"Jo Jo" by Christian

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Jo Jo.  He was riding on a Jo Jo Hammer.  And he had
500 chips that need to be eaten;
500 toys;
500 tables that people come to visit;
500 blobs of playdoh;
500 TVs that need to be fixed;
500 Jo Jo Hammers.

Raising the Goblet of Rock

School of Rock touched us all. And now the next generation can learn from it. Dan was certain that the boys would be into the film already, at ages 2 and 4. They feigned interest for awhile. The crowd surfing belly flop in the opening scene garnered a chuckle. But it wasn't until nigh-nigh time and our Koehler boys jam session that it clicked a little with Christian. Dan began playing his guitar, various songs and rifs. Christian got his little one ready on his lap and started singing and playing along. His lyrics were enthusiastically sung with furrowed brows and closed eyes.  Mostly though he lifted his chin and looked up to the ceiling and belted out his song. Here's a little taste of it:

I love Jesus

He's my best friend

Rock and roll

I love Julian

Goblet of Rock

Jesus loves me

You're my best friend

It went on, but I think you get the idea :)

Next time I'll try to post his first dictated story that involves the hero Jo Jo and his 500s.

BTW Julian was into it too. He was bouncing his knees and shaking his head a la head bangers ball but sideways.

Da Boys

Here are some shots of the boys. The beach photos were taken on my dad's (goonda) cell phone at the 57th St beach in Hyde Park. The hair cut photo was taken at the kid's barber shop.

Julian turns 2

Julian turned 2 this morning at 8:02am. Two years ago I saw him for the first time. His lower lip quivered, he cried - one cry - and pee'd (all systems go!) and then I got to hold him. And it's been thousands of cuddles since (even though now he sometimes says, "No cuddoles").

Tonight we'll celebrate as a fam with pizza (pezzA!) and cupcakes (and some presents). He doesn't really understand what the occasion is, but he likes opening up the mail these days (gifts from family members inside). And he likes to say, "Jooian two!"

We can't imagine life without him. His little toddler run down the hallway, his cheesy smile full of sharp teeth, his dramatics, especially the pouting lower lip, and his love of the song "Deep and Wide."

Happy Birthday Julian! We love you!!

Croup and Mischievous Joy

When Koehler kids get sick, they don't sleep; when Koehler dad's - being one - get stressed, they don't sleep. Where does Koehler momma fit into this? Cranky-land that's where!

This week Julian developed a cough that sounded like a barking seal. For parents out there you probably already guessed Croup. Yes, croup - that antiquated illness that isn't supposed to be hanging around society anymore. The illness that swells up your neck area - under your chin but above your chest. When you breathe in, you rasp; when you cough, you bark; and you struggle to go about the day normally. Well, this was treated with steam from the shower, cold air from the freezer, and a steroid from the doctor.

The not-sleeping really happens in the early morning hours. 4ish/5ish. Julian is uncomfortable and starts to cry and cough. Since he shares a room, Christian wakes up. And Dan is already up working on his next lecture. So I lay there in denial saying it's all just a bad dream.

But today I got them up and went back to 'snooze.' Dan remained in the back and I parented by listening. Christian and Julian began to push cars up and down the hallway. At one point, I looked up from my pillow and saw Christian pushing Julian, who was standing in his red wagon both smiling. I immediately got up to prevent disaster, but also started laughing hysterically on the inside. It was such an endearing picture of childhood sibling relationships as well as imagination ordering the day.

My thoughts were swept back to my grade school days when my brother Peter and I would get into similar shenanigans after school or on the weekends. One particular incident involved him riding a bicycle with me holding onto a rope tethered to the bike while standing on a skateboard. Now I say standing not riding because I never developed sound skateboarding skills. And actually this time the skateboard began to wobble back and forth with the speed of the bike pulling it. I freaked out and did the first thing I could think of - jump off the wobbly object. If I would have thought more rationally about it, I probably would have chosen to let go of the rope first. But that wasn't the immediate crisis to my brain. Because of this rash decision or impulse, I was dragged down our street - no rather I was bounced down our street unable to yell or cry because the air had been knocked out of me.

Anyway, the picture of my boys this morning brought this to mind. Ironically it wasn't a painful memory but one of mischievous joy.