Friday, August 30, 2013

Tribute to Simon

Last week we had to say an unexpected and very sad goodbye to our sweet, chubby, lovable, orange friend. We (actually John) got Simon in July 2002 in an attempt to find a friend for my rambunctious kitten (Sofia). Simon and Sofia never really became friends, but over the last 11 years, he became an integral part of our little family.

It turned out that Simon had kidney failure, and according to the vet, it is likely that he was born with the bum kidneys.

We all really miss Simon. I keep thinking I see him beached in the middle of the floor throughout the house, and I am convinced Henry is looking for him. Unlike Sofia, Simon was so good with (read: tolerant of) Henry. He would let Henry cuddle and tackle him, pull his tail, and give him kisses. Simon was a one of a kind guy, and we are thankful for the 11 great years we had with him.

Simon "helping" me work.

Simon and John checking out their favorite web sites.

Simon Claus

Ever the graceful fellow

Fancied himself a present

One of his favorite spots to park himself

Watching over Henry after we brought him home from the hospital.

Testing out the car seat

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Sweet Home Chicago!

Henry's day care is closed this week, so we thought that rather than hanging out at home with him, we would take a little trip to Chicago. We've been here since Sunday and have been having an absolute blast - it feels like we never left! I can't believe that we leave tomorrow. Time flies! Here's what we've been up to since we got here.

Day 1: flight from hell. Note to self: do not fly with toddler without buying him a seat into which you can strap him and his car seat, no matter how much it costs. Also, I will also never again be scheduling a flight right in the middle of Henry's nap time. It's been over a year now since Henry has had a napless day, and I now know why I've blocked those days out of my memory. All being said, he handled the travel (and lack of a nap) like a champ.

I had dinner with two of my favorite girlfriends, Sarah and Beth, and John had dinner with two of his favorite guy friends, Jim and Jeff. All around a good first night in town.

Climbing at the airport, waiting for our flight.
Day 2: Morning trip to the Astor play lot so that Henry can burn some energy before his nap. He had an absolute blast. City kids are way more polite on the playground than kids back home, so I wasn't constantly worried about him getting knocked over, sand thrown in his face, pushed down the slide, etc. Monday also marked the momentous occasion of Henry's first bus ride.  After that, it was all "bus bus bus!" (Or maybe I should say busss-sh busss-sh busss-sh in Henry-speak.)  Henry is now obsessed with the bus, and actually cried when I suggested taking a taxi to the Children's Museum rather than the bus.  Speaking of the Children's Museum, we made our first trip to Navy Pier to visit the Chicago Children's Museum. Henry loved his time there, too. He ran and played and watched all the big kids and had a great time. We rounded out our day with dinner with Scott and Auntie Steph at Chicago Q before heading back to the hotel and passing out.

Oh, and I had lunch with some more of the best girls I know - Sam, Susan, and Nicole - in the West Loop. Miss those gals!

Enjoying our view from our room (or what you can see of it through all the kid handprints on the window)

Henry's first bus ride! He's mesmerized and will never be the same.

We paid $14 per person to get into the Children's Museum, and Henry just wants to play with trucks. Lovely.

Being silly with Steph and Scott before bed.
Day 3 (today): Henry got us up at 6:30, so we got an early start. We tried out a new play lot (Lake Shore East Park), then headed to the Loop for some exploring. Henry had his first Magnolia cupcake and was in hog heaven. He had one to himself and insisted on having a few bites of mine. After a long nap by Henry (and even longer lunch by me with my old co-workers), we headed up to our old neighborhood for a bit of nostalgia. We took Henry for his inaugural trip to Timeless Toys.  He left owning several more cars than we walked in with, the spoiled little stink. After strolling down Lincoln and checking out our old stomping grounds, we played at Welles Park before having dinner at Rockwell's, which just happens to be the first restaurant Henry ever visited.  All of this activity resulted in Henry being up past his bedtime, which caused him to morph into demon dragon baby. Not cool. We promptly put him to bed and are hopeful he will wake up as his normal sweet self tomorrow.

Playing outside with our new obsession, the school bus. He didn't let go of it all day long. I had to pry it out of his little hand at bedtime!

Miss this view.

Dinner at Rockwell's.

Moments before Henry's transformation into the most ill-behaved baby.
It's been such a wonderful and nostalgic trip! It's been great seeing friends, visiting some of our favorite spots, and showing Henry around one of the best cities on earth. Now I'm off to bed so I can enjoy my last few hours here before heading back to Tulsa tomorrow.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Marathon Post!

What? We still have a blog?

We have lots to update on since our last post! We've had lots of newsworthy events in the past month and a half or so.

First, Henry got tubes! This may not seem like that big of a deal to some, but it was a huge deal to us. Homeboy can now hear, which means that he can say words. His vocabulary has quadrupled since his surgery, and he's been all around a more pleasant person to be around. We get a new word every other day or so. The latest: the cutest version of "bus" you've ever heard!


Henry is getting a little brother! We found out in July that the bambino in my belly was another boy, and while we would have been happy not matter what it was, I'm secretly (or not so secretly) pumped that it's another boy. He and Henry will be almost exactly 25 months apart, so that means fun playmates (and great hand-me-downs). Henry has no clue what is to come.

Practicing for baby brother?
Henry had a cute 4th of July parade at his school.  All the kids had special t-shirts that they made especially for the occasion. Unfortunately, Henry was not pleased with the crowd of parents waiting outside to greet the parading kids as they exited the school and cried throughout the whole parade. Ah well - it was cute anyway!



We celebrated 4th of July at Grand Lake with lots of family. Henry had a great time with all his cousins. Maybe one day we will be able to stay up late enough to watch the fireworks.


Driving the pink jeep with cousin Ethan

Henry got his first "big boy" hair cut. I couldn't bring myself to cut off those curls, so thank goodness Auntie Lisa was conservative with Henry's "men's layered cut" as his style is apparently called. So handsome!


I did my first solo trial. Now that it's over with, I wonder what in the heck I was so worried about. Now on to the next big work project!

I continue to grow larger and larger. They weren't kidding when they said you get bigger with subsequent pregnancies. This is me at 18 weeks. Sheesh!


Henry finished his first year at "school" with a water day. They ended the celebration with a feast of Cheetos and other fun kid foods.  Henry had never seen a Cheeto before, so he was a little hesitant to taste one.  However, after I tried one and showed him it wasn't poison, he jumped on the Cheeto bandwagon and is now a huge fan. In spite of a bath and several scrubbings, his little hands may still be stained with synthetic orange cheese.




That's it with us! Hope everyone has had a great summer!