Home Sweet Home!

We survived our first overnight adventure away from home as a family of four. Last Saturday we took one of the many 'scenic' routes to Kansas City, thanks to the Missouri River flood, and stayed for 3-nights/4-days.

Saturday's detour took us to a cemetery in Seneca Kansas where visited Mike's grandparents then we made our way to Topeka and our first stop (on this trip) to Chick-Fil-A. The boys discovered the little rides that move after inserting some quarters and enjoyed riding a few. Seven and half hours later (approx 4.5 hours drive time) we landed at the Embassy Suites in Overland Park. After supper, Ralph & Mike hit the pool while I put Henry to bed.

Sunday morning we visited the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead in Overland Park. The Farmstead has everything from a fishing pond, pedal tractors, horse rides, playgrounds, a chance to watch a cow get milked, and a chance to bottle feed baby calves and baby goats. Mike & Ralph tried their hand at fishing but we had to leave before they had any luck. The boys could not get enough of the pedal tractors and playgrounds. We could only stay an hour before we had to leave to get to our next destination. Mike's Aunt Marilyn & Uncle Vern welcomed us into their home for a luncheon. We were able to see many members of their family as well as Mike's Aunt Marcia & Uncle Ken. Since then Ralph has talked about Randy's dog, the girls he played with, and renamed Henry Brandon on the way home today. Once again, Mike & Ralph went swimming for a bit while I put Henry to bed.

Monday morning took us to Kaleidoscope near Hallmark at Crown Center. The boys were a little overwhelmed by all the options they had to paint, color, and use leftover materials provided by the Hallmark manufacturing process. The walls were creatively decorated and Henry found some openings he tried to crawl through. The rest of the day was spent getting lunch then some shopping(along with some more little rides).















Tuesday morning was a return trip to the Children's Farmstead. The boys were enamored watching a school bus pull up as I tried taking this photo. After entering they immediately wanted to go to the pedal tractors. Then we walked around and found more animals we hadn't seen on Sunday. Ralph thought he wanted to feed the goats but was not so interested once the feed was in his hand. A little more time at a few of the playgrounds, then lunch and the drive home. Taking a different route home, going to St. Joseph, Missouri before heading west, we made it home in less than 4 hours.

All in all, a pretty good trip. The boys did pretty well traveling in the car but there's always room for improvement in that area - pretty sure there was a lot of cereal sacrificed as it was used as a form of entertainment and we'll be discovering Trix and Fruit Loops for weeks. Henry enjoyed throwing a (soft) ball over the back of his car seat into the front - and when the ball was not available he used his sock.

We picked the Embassy Suites so we could split the boys up and try to buffer noise with the two-rooms. The door to the bedroom was not the most sound proof but it was still nice to isolate the boys a little so they were not so distracted by each other at night. Henry and I took the bedroom where he slept in the pack n' play and I got the bed all to myself but was afraid to move to much for fear of waking up Henry. Mike & Ralph got the hide-a-bed in the front room. The first night Ralph woke up at one point, he sat up and looked toward the light that was coming from the bathroom we were using as a nightlight and says "Daddy?", "Yeah?" (Mike), "Will you come lay on my floor?" (Ralph), Mike taps him on the should and says "I'm in your bed, isn't that funny" and laughs a little. Ralph laughs a little and goes back to bed.
The whole conversation is funny because we do not allow ourselves to lay on Ralph's bed at home when the lights are off and the two of them have a little joke about Mommy not letting Mike lay on Ralph's bed since I'm the enforcer of that rule.

Mike and I started to discuss where are next adventure might take us on the way home but, for tonight, it is GREAT to be home!

Spending time with Daddy!

Our tradition for Father's Day has become taking a trip to Beaver Crossing. The boys (all three of them) like to sit in a semi, honk the horn, shift, and test out the sleeper cab. After naps we ventured to the Beaver Crossing community pool and had fun in the kiddie pool. Ralph has gone through one round of swimming lessons but has not been back to a pool since last summer and both of them enjoy the plastic pool and water table at Grandma & Grandpa's but this was the first visit to a pool like this. We had the kiddie pool to ourselves for most of our visit. After drying off we walked around to the park and had fun on the various play 'things'.

A Visit to Morrill Hall

The boys made their first visit to Morrill Hall tonight. During the summer there is no admission on Thursday evenings so we decided to take advantage of the offer. A quick bite to eat on the way there and we arrived just before 6.

Outside Morrill Hall is a bronze elephant. Ralph saw some boys trying to touch the foot of the bronze as we approached so he decided it was okay to get near it. Henry could not be convinced that this larger than life bronze was okay and clung on tight. Once we got inside Henry slowly warmed up to the large animals. Ralph had fun looking at the different animals on display . . as well as pointing out water faucets and locked doors.

We barely made it up to the discovery center before it was time to go. I think we'll try to make a return visit in August.

Henry: Celebrating 18 months!

It is so hard to get Henry to stay still for a photo. He is constantly moving.

Seems like there have been quite a few changes in the past month! The biggest change may be in his vocabulary, just in the last week and half. He attempts to repeat words and will point at certain pictures and books and say what he sees on the picture or book cover (Karla, Elmo, Brown Bear). If you know the context of what Henry is saying you may hear him also say cracker, quack or quack (or duck duck, we aren't sure), sock, hot, no, and puppy - along with his earlier words of dada and uh-oh. Surprisingly when he says Ralph, its more like Rol - why he is picking up on the letter than is harder to pronounce is typical Henry, just has to be a little different. Most of the words need to still be fine-tuned but it is mostly clear what he is trying to say.

His pretend play is increasing. He will pick up a phone (or any other object that closely resembles a phone - but has gone as far as using my keys as a phone) and say "hello". I have also caught him rocking/swinging a baby in his arms.

About two and half weeks ago we noticed a 5th tooth poking through (top left cuspid, I believe). It is slowly coming down.

Sometime in the next couple of weeks Henry may be moving up to the Toddler 1 room. Henry has visited a few times already. One of the differences in this room is that the children walk down the hallway when going to chapel or outside rather than riding in the buggy. When they walk down the hallway the children put their hands on their heads so they don't get distracted as easily. Henry has this down pat as he sometimes does it at home when we go outside and, apparently, he has tried to join Ralph's class when they are going inside by getting in line, hands on head.

Henry is getting fully accustomed to summer and what it brings. He has tried corn on the cob and watermelon. He also has played in the kiddie pool and with the water table at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

Henry has been transitioned to the booster chair. He has also been introduced to ketchup and, sometimes thinks food is better dipped in something, sometimes.

Update on June 7 - Well Child Check-up: Henry is up to 31 5/8" (we need every 1/8" we can get!) putting him around 25%. His weight has increased to 21 pounds, 8 oz - roughly 15%. There were no concerns with the results of the CSBS DP Infant-Toddler Checklist though he was on the lower end of the range in a few areas. I was most concerned with this checklist as I started looking it over a few weeks ago when his communication skills were still lagging behind more than I thought they should. I'm encouraged by the last few weeks and hope they keep improving. Everything else checked out good. I can hope we won't be visiting again until his two year appointment but realistically know we'll probably be visiting before that.

Henry: 1st Haircut

In preparation for his upcoming 18-month photo we took Henry to get his first hair cut tonight. I thought he needed cleaned up a little as it was getting long in a few spots but in all reality it does not look much different and we probably could have waited a few more months. We do have some commemorative strands to save so I know he did get a haircut. Just like his teeth, his hair is coming in slowly. He sat on my lap and held on tight but did a good job of sitting still. It took him 18-months to get what hair he has, though if he is like the rest of us it will be thick soon enough.