King Henry - photos from the private party ... big bash to follow on Sunday!

Here are the pics I promised from Henry's birthday.

Henry's 1st Birthday

Internet issues preventing any picture uploads from today .... I will get gem up tomorrow!

Happy 1st Birthday Henry Boy

We love our Henry Boy, Hankles, McNugget, Rocket Tot, Gentle Giant, Hammerin' and more often than not, the H Bomb.

We had a lot of fun having him wear his birthday crown, making cupcakes (Liana and mama), and opening presents. The party is on Sunday, 8/14 - more presents, cake and fun!

Oh Henry Boy

We are T minus 7 days before Henry turns 1 - hard to believe. He is coming into his own little personality and he is recognizing a lot of the world arund him and grunting and groaning his way through.

There are definite sounds for dog (dah) and cat (ka) and I get to hear "dadadadada" as he shouts and crawls toward me when I come home from work - makes my day as much as when the Nugget takes a full on sprint and jumps into my arms!

Crawling has been mastered and Hankles is taking steps if you hold his hands and he has been pushing the "cruising" boundaries and gives us the "look ma no hands" routine every once in a while. His sign language is coming along but he is stubborn - he will only sign "more" when he really wants something - the other day it was potato chips. He is holding up his index finger when we say "1" and he touches his nose when you ask him where it is - he also touches his nose if you ask him where his toes are... sometimes, so the jury is out on that. When we ask about shoes he lifts his feet in preparation to be sandaled or sneakered. He recognizes light and fan and we'll see if he calls them both "sha" like his big sis did.

Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, he will point and repeat "dat, dat, dat" (that) when he sees something he wants.

His smile and laugh are infectious and that's what keeps us from throwing him out the window when he won't sleep - yup - not a good sleeper...yet! The Bomber dances on queue when he hears a good tune coming from a toy, the radio, or on TV.

I tried out my juggling routine with him the other day and he took to mimicing my "ch, ch, ch" which is what I do when I throw each ball in the air. The Nugget would make those sounds and hand me balls or anything else when she wanted me to perform my circus act. Sounds like he may follow suit.

He has the "High 5", "touchdown" and "so big" nailed cold so it will soon be time to work on the "knuckles" and maybe for the playoffs this year we should get him working on the middle finger in case the Yankees go against the Sox :-)

All in all, we love the little guy and can't wait to see him keep coming into his own.

Watch This, Dada, Watch This!

I hear this from the Nugget every 5 minutes - usually the ask is to watch her do some crazy jump with a funky leg twist, throw a ball in the air and hit it with her hand or something else that if it weren't so important to her would seem otherwise trivial. Both mama and I are going on about 2 weeks of the "watch this!" treatment and we are tracing it back to the RAC where we go to the pool. Many parents go there and seem to just hang out pool side in full lounge mode while their kids (who can either swim or are equipped with enough flotation to survive the Great Flood) desperately pine for their attention. I'm a sucker so I usually give them one quick "nice job" or a "that's cool" and then it is all over - it becomes the "watch this game" until we leave. The parents could not care less. So, Liana has taken to this approach as if she was equally neglected on a regular basis (yeah, I am saying we are better than those parents ;-)). Anyway, like anything else, this phase will pass ...

The Beach

We are thankful that The Nugget and the H Bomb love the water and the beach. The only benefit of surviving the long cold winters here is that the summer affords us a bit of a reprieve (if you consider 90+ degrees and almost 100% humidity a reprieve) and a chance to go to the beach. We hit Green Harbor Beach twice and the kids had a blast. See some shots from our time on vaca as well as just last wee

k at Old Silver Beach.

Story Land - We Came, We Saw, We Kicked your A** :-)

The family ventured north to New Hampshire to Storyland on July 22nd. It was us, the Kemps and the Guevremont's - 11 people in total with a +1 parent to child ratio.

It was nearly 100 degrees and not a cool breeze in sight. We ventured to the park in the late afternoon on Friday and headed back on Saturday. In between there was pool time at the hotel and a night of trying to keep Hankles asleep for the greater good of all.

The Nugget for some reason decided the pack 'n play was her sleep destination which meant Henry was in bed with mama. Daddy got the queen size to himself but none of us (other than the Nugget) got anything close to a good night of sleep.

Short story long - Storyland was a big hit. Liana LOOVVVED the Polar Coaster - a good sized roller coaster for someone her age and she loved Bamboo Shoots - a water ride that ends with a fast cruise down a hill and a big splash. We rode both rides at least 6 times over the course of the 2 days in addition to the Ferris Wheel and the Flying Shoes. We had a Pumpkin Stage Coach ride to see Cinderella in her castle and we visited the carousel, the Old Lady who Lived in a Shoe, and other fairy tale themed exhibits, rides and games.

There were temporary tattoos, shaved ice, and family fun aplenty :-) Next year we will hit the swan boats, antique cars and the train that goes around the park.

Henry enjoyed the ball pit and the Flying Shoes - he cried when it was time to move on from both of these - so much so that we gave him another turn on both. He was also a big fan of the splash pad where he could play with water and cool down.

This could turn into an annual traditon for the three families - maybe the adults will even get some time at some point to chill and enjoy the ameniteis at the hotel and outlets - doubtful!