Christmas is almost here and this is the first year Kaiden is truly excited about Santa Claus. Aside from being a new threat I can use to make him behave, it's been really fun playing the Santa is real thing. My sister and I didn't get much of the whole Santa thing when we were little, but we sure understood that we got a whole lot of toys when Christmas came around.

Nate is now 5 weeks old and is a tough cookie to figure out. He's been sleeping 2-4 hour stretches but last night was unprecedented. He slept 6 hours all at once. It was so much sleep that Monica and I felt like we just woke up from 150 years in cryogenic statis compared to how it's been the past month. He's also turning into a spitting image of his Daddy, or so everybody says. It's kind of cool cause they say how cute he is and how he looks like me in the same breath. I guess by default I'm cute too?

Kaiden's first Christmas concert was last night and grandma and grandpa were both there to see it. It was really neat to see Kaiden actually behave for his teacher, who only needed to ask once to get him to respond. The effort by Mommy or Daddy to acheive the same result would be about 50 times that of Ms. Vicki. No respect for the parents.

I think the songs were too complicated for the kids to learn in such a short time. While Kaiden and the rest of the 3 year olds knew the popular songs, there were some song they sang that I never even heard of. It was super-cute though and I'm so proud of my son.

I think that's it until after Xmas so Merry Christmas. I'll let ya know how it goes!

Well having a second newborn is an enlightening thing. It's a whole different peanut that we're trying to crack here. But here's a few things that we're doing differently this time:

• sterilizing baby bottles with hot tap water - Gee, it sure feels hot enough to kill all those nasty germs.
• keeping unused formula in the fridge for more than a day - the stuff smells so bad when it's fresh, how do you tell it's gone bad?
• not using a changing mat to change diapers - this one is going to bite us back soon.
• letting baby cry for a bit before picking him up - before we were always thinking there was something seriously wrong when he screams bloody murder. So how come he can stop crying as soon as you pick him up?
• wiping the baby's soother off on my shirt - well, the thing drops on the floor so many times, how can you expect to sterilize it every time that happens?

The family has been doing fine. Monica has been doing remarkably well. She's got tons more balls than I do when it comes to the kids. I thought she was brave when she ws prego with Nate - going to the park and doing her regular routine with Kaiden while being a week overdue!

She's such a great mother to her boys - including me. Right now she's out with Nate and K at gymnastics. Her labor wounds haven't even healed yet. She's a pillar of strength and she'd sacrifice anything for her family.

I loved her so much when I met her and now that she's my wife and a mother to our sons I love her even more than words can say. She's all I could ever want in a woman and she loves me back just as much. I'm the luckiest man in the world - I could have never imagined 5 years ago I'd be where I am now. I love my family and I've never been happier.

I've got a few minutes here at work during a compile so I thought I'd write something. Last night was BaaBaa Gog's birthday so the immediate family all headed over to the House of Yes for some b-day eating - cuz that's what you do on special occasions....you eat.

It's definitely a bigger operation now that there's 4 grandkids in the mix. Mon and my sister are dividing their time between feeding themselves and breastfeeding the babies. The daddies are trying to get the older ones to eat and stay in their seats. Kind of like a game of musical chairs - Dining Edition. It's all good. Having 4 kids around is pretty cool. I look forward to the future when the kids are all 5 years old and above and will have a great time playing together on their own.

I must note Little Oviva did a really cute thing last night that kind of touched my heart. K was crying because we were all warning him the the Tobiko sushi roll probably wouldn't be to his liking. I looked over at O and noticed she was frowning, her lower lip quivering, eventually turning into a full on cry. Hell, he she even seemed more upset than Kaiden! It was just kind of a moment that showed me even though it seems that K and O kind of have this wishy-washy "love\hate" relationship that she really does care about her "mean" cousin Kaiden. Or maybe that's not what it meant at all - anyhow let me have my moment.

Nate is officially 3 weeks old now. He's got a voracious appetite and is gaining weight like a retired hockey player - FAST! Don't know what he weighs right now but at his last checkup with the doctor last week he was one and a half pounds heavier than when he left the hospital. He's always hungry!

Anyhow, Monica's mom is leaving for home today and I'm back at work. This will be the first day Mon has to tough it out with both kids alone. Good luck honey....you'll need it!