Thursday Spetmeber 16, 2010 - The View From Section EE

The only thing I took from last Saturday's game against Iowa was I predicted Iowa's points! Wow, that was ugly and pathetic. The only saving grace is there is 10 more games to go.

As for the past week, the four year old is back to her monster self and the baby does not want to sleep more than two hours at a time for me since Kristy has gone back to work. Its been a little rough lately.

Here is a picture of what Ian has been dealing with:

Our sleeping routine has been awesome. Get home at 11:30 PM. She wakes up around 1:00 AM. Eats, sleeps until 3:00 PM. Eats, then sleeps until 5:00 AM. East, then sleeps to 8:00 AM or so. Except for the morning she woke up at 5:30 AM and stayed up until 7:30 AM. Good times, good times. This has to end soon.

And here is a little picture of the older monster climbing a rock wall. I was not there, and I don't believe she made it.

And one last picture, one of Emily in her UNI shirt. Kind of a bugged eyed smile, but we will take it. At least she wasn't mad at me for a while!

And since there is a football game Saturday, I will try to throw out another prediction. This is a must win game for ISU down in Kansas City against Kansas State. Last years game resulted in a loss because of a missed extra point. This year, I do not see the game coming down to an extra point. Both team have good running games, but I think Iowa State pulls it out.

My prediction is:

41
31

Tuesday 09/07/2010 - The View From Section EE

Last weeks anniversary went well. I made it to Ames a good four hours before kick off and right across the street front he stadium. We were able to break in the new RV nicely with a cold bottle of champagne and a good Cyclone win. I was pretty close on my prediction last week, 27-17 ISU. ISU beat Northern Illinois 27-10, but it happened a lot different that I anticipated. I thought the game would be close early, but ISU would pull it off late. Almost the exact opposite happened. ISU started out really well, but made a few bad mistakes. At least all of us in the South End Zone thought they should have scored close to 35 points.

I did not bring our camera to the game, so I did not get very good pictures of the game. The one of the score and the picture below were the only ones that looked decent. I will try to get some pictures from Kristy's uncle that look a lot better. I believe this is one of the final plays of the game, right before we needed to make the much needed run back to the RV.

This weeks game may be ugly. After watching the ISU play a good first half, that gave a little bit of hope for the game in Iowa City. I have this feeling that they could stun the country and pull off the win on the road. Its a similar feeling to the NCAA Basketball Tournament when UNI beat Kansas. I thought they could win, but there was no way I could either bet on it or predict it. This goes with the game Saturday. If does not turn the ball over, but forces Iowa to a couple turnovers, then they have a shot. If they win, it could be in the score of 17-14 type of ball game. But that is the cardinal and gold colored classes, so my true prediction is:

35

17

Lets hope my first, non-official, prediction comes true. Go Cyclones!!!

Tuesday August 31, 2010

August is coming to a close, and that means a couple things. School has started and football season is almost here. Brianna stared her second year of pre-school last week. She walked into the room just like it was a regular day last year. She has a couple friends from last year, so I think that helps her get adjusted. So far those are the only names she knows, but it wont be long before she can name everyone in the class.

Bri also started gymnastics today. This may be interesting. So far, she loves it more than soccer and tee-ball. While observing her today, I have determined what kind of student Brianna is and will be in school:
The type who will raise their hand and answer everything, whether it is right or wrong. Today, she got lucky. The question at hand was, "Does anyone know how to do the bear walk?". Bri was the only one to raise her hand, as high as she could, while saying "I do!". The gymnastics teacher picks Bri to answer and she responds "I know the bear walk because I have seen bears before." I kind of laugh, thinking she still has no clue what this teacher is talking about. The teachers then asks her to demonstrate it. Without hesitation, she drops down and walks with her hand and her feet, imitating the bear walk. She was correct. I have no idea when she would have heard the bear walk before, but she got this one right. This may be interesting to see how this trait progresses.

Bri is also getting fairly good at drawing. A couple weeks ago, all the girls came out to eat supper while I was at work. Bri brought me a drawing that I had to put in my office. I will post it below. She didn't even get any help from Kristy when she drew the yellow sun, green grass, and the blue sky. This artistic stuff may also make for interesting stories in the future. Its a picture of us walking and holding hands on a sunny day. She drew Kristy a picture of her on a cloudy rainy day. We will let the psychologist make the judgment on that one.

As for Emily, she still does the same thing. Eat, sleep, eat, sleep, make dirty diapers, etc. She is getting better though, she went through a spell where she did not like me one bit. I get her for a few minutes and it would be instant crying. I give her back to Kristy, she is happy. Its early, so I don't worry too much about it. It wont be long before she is drawing pictures of Kristy on a cloudy and rainy day, even though I bet this kid will be just like Reagan, a mommy's girl.

This Thursday we will be celebrating our five year wedding anniversary. By celebrating, I mean I will be going to Ames for some Cyclone football!! The Thursday night game did not do us any favors. Bri has school Friday mornings so someone had to stay to take her to school. I don't think we fairly drew straws, but Kristy took the bullet and will stay home on our anniversary. Five years ago we embarked on this life long journey. A month into it we decided to get a dog, to help ease the pain of living in a new place and home. Then a few short months later we gained a kid, with monster like tendencies. Its been such a good ride, we added another monster. I am full aware that I am doomed and out numbered in any battle/vote for a good 19 years, but if its anything like the first five years, they will all be worth it.

Now on to the final note, we, or I this week, will begin our journey to Ames for the View From Section EE. After each game, I will try to update this thing with pictures and stories from the game.

This weeks prediction:


27







17

Monday August 2, 2010

I guess a lot has happened since the last entry on June 11th. Its been so long I am having a hard time coming up with something for today. The first thing is Brianna has started to get a little better with this whole things about her not being an only child anymore. The first few weeks were brutal. I swear she all of a sudden was 2 years old again and needed diapers. Her whining has subsided a little, and it has become better. It was rough for a while. Her big brother Reagan wasn't any better. That jerk decides to start getting into garbage. There wasn't a safe garbage can in the house. Not to mention the stress he put on his digestive system and our floors. But after a few weeks, things have calmed down. We have now put lids on all trash cans and Bri has decided not to pee her pants every time she has to go to the bathroom.

Since the 11th of June, we have made a few trips. One annual trip up to Okoboji (where Bri was labeled the naughtiest child to ever visit the lakes) and a few back to Baxter. The picture below may be the reason Reagan is mostly acting out. Two car seats now leaves Mr. 85 Pound Boxer a very small area to sit. That has to be one of the most uncomfortable two and a half hour rides he will ever have. Its sad when he is the inspiration to get a larger vehicle, and it will not be in any form of a van. Sorry van drivers, its not happening.

This year for the 4th of July we decided to go to Katie's for her neighborhood Kiddie Parade. Bri was extremely excited for this little five minute parade. On a last minute stop to a Walgreen's, we picked up some supplies to decorate her scooter. Thanks for a few ribbons I was able to get her scooter all ready. Unfortunately, it rained on the morning of the 4th. So instead of going to the Kiddie Parade, her and Evan had a parade in Katie's House. She was suppose to throw us the Tootsie Roll's, but instead we found a bunch in her pockets. Here is Bri and her Scooter and Bri and Evan in Evan's decorated wagon.

During this trip to Baxter, where Reagan sat in a small corner of the car, we once again experienced Fun Days. This year was planned a little differently and we did not get to experience the "Shitation". That's probably a good thing because Katie said something literally died in there and it smelled awful. I am not sure how much difference that made from last year. On this trip we had the parade. Ever since the 4th of July Bri has wanted to go to a parade. Thankfully Kristy's parents live along the Baxter parade route. Bri was sitting in her chair along the curb a good 45 minutes before the parade started. On a little Patriotic note, I told Bri that when the parade begins and they are marching with the flag, she is suppose to stand up and put her hand on her heart. This was probably 20 minutes or so before the parade started. I am proud to report, she remembered and was stood as the parade started.

As usual, it seems to always be 100 degrees or hotter on the trip to Fun Days. This year we let Bri go play a few games before we conned her into leaving and to go swimming. The not so good part about swimming is I have to go with her. Anyway, I was in the pool and caught her a couple times. Then all of a sudden I hear a big splash and there is Brianna, floating to the top after a decent sized cannon ball with no warning to others. She probably did this a thousand times, all with no help. Fast forward to this past weekend when we weren't with her at the pool. She had taken her life jacket off for one of her many bathroom breaks and when she came back she just jumped in, with no warning. As she was mid air, her Uncle Bruce noticed and she happened to jump right next to her Grandpa Marty. She could care less, she loved it. This will be very interesting when she gets older.

I should hopefully find the time to post a little more frequently in the near future. In exactly one month, we begin our journey to Ames for 7 weekends this fall for some Cyclone football. I will try to keep this thing more updated with my "View From Section EE". As fuzzy as a majority of that view will be, I will try to keep it as current as possible.

Friday June 11, 2010

For today's installment I will discuss Brianna and her tee ball adventures. This is the second class she has taken, the first being soccer. The classes are set up with about 10 kids and one teacher/coach. They meet twice a week for a month. The classes consist of the teacher/coach giving the kids instruction and they have to follow the rules. Simple enough, right?

Well this tee ball is basically mass chaos. Some of the kids are younger than Bri and they have no concept of listening and following the rules. We are proud to report, that surprisingly, Brianna listens very well and follows the rules. Now if we can get her to do this at home. The kid who is teaching/coaching the kids does a great job, but I can sense the frustration. There is not enough money in the world for this guy. I am sure his minimum wage barely makes it to the bar after these classes.

The teacher/coach does a great job, but its too bad the parents lack in that category. When you see your kid playing Ring around in the Rosey in the outfield, its probably in your kids best interest if you tell them to stop and pay attention to the teacher/coach. When you show up to a baseball/softball class, its probably in your kids best interest to have a glove. When you see your kid take off to the other side of the gym, its in your kids best interest to stop and listen to what is going on. The list could go on, but I will stop for now because of this next intriguing story.

Just last week the teacher/coach was showing them how to throw a ball into a net with wiffle balls. Simple task. One of the mothers, who I am going to judge by calling her a "West O, Over Protective, Over Reactive, Mom". Her kid walks toward her and she put her finger in one of the holes of the wiffle ball. At this point, I thought this mom was going to call in the National Guard to deal with the catastrophe. The mom cant get the ball off her finger. Another mom is saying "you will have to get the hand soaked in ice cold water". Then the mom takes hand sanitizer and chap stick to use as lubricant to get the finger out. Meanwhile, the kid now freaks out and is crying hysterically. My dad happened to be with me since he was watching Bri that day, and I said to him, "just pull the wiffle ball off the finger!" I could not believe the drama of a wiffle ball stuck to a finger.

And now for a few pictures, Brianna and her tee ball class.

Tuesday June 7, 2010

A couple months ago Omaha became a stop for Iowa State's Cyclone Tailgate Tour. We had been talking about going to this since that first day. We told Bri that Cy would be there and she was very excited. She is terrified of mascots, but every event we go to a sporting event, she looks for them and waves at them, albeit 20 rows away. Just last week we met Tim and Brooke at a Royals game. The only entrance at the stadium was filled with mascots. It was the Royals' mascot Casey's birthday, so every mascot in the area was there. She freaked out, but once we sat in the last row, all she did was look for them and wave at them.

Now fast forward to tonight, Bri still had planned on giving Cy a high five and take a picture with him. She wanted to get the picture framed so it can go next to her bed. Well, once Cy made his appearance, she freaked out and wanted nothing to do with him. We rotated from one end of the function to the other, always away from Cy. When it was over I told her this was the last chance to see Cy. She agreed and decided to go get a picture. Well, she was too late, he was gone and probably headed toward the nearest bar. She said that was "OK because I can see him at a football game". Only time will tell on that one.

Here is a picture of Bri and the closest she was to Cy. Notice how Cy is in the far top right corner of the picture. The next two pictures are the only pictures Bri got with any of the coaches, Coaches Hoiberg and Rhoads. Every time we got close to another coach, Cy would be near and she would freak out.

Sunday June, 6, 2010

Since it has been a while, I figured now would be as good a time as any to get this started back up again. Just so you know, I am off for the next two weeks, so I should have plenty of time on my hands.......... Not really that much time, since we have been busy the past four days. On Thursday June 3, 2010 at 7:22 PM, our new addition finally arrived. Little, not really little, Emily Ann joins us. She was 9 pounds 13 ounces. Needless to say, shes a beast.

Here is a little run down on the events of last Thursday.

Kristy was finished working the second of three straight nights in a row. She had been talking for the past month that every night she worked was her last for twelve weeks. The only prediction that was correct was the due date the doctors came up with. Kristy thought for sure she would go early, but that did not happen.

So I was sitting at Bri's tee-ball, I will post about that later, when I got a text that said today was the day. I kind of shrugged it off, because when Bri was born, it was a 27 hour ordeal. Kristy said not to hurry, so we ate lunch and came home. Kristy said her water kind of broke, so we went in. Once she was admitted, I thought for sure families would show up in four hours and I would meet up with them at Paulie's for a few drinks before anything happened. To make a long story short, once the nurses' shift change was happening, little Emily was born. A grand total of eight hours plus of labor.

Here is one of our first pics of Emily with Bri and Kristy.

The whole time we never found out what we were having. We thought for sure it was a boy. Emily was the only girl name we came up with. It was definitely a shock to us. Bri was a little disappointed when we didn't name her Taylor Swift, but she will get over it. When I walked out into the waiting area I said we have a baby, but I did not tell any of our family what we had. I took Bri back first so she could make the announcement. I could hear the grumblings as I walked away. Here is the short video we took of Bri telling our family. She could not wait to get back out there to tell them.

Since then, Emily and Kristy are doing really well, minus getting good sleep, but the adjustment period begins. Even Reagan seems to be liking things, even though he knows he is now out numbered.