Short Stack

 

In April there is a week called "Week of the Young Child". In celebration, there are several local events. On this day we went to breakfast, to story time at the library, and then to the Planetarium. I had ordered coffee and after being distracted for a minute I looked over and there was Henry creating his masterpiece. Since block stacking (or cream stacking shown here) is a quintessential milestone a child must reach, I felt it was worth a blog entry. Watch out world, now it's cream, tomorrow it's designing roads and bridges. (His daddy will like this one)

Henry's Friend Jeffrey

 

Henry and I had some friends over last month. Henry really loved seeing his two little playmates, but he also realized how hard it is to share when your so close to two. All in all they did pretty well

Oh, Brother!

 

I was just uploading my pictures when I came across this shot. I thought this was a classic two year old kid picture.

Henry's Favorite Music Video

Something you don't see everyday

 

My Jetta just registered 200,000 miles. The big moment took place about 6 miles from home down Hwy 44. I remember I was on Pacheco Pass when she turned 100K. This has been the best car and she has been with me since high school. A little lackluster, but still running strong. A great piece of bare bones machinery. Sometimes those are the best kind.
Keep it up girl, we have at least 200K more to go :).

 

Henry's Friend Grant

 

This is Henry's youngest friend, Grant. He has the biggest smile and it's been fun watching him grow. He lives about a mile from us, which means that he lives about 3 houses down the road. He's not walking quite yet, but Henry is eager for him to start. I can see in his eyes...he can't wait.

Easter

 

Henry really enjoyed hunting for eggs this year. And, we all felt so much safer with our fireman/ hunter.

Snoring the Miles Away

 

Henry slept the whole way home from Roseville. Dave and I would laugh when we'd hear an occasional snore. Then Dave would say, "just like his Mommy". It was nice to have some "adult" time and they are just so dang cute when they sleep.

A Waiter's Worst Nightmare

 

We took Henry out to dinner when we were in Roseville. I kept wondering, "why is it taking so long?" People who came after us were being seated and we were still waiting for our "special" table. Finally, it was our turn. The hostess called us and we began our long journey which never seemed to end. We reached our table at the very back of the restaurant along with a couple other families. It felt like we had been transported to France. But, at least there they pay less when seated in the boonies. Then the waiter showed up and gave us that look. I had come prepared with several distractions, so we just took it in stride. At the end of the meal the waiter said he was impressed. Henry did great. We skipped dessert because we didn't want to push our luck. Of course, Henry didn't miss a beat...chocolate was his second course.

The Usefulness of Celery

A guy goes to the supermarket and notices an attractive woman waving at him. She says hello. He's rather taken back because he can't place where he knows her from. So he says, "Do you know me?"
To which she replies, "I think you're the father of one of my kids."
Now his mind travels back to the only time he has ever been unfaithful to his wife and says, "My God, are you the stripper from my bachelor party that I made love to on the pool table with all my buddies watching while your partner whipped my butt with wet celery?
She looks into his eyes and says calmly, "No, I'm your son's teacher."

 

I Want That Hat

 

Big Foot

Welcome March!

 

I would walk 500 miles

 

Henry loves to put our shoes on and walk around the house. Although it usually ends up with him falling and some tears, it sure is funny to watch him shuffle around.

Frosty Gnome-Ice Fishing

I have always loved Gnomes. I'm not sure if it was a good family friend who hand crafted a whole village of Gnomes with clay or it was Martha Stewart's husband's book that inspired me. Whatever it was, I was hooked. One Christmas I was trying to make it a bit challenging for Dave. I asked for a "fishing Gnome". Low and behold, we found him. He loves his new home, but doesn't like the cold weather. I can see it in his eyes :).

Happy Birthday Grandpa Dave

Happy Valentine's Day

Hoping lots of love floats your way.

All That Jazz

Last time we were in Monterey we took Henry to the Hyatt and he loved seeing a local jazz band. I didn't get the camera right away, but here a couple snipits of his dance. He finished with some sort of hip-hop floor spin and when he just laid there we knew it was time to go.

Darling, You Look Marvelous

Lil' Spud

Couch Potato in Training :)

El Capitain

This is probably the world's most well traveled dog. I swear, he is part human. We love this little ball of fluff.

¿Tiene Leche?

Lizzie was showing me some pictures she recently took in Los Cabos. Here is a collage of a local herd. If you have ever seen the terrian in this area of BC you will agree that these are some rugged beasts. Although they do spend a lot of time at the beach, I'm not too sure if they are quite as happy as our Californian Cows :).

Cute Commercial

Snow Baby

We thought that we were only going to get a little rain last night. We woke up and saw that the snow fairy had come. It was way too tempting so Henry and I went out to play.

Our Jabber Monkey

Henry has been talking up a storm.

He carries on full conversations with his Little People, farm animals, trucks, a hat or body part du jour. Sometimes he sounds like he's a real social butterfly, answering his plastic playmate with a high-pitched tone and a smiling voice with what seems like a very stimulating conversation. Other times, he sounds like a tyrant, scolding his poor toy. This usually end in him throwing the toy across the room.

Some words that I have been able to understand are:
doggie, oooh wooooow (yeah, we'll I consider it a word :)), ut oh (this one too), truck, towel, bye, hi, mommy, daddy, please, thank you, nelcome (for "you're welcome"), bottle, eeee-oooo (this makes him rock higher on his rocking doggie), cock-a-doodle-do, moooo, owie, snow, cat, ear, hot, eat, nose, cheers (he actually clanks his bottle to your drink while he says this).

Henry found his thrills on Eskimo Hill

Today Henry played in the snow for the first time. We had a great Sunday afternoon.

Incredi-Grammy

Grammy gave Henry a portable DVD player for Christmas. Things have been busy around here (big storm, power outages, projects, and illness) and we hadn't had a chance to check in out. We opened it up, put The Incredibles in and it works great. Henry stood there for at least 30 minutes watching the show. Periodically I'd here an "Oooh, woooow".

I think that is two thumbs up from our little Ebert. :)

So Do La Fa Mi Do Re

Earlier this month The Sound of Music came on and Henry loved it. He stood right at the edge of that table and rocked back and forth. His favorite was the Do-Re-Mi song. Maybe that is because Dave and I sometimes sing this song to him while in the car? So, glad he now knows the 'real" version.

Thanks Sarah

An old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home. He followed me into the house, down the hall, and fell asleep in a corner.
An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. The next day he was back, resumed his position in the hall, and slept for an hour. This continued for several weeks.
Curious, I pinned a note to his collar:
"Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap."
The next day he arrived with a different note pinned to his collar:
"He lives in a home with ten children -- he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?"

The Great Wall of Shingletown

Dave has been hard at work around here.

We got this Coronado Honey Ledge and we think it is a great improvement over the outdated brick. The color is Souix Falls. It looks very different in person than in Coronado's advertising photos (see lower picture). After bringing several samples home, several times, we finally decided on a color and a style. Dave decided to try to install it beacuse the honey ledge supposedly goes up easier than the other styles. We think (hope) it'll match the slate floors.

Now for the slate...Dave, can you start project # 5,786?

I'm so happy to have such a handy hubby.

Happy Anniversary Dad and Lizzie!!!

Found this Funny Card for Dad and Lizzie and had to share. So happy you two met.

Cheers on your special day!

Christmas Day Pictures

We had a lot of fun. Dave had to break out the tools for the tool box and Henry is running around with the doddle toy all of the time (finally-a quiet toy!!!)

Thank you to everyone who sent gifts.

Rocking Around The Christmas Tree

Last night at 9 PM Dave finally finished the Rocking Elephant he was making for Henry as a gift. Believe me, this project took so long to complete and Dave didn't really get started until this past weekend. In any case, it was my job to do the painting and that didn't begin until about 9:30 PM last night, which made for a long Christmas Eve for Mommy. So, this morning we put on the final touches and voila...we have "Nosey" the Heirloom Elephant. Something that Henry will have to cart around with him his whole life. :)

Hahaha.

Henry loves her!

The name Nosey comes from an Elephant we used to have and support at the Fresno Zoo. That will be a blog unto itself, but for now her memory will live on in my living room.

P.S. Henry saw that hat in my office and wouldn't take it off all morning until he opened the hat from his auntie Laurie-seriously.

Sweet Dreams