High Fives Uncle Perry Style

No one makes Ella laugh more than Cal does, and this is never more evident than at the kitchen table.  The typical Leatherman family meal can be broken down into two major components.  The first half involves Dan and me doing everything in our power to get the kids to focus on eating – sometimes we incent, sometimes we threaten and occasionally we just give in. The second half of dinner involves Cal doing oddball things to get Ella to laugh her hearty, from-the-gut laugh.  Tactics he’s used most frequently include making goofy faces, crossing his eyes, hitting his forehead with his hand, banging the back of his head on his chair, saying incomprehensible “words,” doing the “cold” body shake, among others.  (I should note that not all of these tactics have mine and Dan’s approval; but he does them nonetheless, if only to get a laugh out of Ella… or maybe a “please don’t” out of Dan… or, more likely, both.)

The other morning, Cal had “finished” (declared he was done, plenty of food still on his plate) his breakfast and decided to introduce some new entertainment for Ella.  Typical of most kids (and, frankly, me), Cal has been very impressed and entertained by the antics of Uncle Perry, my friend from high school who joggles, juggles, plays the ukulele and balances hats on his nose.  So he decided he’d use an Uncle Perry-ism on Ella to get her to laugh.  It didn't get many gutty laughs out of Ella, but it was entertaining for both of them nonetheless.  Take a look:

Facebook Posts: Q3, 2011

Here are my Leatherkid-related Facebook posts from July, August and September, 2011. They are unedited and should generally be assumed to start with “Carla Reiter Leatherman…”

There weren't a lot of posts during this time period, and I really don't remember why that's the case.  I do remember vividly the tune to which Cal sang his book-picking-up song on July 21st, and I'm most proud of his rendition of the Notre Dame Fight Song (complete with Leprechaun imitation) on September 16th; but my favorite post during this time period was the one with my mom on August 7th.  It certainly made me laugh the most!

July 7, 2011

A few pics from our trip to Michigan:

Ella sunbathing

Cal the Kayaker

The troops trying to catch some fish

July 7, 2011

Ella getting some quality reading in.

Ella reading

July 10, 2011

enjoyed this exchange this AM:
Cal: I want a cookie, please.
Daddy: No, Cal, no cookies for breakfast.
Cal: Not for breakfast... I want a cookie for dessert.

July 21, 2011

enjoyed Cal's song "I'm Picking Up My Books, So Mommy and Daddy Will Be Happy" earlier this evening.

August 7, 2011

enjoyed this exchange between her mom and son earlier this evening:
Grandma: "It's easy to go poopy in the toilet, Cal."
Cal (without any hesitation): "It's easy to go poopy in my DIAPER."
'nuf said.

August 14, 2011

has a new running partner -- Ella Bella and I went running Thursday, Saturday and today!!!

August 14, 2011

is remembering the days when she rolled out of bed at the crack of dawn to get a training run in and not to change a diaper.

August 17, 2011

is proud of Cal for wearing his big-boy undies all day now but wishes he'd just get his pooping done in one "sitting" instead of fifty.

August 21, 2011

has an opening to hit the trail with the kid and is gonna take it.

August 30, 2011

was told by her son yesterday after work, "Your skirt is pretty, Mommy. You're pretty." So sweet.

August 31, 2011

is enjoying a little extra Mommy-Ella time before heading to work this AM.

September 16, 2011

Poor kid has been set up for a lifetime of disappointment... unless the Irish bring Lou back. At least Cal's not a Cubs fan, so he has that going for him.

September 18, 2011

believes Dan is right when he says we are S-C-R-E-W-E-D... check out this exchange from this AM (2 hours after we proposed stopping for doughnuts on the way home from Grandma's):
Me: Should we stop and get some D-O-U-G-H-N-U-T-S?
Dan: Nah, he won't remember.
Cal: Should we stop and get some D-O-S... get some doughnuts?

Ready to Roll!

Anyone with kids probably knows that a little excitement around even the simplest of tasks will go a long way toward motivating them to do the task.  “Alright, let’s go take a fun bath and get in our jammies… woo hoo!” followed by a fist pump is more likely to elicit some movement toward the bathroom than a simple “it’s time for baths” will.  “Okay, let’s pick up these toys that you’ve thrown all over the place, put them where they belong and then we’ll have some yummy ice cream… yippee!” is more likely to get a positive response than “you can have ice cream if you pick up and put away all of your toys.” 

So when the Leatherman family leaves the house, it’s typically triggered by an enthusiastic and loud, “Are you ready to roll, Leathermans?!?!!!”  delivered by Dan or me.  Too many times we’ve broken a sweat (literally) and our spirits lugging our stuff and the kids out the door, battling their uncooperativeness and whines.  Life is so much better when they walk themselves out.  More recently, we introduced a more specific, “Are you ready to roll, Leatherkids?!?!!!”  The question is barely finished being asked, and everyone’s already marching toward the door, focused on one thing: getting out of the house with smiles on our faces.  No kidding – smiles and cooperation almost every time.

Last week, Cal started asking the question, directed only to Ella – her response was priceless and has continued into this week:

Cal: “Are you ready to roll, Leatherman, Ella?!?!!!”

Ella <leaning forward, arms stretched out behind her back>: “Yyyeeeaaaahhhh!”

Cal: “Are you ready to roll, Leatherman, Ella?”

Ella <leaning forward, arms stretched out behind her back>: “Yyyeeeaaaahhhh!”

Aaahhh… even better when we don’t even need to ask the question ourselves.

I'm always a little late in capturing video of quality Leatherkid moments, but I did manage to capture some of the typical scene the other day (note Cal's whispered question that still gets a response out of Ella):

What does "C" mean?

Cal’s a big fan of the question “why?”  “Why?” after any statement of fact, “why?” after any request and “why?” after any suggestion.  “Why, Mommy?”  “Why is it?”  “Why?”  A decent question in some cases, it’s generally annoying.  For one, there isn’t always an answer to “why?” – the brick is lying there, well, because it is.  Second, I don’t always know the answer to “why?” – the sky is blue for some reason that has to do with light.  And third, he knows “why” and need not ask it – just don’t push your sister.

So I encourage him to ask “better” questions, a challenge which he sometimes obliges. Driving home from our brief stint of bowling the other day, he met that challenge (unknowingly, for sure):

Cal <from the back seat>: “What does ‘C’ mean, Daddy?”

Dan <driving>: “C is a letter.  ‘Cal’ starts with ‘C’… ‘Car’ starts with ‘C’… ‘California’ starts with ‘C’.”

Cal: “No, what does ‘see’ mean, like ‘we’ll see if we can watch a Mickey’?”

Dan <smiling proudly>: “Well, in that context, it’s more conditional, typically based on your behavior, Buddy.  Maybe.”

Dan <quietly>: Cal, you’re going to kill Mommy and Daddy if we have to keep coming up with answers to these types of questions.”

Facebook Posts: Q2, 2011




Cal and Ella (June, 2011)

Here are my Leatherkid-related Facebook posts from April, May and June, 2011. They are unedited and should generally be assumed to start with “Carla Reiter Leatherman…”

My clear favorite post during this time period was the first one on April 2nd. 'Nuf said.

April 2, 2011
Loves Cal's honesty. Note this exchange:
Cal: Daddy, I want my shopping cart back please.
Daddy: Why was the shopping cart taken away from you?
Cal: Because I was chasing Squeaker with it.
Daddy: If you get your shopping cart back, will you chase him with it?
Cal: Yes.

April 10, 2011
thinks she should probably head upstairs to save Daddy.

April 10, 2011
enjoyed a bike ride with Cal this AM and hopes the fresh air and activity have a positive effect on his terrible twos-ness the rest of the day.

April 11, 2011
needs an effective timeout idea -- the current one is not working on Cal.

April 12, 2011
should've thought that the "Cranky Crab" t-shirt that Cal chose to wear this morning was a sign of how the day would go.

April 13, 2011
wonders "could this kid be hungry AGAIN?"

April 16, 2011
got clearance to resume all activities but wishes she wasn't so exhausted at the start.

April 18, 2011
wonders why she can't seem to get her act together even with all of this non-working time on her hands -- it's "wear-red" day at school, and poor Cal is wearing grey.

April 22, 2011
Miracle of all miracles -- Cal got back on the horsey!

April 23, 2011
is hoping the kiddies don't think the Easter Bunny is as creepy looking as she thought yesterday when they sit on his lap this AM.

April 26, 2011
is dragging the kiddies to the library for some story time.

April 29, 2011
and her little Ella Bella have a couple of insatiable appetites today.

May 1, 2011
is proud to say that Cal can spell GLAMOROUS but isn't sure that he can do so without singing it.

May 1, 2011
's son wasn't sure if Uncle Jer was a boy or a girl earlier today... Daddy: "Is Mommy a girl or a boy?" Cal: "A grill." Daddy: "Is Daddy a girl or a boy?" Cal: "A boy." Daddy: "Is Aunt Erin a girl or a boy?" Cal: "a grill." Daddy: "Is Uncle Jerry a girl or a boy?" Cal: <pauses> "Is he a boy or a grill?"

May 2, 2011

is a little sad that Ella is sleeping in her crib (and not the bassinet) tonight... they grow up so fast...

May 3, 2011
ended her day laughing at Cal -- he pulled out a second pre-bedtime book to read, clenched his fists, scrunched his face up in a tough-guy look and crouched down in a stance mimicking the ND leprechaun. The book? The Notre Dame words book, with the ND leprechaun on the cover. What a crack-up.

May 3, 2011
thinks naptime couldn't have come at a better time today... except maybe a few hours earlier...

May 5, 2011
hopes Aunts Kel Kel, Erin and Kristi don't get offended by this, but Ella's "I Love My Aunt" onesie has been the victim of a blowout every time she's worn it.

May 5, 2011
thinks Cal has a crush on the "grill" we met at the park this AM -- when we got home he picked up the ringing play phone and said, "Is it the grill? Hi, grill. Okay, bye"... and hung up.

May 6, 2011
thinks Cal is so thoughtful... earlier this evening, he held his sippy cup up to his chest and said that he was pumping some apple juice for Ella.

May 11, 2011
just read the kids' new book "Diary of a Spider" on her own and laughed all the way through it... not sure if it's just that clever or if it's time for Carla to get some more adult time...

May 11, 2011
is holding her breath, hoping Ella takes this bottle...

May 13, 2011
Me and my kids on Mother's Day by the flowers we planted.

May 13, 2011
Ella in her outfit from Aunt Erin.

May 16, 2011
is watching the "scary monsters" with Cal.

May 17, 2011
is pretty bummed she's in her last week of maternity leave... :(

May 28, 2011
has drawn more scary monsters this past week than she has in her whole lifetime.

June 6, 2011
's little girl rolled over from her back to her belly for the first time today! Yea, Ella Bella!

June 11, 2011
learned a valuable parenting lesson yesterday -- never wear flip flops when you take your toddler to the ball fields to "watch" a game or two, especially after a heavy rainstorm.

June 13, 2011
considered taking Big Teddy & the stroller in place of the Kid for her run tonight but opted to take the iPod instead.

June 15, 2011
wonders how many different scary monsters CAN she draw?

June 23, 2011
is just really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really tired.

June 25, 2011
Cal giving Ella some apple juice that he had pumped himself.

June 29, 2011
isn't gonna lie -- coming home to a quiet house today was pretty nice.

Schmidt… Schmitt

The 2012 Summer Olympics have been in progress in London for about two weeks now.  Though they’ve been televised for what seems like all hours of the day, they’ve really only gotten any attention of the Leatherman family (mostly the Leatherman mommy) during the primetime hours (7pm to 11pm). Since the kids’ bedtime is generally at the start of primetime TV viewing, Cal hasn’t really seen too much of them.

Now, Cal doesn’t really get to watch too much TV.  My guess is that he watches more TV than some but certainly less than most.  So it’s a treat when he does get to watch it.  Given a choice, he’ll watch “a Mickey” (“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”); beyond that, the weather, sports, cowboys, animals, Cake Boss… these all catch his attention.

During the first week of the Olympics with baths already administered, Ella in bed, Cal in his jammies and Olympic swimming events on TV, I figured I’d give Cal a choice: watch 15 minutes of the Olympics or read his standard two books before bedtime.  I barely had the options presented and he was pulling himself up onto our bed and making his dent in my pillow, eyes focused on the TV. I had my answer (which happened to be the answer I wanted and, frankly, the answer I expected).

As we watched the swimming events together, I made sure to highlight the US swimmers, saying their names, where they were finishing in their races and that we were rooting for them.  “Why <are we rooting for them>, Mommy?”  “Because they’re from the US and we’re from the US and we hope the US wins.”  To be honest, I don’t remember who was swimming during those 15-30 minutes that Cal was watching that night.  And we didn’t talk about any of them after he watched them.

Cal's First-ever "Roll"


After we dragged the kids to the bowling alley so I could test out my new bowling ball last night, Dan figured we’d treat them to some ice cream.  Cal was pretty well behaved, particularly given the prospect of doing some bowling "himself" (right); and Ella… well, she’s not even 18 months, so how much cooperation can you really expect?  With the kids already in their car seats, Dan and I had this exchange as we put the stroller, bowling gear and diaper bag into the back section of “Cal’s car” (our RAV 4):

Dan:  Is the Dairy Queen east or west of here?

Me:  Well, where’s Schmidt Road?

Dan:  We’re just past it.

Me:  I think it’s west then.

Cal:  Schmidt Road… that’s like Allison Schmitt.

Dan:  Who’s Allison Schmidt?  A teacher?

Cal:  Noo...

Me <in my head>:  Allison Schmidt… Allison Schmidt… the name sounds familiar…

Dan:  A classmate at school?

Cal:  Noo.  Allison Schmitt is a really good swimmer.  She wins.

And there you have it. Allison Schmitt IS a swimmer on the 2012 US Olympic team.  She did WIN a bunch of medals, both in individual events and relay events.  I figure she must’ve been one of the swimmers we watched that night just before Cal’s bedtime.  Wow.  If only this attentiveness and memory would be applied to where he last left his cowboy hat or "King" car. 

Facebook Posts: Q1, 2011

Here are my Leatherkid-related Facebook posts from January, February and March, 2011. They are unedited and should generally be assumed to start with “Carla Reiter Leatherman…”

This time period includes the early days of posting Leatherkid-isms (which, let's face it, have been mostly Cal-isms) to Facebook, and the "material" was in its infancy.  Be on the lookout for more Facebook posts -- they get better and funnier as time goes on.

My favorite post from this time period was, of course, the February 28th announcement that our beautiful Ella was born.

January 2, 2011

wonders if it's bad that she's enjoying watching Cal terrorize Squeaker with his shopping cart.

January 9, 2011

"Dad, Squeaker needs more food" was stated by our 2-year-old this morning.

January 19, 2011

laughed at this one: After a post-dinner round of "knucks," Cal and Daddy headed upstairs for Cal's bed-time routine. On his way up, Cal turned to me and asked very strongly, "You coming, or what?" I love that kid.

January 23, 2011

doesn't think the threat of having to pick all of the balls up after throwing them out of the toy room is working on Cal.

January 30, 2011

's son just picked up the shoes she wore to last night's black-tie event and brought them to her saying, "your shoes are pretty!"

February 2, 2011

is feeling pretty worthless about now as Dan is on round 3 of shoveling the driveway now that the plow finally came through and plowed our street.

Even Cal shovelled!

February 4, 2011

took today off to spend some "extra" time with Cal before baby#2 comes. Thus far, it's involved sleeping in until 8:15am and watching Lighting McQueen.

February 8, 2011

is expecting a foot to pop out of her belly button any time now -- there is just no more room for Baby.

February 20, 2011

survived the wine party without the drama of going into labor... whew.

February 25, 2011

isn't sure what feels longer, that Lightning McQueen book or the recent wait for Baby to come.

February 27, 2011

has such a thoughtful son -- he always brings a "crispy treat" for me when he grabs one for himself.

February 28, 2011

It's a girl!!! Ella Jennifer was born this AM at 7:18 weighing 8lbs 15 oz. Yea!

March 8, 2011

has a cluster feeder on her hands.

March 9, 2011

is excited to be able to dry her feet and ankles after a shower again.

March 10, 2011

thanks everyone for the congratulations and the nice thoughts. Ella's doing really well, and Cal is already a gentle, protective and proud big brother!

March 18, 2011

doesn't think Ella understands her role in "tummy time."

March 18, 2011

wonders if it'll take less than the two hours it's currently taking to get out of the house with the kids in the morning once she heads back to work.

March 31, 2011

is watching the Yankees-Tigers game with Ella in her arm -- ahhhh... life is good.