Dear Henry,
Daddy and Mommy took you through your rounds in Columbus recently as Grandpa Tim and Ellen were visiting from Florida. They were impressed by your recent updates since the last visit, such as crawling, standing, insatiable curiosity and having to put EVERYTHING in your mouth.
First, we stopped by the family farm where Grandpa Tim was really excited to walk you around and sit in the grass with you. He tried to show you how to whistle with a blade of grass but couldn't find one broad enough to get the real effect.
This was okay with you as it gave you the nod to stuff a big stick, some bark as well as some weeds into your mouth.
Ellen and Grandpa Tim were in the middle of installing a window into the pole barn when we arrived. You seemed to love the novelty of poking your head into the barn from the outside. Since this visit they've finished up the window and drywall as well as installed a stove and refrigerator and light fixtures.
On the porch of the barn willy worms (Grandma P would have me call them wooly worms) started inching their way all around us. You spotted one and promptly put it in your mouth.
Grandpa Tim had to pry it out of your hands a couple of times trying to keep poor willy worm alive. Your lips showed your dirty deed as bunches of willy worm hairs were left there. Poor willy worm never stood a chance with your death grip and six teeth.
As the early evening approached it grew colder so after a few animal crackers we packed up and drove the short distance to Crappaw's and Grandma P's house.
Grandma P's and Crappaw's played with you on the floor encouraging you to show off your newly acquired skills. Of course Crappaw let you play with his watch and got out your measuring stick. When Mommy commented on what a nice elaborate measuring stick Lily's Grandma and Grandpa made her they stared at me blankly as if to say, "Yeah so, what's wrong with this scrap piece? Eh?" Well, Peep, nothing is wrong with it at all.
Such a stick did just fine for Mommy over the years. Mommy's measuring stick is still in the furnace room on the wall growing bored because Mommy hasn't added any measurement marks since 1991. Mommy was only 16 in 1991...if truth be told, Mommy has not increased in height since 1989. ANYHOOO! You had grown one inch in the last three weeks. OUCH! Where does all that bone, muscle and skin come from?
We made your mark and went to our last destination, Grandma LaJean and Great Grandma Hazel's.
If I haven't already professed it here Mommy has to tell you and all the readers of the internets that Great Grandma Hazel is the bestest cook. Not only is she a great cook but she makes all kinds of specialties depending on what type of food you really dig. She is an old school cook. You get a couple of side dishes with your meats and some type of sweet dessert always follow the main course. Mommy is more of a casserole/ soup kind of cook... meaning I throw it all together and hope it tastes really awesome. Great Grandma Hazel's cooking is full of love and warm fuzzies and I hope to learn to infuse that into dishes as you grow older.
On this visit there was cube steak, mashed potatoes and buttered carrots with a side of apple sauce from scratch followed by sweet apple crisp a la mode. WOWSER! You were loving the spread and grunted for more and more. Grandma LaJean fed you apple sauce like you were in an eating contest.
Hazel says the secret is the lodi apples but I am just sure it is her experienced hands. A soft touch, Great Grandma could not hold back the apple crisp a la mode when you stood and begged at her knee. Grandma LaJean bought you a special Halloween book and shared it with you as you sat closely on her lap like a famished puppy.
You are really great with books these days and your attention span lasts until the book is finished.
After your book she gave you Auntie Kristin's old trick or treat bag to borrow for Saturday, then it was time to get back home.
Wow Peep!
It all only lasted a few hours but you had so many experiences and so many smiling faces making for great photo ops.
To see more photos click on my flickr link here...
Love,
Mommy
Dear Henry,
I don't have to tell you that Mommy takes a crap ton of photos of you. There really have only been a handful of days where I haven't taken at least one photo of you. Well, two weeks ago I decided to take you to the Walmarts to get their 8 dollar package with you in front of one of the silly Halloween backgrounds. Mommy thought it would be a nice thing to send to Grandma LaJean, Great Grandma Hazel, Grandpa Tim and Ellen and Crappaw and Grandma P, J and Jmom and Auntie Kristin and Auntie Carrie, and Uncle Gary and Auntie Michelle. The photos are cute, mostly because you are cute. They required you to take a bunch of other poses trying to entice Mommy into spending more money. The rest were...well, just kind of weird. In one they had you crawling across a fake white bed, another sitting with a mess of cheap toys, messin' around in leaves with a "pretty" weed background and another in front of a tire swing. You were a perfect gentleman and smiled on command, of course. Then it took 20 minutes to go through each shot and do ugly photo effects on them even though Mommy said that there was no way she wanted a green vinette around any of the photos or text say, "Fall 2009". Mommy stuck to her guns though and left with only the $8 package photo. Here it is...
Dear Henry!
Such great news this evening. Our friend Heather called just now. Remember they have matched with a wonderful woman who has chosen her and Phillipe to parent the twins? Well, the babies are being brought into this world as Mommy types this post. A boy and a girl!
Mommy has been emotional all night... it brought up many of our moments in the hospital with J when you were born. How much love we all have for you! The whole experience of Daddy and I standing in the hall listening to your first cries and J inviting us in and placing you in my arms saying, "go see your mama." The first time I was a real mama.
A couple of weeks ago we went to Heather and Phillipe's to help them get the babies' room painted. You were a great boy and sat and bumbo and your car seat takin' a deep long nap.
And for fun here is a photo of Heather back in August showing off the ultra sounds and playing Molkky with you in her arms. She's gonna be one cool mama!
It will be a hard couple of days for the three of them, or I should say for the five of them, but also some of the most rich, loving, and deep moments humans could share with each other.
Your entrance into the world I've kept off of this blog. While I write the blog for you, others peep in and it is something Mommy only wants you to hear personally. Baby boy, my gratitude for J choosing us as your family is enormous. I always hope that J and her family will always know that there is not a second in our lives that the miracle of you goes unnoticed.
Love,
Mama
P.S. Here is the first photo of your new buddies we received at 12:01AM via Heather's cell phone. YEAH!
Dear Henry,
During your daytime naps Mommy lays you down in your crib when you are drowsy so you can develop good sleep habits. When you are done sleeping (an hour, half hour, two hours) whatever it is you sleep for that nap I hear you from the other room calling me. Mommy comes down the hall and jumps into your doorway and yells boo, always good for a giggle and a smile. Here is the precious lil' face I get to look at every time you wake up from a nap.
On Wednesday after your nap I put you on your floor so you could play while I put your clothes away. I had pulled out one of your $1 garage sale stools. I turned around from the closet and you were pushing that stool across the room using it like a walker. WHAT?!
Amazing! 7 months, 1 week ( added sock monkey after the fact just because it was cute).
Love, Mommy
Dear Henry,
For about a year we've had visitors living under our deck. Hell, our yard is practically a wildlife sanctuary. The moles have moved but we have chipmunks, a colony of squirrels, raccoons, ospreys, all kinds of other birds, skunk, deer, whistle pigs (ground hogs) and possum. Part of it is our neighborhood's mature trees and the other part is our massive amount of acorns from the three large pin oaks in the side yard. So our deck has supported two whistle pigs, and when they moved out temporarily three raccoons moved in, now the last 4 months the whistle pigs are back. I think there are two.
One is getting pretty bold and comfortable and tools around our yard. Today Mommy found some similarities between the two of you, you both go where you don't belong and you both get a guilty look on your faces when you're caught.
Love, Mommy
Dear Henry,
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.
Wednesday was a great day. We played, rolled around, laughed, cuddled and ate. It was so pretty and warm that we took a walk so I could take some fall photos of you under the beautiful yellow tree around the corner. I put you in your newest garage sale treasure, your robot sweater. As I took photos you enjoyed the crunchy leaves and looking up at the branches. The lighting was a bit surreal... then there was this one sweet moment where the breeze started blowing and your breath was taken away and you sighed.
It was a deep happy sigh and you starting picking up leaves to eat. You loved the crunch, crunch, crinkle in your hands so much and wanted to eat them so badly that I almost couldn't take any more photos because I had to continuously stop and fish them from your mouth.
They were so great you finally broke down with screaming and tears because I wouldn't let you eat them like the very hungry caterpillar. I'm certain I saved you a very bad tummy ache.
You smiled at the wind and looked around with such wonderment in your eyes, you are golden. I've had moments with you like this before but the environment lent an extra melancholy feel to the scene. Peep, you will have lots of experiences in your life, hell you have already, that can take you down and out or create a scaffolding for you to raise yourself up. Mommy can be a bit of idealist. In my idealist optimism I believe that even if these golden moments only stay in our hearts we can recapture over and over those feeling of being green and new in the world. It is Mommy's wish for you that you always keep an air of green optimism and keep that gold despite the ways life can sometimes try to melt it away. It won't be easy but I hope that a cool fall breeze that swirls leaves around your ears always takes your breath away. Mommy also hopes that someday when you're a teen and not acting so cool I'll have a golden green Henry folder in my head to draw from to remember that you are still learning in this world, so ease up.
Here are some of the other photos, click here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/leetha_t/
Love, Mama
Dear Henry,
No words can go with this photo to enhance it.
Love, Mommy
Dear Noodle,
For the last 4 years we've been getting together with a few friends to carve pumpkins.
It is a lot of fun to see what designs people come up with.
To prepare for this year on Friday we went to a pumpkin farm about 45 minutes away because their website advertised "tasty grilled cheese sandwiches and milkshakes."
Unfortunately it was raining all day and the farm did not open until 6pm on Fridays. We arrived to a rainy dark farm. They had all of the obligatory pumpkin farm activities but they were very poorly lit if lit at all. We bought our grilled cheese and sat around a little fire pit and ate them. Daddy even got a milkshake despite the 39 degree weather.
You enjoyed little bits of the sandwich but it was so cold we had to put your coat on. We didn't get any pumpkins because we could not see them in the dark! They were all wet anyhow. You did get to play on a bail of hay for a little bit. I had to pry the piece out of your vice-like grip before they made it to your mouth several times. This pumpkin patch was a bust. We came home and cuddled up in our warm bed and fell asleep.
Our guests were also quite taken by your Yoda hat and hot dog costume. Come to think of it I'm not sure why I didn't make you a hot dog Yoda.
Anyhow, there was a lot of talk about last year at this time.... Our friends kept saying how wonderful it was that we have you in our lives now. Peep, it is true. It is pretty damn wonderful. So wonderful in fact it takes a person's mind wondering all around until arriving at disbelief.
Love you Pumpkin,
Mommy
Dear Henry,
A weekend or so ago you had a BIG play day with MANY of Daddy's cousins' kids. David and Angie have 5 children, Jenny and Dan have 2, and Amy has 2 twin baby girls on the way due in January. We took to the road early to get to Ohio in time to play. Sarah, Jenny's daughter, was waiting so patiently for you to arrive. She liked giving you hugs and helping you play with toys.
The next day you attended Amy's shower with me. As she opened presents you tried to lick the terrazzo floor. Hey it was cool and your mouth was probably on fire with those 6 teeth bustin' their way through. Mommy was not having it and every time you got close to touchin' your tongue I put you back onto your blanket... over and over and over again. You munched on a couple of grapes and strawberries and were passed around for holding.
After the shower we went back to Ruthie's and all of the kids and semi kids and adults played with lots of toys and you were right in the middle of it all having a grand time! Ahhhh how nice it was to look over and say to myself, "Ah! that's my boy!"
I love this picture of you and the kids all sitting on the back porch at Great Aunt Ruthies'. They were all so concerned with what you were doing when Mommy would tell them that I was about to take the picture they would all look down at you. So Mommy told them that if they looked down the middle of my lens really carefully that they could see my eyeball. You can't of course but hey! ya gotta do what ya gotta do to get 7 kids to look at you.
On the ride home Daddy and Mommy figured out that we were not far from Anderson, Indiana. In Anderson is a Rax, a restaurant that had a place in Columbus while we were little. Daddy and Mommy had enjoyed it so much and then they pretty much disappeared from the Midwest. We drove 12 miles out of our way to find it in downtown Anderson and closed. Rax isn't even open on the weekends anymore. What!?! We took a couple of photos of the menu and us looking sad and continued on home. You didn't miss a beat snorin' in the back.
It was nice seeing everyone and we are so happy you are with us now.
Love, Mommy
