Celebrating Christmas

 Henry found a dinosaur at Saundra's house.  Functions much like a car, so it was a hit.

 Reading Christmas stories with Grandma Sherry and Saundra.

Not so sure.  Tentatively watching the singing, dancing chipmunk that cousin Stella loves so much.  Henry not so much. Shortly after I snapped this photo he started to back up and whine, basically asking me to make it stop. 

 Stella putting on a show for me.  I asked her to show me a pretty dance and then pose for a picture.  This was the pose she choose.  What a character!

 Mason playing with the snowman stacker.

 Henry learned how to push the buttons on Grandma Sherry's pretties to make them light up, twirl and play Christmas music. 

 Dada and Henry opening presents.

 Aunt Teresa stealing some loves from Mason.

 Mama, I am WAY too busy to pose for a picture!!!  This garbage truck is AWESOME!

 Stella posing with Cinderella.

 When I asked Stella if she would take a picture with me, she replied "ALL the girls need to be in the picture."

 Grandpa Keith, Stella and "baby sister."

 Mike and Sondi looking at the Christmas tree with 3-d shape glasses.  The flash on my camera made the effects all that much cooler.

 Mama, I'm hiding under the table and you can't see me.

Henry loves to put Sophie's collar on, but he has a hard time getting it off.  It cracks me up, so rather than help him, I snapped a photo. Hehehehehehe.

 Silly, silly boy.

Henry's idea of helping Mama taking the garbage out...stealing the garbage can and then running away with it. 

 Henry loves his new power tools.

 Goodness, that nail is hard to get out!

Inspired by my sister-in-law, I made sugar cookies for the first time this weekend, all by myself.  Admittedly, they weren't as good as Sarah's, but they were pretty darn tasty.

 Santa arrived!

 Ryan's mom always took a picture of the kids at the top of the stairs on Christmas morning.  This is Henry's top of the stairs photo this year.

 It didn't take long for Henry to figure out how his new power tools on his workbench work.  Perhaps we have a construction worker on our hands (although he STILL loves everything garbage).

 Henry totally got the hang of opening presents this year.  It was so much fun watching him discover what was in each of the packages.

 Grandpa Jim and Grandma O showing Henry how his new crane works.

 Peek-a-boo!

 Mama, the garbage goes in here.  Right here.

 Henry giving loves to his new pillow pet puppy.

 Happy, happy.

 Thank you everyone for all my super duper cool presents.  I LOVE them ALL!!!

Henry was simply a bundle of joy this Christmas!

Friday Thanks

I am so very fortunate to have amazing parents.  This week's thanks focuses on them:

* My Mama.  When I think about how much I love my Mama, my eyes swell with tears.  Words really can't describe the depths of my adoration for my mom.  My mom is my rock.  She encourages me, supports me, coaches me, calms me, helps me in countless ways, and keeps me sane, by just being her.  She has taught me more than I ever realized about how to be a great mom and person, by simply modeling the behavior. My mom is one of the most hard-working people I know (she never stops moving).  She's kind and thoughtful, so often sacrificing her desires for others.  She's generous.  She's loving.  She's nurturing. She's beautiful, inside and out.  She taught me one of the most important life lessons: "You can't control others, only yourself.  When things get rough, change your perspective." On top of it all, she's a rock-star grandma.  The love and attention she pays to my son, MELTS MY HEART. To the bottom of my heart, I am thankful for my mom.  I love her.

* My Daddy (yes, I still call him Daddy): My dad was the one who made me believe in the concept "you can be anything you put your mind to."  He taught me how to dream big and then go after those dreams.  Much of my achievement in my life is thanks to my dad's work in making me believe in myself.  Pushing me to want ever more in life and to be the best that I could be.  Teaching me not to give up and to be patient. Growing up, my dad always made me a priority, made our family a priority.  He took a sincere interest in my life.  He made me feel important and relevant. My dad has always been my biggest fan.  I will forever be my daddy's little girl.

* My mother-in-law, Sherry.  I am blessed to have her in my life.  She's not just family, but someone I call a friend.  She's an amazing grandma who is a master of the wonder of childhood; singing songs, making art, telling stories, playing pretend and always having Henry's favorite snacks on hand.  She's a wise teacher, both professionally and in life to me and my young family.  Earlier this month, she stayed at our house for a night (when Ryan worked) to take care of my babies (two and four-legged) so that I could go visit my college bestie up in Seattle. I am so thankful that I have someone in my life that I have absolutely no worries leaving Henry (and Sophie) with overnight.  That mental/emotional comfort is a HUGE gift to a mom.  Many people have strained relationships with their in-laws.  I am so glad that I do not.  I am so grateful that I have a meaningful relationship with my mother-in-law. Life is better with her in it.

* My father-in-law, Keith.  I am thankful for my father-in-law's humor and thoughtfulness, two things he passed on to his son, which I also find to be two of Ryan's best qualities.  Keith has always accepted me for me, even though he initially thought I was wound super tight and anal (probably still does...hehehe).  He's always encouraged me to let go and be happier, not to fuss over things so much (that don't really matter).  He's poked fun at me since the day I met him, which is how I know he likes me.  Although some may think he has a rough (perhaps grumpy) exterior, he is always willing to lend a helping hand and he routinely does nice things for others.  For example, he will make each of the kids favorites pie (including mine) because he knows they are their favorite.  He'll make berry jam, arduously straining the seeds (because most don't like them), just to put them back in a couple of jars for me (because I like the seeds). He's been know to drive me across town in the snow because I'm afraid to drive in the snow and help Ryan shovel 9 cubic yards of gravel when his body didn't want to take another step because Ryan simply asked for some help.  He does these things because he cares, and I am grateful that he cares for me.

December Fun

Henry loves to climb and stand on anything he can find to support his weight.  Here, he found the top of the icebox to perch himself on. He was so proud of himself that he first was able to finagle the lid off of the icebox and then achieved climbing on top of it.

 Hmm....

Out and about with Mama and Sophie to view the neighborhood lights.  Henry loves Christmas lights, in particular this green tree in our front yard because they are apparently Mama's lights (which I indeed did put them up).  Every time Henry sees this tree, he points and affectionately says "Maaaamaaa."  A few nights ago we went and visited the house on Geneva (a house that is SUPER light up for Christmas in North Portland...a house Ryan started visiting when he was a kid) and Henry was in total awe.  Last year he enjoyed the train in the window (which he liked this year too).  This year though, Frosty the Snowman (which is at least 5' tall and just about as big around) and the nutcrackers were Henry's favorite. 

 Happy, happy, happy.

 Look, how cool am I.  : )

 Henry's new window seat.  Silly bear.

 Mama shared her eggnog (non-alcoholic and diluted with milk) with me, and it was YUMMY!!!! 

Word, words, words.  They are finally starting to flow freely.  New words every day!  Now, I admit, if you don't understand Henry's dialect (because most of his words are really just the first two or three letters of a word), you might not be able to understand him really well, but he legitimately has started to really talk now.  He now has words for: water, dog, wow, whoa, boot, bird, bed, red, lid, off, dump, dip, boat, door, uh oh, buzz, roar, woof woof, mama, owl, bowl, eye, butt, dada/baba, car, baby, no, beep beep, bauck bauck, boat, mine, go and garbage.

New tricks: throwing and kicking balls.

Favorite toys: trains, lego-style blocks, cars, boats and airplanes.  And BOOKS, Henry loves to read!

He also loves music and has been know to get his groove on to his favorite tunes.  He has a varied taste, there is no rhyme or reason as to what type of music he will particularly enjoy on any given day.  The mariachi music at the Mexican restaurant is usually good for at least a few head sways.

Footballs, the game of football and football players make Henry laugh.  The other day he was looking at one of his board books and every time he came across a picture of a football he would bust out into a full belly laugh.  Hilarious to watch.

Henry's big. He's 31 lbs and change.  Tall...but not exactly sure how tall because he is too squirmy to measure.  He wears 3T tops (and PJs) and 2T bottoms (and has been for some time now).  Size 6 shoes.   And, some of these sizes (depending on the brand) have already been retired!  Crazy to think my baby has already outgrown baby clothes and he isn't even two yet.  Yesterday, when we were at Costco, Ryan held up a 3 month outfit and said "remember this???"  I simply looked down at my cheery-eyed "baby" with big eyes and shook my head in disbelief that it really wasn't that long ago when he was TINY (at least in comparison).  He's even got muscles.  He was standing next to me earlier today and I was rubbing his back while he played with his cars.  For whatever reason, I decided to run my hand down his calf and I noticed he had toddler calf muscle definition (he was on his tippy toes).  Seriously!  Muscles! 

By far and away, my favorite thing these days Henry related is his giggles.  And more than that, that he makes himself giggle.  He'll do something goofy and all of a sudden start giggling at himself.  He also laughs when other people laugh, which just eggs on more laughter. He'll also start giggling when he is trying to get you to play a game of peek-a-boo or hide-and-seek toddler style...Henry hides and I find him without counting.  How he typically plays this game is he runs off and hides behind the couch, table or bed, without me knowing that he wants to the play a game.  A few seconds later when I don't see him anymore I will call out "where did you go, bubbie???"  He won't return and he will attempt to be quiet.  Then I will start hearing his giggle come from behind the couch, table or bed and realize I need to go find him, that we are playing a game.  So then, I will get up as I repeat, "where did you go, bubbie???"  He will then start to full on belly laugh and reveal himself, sometime squealing in delight.  Then we repeat the exercise.   

Zoo Lights - Building Traditions

 When pigs fly!!!

 Henry loves to push buttons, especially when they make animal noises.

 Blurry, but I find it to be a sweet picture of my precious boy.

 No, I will not smile on command.  Take that Mama!

The orangutan, in particular the male we have affectionately called "Harry" is Henry's favorite animal at the Zoo.  We had to take a picture of us with Harry's zoolight.

Watching the train perched on Daddy's shoulders.  Doesn't get much better than that!

I find Christmastime to be magical.  Viewing Christmas lights was a tradition both Ryan and I grew up with, that we want to pass on to our children.  Although Zoo Lights weren't part of our childhood traditions in particular, Ryan and I have made it one of our traditions for our young, growing family.  Last year Henry liked Zoo Lights. This year, Henry loved Zoo Lights.  : )

Clear winter night + family time + shared elephant ear + Zoo Lights = AWESOME!!!

Santa

Ryan brought Henry downtown last week for a visit with Santa.  Henry was really unsure about the whole idea of sitting on Santa's lap this year and began to freak out as we walked closer to where Santa was sitting, so Mama encouraged him to "do it together with Mama" (hence Mama is also pictured with Santa...which is only the second time Mama has ever been pictured with Santa (both with Henry) because Mama was also scared of Santa as a child so there are no pictures of child Mama with Santa).  Santa read The Polar Express to Henry and Mama, which helped build trust and confidence with Henry.  We eventually even got a smile. 'Tis the season!

21 Months

Trains, trains, trains.  Henry loves trains.  Santa may just have to reward Henry's good behavior this year with a new Thomas the Train wooden railway.  Mama also happens to love, love, love trains.  Not sure who is more excited about Santa's "surprises."

Sweet boy.  Henry likes to "give loves" to all things soft...teddy bears, fuzzy blankets, pillows etc.  Melts my heart.

This is Henry's "gun" that he made for himself.  Doesn't matter if you purchase fake weapons for kids or not, they will make pretend weapons out of just about anything.  Here he ran around pointing his lego "gun" or "saber" at all sorts of things around the house, including poor Sophie, and while saying "dee dee, dee dee, dee dee" because he can't quite articulate "bang bang." 

 Awesome dance moves!  Cracks me up!

Henry has learned how push his cars, tractors, trains, trucks (anything with wheels) so that they go flying across the room.  Until recently, he would bring you a toy vehicle to push for him because he didn't quite understand how to push a toy and then let go.  He used to keep holding on and then get frustrated when the car didn't keep going.  It's fun to watch him master new tasks.

 Seriously Grandma!  What is this thing on my head!?!

Million dollar smile! 

 Silly, silly goose.

Henry loves to mimic behaviors.  During Thanksgiving weekend, Henry watched Mama take many things out of the oven using oven mitts.  We keep the oven mitts in a drawer that is easily accessible to Henry.  So, when I wasn't watching carefully, he stole one of my oven mitts and started pretending the coffee table was an oven and his box of Christmas Rudolph books was a casserole.  I love watching his imagination blossom.

What a ham!  This was the look I got when I asked Henry to smile for me.

Trouble!!!  Henry recently watched me clean the toilet (using a toilet brush).  Not five minutes later, he dug up a bottle brush (pictured) from a drawer in the kitchen and proceeded to try to wash everything in the house with the bottle brush, including his diggers.  He even tried to clean the toilet again, just like Mama.  I had to try to explain to him that Mama appreciated his help, but that we really didn't need to clean the toilet again.  He wasn't so convinced.  Who would have guessed I would ever need to argue with my son about not  cleaning the toilet.  Fast forward a few years and I am sure my tune will change.