Memorial Day weekend

The weather was absolutely beautiful for our Memorial Day weekend this year, warm and sunny!  On Saturday, we went over to St. Cloud for a couple hours for Phil's cousin's high school graduation party.  It was nice for us to see many of his relatives, especially Old Papa.   

How cute, Lydia and Old Papa are playing Kitty House together!

This is the best pic I could get of this wild child and that wild child!  Oh, they are something else when they get together :)

We enjoyed our first dinner out on the deck on Sunday night!  

On Monday, we went to a BBQ at the neighbor's house.  The kids were busy for a couple hours with the water toys!  

Cute, cute, cute kiddos!

last day of school

Henry had his last day of Preschool this week.  Poor kid was super bummed about it.  Obviously he didn't really understand why school was over, and I get that.  Phil and I are so happy that he's bummed about it, actually, because that just shows how much he enjoys it, which is a great thing.  I told his teacher that he was truly excited to go to school every single day this year.  I put in a request that she be his teacher again next year.  I figure, if he's that pumped for school, why not keep the momentum going?!  

One of their final projects were these Pete the Cat t-shirts they got to make.  I was "the teacher's helper" as Henry called it that day they were making them, so I had my work cut out for me.  Henry would ask me numerous times throughout the year if I could be "the teacher's helper" in school that day as I would be driving him there.  I know the day will soon come when he'll be embarrassed of me always being around, so I sure loved getting to help out in his class this year! 

Here he is with Ms. Stacie and Ms. Sara.

Flashback to Preschool orientation with his teachers 9 months ago.  He looks so little here!

They had a little open house with ice cream for his last day of school.  I snapped a few pics of him with his buddies.  Speaking of "buddies,"  Henry calls his teachers his buddies, also - too cute.  This is Natae, poor guy broke this arm this weekend at the park.

Here is AJ.  He lives near us, so these two will be seeing each other this summer.  AJ was Henry's inspiration to start riding his big boy bike.  One day this Spring we had planned to go on a walk/bike ride with AJ and his mom.  Well, AJ shows up with a 2-wheeled big boy bike and Henry was on his balance bike (which he wasn't the biggest fan of, at first).  That's the day we made our sticker chart - 30 days of practicing on the balance bike - and now Henry's riding his big boy bike too!  

This is Nolan, a fellow Lego lover.  Nolan is quite a bit older than Henry.  Nolan will be going to Kindergarten this fall.  Henry sure did look up to Nolan, thought he was the "coolest kid in the class!"  

Ms. Stacie and Ms. Sara have told me many times that Henry is just the sweetest little boy in class and plays with absolutely everybody, which makes me so happy to hear that (as he's not always so sweet and innocent at home with me, ha).  They've said they appreciate his "love for learning and love for his classmates!"

See ya next fall!  

7 months

Miss Lydia is 7 months old now, wow!  I really can't say enough about how sweet she is.  That smile is ALWAYS there!  Here's my "smile" story - Today, when she was napping, I had to wake her up from her beauty sleep to go pick up Henry from school.  She was out of it for a second when I picked her up from her crib, but instantly she gave me a huge smile, drowsy eyes and all.  I know I'm not that happy when somebody wakes me up :)  

She decided to start this screaming/squawking thing last week, doesn't seem to be in response to anything, just at random times, not sure if she likes the sound or what?  I had to take her out of church 3 times because of that crazy squawk!  The lady behind us told us afterwards, "You have a beautiful family and that little girl has a beautiful voice!"  

Lydia's wearing 6-9 month clothing, and moved up to size 3 diapers.  Weight: 16 lbs, 9 ozs (~45th %ile).  She's sleeping through the night now, from about 7pm-7am, taking 2 good naps each day.  She's nursing 4-5 times a day along with 2-3 meals of solids, as well.  Let's see, what has Lydia been eating - bananas, avocado, carrots, squash, peas, apples, mango, sweet potato...I'd say her least favorite would be peas (just like that brother when he was a baby), otherwise is ok with everything else.  Still has just those 2 little teeth on the bottom.  

Lydia, you LOVE to watch that big brother of yours!  You can now reach out of your carseat and I busted you grabbing at his jacket the other day, then you'd giggle when he'd rip it out of your hands.  Everyday, we try to get outside for a walk and then Henry either bikes or rides his scooter - you don't even play with toys, as you just love to sit in the stroller and take it all in.  You're almost "mobile" and I'm getting a little scared about it.  You can roll all over the place, turn around in circles on your tummy,  scoot backwards, get up on your hands & knees, and sit up pretty well (I still won't leave you alone if you're sitting on the hard floor, but on the carpet I trust you).

Here's a picture from our outing the other day to the Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul.  We went for storytime and then over to Bread & Chocolate for a treat, yum yum!    

Mother's Day weekend

The weekend started and ended on high notes, with one big bummer in the middle.  Overall, the weather was fine and we had lots of time to play outside, so that's always a win!  

On Saturday morning, we went to our Godson, Jack, and his brother, Joe's birthday parties at the Firefighters Hall & Museum in NE Minneapolis. As you can see here, he was all business in his firefighter suit. The highlight was definitely getting to take a ride in a fire truck.....2 rides.....one in the way back and one up front. He was torn, just couldn't decide which ride he liked better :)

Now for the big bummer of the weekend :(  When got home from church on Saturday night, Henry put on his helmet & sunglasses and got on his bike (as he normally does every time he gets outside).  Well, the poor guy took a sharp turn in the driveway and spun right down to the ground, face first.  His chin, lips, nose, and eyebrow took the beating.  We decided to take him into the Children's Hospital ER to get the cut above his eye fixed up.  He needed a couple stitches.  This was our first encounter with Children's Hospital - they are absolutely wonderful.  They're in the business of helping kids and they do it VERY well.  They certainly didn't have the easiest little boy to deal with that night, and I thank them for their patience and compassion with him.  Crazy fact - Children's Hospital stitches up 4,000 lacerations each year, with the most common age group of kiddos being 2-5.  Just in the couple hours we were there, we saw 2 other kids around Henry's age that were both getting cuts on their faces stitched up, as well!  Well, we got the first trip to the ER out of the way, and I'm sure it won't be the last with this crazy boy :)

Thankfully, Sunday morning he was ready to get out on his bike for a ride around the lake.  He didn't even think twice about getting back on it, and I'm so happy about that!

Mother's Day

It was a great start to the day, as this delicious breakfast was delivered to me, bright and early.  I do love my new coffee mug I got :)  Henry was sad he didn't get to eat breakfast in his bed, so I shared with him.  Now he's pumped for his birthday, because I told him I'd make him breakfast-in-bed on his special day!  

This is how we spent the morning, in bed, playing, watching cartoons, relaxing, gotta love it!

Phil grilled up a lovely brunch - it really was yummy - ham & pineapple skewers, cheesy eggs, grilled bananas & raspberries with ice cream.

my beautiful table decorations - truck and flower pot were painted by Henry :)

Again, we spent the afternoon outside (with a trip for frozen yogurt, too) playing.  That helmet of Henry's was really giving her the giggles, haha :)

A Happy Mother's Day it was, indeed!

gotta clean off my phone

Here are a few pics from my phone.....

I've converted my bike trailer into a double stroller.  I don't think I'll need to use it a ton, but it'll be nice to have when I do need it.  Most of the time around the neighborhood, I'm able to use the single stroller for Lydia while Henry rides his bike - which, by the way, he is getting way too fast on his balance bike and I have a hard time keeping up with him!    

Last weekend, we finally got to the park with both kiddos.  Between the crummy weather we've had this spring and having an infant who needs to eat/sleep quite a bit, it hasn't been the easiest to get to the park yet!

Not sure why Lydia was flinging her arms around excessively during dinner the other night, but this was the result.  Most nights, I don't even need a bib on her, well, not this night.  She had peas crusted to her head, I mean, her bangs :)

California

Lydia and I went on a little vacay to Cali last weekend, just us girlies!  She was a fabulous traveler, with EVERYBODY commenting on her huge smile and bright blue eyes wherever we went :)  

First things first - a bathroom selfie at the airport!

When we arrived, my sister picked us up from the airport and we spent the afternoon walking around Sea Port Village before heading to their house.  It was a bit on the windy side, as you can tell. 

Three exhausted babies on the car ride home :)

We really didn't do too much, other than hang out and play, perfect.  Jack reminds me sooooo much of Henry at this age (17 months) - those crazy little boys, how they love to climb on and get into everything!  Riley is in love with her beautiful princesses :)

It was cold and raining terribly back home, so this view was quite nice for me :)

Lydia got to bust out her summer clothes and sunglasses for a few days, yay!

And now to our trip home.....with a lovely airplane blowout!  Oh, Lydia, she majorly blew out her diaper just before takeoff.  It's quite a workout to do a whole wardrobe change along with a baby-wipe-bath in an airplane bathroom.  We both were sweating after that one!  After that event, she slept like a champ for the whole 3+ hour flight home.  She had to rest up, couldn't wait to see that big brother of hers again, me too :)