Guys

Wade and Henry spend every Friday morning together. At any given time while I am at work I can look at the clock and predict what they are doing. First they sleep in. Wade’s memories of being woken up as a teenager make it difficult for him to wake Henry . Then they lie around in bed together and “wake up slowly”. Finally, when someone’s stomach growls loud enough for the other one to hear it OR Henry says that he is ready for “beckfest” they get up. The go out to breakfast at the same place every week. The wait staff know them and when/if I go in with them on another day they say to me “Oh you’re Henry’s Mom?” Then they take the recycling to the recycling center. Henry loves to help. Then they go to the library. Then they come home and read their library books 3 or 4 times and play until Kelly comes to babysit. I love sitting at my desk imaging my two guys spending the morning together. And I love reading the library books with Henry each night, and him telling me the stories behind them. “We picked dis one Mama because the cat wears shoes. We picked dis one because the choo-choo train goes in the snow.”

Last night we were reading a library book and we were at the page where you have to pick which items Dora needs to give her puppy a bath. Henry quickly pointed out the soap and the towel. “Great job” I said and started to turn the page. “And dis one too Mama.” He points at a book. “If it is a book that goes in the water like my fish book.” “Okay.” I say. “And dis one.” He points to a banana. “If she gets hungry.” “Sure. That would work.” I say. “And dis one” he points at an umbrella “If she is taking a shower”.

Dr Appointment

Henry has his "well baby check" today. He is great. She asked me questions like "can he use 3 word sentences? and "can he count to 3?" and "does he know at least one color?" by then Henry piped in and said "I know lots of colors-my favorites are pink and green."

Height- 39.6 inches (90th percentile)
Weight- 35.8 pounds (80th percentile)
Chattiness- 100th percentile :)

We got his paperwork for preschool because now that he has this down, he can start school in the spring! We are so excited for him.

A few more birthday moments

It's a done deal

We are even venturing out of the house in big boy underpants these days.

ER visit # 2

We made our second trip in 3 years to the ER yesterday. Henry spiked a 102 fever (according to my, apparently, crappy ear thermometer that is currently in with Henry's play doctors kit) and started complaining about pain in his abdomen. His mood changed so quickly from running and playing to asking if he could just lay down on the floor right here and take a little nap, that Wade and I grabbed him and sped to the ER. We were happy to learn that the appendix is on the right side (Henry's pain was on the left and yes I have been studying biology for years and probably should have known that but it was a very stressful situation...and besides my degree is in Ecology..not human biology...anyway...). He looked terrible at the hospital but by the time the doctor got there he was talking a little more and his eyes were more than half way open so we started to relax a bit. The doctor looked him over and said he thought that he might have a virus and to give him ibuprofen and keep an eye on him. His temperature at the hospital was only 99.7, so that is why the ear thermometer is now a toy. Today he has been pretty normal. Susie came over and he spent about 5 minutes walking in circles around her and talking non-stop so we are thinking that he is feeling a little better.
Let's just do a quick round up of medical situation that made Henry's parents want to start drinking-

Choking when he was 1 day old- All the doctors on the peds floor
Head CT- Children's Mercy Hospital visit
Split open forehead- ER visit
Removal of stitches- Doctor's visit
Ringworm on his head- Doctor's visit
Chipped tooth- Dentist visit
Possible ruptured appendix on the left side of his body, a medical first but completely plausible in the mind of a frantic parent- ER visit

Also, 2 "grab the kid and run to the car" near ER visits involving a possibly broken wrist and tooth through the lip.

It is moments like these that leave me feeling certain that Henry will be an only child :)
*Just kidding Mom. And Emily.

The real Santa Claus

We had our first run in with Santa Claus at the grocery store last week and I have been reluctant to write about it because I just don't know if I can accurately describe the joy on my son's face in a story. But I am going to try because it was his first encounter with Santa and that deserves documentation.
We stopped in the card section and picked up a singing Christmas card. Singing cards have been the best thing to happen to our grocery store trips since the days when a cheerio sanck was enough of a bribe to buy us 30 minutes of speed shopping. So he picked out his card and we headed to the produce section. I am pretty sure that the other shoppers that evening thought that either our cart was playing "Frosty the snowman" or that I had a really festive ring tone because just strolling along we were getting a lot of strange looks...but anyway, we grabbed the card and went on our way. We passed an isle and Henry gasps and yells "SANTA CLAUS". I figured it was a figurine or one of those big blow up numbers so I said "No Henry is it just a pretend Santa." "NO Mama. Dat was the REAL Santa Claus." I backed up and sure enough, there was Santa picking up some nacho cheese Doritos. He must have just finished his photo-ops and decided to pick up a few things before he headed home. Santa gave us a small wave and continued to shop. I panicked. How was I going to explain that, yes, that was Santa but, no, we cannot talk to him because he is off the clock? So, I said "Oh, it looks like he is busy buying some food for his reindeer that are parked outside and hungry." And I walked very quickly to the other side of the produce section and tried to distract Henry. "Mama." Henry whispered shyly "Santa is standing behind you." And then there he was. He asked Henry his name and how old he was and what he wanted for Christmas. Henry was shy at first. He said his name and age very quietly. When Santa asked what he wants for Christmas he said "Geotrackdigger" very quickly. Santa couldn't understand him so I started to explain what a geo track is and then realized that was totally unnecessary when he nodded his head at me like "Lady, I don't really need to know what the kid wants." Duh! Anyway, Santa gave Henry a small candy cane and continued shopping and Henry was so excited. He moved between sitting with his mouth wide open and giggling while saying "Santa gave me dis candy cane Mama." The funny part to me...well there were 2 funny parts. First was the other shoppers in the store. Everyone stopped to watch Henry interact with Santa. Everyone was smiling and one guy, probably in his 20's, gave Henry the thumbs up. The other funny thing was that Santa smelled like cigarettes and alcohol and was just a tiny bit creepy...something that friends of mine have said about their experiences with grocery store Santa's but that I had never experienced first hand because we didn't visit Santa when I was a kid. It didn't bother Henry though. He has been talking about it ever since.

Moon

"Hello Moon. How ya doing up there just hanging in the sky? You ever have a dream that a rocket ship crashed into you? If you do I will come up there in a machine and give you a hug and you will feel better." "Come on Mama. Wave to it."