C'est la Vie

Happy Birthday Greg!

2012-02-07T21:35:00.001-06:00

Today is my husband's birthday, so we went out to Carrabba's in Naperville. There's nothing like a yummy Italian meal to help get you used to being another year older.

We met Grandma Toni, Aunt Sarah, and Jay there for a lovely Italian meal. Both Nick and Henry loved the tiramisu.

Henry kept trying to grab my fork, whether I was eating pasta, scallops, or dessert.

Nick has been doing a better job of behaving in restaurants, but he still has his naughty moments. This was not Nick's best moment. I believe he was objecting to my request for a picture.

He did recover enough to help his daddy blow out the candle on the ice cream, though.

Nick and Henry picked out some nice new jeans and a button-up shirt for their dad. Greg will be leaving his full-time job to stay home with the boys, starting in a few weeks. Instead of working days, he will be in private practice, working evenings as a therapist part time. Since he's going to be his own boss, he will be able to wear jeans anytime he wants. I bought him a cooking class that I found on Groupon for my present. I like to buy things that we can do together for fun.

Happy Birthday to my magnificent husband!

Pulling Up to Stand

2012-01-31T21:40:00.000-06:00

Henry is fed up with the whole crawling thing. He is ready to walk. In the last week or so, he has figured out how to hold on to furniture and pull himself up to a stand.

Henry can even hold on with one hand. . . usually while he's trying to reach one of Nick's toys.

He's really pleased with himself, too. Henry knows he is showing off when he stands up, so he always grins at me as if to say, "Check out what I can do!" He is even starting to scoot sideways a bit, especially when he wants to reach something forbidden. I believe he was trying to climb the stairs in the picture below.

Here is some more video. I don't want to forget this stage in Henry's life, because I'm pretty sure he'll be walking (and running) very soon.

I looked up a video of Nick when he started to pull up, and I was amazed. Nick was several months older than Henry. But I see such a resemblance between them. I think Henry's starting to get chubby like Nick was during his late babyhood.

Dancing on the Dishwasher

2012-01-30T19:40:00.001-06:00

My boys require very little urging to shake their respective groove things (or would it be a collective groove thing?). In any case, I guess watching daddy do dishes inspired some serious happy dancing.

Nick and Henry are certainly happy little guys. I remember Nick used to love to pull up on that dishwasher. Now Henry is doing the exact same thing. Observe and behold the dancing sensation:

I need to remember this video the next time I'm in a bad mood. How can anyone feel sad after watching this?

The Artistic Development of Nicholas

2012-01-29T20:22:00.000-06:00

I find it quite intriguing that in the last few months, Nick's drawings have changed so very much. Where once I saw only scribbles, recognizable figures are emerging. He is now 38 months old.

Nick said he wanted to draw last Friday, so I bought him a brand new giant box of Crayolas. There's something about the smell of new crayons that I still love, even as an adult. I cannot resist coloring with brand new crayons. We drew together for more than an hour.

Here is the close-up of his picture, along with a description of what he drew. I asked him to tell me about his picture. It was interesting to hear what he had to say. The blue lines in the center are water, and under the water Nick drew a fish. (The fish is the circle with eyes and a mouth.) He drew two more small fish that are blue circles. Nick drew a purple sun in the upper left hand corner, and yellow birds flying across the sky.

The Museum of Science and Industry

2012-01-25T17:48:00.054-06:00

A few weeks ago, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. I took quite a few pictures, but didn't have time to post many of them. So here they are for your enjoyment, starting with the one of Nick sitting on a cow.

Here is Nick enjoying his ride on the combine.

I think Henry was a little overwhelmed by all of the Christmas trees. Actually, I'm just guessing. I have no idea why he looks freaked out in this picture.

I think Nick's favorite exhibit was the Idea Factory, where Grandma Toni and I watched him shoot water. "I like the shooting things!" said Nick. Yup. We know.

I love the picture below of Nick. He looks either fiercely determined or moderately constipated. Either way, it's cute, but he was actually trying to turn that gear.

Henry was, for once, not left out of the museum experience. MSI Chicago actually has a part of the Idea Factory that is just for babies, and Henry took full advantage of this place of joy.

That is a look of joy. . . drool, as well, but the joy is just behind the drool.

I wish I could find a baby obstacle course near my house to take Henry. He loved this one so much.

All in all, it was a pretty decent day.

The baby cage is BACK. . .

2012-01-24T21:46:00.001-06:00

. . . and, strangely enough, both boys seem pretty excited about this "new" development in the living room. Henry doesn't seem to mind at all being behind bars.

I bought the baby cage when Nick was a baby, and it was a very smart purchase. Once a child starts crawling, it is impossible to relax even for a second. With the safety of the baby cage, I can visit the bathroom or even (gasp) start dinner without worrying that my child will immediately find and swallow the most dangerous object in the vicinity.

Nick can get into and out of the baby cage in much the same way as I can remember climbing chain link fences as a child. It's not graceful, but it works.

Thus far, I haven't heard many complaints from Henry about being caged. That will change soon enough, I'm sure, as soon as the novelty wears off.

Snow, however fleeting, was welcomed by Nick

2012-01-23T19:48:00.001-06:00

Nick jumped for joy when he found out it was going to snow last Friday. He wasn't quite so pleased with the 2 hour + drive home Friday evening, though. About every three miles, Nick decided to announce, "I don't want to be in the car, Mommy. I want to be at home." Yup. Me, too, kid.

Just guess what his first question was Saturday morning? "Can I go outside and play in the snow?"

Greg took this picture on Saturday, while they were shoveling. Yup, that's a rake he's using. Nick and Greg might have saved themselves the trouble--nearly all of the snow melted when it rained last night.

Greg said that this snow still wasn't "good packing snow," whatever that means. Nick couldn't make a snowman with his daddy because of that, so they drew a snowman in the snow instead. This snowman is only 2D instead of 3D, but he's still cute.

In the course of the last few weeks, our weather can't make up its mind. We went from highs in the 50s and sunshine to wind chills in the teens and tons of snow, back to temperatures in the 40s with rain. Then, this afternoon, the temperatures dropped and all of the puddles froze.

Doesn't it look. . .

2012-01-20T20:54:00.001-06:00

as though Henry is conducting some sort of session? He reminds me a little bit of Lucy in the Peanuts Cartoons when she's charging a nickel for a psychiatric therapy session. I wonder if Henry will follow in his daddy's footsteps. I can just imagine him saying, "And how does that make you feel?"

Banana Pancakes for Dinner

2012-01-19T21:18:00.000-06:00

Every once in awhile, it's kind of nice to have breakfast for dinner. Tonight, I made banana pancakes, along with scrambled eggs and bacon. Just the kind of dinner that works on a cold winter night.

I let Henry try one, cut into small bites, of course. The doctor says that he is old enough to eat little bites of food. Henry heartily agrees!

He ended up eating nearly an entire pancake. Henry's joy over every bite makes me smile. It also made me enjoy my pancakes even more.

Nick liked the pancakes, too. He was sneaking bites while I was still at the frying pan. Then he danced for Henry's dinnertime entertainment.

I hear that snow is coming again tomorrow. I'm glad I'll have some leftover banana pancakes to fortify me against the windchill and the snowy weather.

Just a Few Tastes of My Weekend

2012-01-16T22:05:00.001-06:00

Here are just a few tastes of what I did this weekend.

I sat on the floor and played with my children. We played blocks, colored, and picked up all of the cheerios Henry threw on the floor. Check out what Nick made. He ran into the kitchen shouting, "Look Daddy, I made a F!"

No, I didn't suggest that Nick do this or even notice what he was building. I was distracted by Henry while he was doing it. Yes, I let myself get all excited at his intelligence and ingenuity. . . for about five minutes. Then he pooped his pants and made me chase him around the house so I could change him. As are all children, my three-year-old is advanced in some things and far behind in others. Such is life.

January is not my favorite month. The cold air and lack of sunlight bothers me in December, but all of the Christmas cheer and the promise of a vacation cheers me up. In January, there is nothing to console me on these dreary days and long winter nights. Certainly there is no warm air or real sunshine to be had. Even when it's sunny in January, the sky has this odd, grayish color that makes me want to take a long nap. . . with this guy. (I had several naps this weekend.)

This weekend, I wallowed in my dislike of the season. Both boys weren't feeling well, and I was feeling, well, lazy. Except for a brief trip to Walgreens to pick up some Henry medicine, I did not leave the house. In fact, I didn't even get dressed, though I went through multiple pairs of pajamas. That'll happen when you have a baby who throws food at you.

I snuggled with both boys and watched Planet Earth specials, or, as Nick calls them, "special animal movies." We like to describe what we see, and Nick has tons of questions.

Nick and I helped Henry get some exercise. He loves crawling across the floor, seeking out dangerous items. We sit on the floor with him so that we can find and thwart his evil plans.

I re-potted nine plants. The thing about learning to care for houseplants is that if you succeed, you must then constantly pot and re-pot as the plants grow and reproduce. Pardon the shoddy picture. January's bad lighting is no excuse for my horrid photography skills.

We ate hearty, winter food. This is the dish Greg made for us Saturday night. It is Philadelphia-style sirloin steak with a provolone cheese sauce, served with green beans and those little gourmet potatoes. Everything was good, though I thought the sauce was too strong for me. (Probably the sharp provolone.)

I also read six trashy novels, made homemade bread and oatmeal with Nick, gave myself a manicure, edited the last chapter of a book I'm working on, and spent multiple hours online moderating the online portion of the graduate school class I'm teaching and prepping for next week' classes. I guess I wasn't a total deadbeat. As January weekends go, this one wasn't so bad. . . except for the January gloom lurking outside.

Finally, A Snowy Post

2012-01-15T10:41:00.000-06:00

Nick has been waiting for snow since October. I bought him new snow boots, and he's been dying to wear them. We finally took the tags off and let him wear his new boots yesterday, even though he's been feeling a little under the weather.

Nick and his daddy spent about an hour outside yesterday shoveling snow. Henry and I didn't join them, although Henry crawled towards the door twice. I think he would've changed his mind outside, though. It was pretty cold!

Winter weather is not my thing. I'm probably the least likely person to want to play in the snow. I hate cold weather, and I'm afraid of slipping on ice and snow, whether I'm driving or walking. I think snow is very pretty, so long as I can watch it while wearing my comfy pajamas, looking out the window, with a book in my hand. But I made sure to grab my camera, throw some boots on over my pajamas, and snap a few photos of their snow joy.

Greg said it was the wrong kind of snow for making a snowman, so they made snow angels instead. They also shoveled the driveway. Nick didn't have a shovel, so he made do with a rake.

Nick was kind of mad when he had to come inside, but he cheered up right away when I started making the hot chocolate. Both boys have some kind of bug this weekend, and we didn't want to expose anyone else to their germs, so we've stayed home all weekend. I've enjoyed all of the relaxation.

Yes, that's a hot chocolate mustache on Nick. I think it's rather attractive, though I dread the day when Nick grows old enough to start growing a real mustache.

Stay warm on this very cold winter day.

Happy Thursday from Henry

2012-01-12T21:34:00.000-06:00

Henry says "Hi!"

It was back to work for me this week, and I missed my boys more than usual. I have been very busy lately, and haven't posted as much, but Henry wants to make sure that I don't forget to chronicle his growth on my blog. He is indeed growing!

Despite still having some sort of runny nose/tummy troubles/mild fever, Henry was still all smiles with me. He was just happy to be cuddled.

Henry Notices Himself in a Mirror

2012-01-08T21:15:00.001-06:00

Henry just recently discovered what he looks like in a mirror. He finds himself handsome, and oddly fascinating.

Also just a little bit delicious.

These videos are all from January 1st, when we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. Henry had to spend most of the trip in his stroller, but when we reached the Idea Factory, he was able to crawl around in an area just for babies.

That's my big boy. :)

Rub a Dub Dub, Two Boys in a Tub

2012-01-06T23:17:00.000-06:00

Our dinner was kind of messy tonight. Between banana chunks (for Henry) and chocolate pudding (for Nick), both of my sons needed a bath this evening. Lately, we've been giving them baths together.

Henry is so very excited to join Nick at bath time. He copies everything that Nick does, especially things that are splashing-related. Henry really looks up to his big brother.

At the end of this bath, the whole room was soaked, but Henry and Nick were very clean and very happy.

Doctor Visits

2012-01-03T21:38:00.000-06:00

Last week I took both boys in for their well visits--Nick had his three-year, and Henry had his six-month. The nurse took Nick's blood pressure for the first time. He liked it, strangely enough.

According to our pediatrician, Nick is stout. That's because he's below the 2nd percentile for height, but his BMI is at the 82nd percentile. Stout. I don't really like the term. I'm not denying that my boy is solid, though. Perhaps he'll have a growth spurt soon and gain a little in stature. Here they are in the waiting room.

Nick is doing well with his milestones. As the doctor was asking me about his language development, Nicholas decided to question the doctor. "Can I please see that stringy thing around your neck?" "Do you mean the stethoscope?" "Yes. I want that. I want to use the stethoscope. Please!?" The doctor laughed and let him talk her into borrowing it. Then she told me, "Obviously his language is doing just fine, then."

Nick's Stats:

Height: 34.6"
Weight: 29 lbs., 3.2 ounces

Nick eats pretty well, though he's not consistent. Some days he'll eat practically nothing, and on other days he'll eat absolutely everything. We try not to make a big deal out of food, and that has worked well so far.

Henry is not stout, though he is definitely growing. Since his last doctor's appointment in November, he has gained more than a pound. I also think he'd qualify as the record-holding infant in the snot production races. This boy can make some boogers.

Henry, apparently, is ahead with all of his milestones. He is sitting up, crawling, using a pincher grip, and furiously rolling over to his stomach every time you put him on his back. This makes Henry's diaper changes quite interesting, and indeed quite messy.

Here are Henry's Stats:

Height: 27"
Weight: 17 lbs. 4 ounces

Henry is in the 32nd percentile for weight, the 56th percentile for length, and the 19th percentile for head circumference. All of those iron infusions I had while pregnant seemed to do the trick for Henry, because he is completely normal-sized.

He does eat a ton, though. Henry can put away up to two jars of baby food in a sitting. He loves Cheerios and anything else he can get his baby paws on.

2011 Recap

2011-12-31T17:16:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, as I was writing a check, I dated it December 30th and was astounded to notice that 2011 is coming to a close. I opened up my December 31st post from 2010, and realized how much things have changed since then.

In December of 2010, I had a two-year-old in diapers and a baby on the way. This year, I have a two children in diapers, one walking and one crawling. I'm sure my answers will be quite different for 2011. I'm going to use the same meme I posted last year, with the answers changed, and interspersed with more Christmas pictures of the kids, of course. Happy New Year!

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

I started teaching ESL certification courses for a graduate school. I interviewed for the job back in May, when I was very, very pregnant, and my first class as an adjunct instructor started in August. It's contract work, but I do like it, and I'm hoping they keep asking me to teach courses from time to time.

2. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions for 2011, and will you make more for 2012?

Yes, I definitely had 2011 Resolutions, and I kept some of them. I said I wanted to spend more time playing with Nick, and I think I haven't done too badly, considering. There are two boys and four jobs taking up my time, though, and I probably could have done better. Instead of meeting my goal of getting rid of stuff, I added tons of baby stuff to the mix, but that's what happens when you have a new baby. I also didn't have nearly enough dates with my husband. We'll have to work on that, but it's hard to get out when there are two boys sucking up all of your energy. I did a great job of keeping up with my houseplants, with only a few exceptions, but my outside gardening was largely abandoned when Henry was born. I have NOT stopped feeling guilty--in fact I think that my parental guilt has increased tenfold this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yup. Me. June 9th. To this guy. I've been told he looks like his Grandpa Mike. :)

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes, Greg's Grandma Marie passed away in February. She lived to 96, and her death wasn't a surprise, but it was still sad.

5. What places did you visit?

We went up to Northern Wisconsin in February for the funeral, and again in September for a graveside memorial. Greg and I also had a trip to Milwaukee in August, where we had a belated anniversary celebration as well as our only real vacation of the year.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

Clearly, more time to spend with the kids. I'm hoping that will happen. Greg has started with a private practice firm and is seeing clients at night as a therapist. He's hoping to leave his daytime job and stay home with the kids, though he'll still work part time. If this works, both of us should have more time with the kids.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

June 9, 2011. Why? This guy.

8. What was your biggest achievement this year?

See #7. Henry is a pretty big achievement, especially now when he weighs in at 17 pounds, 11 ounces. ;) I suppose I could also say that losing all of the Henry baby weight is pretty remarkable for me, as well. I now weigh about eight pounds less than I did when I got pregnant with Henry. However, I still weigh about twenty pounds more than I did before Nick. Oh, well. I'd rather be happy than thin.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Potty training. Sigh. I had such high hopes, too.
Oh, and a lack of exercise and still not losing the baby weight from Nick. The last few months, I haven't been eating as healthy because of the whole working four jobs thing.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Since we now have two kids, the germs have increased almost exponentially. All of us have been sick at least four or five times since summer, even Greg, who used to never get sick. No serious illnesses, though. Just colds, sinus infections, flu viruses, and the like.

11. What was the best thing that you bought?
Probably the new dresser/entertainment center/tv/dvd player that I bought for Greg's Christmas present. It finished off our living room renovations. I would also say my Nook, but that was a birthday gift from Greg.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Just like last year, I would have to say my husband's. He equally parents, and has changed nearly as many dirty diapers as I have through the year. Greg also does nearly all of the cleaning, all of the dishes, and probably half of the cooking.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Comcast. I don't want to talk about it. The tale is too depressing. Let's just say we have a satellite right now, and would gladly change our internet provider if we could find someone else.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Bills. Boring answer, I know. If you mean discretionary spending, I spent more than I care to admit at Starbucks. Caffeine has become even more of an addiction this year.

15. What did you get really, really excited about?
Henry! We also got excited every time Nick went in the potty. We'll be even more excited when he goes on a regular basis.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Adele's Someone Like You. Nick and I like to sing along to that one.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder? Happier, definitely.
thinner or fatter? thinner, but then again, I was pregnant last year.
richer or poorer? Poorer! Daycare costs are killing us.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Playing with my kids. Not that I didn't play with them, but I wish I could have spent more time with them overall.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Working. Between my full-time teaching job, the adjunct position at the university, freelance writing of college textbook chapters, and tutoring, I worked too much. Hopefully next year that won't be as necessary.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
Click back a few posts and you'll see. We spent it in a sea of wrapping paper and little kid joy. :)

21. Did you fall in love in 2011? Yup. With Henry, my littler man. Greg and Nick already had me.

22. What was your favorite tv program?
I actually didn't watch much tv this year. We watch The Daily Show, if that counts. I love Glee, Modern Family, and documentaries, but I haven't had time to get caught up on tv shows at all.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Not a person, no. But I do hate Comcast.

24. What was the best book you read?
The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Adele. I love her voice.

26. What did you really want and get? My Nook. I dropped HUGE hints on that one.

27. What did you really want and not get? A minivan or SUV. It's so hard to find space with two kids in the backseat.

28. What was your favorite film this year? The King's Speech. It was also one of the only films we saw. We had a baby, you know.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 33, and went to my mom's house for cake. We also went to the store to buy my Nook.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A real vacation. I'd love to fly somewhere on a plane and have a real vacation.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? After I had Henry, I went out and bought ten pairs of dark wash jeans that are nice enough for work. I'm much more comfortable that way, and they look better on me than dress pants.

Happy New Year!

Santa Visits

2011-12-28T22:34:00.000-06:00

Nick really understood about Santa coming this year. He was super-excited when he went to sleep on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning at our house was full of joy. . . as well as plenty of plastic packaging and cardboard.

Nick's 2011 haul from Santa included a "Cars" rug with roads to drive on and a set of the character cars, a set of Lincoln Logs, a wooden fruit-cutting kit, and a set of lacing beads.

Santa must have thought Henry was a very good boy as well, at least for the six months he has spent with us. Santa brought him a penguin to knock over. He has balls inside of him, and he sings and taunts you until you whack him good. Henry loves him, but I think Nick likes Mr. Penguin just as much. Santa also brought him baby cookies, several teething toys, a toy airplane that vibrates and has a propeller that spins, and keys to chew on that make realistic car noises (so realistic that you'd think he has a baby BMW or something). Henry now has three or four sets of keys, which is excellent, because he's always losing a set. He takes after his mommy.

Nick loved eating candy before breakfast. I'll admit that I stole a few pieces myself.

Christmas morning was very memorable, and I'm so glad Nick will remember it this year.

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-26T21:38:00.000-06:00

I want to share some pictures of our Christmas Eve celebration at my mom's house. It was a flurry of wrapping paper, excitement, lots of cookies, and joy all around. Henry was very excited about the ribbons and wrapping paper. Nick stacked presents in a nice tower.

This was Henry's first Christmas. Six months is a good age. He was awake the whole time and helped pull on wrapping paper. Henry also drooled on everything and smiled a whole lot.

Nick loved his presents, but he liked Henry's presents, too. I think he got double the fun this year. This ball was Henry's present, but Nick loved playing with it, too.

I love Christmastime. It is so much fun to watch the kids having fun.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:10:00.000-06:00

My boys are loving this whole Christmas thing. Our four-day Christmas extravaganza began yesterday and will continue until Tuesday. We started things off by exchanging our family gifts.

For Christmas, since Santa usually brings toys, I've decided to start a tradition of buying books as presents. Greg and I bought the boys books for Christmas, and since they were the first Christmas presents of the year, Nick absolutely loved them. He was especially excited about the Shel Silverstein book, Every Thing On It.

Henry got a cute board book called Otis. I think he cared more about the wrapping paper, though--he kept trying to eat it. Henry has also been drooling all over the place, and the combination of baby drool and wrapping paper means that when I got into bed last night, damp wrapping paper stuck to my leg.

Greg received his real Christmas present early this year: a new TV and DVD player for the living room. The boys bought him new pajamas and slippers, too. They bought me a book light for my Nook. I guess you'd call it a Nook Light. I keep waking up my husband by reading under the covers with a a giant mag-light flashlight. This light is far less annoying.

I think my husband felt the need to impress with my Christmas present this year. He followed the rule that says you can never go wrong with jewelry. The picture below is the only one where you can kind of see my beautiful new necklace.

Here's a closer view:

I think he did well. :)

I will write more tomorrow about our multiple celebrations. I promise lots of cute pictures, plenty of Nick smiles, and oodles of Henry drool.

For those of you who celebrate, I hope you are enjoying this special time with family. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Christmas Cookie Baking 2011

2011-12-23T19:11:00.000-06:00

Every year, my sister and I get together at my mom's house to bake cookies. This year, Nick was able to "help*." He even wore an apron and a hat for the occasion.

*For anyone receiving cookies this year, let me just say that while Nick did indeed make cookies, none of those cookies were given as gifts. Most of them looked exactly like what they were: cookies made by a three-year-old.

Nick also got to use the cookie shooter to make butter cookies. I had been telling him all about this cookie shooter during the car ride up, and he was absolutely enthralled with the idea of a special shooter that shoots delicious cookies. I suppose that would be a little boy's dream.

Meanwhile, Henry tried his first few cookies. He still doesn't have any teeth, but he gave it his all and ate a few.

The verdict? He liked them. A whole lot.

We worked really hard all day, and our end result was a ton of cookies and candy. I think we worked hard enough to negate any calories from all of the cookies we tasted. Because, of course, if a cookie breaks, you can't just leave it there. We had to do taste testing, just to make sure everything turned out okay, you understand.

I love baking Christmas cookies. Unfortunately, they're mostly gone now, so it looks like Nick and I will be making more cookies tomorrow.

A Very Determined Henry

2011-12-17T21:01:00.000-06:00

This boy really wanted to play with the bells. I can understand why Henry was so interested. These bells are colorful, and they make a neat sound when you shake them.

I kept frustrating him by putting them just outside of his reach, but every time, Henry figured out how to scoot close enough to grab them.

This locomotion thing is pretty cool, isn't it Henry? I took this video of Henry's triumph over the bells.

Henry is not crawling yet, but he's definitely moving around a lot. Just today, I've seen him roll, scoot, and complete a near-perfect army-crawl. I am very proud of him. :)

This Little Reindeer is Six Months Old!

2011-12-13T21:57:00.000-06:00

I can hardly believe it. My baby had his half-birthday last Friday. Six months ago Henry weighed less than seven pounds. He was over sixteen pounds as of last week.

Henry doesn't seem to mind his reindeer suit, and it keeps him pretty warm. I was trying to take pictures of Henry, and Nick kept inserting himself into the pictures. He likes to be the center of attention. But today is all about Henry and his half-birthday.

Instead of a coat, this reindeer zip-up coat is what I got for Henry this December. Nick had one just like it when he was a baby, but it was in the newborn size, and Henry is definitely not a newborn. In fact, he is just a little bigger than Nick was at the same age. I found this picture of Nick, taken when he was exactly six months old. Do the brothers look alike?

I think Henry's face is slightly less round, and he looks a little more like Greg.

Henry is growing up so fast, and I can't believe how much he has changed in the last six months. Tonight he ate a jar of spinach and potatoes, a bowl of mixed grain cereal with formula, and a few ounces of blueberry-purple carrot baby food. My boy has an appetite.

Goodnight from my little reindeer, and his attention-hogging big brother.

Nick learns about money

2011-12-11T16:09:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we went to the bank. Greg and I finally opened a joint savings account. We've been married for three and a half years, so I guess it was time.

Anyhow, we brought both boys with us. Nick was extremely energetic and the account manager tried to entertain him with crayons and the like. What really made him excited, though, was this bank.

He did say "Thank you!" to the bank employee when she gave it to him, but then he was confused. "Where's the money?," he asked insistently. We made him earn that when he got home. All day, we gave him checks on his hand, and we counted them up at the end of the day and gave him just that many coins.

I'm pretty sure that Nick doesn't understand the concept of money, yet. But he sure does love that little bank.

A Visit to Santa

2011-12-10T15:16:00.000-06:00

Nick had his third visit to see Santa this week. For Henry, it was his first visit ever. Both boys seemed pretty happy to meet Santa Claus.

Yup. Both kids actually smiled. I always feel bad when I see those pictures of kids forced to sit in Santa's lap. I can understand why they'd be scared of a portly gentleman in a funny red suit. This tradition does indeed seem a little weird when thought about objectively. In what other culture do we encourage our children to sit on a strange man's lap while we take pictures of the event?

Since my sons do not seem to harbor any fear of the man, however, I will continue our Christmas tradition of taking them to see Santa and tell their wishes. I took Nick in 2009 and 2010, and he smiled both times.

Henry, though pretty happy to pull on Santa's beard, was only able to communicate through drool and baby smiles. Nick was able to give very clear guidelines to Santa Claus about what he wanted in his stocking. "Cars and a block!," he asked politely. "For building. And one of those chocolate candies," he said, pointing at the bin of chocolates next to Santa. (Santa ended up giving Nick two chocolates. Nick is just that persuasive. Perhaps he'll be a lawyer some day.)

It actually was a pretty nice visit to the mall. The day we went, it wasn't crowded at all, so there was no line to worry about. Nick absolutely loved the lights and decorations. His favorite decorations were the strings of lights hanging from the ceiling.

(Nick was pointing to the lights in the picture above.) When he saw the lights, Nick exclaimed, "Mommy, look! Glowworms are up there!" He jumped up and down with excitement. "Are we in the cave?" For a minute, I was totally confused.

"No, honey, we're in the mall," I replied.

"But look at the glowworms!," said Nick insistently. Then I remembered. Since we gained a DVR, I've been recording all of the Planet Earth movies. Nick's favorite is the one about caves. There's a cool and rather gross part in that one where they show glow worms that create sticky strings that glow. The light attracts bugs and when the bugs stick to the strings, the glow worms devour the bugs. This is fascinating to a little boy. Nick always says that the glowworms are having lunch.

Anyhow, I told him that the lights did, in fact, look remarkably like the glow worms. "But those ones up there are just lights," I told him. "No, Mommy. They are glowworms."

I gave up and agreed. "Okay. Fine. They are glowworms."

Bubble Wrap

2011-12-06T22:02:00.000-06:00

Nick discovers the joys of bubble wrap. Nick is happy. "Pop. Pop. Pop-pop-pop." Shrieks of joy are heard all around.

Nick decides to annoy his daddy with the bubble wrap. Greg looks angry because of the football game, not because of the bubble wrap. At least not yet.

Nick does something that makes him lose the bubble wrap. No more bubble wrap for Nick.

Poor Nick. Don't feel bad for him, though. I am doing most of my Christmas shopping online, so more bubble wrap will probably come in the mail this week. Now he knows what to do with it. Best toy ever.