Mickey Mouse and Tents in the House

Few things are more exciting that a new pair of underwear. Make it a three-pack and you might be rendered speechless. Of course if you’re four and said three-pack features Mickey Mouse you may just burst into song. If you’re the parent of a young child who enjoys Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the Disney Channel you’re familiar with the opening theme which goes…"It's the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Come inside, it's fun inside." I was both amused and a little frightened by Aidan’s rendition as he danced around proudly in his new briefs singing…"Mickey Mouse Underwear. Come inside, it’s fun inside." Yikes! I’m all for getting excited by the simple things in life, but that’s not something we want to hear sung in the aisles of Target on our next shopping trip.

Today we broke out the kid-sized tent Aidan received as a gift some time back. When the weather outside is too wet to break free from the house you simply need to bring a little outside in. Aidan dove in an out constantly throughout the day and Kellen was delighted to have a new place to play. We even hid from Rachel when she returned home from work. All three of us stuffed into a toddler sized tent…conspicuously perched on top of the bed in our room. Why not hide and make your hiding place blatantly obvious at the same time? Hopefully the weather will dry out and warm up a bit before we plant our own forest or start roasting marshmallows on a small fire in the basement.

Why Does My Son Have a Tail?

That’s the question I asked out loud as I looked at something hanging out from the back of Kellen’s shirt. That something was the drawstring of his miniature sweatpants. I guess after a diaper change I flipped the pants (or the kid) when putting the pieces back together. I then remembered earlier in the morning when I tried to slip my hands into the pockets of my athletic pants and found them to be awry. That was the first moment of today that I realized I had put a pair of pants on backwards…Kellen’s tail was the second.

VIDEO: Things That Buzz

Kellen will often walk around the house kazooing as he goes. Of course when you try to stage it on video it’s not quite the same. The second segment is some good fun with the prize from the Honey Nut Cheerios box (shameless General Mills plug).

PHOTOS: Places to Play

Highwoods Park has been the object of Aidan's affection since we moved. It's a short walk from the house and you'll find us there any day the weather is reasonable or when the grandparents are in town even if the weather is questionable. Eight slides makes it fun central for four year old boys...




...and who could resist digging in the dirt...

...or running the bases at the baseball field just beyond the playground?

Even the newly shoed Kellen is getting in on the action running through the wood chipped play area, participating in equestrian activities and peaking through small spaces.

When the weather is nice and time is more limited, we can just shoot out to the backyard for a short swinging and sliding session or a run through the grass. Aidan also likes to ride his tricycle around on the deck when I'm grilling.

If the weather is not cooperative we spend our time in the basement. A large L-shaped main area serves as a good hiding place for the toys (in need of some organization). The landing at the bottom of the stairs has become the semi-permanent soccer field/football field/beach ball-dodge ball arena.

Three Wonderful Weekends

Wow! What a whirlwind trifecta of weekends it has been.

Two weekends ago Grammie and Papa D (the Deurs) visited us in Minnesota highlighted by the purchase of Kellen’s first pair of shoes, a trip to Space Alien and introducing Papa D to the joys of Wii gaming. Dad's cousin was kind enough to host us for dinner on Saturday before we returned home for a Deur family tradition...vying for the Deur family Phase 10 championship trophy. We got a little bit of work done around the house too including organizing the garage, hanging multiple sets of shelves and putting up the boys' playset in the backyard. After a few practice runs, Kellen is now walking more fluidly in his shoes compared to the dramatic high stepping of sauntering around with something foreign and heavy on his feet for the first time.

What is Space Alien you ask? Grammie experimenting with her new camera makes these pictures super dramatic. It’s a family restaurant in the area with pizza and BBQ food, lots of neon and regular visits from the second pictured alien (the first one is a four-year old using the kids menu to look more menacing). The photo of the in-house creature doesn’t show just how tall he is. Papa D stood toe-to-toe with him and was nose-to-belly button with the intergalactic giant.

Last weekend Nana and Papa (the Christensen’s) came up to visit. We enjoyed spending time with them and I was very happy that they were patient with my need to check in on the NFL Draft for most of Saturday afternoon (and some of Sunday). We got some much needed home shopping completed and I had the chance to grill on multiple occasions which makes it an automatic “A” weekend. A free Webkinz for Aidan had him all excited and the release of Mario Kart for his Wii had him ecstatic.

This weekend centered on a trip to Iowa to see sister Allison who was in visiting. It just happened to be Tulip Time weekend which was an added bonus. The boys loved the parades and we brought the Wii for entertainment in case the weather became unfavorable. We got the whole family involved and got hooked on battling each other for Wii Sports supremacy.

The boys share a tender tulip moment.

Can you tell Kellen loves being at the parade?

The pictures in the post below are of Kellen decked out in the Dutch garb his brother wore previously and his father wore decades ago.

PHOTOS: Tulip Time Toddler

Two For Tulip Time

We just got back from Tulip Time in Pella and both boys had a glorious time. Watching the boys soak in the parade was much fun. Kids are magnets for the free stuff people hand out along the way making them great festivity companions. Aidan scored chocolate and a Dutch spice cookie on Friday afternoon and a second cookie and cheese on Saturday night. On Friday after scoring two items he waved happily at some girls on a float who smiled and waved back. They passed by and he exclaimed…"Hey, I waved at those girls and I didn’t get anything!" His natural flowing charm was exposed as absolute manipulation.

Tulip Time was also an excuse to let Aidan sugar up a bit. Kellen doesn’t need any help from sugar to get him cranked up. Everyone kept commenting about how happy he was. He’s all for full out giggling to keep people laughing at him.

We were all a bit chilly at the Friday parade with the windy weather but it didn’t faze the boys. Saturday night was perfect and their spirits were just as high with the lights, sounds and smells of a great weekend.

I was told that upon being brought upstairs by his mother, Aidan was greeted by his grandmother Saturday morning who said, "Aidan, you're the first one up" to which he promptly responded, "No, you were!" Mr. Smarty Pants.