Henry J - Everyone's baby

Andrew thinks that Henry is his child. Whenever Henry does something Andrew finds displeasing, he says, "Oh, Henryyyy." He also tells Henry to stop crying, no climbing, and don't dump water out of the bathtub. Mind you, none of these rules seem to apply to Andrew. This brother relationship is complex.Andrew likes to "play toys" with Henry. Mostly, Andrew just gets everything out for him (including all spare mattresses, apparently) and then Henry comes to find me while Andrew plays with Henry's toys.

As many know, Henry has been a bit of a challenge baby for us. Like, the kind of challenge that makes us think, "We might be good with 2." But, then, I get pictures like this:And I think, "If a kid is that cute, doesn't it just seem right to try for another someday (in the very, VERY distant future)?"As you can see, Henry ALSO enjoyed the pudding paint idea. I only gave him one color, and he was fine with that.
Henry just recently started walking. He is super unsteady, but he just reels around, laughing like a drunkard. A cute, 1-year old drunkard.Henry loves trains. I didn't think it was possible for a fella this young to really care, but he does. Please note the train in his hand while looking at his train book.

Justin thinks Henry shares my food preferences...meaning, he loves FLAVOR. He loves spicy food, and doesn't really like baby food. Of course, having no teeth at 15 months does present a bit of a challenge, but he eats table food pretty exclusively. It's not rare for him to still be gumming something to death about 30 minutes after we've all left the table.

El Dia de Amor

It was a good one. And we actually STARTED a tradition! Since Christmas traditions have been a bust for us, we figured we'd try with a smaller holiday and work our way up. Yom Kippur was a big success last year, so we feel we've made some good progress.After reading on some blog (you know the ones that make you feel like a moron because you don't craft?), we made the pauper's version of Valentine's boxes and swapped love notes for a few days. It was fun to see Andrew try to grasp that concept.
And thanks to these folks, the desire of Andrew's heart was realized...
Cheetos in a package JUST FOR HIM! He was SO happy.Henry got a cute card, since the toothlessness doesn't go well with conversation hearts. As you can see, he was trying to play it off like he wasn't excited, but we know he was.
We decided that each year, the kids will be receiving a book from "Cupid's library" rather than getting...well, getting something else. Excitement was felt.

Andrew at Three

I realize my updates have been less than stellar lately. My general predicament of not being able to find the camera is partly to blame, but most of the pictures I take are on my phone anyway. I'm just getting around to moving the hundreds of attempts to capture funny moments to the compy, so prepare yourself for a possible increase in posts. Possible, not probable.

Today, it's all Andrew.
So, Andrew turned 3 in December. Now he thinks he's "almost 6." He tells everyone that when they ask how old he is. He LOVES doing art projects. I do not love them. But, so as not to stifle the creativity, he is allowed to do some kind of project once a day. Paint is his medium of choice, but he'll take anything. (this is pudding with food coloring)He picks plants from my garden and eats them. Broccoli leaves, Brussels sprouts leaves and kale. Our lettuce is all gone, but he pretty much eats anything green as long as it is straight from the garden. I can't wait for him to get some real edibles this summer.
A few weeks ago, Andrew had to miss his preschool class, so Justin called Andrew and said he could come to "Daddy's school." Justin TOTALLY won Dad of the Year. He had set up a study room for Andrew's school, planned some very preschoolish activities and printed out pictures for him to color.
Andrew let Henry come too, which was very nice.
He even got to choose a "snack" from the vending machine. He literally could not wrap his mind around the concept that there were bags and bags of chips just WAITING to be had. (We do NOT, under any circumstances, go down the chip aisle at the store...my resolve for healthy eating cannot stand up against a bag of Doritos.)



Andrew isn't much of an adventurer (he likes to know he's going to be "safe" no matter what he's doing), but putting his piggy bank where Henry can't reach it has been a test for him. He's figured out how to visit his "Evil Dr. Porkchop" and see if any interest has accrued. And he LOVES being a naked noonie as long as he can wear his hat.Andrew has determined that "When I grow up, I'm gonna be a doctor and a chef." He loves to help me cook and is very diligent about watching our food "grow" in the oven. The doctor part? I'm not sure how that's going to work out, considering he despises visits to the doctor's office.

You want a tutorial? I'll show you tutorial.

Some of y'all may know that in the last year I've tried to improve my sewing. I read lots of books and blogs about easy beginner projects (which by the way are almost exclusively for little girls...I have boys, thus I don't need to learn how to sew?) and have tried (read:failed) some of them. Well, I have a bin of clothing to be "re-purposed" or made into something else. So, I thought, I'll take this sweater and make a little sweater vest for Andrew. And I'll take pictures along the way so I can use the other sweater to make one for Henry. This was such a moronic idea for three reasons.

1) I am terrible at taking good pictures, particularly of small things (children, stitches, chihuahuas, and the like).
2) I kind of stink at sewing, so when I look at the end project, I think, "Yeah, I won't be repeating that project. It's ugly."
3) Sewing with my boys is just completely ridiculous. A "quick, 30-minute project" turns into two weeks, because I have constant interruptions and kids sitting on my stuff.

That said, I facetiously present to you...the sweater vest. (I have no intention of this actually helping someone sew something. Mostly it is just to document the process so I'm reminded to just spend the money and buy the clothes my kids need from the store. It's WAY worth it.)

1. Cut what you need while leaving as much of the sweater in tact as possible, thus cutting out any extraneous sewing.
2. Use the "short and fat" sweater vest as a pattern of approximately how long and not wide it should be. Realize that this vest may be a little too skinny. Continue anyway.
3. Get out Toy Story toys to distract children who are getting all up in my grill.
4. Let Henry hold some straight pins. That shouldn't hurt him.

5. Cut edges off the sleeves to be used for the armholes. And try to use finished edges, because otherwise one armhole will be fraying...Shoot. I didn't even follow my own instructions.
6. Eat some of these when you realize you are 28 and still can't cut in a straight line.
7. Make a V-neck out of a circle neck. Oh, and make sure it is centered or else...well, or else it will look like mine.
8. Realize that one armhole is not only smaller but also totally crooked. Continue anyway.9. Tell Andrew to be cool. He is.
10. Realize that Andrew's clothes are NOT the first thing people notice about him. And relax, because he'll grow out of this in two shakes of a lamb's tail anyway.

January is the cruellest month...or is it?

I think the poem actually says "April is the cruellest month," but I've heard a lot of January bashin' going on lately. Mostly from my Utah friends, who hate the miserable weather and inversion. Personally, I kind of love January. A lot of my favorite people were born in January (my mom, father-in-law, two of my favorite mission companions, MLK), I L-O-V-E Texas in January and I love resolutions. But that's a post for a different day. Really, I'm just beating around the bush, typing to make up for my lack of bloggage lately. And this update is mostly for Justin, who we haven't seen much of this month, so now he can see what we've been doing at home.Dia de los Reyes...Because we missed the only thing Andrew asked for at Christmas (paint). So glad for those kings that gave me a chance to redeem myself.
Shooting hoops. Apparently I need to raise the hoop. Andrew makes NO effort.
Justin had the best idea, and Andrew is a rockin' baseball player because of it. Justin drew footprints so Andrew would know how to stand, and I helped him with the "ladies and gentlemen, I will now swing backward and forward!" part. (Seriously, he says that every time he goes to hit the baseball.)Henry likes to help Andrew set up. Lots of head bonkin' going on. For some reason, Henry doesn't mind.
Of course, it gets a bit annoying when he tries to push the ball off the tee, but Andrew is generally pretty patient with his "best baby brother friend."
Henry is obsessed with Andrew's trike. He's pretty stable, too. I can sit him on it and he just stays there and watches Andrew play whatever sport he is working on that day.
Andrew took this picture the other day and I just found it on the camera. Isn't that so beautiful? I think this is the day it was like 75 degrees. Before you hate me, I think it will only be in the 40's this week.

Coming up tomorrow, my foray into the world of sewing...epic destruction.

Christmas in Retrospect

I feel very unapologetic about being slow with the blog update. I'm just trying to carry the Christmas spirit with me. Justin, however, would like to apologize on my behalf. He's got a social conscience.Christmas Eve... New PJ's. The theme this year is turtles. Justin got me some awesome PJ's at the San Marcos Outlets in San Antonio. Love that place!
Andrew is in love with anything that has to do with Grandpa and/or Grandpa's house.
Henry even smiled a couple times while we were in Utah.
How long has it been since you did one of the "I Spy" books? This is a great big-kid activity. Doris and Chase worked on it together for a long time.
Gingerbread houses... Those kits from Super Target are the best. Little effort, little mess. And, the candy is sick, so it is no temptation. Jack and Andrew had a good time.
Our Christmas decoration (singular) at home in Texas. It's actually a rosemary bush so I can still use it. And the ornaments helped me use up some of the 50 yards of felt I have...only 49 1/3 to go.Our first night in Utah, I spent with the high school girlies at Molly's baby shower. This is the only picture. We were much too busy laughing hysterically about "specials."Lyla and Henry...so cute.
This is what happens if you mention the name Santa Claus. Melt down! I don't blame the kids. Who would want an overgrown man creeping around your house in the middle of night?Favorite present of the year (Henry)... a wooden helicopter.Favorite present of the year (Andrew)... Monk! (When will it stop, you ask? When it stops being funny to me...in like 20 years.)We spent Christmas morning with Troy, Jamie and kids. So fun! Thanks for letting us stay at your house.
Martin Family Fun Day. Train ride into Salt Lake City and a day at the Children's Museum.

At this point I would love to post pictures from the Martin party and Flanders party; however, I forgot to bring the camera once again. Sorry, Justin. We had a good time though! (Can you tell that Justin has now taken over writing for me? I actually feel no remorse...no camera=no guilt for not getting it out at said parties.)

Back at home and still trying to get back to sleeping through the night.