Metro-d'oh-me

My long awaited Bears trip to the Metrodome didn't end the way I hoped it would. The Bears dropped the game and their shot at the division lead making for a disappointing outing. That's not to say the trip didn't have any interesting moments.

For starters my buddy Scott and I located the concession stand that sells what amounts to an enormous hot dog on a loaf of bread. I must admit I had a hard time downing the last three bites but perhaps eating a sandwich before I left for the game (in an effort to avoid buying any food) had me struggling. But how could I resist the opportunity to conquer a hot dog that nearly requires a third hand to eat?

Heartburn...here I come.

So with my checks puffed with the final bites of my hot dog the time came for the National Anthem. I stared at the big screen thinking the guy looked very familiar. Is that the guy from the Miller High Life beer commercials? Looks just like him. I found the resemblance to be quite ironic and then noticed the High Life patch on his shirt. It was indeed him...and he's a great singer. He led a keg rolling contest later in the game. Interesting double duty.

The game started well for the Bears after a 65 yard Devin Hester touchdown reception. It looked like the Bears were going to go up 14-3 when they were stopped at the goal line and the Vikings immediately tossed a 99 yard TD to swing the momentum. It was a frustrating game to watch from there as the Bears lost by 20.

The Third Dimension

Aidan and I hit the theater this afternoon for a matinee of Bolt.

I wanted to have a guys outing with Aidan and considered the new Madagascar cinematic cartoon offering until I found out we could see Bolt in 3D. I'm a sucker for sitting through a movie with things popping out at me and thought it would be cool to expose Aidan to this for the first time.

We donned our cyber shades, kicked back and took it all in. Aidan asked me once if I thought I was going to get hit by something flying from the screen, but for the most part he sat still and transfixed causing me to wonder if he had fallen asleep at one point. He did move when I offered him some fruit snacks at the halfway point and would later go into great detail explaining how he knew they were Batman fruit snacks and not Spider-Man because he could feel the wheels on the Batmobile fruit snack. Not even the darkness of the theater could impede his fruit snack expertise.

I give the movie a big toe up (thumbs are trademarked, right?). The opening sequence was phenomenal, the 3D was fun and the little hamster stole the show. Fun for the kids and I thought it was good stuff too. I even laughed out loud several times...mostly at Rhino the hilarious hamster.

VIDEO: Deur the Musical

We've been a little video happy recently which gives Kellen more to watch in those moments when I need him to sit quietly (like when he's out of bed and Aidan is not). He is still very entertained by watching himself (and his brother) on the computer.

"Pipio Concerto"

"The Reluctant Singer"

I'm trying to do some serious taping and Kellen resorts to physical comedy. As long as he's laughing at my attempts to have fun I guess we're having fun.

"Kellen's Medley"

Kellen really does nail these songs most of the time but bringing out the camera changes everything of course. Still it's a good taste of his expanding musical repertoire.

VIDEO: Dunk Contest

This video goes out to my brother Ryan in honor of the many times he and I would borrow Grandma DeBruin's video camera so we could film our epic driveway dunk contests.

Special thanks to Grammie and Papa D for hooking us up with the hoop. Our basement is now a full fledged multi-sports complex complete with nets and hoops allowing us to stage basketball, soccer, football, hockey, baseball and golf events on a daily basis.

VIDEO: Wii Are Getting Fit

I had threatened to purchase a treadmill or some form of indoor exercise equipment with winter approaching and Rachel decided the Wii Fit would be more fun (and usable) for the family as a whole. Aidan and I have been working out every morning and I must say jogging through a tropical island setting (animated or otherwise) is more enjoyable than trying to jog in the brisk Minnesota air. Just put the controller in your pocket, run in place and away you go!

Kellen has proven to be quite an effective trainer dictating to me which exercise I should do next. He also likes to take his turn on the balance board when we're finished. We help him through some "up...down" stretching as shown in the video.

Also shown on the video are a few of the balance games which utilize your weight distribution on the board. Everything from skiing to your character dressed as a penguin balancing on a slippery iceberg. Aidan enjoys those games and loves the running. He's all hips and pumping arms as he jogs along. Looks kind of like an Olympic speed walker and his feet leave the ground just as much.

In the aerobic section you can also use the board for step aerobics, add the controllers for a boxing workout or hula hoop your midsection into shape. I've tried a bit of the yoga (more of a workout than I thought it would be) and will dive into the strength focused units when I'm feeling manly.

Completely Random Memory from Out of Nowhere 3

I feel the need to decipher where these thoughts come from though I guess labeling them random should be enough. Last night the local news ran a story on how loud the Metrodome is during football games so perhaps the mental imagery of a loud arena environment lodged itself in my head and was there when I woke up this morning.

Anyways...

Several years ago in Chicago, Rachel and I braved the snowy expressways and headed to the United Center for an Aerosmith (and Lenny Kravitz) concert. I found it to be an interesting scene as they've been a around for a long time and the crowd was therefore very diverse. We saw everything from youngsters who were into their new songs knowing nothing but the current album to the older generation of fans yearning for them to play their classic tunes. There were also quite a few families and of course the overly exuberant super fan whose ticket was for the seat right next to mine.

He told me about how they had come to the arena that night with no ticket wanting desperately to see the band and happened to scored two seats while looking for a seller in the parking lot. Then, when the music was at a level making conversations with your indoor voice impossible he began telling me about how he wanted to see them when he was in college in 1979 but he was too...well his words were "but I was too wasted." I smiled knowing if I talked in a normal voice he'd have no clue what I said and responded "Yeah, I was two." He looked at me squinting and leaning forward not hearing what I had said (just as I intended) and in my desire to return him to his state of singing and dancing with his equally exuberant wife instead of conversing with me I simply smiled and said "Yeah, me too!"

PHOTOS / VIDEO: Phone Camera

I finally figured out how to transfer photos and videos from my new phone (reading the manual helped a lot). I'm not one of those fancy guys who emails stuff from his phone but my new mobile phone has a USB cord for direct transfer. I'm sure never to miss a memorable moment now.

Here are a few things from the past few months...

A beautiful fall day at A.J.'s place

The terrific soon-to-be-twos

Who says you can't be stylish while running errands?

Or at least attempt to be stylish.

This is not a great video but it shows the boys' current household item turned toy. They are currently very attached to two flashlights and take them everywhere. This laser light show took place in the Kohl's parking lot last night (see story below).

‘Tis Better to Give and Deceive

We began Christmas shopping yesterday and the entertaining challenge of purchasing gifts for the boys while shopping with the boys added a level of intrigue and difficulty. With two boys and two carts it’s easy to hide things from Kellen but Aidan has always been able to smell out a gift purchased for him. He has a navidad sixth sense of shopping.

I recall one year when I came downstairs and found him sitting on a tub of Christmas decorations clutching an unwrapped Thomas the Train locomotive. He smiled at me and asked to have his choo choo that very moment. How he found it is a mystery still unsolved but he managed to discover it and at that age we weren’t getting it back. We also purchased a special candy item for him way back when to share with his friends at daycare. We carefully slipped it into the cart, checked out and got back to the car. As soon as we started the engine he announced that he wanted his candy now.

Yesterday we managed to successfully snag something for him twice. The first time it was a simple distraction technique and thanks to the complicated Kohl’s shopping carts with their opaque hanging bags it was behind him the whole time and he was none the wiser. He thought nothing of the three guys heading to the truck to warm it up for mama leaving her to check out by herself. The second store and item had Kellen and I cart racing Aidan and Rachel. Kellen and I took odd “shortcuts” and conveniently got lost for a few minutes. My Oscar worthy announcement that I was warm and needed to shed my coat minutes earlier had the desired effect as everyone de-coated and gave me enough material to hide the item I was about to scoop up during my absence.

VIDEO: Phone

Long distance calls are blocked on our phone for two reasons...

1. We have cell phones and can use our minutes for such calls

2. Kellen grabs the phone and "calls mama"

He hears the automated woman's voice telling him "this call cannot be completed as dialed" and talks to her. He also likes to imitate Rachel's laugh that he hears when she's talking to her sister on the phone.

VIDEO: Yogurt

Kellen loves his yogurt...

...and hates his socks

Random Report

The boys are both enjoying the acquisition of some new Baby Genius DVDs. Kellen started thinking every trip to the basement meant he could zone out and watch a DVD and these are at least getting him dancing and singing for 20-30 minutes. It’s funny because he not only sings and does the actions with the songs but he imitates the instruments as well. He’ll ask “what’s next?” at the close of each song and identify the next one immediately when it starts playing. Each DVD came with a matching CD so we have the joy of listening to the songs whenever we’re on the road (like the four-plus hour trips to and from Iowa).

The Baby Genius crew

Not sure if Kellen’s recent “I love you’s” came from the “1-2 I Love You” song on the DVDs but he’s throwing them out there to both parents. He also said “Bless you dada” when I sneezed this morning. He has been enthusiastically closing our dinner time prayers with either a giggle and a sing-song “Amen” or a fist pump and a “Yes!” Both are being acknowledged as acceptable forms of saying thanks to the Lord.

Kellen loves trailing me around the house saying “Hey Daddy! Hey Daddy!” He took that with him to Iowa perching on the stairs peaking through the rungs and identifying everyone…”Hey Mommy! Hey Grammie! Hey Daddy!”. He's also picked up on Rachel yelling for me. I walked back into the house today after dropping some recyclables in the garage and he was sitting on the stairs. He looked at me, smiled and said "Hey Trav."

We’re enjoying a new Little Tikes basketball hoop that we brought home from Grammie and Papa D’s house. It makes the basement that much more fun and has for the moment taken over Aidan’s indoor soccer field. While downstairs Kellen enjoys playing the Pipio (pronounced P-P-O) also known as the piano. He’s actually quite careful to play a string of notes and doesn’t just bash the keys. Both boys remain experts in using the hockey stick as an air guitar. They are also less inhibited dancers than their father which may warrant getting the video camera in position to capture Dance Party Deur-S-A.

Our holiday schedule is looking interesting as we work around a sibling nurses’ schedule on both sides. Thanksgiving and Christmas functions with immediate families look to be a week early or late on both sides. Hopefully that will translate into a big stay in Iowa in December.

Rachel and I are researching travel options to Maui for the beginning of 2009. We had always intended to go to Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary and once the calendar flips to January we are technically in the right year. Apparently our weekend trip to Lincoln did not suppress our desire to run away together to a warm tropical destination. Frosty rooftops in the mornings will remind us that it is time to book that trip.

I rest my case

Chillin' (Literally) With The Cornhuskers

This past weekend we dropped the boys off in Pella and headed to Nebraska to take in the Cornhusker/Jayhawk football game. The game was held at the 80,000 plus seat Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. The projected temperatures were chilly but never got that high. A biting wind made this Cyclone man very happy for his complementary Huskers stocking cap during a brief tailgating session (don't be mad Cyclone brethren...I like the way I look with ears).

We were also gifted with shirts and I donned mine quickly not wishing to offend the fine people that hosted us on Saturday. I was thrilled to wear the wrong red if it meant we got to hang out in the corporate skybox. The view was great, the all-access ticket to game food was much appreciated and there was only a slight breeze if you sat too close to the vented windows (had to inject a little legit crowd noise into the comfort of the box). We were well taken care of while footballing in the presence of the CEO and owner of a company Rachel does business with.

Windows between you and wind chill factors = feeling in your extremities

The trip from Minneapolis to Pella to Lincoln to Pella to Minneapolis in 48 hours left me a bit exhausted (perhaps the 18 hour football day did me in). It was a great experience. I did not get the full effect of the size of the stadium perched high above the shivering masses but my toes did live to see the end of the game. They suggested we needed to make the trip an annual event and with the Cyclones visiting Lincoln next year I think October 24 fits into my schedule.

I don't always get the invite to these corporate perks but this weekend I was happy to serve in the role of trophy husband.

Would You Like Icing on Your Clown Fish?

We hit the pediatrician’s office this morning so Aidan could get his flu vaccination.

Before the excitement of getting the mist squirted up his nose rather than the usual flu shot, we hung out around the fish tank while I filled out paperwork. Every kid-geared operation now seems to have the obligatory aquarium with a “Nemo” fish (clown fish) and a “Dory” fish (a blue regal tang…yes I Googled to find that). Our pediatrician is no exception.

The clown fish kept peaking out of an anemone and slowly floated back in just like in the movie "Finding Nemo". I made mention of this and pointed it out to Aidan.

I then asked Aidan if he knew what the sea plant was called. “It’s a sea anemone,” I told him. “A Cini Mini?” was his reply. Yes…Nemo is swimming in and out of a warm and delicious miniature cinnamon roll from the Burger King breakfast menu (I've not had them but I can only assume they are delicious).

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