The boy isn't giving me much to work with

Nicole's been wanting to see some photos or videos while she's away, but I have nothing. No cooperation at all. This child, that's suppose to be funny, curious and noisy has given me nothing to work with.

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At one time I considered doing a Stay at Home Dad blog. There's a reason I never got it going. Kids are not that interesting all the time. They don't do that much from one day to the next or even each week. And if you are going to do a Stay at Home Parent Blog it better be pretty funny. Who would want to read..."today son woke up at 7am, he played with some toys, took at nap at 10am, up for lunch about noon, played with toys again, nap at 2 or 3, supper at 5, bed at 8." Who wants to read that!

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Instead notes should be taken when something interesting does happen. Then when the child has grown up and moved out you can start organizing the notes and put something together, but by then you're probably not interested in working on it any more. So instead we bring up these embarrassing stories when their significant other is around. Everyone laughs, HA.HA.HA. and then we do the same thing again at the next get together.

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So, as much as I would like to put something entertaining up...I just don't have anything at this time.

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Sorry.

Discourse among the ranks

The Young General

It doesn't appear to be going very well.

Looks like he left the Country.

9 Days of Only Robert and Myself

Day 1: Monday

Nicole left for her training trip, San Jose, Costa Rica, where she trains her swimmers for a week. Shortly after Nicole left Robert set up his base of operations to take over the house. My surveillance photos picked up these images.

Base of Operations and Guards

Closeup - That little dog is the one to worry about.

Troops

Central Computer

Secret Hideout/Passageway from his Crib

Posts will be made as events unfold.

Christmas Events

Since Nicole's feeling under the weather and I'm feeling a little inspired I thought I would make my contribution to the blog.

Wednesday morning is when we headed out to Red Wing and Robert of course demanded we stop at King's Place in Miesville for lunch, which is known for its Hamburgers and spent the evening opening gifts with Nicole's immediate family. Robert received countless noisy contraptions and a tent and tunnel he can use to plot his take over of our house. Unfortunately Robert wasn't too sure of the tent but Grandma really liked it, especially getting caught in the tunnel.

On Thursday we went to Farmington to celebrate Christmas with my side.

That night we headed back to Red Wing that same night to wait for Santa!

On Friday there were suppose to be two more celebrations, but were canceled due to weather. Never fear though because the weather allowed for some great snowmen making!

Saturday we headed down to Iowa for my extended family celebration on Sunday, unfortunately we forgot to take pictures while there. Saturday night we also met my Grandma, Aunt Wilma and Cousins JJ and Danny for dinner. Below you will see that Wilma got more than she intended when she asked for a "Big Bowl of Soup". It was also a new challenge to stay in a hotel room with a 15-month old. Needless to say naps were impossible and getting to sleep at night was a challenge! Luckily he enjoyed the simple game of pushing a piece of paper back and forth with mom under the bathroom door while Nicole was drying her hair.

Mom where are you?

Monday morning we drove home and arrived home to lots of snow.

So that was our holiday week more to come when Nicole leaves me to go to Costa Rica for a week with her team.

Trip to Wisconsin

This week Robert turned 15 months and with that honor comes a trip to the doctor to be weighed and measured followed by 3 shots. The shots weren't so much fun but it is always nice to check in with the doctor to make sure everything is on track. He weighed in at 29.1 pounds, putting him in the 93.89 percentile; he was 31.75 inches long, 70.39 percentile; and his head circumference is in the 99 percentile...still no surprise to me! Percent wise his weight and head stayed the same but his height moved up quite a bit. This is good news because he's been wearing 18 month tops but only 12 month pants because they were so long on him...the problem is that his pants are getting a little tight around the belly so we're excited for some new pants from Santa (aka Auntie Mandie). The doctor says he looks great but we need to work a little more on learning some new words because grunting and pointing doesn't expand one's vocabulary.

15 Months!!!

Thursday through Saturday were busy days for us this week. Thursday morning after my 6am practice I picked up my brother and then headed back home to pick up my mom and Robert for a trip to Wisconsin. My Grandpa and Aunt & Uncle live in Abbotsford and with my Grandpa's health fading we knew that the only way we'd get to see him this holiday season was to make the trip. I was really glad that we did and even though he didn't remember who Nick and I were nor could he make the connection (alzheimer's is in its final stages) to how we were related to him it was great to see him smile and play with Robert. It was a great trip even if Robert didn't get any naps that day and was up every 10-15 minutes from 4am on. Here are some pictures from our trip!

Reading to pass the time on the long drive

Nick, Robert, Grandpa and Me

3 Generations!
Can you tell someone needs a nap...


G'pa pushing Robert in his wheelchair. Robert loved it and it allowed for him to keep snacking on his cheerios as we went back to G'pa's room.

Playing at my Aunt & Uncle's house. The dogs might be finding surprises in their kennel for days to come but it was more fun than napping!
Chilling with Uncle Nick and Tyson

We returned home Friday afternoon and I took a nap while Eric played with Robert. Well actually he tried to get him to nap but our son was way too tired by this point and therefore couldn't calm down enough to sleep. That night we decided we'd try our first attempt at a family movie night. I made popcorn bowls with a few m&m's for each of us and we sat down to watch Frosty the Snowman. Robert did pretty good and sat through the first half of the movie until he realized there were m&m's at the bottom of his popcorn. He then dumped the popcorn out to get at them and then attacked our bowls to get the candy treats. It was still a fun time and the dogs didn't mind cleaning up the floor after Robert.

Saturday continued to be busy as we left home around 9 to head down to Farmington. I dropped the boys off at Eric's parents house and headed to my friend Abby's house to bake cookies. We were quite successful and made peanut butter blossoms and sugar cookies. It was a lot of fun and I also got to play a little with her 6 month old son Cooper. He is so cute and so tiny compared to my lil' man. After the cookies were cool and the frosting hardened enough to transport I headed back to the Hempler Home for a yummy meal cooked by Larry. I also was able to put in my requests for Christmas Eve dinner so Thursday promises to be another great meal!!!

That was pretty much our excitement for the week which we know was busy but nothing like the holiday celbrations we have in store Wednesday-Sunday this week! We hope everyone has safe travels and a Very Merry Christmas!

A Relaxing Weekend...FINALLY!!

This week was a pretty relaxing one and not having any meets this weekend sure made for a nice break. I actually don't have another meet until we return from our training trip in January. We did finally see some snow this week and above you see Robert peering out the window wondering what was up with all the white stuff. Those that know me know that I'm not a big fan of winter and as much as I like the look of snow I don't appreciate the colder weather or the much longer commute to and from work.

Saturday was busy but filled with lots of fun. We began the day by grocery shopping then Nick and Mandie came over to visit. That visit didn't start off the best because Robert was scared of my brother and started crying. It was funny to the rest of us and showed Uncle Nick that he needs to visit more often! The rest of the time went well and Nick redeemed himself by showing Robert some cool tricks with a football. Mandie and I also baked some yummy cookies for our boys which they really like (we do too!). Above you see Robert trying to be a big boy by wearing Auntie Mandie's boots. He wasn't able to walk in them but it was still cute!

That night we went to my assistant coach's house for a Christmas party and had a lot of fun meeting new people. It was great to see their new house and for Robert to get to play with some new friends.

Today we did absolutely NOTHING! Well that isn't true as we did take some naps, watched the Vikings win, and a little laundry. It was nice to hang out and not have to worry about going anywhere or being on time for anything. What a great day!

This coming week is the last with my team for a couple of weeks which means my workload will ease up a little bit. On Thursday Robert and I will be going with my mom and brother to Wisconsin to visit with my Grandpa and the Knautz relatives. My Grandpa's alzheimers is getting worse and we are pretty sure that he won't remember anyone but my mom but he loves little kids so we know seeing Robert will be a great treat. Eric is staying home to watch the dogs and for some much needed rest from a busy couple of months with Robert and dealing with my busy schedule.

Have a great week everyone!

Best Evening!

This was a long working weekend for me with a 2-day swim meet which meant I didn't get to see my little boy from Thursday night until this morning. Not fun but the cuddles and hugs I received this morning were great! Feeling a little guilty for being gone I shared some of my Lucky Charms (I crave them a few times a year!) and Robert fell in love. As you can see in the pictures below he took the box from me, figured out how to open it, and got himself some magically delicious treats.

I did have to go back in to work tonight to meet with some recruits but came home to one of the best nights in a long time. Not what I was expecting either because Vikings are playing and thus I can't watch my normal Sunday night shows. Anyway Robert was on a roll and put on a good show. My cheeks still hurt from laughing and smiling so much. He loves when either of us shake our head no really fast and will try to mimic us but it is in slow motion (so cute!). Another activity he is currently enjoying is having his dad push him into his bean bag chair. Both are on the video below with lots of giggles and we hope you enjoy.