The Drive Up

On the drive up to Kalahari, Gilbert was in need of a snack. Not to lose time, we violated our rule and let him eat while driving.

I had been taking a nap and in doing so removed the headrest. Gilbert promptly turned it into a foot rest!

Savvy Daddy

A friend of mine just passed along a blog worth checking out...Savvy Daddy. Ladies, you might want to send the link to your hubbies!

Train Store Outing

The weather was particularly gray and dour this past weekend so looking for fun activities to get us out of the condo, Kristen had the idea of visiting a train store in Berwyn. Great idea!

At first, Gilbert didn't know how to react. Toys and trains were everywhere! Once comfortable with the surroundings, he was running all over the store. From the Thomas section to the electric train models and then back and forth, back and forth. It was fun to see him so excited! Of course, we picked up some vital additions to the track so I, er, Gilbert could add some complexity to his set up at home.

ABCs

I've posted before about Gilbert's animal letter cards. I wiped off the dust on them a few days ago and he showed renewed interest. His mastery of the alphabet continues as well as cognitive recognition of the letters with the animals and ability to pronunciate. It is so much fun!

Oh yeah, Gilbert sees 'choo choo tracks' in everything. A straight line or items in a row are a choo choo track to him.

And how many times can I say "very good"? Jeez!

Who Would Have Thought?

Continually exploring how to get veggies into Little Man, I went deep into the archives for a recipe I used to make, Black Bean Polenta.

The recipe is a layered casserole with polenta, chopped peppers (red, orange, yellow), black beans, tomato sauce and cheese. Gilbert is a texture eater, so black beans (big on protein, low on fat) is not on his approved list. As an alternative, I used refried black beans instead. Looks like it worked!

In future versions, I might add some purees to the sauce such as eggplant, onions, and zucchini to give it more flavor and increase the veggie count. But for now, I'm happy with the outcome!

Wii Fit - On Steroids!

I've posted before about my affinity for Wii Fit. Well, I've rekindled my love for it.

Thanks to the folks at EA, a new program has been designed specifically for the Wii Fit. EA Active is Wii Fit on STEROIDS!

The best way to explain the difference is such...Wii Fit is a good exercise, while EA Active is a workout!

EA Active comes with a personal trainer so you can set goals (similar to Wii Fit) as well as participate in a 6 Week program and other preset programs. Supporting this approach are prepared workout regimens. The cool part is the ability to create customized workouts.

For example, categories include cardio, lower, upper, fitness, and warm up/cool down. In the cardio section a variety of runs exist including running with a partner, sprinting, free runs, etc. Fitness is loaded with fun activities such as boxing, sparring, obstacle courses, water paddling, and more. The key is the program comes with a leg wrap where the nunchuck sits so the program registers leg movements.

Oh yeah, it tracks calories. To test the accuracy, I strapped on my heart rate monitor and found the results to be nearly identical!

Back to workouts. This is by far the coolest feature. I built a few and tested them over the weekend. 45 minutes later I was a sweaty mess, burnt 500 calories and felt as if I did actually get a workout!

For those of you that like 'classes', there is a slew of preprogrammed step aerobics programs varying in both duration and intensity.

I really enjoy the boxing/sparring, obstacles course, and water paddling. I still enjoy the yoga and some of the strength activities in the Wii Fit, but EA Active is definitely more that...active!Check it out!

Priorities

It was time for bed and Gilbert only had on his shirt, but he noticed something on the floor that needed to vacuumed up! Out came his play Dirt Devil, and Little Man was off to do some housecleaning!

Train Tracks

Gilbert sees 'train tracks' in everything. The latest fatuation is the dish washer. Other than what you see below, he's studying the wheels on the lower level and how the cart rolls in and out. Future engineer in the making!

Avatar

I was in need of a mental health day, so I took the day off from work on Friday. We dropped Gilbert off at school and started our day with a workout. From there it was off to catch the matinee showing of Avatar. I wanted to see it in IMAX, but in 3D Kristen thought she would not be able to handle it (she gets queasy easily). And with the 3D movie, comes the stylish 3D glassed. Actually, these weren't bad, just a bad imitation of Ray-Ban Wayfarers.

Probably a good call! The movie was visually amazing. The story was solid, not groundbreaking. The value in seeing the movie on the big screen is the visual experience. Unbelievable! The director, James Cameron, was recently on Charlie Rose and it was incredible to learn that he cooked up Avatar more than 12 years ago. All in his head! He invested his own money and worked directly with Sony in creating the 3D cameras used for the movie as well. Visionary, indeed!

If you are on the fence about seeing the movie, find time!

It Is A Work Day!

Gilbert likes to get ready for 'work' like his mommy and daddy. It is a hoot seeing what he gathers for his 'work day'!

This Is What Happens When...

You let your child pick clothes for bed! He insisted on wearing mesh shorts to bed, "like daddy"!

At least he's color coordinated!

Sunday Breakfast

We had what is fast becoming a monthly ritual having breakfast with our good friends Tony and Vanessa. They recently added a third to the family and have since moved to the suburbs. This weekend we ventured out to their neck of the nape for breakfast.

Little Man LOVES breakfast out! All day Saturday he talked about having pancakes with syrup and eggs. Oh yeah, toast with butter. Healthy, huh?

When done, Gilbert wanted to play with Maddie so it was fun to capture some pics watching them check each other out!

Shake My Brain

When Gilbert wants to be silly, he'll shake his brain while eating dinner. Hurts mine just to watch!

Cupcakes!

It was a snow day on Friday, so Kristen and Gilbert had a home project...make cupcakes!

Saturday was scheduled for a haircut, so as a treat/gift they made cupcakes for all the ladies that work at the barber shop. Both Gilbert and me get our haircut from Lexi, one of two twins that own their own shop in the West Loop.

Little Man is smitten with all of them and hams it for them throwing around hugs to all! Of course, the ladies eat him up!

Sledding With No Snow

I keep finding stuff to post about from our trip to MI! On our last day, we were determined to be outside. The original plan was to do some sledding in the backyard (they have a lot of land!).

Snow was on the ground when we went to bed, but the freezing rain overnight removed most of the snow. Not to be deterred, we did some sledding so Gilbert could get the experience. Good times!

Happy New Year!

Getting it off to a good start, at least I thought so. Kristen affectionately referred to me and all the other polar bears as "idiots".

Christmas Cookie Making

While still in Michigan, we made cookies the day after. Fun activity for Kristen and Gilbert. Little Man is a hands on type of child, so he loved cutting the shapes and being eye level with the action!

The Best Surprise Gift for Christmas!

For sleeping arrangements, we bought an inflatable mattress for Gilbert. He loved it in Houston and thought this was the easiest way to bring a bed for him. Turns out it makes a great wrestling and jumping mat. Ryan and I powered it up the first night and the boys immediately took to running and jumping on it.

In fact, throughout the weekend, Gilbert would inform me it was time to play on the bed!

Christmas Day

That morning he woke up at his usual time and all sharing a room, had us up wanting to go see what Santa brought. We used all of our diversion techniques as we waited for the rest of the house to wake up!

The gift opening took hours! He'd open a present and speed off playing with it. Doubly so for Jasper! He got a play kitchen and Gilbert wanted to play with it too in a bad way!

Then he saw and realized the shiny Radio Flyer tricycle was for him! He spent the rest of the weekend on it!

I've posted how Gilbert is enamored with the vacuum cleaner. Well, when we started asking him what he wanted for Christmas, you can imagine what was at the top of the list. So, Santa brought Little Man his own 2-in-1 Dirt Devil. I'm disappointed it is not functional so he can clean up after himself, but Gilbert sure doesn't know the difference! He vacuumed the house all weekend and does a daily sweep of the condo as well!

Little Man also was the recipient of a lot of family love with new additions to his growing Thomas the Train train set and some remote control cars along with a treasure trove of books and other fun stuff. It is safe to say, Gilbert was a 'good little boy' in 2009!

Christmas Eve

We were in MI for the holidays. Spending it at my brother-in-law's kick-ass farmhouse, good times were had by all! Gilbert was excited to chase the 'big dawgs' around and to see Aunt Shannon and Uncle Ryan and cuzin Jasper! Not to mention Gram!

This year Little Man 'got' Christmas. On the Eve he was excited about going to bed knowing Santa was coming to visit! We read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and remained riveted throughout the entire story!

Settled in after reconnoitering the house, he wanted to play 'choo choos'. Jasper was right there to play. Seven months younger, it was fun to observe how Gilbert interacted with his cousin. He immediately took on the senior role and would 'advise' Jasper on not to put the train in his mouth or where to sit to play with the trains with him. It was quite fun to watch. Of course, that lovingly approach wore off quickly when Jasper started to take the track apart. Then it was "JASPER, NO." Followed by, "Dada. Japser break the track." Funny!

The two were quite good together. Gilbert would take Jasper's hand and walk around with him. Especially if we were going up or down stairs. He'd tell Jasper that they would play with 'choo choos' for 'four minutes' (this is new and must have picked it up from school). Everything is now "four more minutes". Of course, I wait one minute and then say it is time to clean up and he's a little obedient soldier!

Anyway, back at the house, there were two rocking chairs by the tree and the two enjoyed just rocking back and forth. Almost like foreshadowing to two grumpy old men in the sunset of their lives just chilling!

For The First Time In Ten Years...

Yeah, yeah. First post since last week and you were expecting pictures and videos of the holidays. Soon.

Today I am pleased to announce that for the first time in ten years (or since the damn league was started) I am the Super Bowl Champion!

Yep, today was the finals and I persevered. However, as the owner of the winning team I must recognize those that helped bring home the trophy. Foremost, I need to recognize the coach. The man who made the tough decisions of who to start and who to sit. When to make pick up a player from waivers, and assisted me with trade decisions. So without me to help me, I might not have come out on top. High five to myself!

Elephant & Butterflies

Gilbert received a Christmas gift from our friends the Niepomnik's. He loves it. You have probably seen this one. A motorized fan in the shell of an elephant fabric butterflies come out through the trunk and then you can catch each with a net.

Little Man enjoys to simply watch them float and fall to the ground, though. Let the eye-hand corridation!

More Baking...

Some videos from our baking weekend...

Sing-a-long

Recently, Kristen and Gilbert attended a church program for Kristen's godson. A good time, from the pictures it seemed to be a all-you-can-eat get together!

Back at the house, the kids got in their jammies and enjoyed lounging by the tree!

You May Have Noticed...

Gilbert seems to be wearing the same clothes in all of his pictures. Well, in part that is correct. The past week he has not been feeling at his best. He has two pairs of really comfy, fleece jammies and these are by far his favorites.

In fact, Team Johnson has been pummeled by virus, inflammation, and all other sorts of nasties. Kristen has had some sort of viral bug since before Thanksgiving. And in the past week, Little Man has not been himself. A visit to the doctor confirmed a double ear infection. And despite my metal mettle, I succumbed to all the crud floating around the condo and had what seems like the flu over the weekend. Better today, I feel like I have those green creatures from the Musinex commercials camping out in my head and chest!

Holiday Cookie Making

Little Man LOVES to help out in the kitchen. Well, it was time to make and bake cookies so Gilbert insisted on being a part of the action. He is quite a good little helper. He likes to scoop and dump the ingredients into the bowl and work the mixer.

Patience can sometimes be a challenge, but overall he's a great help and it is nice that he wants to be involved!

Tribal

Gilbert loves to make necklaces at school. Wear them all at one time and he looks like a tribal warlord!