Henry Sings Christmas Songs

Merry Christmas!

Henry and Elliot had a wonderful Christmas, with lots and lots of presents to open. Here is a little sample of their different opening styles. Henry tears with the sole goal of uncovering the gift; Elliot tears little pieces of paper off, bit by bit. Henry's is cleaner; Elliot's takes longer and prolongs the enjoyment. Both are such fun to watch!





Auntie Daphne, Uncle Seth, Uncle Alex, Grandma Judi and Grandpa Don all came over for dinner and more gifts. This Boxing Day has been all about sugar, wildness and not-listening-or-sitting-for-dinner. The boys were off to bed at 7:28 and nary a peep has been heard from their room. Phew!

Pre-Christmas "Festivities"

Merry Almost Christmas!

Henry and Elliot Love:

Christmas!
Frosty the Snowman, as of today. The 50 times prior they didn't give a rip.
Jingle Bells, especially Elliot
X-mas lights, of course.
"The Christmas Tree Song," which is my made up rendition of Oh Christmas Tree.
Presents, books specifically. I think the book part has to do with thus far they have each only opened one present. Guess what they were?
Wooden Spoons
mini whisks
"warm chocolate", as opposed to hot chocolate, of course.
Yo Gabba Gabba
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Cement Mixers (Henry)
Diggers and all other construction equipment(Elliot).
The color blue (Henry)
Buzz Lightyear (Henry)
drawing with crayons or markers (Elliot)
Reading books (Henry more so)
wall*e (Elliot)
Mama's Bracelet (Elliot, past 24 hours only)
"Going to work. Going to meetings" (both)
climbing
jumping
making mischief (both, oh lord)

What's really interesting is that Henry is the ringleader for deciding whose is whose. He laid claim to the blue cups, assigning Elliot the green. It took Elliot about 6 weeks to go along with, and insist upon using the green cups. Henry fell in love with a "Mixer Puzzle" and deemed all others inferior (and therefore Elliot's). For the most part Elliot is easy going and flows right along with whatever. However, this past week they are obsessed with wooden spoons. Gone are the days when they would share or trade; we are in full battle mode over these spoons. Some replacements are acceptable occasionally. Occasionally mama removes all spoons from sight!

DIGGER!

Auntie Daphne knitted this awesome digger sweater for Elliot. He has been so excited about it. Here is a video of the first time he put it on!

Retrospect

This photo was taken in July 2007, so Elliot is three or so weeks old. Was it Elliot? Maybe Mike remembers.

I think it was the first time they were separated, although Elliot was being watched by nurses about 2 hours after being born for about [forever] half an hour?

Oddly, lots of details are a touch hazy around this time period.

This was the first time Mike wore a baby, and I am glad I snapped a photo against his wishes. What a little baby that was! Can you imagine what a sight that must have been? If only I could rewind time and relive life in five minute chunks [handpicked by me, of course].

Painting Pumpkins

We went to the pumpkin patch with Uncle Alex, Uncle Seth and Auntie Daphne. Henry and Elliot are not yet to be trusted with knives, but they were very pleased to paint their pumpkins. Later the grown-ups had squash soup and apple pie for dinner. Henry and Elliot stuck with corn on the cob. Fresh corn is the best!

Henry sings ABCs

Camera Phones Photos of August 2007

Oddly, I apparently didn't take any photos in August 2008. The top two pictures are from our trip at 9 weeks to Chicago for Kira's wedding. The others are from 8/12/07, so about 7 weeks. I don't remember them being that aware that early; it must have been a good morning! (Elliot's in the dotted jammies.)

Advanced Sharing

Over the past two weeks, Henry and Elliot have stepped up on the turn taking. Good boys!

It's the same thing over and over, but that's what sharing is. Patience and putting yourself second (so you can be first next time!).

Demanding (& Observent) Monkey

Yesterday I was pulling the boys and the bike trailer (approx. 80 lbs) up a short & steep hill. We'd had after a nice afternoon of playing in a friend's pool. As I was huffing and puffing my way up, I heard Henry say, "Go faster, Mama." I barely got out a shocked, "What did you say?" A nicely dressed bike commuter sailed by me saying, "I think he told you go go faster." Yeah, I got that! What a cheeky monkey.

I had to call and tell Daphne about that, and she reminded me of the time I called her last week. We were in Spokane after driving up. I loaded the picnic goodies into the car, then the boys. As I sat down to drive, Henry pops out with, "Mama's car is too dirty." True, young man, true!

Camera Phone Photos from the Julys of My Life

I was finally able to download all my cell phone pictures from the last 2 years. I have pictures spanning three Junes and three Julys. Where does the time go?

Newborns are funny looking monkeys.

Henny, 10 Days Old






Elliot 13 Days Old


Penny-Poo, 22 Days Old



EA 24 Days Old


HP 26 Days Old


One Day Shy of 1 Month - Eye-ya




32 Days Old





12 Months









24 Months:

I was trying to distract Henry in the middle of a tantrum. It didn't work.

Manito Splash Pad!

Elliot Conquers the Bouncy House

happy birthday, babies!

Almost Two Means...

Tantrums.

The week started off okay. Then there was Tuesday. Yesterday was a super challenge with Henry refusing everything: clothing, carseat, food, sleep. Today was also full of fits and frustrations.

Tomorrow?

Please let tomorrow be easier.

Elliot Sings

Look at all those teeth!

Just an Ordinary Day

Easter

Here are some belated Easter photos. We were invited to a friend's house and had a lovely time. There was some confusion about the process of collecting eggs; Henry would replace the one he grabbed with an egg from his basket. Elliot enjoyed dumping his eggs out and then refilling his pail.

My Baby, My Eldest, My Elliot

Elliot and the Cuck

The Zoo!!!

My buddy Staci and I took our kids to the zoo last week when the weather was so springy! Initially we had Maya and Elliot walk on leashes and Henry was contained. I eventually swapped Henry and Elliot, but Henny knew that the way to travel was to be pushed in Maya's stroller. It was great for M&E to run around, test limits (they could only go as far as the leash allowed), learn to walk with crowds and how to navigate stroller/pedestrian spaces. Elliot loved the bats, and Henry was pretty happy with everything. Elliot and I took some time to check out the big machinery they were using to build the new lion exhibit (but that video will come later).



Elliot, Henry



Maya. Elliot & Henry. Henry isn't really that much taller than Elliot.


Henry, Elliot & Maya