Ian's Christmas Medley

So, Ian's been in to Christmas music lately. He'll just be randomly singing songs throughout the day. We wanted his music to live on forever. ENJOY!

A Soldier Returns!!!

Welcome Home Jessica!!!

The Captain is home from Iraq. We missed you! Thank you for serving our Country and our Soldiers.




See the album here: click here.

The San Deigo Bear

Here is the final collection of pictures of Ian's bear from San Diego.

Sad Mama

Over the weekend Ella pulled herself up and stood up for several seconds. 7 months have passed and she already has 6 teeth. Tonight I went up to check on Ella and she was on her tummy. She had rolled over all by herself for the first time. It all makes me quite sad as she already seems on the path to being a toddler. And then there's Ian...he's not helping the situation either. He seems to be growing up to fast also...setting up his own play dates and visiting with the neighbors all on his own. Where did he learn this stuff?!! What's a mom to do?

What do kids do when they go to bed?

The other night, Ian was up until after 9:00. Here's what he was doing:

Twins Opening Day Tradition

Last year, we started a new tradition. On opening day of the Twins season, we have a special Opening Day Dinner.

This year, the menu included hot dogs, pretzels, popcorn, peanuts in the shell, and chocolate milk. We spread a blanket on the living room floor and had a nice picnic.

Ian had a hard time with the peanuts but managed to talk me into cracking a few open for him. The unfortunate part is that Ian wasn't able to stay up long enough to see any of the game. Ella made it until about 7:30 but she was more interested in screeching and chewing on things.

It's a fund tradition and will be much more fun when Ian and Ella can play along!

Babytalk Magazine...ARGH

Every month, we get a complimentary copy of Babytalk magazine. [Image Credit: www.babytalk.com] Every month, I flip through it trying to find something that will help me be a better papa. Occasionally, I find some new fact or activity that I can use. But, every month, I close the magazine, throw it on the floor and vow to never read it again. Amy laughs and asks, "What did they print this month?" (Notice, I never actually stop reading it.)

Sometimes, I only get a few pages in. Other times, I make it close to the end. This month, I made it past the "Be Happy with You New Mom Body" (link) and the article how I should put my medicines out-of-reach. I made it all the way to page 61 and the article about "New Mom Aches" (link).

Here's the three "New Mom Aches" in order directly from the article:

• Nursing Mom Tendinitis

Obviously, I'm not breastfeeding (no comments from Adams, please). But I do spend time feeding my child. "The arm...becomes stiff from holding your child." Yes, I've experienced this. Mostly at 4:00 in the morning when Ella is sipping her bottle rather than gulping it down. And, wait, shocking, I'm a new papa.

• Car-Seat Elbow

"The loss of feeling in your elbow and arm from carrying your baby in her infant car seat." Yep, been there, done that.

• Baby-on-Hip Syndrome

I've never actually had this "syndrome" because I tend to not use my hip to carry Ella because, get this, it doesn't feel good.

I'm not trying to just complain. However, so many times, magazines about parenting, knowingly or not, imply that dads don't do the things that moms do. In my circle of friends, every dad I talk to is involved, at least equally, in their child's live, including feeding, carrying car seats, and, yes, even holding their child.

The headline of this article should have been: "New Parent Aches" and reached all the readers.

Babytalk isn't the only magazine that does this. Parents magazine recently published an article with the headline "The One Discipline Secret Every Mom Needs" (emphasis added, link). [Image credit: www.parents.com] This was printed right below where it says "Parents" (which implies mom and dad). I immediately turned to the article and it was about setting limits and expectations for your child. Dad's can't do this?

In the end, I guess I should just thank the editors and writers at both Babytalk and Parents. As a dad, no one is expecting anything from me. I can sit on the couch, watch football and drink as many ice cold Surly 16-Grit Ales as I please. Whose with me?

I'll be teaching my kids how to spell

I got this picture from someone following me on Twitter. Might be the best example of student work I've seen lately. Be sure to read the whole story.

Click the image to enlarge.

These Little Piggies

Ian pulled off his socks and started talking about the Little Piggies.

This little Piggy went to jail.
This little Piggy ate dinner at Papa's Pizza.
This little Piggy said, "Let's go to jail."
This little Piggy said, "Let's go to the office mark."
The last little Piggy went Wee-Wee-Wee all the way home.

What does this little story say about Papa's Pizza?

Giggle Time

I recently obtained a Flip camera.  It's a fun little toy.  Here's the first video.  Of course, the stars are Ian and Ella.  Enjoy!!!

I Love Our Honest Child

Here's how tonight's last conversation went:

Ian: "Daddy, I want a drink."
Daddy: "Okay, go get a drink out of the bathroom."
Ian: "But Mommy said, 'No more drinks."
Daddy: "Alright, then you need to go to bed. Good night."

When does he start lying to us? Is it soon? To be honest, I thought it would have happened already. For now, I'll just enjoy it. He hasn't started blaming things on Ella yet!

Six pairs of Underwear

Here's an excerpt from the last conversation of the night:

Ian: (coming out of his room) Mommy, my back hurts.
Amy: (sitting in chair) Your back hurts or your butt hurts?
Ian: (cuddling with Amy, in whiniest voice ever) My butt hurts.
Amy: You did a lot of pooping today.
Ian: Uh-huh.

Yeah, and all of his pooping was in his pants. It appears that he has forgotten how to move himself to the bathroom before he poops. He is now pooping and then moving to the bathroom. On the upside, I didn't feel much like eating lunch.

My New Hero For Cancer-Lance Armstrong

Paul Krimmage, a Sunday Times reporter, called Armstrong a "cancer." In Armstrong's press conference on Friday, February 13th, he put Krimmage in his place. You have to hear Armstong's level-headed, fair, cussing-out-without-cussing-out response to this jackass reporter.

The first 1:45 is the best but Armstrong also gets in a dig at the very end of the clip.

Watch the video here.

Too many people are affected by this horrible disease. We lost Grandma Jonnie. Grandma Jan and Grannie Annie survived. Most recently we lost Grandma Harris. I'm thankful for all the amazing Angels out there but it is still tragic. And for this reporter to compare a cancer surviver to a cancer....

Rice Cereal and Squash

It was a big weekend for Ella. She finally started eating rice cereal. She had 3-4 meals of that. Last night, she started on squash. Ella has figured how to make the spoon work. She evens want to feed herself. She's so independent. Except when she wants to be held, which is most of the time. It's a good time for all involved.

Rugby is just waiting for the Cheerios to start. It's been a long time since she has a quality, consistent source of food just laying on the floor for her to come and vacuum up.

The Inauguration in Legos

I don't want to name names, but someone in our house is totally into Legos. The only hint I'll give is that his name ends in "N."

Barack Obama's inauguration in Legoland, California

I saw this headline in my Google Reader and thought, I can't wait to see this.

In this picture, look at the background and the people standing up. It gives you a great perspective on the Lego buildings and people. There are twelve images in the story I saw. You can see them here.

The Lego Land website has a section called What's New. If you scroll down a bit, it has more info on the pictures.

I'm being observed tomorrow for TAP. I think one of these images might be a good VTS lesson and earn me good points on my "questioning" score.

FYI: Lakeshore Learning has their own version of Legos that work with real Legos. They even have a set of Lego people. To Adams and Oldenburg, keep this in mind when your little ones are older.

Photo Credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Ella's Baptism

Today was a great day in the Knaus Family.  Our littlest one, Ella Rebecca, was baptized into the Lord's Family.  She was a perfect Angel with Pastor Jeff and throughout the entire service. Except for the time she spit up on my sleeve.  Ian struggled with not getting all the attention but was fine once we started opening presents and eating cake!

Here are a few pictures from this morning.  Thanks to Uncle Jake for grabbing our camera.

Thank you to all the Aunts and Uncle, Grandmas and Grandpas, and especially Ella's Godparents, Uncle Jake, Aunt Heidi, and Aunt Rebecca (or Becky, as we like to call her.)  And lastly, to Cousin Eli who lit Ella's Baptism Candle for her.  We appreciate all of you!

Maybe I've Got It All Wrong

The secret to long live? Me, a vegetarian? It might be time to revisit my entire belief system. Unless Fake Bacon counts....

I still don't think I'll join Bacon of the Month like Adams.

http://www.cvwine.com/gourmet/bacon/home.html?gclid=CLia3a3__pcCFQw9GgodzR0iDA