Very best friends

Jeff and I were working on Christmas cards (yes, still) while the boys were playing in the playroom. Cole came running excitedly out and announced, "Liam said we're friends!" Apparently, Liam was making a list of his friends on some scrap paper and put Cole's name at the top. A minute later, Cole ran out and announced he was Liam's very best friend. I'm so glad. I hope they feel the same way five minutes from now!

No Gopher Zone?

The Gophers were in town this evening for the Mavericks' first home game in nearly two months. Both boys went with us and were very excited. They gave away free T-shirts which won't fit either of them for years and fans behind us (who we know as the Kalinskis since they wear that former player's jersey) gave the boys an anti-Gopher sign. Cole went down to watch the Gophers warm up and flashed it at each of them as they skated by. It was really quite cute; everyone around him got a kick out of it.

The game itself turned out to be just as exciting. The Mavs scored early in the first, but were then tied fairly quickly. They went up again and again, with the final 3-2, ending with an empty net for the Gophers and the Mavs on the penalty kill. The boys did great, and paid attention to most of the game. Liam talked with Dr Scott the entire third period and Cole managed to stave off sleep, although he was very, very close by the end. Jeff and I were more in tune by the end. Go Mavs!

Happy Birthday Cole!

Cole turned four today, but it has been a multi-day celebration. It started with his birthday party at preschool Friday, since they don't have school this week. He requested a Dairy Queen cake for snack, and our local DQ came up with a great Scooby Doo cake. The preschoolers loved it, as did Liam, who's had leftovers a few times.

Yesterday, we had his official birthday party, again with a Scooby Doo theme. His cousins and some friends came over, as well as Grandpa & Grandma Engelhardt. The kids had fun hunting for Scooby Snacks (Milk Bones), opening presents and eating cake and ice cream. Cole did an awesome job blowing out the candles - all four with one puff from halfway across the table.

Today, he and Jeff went to Godfather's for "lunch with the guys", some of Jeff's former coworkers at Gustavus. To top it off, he received birthday wishes by phone from Grandpa & Grandma Beecher, who told him they like Star Wars Legos, too, which apparently made his day.

Mini-Mitey Bulldogs

Liam has played hockey for the past two seasons, and this year, Cole has joined in. I must say, hockey practice is very enjoyable. Jeff & I get the boys ready and then all three head out to the ice. I go sit in the stands and knit. Yay me!

Liam seems much faster this year, which is fun to watch. I was a little concerned since he barely skated at all this summer, but his stride is longer and smoother.

Cole has spent much of the eight practices thus far practicing standing still, but he does get places, albeit slowly. I was very proud of him today, though, because he is now able to get up all by himself, and quickly. He was very proud of himself and even more happy that Grandpa & Grandma Engelhardt were there to see him.

Halloween 2010

With the exception of last year, the boys have always been coordinated for Halloween. In 2007, they were Clifford and T-Bone. In 2008, Liam wanted to be a black widow spider and Cole to be a fly. Morbid, but okay. This year, Liam was a knight and Cole was a dragon. We went back to the old neighborhood to visit with friends and trick or treat.

While walking around, Liam ran into another friend that he didn't even recognize through her costume. That got them talking about what to be next year. Cole has mentioned being Darth Vadar, but Liam thought that sounded cool, too. He ruled out R2D2, and then decided to be a storm trooper. Cole said, "I'm going to be Darth Vadar. I'm gonna be your master, Liam!" Wouldn't that be a turn of events?

Boy of Fall

I heard a new song by Kenny Chesney today entitled "The Boys of Fall." Well it's turnin' to face the stars and stripes It's fighting back them butterflies It's call it in the air alright, yes sir we want the ball And it's knockin heads and talkin trash It's slinging mud and dirt and grass It's I got your number, I got your back When your backs against the wall You mess with one man you got us all The Boys of Fall . It would make a good concept for a scrapbook page of a high school football player.

Liam, obviously, is not in high school. He is a football player, though, having just completed his first season of touch football. The kids were coached by Gustavus players and did rushing, passing and recovering a fumble drills. They each had the opportunity to play offense and defense and play games against the other teams. Liam's preferred position was quarterback, although I think he would've been just as easy happy standing there trash-talking the other team.

Another Year at Little Saints

Today was Cole's first day at Little Saints Preschool, this year in the 5-day program. We're probably nuts, but he enjoys it and keeps up with the rest of his class.

Jeff was golfing in a tournament today, so Cole hung out with Grandma in the morning who then brought him over to St Peter. I left work for long enough to walk him into school. We took a few pictures; he didn't need me at all, of course. He's good. Grandma picked him up after school and then returned him this evening, along with Liam.

As usual, Cole didn't bring home any projects. He also didn't want to talk about his day. I learned from his friend Nora that she played with the cash register, though.

I want to be helpful

Being helpful has been a recurring theme for Liam over the last month or so. He has offered to weed, sweep, cook, act as a waiter (that one was particularly cute). He's also fond of our replacement washer and dryer and likes to do laundry himself. I watched him take clothes out of the dryer today and was very impressed when he even cleaned out the lint screen. Jeff gets annoyed with me because I never do that. I guess Liam's learning from the right parent!

First Day of First Grade

Liam (and we) have been anxiously awaiting the start of first grade. We signed up for his conference a few weeks ago and found out a couple of his friends would be in his class. Yesterday, we met his teacher Ms Walters who seems very cool. We even played school yesterday afternoon. (I think he got a kick out of calling us Kim and Jeff.)

This morning was rainy and crazy at South, but we still got our pictures taken and made it in on time. He put all his stuff away, chatted with a couple people and was off as a first grader. He's going to have an awesome year!

Hangin' with the Grandparents

Today we all traipsed off to the Almelund Threshing Show. They had huge amounts of rain over the last few days, so it was very muddy. Fortunately, it was warm and dry today and the boys were good about walking carefully. We saw a bunch of tractors, including the tractor parade that we watched for 70 minutes before leaving with no end in sight. We watched the saw mill and the big engines and some threshing. Mostly, though, we hung out with Mom and Dad. All of their work Thursday evening was blown away, basically, so they spent most of the morning resetting their stuff. Liam was very helpful. I think his first statement to Mom, in fact, was that he wanted to help. He wrote out tags, moved things, announced to people looking that it was 10% off (today, but he wasn't sure about tomorrow).

A Slimy Bug

I was paying bills this morning when Liam rushed into the room very excited. "Look, Mom, a slimy bug!" Cole was two feet behind. It didn't look particularly slimy to me, but Liam said it's sixteen or so legs were quite sticky. After taking a few pictures, I told him to put it in the garbage. (I like bugs, but not that much.)

Liam thought the garbage was a good idea: "There's lots of food in there. Bugs like garbage. I have seen bugs die. He walked under a box house, pushed up the little part that stuck down and then got squished. I hope a black widow wouldn't do that. He might make the bottom of the box poisonous."

Golfing

It was another nice day in the backyard, so Liam pulled out his golf clubs. After some errant shots, I helped him adjust his grip and his stance and he started hitting it fairly well. His last two were very nice; one even had some lift.

At supper, Liam told Jeff, "I hit two shots on the same angle. One shot up in the air. It was one of those cool shots golfers do. I bet you have those shots sometimes, Dad."

Sandwich of Choice

Today was a beautiful day, so it was time to start grilling again. Messy chicken sandwiches are a favorite around here, so Jeff went all out. The boys love the pineapple, but that wasn't their favorite part tonight. Instead, they preferred sandwiches made from bread, leaf lettuce and mayo/teriyaki/sesame seeds. Who knew?

Furniture Shopping

To avoid the cleaning at home, we all decided to go furniture shopping today. I also wanted to get it done before moving so we know what colors to paint the walls and can just relax when we're all done with the move.

The boys were a bit rambunctious, to say the least, when we first started. Jumping onto all the couches, sliding on the ottomans. Then, they found Larryboy. I'm fairly certain they didn't actually move the whole time they sat there. We went to two more stores after that one, and only got them through that because they knew we were going back to the first. I'm not a huge fan of TV, but zombies are sometimes nice.

2010 Census

I have no problem whatsoever with the census, although I have always wished we would get the long form (which doesn't apparently exist this time.) This year I've been less than impressed with the money being spent on it, though. How much did that Super Bowl commercial cost? And the letter we received last week asking us to please complete the census when it came? And the letter I'm sure we will get next week reminding us to complete it?

Today, Liam and I sat down to fill it out. He really wanted to do it himself, but I figured we should at least have an adult do it. I think he would have done fine. Last name: ENG EL HAR DT, enunciated just the way I do, to make sure people get it right. Middle name: Patrick Roy. He even guessed Jeff's age correctly.

A Real Goalie

Much of our boys' lives involve goalies. They're named after them. They're cared for by one. They're coached by another. Their mom watches one in particular. So it's a little interesting that aside from Jeff, they haven't actually ever met one.

The Mavericks auctioned off their third jerseys again this year, and it was one I really liked. We weren't sure whose to buy at first, but then had a lot of fun watching first year Phil Cook. He's exciting to watch, plays well, has Cookie Monster on the back of his mask, and should be around a few years.

All of us went on the ice after the Mavs' 4-2 win over St Cloud State tonight. The boys seemed a bit in awe because they wouldn't talk to him. He was very nice and cute, too. His favorite goalie is Martin Brodeur (sound familiar?) which is probably the reason for #30. It will be a lot of fun to watch him play the next few years.

Let's go Canada!

Let's be clear. Those words did not come out of my mouth.

As Olympic coverage transitioned from the 50 km to hockey, Liam and Cole decided to play hockey. Liam said, "Let's go Canada!" We questioned whether he really wants Canada to beat the US, but he has repeated it multiple times, in addition to the simpler "Go Canada." He has also stood at attention and sung O Canada.

Jeff decided to put on his USA jersey in response, so we had very clear delineation of loyalties. We laughed a lot, though, when Canada scored. Liam's first response? "Oh, no!"

(2nd period, after the US finally scored: We cheer. Liam comes out and realizes why we're cheering and screams "NOOOOOO!!!!!" Jeff & I started chanting USA, and Cole joined us. Liam started chanting Can-a-da, and Cole joined him.)

A Knight by Cole

Cole has never been all that interested in drawing or coloring, preferring to express himself with Trios or Legos instead. It's amazing, really, how many fewer projects he comes home with from preschool than Liam did.

All that seems to have changed recently. I find drawings all over the craft room that I know are not Liam's (fewer colors, fewer geometric shapes, no facial features). This one is one of my favorites. He spent many minutes describing it to me today, including the sword, the "protector thingy", his brown legs, his helmet including the feather on top, and his shield. I was very impressed.

Master of the House

Liam has a lot of fun helping Jeff in the kitchen. Mostly they do mixing things, since Jeff's a little worried about Liam near the open flame of our range. While we were eating this evening, Liam said he was a cook. Cole then said, "Liam's a cook, Daddy's a cook, I'm a cook." I then asked if I was a cook, and he replied, "No, you're the master."

Vikings fans?

I've been watching football this afternoon, big surprise. The boys usually play hockey when I'm watching TV, but today they decided to play football. Liam gets a kick out of throwing the football everywhere, although thankfully he's careful to throw it away from the TV and windows. (I don't worry too much since he uses a stuffed football.) Usually he is a Longhorn (the logo on the football) or a Bulldog (his hockey team). Today, he was a Viking. He might've even been Brett Favre. I think that's why Cole tackled him so aggressively. When I pointed out that in our house, we cheer for the Packers, he said no, he was a Vikings fan. Thank goodness their season is over, too.

Knowing How to Score

Liam and Cole wanted to pull out Jeff's equipment today while he was gone, but I wouldn't let them. Needless to say, Liam was very excited when Jeff got home. Their conversation went something like this:

L: You're going to be a scorer, okay, Dad? You know how to be a scorer, right?
J: Yes, I've seen other people play.
L: Okay, because I'm going to be the goalie.

- pause while Jeff works on an e-mail -

L: Dad, you need to come now. The hockey game is about to start.
J: I need to finish sending this e-mail to Emily, okay?
L: Okay. One of the refs will tell you when it's time to start. When you finish that square, it's time to start.
J: When I finish saying what I'm trying to say, then I'll come.
L: Dad, are you almost done? There's only 1 minute until the game starts. Hurry up.
L: Thirty seconds left.

They made it out to the living room and Liam told Jeff that he was actually early because Liam didn't know when the game officially started. Unfortunately, it was a short game because Jeff was assessed a penalty (by Liam) for shooting too hard.

Portrait Artist

Liam and his class painted self-portraits recently, as least he told us he did. It's been drying for awhile now. We know he really likes to paint, so as a reward for being good today, we pulled out the paints. First, he did a portrait of me. Then, he decided he should paint a picture of Jeff at his computer. (That's the photo at left.) Now he's working on a family portrait, although he forgot to include Cole, so is now working on squeezing him in.

Stuffing Snowmen

As a reward for having a good day at school, Liam gets to choose an activity and make projects. Today he opened up his new Lego pirate set that he received from Grandpa & Grandma Beecher for Christmas. He followed the directions perfectly and put it together all by himself. We were very impressed.

I also talked him into helping me with my project, snowmen for Christmas gifts next year. We felted them lightly in the washing machine and then stuffed them. And stuffed them. And stuffed them. They are now very short, very fat men, although they look more like gnocchi. Liam was very helpful.

Crime Scene?

The details are a little sketchy, but as far as I know:

Some time after Liam came home from school, he went to the bathroom. He was compelled to use some toilet paper. Well, really, a lot of toilet paper. The toilet didn't flush, of course. He's a smart kid, so he knew the plunger might be helpful. He tried it once and then flushed again. Our toilets are not easily managed, so it started overflowing. Rather than call out for Jeff, he ran to the stairs in wet socks, slipped and fell partially up them. Then he called out for Jeff.

Jeff found him and the scene pictured above. Liam's not sure exactly what happened, but his glasses were not broken, and he had a 1+ cm gash next to his left eye. Thankfully, it was next to his eye and not in his eye. Thankfully, his glasses didn't break and go in somewhere important. Liam insisted Jeff wash some of the blood off his face, and then they raced over to clinic.

Liam was a bit freaked out, but did pretty well. Kind Dr Rassbach did a nice job stitching him up and he should be fine. It'd be nice if he'd let me clean it. Anytime he cries it flows right over it, though, so that ought to keep it relatively protected.

Like a Moldy Banana

Apparently, the ornerys stayed away, because today was a much better day. Both boys slept in 'til 9, which is unheard of. They played, destroyed the playroom, and had a snack before Liam and Jeff went off to hockey practice. Cole and I played pirates and soldiers while they were gone, and the boys played well after their return.

During supper (spaghetti lasagna on which the boys chowed down), Jeff said that Liam had skated hard during practice. They did drills today which keeps the kids hopping. Liam told me, "I skated as hard as a moldy banana." Honestly, he comes up with some of the craziest sayings.

The Ornerys

Liam's day started very well. He slept in 'til past 7 and came in to my side to give me his Packer blanket for safekeeping. He said he was going downstairs to play. Cole wasn't up yet, so we thought he'd be good. Then we heard water running, and not, and running, and not, and so on. Jeff finally went to investigate, only to discover that Liam had rinsed out not only the soap dispenser and hand sanitizer dispenser sitting on the bathroom counter, but the refill soap container as well. Hmmm.

He somewhat redeemed himself by helping a lot in picking up the playroom. We ate lunch and told them both they needed to rest in preparation for the Mavs game this evening. They didn't want to, but did finally lie down. Not long after, we heard Cole yell that Liam had spit on him. Both boys had apparently been hanging out of their beds and Liam did spit on him. We explained how naughty that was, which should sound quite familiar to him by now, and told them both to lie down again. Liam lasted about 2 minutes before leaning over the railing again, so we moved him to our room.

He's usually pretty good when he's in a room by himself. He seemed contrite after awhile, so I gave him a time limit and he promised to be good. Cole had finally fallen asleep, so Jeff and I went back to work on the playroom. Then the phone rang. 507 931-6800. Nicollet County. I haven't been coroner in years, so I was a bit confused. Then the dispatcher said he'd gotten a 911 call from our number. Good gracious.

We had a very long talk after that one. He was good for the rest of the evening, and just told me that all the ornerys and bads are out of his head. He wasn't sure if they would stay away overnight, so I told him that Sadie would watch out for them and eat any that she saw. He was concerned that she wouldn't be able to see them, since they're invisible, but I assured her that dogs have far keener senses than we do. We'll see what happens tomorrow.