Henry's birthday festivities

Henry had a week-long birthday celebration this year!  He had a party with all his little friends the weekend before his birthday - a LEGO party, of course.  

Here's the party crew - Rohit & Diya, Jack & Joe, Blake, Kyan, and Harrison.  

They ate pizza and fruit.....

.....enjoyed the Lego-colored cupcakes.....

.....played a couple Lego-themed games (he's a blur here from sprinting through the relay race).....

.....and opened presents - so much fun!  Henry's so lucky to have such a nice little group of friends :)

The day after his birthday, Auntie Sonja met us at the Mall of America, where she took him to LegoLand so he could pick out his own birthday present.  Decisions, decisions!  

We spent the weekend after his birthday with our families.  Grandma & Grandpa took Henry to the Twins game on Friday night.  They were party animals that night, staying for the entire game and fireworks afterwards!  I was waiting up until 11:30pm for my 4-year-old to arrive home :)

On Saturday, we had the Olins, Krumps, Gillespies, and Richters over for lunch.  It was the perfect day to play outside.  We busted out a new sprinkler toy for Greta and Henry to enjoy.    

Cheese!

Oh, and we can't forget about these two little peanuts.  Such good babies, as always :)

Well, we have a full-fledged 4-year-old now.  Wow!  

8 months

8 months old already, aaaahhhh!  

Let's see, what is Lydia up to right now?  We've moved past sitting and playing with one toy at a time, that's for sure.  Now, I just tip the toy bin over and let her go at it; she'll pick through all the toys to find just the right one.  She low-crawls all over the house - her favorites seem to be under the coffee table and kitchen chairs - little monkey.  She'll get up on all 4's and actually crawl for about 2 repetitions of hand/knee, hand/knee before plopping back onto her belly and scooting around that way.  She's discovered the Tupperware cupboard in the kitchen, and can be quite content going through everything in there for a while.  When we go shopping, I put her in the Bjorn.  She loves flinging her arms and legs around, smiles at everybody, and people are always smiling right back at her :)  Her tummy is super ticklish, and that's the only way I can check how many teeth are popping through in her mouth, is by tickling her!  She loves to grab Henry's hair, thinks it's hilarious, and it makes her giggle!  She loves going for walks in the stroller - it's our 8:30am outing every morning before her nap.  Bath time is a circus; I'm not sure who can splash more between Henry and Lydia.  She'll splash and giggle at herself non-stop! 

Lydia is wearing mostly 9 month clothes, but a few 6 month items still fit her.  Size 3 diapers.  Sleeps from about 7pm-7am and takes 2 good naps during the day.  She's nursing 4 times a day and eating 3 meals.  She's pretty much ok with anything I feed her (just fruits, veggies, and cereal), but I'd say her least favorite is peas still.  Wait, it's avocado - I forgot how much she does NOT like avocado lately.  I think she'd eat Cheerios all day long if I'd let her!  She has 6 or 7 teeth that are through now.  Henry was the same way, they just kept popping through, one after another.  She continues to be a very happy girl.  Oh, I love this little baby face :)

4 years old

Henry is now 4 years old!  Wow, that sounds so old to me!  I love kids' birthdays - they're so much fun!  He really had a fabulous day.  Philip took off of work for the day, the weather was sunny and beautiful, and we had a day full of fun!  

What more could a little boy ask for.....

.....breakfast in bed - he's been asking for this ever since he saw me get breakfast in bed for Mother's Day.  It was finally his turn and he loved it!  

.....all of his breakfast favorites - chocolate chip pancakes, cheesy eggs, a banana, and a big glass of milk.  

.....Legos, Legos, and more Legos - he is in LOVE with Legos!

.....t-ball started on his birthday, fun!  He's on the yellow team - they're the Stingers.

.....Wendy's - he could pick anywhere in the world to eat and this was his choice - cheeseburger & fries, of course.  

.....a water balloon fight after taking a good nap!

.....and Fro-Yo to top off the evening with Oma and Opa.  

We had such a great day.  My, how time flies!  4 years old.  

Children's Museum

We enjoyed one last 'no-group Tuesday' at the Children's Museum before the school year ended last week.  Sometimes when we go on a Tuesday, it feels like we have the place to ourselves, it's fabulous! 

We really were the only ones in the grocery store (which is normally a zoo), so Lydia was able to get in on the fun, as well!  We gave her a ride in the shopping cart.....

.....and Henry scanned her with the rest of his grocery purchases.  Don't worry, he told me he used a coupon :) 

The rooftop was open.  Henry climbed to the top of this treehouse-like-structure, where he proceeded to belt out at the top of his lungs, "Let It Go" from Frozen.  Yes, he's now into Frozen, a little late to the game.  They watched some of it during the last week of school with a popcorn party, and he knows both of his cousins LOVE Frozen, so he's into it now and asks to watch "the Elsa video" on YouTube when we eat breakfast in the mornings.   

Just walking around like a monster during "Big Healthy Fun!"

Here was his chalk creation he made up on the rooftop.  

#selfie

summer has arrived

We've been loving these warm and sunny days around here!  Phil and Henry took the fishing rod out for the first time this weekend.  Henry caught 9 whoppers (as you can see) in about 30 minutes.  I'd say it was a successful day!  

We've gone on a few outings lately with Henry's buddy, Blake, that lives across the street.  We found a hidden little gem the other day, Golden Lake Park, in Circle Pines.  There's a very nice park, tennis courts, picnic tables, a dock to fish from, and this beach.  We practically had the beach to ourselves for 2 hours!  Blake's mom, Lydia, and I sat underneath this huge tree that kept us shaded while the boys played hard in the sand!  It was a great morning :) 

Last week, we took the kiddos to Como Zoo.  The 'Sparky the Seal' show is up and running for the summer :)