Big Shoes to Fill!

I snapped these pictures of Henry a few weeks ago before my camera bit the dust! Ignore, my oven covered with sticky fingerprints. The good news is that Canon has an incredible loyalty program and a fabulous camera is on the way to me. Can't wait! It's tough to make do with an iPhone for a camera after becoming accustomed to my big camera.

Henry loves to try on Carl's shoes. It's so adorable to see my sweet little buddy toddling around in those enormous shoes. Henry has big shoes to fill to be like his Daddy.

Make Cookies Monday

It's Make Cookies Monday! I love when other bloggers come up with themes for me to follow because it makes blogging so much easier for me. We love cookies so this easy!

Evie liked unwrapping the kisses.

Henry learned real quick how to dunk a cookie in his Mama's milk.

 We attended a birthday party this morning and this Mama ate two cupcakes because they were homemade. YUMMY! I was not really feeling the idea of making cookies but Evie was pumped. Obviously, it was not worth changing the plan and I did indulge in one tiny cookie to make Evie happy. Now, that's one part of motherhood that is especially wonderful. Eating cookies alone is not fun for anyone so I am happy to join in the fun with my Sweet Girl.

We used Pillsbury Reese Cup cookies and then added a Hershey Kiss on top. Not sure what happened but they did turn out exactly as planned but we had fun which is what really matters.

Henry enjoyed the cookies after his nap too. He quickly caught on to dunking cookies with some careful observation of big sister.

See you again next Monday!

Weekend Wrap-up!

We had such a fantastic weekend! Nothing much on the agenda except being together.

Saturday: I was about to have a fit to get our house cleaned. It was driving me crazy! Carl took Evie with him to run some errands while I stayed home with Henry. He took a nap and I was able to get so much done. It made me feel so much better. Carl took the kids outside to play with Campbell and Christian which gave me the chance to catch up on the laundry. Evie wanted to have a tea-party at her table. Henry decided to join us too. Evie selected our menu of mango slices, baby carrots, goldfish and Cheez-its! Carl grilled split-chicken breast on his new charcoal grill that were just delicious. We put the kids to bed early and enjoyed a lazy night on the sofa.

Sunday: Henry woke us up at 8 and then Evie woke up shortly after. It's so nice when they sleep late and gets our day off to such a good start. I made Canadian bacon sandwiches for breakfast that were quite yummy. We read the paper, enjoyed some family time and drank plenty of coffee. Carl took Henry running. Evie and I played in her room with the dollhouse. I took off to run some birthday errands while Henry napped. Evie is turning 4 next week which is just so hard to believe. She was so excited to see all the pink and yellow decorations for her Belle party. Carl turned Henry facing-forward in the Odyssey and we took a family trip to the Harris Teeter. Henry was so proud to be sitting forward and we are so glad that he made it to 18 months. I realize that the recommendation is 2 years but we feel good about about making it this long. We will be taking a 12 hour car trip in February and thought this would make it much easier. Carl must be so thankful that he does not make weekly grocery trips with us. He's probably especially thankful for Harris Teeter Express Lane. Both kids were great - they just love grocery shopping just like their Mama. Evie is allowed to select one item and this week she chose ice cream sandwiches. Smart girl! We came home and had snacks for dinner which is always a hit around here. That pretty much sums up our weekend.

Hope y'all had a terrific weekend too!

Henry is 18 Months!

Ugh, still cannot upload my pictures to Blogger!

Dear Henry,

   You are 18 months old today and are such a big boy. Anything that moves, rolls or has buttons is captivating including the dishwasher. You are afraid of the vacuum cleaner but love to play with the alarm clock. Sometimes, you even set the alarm for the middle of the night.

You are a good sleeper going down between 6:30 and 7:30 and waking up between 7:00 and 8:00 most mornings. Of course, you still throw a few curve balls at us just to make sure we do not get too comfortable in this routine. You are quite clingy upon waking up both in the morning and at nap time. It takes about thirty minutes for you to warm up. Mama still does a lot with just one hand.

You weigh about 22 pounds and wear 12 month pants but 18 month longalls. It seems like your bottom does not have enough padding to hold up your pants. We really need to get you a belt so you can wear some of your pants.

You make big messes in the kitchen all day long. Snack time, meal time, playing in the pantry time. You like cereal with milk for breakfast. Lunch is usually a cereal bar, some fruit and yogurt. Dinner is whatever we are having with a side of something kid friendly like mango or more yogurt. You would snack all day if we'd let you and have already developed a real sweet tooth. Some favorite snacks are goldfish, carrots, yogurt raisins and mandarin oranges. You really love cookies especially chocolate cookies. Smart boy, Henry!

You had tubes last week and we can already tell that your hearing is much better. It's so funny to see you try to move your tongue and the look of surprise when new sounds come out. You say "Mama" all day and are a real Mama's boy. It's cute at 18 months and I'd love it forever but I am sure you will move on long before I am ready.

You entertain yourself quite well with toys and the contents of any cabinet that you can get your hands inside. I am still going on a treasure hunt every morning for my hairbrush and it's not unusual to find my lipstick or necklaces in your room.

You are definitely a boy but it's cute to see you mimic Evie's behavior with dolls and other fun stuff like those necklaces or make up brushes. You look so adorable appplying brush, blowing your nose or putting lotion on your legs. It's obvious that you are soaking it all in even though you are not saying much.

Evie still adores you and it is so special to see you forming such a wonderful bond with your sister. Evie will be here long after we are gone and it's important to always continue to share life with her. Life is more fun with family! It makes my heart so full to see you two sitting together, hodling hands in the car, or even getting shoes on. Evie makes it her special project to take care of you and one day you will take care of her too.

Tantrums have arrived and it's so sad to see you throw your little body on the ground and scream. I've learned to just let you have your tantrum and then you come trotting to find me when you are done.

You are still very laid-back and we can take you anywhere with ease which makes life much easier.

Some of your favorites in no particular order: music, dancing, bath time, playing with phones, pushing the grocery cart, knocking down block towers, drawing, reading books and snacking.

You do not like being left behind if we leave you to go outside or run an errand. You insist on taking a shower each and every time the shower turns on. You see no issue with throwing food down with force if it does not suit you. You like your stuff and always have something in your hand.  If Evie is on my lap, then you need to be there too!

Henry, you are such a special boy. We love your infectious giggle, constant cuddles, soft skin, sweet breath and the way you feel so safe with us. There's nothing better than your sweet head laying on our shoulder. It makes everything else disappear which means we spend lots of time hanging out together.

We think you are just amazing and are so happy to spend our days with you in our family. It just keeps getting better Sweet Boy.

Love Always,

Mama and Daddy

Week in Review: New Year, Playdates and Ears

It has been a fantastic week! I was a little worried that so much time at home with the kids would become a bit repetitive but we had a good time together.

Monday: Henry went to get his tubes done. Carl and I picked up Wild Wings for dinner and none of us made it to midnight.

Tuesday: We had a great New Years Day!

Wednesday: Carl left bright and early to head out to Montana for work. I bundled up the kids and headed to the YMCA. Too much eating out and too many sweets over the holidays means a little extra time at the gym. Later in the day,I worked on the glorious mess that is not so glorious anymore. It's so hard to get everything put away after Christmas! Maybe, I will get it done before the end of the month but even that seems like a lofty goal right now. Between Christmas decorations, closet changeovers, new toys and general household duties that I let slip during the craziness of the season - my house is just a mess!

Thursday: Kristin and her kids came over for lunch. I made my favorite potato soup and the kids played so well together until the end when Henry took a little nibble out of Anna. We are so sorry about that Anna! Evie and Jacob spent a lot of time on the slip and slide which cracked us up since it's so cold outside. Of course, they found a $5 toy more entertaining than anything else in our house. I took a little snooze with Henry while Evie created more mess upstairs.

Friday: Henry woke up so early but finally went back to sleep. It's very rare for him to wake up after Evie so it was nice to just have Evie for a little bit.We went to a friends house for a play date with a few Mama's and had so much fun. Our friend is just tickled pink right now and we are so excited for another set of pigtails to be running around here real soon. Evie is even jumping for joy that a baby girl is on the way. She really wants a baby sister but that's not happening anytime soon so maybe this will do the trick. Carl arrived home around lunchtime. Two nights away is not bad at all. I am usually going crazy when it's 4 nights but I can handle two nights. We were all excited to see him! It seemed like the perfect night to head out for dinner so we decided to go to Mellow Mushroom. YUMMY! Evie and Henry were so well-behaved in the restaurant and it was downright enjoyable plus my kitchen stayed clean. That's a win-win! We all took down the tree after dinner which is bittersweet. Carl is super fast at dismantling the tree and Henry seized the opportunity to nibble on a few more ornaments. It's been a terrific start to our weekend.

Happy Friday, Y'all!

Henry's New Ears!

Before surgery. 

Hamming it up! 

Cuddles with Daddy after arriving home.

Nurse Evie! 

Back in Business! 

Henry is doing just fine with his tubes or as Evie says his new ears. Everyone keeps asking me if it was life-changing surgery because apparently for many it is life changing. Henry already sleeps through the night so that has not changed. We have noticed that he trying to talk a lot and Evie is convinced that Henry called her Sister. He is also much more aware of sound. Even the hum of the fridge or the the gate shutting at the top of the stairs.

I always want to know the details so here is the scoop. Henry has been sick a lot in the last two or three months. He has been on more antibiotics in those short months than Evie has been on in her entire life. Pretty crazy considering Evie will be 4 this month.

Two weeks ago, Henry had lots of green drainage. I did not take him to the doctor. It kept getting worse but no fever or anything out of the ordinary. I kept him home from school on Thursday and then by Friday we decided that a visit to the pediatrician was in order.

Carl took him to the doctor and found out that he had a double ear infection and had ruptured his ear drum. Of course, I felt like Mom of the Year!

Dr. B put him on an oral and topical medication. He seemed better at first. Then, on Christmas Eve, Henry was really fussy. Carl noticed a lot of discharge from his ear. Of course, that was concerning so we did what any modern parent would do and did a Google search. Christmas Day, was better and then worse. Nothing really changed.

Wednesday morning, I called the triage nurse and she told me to bring him in just to be sure that he was okay. Dr. B was booked so we saw another doctor. He changed Henry's antibiotic and referred Henry to an ENT. I exaggerated Henry's case a bit to get him an appointment with the ENT and felt a tad guilty. Long story short, I took him to the ENT on Friday morning. Henry failed his hearing test - just slightly but it still was alarming. The ENT that I had the appointment with was out of the office so they worked me in with another physician. Dr. Mullins took a quick look inside Henry's ears. He told me that there are bad ears and there are really bad ears. Henry had really bad ears. Dr. Mullins told me that if he had seen me the day before that Henry would have had the surgery on Friday but that it was fine to wait until Monday. Everything got pretty crazy at this point. Henry was not happy to be in the office without any toys and snacks were not allowed. He was mad and let us all know it. The nurses scrambled around to find Henry a spot at the surgery center for Monday and everyone seemed to think this was so urgent. All of this was a bit shocking but I left the office feeling good about the procedure.

Henry was miserable all weekend. Lots of crying and nothing would make him happy. Not even chocolate! I was nervous about the anesthesia part of the surgery but felt better when I found out that adults can have tubes put in right in the office. Toddler's are moving targets and the opening is so tiny in the ear canal that it is imperative that the toddler is sedated.

I had to wake Henry up about 6:00 - one of a handful of times that I had to wake him up rather than him waking me up. He seemed a bit disoriented but in a good mood. We arrived at the surgery center at 6:30 and I am so thankful to have such excellent medical facilities in such close proximity to my house. We checked in, met with the nurses, filled out paperwork etc. By 7:30, he was being whisked away for his procedure slightly ahead of schedule. The anesthesiologist carried Henry and Bun Bun back to the operating room with the nurse. They told me that Henry did not cry at all until he woke up in the recovery room in a strange crib. The nurses had told me that Henry would be really upset after the surgery and not because of the pain but because of the anesthesia. They were correct - Henry was ticked off. We were on the way home by 8:15. My phone was going crazy with calls, texts and emails about Henry and he was already en route to our house. So reassuring to have so many supportive friends and family members lifting us up in prayer and sending kind thoughts our way.

Evie had just woken up when we walked in the door so it worked out well for Carl to stay home with Evie. Several people had told me that their child was back to normal right when they got home so that is what I had expected. Henry spent most of the day on my lap and barely ate a thing. He's back to himself now but a happier version of himself. I'd highly recommend tubes for anyone that either has recurrent ear infections or that is experiencing resistance to the antibiotics.

It was easy, effective and worth the tiny hassle to help my sweet baby feel better!

Happy New Year!

It really is 2013- that seems so hard to believe! New Year's Day is always anticlimactic for me and not my favorite day. I have finally learned this about myself and had a plan to get out for a bit alone. It worked and it's been a fantastic day.

Henry and Evie both slept until 8 which is always a treat. We had a lazy day at home with lots of football, pretend play and eating too much.

Carl made Paula Dean Greens that were just divine. Not healthy at all but divine! Evie requested that we sit in the dining room for our New Years meal so that was easy enough. We devoured our Southern New Years dinner of pork tenderloin prepared on Carl's new charcoal grill, Hoppin' John, those yummy greens, cornbread and my favorite southern veggie - Macaroni and Cheese.

It was a good start to 2013! Can't wait to see what this year brings for our family. Happy New Year to you all!