Some Christmas Humor

Duncan proves there's more than one jolly, fat man in a red suit around this year.

Christmas is always a fun time of year, but this year I've enjoyed Jack's and Griffin's interpretation of the season. Here are a few conversations that have happened so far.

• While reading "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," Griffin asked good questions about the main character asking, "Why does that cow have a big red ball on his nose." I knew then we had a lot of work to do. Later, he was "reading" the same book to himself and this was his interpretation after looking at a sad illustration of Rudolph, who couldn't play reindeer games. "Then the reindeer was sad, so he sat down like a woman."
• The boys were excited to see their toy manger come up from the basement with the other decorations and instantly got started setting it up. Soon, the manger became the scene of a big football game. "I call the three wise men," yelled Jack. "I call the angel," said Griffin. "I call Mrs. Christ," said Jack. "Mrs. Christ," I asked? "Don't you mean Mary?" "No, Mom. Jesus' last name is Christ. You know, like Jesus Christ? So his mom is Mary Christ, but I call her Mrs. Christ to be polite," said Jack. Either way, she helped win the game.
• On Thanksgiving, Santa himself delivered our beloved Elf on the Shelf, named Fred (or Cheryl). Jack was a bit intimidated, but not Griffin. He marched right up to Santa and asked, "Did you watch Friday night Football last week?"

Our "punkin'" Duncan

"Punkin'" Duncan was dressed appropriately for Halloween this year. His costume was quite cozy, however, he HATED wearing it. Bryan said he didn't blame him, given that hat. 

Big brother Jack wanted a picture with the pumpkin. The age difference is 6 years. The size difference is 30 pounds, just to put things into perspective.

This was just one of those days. As the beefcake continued eating, I realized he wouldn't fit into this cute outfit anymore. So we had to have a quick photo shoot to document one of the cute outfits. There is no WAY his brothers would tolerate matching gingham, so I had to strike early before he could protest.

The big brothers stay busy

Jack lost his first tooth this summer in a bite of lobster at Grandpa Tom's 60th birthday. This is when he lost his second tooth (he pulled it out after dinner one night).

Jack was on the St. Augustin Cardinals flag football team. Griffin was the honorary ball boy for many of the games.

Griffin definitely has his own special personality. He has "MINE" disorder currently, which means anything he sees that doesn't belong to someone is instantly claimed as his. For about 2 weeks he adopted the dish scrubber (a new one) as HIS. Very weird. 

Nothing like a cozy scrubber on your face while you snooze. 

Catching up with Duncan

Duncan is now four months old, and tips the scales at 18 pounds. For those of you with good memories, that's 2 pounds heavier than Griffin "the beast" at the same age. It seems like Duncan will soon eclipse both his brothers in terms of size, and will likely be chasing after them sooner than I'd like. Here are some shots of the "the dude"during the past couple of months.

Duncan enjoys a bath. You can see here he has a very small umbilical hernia, which has actually gone away now.

Warming up with a cozy monster towel.

Chilling in his bumbo seat, Duncan is about 3 months at this point.

His favorite form of entertainment at 2 months was staring at his left fist. It was very exciting for all of us, and you can see by the way he thrusts it out there, it was an aggressive habit.

Duncan is 4 months old!

Beaverdale Fall Fest Parade

Patsy Boesen, matriarch of the Boesen clan, was honored during this year's Beaverdale Fall Fest parade and served as Grand Marshall. Of course, that meant the rest of us got to be part of her entourage. We walked in the parade and handed out flowers along the route.

Patsy, the "Queen" of the parade. 

Here comes the Boesen the Florist gang!

The boys were a hit, or maybe it was the free flowers?

Even Duncan got to walk in the parade. 

Aunt Katelyn's wedding

Over Labor Day weekend, Katelyn Boesen and Nick Essy got married. Jack and Griffin were ring bearers (or bears, as Jack said) and Bryan was a groomsman. It was a lovely weekend and a gorgeous ceremony and reception. Congratulations, Nick and Katelyn!

Dapper boys ready for Aunt Katelyn's wedding.

"May the force be with you!" Actually, these are the lighter stick thingys (yes, that's the technical term) to help land an airplane. The bride and groom arrived at the reception on a plane.

Des Moines, city of brotherly love

Jack was not known for his caring disposition when Griffin joined the family, but thankfully that has all changed. Jack likes to get his required reading minutes done while reading out loud to Duncan. So far, the newest Boesen hasn't complained too much about the material chosen (usually Sports Illustrated for Kids).

Paige knows best

Our friend, photographer Paige Peterson, always seems to capture the boys at their best. I'm not sure how she gets them all (ok, 2 out of 3) to smile in unison, but I suppose that's why she's the professional!

Photo taken by Paige Peterson.

Time flies...when you have three kids

It's hard to believe Duncan's already a month old! And yes, he looks like...a Boesen boy.

Boys will be boys

Duncan George Boesen joined our testosterone filled family on June 17, Father's Day, in keeping with the Phelps tradition that someone ALWAYS ends up at the hospital on holidays (even in a good way).  

Heir to the throne, Jack, gets first dibs at holding his new little brother.

Despite what this photo shows, Griffin is the most caring big brother of all. He frequently checks on Duncan while he's napping and usually has a blanket or stuffed animal to share to make sure he's cozy. Not surprising from the child who'd rather live his days out in pajamas.

After his first bath, Duncan spent his first night in the hospital all cozy.

Faces a mother could love

Jack and Griffin generally require a jersey, a shirt with a number or some sort of sporty ensemble each day. However, for Mother's Day this year, part of my gift was that I got to t dress them. Luckily, they both obliged and even let me take a photo.

Spring sports round-up

Wait! It's May, and that's the wrong kid playing hockey...or is it? Griffin laced up his skates this spring for a beginners "Learn to skate" class. 

He fared pretty well on the ice (center, Blackhawks jersey).

Pretty soon, he was off on his own, and even learned how to stand up without any help. Next up: the Stanley Cup!

Sundays were busy for Griffin this May. In addition to skating lessons, he also got to be in flag football for the first time.

He loved getting to run with the ball.

He ran to the side lines after every single play for a drink.

"I almost had that four-year-old's flags. Next time..." 

Jack also played spring flag football.

His favorite part was running with the ball. "Mom, that's called being the running back." 

At Jack's age group, they started learning passing plays. Here, Jack jumped up to catch an interception.

Jack also had fun learning how to block on defense.

Jack also played T-ball this spring with the Royals, or the Kansas City Aquas as Bryan and I referred to them based on their stunning shirt color. 

Spring update 2012

In February, Griffin turned three with help from Monkey Joe..

The cousins prepared for their ride in the heath...er...their egg gathering expedition.

Griffin helped cousin Cole Ferrell with his Easter bonnet at the egg hunt they attended.

Cole was a lucky hunter, finding two "special prize" eggs. Lucky for Griffin, Cole is also a good sharer and thankfully took the loud, obnoxious keyboard home to his own house so Griffin could have the quiet, sensible game board. 

Jack was psyched to see the Easter Bunny brought him his very own Star Wars Lego Minifigure T-Shirt. (Thank you, Von Maur!)

The sugar rush was just getting started for two of these boys. The third already determined that jelly beans make him feel sick.

Jack decided since he's six now, it was time to learn to ride a two-wheeler. OK, Daddy may have helped in that decision, but it only took an afternoon for him to get the hang of it. Credit goes to Griffin for sharing his smaller bike for easier practice.

Success!

A funny face, courtesy of Cole Ferrell. Happy spring!