Deck the Halls

As heard this morning in our living room when I attempted to trim a Christmas tree assisted only by a one year old and a cat:
"Please be gentle with the ornaments."
"Please set that down... carefully."
"Carefully."
"Haley, those branches won't hold you!"
"What was wrong with that one?"
"Why is your father in the basement?"
"Can you hand that to Mommy?"
"Haley, don't eat the tree."
"Henry, don't eat the tree."
"Where are you going? We're not done."
"Well, yes, OK, you have a point. Technically, the ornament is shaped like a ball."
"I think the tree looks great with just the six ornaments - don't you?"
"I know it is before noon but it is the holiday season and eggnog isn't that potent anyway."
"Haley, don't give me that look."


(Editor's note: This post was originally composed on December 21, 2009.)

\\Z\Z\|||dsdsss'.,,.,.,.,.,,,,,,,,,,,,h ../fd.,m

is a verbatim account of Henry's first email message. He was sitting on Mike's lap yesterday and reaching for the computer keys (as usual). Mike had his Gmail account open, and, by chance, Henry randomly clicked the right combination of keys to compose a message. He must have typed a "j" and my email address automatically entered in the To field. Mike thought it was sweet that Henry's very first email message was written to his mommy.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Road Trip '09

Again, I have been a lazy blogger. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We went to Erin and Jeff's in FL for our 4th Thanksgiving in a row! I think it is now officially a tradition whether they like it or not. The drive from Atlanta, according to my new Garmin GPS unit (early Christmas gift from Mom and Dad - thank you!), should have taken 5 hours. The Garmin predicted that we would arrive at 5:33 PM but we actually arrived at 5:36 PM so, since it is clearly defective, I am sending it for a refund. Henry did remarkably well in the car on the trip to FL - he chattered and laughed and played for most of the way (see above). Since it was a road trip, we ate junk food (Goldfish crackers), listened to fun mix tapes (Science Friday podcasts), and played car games (no one but me) the whole way!

As usual, we had a great time for Thanksgiving and enjoyed a most delicious turkey and all the classic trimmings. Henry spent the weekend honing his latest achievement - walking (he is now officially a walker!). He wanted to spend every spare second walking around outside so by Thanksgiving dinner time, Henry was utterly exhausted and had a tad bit of a meltdown. After putting him in his crib, he screamed at the top of his lungs for about 90 seconds and then was out for the next 12 hours.

The return trip, however, was not as smooth and fun as the trip to FL. Henry slept solidly for first 2.5 hours of the drive home. Then, he got bored, then frustrated, then mad, and then he wailed for the final two hours of our journey home. We were stuck in the notorious Atlanta traffic for about two hours. We were so close to home yet so far. As we inched forward on the interstate, I would check our Garmin status only to find that our ETA had been pushed back 40 minutes. As time passed on the clock, I would re-check the GPS to discover that the ETA had been pushed back 40 min yet again. No matter what, we were always 40 minutes away from home - we were trapped in our own Sisyphean nightmare.

Henry on the ride home - note his glazed over expression, his apathy, his surrender.

Happy Halloween!

Henry's Aunt Amy came to visit for Halloween weekend. We were all invited to attend a neighborhood Halloween gathering - kind of a Halloween tailgate party - leading up to the main event when several of the neighborhood children went trick or treating together. Henry loved watching all of the neighborhood kids (who were a bit older than him) scampering about in their costumes. Although he had never been door to door begging for candy, Henry quickly caught on to the concept. He was reaching into the candy bowls and grabbing fistfuls of treats by the second house. Of course, he then either threw it on the ground or dropped it back into the candy bowl. I taught him to distract with his endearing babbling while grabbing the good candy -the chocolate bars - instead of wasting time on Bit o' Honeys and Tootsie Rolls. After we returned home, much like a scene from a Dickens's novel, Henry watched us eat his earnings.

Lord Vader

His costume kept him nice and warm - the night was quite cold and rainy. He hated the helmet so it was a challenge to get a picture of him in full Vader uniform.

Getting Settled In

You know how when you move and the ONE thing that you need is always in the last box you open?


The move went smoothly. Mike is enjoying his new position. Henry and I have settled in to a routine during the week. In the mornings, we have breakfast together and then we run errands, take a walk, go to the library, etc. Henry takes a nap and then I work. The babysitter arrives when Henry is waking up from his nap. She is wonderful and is here every afternoon. She gives him lunch and then the two of them play and go for walks. I work in the afternoons, a little bit the evenings and then quite a bit on the weekends. So far, we are making it work.

We live in a nice quiet neighborhood that is close to everything we could possibly need... Ace Hardware for Mike and for me - Dunkin Donuts, Steak n' Shake, Panera and, hold your breath, a TARGET within walking distance! I know, I know, who could imagine such a magical world with a Target in walking distance?

Chin chopper has relocated.

I apologize for the lapse. To say that we have been busy is an understatement. If you haven't heard yet, Chin chopper has relocated to Atlanta, GA. Although it will now be published in a different state, Chin chopper is committed to providing you with the same level of service and information that you have come to expect from the quality name brand you trust.

Happy Belated First Birthday, Henry!

Henry's first birthday beach-themed cake.
Henry before the cake.

Henry got his own cake. The bakery makes a small cake just for the baby first birthday.
Henry enjoying his cake - yes, it is all over his eye.
Surrounded by gifts.
A little overwhelmed by all of his new gifts.