Child Birth Class Reunion #3

In keeping with tradition, we got together with the folks from our Child Birth Class last Sunday for reunion #3. While we keep up with most folks on facebook, blogs, and emails its still fun to get together. All six families were able to make it this year. 2010 brought three new additions to the group. Ralph did good jumping right in to play though he mostly played my himself, at least he did not sit by me. Henry grew tired of sitting on my lap after a while and meandered over to a few of the other moms and sat on their laps. He also tried playing with the big kids once in awhile. Thanks, Isaiah, for hosting - you have a lot of great toys to share!

We attempted the near impossible group photo and only got all the kids in the photo when held by the moms so we all sacrificed.

Ralph: 3rd Birthday Party!

Ralph was able to have his Thomas the Train themed birthday party last Saturday. Luckily, his invitation was small as he was fighting a cold and had been "kicked" out of daycare the day before with a fever. He may have looked a little under the weather but he was focused on the presents! We got a few photos of him with his cake before the party and tried to get some of him around his presents but he mistook that as his signal to start tearing to into gifts. He definitely has figured out how to open gifts. Just like Christmas, he wanted to open everything as he unwrapped the gift. His favorite so far has been the kid-sized golf clubs from grandma & grandpa though the foam-like balls are not Henry proof and will need to be replaced. He is also enjoying his doodle board with the bonus stampers, "shaving" kit, and book of Prayers. Henry is thoroughly enjoying the kid-sized broom Ralph received and had wanted since Christmas.

Ralph would not pass as the Big Bad Wolf. He huffed and he puffed but could not blow out his birthday candles.

Well-Child Check-ups

Both boys had their respective check-ups today.

Ralph: 3 years . . . . Height: 37 3/8" (49%) & Weight: 31 lbs (49%)
Now that Ralph is a big boy, he got to wear a gown. He did most everything the doc asked but he would not even attempt to touch his toes when asked. Happily, he did not receive any shots and got his blood pressure taken for the first time . . 90/58.

Henry: 15 months . . . . Height: 30" (16%) & Weight: 20 lbs 4 oz (3%)
Doc thought he still heard a little of the "reactive airway disease" so we'll keep doing the Singular. I jinx myself for writing this but Henry has set a new record of sleeping all night for 9 nights now - something is finally working! (Sleeping all night means not waking me up.) He still has nights he'll wake up an hour or two after going to bed and will either put himself to bed or needs just a little comforting to go back to bed. Of course, they tell me this is about the age nightmares may start . . .so that'll be the next thing that wakes him up! Everything else checked out well. Henry received two shots. He put up a little protest but nothing to bad. (Update Thursday morning: Henry did not make it 10 nights)

Henry: Don't forget about me!

Henry attended his 1st Husker baseball game last Saturday. Due to the weather, Henry stayed inside the suite, had a snack and gave the suite a thorough inspection.

Henry enjoyed the Busy Works area at the Amazing Machine Machine. An area he could explore and not get overwhelmed by the bigger kids. He also had a great time playing at Grandma & Grandpa's after we returned home. Henry loves to be outside!

Ralph: Celebrating 3 years!!!

Since Mike was out of town for Ralph's birthday, Ralph's party is delayed until next Saturday. Ralph has more been than spoiled the last couple of days. Yesterday we went to the Huskers baseball game, since the weather did not cooperate we didn't stay long but we had a good time. When we got home we watched the Cars movie which is special since we've never let Ralph watch a movie at home. He watched the first half pretty intently but after intermission (ie. supper) he was ready to do other activities. He was full of questions about where Mater or Sally was throughout the movie.

When Ralph gets the chance to watch television he has been requesting golf lately so today we visited the Amazing Pizza Machine in Omaha for a round of mini-golf. Ralph did not care much about starting at the beginning - why wouldn't you start by the hole? He also did not care much for instruction on holding a club properly but he had a good time.

Ralph has continued to do well wearing briefs at night. The first week or so might have been more "misses" than "hits" but we've been doing much better lately. I don't think he fully understands cause and effect as he would continue to keep drinking milk if we let him, right up until bedtime. We found out today that he does not like using big potties in the public restrooms. He had a streak a few months ago where we had to stop in the public restroom at daycare everyday before going home so I thought we were over that fear, guess not.

Ralph has been waking more in the middle of the night. Hopefully he will be more organized than I as he woke up one night looking for a "list" he had made just before going to bed and took it to bed. He likes taking something to bed. Tonight it was his Thomas the Train suitcase, a watch, and some sunglasses he found in the suitcase. I just cringe when he does this as it means there's more of a chance he'll wake up looking for something and can't find it.

Ralph has gotten a few puzzles lately and enjoys putting them together. He also likes the "look and find" books. He likes taking his milk and snacks to school, this one I try not to encourage but if it helps him get out of the house quicker in the morning I'm not going to argue. He'd wear sweatpants everyday if you let him and most days the shirt needs to have some sort of ball on it. He does not like solid colored shirts. If he is wearing white socks he likes the socks to be all white, not the ones with gray on the bottom (unfortunately, he has more socks with gray on the bottom than plain white). He likes to stand on the step on the car and pretend he is a garbage guy. He is usually pretty good at sharing with Henry. He can also make Henry laugh as he did one night in the car by throwing Cheerios into the air.

Vacuuming Fun!

Henry has gotten onboard with the fun of vacuuming, albeit with a lawn mower. As Mike got out the vacuum the other weekend, Ralph grabbed the mini-vacuum and Henry grabbed the next best thing on wheels.

After Ralph left the mini-vacuum to clean the chairs, Henry saw his chance and grabbed the mini-vacuum.

Fun times at our house!

Henry: Celebrating 15 months!

Henry got over his fear of the tunnel last week. It was so fun to watch him lift it up, walk around it, and go through it - over and over again Henry seems to be easily spooked or scared.

Henry is no longer getting a bottle at naptime. I may have just jinxed myself but it seems to have helped his naps at daycare; I have not seen any big changes in his naps at home. We are dragging our feet on the morning and evening bottle.

Henry's teeth count remains at two on the top; two on the bottom. He has enough teeth to eat pretty much whatever he wants, it seems. Either he has been going through a growth spurt or really enjoys 'real' food. I am curious to see what his official weight is at his next appointment, though he may be burning it off as soon as he is putting it on.

Henry likes to try to put on his shoes by setting his feet on top of his shoes. He also likes to brush his hair, nevermind the bristles are usually facing out.

I have heard reports of Henry saying "bye bye" and "bubbles" at daycare. Every once in awhile we think we hear him say a certain word at home but have yet to get him to repeat it. He is VERY opinionated however and will "scream" to get his point across. He does not like it when Mike & Ralph go somewhere without him. He does not like it when someone tries to take something from him. He did go through a period of not liking his bath; we hope we are over that stage.

He has perfected his own version of the "more" sign . . .though we are not always sure what he wants more of since he'll do it out of the blue.

Henry can be very polite. He'll find trash on the floor, pick it up then stretch out his arm to hand it off. He'll also take a tissue and proceed to rip it into little pieces, handing each little piece, one piece at a time.

We have moved Henry from the high chair to a booster chair, though he may be moving back to the high chair for awhile since the booster chair does not have a removable tray and he will not leave the placemat alone.