second chapter of The Hobbit to Bud, who really seems to be enjoying the story. It's lots of fun to read. Bud didn't get to sleep until about 9:00, but both kids have slept quietly so far this evening.

Trick Or Treating

2009-10-31T23:08:00.000-07:00

Buster had sort of a tough night, and M-lady slept in his room until about 5:30, at which point I slept in his room with him until morning. The kids slept in a little bit this morning, which was part of our plan to stretch out the time change shock over a couple of days. Buster got up a bit after 8:00, and I was able to hand him off to M-lady and head back to bed for a little while.

M-lady and I switched places at about 9:30. Bud was dressed and had eaten breakfast, but Buster had done neither. He didn't seem too upset about not having eaten much, though. We played together in the living room for a little while before we sat down in front of the TV and watched an episode of Sesame Street. The kids really enjoyed it.

We had a snack at about 11:00, even though lunch was imminent. Buster was getting pretty hungry by then. After the snack, we played in the living room a bit more, and were soon joined by M-lady. I got started on making grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch for everyone soon after.

After a solid lunch, the boys played in the living room while I chatted on the phone with Grandma Nese and then Grandma W for a while. They were pretty well behaved, although Buster picked up and then hung up an extension, disconnecting my call at one point. The boys were also very interested in using me as a jungle gym during the call. They were generally pretty quiet, though.

After the call, I put Buster down for his nap. He zonked out pretty quickly, and I was able to spend a little time with Bud before we started getting ready for our outing. When Buster got up, we got him dressed and packed up to head to one of the Cupertino parks.

We met Nanny J and her husband there, who enjoys taking photographs. We proceeded to run around the park, trying to corral the kids into photos. Bud now has a sense for posing, and does pretty well. Buster was more interested in chasing after the geese, and would have plunged into the lake on several occasions if Bud and I hadn't stopped him.

We had fun at the park, all in all, although toward the end Buster tripped and scraped his hands up a little bit. We headed home, and after cleaning up, Bud headed out with M-lady to pick up some dinner. Buster and I watched some Sesame Street and Muppet Show YouTube videos while waiting for them to return.

We all had dinner, and afterward I finished up carving the big pumpkin. When that was ready to go, Bud and Buster got into their costumes, and we went out trick-or-treating.

Bud definitely had the idea this time, although he was pretty satisfied after hitting about 4 houses. Buster had a tendency to wander off, but was content to be carried for the second half of the outing. All in all we had a good time, and managed to get back before it got really dark.

Bud was excited to eat some candy, and Buster got a couple of bites as well. We then settled in to play a little bit of Lego Star Wars and answer the door for other trick-or-treaters. There wasn't a huge number of kids out, but we answered the door a bit. At about 8:00 we had snacks and got the kids ready for bed, with an intent to keep them up as late as possible.

I put a very tired Buster to bed around 8:45, and he passed out without any trouble. M-lady put Bud to bed around the same time. Both kids were pretty tuckered out, and have slept soundly so far this evening.

Halloween Eve

2009-10-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

Buster was up early again this morning, and M-lady took the first shift with him. I joined him at about 6:30, and he was already dressed and reading stories in his crib. After about 10 minutes, I toted him over to the hexagon, where we read more stories and played until about 7:30.

At that point we headed out and got Bud out of bed and started getting him ready for school. It wasn't too tough to motivate him today, since he got to dress up as Obi-Wan for Halloween. We got Buster all set as Yoda, too.

We all took Bud to school, and got to see him perform some season-appropriate songs and poems with the rest of his class. Star Wars seemed to be a popular costume choice, with a Jango Fett, a Clone Trooper, a Luke Skywalker, and another Obi-Wan in attendance.

M-lady took Buster back home to Nanny J, and I headed into work. The kids apparently had a good day, and M-lady arrived home mid-afternoon. She got some work done before Nanny J took her leave a little before 5:00. I arrived home a few minutes later, and joined an ongoing lightsaber battle/football game.

We got started on dinner early, and the kids ate pretty well. After dinner, we watched a little bit of The Wiggles before heading out to the garage to carve pumpkins. Bud had been using a washable marker on his pumpkin, and apparently redrew the face over and over again today.

We got his pumpkin cleaned out, although I had to erase his drawing in the process. I carved a face based on his drawing and directions, though, and he was pleased with the result. Buster and M-lady joined us in the garage for a bit, but the garage currently isn't really a safe place for Buster, and he was frustrated that he couldn't get down and explore or help with the pumpkins.

Bud and I came in after cleaning up, and stripped out of our dirty clothes in the laundry room. We got into PJs, came downstairs for a snack, and then headed up to bed. We read more of The Hobbit this evening, but Bud was a little less patient with it tonight, and wanted to hear more about the dragon. I appeased him a bit by looking at pictures of Smaug on the web.

M-lady put Buster to sleep, but he's been up and down a bit this evening. Hopefully he'll settle down and sleep through the night.

Solo Slide

2009-10-29T23:14:00.000-07:00

Buster was up pretty early, and M-lady brought him into our bed a little before 6:00. I was up a short time later finishing up a document for work, and came back to bed near 7:00. Buster was in my spot. I managed to nudge him out of the way a little, but didn't snooze much from that point on.

M-lady was kind enough to watch the kids for a bit while I slept, but needed to leave early for work. I got up and hung out with the kids from about 8:15 on. We headed downstairs and all had some oatmeal for breakfast.

Nanny J arrived at 8:45, and I was able to sleep just a little more before heading into work. The kids went to the park with Nanny J in the morning, and Buster apparently climbed the big playground gym and went down the big slide without any trepidation at all.

M-lady arrived home at 5:15, and had a good time playing with the kids while I finished up work and headed home. I picked up a couple of pumpkins on the way home: Bud already has one, but I got a big one for the family and a little one for Buster. The kids were excited to see the new pumpkins when I got home.

We drew faces on the kids pumpkins tonight, and will do the carving tomorrow. Bud used a washable marker on his, so we can wipe it off and try again. M-lady drew a happy face on Buster's little pumpkin with a more permanent pen, and Buster had fun toting his pumpkin around (and saying "Puh-kih" repeatedly) until dinnertime.

Both kids ate pretty well, and after dinner we watched a little bit more of The Wiggles until it was time for a snack and the start of bedtime.

After a snack, I got Bud into PJs, and then handed him off to M-lady, who got to read some more of The Hobbit to him. I put a very tired Buster to sleep after watching a couple of Sesame Street videos on the computer. Buster woke once a bit later, but otherwise the kids have slept well.

The Best Story

2009-10-28T23:58:00.000-07:00

The kids were up fairly early, and we did a pretty usual morning routine. Bud was a little ahead of schedule this morning, though, and was ready to leave shortly after 8:00. I had an 8:00 conference call, so we all sat around for a little while as I listened to the call before M-lady and Bud headed for school.

Fortunately my call wrapped up pretty quickly, and I had some breakfast with Buster until Nanny J arrived. I headed to work a short time later.

I managed to arrive home a few minutes before M-lady, right at 5:15. We said goodbye to Nanny J, and played a bit of football all together. There was a lot of running around. Buster would get the ball, and repeat one of three words while running: "Hike!", "Run!", or "Tah-gul!" (Tackle!).

When everyone started getting a little tired, we cooled down by watching some Wiggles on TV. Buster can now say "Wiggle" as well. Eventually we had some dinner, although Buster didn't eat a whole lot at first.

After dinner, there was a little more TV before having a snack and getting ready for bed. Bud decided to forgo his snack, but Buster used the opportunity to actually eat his dinner. Bud and I got ready for bed, and decided to start reading The Hobbit.

Bud was really interested, and even more so when I showed him pictures on my iPhone from the web. It's great to see all the artwork which I remember from my mother's Tolkein calendars available for sharing on the web, and I was able to find some of my favorites of Bilbo and Gandalf to show him.

We got about half way through the first chapter, and we both really enjoyed it. He asked a lot of questions at first, but they slowed down as we got farther in, and he got into the swing of just listening and imagining. I'm looking forward to reading more over the coming weeks.

Constant Football

2009-10-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

Buster was up fairly early again, and M-lady got up with him. I woke with Bud a little after 7:00. Buster was happily reading books in his crib while the rest of us got dressed before heading downstairs.

Friends C and E greeted us, had some breakfast with us, and then took their leave. Buster gave them a big goodbye wave. Nanny J arrived at 8:45, after the kids had finished up breakfast and were busy playing football again. I headed for work a short time later.

The kids were apparently still playing football when I got home around 5:00. Both were happy, and we played some more with Nanny J before she left. Then we played more after she left. Eventually I got a bit winded, and suggested we watch a little bit of TV before dinner.

Bud has been clamoring about The Wiggles recently, so we watched them on Netflix instant download. Bud enjoyed as expected, and Buster had a good time watching as well. He identified just about every animal on the show as a dog, though. The goat, the camel, the wombat, the koala, and the kangaroo were all dogs. The cockatoo was identified as a bird, though, so that was good.

After watching a bit, we got started on dinner. Both kids ate well, and M-lady arrived home as we were finishing up. After dinner, we all watched a little bit of Pingu (also Netflix) before starting to get ready for bed.

Both kids had a snack and then headed for bed. M-lady put Bud to bed, and I put Buster down. He was in bed shortly after 8:00, and fell asleep pretty quickly. Both kids have slept quietly so far this evening.

Playing With Guests

2009-10-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

Buster woke this morning around 6:30, and I went into his room to see if I could convince him to go back to sleep. I wasn't able to, so we got up and got him into a clean diaper before joining M-lady and Bud, who woke around 7:00.

M-lady had to head into work a bit early, but was able to help get Bud dressed. I got the boys downstairs and had some breakfast, and we got ready to head to school. Nanny J arrived early, around 8:15, and Bud and I headed out.

The school drop off went fine. The kids apparently had a good day, and were happily running around when I arrived home at about 5:00. Both kids were wearing their football jerseys. After dropping my things, we said goodbye to Nanny J and started getting ready to entertain Friends C and E, who would be arriving shortly.

M-lady got home by 5:30, and I was able to get started on dinner. M-lady gave the kids a very soft football which she'd picked up the night before, and the kids had a great time playing with it, although sharing appropriately became a little bit of an issue. When Friends C and E arrived at about 6:00, Bud headed upstairs for a few minutes before feeling comfortable enough to come down. Buster seemed to do just fine.

We all had a good dinner, and there was much lightsaber fighting after dinner. We had fun in the living room, with everyone taking part in the battle. There was a fair amount of football played as well, and Friend C drafted a play for Bud which he didn't entirely execute, but had fun learning.

The kids were pretty tired out by the time we had a quick snack and headed up to bed. M-lady was able to put Bud down pretty quickly, but Buster wanted company while he was falling asleep. He eventually was out before 9:00. Both kids have slept quietly since then.

I was really happy with how well both kids behaved all evening, letting us chat with our friends, but also having fun playing with the guests. We all had a fun time.

More Words

2009-10-25T23:24:00.000-07:00

Bud was up this morning at about 7:00, and I got up with him. We chilled in his room about about half an hour before heading downstairs to get some breakfast. Buster joined us a short time later, and after breakfast was progressing, M-lady came down and offered to let me go back to bed for a little while, so I did just that.

M-lady got the kids dressed and played with them for the morning. They apparently had a very good time. The rolled me out of bed a little after 10:00, with kids jumping on the bed with me to see how I was doing.

M-lady headed off to run some errands a short time later, and after I got dressed and ready to go, I loaded up the kids and we headed off to the grocery store. They were great at the store. Bud stuck close to the cart, and Buster was content to ride along and name everything he recognized in the produce aisle ("Apple! 'Nana! Brokly!")

When we arrived home, I got the kids out of the car and unloaded the groceries. Buster started unloading bags as soon as we got in the door. Once the car had been unloaded, I took Buster's shoes off for him, and he offered the first distinct two-word phrases I've heard from him: "One shoe. Two shoe."

We got groceries unloaded as I put together some lunch for the kids. Buster ate a big lunch, including half of mine. After eating, we had a nice video chat with Grandma W and Granddad B. Both kids were involved, and enjoyed interacting with the grandparents. Eventually Buster was showing signs of fatigue, so we signed off and I put Buster down for a nap. He fell asleep pretty quickly.

Bud and I played on the computer together for a little while before Buster woke. He had only slept for about 40 minutes or so, and had a poopy diaper. I changed him and hoped he'd fall back to sleep, but no luck. We had some quiet time, though. M-lady arrived home a short time later, so Bud played with her.

I did some work in the garage with Bud in the later afternoon, and M-lady and Buster joined us after a bit. We played on the lawn for a little while, and eventually headed back in to start thinking about dinner. I ended up going out to pick up sushi, which was very popular with everyone. Buster is still a little sushi monster.

I took Buster into the shower immediately after dinner to get the rice off his face and hands, and Bud showered with me after Buster was cleaned up. After getting Bud and myself into PJs, we watched a little bit of the evening football game before having small ice cream cones and getting ready for bed.

I put Bud to bed this evening, turning out the light after a story at about 8:15. He fell asleep pretty quickly, after a long day. Buster woke a few times in the evening, but went to sleep again quickly with some shushing.

A Very Busy Day

2009-10-24T23:58:00.000-07:00

Bud got me up this morning shortly after 7:00, and we hung out in his room for a few minutes before heading downstairs for breakfast. Buster woke a short time later, and M-lady got up with him, bringing him downstairs for breakfast a few minutes later.

I took the opportunity to go back to bed for a little while, and M-lady had a good time playing with the kids. She handed them off to me a little before 10:00, and I let her snooze while I played with the boys. Bud was already dressed, and we headed into the office to play games on the computer together for a little while before heading downstairs for a snack. The kids each at half a bagel. After munching, we played in the playroom a bit before they pulled out the Elefun. Bud's had this for a while, but it was a bit frustrating for him the last time he played it. I convinced him to try again, and he had a great time (after I put fresh batteries in). Buster had a good time, too.

When M-lady joined us again, we really started moving. Buster and I got dressed, and I made some lunch for the crew. After lunch, we loaded up in the car and headed over to a dance studio to rehearse the quadrille we've been putting together for some friends. M-lady and I were fairly occupied for an hour, and the kids did a great job of entertaining themselves. Bud mostly watched the proceedings, and Buster galavanted about, eventually finding some remotes and playing with those for about half and hour.

We came back home for a snack and a change of clothes, and then headed out to the memorial service for Friend B. The kids were really well behaved as we caught up with old friends and reminisced about B. Bud stayed pretty close, and Buster was willing to be held for a while. Eventually Buster got a little antsy, and took off out of the room and down the hall when let loose on the floor. M-lady and I took turns chasing him. Both kids were good for the entire stay, though.

We headed home, picking up some dinner on the way. After dinner, M-lady got the kids into PJs, and then we had some ice cream cones for dessert. Bud had his own, and I shared one with Buster. Buser managed to nap about 20 minutes today in the car, so I expected him to fall asleep pretty quickly. I put him down right around 8:00, and he was asleep a few minutes later. M-lady put Bud to bed, and he fell asleep on his own pretty quickly.

M-lady and I had another event to attend in the later evening, so Babysitter G arrived at about 8:00. Apparently Buster woke around 9:30, and cried for a bit. When Babysitter G went to comfort him, he cried even harder, since he hadn't been prepared to see her. She took him out of his crib, and he ran off and cried in the bathroom for a little while. She eventually asked him if he wanted to go back to bed. He responded in the affirmative, and he went right back to sleep when she put him in his crib. Buster really is much more outgoing than Bud was at his age, so we should start acclimatizing Buster to Babysitter G.

Rehearsal

2009-10-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

The kids slept in a little bit more today, which was nice. I got up with Bud around 7:30, and started getting him ready for school. Buster woke a short time later, and I helped out getting him into a clean diaper before herding Bud downstairs for breakfast.

After Bud and M-lady headed off for school, Buster and I hung out together in the hexagon until Nanny J arrived. Buster was happy to see her and have some breakfast while I got ready to go to work.

I arrived home a bit early today, around 4:30, and headed upstairs to sign on to work to wrap up the day. Bud came with me, and played 'Elmo Games' on the computer while I worked. I was able to wrap up right around 5:15, when M-lady arrived home and Nanny J took off.

After M-lady had a chance to settle in, I headed out to pick up a pizza for dinner. Bud declined to come with me, as he was dressing up like Darth Maul with M-lady. They were all happy to join me for pizza when I returned a bit later.

After dinner, I played and read stories with Buster in the playroom while M-lady and Bud played in the living room. Apparently Bud had them recreate all the scenes from Star Wars Episode I in a 'rehearsal'. They were at it for about half an hour or so before they came to join us for a bit.

We watched a little bit of TV, catching some more specials, before it was time for bed. Bud had a bit of a meltdown at bedtime, and the bedtime routine wasn't any fun. He was clearly pretty tired, though, and fell asleep on his own fairly quickly.

Buster was well behaved all night, and I had a good time playing with him after dinner. He's getting more and more words, pointing out 'frogs' to me in a book. I pointed to a tadpole and said the word, and he gave it a shot: 'ta-po'. Bud is learning quite a bit as well, and apparently spent a good amount of time today writing letters on an ever increasing piece of art. He now can write his full name pretty competently, and consequently all the art coming back from school now has his full name on the back.

Another Fan

2009-10-22T23:12:00.000-07:00

Buster was up a bit early, and M-lady got up with him around 6:00. I got up with Bud around 7:00. It was a pretty standard morning, though, with Nanny J arriving around 8:45, and the cleaners arriving a short time later.

Buster apparently found his football jersey after he was dressed, and brought it to M-lady, saying, "F'ball!" He wore the jersey all day, and pointed out that he was wearing it with the same exclamation to me several times during the evening.

M-lady got home first today, and I arrived closer to 6:00. We had some dinner shortly after I got home, and the kids ate pretty well. After dinner, we watched some more Star Wars Episode I specials before getting ready for bed. Bud went to bed well, although Buster fussed a little bit before falling asleep.

School Day for Mommy

2009-10-21T23:24:00.000-07:00

The morning was fairly straightforward this morning, with M-lady handling Bud and me handling Buster. Today was Bud's turn to have a parent observer/helper in the class, so M-lady headed off with Bud to school.

M-lady got to see the kids present the animal alphabet letter sounds they've been working on, as well as see Bud lead the class in the pledge of allegiance. Today also happened to be the 'pumpkin patch' day, so M-lady accompanied the kids to the pumpkin patch, where each got to choose a pumpkin.

M-lady reported that Bud did well in class, and managed to accomplish the art project without getting much paint on himself.

The kids had a good rest of the day with Nanny J, and I arrived home a little after 5:00 to take over. The kids and I had a small scale lightsaber fight before M-lady arrived home. After a bit, we got dinner going.

The kids ate pretty well, although Buster was grumpy when dinner started for unknown reasons. He may have just run out of gas. After dinner, Bud requested that we watch the making of featurettes for Star Wars Episode I, much to M-lady's delight. After a snack, we did a standard bedtime.

The kids got a little riled up at bedtime, chasing each other around upstairs and giggling up a storm. I managed to get Bud into bed around 8:00, though, and the lights were out by about 8:15. Bud fell asleep pretty quickly after his long day. Buster apparently also fell asleep without much fuss, and both kids have slept soundly so far.

More Football

2009-10-20T23:56:00.000-07:00

Buster woke at about 5:30 this morning, and I put him in one of his sleep sacks. He proceeded to sleep until about 8:00, which was great. M-lady got up with Bud at about 7:30, and a fairly standard morning routine (albeit with a later rising Buster) ensued.

Nanny J arrived at 8:45, and M-lady and I departed soon afterward. The kids apparently had a pretty good day, and were in good spirits when I arrived home a little after 5:00. Bud had his football jersey on again, and was playing football. After I settled and we said goodbye to Nanny J, all three of us played football together. Buster ran around with a ball saying, "Hike! Hike! Hike!"

After we ran ourselves out, we sat in front of the TV for a little while before starting on dinner. Bud was a little disappointed that the Chargers weren't playing. The kids ate a pretty decent dinner, and we were wrapping up when M-lady arrived home from work.

After dinner Bud requested Star Wars Episode I, so we watched some of that before having a snack and doing the bedtime routine.

M-lady put Bud to bed, and I put Buster to sleep. Both kids slept pretty well, although I accidentally woke Bud by watching a movie a little too loud later in the evening. He went right back to sleep, though.

Football Night

2009-10-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

Buster woke really early this morning, around 5:30 or so. M-lady got up with him first, and handed him off to me a little after 6:00. I don't think he went back to sleep, although I was able to snooze a little bit in his room with him, and then in the hexagon.

Bud joined us around 7:30, and I got M-lady up at that point. It was sort of a frantic morning getting Bud ready for school, but M-lady finally got out the door with him in time to get to school. Buster and I finished up his breakfast (mostly raisins, at his request, with some cereal), and played together a little bit before Nanny J arrived. I got myself ready and headed off for work.

The kids seem to have had a good day. Buster was pretty happy when I got home which suggested that he had a solid nap, having woken up so early. Bud actually came running out of the house when I pulled into the driveway, and ran around the car a few times as I unloaded my things. We headed inside, I got settled, and we said goodbye to Nanny J.

After a chat with Grandma W, Bud and I played some Lego Indiana Jones as Buster looked on. Buster seems to have generally gotten over his fear of the Lego cutscenes with the giant minifigs, which is good. After playing for a bit, I got dinner started cooking, and then headed upstairs and grabbed our football jerseys. We all have Chargers jerseys now, and Buster and I donned ours to watch the game.

Bud was a bit reluctant, and got a bit upset when I turned off his game to watch football. But he cooled off and came back downstairs with his jersey on, and then really enjoyed watching football with us.

We were wrapping up dinner when M-lady arrived. After eating, we all played 'football' in the living room. This mostly involved running around, with and without a ball, and occasionally tackling each other. We all had a good time, although Bud got a little wound up.

It was a bit tough calming him down for bedtime, and we ended up staying up a bit late. We got the light turned out around 8:45 or so, and Bud was asleep a short time later. Buster fell asleep a bit before that, and both kids have slept soundly.

One More Raisin

2009-10-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

I got up with Buster around 6:15, and got him to go back to sleep for about 5 minutes. When he woke the second time, M-lady got up and soothed him for a bit.

Bud rolled me out of bed around 7:00, and I tried unsuccessfully to get him to get back in bed for a while. He went and found M-lady, though, and she took the kids downstairs for breakfast while I snoozed a bit longer.

I got up around 9:30ish, when M-lady started getting ready to head off to her ballet class. Bud was happily playing with Lego, and I took Buster downstairs to play in the playroom for a bit. After a while, I decided that we really did need to go to the grocery store, so I motivated Bud to get himself dressed, and got Buster dressed, and we packed up and headed out.

Both kids were great at the grocery store, and we picked up the couple of essentials we needed and came back home. When we got home, after getting the milk in the fridge, we had a very nice video chat with Granddad B and Grandma Nese. Both kids were very interactive, and Buster said a few words that they were able to understand (including 'turtle', indicating a picture of a turtle in the book he was looking at).

The kids eventually lost interest in the chat, and we said our goodbyes and started looking into lunch possibilities. M-lady arrived home as we were eating lunch, and headed upstairs to clean up as the boys finished eating.

As we were wrapping up lunch, the first of the dancers arrived. We had another rehearsal at our place this afternoon. Bud spent most of the time upstairs, out of the way, but did watch the proceedings and say hello to folks. Buster ran around on the floor, occasionally getting in the way of the dancing. His best move was grabbing my legs from behind just as I was about to start into a figure.

Buster got pretty tired, and I put him down for a nap around 2:30. The dancers took their leave around 3:00, and I took the opportunity to work in the garage for a bit. Bud joined me for a little while, and did what he could to help out. We eventually came in around the time we started thinking about dinner.

Bud and I played a little bit of Wii Sports Resort, and Bud was keen to try some of the new sports. He did remarkably well at table tennis. We turned the TV off to get some dinner, which M-lady prepared. Both kids ate pretty well, and after dinner I took Buster upstairs for a shower, which he was really excited about.

After getting Buster clean, we started on the bedtime routine with snacks. Buster was pretty excited about the raisins before bed, and asked for just one more a whole bunch of times. M-lady eventually got him into bed, and I put Bud to bed. Both kids were a little bit restless going to sleep, but were out by 9:00.

On The Road

2009-10-17T23:42:00.000-07:00

Buster was up a little early this morning, and M-lady fielded him. Bud was up closer to 8:00, and we had a fairly standard morning. Both kids showed no signs of having felt bad the previous night. M-lady packed some stuff up for herself and Bud, and they took off to hit Gilroy Gardens, along with friends from the Mommy Group. Buster and I played at home for a bit, watching some Sesame Street before getting ourselves ready.

At about 10:00, I started getting dressed and packing up to go for a bike ride, pulling Buster in the trailer. I'd taken him out for some short rides before, but this was to be the longest ride he'd been on (still short, but longer). It took longer to get everything set, but he was tucked into the trailer and we were on the road by about 11:00.

Buster seemed fine with the whole arrangement except for the helmet, which kept slipping down over his face. He eventually fell asleep, though, and napped through the majority of the ride. I think I'll be able to do longer rides with him in the future, though.

When we got home, we had some lunch, and watched a little TV before I tried to put him down for a nap. He'd slept about 45-60 minutes in the trailer, and I was hoping he'd snooze a little more. After some quiet time, where he didn't sleep, we got up, and I packed up into the car to head out to the bike shop.

Buster was great at the shop, very interested in the racks of bikes. I picked up some consumables, and we headed home to find a very happy M-lady and Bud, who'd had a great time at the park.

The rest of the evening was pretty peaceful, with some TV, some dinner, and some Wii sword fighting. I got Bud showered before bed as M-lady fed Buster a snack, and then I put Buster to bed. He passed out pretty quickly... I think he could have used the extra afternoon nap. Bud went to sleep a short time later.