Henry: 3-year checkup!

Henry had his 3-year check up this afternoon.  Not surprisingly he is continuing to be on the low side of both weight & height.  He weighed in at 27 pounds (6%) and 35 3/4" (11%).  He was tolerable but reserved while letting the nurse then doctor do their thing (check blood pressure for the 1st time then  check eyes, ears, belly, etc) and as I was talking to the doctor about his bedtime defiance he gets a sly smile on his face as he glanced at her.  That's my boy, full well knowing what he is getting away with.

He seemed to have a stuffy nose, even after "water nose", this morning and by the time I picked him up from daycare to go to the appointment he had a runny nose.  The doctor commented his lymph nodes were a little swollen but so far everything sounded fine. 

Henry: 3rd Birthday Party!

As much as Henry is into trains it was only appropriate Henry have a train themed birthday party.  It just so happens that Henry from Thomas & Friends is the No. 3 engine.  It was meant to be!  

Since Henry is not the most popular train of the Thomas & Friends line he is not on the themed invitations, plates, napkins, etc. I ended up making the invitation, utilizing the Thomas themed plates, napkins, and tablecover, and having the cake designed similar to the invitations with a little editing to avoid copyright infringement.  

The party was held yesterday and our attendance almost doubled this year.  Thanks to the dry weather (ie. no one was called into to work to remove snow), Henry’s godparents and their children were able to make it – along with Uncle Larry and Grandma & Grandpa.  Henry was wound up by the time Uncle Larry, and Grandma & Grandpa arrived.  He was running in circles, making faces as I was trying to take a photo of him with his gifts.  It was like a late sugar overload from the prior day.  He finally calmed down enough to open gifts.

I wasn’t sure if he’d need a little prodding so I stationed myself near him to help guide him but after a bit I realized I was just in the way.  He quickly tore through the gift wrap when given the okay to open – and was not afraid to seek help if something stumped him.  The one word I heard him say over and over was “really?!”  Not totally sure where it came from but that was a much used comment at the party.  One of the other “kids”, Madi, 13, became our toy assembler. Cole, 9, quickly helped the boys figure out how to play with the gifts.

After a quick lunch we put the candles on the cake.  Henry jumped back when the match was lit and commented about the fire.  Ralph helped him blow out the candles while we sang Happy Birthday.  After eating cake the boys went back to playing with the gifts.

 

Candyhouse Chaos 2012

 Amidst our chaotic schedules, we were able to find a time to decorate candyhouses with the boys’ friends Leighton & Turner again this year and were joined by their friend Tyler. 

It was a festive afternoon of decorating candyhouses, dipping marshmallows in almond bark and sprinkles, and coloring ornaments.

The kids did great, each working on their own candyhouses.  The oldest two listened better than the younger ones and did not sneak as much candy/frosting.  The younger ones had to sample a bit more.   We had plenty of candy and could have decorated 10 more houses; guess we are ready for next year in that regard!

After the organized activities were done the chaos continued with running around the house, making up for lost time of not seeing each other for awhile, trying out toys, and showing off new moves.

Henry: Celebrating 3 years!

Henry has decided this would be a good week to remind me how far he has come in the sleep area by waking up the first 3 nights this week for at least an hour.  This time he had a cough to thank for interrupting his sleep.  He wants the problem taken care of and he wants to go back to sleep.  Unfortunately the extra breathing treatments at midnight do not provide instant relief which leads me to believe we should have been treating it differently.  Anyhow, I so appreciate these nights are far and few between anymore.  Last night was much better so hopefully that is behind him for a bit!

Henry continues to be our little dare devil.  The other night he decided bathtime would be a good time to practice handstands.  Luckily he does not make it very far off the ground and his hands have not slipped out from under him yet but probably not the best place to do it.  He also likes to walk on the train table (which he is not suppose to be on), step over to the couch, and walk on the couch.    I see an introduction to gymnastics class in his future. 

He is also becoming much more at ease in the bath – laying on his back and being very relaxed about it.

Henry moved up to the 3’s room at daycare on November 26.  It has been by far been the easiest transition to date.  The length of time kids stay in the Toddler 2 room has expanded since Ralph went through the younger rooms and kids are currently in the Toddler 2 room until they are 3 (or close to) so Henry was probably ready for a new challenge – and it didn’t hurt a few of his friends moved up earlier in November.  The 2^nd day in his new room he walked himself down the hallway since I apparently took too long dropping Ralph off.  He also told me he didn’t want to go to Justine’s room (the Toddler 2 room).  He has since stopped by his old room to give his former teachers hugs.

His eating habits are nothing to brag about. I’m anxiously waiting for his 3 year well child check up for the officially stats – curious to see how much he weighs.  Every once in awhile he will surprise us by trying something new or eating something he didn’t want before but it is a battle.  I think he is bored more than anything.  He also will eat more if someone feeds it to him. 

He is not one for change.  Someone accidently put Ralph’s winter coat on him recently and he threw a tantrum.  A few days ago I accidently put his breakfast on the green plate (Ralph’s) and he threw a fit.  

Not much has changed in his clothing status - 3T tops, 2T-3T bottoms, 6.5 toddler shoes.  He likes singing songs and learned "heads, shoulders, knees, and toes" the other day - he is singing "if you're happy and you know it" in the photo above.  He has a "superhero" pose.  I love how animated he is - whether he is making a grumpy or happy face or duplicating a face he saw someone else do, he is full of expressions.

He has twisted around a phrase he hears sometimes and now says “I’m giving you a headache.”

This 3-year update marks the end of the Henry monthly updates.  There will still be updates but not as predictable.  Special events, fun outings or a "just because" update will appear when you least expect it.

My baby is now 3!!  The boy who turned me into a mom of 2 overnight while most of Nebraska was sleeping.    (I still am amazed at the St. E staff that kicked it into gear when they realized how far along I was and appreciate the midwife returning to the hospital in time to welcome Henry.)   The boy who knows he can get away with most anything.  The boy who keeps interrupting his daddy while exercising to prolong the time it takes to go to sleep.  I love every inch of him.  I love watching him think he tricking us into getting his way.  I love cuddling with him in the middle of the night while getting a breathing treatment.

Since it has been 3 years since I had a baby, I now look at babies and admire the parents for the amazing gift they gave themselves, the blessing that has come into their lives, and think of the challenges they may encounter.   Babies, truly one of life's miracles.

Ralph: Itty Bitty Basketball

Ralph finished up another Itty Bitty session tonight - this one being basketball.   Henry and I did not stay for all the sessions but I did enjoy watching him develop through the 6 weeks.  The first session or two introduced jumping jacks and high steps during warmups - both foreign concepts.  He has the high steps figured out; the jumping jacks still need a little work but it is fun to watch "jumping ralph" full of energy with a smile on his face.  Shuffling was another foreign concept and a must in basketball.  The picture shows him focusing on foot placement - by week 6 it came a lot more naturally and not so forced.

Each week they worked on various fundamentals - shooting, dribbling, passing, and shuffling.  The coaches repeated some games played in Sport Development and introduced more basketball specific games.  Ralph is easily distracted and Mike did a good job of trying to minimize distractions by picking spots away from others or turning Ralph so he could not see others as much.

Up next is another Sports Development session Ralph seems interested to do again.  It starts in February and Henry will be eligible to participate as well so it could become a family affair.

Fingerprints Thanksgiving Program

For the 2nd year the boys' daycare, Fingerprints Child Development Center, put on a Thanksgiving program.  Last year we were lucky in that the boys' rooms stood be side each other and the boys were switched around so they could be side by side - so much easier to take photos and video.  This year they were split up.   It was cute to watch them as they entered and absorbed all the folks in the audience.  Ralph immediately starts waving way before he sees us - waving as he keeps moving his eyes until he finds us.  Henry kind of shied back and hid behind a friend until he finally spied us and then grinned.  All of the classes were on stage and sang a few songs then each class went solo then most of the classes came together at the end for a few more songs.

Program held November 15.

Huskers Basketball Game

We took our yearly trip to watch the Men's Husker basketball game on November 11.   We do not pick the game based on the opponent yet but the time of tip-off.   We were fortunate there were games at 4 pm the past couple of years we could attend.  Unfortunately there were not any 4 pm games scheduled this year so we went with a 6 pm game - Huskers v. Southern - the first regular home game of the season.  All in all it went good - they enjoyed spying Herbie & Lil Red, they liked watching the cheerleaders (and sometimes mimicking them, the liked the halftime entertainment of dogs catching frisbees, and I think they watched some of the game.  Unfortunately with about 3 minutes left in the game Henry declared he had something in his eye and HAD to have a wet rag to wipe his eye . . . I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact he couldn't stay in his chair and had to crawl around on the floor.   Yes, Ralph's shirt is on backwards and he knew it.

(final score: Huskers 66 / Southern 55)

Henry: Celebrating 35 months!

One more month to take advantage of entrance fees and buffets where kids “2 & under” get in free!  Time is ticking and it is not slowing down!  Soon there will not be any more toddlers in the house! 

Henry is doing much better at identifying colors and shapes.  He is also into matching – the lid on his sippy cup NEEDS to match the cup which is a challenge because they were sold mismatched. 

 

Henry likes to turn anything and everything into a train.   He’ll line up boxes and hop in them.  One night he got each of us to sit in a box as best as we could.  He will take the fabric drawers out of their cubbies and line them up.  He will line up pieces of paper to form a train if he has to.  He is also very picky about his jammies and HAS to wear Thomas the Train jammies.

 

He is getting better at showing us he can undress and dress himself but he does not always follow directions or act on requests quick enough.  I have also seen him trying to remove socks with his teeth though he can do it the right way. 

 

Naps are still a challenge at home.  I’m hopeful this stage will pass sometime and he’ll give in.  If he would just lay quietly we’d probably have better luck – he just can’t seem to stay still.  I’m usually optimistic that he will just fall asleep while playing and he can be tricked into taking a nap but it has not worked yet.  He usually plays quietly without a problem now but he still needs to take a nap!

 

Bedtime is not much easier and he has Mike wrapped around his finger too as Mike has been exercising while the boys are going to bed so Henry keeps going into our room to tell Mike various things.  It is hard to get too mad at him when he comes in to say “Daddy I love you”.  Some nights he also thinks he has to go the bathroom 3-4 times before it’s all said and done, just to delay the inevitable some more.

 

He had been on a good streak of sleeping through the night but is fighting a cough again.  Time will tell if he will need the help of a steroid to get through it.  It’s been about two months since his last bout but when I’m coughing and his friends at daycare are coughing there really is no way to avoid it.

 

He seems to be a tattle tell or maybe he just likes to keep us informed.  Sometimes when he sees Ralph do something Henry will say “we don’t put our cups on our heads.”or “Ralphie pour syrup on his plate."  He also likes to make a big deal if Ralph takes a fruit or something off of his plate at a meal time . . .even if Henry was not going to eat it no matter what.  If he is in a good mood he will willingly share his food  but it has to be his idea.

 

He is getting very brave in the bath and laying on his back and resting comfortable.  Much easier to wash/rinse hair that way!

 

He really needs a haircut but am stalling right now as their Thanksgiving program at daycare is next Thursday and his 3 year pictures next month.  The haircut will happen next week and hopefully it will still look good next month.

 

He has graduated to toddler size 6.5 shoes (with a lot of protest initially), still wearing 2T jeans, some hand-me-down 3T sweats, and hand-me-down 3T long sleeve shirts that are still a bit too big.     I figure the hand-me-downs are the size inbetween new 2T & 3T since they’ve been washed and have slightly shrunk.  Sometimes he complains when things are “too tight” which is far from the case.  Most times they are too big and I was just tired of the smaller size and wanted to get him in some different clothes.

Halloween 2012

Ralph named off three superheros I could pick from when I asked him what he wanted to be.  Iron Man seemed to be his favorite so we went with that.  He tells me Iron Man saves the day!   When I asked Henry what he wanted to be he innocently said "a ladybug."  Keeping with the 'bug' idea, Henry was Spiderman - a distant cousin to the bug??  I also opted to play along with the superhero theme a bit and made a "Supermom" cape with a little bit of help.

I am not sure we could have jammed much more in Halloween week.  Our festivities started 6 days before Halloween with the boys' first visit to Boo at the Zoo, an annual fundraiser at the Lincoln Children's Zoo.  Boo is held October 26-30 every year.  We received "early bird" tickets which are for a specific night so we were obligated to go on October 26 which was the coldest night this season for Boo.  The boys were layered under their costumes and still had to wear their winter coat over the costumes but I did not hear any complaints.  Henry was overwhelmed by everything and wanted to be carried.  I think I can finally say he is getting heavy!  Ralph did great.

Following Boo we jetted over to St. John's church for their "trunk or treat".  After a quick round of trick or treating at car trunks we were on our way back home.

 

On Saturday, the 27th, we made it a day of pumpkin carving.  We only carved two but it did seem to take the whole day.  We took the guts out before lunch, carved one after nap, and carved the other one after supper.  Ralph gave some direction on how to carve them.

On October 28 we had another double dose of trick or treating with an afternoon "trunk or treat" at the preschool of the boys' friends Leighton & Turner.  It was a nice afternoon and a great time for little people.  Following this trunk or treat, Grandpa & Grandma took the boys to St. Mark's for a few carnival-like games and another round of "trunk or treat".

We had a few days of rest then came Halloween.  The boys had jammie day at daycare and dressed in costume for a parade and trick or treating throughout daycare.  After a stop at Grandma & Grandpa's we walked around the neighborhood - it was a great night.  There seemed to be less folks in the neighborhood handing out treats this year - not that the boys (or we) are hurting for treats, it's just a good chance to see neighbors.

(The boys also had field trips to Roca Scary Pumpkin Patch in the weeks leading to Halloween.)

Bloom Where you are Planted Pumpkin Patch

I am getting a little behind.  We visited Bloom Where You Are Planted near Avoca at the end of September.  We first visited BWYP two years ago and found it to be a great spot for young children.  Similar to Vala's, we visited on a Sunday morning just after they opened.  While there were people around us we did not have to share any areas much - it was almost as if we had the place to ourselves. 

We did not make it there last year and found a few new improvements over the past few years.  The wheelbarrow maze was a favorite as well as the chance to climb up the haybales and go down the slide.  The boys also enjoyed the cornbox - mostly all to themselves for awhile, a big tire swing, dressing a scarecrow, and the duck race in the water troughs.    Henry also tried out the horse swing.

Henry - Celebrating 34 months!

This post is a few days late as we were out of town on October 6.

Thomas the Train and his friends are still big in Henry's life.  He likes hooking them all together.  He likes putting Little People in the empty cars.  He likes unhooking them and matching the ones of similar color together.  He likes taking them to his bed.  He likes taking them in the car.  Sometimes it is hard to separate Henry from the trains.

Henry likes looking at the paper when eating breakfast.  Usually the sports section is a good distraction but one morning the weather section was showing and there's a photo of the Lincoln skyline with the capitol showing.  Henry says "look its the Capitol" - how many other kids not quite 3 can point out the Capitol?  Not too surprising since we visited "that building" earlier this summer but still good memory.

A few weeks ago as Henry was preparing to go to bed he looks at me as says "you're not daddy"  I agreed then he says "you're mommy" and gets a smile on his face as he continues "you're Courteney".  He still calls me mommy but likes to remind me every once in awhile that my name is Courteney.

Henry likes counting though he might miss a number or two along the way.  He likes repeating numbers so if you count, he will count along with you.  He recognizes certain store logos - ie. HyVee on food boxes/jars, Runza on coupons or cups.  He has started singing a song about the Mercy of God but I have no idea what song it is. 

I have noticed something unique to Henry in his running style.  When he really gets going his left arm wholeheartedly swings; and his right arm is just along for the ride.  It swings a little but not as much as the left.

Henry made it almost a full month (one day short) of wearing briefs 24/7 before having an accident in the middle of the night.  I was pretty impressed he did that well.  He's had a few since but still doing great.

We have officially started the winter regimen of breathing maintenance including morning and evening treatments with the nebulizer and an evening dose of "sugar" (singular) . . . and, lately, an evening nasal rinse.  So far he is putting up with everything. 

I forgot to post last month and had to mention since it's a cute story to remember.  When Henry puts on my shoes or slippers he says "look I'm Homer" - I'm not sure why wearing my shoes reminds him of Homer the Haymarket hound but it does.  He will also climb into Mike's boots and proclaim to be a firefighter which seems a little more appropriate.

Vala's Pumpkin Patch!

Thanks to LivingSocial we returned to Vala's for a 2nd year.  I was going to to create a "fall festivities" entry and lump all fall outings into one BUT this one seems to deserve its own entry if for no other reason than the boys rode a pony/horse/whatever you want to call it - it was 4-legged and had a saddle.  We ran across the "ponies" about 1/2 way through the visit.  I am not sure what Grandpa said to Henry but he was all for it.  Ralph opted to wait for the end of our visit.  They both rode on "Flash".  I'm curious to see if this new found enthusiasm holds until our next visit to the Children's Zoo since these horses were a little more restrained that the ones at the zoo.

Other than the horse rides, train ride (broke at last year's visit), and a few other new experiences, our visit was similar to last year's and included the corn box, duck derby, 'family country crusin', and the storybook barn, along with various photo ops at cutouts and areas with slides.  Ralph was a little brave with some of the slides throughout the property and found a new area that had Plasma cars.  It was fun to see Ralph pedal the tractors with more ease than last year.  Henry was a little unsure of some areas and wanted held more than necessary.  He was game to try about anything but held on a little more tighter as we walked through some of the barns that had displays set to recordings.  As many activities as we ran across Henry was more than content to play on a little play area made of  wooden railroad cars that were near the real train station.  We spent nearly 3.5 hours at Vala's and there was so much we did not do.   There's always next year . . . .

Ralph: Celebrating 4 1/2 years!!

(photo taken this evening, after supper - try to ignore the sausage in his mouth he insisted on showing.  He is in his "Captain America" pose.)

It struck me this morning, as I realized the date, that Ralph is 4½ years!  Once again, how did that happen?  Just in the past couple of weeks I’ve thought to myself a few times how much he is growing.  He is becoming more brave on the "big" playground at school and he loosing up a little with his dance "moves".  He is also tolerating no one laying on his floor or in the hallway at bedtime.

Ask him any weekday what he did at ‘school’ and he will tell you he raced cars.  Somedays it is hard to get any more information about his day.  He did tell me he likes the alphabet and the fun center in Ms. Jill's room.  He gets practice everyday writing his name as he puts his name on worksheets.  The other day he did tell me who he was going to marry, and also told me who one of his friends was going to marry. 

Friendships are beginning to be more important as he likes to leave ‘school’ the same time his friends leave . . . and give them hugs in the parking lot.  He also often asks to go to so-so's house to play although we have not had the chance to do so. 

He is into the superheros - mostly Iron Man, Superman, and Captain America.  This interest, I'm sure, is heavily influenced by his peers.  We do have a short Spiderman book but the only time we've run across anything else superhero related at home is an Iron Man cartoon during one of Henry's breathing treatments a few weeks ago.  He also likes to say "nah, nah, nah, nah Batman."

  

He likes treats (licorice, fruit snacks, and jelly beans) but also likes to save them.  He saved a piece of licorice in the car for a few days even after I tried to convince him it would just get hard.  He can be generous with sharing treats also.

He likes TV and all the distractions it brings.  Unfortunately for him that only comes during Henry's breathing treatments and a few other rare occasions.  Most mornings he is left with the task of getting dressed during this time and he has to be reminded multiple times to keep getting dressed, and sometimes moved around the corner so he can not see what is on the scene.

He tries to test the boundaries and see if he can be in charge.  If I ask him to get his clothes on he may reply "I'll put my clothes on if you give me fruit snacks."

He is getting a competitive spirit and is starting to have a fit if he is not first . . .first in the tub, first to get out, first up the stairs, first to be dropped off at school.

He is really great at being a big brother.  He tries to feed Henry once in awhile and sometimes he needs to bribe Henry - he'll tell Henry "if you take a bite (of whatever), I'll give you a chip"  I know he picked it up from us but still fun to watch.  There are still days I believe Ralph thinks Henry is here to be his playmate.  There are days those two are inseparable (and there are times those two need to be separated).

He has quite the imagination.  The past few weeks he makes ice cream at Grandma & Grandpa's utilizing an old smokers stand they have.  The stories behind the pictures he draws are pretty creative.  One picture the other night started out with a football and two football players and soon included glow in the dark baseballs and some other light up things.

He still has a thing against dogs, or animals in general.  If he is having a great day he will not freak out when a dog is near.   He will not directly feed the goats at the zoo nor has he rode a pony.   I did ask him a few weeks ago when he'd ride a pony and he said he would when Henry would. . . I have not asked Henry to ride a pony yet so maybe next year.

Ralph: Itty Bitty Sports

Ralph is taking another session of Itty Bitty Sports.  This time the focus is "Sports Development" - just a general introduction to the fundamentals of basic sporting skills - throwing, rolling, catching, batting, kicking, etc.  Ralph says he likes catching the best.

This session has a few differences over the baseball session he took over the summer.  The station leaders are different but the main coordinator is the same.  It is located on East Campus versus City Campus so a little more convenient.  The biggest difference is that three other boys from his room at 'school' are also participating.  There was a little concern they'd be distracted by each other but since they are split into groups they aren't always together which helps.

Ralph enjoys the stations and the group activities.  A favorite group activity that was played in the baseball session is "Mr. Fox, Mr. Fox what time is it?" (last photo) 

Ralph: 1st Husker Football Game!

What was that I mentioned about Ralph waiting until he was 5 to go to his first Husker football game?? Sometimes, just sometimes, an opportunity comes along that cannot be passed up as was the case last weekend so the unofficial ‘rule’ was broke.  Between the nice (bordering on hot) weather and earlier kick-off it did end being a great day for Ralph to experience his first game.   

There really is no preparing for the “Sea of Red” and I think Ralph was a little overwhelmed by the crowd.  He spent his time on the bleachers sitting on Mike’s lap.    They watched the first quarter, grabbed a bite to eat in the 2^nd quarter, back to the seats for halftime and the 3^rd quarter, and left a minute into the 4^th quarter. 

Ralph's favorite part about the football game?  Cheering for the Huskers, he says.

Mike carried Ralph some of the way back to the car.  Mike asked Ralph "What happens when you get to big and I can't carry you?"  Ralph's reply?  "Well, I guess daddy you will have to make me walk."


Today in the newspaper there is a photo of a high school football player holding a football.  I told Ralph I didn't know what position he played - quarterback, receiver, etc.  Ralph said he is not a quarterback.  Quarterbacks are #7.  I guess he did learn something the other day.

Henry: Celebrating 33 months!

(A still shot of Henry "dancing")

Henry is officially wearing briefs 100% of the time.  Even though we had more diapers on hand it didn't seem it was worth it to keep using them when he woke up dry so we made the switch a few weeks ago.  Not to jinx us, he has woke up dry every morning so far (though he is forced to go potty when he wakes up in the middle of the night which helps increase the odds of waking up dry.)

He likes to take his shoes off, velcro shoes that he believes can only be taken off if the straps are completely removed.  He can put his own briefs and pants/shorts on if motivated.  We have not really pushed him to do more yet as we are usually in a hurry to get dressed. 

We have quit worrying if Henry is colorblind.  It crossed our mind a time or two as he would announce the wrong color when asked about a color.  He would say it so convincingly as though he was just so sure.  The last couple of times in the bath, while playing with the bathtub letters and numbers, he has been sorting and stacking similar colors.

"I need to tell you someting" is one of the last phrases out of Henry's mouth in the evenings at bedtime.  He also has many questions like "why is that a headboard?", "why is that a fan?", "why is Jesus on the cross?", "can you kiss my owies?"  All of these stalling techniques are coming about because we have stopped laying in the hallway.  Like most things, Henry is not one for change and changes must be extreme like when "rocky" was taken away.  I debated the sticker or other reward method but opted to go cold turkey.  It still takes awhile but is better than laying in the hallway and I'm getting some additional exercise running up and down the stairs humoring Henry with his requests.

Unfortunately we have had to start breathing treatments again.  I was stalling and hoping we could hold out until Henry saw the asthma/allergy doctor in a few weeks but it was not meant to be.  He got a cold around August 22 and we couldn't outsmart it . . .even with all the nasal rinses we did.  A cough followed that didn't want to leave without a little help from a strong steroid (orapred).  It was the 2nd time Henry has been on it since the first of the year.  Within 24 hours of taking the first dose Henry turned into an ultra sensitive, super indecisive 2-year-old, I'm sure his lack of sleep didn't help but wow, it was incredible to see such a change in his personality.  Luckily Henry was mostly back to his old self a few days after the prescription ended. 

Henry still is not interested in sitting at the table to eat for meal.  He'll take a few bites, get bored, and then declare he is done.  He will sit a bit longer if he has something interesting to look at (ie. photos in paper or magazine).  Sometimes he finds a challenge in taking a "big bite" or two but most of time HE IS the challenge. 

Henry's language is coming right along.  He likes to repeat words and phrases (both at the time he hears it and later in conversation which may or may not be appropriate) but also has his own thoughts and is pretty clear when speaking for a 33 month old. . . such a change from when I thought he was close to being speech delayed.

In counting Henry's teeth the other week I noticed he is still missing one of his 1st year molars and all of his 2nd year molars.

Henry had a bad dropoff at daycare last week (mostly due to being overly tired) and started crying when Ralph & I left.  Ralph volunteered to go back to Henry's room to play with Henry for a bit since his teacher wasn't there yet which helped Henry . .but also started a 'bad' habit.  Henry has requested Ralph play with him the last couple of mornings and, luckily, Henry's teacher is willing to play along.

There is No Place Like Nebraska!

I may have found my favorite game day tradition.  There is something about "sneaking" into Memorial Stadium before the football game and watching the band practice.  Okay, we aren't really sneaking in as a gate is wide open and an usher welcomes the public but it is a little surreal to be allowed entry on a game day without a second look, wagon and all.  It's also a little fun to watch all the pregame preparations.

The band begins practice 5.5 hours before kickoff, so depending on what game time is it may or may not work in terms of naps and what not.  With a 2:30 kickoff today and band practice starting at 9 am, it worked out great.  (the next home game begins at 11 am - I DO NOT think we'll be at band practice.)  We arrived about 30-45 minutes after practice started.  Henry had his moments but did clap to the music at times.  Ralph did a good job of watching.

We also stopped by the two bronze just north of the stadium to get the yearly photos.

This may be our last practice this year as Ralph asked where the football players were and let us know he wanted to wait for them.   I have thought about watching the team arrive but know it will be just a tad busier than watching the band practice and I don't think it will satisfy his quest to see the football players.

The spring game next April may be the boys' first "game."  While I think they might enjoy watching parts of the game, and did great at the baseball games, I am still not sure it is worth the price of admission - 2 tickets to one game is more than I paid for season tickets as a UNL student . . . Maybe we'll make the 1st game experience something you receive after your 5th birthday.

Ralph: The Countdown Begins!

 "Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes  
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear 
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes  
How do you measure, measure a year?"

One year from today (according to the Lincoln Public Schools) Ralph will be a Kindergartner!   That statement really does create an emotional response from me.  How crazy is that? (1-that he will be a Kindergartner and 2- that I have emotions.)

It seems so strange, I've dropped him off and picked him up at daycare since he was 10 weeks old, how come "going to Kindergarten" puts a whole different spin on everything?  I have come to know and trust (some better than others) all of providers at Fingerprints; my safety net will be changing and that is scary.  We both will have to learn a new system and, while exciting, will also be scary.  Ah, the fear of the unknown and the excitement the comes with it.  My little boy is growing up!

In a few days he will move to the Pre-K room at daycare.  We received a handout the other week of readiness skills they will be working on throughout the year.  Ralph does good with most of the skills; there's some that definitely need some work but will come along with time. 

Ralph is a broken record.  Most of the time the record is stuck on "why?", sometimes we get to the 2nd song of "what?" and the 3rd song title "how do you know?"  The record gets stuck A LOT and the same songs are repeated many, many times.  There is nothing quite like going somewhere new and listening to all the questions.  Sometimes I just think he likes to listen to himself talk as he really doesn't care what the answer is.  Sometimes he has another question before I finish answering the first question.  Sometimes I just make up an answer to the best of my ability even if its not the right answer.  If you ever have time to go to a baseball game with him, I could use the help.

He can recite the alphabet and pick letters out of words.  He has a great memory. Yesterday, we were at Shopko, checking out, and he points to the women's restroom and says "why does that say womens?" and last night when we were at the baseball game he points to a sign and says "That says Haymarket Park".  At this point we aren't really sure what he can read and what he has memorized.  I'm pretty sure most of it is memorization but sometimes he surprises us by referring to something I don't think he has seen before or no one could have possibly told him that though I'm not with him all day and I think he does a pretty good job extrapolating from other experiences.  He can print most letters but needs to work on upper and lower case letters.

I'm not really sure how high Ralph can count but last week I was working on a spreadsheet and he asked me about the numbers of the side (the rows) and he tells me what row I am on (37).  I decided to highlight rows and ask him what number I was on.  A few times he did transpose numbers but after a few corrections he caught on very quickly.  He did do 104 by himself - and not 1-0-4 but a hundred and four.  Every once in a while we work on simple addition and subtraction.  He likes to learn, unfortunately there is not enough time in the day.

He will share facts he learned during the day.  "Did you know it takes 4 days to reach the moon?" he asked after studying the space at 'school'.

Ralph has been waking at night lately more than we'd like.  He usually comes quietly into our room and either stands at the bed until Mike wakes up or talks quietly to wake him up (most mornings I wake up oblivious that anything happened).  For the first time last night, since he moved into a twin bed, I put the top sheet on his bed.  Up until this point he had just been sleeping with a blanket.  I'm hoping this helps and that maybe he was just waking up because he got cold or the blanket fell off.  He would tell Mike he needs to be covered . . .and the other night he told Mike his blanket needed stretched out.

He is wearing size 8 1/2 Toddler shoes, size 3T-4T shorts (love summer time as length does not matter), 4T or XS shirts.  He is finally tall enough to stand comfortably to do his thing, if you know what I mean.  His preferred menu choices do not change much - hotdog, chicken nuggets, or peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Luckily he really does like fruit, most any fruit.  He is only a morning person if he is getting his way and can hardly be rushed for anything.  I have tried to start a simple chore of putting his dishes at the sink when he is done eating.  It takes a lot of prodding some days.  He still likes to make up words, just tonight at supper he was 'reading' the paper to Henry as he made up words to go along with the story.  Last night he kept making up a story based on what he saw - could almost remind you of The Usual Suspects.  He'd start a sentence, get to a place in the sentence and finish the sentence based on something he saw.   I'm not sure if this is totally intentional but he loves to argue.  If I say a very true statement he likes to argue or contradict it, usually with no reason.  It can be very annoying.

He is not my adventurous son, he can be timid in his actions but he can also be a silly, fun-loving 4 year old who is more goofy the more he is encouraged.

Summertime Fun!!

In addition to visiting the various attractions that were a part of the "Be a Tourist in your Hometown" program, we had fun exploring and taking part in other activities throughout the summer.

Weekend of June 10:  After spending the night at Grandma Grandpa's, we picked the boys up and headed to the BryanLGH kids health and safety fair.  Ralph actively participated in some booths; Henry a little less but both seemed to have a good time.  The highlight of this outing was seeing Ralph touch a puppy that was up for adoption.  I'm not even sure what group was with the puppies but we walked by them and, seeing how subdued they were I asked Ralph if he'd want to pet a puppy and he said yes and walked over to where they were.  I pet the puppy a few times and Ralph finally did.  So nice to see him take this little baby step though it was not a major break through; he will still run from 4-legged friends.  There were a few inflatables in the parking lot - one was a pirate ship we had not seen before.  Ralph was not too interested when we first arrived but did decide he was ready on the way out.  It had a little slide as well - we were at an event in May that had a slide inflatable and he choose not to do it.  Again, so nice to see him take this baby step even if it were on a smaller slide.  Our dancing man, Henry, heard some music (the String Beans) as we were approaching their way and started swaying to the music.  He does not miss a beat!

The same day, in the evening we visited the city's Public Works Day. The boys checked out some of the city's fleet - street sweeper, dump truck, bucket truck AND a city bus.  Ralph also got a chance to practice casting a fishing rod.  The instructor let Ralph do his own thing so Ralph made big figure 8's with the rod, not totally sure what he learned but he had a big smile on his face (when he wasn't concentrating by sticking out his tongue).

On June 27, Ralph was given a chance to visit his friend Isaac, for maybe the last time.  Isaac and his family are moving and had left daycare earlier in June.  Isaac's mom invited the boys over for swimming one evening.  Isaac's departure from daycare was tough on Ralph so this was a great chance for them to get together.  These days when we ask Ralph who he played with at 'school' he still reminds us that Isaac is not there anymore.  I think he will remember Isaac for a long time.



On July 13, we visited the Ballard Swimming Pool in north Lincoln to take advantage of their $5 family swim nights from 6-8 pm.  It was our first outing to a swimming pool in Lincoln.  It worked out pretty good and was a good trial for Ralph, having just completed his swimming lessons.  He did practice some of what he had learned - and did put his face in the water (goggles on) for very brief amounts of time.  Henry had fun in the baby pool and jumping off the edge, holding hands, into the big pool.  We did visit Ballard again August 3 - it was great to see how much more comfortable Ralph was in the water . . .and if the crying/whining he did when we left was any indication of how much he liked playing in the water, he really liked playing in the water.

On July 14, thanks to an invitation from the BryanLGH Kids Club we visited Star City Shores for the first time.  Kids Club members were invited to a "private" party before it was open to the public for the day.  It was a good morning to check it out, at no charge, in the company of many families but not overly crowded.  I think we are good for another year and appreciate the opportunity to check it out.  In the hour and half we were there Henry had to go potty twice and Ralph kept wanting to dry his face off.

On July 28, Grandma & Grandpa took the boys to Lost in Fun for the first time.  I can't comment much on this other than I hear they had a good time.  I am glad they finally got a chance to visit.

On August 10, Grandpa & Grandma took the boys out of daycare early and visited the Count Fair.  They saw bears perform, pigs race, visited some of the 4-H animals, and rode on one of the midway rides.  Sounds like an action-packed few hours to me!

Today the boys made their 1st visit to Eagle Raceway (and the Little E track) to watch go-karts race.  The races started about the time the boys should have been napping, we watched a few races and headed home.  Again, Ralph was not too happy to leave.  Henry was sleeping before we hit the county line; Ralph was dozing in and out. 


The start of the Lincoln Public School year is upon us, though we still have another year to go it does mean that most summer type activities are nearing an end.   Summertime was busy, I know it will only get busier as the boys get older.  We tried to do what we could on nights & weekends, of course the heat wave was not kind in July and kept us stuck inside more than the boys wanted.  Also, appreciate the time Grandpa & Grandma can spend with them and be with them as the boys experience new things.