so far, no ones got it right...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43528&l=8b891&id=784089218

t-0!  jonathan's 2 years old and dad is officially outta the 'fathers with two under two' club!

great great day with the boys.  woke at our usual 730a time with jonathan - tho elliot got jenny up around 4a to feed a little.  both boys peed out of their diapers so we had to deal with a little mess - but nothing out of the ordinary - it happens on occasion.

got them both to balboa park and enjoyed the day with both sets of grandparents - walked around, rode the railroad train, ate fries and chicken nuggets (jonathan rarely eats any junk food at all), and went to the mini railroad museum.

once we got back, both boys were napping so jenny and i tried to get a few z's as well.  we spent most of the afternoon converting our garage into jonathan's new play area.  yeah, we prolly need to move into a bigger place, no?  we got jonathan a slide for his birthday.  the look on his face when i pulled it out was priceless!

elliot is still a relatively easy baby to take care of and jonathan continues to crack us up every day with the things he comes up with - his latest thing is he can tell when two things are alike - he yells out in mandarin "ee-yang!" (the same!) when he sees things like the letter M and W together or if he's holding a clock and sees one in a book.  too funny.

well, i think i'm done with my 20 day countdown.  hope you guys enjoyed a peek into my life as a FOTUT!

t-1

one more day to go.  its late - 12:47a.  long night but after putting the kids to bed around 9p, j and i had a bunch to talk about regarding whats going on in our lives.  its not often you get a bunch of hours in a row in peace and quiet - and w/o having to worry about work the next day.

been asking a lot of people with 2 or more kids lately about what they most would want in a house for toddlers and pre-teens - our options were (1) big backyard (2) walking distance from a park (3) walking distance from a school.  most people we polled said the park but lately, ive heard friends say the backyard.  the important thing too is the ones that say backyard have 2 boys like us. easy to just run out and play with them there before dinner and the 2 boys will want to run around for a while on their own - and its helpful b/c you dont have to take them anywhere and have to supervise.  that'll probably be our key factor in finding another place outside of what we need inside.

elliot's been "chatting" more and more each day.  he's most chatty in the morning and i caught him on video today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKf8OsvlPf4

t-2

its nice to be in here before 11p.  jonathan had a really short nap today (and it came early - he was up by 1230p) so by the time we headed upstairs to get ready for bed, the lil guy was READY.  went down without a fight - he ususally doesnt but lately, if he still has energy, he wants to play.

elliot has been a little more gassy in the evening lately but thxfully, not as much as jonathan did (thx goodness!).  its caused him to be a little irritable before bed but we think its actually b/c his nose is stuffy.  poor guy.

not getting much sleep on saturday night and having to travel so much on sunday finally caught up to jenny and i these last 2 nights.  we've been easily frustrated and irritable at times (sometimes towards each other!) and i think we just need a nice little break.  i havent taken any vacation really since elliot came (and that didnt really count as "vacation" if you know what i mean - and even then it was only 3-4 days off work) so i think i need to start takin some more 3 day weekends.

i also realized today as i was going to the dentist (2 days in a row of xrays - i cracked a tooth on something i ate recently) that i dont have much time to myself these days.  i cant play golf right now (which usually lets me daydream while i'm playing), i dont journal much anymore (i usually do in the mornings but elliot is my alarm clock now - anywhere from 5-630a and so i dont feel like writing.. no, actually, i dont even THINK about writing at those times) and by the time all is done with feeding/burping, i gotta get ready for work.

...any hobbies i had before are basically gone by the wayside b/c most waking moments are taking care of the kids and tending to their needs.  heck, as i was driving, i was actually able to listen to music that *I* like listening to (usually its something for jonathan or its not even on b/c we're busy chatting with him or with each other about whatever it is that we need to take care of and talk about).

since i cant play golf anymore - and as a result, my mind isnt really occupied with much else but wife and kids these days - i really do need to start finding something else to do on my own on some weekend mornings or afternoons to let me be me - and put down my "father" cap.  i got so used to having my own time after not having kids and just being with jenny for 10+ years (8+ being married) and then within a matter of a year or so, we doubled from 2 to 4!

t-3

gettin down to the wire.  not going to have a huge birthday party or anything for the monkey - just some cake (from our cake lady!) with our small group on sunday night.  his birthday is actually saturday so we're gonna take him to my favorite museum in balboa park - the mini railroad museum.  he's never been there before but given the fact that he LOVES trains (thomas, et al) i think we'll both have a blast!  (i was actually supposed to play in the qualifier at the torrey pines club championship that day but i'm shutting down my season due to a shoulder injury - i went to have xrays done today, hopefully they come back negative, but its still sore so i'm starting PT next week.)

we had my parents over today to help out (mom during the day and both by dinner time).  we havent had either set around in a while (jennys parents were out of town most of last week). boy are we spoiled by them.  its always a HUGE help to have them around.  they helped cook and clean and give j a bath.  most importantly, they simply occupy both kids' times while we're able to get a little quiet time - even if its for a few minutes.

jonathan took a nap early today (130-345ish) which shifted his bedtime earlier (845p) which is huge.  jenny and i usually dont go to bed until 11 or so, so any "free" time we can get, the better.  we're contemplating a lot of family changes in the near future (jobs, home, etc) so we've certainly got a lot to talk about - hence the late night yesterday.

i'm pooped so i'm gonna watch a little tv and then prolly hit the sack.  another day in the life of a father with two under two!