The Cookie Caper

Dear Henry, 
I caught you!
Stealin' cookies off of a plate at Crappaw and Grandma P's.
You're mobile now...so I'm sure I'll catch you at a few other things too.

I see it!

I take it!

I eat it!

You caught me!

Love,  Mommy

Snow on My Hands

Dear Henry, 
The 26th and 27th of December brought LOTS of snow.  As cold as it was Mommy could not resist having you experience the snow for at least a couple of minutes.  So we took you outside of Crappaw and Grandma P's to sit on a towel on the porch, for like three minutes.  You liked being out in the cool air after being stuck in the house for a couple of days.  You usually do this.  When I take you out in the cool air you always smile at me a babble a little, then give it a minute or two and you start to look a little panicky as if to say, "Holy Cow MOM! IT IS COLD!"   You touched at the snow tentatively, checking it out.  Crappaw wadded you up your first snowball and put it in your hands.  You explored it with your mouth smiling and babbling a bit then throwing it down.  You sat there until Daddy rescued you and cuddled you up on his lap.

 

 

About the time Daddy was bringing you inside out runs cousin Johnny who just had enough time to search out his shoes, jacket and hat.  He looked bummed that he just made it so Mommy went and walked through the white woods with him.  It lasted 3 minutes exactly.  I know because I looked at the time stamp on the first and last photos I took of him.  Hahaha! I said it was cold!

 

It is always sweet watching your new assimilation to the world.  What a gift.
Love, Mommy

Grandma La Jean and Great Grandma Hazel's Christmas Extravaganza

Dear Henry, 
The joy and decked halls were aplenty at Gma LaJean's this year.  Mommy is pretty sure she was just way excited to have you, her first grand baby, with her for his first Christmas.  We started out with our yummy traditional Christmas brunch.  Get a load of this!  Blueberry pancakes with whipped cream, sausage gravy and biscuits, mimosas, an egg and vegetable casserole, and homemade applesauce!  It is delicious every year.  Last year right after finishing up we sat down and told them all that you might be on the way...the only thing is in the morning we were talking with one woman looking for a family for her baby and by the evening when we got to Crappaw and Grandma P's we were speaking with your birth mother, J.  It is crazy how quickly things can change!   I apologize, as I neglected to mention that Mommy went a little overboard in her preparations to go over to Gma LaJean's.  This summer when I was uh-garage-sale-n I found a baby Santa outfit for a buck.  As the season rolled around it just fit you therefore I made you wear it over to Gma LaJean's.  It is a little ridiculous and I promise this will be the only Christmas for such indulgences...but... 1. you couldn't say a thing about it and 2. it was waaaay too cute not to.

Mommy spaced bringing along your booster seat, distracted by insuring your Santa hat was on straight.  Great Grandma Hazel declared that all we needed was a large towel to tie you into the chair.  So this is what we did!  Your eyes lit up as the food piled onto the table and Daddy made certain you had your fill of whatever you desired.  You squealed and cheered for more and more.  It was certainly delicious!

 

After brunch we gathered in the living room to open presents.  Auntie Kristin always plays Santa Claus and delivers the presents to everyone.  Grandma LaJean and Great Grandma Hazel's tradition for opening presents is everyone gets their big pile and then we go around the room opening each gift one at a time and then we pour out our stockings.  This spreads it out longer and everyone gets to see what everyone else has gotten.  At Crappaw's and Grandma P's we always open quickly and then show and tell everyone what we've gotten.  It is nice to have variations.   

Grandma LaJean bought you a lot of awesome things including but not limited to jammies, onesies, little shapes with animals inside, all of Daddy's old books, Vintage Sesame Street DVD, and an awesome Tonka push truck that plays a nice beat when the engine is running.  The truck beat sends you into a stylish dancing frenzy EVERY time it comes on.  

 

Auntie Krispy went crazy at the Indianapolis Value Villages buying up all the greatest gently used toys.  She found a little box that you push shapes into and then reach in to take them out to do it all over again, cool little shoes, vests and shirts, a drum machine, books and even a kit to make your very own marshmallow peeps!  Holy cow!  Great Grandma Hazel showed some restraint and picked you out the softest little reindeer and gave you a card with some cash to buy whatever you might still need after all of the Christmas paper settles.  You pull out that soft reindeer and snuggle it just about everyday.  The drum machine is your constant companion with your favorite song being the B52's instrumental rendition of Love Shack.  You also decided to temporarily steal the Roller Derby doll that Mommy made for Auntie Krispy.  

A really successful first Christmas!  I was grateful to be with family.   I am grateful you are a part of it.  You ended the afternoon with a snooze in Great Grandma Hazel's arms.

Love, Mommy

Up on the Roof Top...Click Click Click

Dear Henry!
Christmas!  Daddy and Mommy were so psyched to have our first Christmas with you!  While at first our moods were tempered by the loss of Great Aunt Judy we promptly got in the spirit when we started handing out presents.  The three of us had a little celebration at home together.  The next morning we went to Grandma LaJean's and Great Grandma Hazel's for our traditional breakfast.  Then later that evening we went to Crappaw's and Grandma P's.  -More on that later.

We divvied out all the presents, admired our huge piles for the budget we maintained for so many goodies and started the opening.  

 

You were unsure at first of what to do.  We showed you on a couple of ours but then when we put a present in front of you there was a disconnect.  Instead of opening your own you would crawl to our stacks and take one of ours.  When we finally got you to leave your mits off of our presents you starting seeing that exciting things can come in these boxes and you were ready to start seeing what was inside.

Grandpa Tim couldn't be with us during Christmas but he wasn't going to let your first Christmas go by unnoticed.  He sent a huge box of goodies for us.  You loved peeking into the box and you saw the brightly colored activity package for you and went nuts pulling things out left and right.  You swung around the number cards and kept flipping them over because there were images on both sides.  I thought maybe you were making sure that when you turned it over the image didn't go away.  There were books there for the tub and everything.  Not to mention one of your most favorite type of books is the touchy feely books and you really enjoyed the Tractor book.  Grandpa Tim sent Mommy a new lens!  It is super awesome and I think he just wants to encourage me to take and post as many photos of you as possible.  Daddy got a new heater to stay warm.  You enjoy this too and try to shake it off of the table every chance you get.  

 

Mommy and Daddy had gathered a few things for you too.  We found this really cool gear thing.  You can arrange and stack gears and you push a button for a larger central gear and the board lights up and spins the main gear.  If you set it up correctly all of your gears spin.  You get great delight trying to pull gears off or put them on while it is still spinning.  You also enjoyed the vibrating truck.  You carry it around with you every day.  Finally, we got you a pounding bench.  It is shaped like a little bed with four worm head sticking up.  When you pound on one and knock it down another one pops up.  This sent you in to a frenzy of flying arms and squealing tones.  It has taken you a few days but you now seem to understand how to hit the worm on the head.  Some times you will just chuckle when I show it to you.  It is clear you think those little worms bright eyes and smiles are kind of cute.  Their cuteness does not keep you from wackin' the crap out of their heads however.  Mommy made you a stocking with your name on it.  Each year I plan to add something to the front of it.  You seemed to love the stocking.  

First you pulled out a little horse.  You waved him around in the air a bit but became distracted when you saw a bag of yogurt bites still snug in your stocking.  You grabbed them out and gave us a pleading face to open them quickly.  With yogurt bites melting on your tongue you were able to move on to the next thing some Christmas socks and a cute little book with a lovely accompanying CD.  You love them music on this CD and surprisingly Mommy and Daddy do to.  We listen to it at least once a day.  

Your favorite stocking gift was the little light that Mommy kept shutting off when it got to your mouth.  We played with this for quite a while.  As we looked at our booty strewn out across the room you went to the pile of boxes and paper.  We were not surprised as it has been previously established, you love boxes!

It was a great evening together.  It met all of our wildest dreams that a year ago we did not quiet yet know were about to come into fruition.  I think Daddy had the same thoughts that I had the entire time, "Is this real?!  Here we are with our coolest little boy!"   Daddy videoed nearly every second of it.


Love you baby Peep Peep,
Mommy 

You loved the paper and all of the boxes.

Shake Your Maracas

Dear Henry, 
While listening to Loretta Lynn's Christmas Album from 19 something something 70's you and Daddy worked hard at shakin' your maracas!  Aye! Aye! Aye!
It was a lot of fun to watch.  I snapped these couple of shots.
I will not include the photo of Grandma P shaking her maracas behind me trying to get you to smile per her request.  It is better this way Henry because she looks a little crazy.  I promised I would not publish the photo but I did not promise that I would not describe it. I loved seeing you and Papa dance by our Christmas tree to one of my all time favs Ms. Lynn.  Life just keeps getting better.

 

  Love, Mommy

Cousins for Christmas

Dear Henry, 
I wanted to share a photo of you and Cousin Anthony.  We were so happy to get to spend some time with him before he went to visit his Mom.  He was able to open his presents with us.  Anthony is hardly a kid anymore but he is closer to your age than Mommy or Daddy and certainly Grandma P or Crappaw so you were drawn to him.  You watched him and followed him.  It is fun to see you so happy. 

Love, Mommy