Goodbye, 2008!

Henry and Teddy wish everyone a wonderful 2009!
See you next year!













P.S... Thanks to great-grandma Hemmeter and Aunt Barb for the gifts featured in these photos. So cute! Don't you think Teddy and the Octopus share an uncanny resemblance?

One with Nature

Winter in Minnesota means we’re stuck inside most of the time. Which can be a bit difficult with an energetic 2-year-old. So I’m often on the look-out for fun places to visit that are: A) Free or low-cost B) Stroller-accessible and appropriate for Teddy and C) Offer Henry the ability to get his ya-ya’s out. As luck would have it, we found a new place that is fun, free and close to home: the Richardson Nature Center.

Oddly enough, we’ve driven past it hundreds of times, but just never had an excuse to visit until now. It’s a big, beautiful building with animals on display and interactive toys for kids to play with. That afternoon they were holding a “Critter Day” where they brought out the resident snakes, turtles and salamanders for the kids to observe up close.

Henry got to pet a turtle, although he declined to touch the snake. “I scared” is his new big phrase, and I guess the snake kind of freaked him out. He did touch the salamander, though. The nature center folks then fed the turtle some worms, which Henry was excited to watch. He was equally excited to see the snake eat an (already dead) “mousey”… Mommy wasn’t so thrilled to see that.

And Teddy? He just hung out and watched the whole critter show while seated in my lap. I guess one of the advantages to being Number 2 is you get exposed to things a lot earlier than Number 1. He showed his excitement by drooling profusely and trying to suck his thumb.

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas!

... And to all a good night!

Love, Henry and Teddy

Bad Santa

Nana was in town last week, so we decided to do a little shopping (of course!).

At the last minute, I decided I wanted to get a shot of the kids with Santa at the mall. Beforehand, I talked to Henry about what we were going to do and that he should tell Santa what he wants for Christmas. We've been pointing out Santa whenever we see him, so he's well aware of Jolly Old Saint Nick.

And probably like every other 2-year-old... he was excited about it at first, but once it was time to take the picture, he freaked.

As you can see...

Santa doesn't look that thrilled, either. And Teddy is kind of zoned out.

I figure that just about every kid has a not-so-happy picture with Santa, so we bought a copy for posterity. I'm sure Henry will get a kick out of it a few years. We've hung the picture in our kitchen and Henry likes to point out Santa and talk about what he wants for Christmas, so it seems like the experience didn't sour him off Santa for life. Maybe next year we'll get a smile?

P.S. Oddly enough, it seems like the Web is full of crying Santa pictures. Here's a cute photo story from the Star Tribune about Santa pictures gone wrong.

Teddy at 4 Months

Happy 4-month birthday, Teddy! He's just getting bigger and bigger every day... the kid is turning into a chunky monkey! For the most part, he's a laid-back little guy with a big smile for everyone (well, except for this picture!).

Teddy had his 4-month appointment last week and he weighs in at 17 pounds and 26 1/8 inches. He weighs exactly the same as Henry did at that age, although he's about an inch shorter. He's also looking more and more like "himself", if that makes sense. He still looks a lot like his big brother, but as he's getting older, he really is coming into his own cute little look.

And, as always, here's Henry at 4 months!

Icky the Snowman

Snow pants and boots and hats - oh my!

Last weekend we dug out all the winter stuff to spend some time outside since it was in the 30s. Which seems downright tropical right now!

Henry helped make his very first snowman. Not the most attractive guy, as you can see, since the snow was pretty dirty at the time. Henry enjoyed putting his baby carrot nose in place and then pushing the snowman over after playtime was over. Adios, snowman.

Work it!

I've been making an effort to get in shape over the past few months. I joined a gym that I try to go to a few times a week, and for the days I can't make it, I thought I'd give a few exercise DVDs a try. Right now I'm using Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred (the trainer from The Biggest Loser).

As you can see... Henry thought it would be fun to try a few moves, as well. And let me tell you.. it's not easy to do crunches with a 37-pound kid on your stomach, as I soon learned! But it was pretty entertaining to see him work up a sweat.

I just wish I had as much energy as him!

P.S. For the anyone who grew up during the 80s... remember "Get in Shape, Girl"? I had the "exercise ribbon". LOL. For a trip down memory lane, click here to see an old-school commercial.

Pretend Time

It's been very cool to see Henry start using his imagination when he plays. He's starting to play pretend and act out the things he sees around him. Very cute... and often entertaining!

A few silly examples -

- I've been making smoothies lately and Henry likes to watch me use the blender to make them. In the bathtub the other night, he took a few toys - placing a small cup filled with water and a small bowl turned upside down on top of the cup - and said "I makin' a smoofie!".

- When I get ready in the mornings, Henry likes to drag his toys into the bathroom while I'm doing my hair and make-up. This morning, he took a little blanket and put it on top of his sippy cup of milk and said "Cup too cold, Mama!".

And little Teddy T-bone is good... lots of smiles these days. Here's a pic of him giving a gummy grin...














P.S. I went back to work last week... which was probably pretty obvious due to the lack of blog posts for the last week or so! We're all adjusting pretty well, but it's taking a while to get back into the swing of things and the posts have gone along the wayside. I'll try to keep it up so I can share the cuteness! :)

Bill Cosby was right...

Kids really say (and do) the darndest things. For example, the other morning, one of the first things Henry said to me was, "I need some coffee, Mama". Hmm... not sure if a highly caffeinated beverage is what a toddler needs first thing in the morning! (However, I AM sure it's what mama needs!)

And I don't know if it's the age or what, but Henry has recently been into lining up his toys. Maybe it's the Thomas influence (shunting, anyone?), but when he's playing with something, he often needs to line it up just so.

This is what he does after bathtime with his bath toys...

And after he lines them up just right, he needs to kiss each one of them goodnight, of course.

Big Boy Bumbo!

We broke out the Bumbo seat for Teddy this week... so far, he really seems to like it! It must be nice to have a new way to see the world.

And, as with all of Teddy's baby toys, Henry just has to try it out and make it his own. Surprisingly, he still (barely!) fit!