Day 4 :: Folly Beach SC

We made it! The house is amazing. The ocean is incredible and we are having a great time. Henry loves playing in the sand.

Day 3 :: Asheville NC, part 2

After dinner we headed out to the pool. Can you believe this was Henry's first time in a real pool? We couldn't wait to experience it with him and he was excited too...I could barely get his suit on with all the squirms and attempted escapes. It was a hot day today but the water was too cold. Henry only made it in up to his waist before he was ready to get out. We checked out the hot-tub and it was perfect. It was huge and the temperature was more like a luke-warm tub than a hot-tub. And there were bubbles...what more could a little guy ask for. We are hoping for a good rest tonight and then tomorrow it's beach time!!!

Day 3 :: Asheville NC, part 1

Wow. The Smoky Mountains are beautiful. The drive was fun too, a nice change of pace from the sort of straight shot-highway driving up to that point. I sat in the back with Henry and we played and played and played (a Henry quote from a phone call he had this evening with my friend Emily. Emily- What did you do today Henry? Henry- I sat in the back with Mama and we played and played and played. ) We enjoyed the occasional stomach drop as the car took a curve or went down a hill unexpectedly. Although other than that Henry really wasn't too interested in the drive. He was focused on the playing.

Tonight is our first night in a hotel. We got a room with two beds so that we could set Henry up in the middle. We put all those extra pillows to good use.
And....got a little creative with the pointy corners. You never can be too safe with an accident prone little Bean like ours.

Day 2 :: Louisville KY

We arrived in Louisville a little before 7:00. The time change and the fact that we hung around the zoo about a half hour too long, had us there a little later than we planned but we should have known better than to worry because Fannie took great care of us. She made a fantastic vegetarian lasagna, bread, salad and a grape desert that I forgot to get to the recipe for, but I will on the way back because it was great. It was really nice to have a home cooked meal after eating out the past 3 meals. We were both commenting on how much we missed eating home cooked meals and then, sure enough, Fannie delivered. After dinner we visited for a while on her back porch and enjoyed the sunset. Kentucky is so beautiful...so many hills and trees for us Kansas folks.

Day 1 :: Saint Louis MO

We got a late start today (big surprise) but ended up in Saint Louis by 6:30. We headed out to dinner with my Aunt Peggy and cousins Megan and Kyle. Henry did not take a nap in the car but he did pretty well other than that. He colored a lot, watched Blue's Clues, listened to The Wheels on the Bus, read books and even played with blocks. After we survived the long drive our only other concern was bed time. Considering that this was his first overnight in a new place we thought he did great and it helped that Peggy was very understanding and gracious so we were very comfortable. Overall a good, confidence building first leg of the journey. There are a lot of cool things for kids to do in Saint Louis, we had a hard time narrowing it down but when we heard there was a train at the zoo our minds were made up. The wait was long but Henry did great. He jumped up and down in line yelling "I'm so excited. I'm so excited."
We didn't have much time after the train so we only got to check out a few animals before we hand to hit the road. Off to Louisville.

Vacation

We have checked out library books about it. We have driven over the lake to talk about boats and bodies of water. We have packed our favorite toys and bought new swim shorts and flip-flops. We have coloring books and car games and Henry’s favorite music on cd. We even practiced using our bucket and shovels for sandcastles in the bath. Now it is time to take our little man on his first vacation. Now it is time to go go go… So a special “Thank you!” to our house sitters-don’t worry if you set off the alarm, we did it 4 times when we first bought the house- the cops are used to it. And a “Thank you” to Fananna and Aunt Peggy for putting us up for two nights and taking a chance with an untraveled 2 year old house guest. And finally a “Thank you” to my parents for a million-zillion things that I couldn’t even begin to list out in this post- we’ll send you guys an itemized thank you note when we get back :)

Little Artist

I think Henry has discovered the joy of creating something with his hands. We spend most of yesterday doing creative work. We painted, played with playdough, and colored all over Gigi and Grandpa's back porch with pink chalk. His favorite activity was painting. He was so focused that plane could have landed on our yard and he wouldn't have noticed. It was a great way to use our old pizza boxes that were sitting in the recycling bin. I posted more pictures of his painting adventures here.

A new world

Henry's imagination is blossoming. In fact, it is growing so fast we can barely keep up with it. Yesterday morning as he galloped around the room, he told me "I'm a cowboy riding over the choo-choo tracks." "Where are you going Henry?" I asked. "I'm going to the beach. Bye." and he galloped into the dining room. After a few trips around the table he headed back to me. "Oh hi" I said "Are you back from the beach?" He squinted one eye and looked up at me "No Mama. Arrrrrrrrrr matey. I'm a pirate." And he was off again.
In addition to the multiple personalities (smile) Henry also likes to converse with everyone and everything. Trees, cars, flowers, shoes, food...you name it. He will walk up to a car headlight in the parking lot and say "Hello light. How you?" Last night we potted some geraniums for the front porch and Henry was friendly with each plant. "Hello white flower. How you? Good. I smell you flower."

In other news we are gearing up for our vacation. This weekend we are doing all the last minute stuff, which means pretty much everything because in our house we don't plan ahead very well. We need swim trunks and stuff to do in the car. Anyone know any fun car games for kiddos?

Buds

Henry went on his first convertible ride this evening. He was a little nervous at first. It helped that he had his buds there-Grandpa, Mr. Boogles and Scooby Doo. After a little pep talk from Grandpa we were off. It didn't talk long for Henry to relax and enjoy the ride. He talked about his convertible ride the rest of the evening. Thanks Gigi and Grandpa.

Serious

I am fairly sure that this kid could sit and watch "choo-choos" all day. As you can tell from his face, he takes it pretty seriously. This picture was taken while watching our third train in a row last night and as we walked back to our house Henry told us to turn around because he could hear another one.

Pink and Green

Pink and green are Henry's favorite colors. In fact, yesterday he got to pick his ice cream after he got his stitches out and his choice was "pink and green" ...or as most people would call it "strawberry and mint chocolate chip". Anyway, you can imagine how thrilled he was when the peony bush by our back door opened to reveal a rich, bright pink blossom. Henry has to touch and smell this flower every time we pass by. Then he points out all the other buds and predicts that they will also be pink flowers. "Dis one and dis one and dis one....they all pink bossums. I love pink and green, Mama. These are so good."

Check-up

Henry had his 30 month check up on Tuesday. It went well. He insisted on the doctor checking his ears and reminded her at least 4 times that in the cabinet below the sink there was stuff Just for doctors..."Dis is for you doctor Vandarsee, under here is stuff just for you" (a tactic we used to keep him out of the cabinet). Ever since he was a tiny baby Henry has loved being groomed and messed with. He stands perfectly still as the doctor listens to his heart and looks in his eyes and ears. In the end he was so relaxed and sleepy from the doctor looking him over that we joked that he looked like he had just gotten a massage. Here are his stats:

Height: 37.0 in. Percentile: 81%
Weight: 31 lbs. Percentile: 66%
Head Circ: 20.25 in. Percentile: 93% **the first time that his head circumference has been on the charts since he was 4 months old.

Back again in November for his 3 year check-up and then we go to once a year check-ups. Our little Bean is growing up. I'm ready for Bean #2. Who is with me? ;)

Putting the Trauma in Traumatic

Henry had his appointment to get his stitches out on Friday. It didn't go well. I stayed at work and let Wade take him so I can't speak from experience but I would venture to guess that attempting to get the stitches out was almost as painful for Wade as getting the stitches put in. But I different kind of pain, a "My child is screaming at the top of his lungs, throwing things, hitting and laying on the floor" kind of embarrassing pain. It's interesting, when Henry got his stitches the doctors told us that the medicine they used to sedate him would make him forget the whole experience. However, the moment that the doctor opened the door Henry recognized him and pretty much lost it. The plastic surgeon had no patience for our Henry's tantrum and left telling Wade that he should try to make an appointment with Henry's pediatrician or go back to the ER to have the stitches removed. Jerk.
Fortunately, we just visited Dr. Vangarsse on Tuesday for Henry's 2 and1/2 year check up and as always it was a pleasant experience for Henry, so going back to her on Saturday morning was good fun. We took a lot of precautions this time, including bribing, bringing all of his toys, making empty threats, and begging...We also brought along Henry's "friend" Professor Moody (a puppet) who just happen to have stitches in his forehead that needed to come out so the doctor took out Professor Moody's stitches first. Henry watched without making a sound and then came his turn. He did great. Of course he remembered all the bribes so afterwards we quickly set out to find an ice cream shop open at 10 am (not so easy). Grandpa came along and gave Henry the biggest, sweetest, most colorful, sugarific lollipop that Henry had ever seen. He held it with both hands out of concern that a "big big wind might come and sweep it up." He also kissed it, smelled it, hugged it, and told Grandpa how much he loved him the whole ride home "I love you so so so much Gwanpa." The lollipop didn't make it all the way home before being chomped into, plastic and all, and it was swiftly taken away by Papa causing some of the most obnoxious whining I have ever witnessed. In the end lunch was eaten, naps were taken and, as you can see from the photo above, the lollipop was devoured. Well, not really most of it is still sitting on our kitchen counter (we're not crazy)...Henry told us, as he ate it, "This tastes like everything. I love it!" The photo below shows some of the crazy lollipop smelling that took place. It's blurry (stupid camera) but you can still get the idea.

Ouch

In his life our little boy has hit his head so many times that we have lost count. But until yesterday his bumps were just bumps...black and blue bumps, but bumps none the less. No skin was broken. Until yesterday. The poor kiddo was just trying to keep up with the big kids on the slide at the playground and he tripped, banging his head into the step in front of him and, as Henry puts it, "opening him up." After he fell I scooped him up, ran to the car and Wade drove like a maniac to the ER. We were only a few blocks out before Henry told us that he was okay and ready to go back to the park. After waiting quite a long time in the waiting room we got in to see the nurse. I told Henry that he needed to sit on my lap until the doctor came in. He sat down and said "Mama you legs and hands are shaking." A few minutes later the nurse came in. He said "You the doctor? Doctor please my Mama is shaking."
His bonk was much worse than we realized. The cut went through to his skull and was torn on the edges which caused jagged edges so they had to call in a plastic surgeon. When we found out that Henry was going to have to put sedated in order to get stitches Wade and I were very upset but once the surgeon started working we understood why it was necessary. He had to do several layers of stitches. Henry did very well, he is such a good kid. Seriously, having this happen on Mother's Day just reminded me how much I love that kid and how proud of him I am and that I am so blessed to be his Mama.
The stitches come out on Friday and then after that we just have to try to keep it out of the sun for the next six months, this will keep the scar from turning pink. Henry also has his 2 and a half year check up tomorrow morning, so by the end of this week going to the doctors office is going to be a piece of cake for him....now getting his parents used to it is another story. ;)

Hey Kid, you make it all worthwhile

Happy Mother's Day to all of the amazing Mom's out there. An extra special Mother's Day wish to the Mom's in our life- Ginny (aka Gigi), Alex (aka Gramma Alee and Big Easy Mom), Fannie (aka Fa'Nana)-you are all amazing and we love you so much. Wow, we have a lot of nick names around here ;)
Sorry that this wish is one day late. We had a hard day yesterday and didn't get a chance to post these wishes until today. I will fill you in on yesterday's happenings soon. Everyone is okay.