Life in the Burbs

Here is some live footage of the train ride.

No, this is not a metaphor or some random line from a song. I actually gave Sam racing stripes on accident. On Sunday, as we were getting ready for church, Gina and I decided to have a Groom-0-Rama with the boys. This included a haircut (administered by me), finger and toenail trimming, nose clearing and a bath. In an attempt to save some time, I piloted the “ear fade” attachments on the clippers. There is one each for the right and left side. Well, I quickly found out that there is a technique to using these, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t involve racing stripes. After it happened, I tried to use different attachments to fade them in, but with no luck. So, Sam gets to be Lightening McQueen for a few days. The stripes weren’t that visible to start with, and they are barely noticeable now. And now I know it’s better to take my time when cutting the boys’ hair than to attempt short cuts (no pun intended). Now that the dust has settled, their haircuts actually look pretty good.

This Saturday, we all got to take another adventure in Illinois. Fun Shop organized a train ride to Lincoln, about an hour drive north of Springfield. The trip only took about 30 minutes by train, and it seemed like even shorter than that. The boys got a snack, a Thomas the Train sticker and the conductor came through and punched their special Fun Shop ticket. Sam and Nate both loved the train, and they especially loved eating their raisins and looking out the window.

Most of the families had one parent ride the train while the other one drove to Lincoln to pick everyone up for the drive back to Springfield. We really couldn’t do that because that would leave one parent with two very active toddlers on the train. So, when we got to Lincoln, we went to a have Pizza (where we got to meet another Springfield family that lives just down the street from us) then we took the train back to Springfield. As is often the case with trains, it was late, so the boys got to run around and play for an extra 40 minutes until we were able to board. I forgot to mention, by this time it was past their bedtime, and Nate was getting quite slap happy. He does this when he’s tired and it’s past his bedtime.

We arrived safely at home around 9:30, and the boys, as well as Gina and I, went straight to bed. I’m now convinced that train travel is pretty cool, and we can’t wait to do it again.

Well, it wasn’t Carter Mountain Orchard, but we found a suitable substitute in Illinois: the Apple Barn in Chatham. We went there this morning as one of our Fun Shop events, and the boys had a nice time. The weather was actually kind of crummy, but we were bundled up and ready for action. The first part of the field trip was just walking around through the rows of pumpkins. We then got to go in the barn and see the apple cider press, which was more impressive to the parents than it was to the toddlers. We briefly walked over to the small apple orchard and looked at all of the different trees, but the rain started to come down a little harder and we all headed back to the barn to try some apple cider (which the boys loved) and a fresh apple from the tree (which Nathaniel ate in one sitting … the picture is below to prove it). Tomorrow we are going on a train ride, and Sam has been practicing his “choo choo” sound in preparation for the big event. I’ll write more about that tomorrow.

I put together a video of our time on the farm this weekend. I didn’ t do a lot of editing or put in any effects, but it’s still pretty cute.

This past Saturday, we had the opportunity to go to a small farm about 45 minutes south of Springfield. The event was sponsored by Fun Shop, and the boys got to experience all kinds of new things. There was an assortment of animals, from a donkey and mule, to sheep (Sam calls them bah-bah), goats, a turkey, pigs, cows and a miniature horse just like Uncle John and Aunt Nancy Jane have. There was also a mini corn maze, and hay loft for the boys to jump around in. They had set up a hay bale tunnel, but the boys were not too enthusiastic about that. We also got to take a short hay ride, which was pretty fun. Gina made sure Sam and Nate looked the part by putting them in their overalls. The only thing missing was cowboy boots, but I think sneakers turned out to be more comfortable. Next Saturday we get to go ride a train, and I will report on how that goes. Here a few pictures of the experience:

All us guys in the house are thankful for Gina for so many reasons, and one of those reasons is that she is extremely deft at seeking out fun and exciting activities for us to do as a family. One of those activities is a called Fun Shop. I asked some of my students if they had heard of this, and the response was unbelievably enthusiastic. Apparently it has been a monument on the Springfield social landscape for quite some time, and just about everyone here who has young children knows about it. Fun Shop, in a nutshell, is a learning environment for toddlers, where they come to the Fun Shop classroom with their parents once a week for one hour and a half. There is a train/truck/airplane section, a playhouse section, a puppet section, a loft, playdough, slides and other climbing toys, a water table, a big boat filled with rice and beans (like a sandbox) big toys and a reading center. There is actually much more, but I think you get the point. It’s similar to what you would see in a preschool, except the parents don’t drop the kids off. We play along with them and, generally, get to act like a kid.

We’ve been going for 3 weeks, and here is a rundown of how it has gone:

• Week 1: Sam did pretty well, but Nate pitched a wall-eyed fit. He thought we were dropping him off at the church nursery (at least that’s my theory). The biggest meltdown came at the end when it was time to clean up.
• Week 2: Much better. Sam and Nate both did great, but Nate threw another tantrum when it was time to clean up. Any guesses about what Gina and I talked about working on more at home?
• Week 3: No fits. Nate didn’t exactly help clean up, but he didn’t scream and roll around while Gina cleaned up. She held him for most of the clean up time, but the fact that there was no weeping or gnashing of teeth is a step in the right direction.

We have 10 more weeks of Fun Shop, and my prediction is that both Sam and Nate will be helping clean up like champs by the time it’s all done. Then I can show them how to use our vacuum cleaner at home. Here are some pictures so you can get an idea about the kinds of things they do. There are more photos in our web album.

OK, I will be the first to admit that this whole filming babies nonsense is getting a little out of control. But who could resist? I mean, I have a nice video camera with night vision, and two babies asleep in the next room. I’m like a moth in the porchlight. The boys will appreciate this one day, as soon as they get over the initial terror that I might show these video to their girlfriends.

I know this was a common theme on our old blog, but bath time is no less of a party than it used to be. We’ve had to remove all toys that can hold water because they usually end up sloshed all over the floor, Gina and I, but it seems Sam and Nate have found other ways to entertain themselves. Specifically, each other.

We recently bought Sam and Nate some bike helmets for riding in their Schwinn trailer. Neither of them are fond of the helmets, although Sam tolerates it a little better than Nate (for obvious reasons). Well yesterday, Sam brought his helmet to me and wanted to wear it. I put it on and clipped the straps, and he proceeded to wear it for about 45 minutes. I was in the middle of loading the car with clothes for a consignment sale, otherwise I would have gotten more pictures. It’s funny how certain activities (playing with a barn set, stacking blocks, watching a video, etc.) look cuter when the baby is wearing a bike helmet. I think the same applies to babies and cowboy boots, but we don’t have any of those yet. Hopefully, Sam will wear it more often and not resist so much, and more than that, I hope Nate notices and starts wanting to wear his.