aerobicising with kenny

Because we are way behind the times here, I give you a photo essay from about two weeks ago when Grandma Jackie was in town.

Every morning, Grandma Jackie wakes up, turns on NPR, busts out a few water filled weights and does her exercises. Kenny thinks this is pretty cool, and got very into hopping up onto the bed with her to help out. It looked something like this:


"Okay, Grandma, now I want you to point your legs straight up like this and count to 46."


Kenny discovers that bringing your legs down is more fun than bringing them up. So he tried it a few hundred times. His quads are totally pumped at this point.


Kenny tries to throw some yoga into the proceedings.


And just for kicks, some primal scream therapy as well. Good times.

playdate etiquette

On Sunday, Victoria and Ava came over to see Chloe and play with Kenny. Victoria took the two awesome Chloe pix below, but the highlight of the visit came courtesy of Mr. K:

As Ava stood next to the window in his room, playing with a toy on the windowsill, Kenny tried to tell her something. Unhappy that she wasn't facing him and giving him the attention he was due, Kenny announce, "Ava, I'm talking to you!" She turned around and all was well. Until he had to say it again a few minutes later. I don't think he appreciated the irony as much as I did.


"This is my good side. Oh, who am I kidding? I don't have a bad side!"


"So then I says to the guy..."

mr. mischievous

This is the face of a little boy who was supposed to be doing something in his room, but somehow ended up under the covers in my room.

feeding and personal hygiene

The other weekend, Kenny was very excited to help feed Chloe and then give her a bath. He was in charge of washing her feet, entertaining her, and apparently, touching anything and everything he could in the bathroom that would cause his parents to yell, "KENNY! STOP THAT!" at the top of their lungs, before quickly turning to the confused infant and cooing, "Not you, Honey. Sorry for yelling during your spa time."


Kenny helps give Chloe a bottle, while Overboard attempts to regulate the pressure with which he provides said bottle.


The same pressure regulation came into play during burp time. I believe it went something like, "No, Sweetie, just tap her back, don't smack it." Or words to that effect.


Kenny lends a helping hand to Chloe's feet.


This is so one day I can remind her that we used to just dump her in the sink and rinse her off. Lovingly, of course.

the pre-computer era

This is the old-school typewriter at Wagner Farm. Kenny thought this thing was fascinating, and had a blast punching away at the keys. He called it a computer, but I tried to explain that before computers, we had word processors, and before that, typewriters. I also explained that Daddy was old enough to remember using typewriters. He shrugged me off and continued slamming keys, six at a time. The way he typed reminded me of his mommy.

I printed out this picture and put it up on my door at work. Underneath is the message, "Rolnick & Son. Typing uncontrollably since 2006."

can you say?

Lately, Kenny has been channeling his inner teacher. He sees something, be it in a book, on TV, or out in the world, and says, "[object], Daddy. Can you say, [object]?"

"[object]."

"Very good, Daddy."

he shoots, he roars*

When I asked Kenny what he wanted to do today, he said he wanted to go to the library. This is cool, as I fully support his interest in books and reading.

After nap, we cruised on over and began our book hunt. Mr. Man had informed me that he was in search of dinosaur books, so I passed that request on to the librarian. She kindly pointed me in the right direction, and then went rummaging around herself. When she resurfaced, she offered me a book with the disclaimer that, "It's not exactly in season, but this is a fun one." The book in question? "Dino-Hockey."

"Lady, you don't know how much you just made my day," I replied.


*Headline credit due to Victoria. Well played, Mrs. Brandt.

chloe check-in

A quick note to say that our girl is eating, sleeping, pooping and growing like a champ. At her doctor's appointment last week, Chloe was already up to 8 lbs, 14 oz. Which means it's safe to say that she's now over 9 lbs. Let's hear it for breast milk! Woo-hoo.

tummy time: chloe vs. kenny

Chloe: August 2009

vs.

Kenny: July 2006


An interesting portrait comparison, wouldn't you say?

family photos

Here are some fun pix of the kids from last weekend.


Yes, I know it was probably just gas, but that's a smile, dammit.


Chloe quickly grew bored of my attempts to elicit another smile.


Kenny explains the ins and outs of living in a crib to Chloe.


Again, probably gas, but as far as Kenny was concerned, he made her smile.


"I made her smile! You owe me $6, Daddy."


Kenny tries to figure out the best way to spin the mobile without Daddy yelling at him.*


Chloe kickin' it on her boppy.


Chloe loves the bears. As for the Braves? We'll find out later.


Being cute can really take a lot out of a girl. Just ask Mommy.

*There is no best way to do this. You get within two feet of that thing and Daddy is gonna start yelling.

i got pooped on

Changing Chloe's diaper. Everything going well. Suddenly, POOOOOOOOOOOOP. All over my hand.

So, if you're keeping score, that's: Daddy 184, Chloe 1.

aquarium adventure

Just some quick shots from the aquarium visit we took the other weekend with the Carlsbad Crew™. I won't go into how some marathon on the lakefront closed down the streets we needed and we couldn't get where we wanted and then we ended up all the way down at the Museum of Science and Industry, but the MSI didn't open till 11 and we were there at 9:30 and then we managed to find our way back to the aquarium about an hour after we were supposed to be there, and how I dropped a couple of angry F-bombs behind the wheel while Mr. K was in the backseat admonishing me to behave myself and not get so mad at the cars. I could go into that, but I won't. Nope, I'll just show some pix.


This is what happens when you attempt to get a bunch of kids to pose for a picture in front of a lake with the Chicago skyline in the background.


Our version of the "Joshua Tree" album cover.


Kenny was enraptured by the main tank and kept shouting out sea animals with incredible enthusiasm. "SHARK, DADDY! RAY, DADDY! OMG, A GIANT SEA TURTLE THAT LOOKS LIKE CRUSH, DADDY!" (and so on)


Kenny and Hannah take a kayak on a dryland test run. Still needed those life preservers, tho.


My outdoorsman.

Funny end story:
After my unfortunate initial auto outbursts on the way to the museum, I was in a much better mood on the way home. Pulling into heavy traffic, I remained cool, calm, and collected. This did not stop the social satirist in the backseat from screaming, "C'MON!" at the top of his lungs, in order to properly mock Daddy. Well played, sir.

we all scream

One of the joys of summer is a stroll over to the Glenview Dairy Bar. This time around, everyone went, including Ms. Sadie (although she didn't get any ice cream, much to her chagrin).


Brain freeze!


Sugar Rush 1.


Sugar Rush 2.


Disappointed in the lack of "breast milk swirl," Chloe opted for a nap instead.


[something witty about lots of ice cream]


Uncle Mike tries to set a record for fastest consumption of frozen dairy products without inducing a brain freeze. He was mildly successful.

kenny and his cousins

The Carlsbad Rolnicks came to visit last week and Kenny reveled in having his cousins around. He loved playing with Hannah and he considers Adam to be his spiritual guide to Toddlerhood, so he was pretty cool with him being in town as well. There was a lot of playing, occasional screaming (usually with joy), a modicum of sharing and a great deal of laughter.


Hannah and Kenny perfect the toddler art of playing side by side, instead of together.


The funky drummers.


Hannah reads her cousin Chloe a story. Chloe, as you can tell, was riveted (but probably appreciated the effort).


Uncle Mike bonds with Chloe and tries to remember when his kids were ever that small.*

*They weren't.

you grow, girl*

Chloe had a check-up last Monday (Yes, I know, it's been a week and I'm just posting about it now. Get over it.) and she has already grown two inches and gained a bunch of weight. She's now around 21 inches long and weighs around 8 lbs 2 oz. Her super-skinny chicken legs are starting to get chunkier, as are her arms and face. Her milk intake is anywhere from three to six ounces, depending how hungry she is (though four ounces is the average serving at the moment), and she's sleeping for longer stretches. Chloe's personal best is six hours. This monumental achievement should have been properly appreciated by sleeping. However, being that it was her first time sleeping that long, it was appreciated with mass nervousness and frequent "is she breathing?" check-ups. Sigh.

So basically, Chloe's doing really well. Which is nice.

*Headline provided by Overboard. Not sure I want credit for that one.