Tailgate hosted by Capital City Christian Church

Capital City Christian Church, the church that houses the daycare the boys go to had a Tailgate party tonight. The boys enjoyed their hotdogs and then we visited with various daycare families. We finally ran into a friend Ralph had been looking for and they hung out the rest of the night - each enjoying a sno-cone and picking up various freebies. The most notable act of the night was Ralph getting inside a bouncy house - the first time he went in one by himself (in June, he and I went in one briefly). I know he would not have gone in by himself had two of his friends not gone in . . . Thanks L & O!

Squeezing in the last days of Summer!

Last Saturday morning we spent some time at the sprayground at Trago Park. The day started out a little chilly but not wanting to miss the opportunity this summer we forged ahead. According to the Parks & Recs website the sprayground was open from 11 am - 7 pm so we thought the water would magically turn on out 11 am. It did not so we just played at the playground until Ralph's friend's dad discovered the magic button. . .then the fun began! I'm sure it would have been more fun had it been warmer but the kids had fun and we'll try again next year.


Last Sunday evening we ventured to our first Saltdogs game of the season, ironically the last home game. As we entered the stadium Ralph wanted to sit close to the field so I'm not sure how happy it was I took them up to the suite NEBCO owns. The boys survived the whole game, I know it helped we were in a suite and there was room to move a little and not be confined in a chair. I've kept the kids sheltered so far, they do not know there is a playarea on the other side of the field, yet. Henry did notice the inflatables as he kept pointing to the puppy on it.

Henry enjoyed watching the choo-choos go by. Homer, the larger-than-life mascot tried to visit the boys. Once Henry saw Homer he started shrieking. Ralph was not totally sure what his brother was shrieking about but did feel the need to join in. Homer finally got the message and left. Ralph surprised me and wholeheartedly ran the bases following the game. I was sure I'd have to go with him but once he got onto the field he started running. I got a little fearful seeing Homer between 3rd base and home but Ralph just ran wide around him. Hopefully we can make it to a game sooner next year!

Dancing Man!

This video was also taken a few weeks ago. Ralph had brought an Elmo sings Karaoke DVD home from the library at daycare. The boys do not watch much television and this is one of the few times Henry has seen Elmo on tv. He could not resist dancing. He truly is the entertainer in the family and will start up an impromptu dance if he gets the urge.

Henry eating ice cream

Henry had had ice cream a few times before this but this is the first time we caught him on video AND the first time we noticed the tongue. He really does provide entertainment most hours of the day. (after watching this after it uploading I guess its not quite as funny as it was the first time I watched it but still fun to share.)

The Chippewa Northwestern Railway

The boys and I, along with Grandpa & Grandma trekked out to Goehner today to ride on the Chippewa Northwestern Railway. I had never heard of this little gem until earlier this summer when I was reading an mass email I received at work. The Railway is a one-inch scale railroad offering ride to the general public on the 2nd & 4th Sundays from May through October. The boys and I each rode the trains three times and Grandma & Grandpa switched. On the last jaunt the last car, just behind Grandpa & Ralph derailed. After the engineer rerailed the car we were back on track, no pun intended!

Henry: Celebrating 20 months (a few days late)

(Photos taken last Saturday at a (semi) truck show - Henry loved seeing himself in the shiny chrome. Yes, Henry's hair is as blonde as it looks!)

Henry recently moved from infant size 4 shoes to toddler size 5. He moved from Converse-like shoes (with velcro) to a chunkier shoe and seems much more like a big boy. With the change in shoes he is starting to kick the underside of the kitchen table while eating.

He has started to insist on climbing into the car seat and the booster seat - neither of which he does skillfully and needs to be carefully watched.

Two new tooth have broke through in the last month - bottom left next to the front tooth and bottom right in the back (molar?).

His middle of the night wake-ups lately seem to be from moving around too much and hitting the side of the crib. The last couple of times this has happened I've tried going in sooner and have had a little luck moving him away from the edge without disturbing him too much. When that does not work I've been going through a mini-version of the bedtime routine (singing prayers and give him a little pep talk). Luckily this seems to decrease the amount of time he is awake. He is also finally getting attached to a blanket. I've tried introducing a blanket before and have not have much luck but he is finally starting to use one.

His vocabulary is expanding. He likes to make animals sounds - moo, baa, woof woof, meow, and roar. He is also a parrot when he comes to certain phrases and repeats "here we go" and "hang on". Bae ball (baseball) refers to almost any ball though he does say just ball also. "Cracker" seems to refer to about any snack. I've learned to be prepared. Sometimes in the car he will reach his arm up high from the rear-facing car seat and say "cracker, cracker, cracker" in an attempt to get some food handed to him. He also likes to make car/truck/train noises when 'driving' vehicles. He will get right in the action and lay next to the vehicle he is playing with.

He loves the barrel train Grandpa made. He'll point at the photo we have on the hutch while he is eating and say "choo choo". He even go into the office at Grandma & Grandpa's and point to the barrel train photo on the monitor's desktop.

During one of our visits to the Lincoln Zoo a few weeks ago Henry fed one goat one pellet of feed. It was a little victory. He is certainly a little timid when it comes to animals, thanks to big brother and lack of exposure.

Henry likes to play with the Thomas the Train table at home and will play independently for quite a while though he will bring me train cars or pieces of track if something breaks and will lead me back to the table to fix it.

While changing Henry tonight for bed, I noticed something in his nose. I thought there was just some stuff to clean out with a tissue, hmmn no it was a rock. Who knows when he put that in his nose!