Happy Birthday Henry!

Today my little man turns 3! Henry is so excited that it is his birthday - he tells everyone that he is "free" now! We started the day with hosting his playgroup this morning and tonight we are going to see the Harlem Globetrotters (Hopefully he will enjoy the spectacle even if he doesn't understand the game...). We will have his birthday party with family and friends on Saturday.

Here is a new and improved list of Henry's Top 10:

1. Henry gives the best hugs and loves cuddle...at least for 20 seconds at a time.

2. Henry is a talker! He has so much to tell us.

3. Henry is obsessed with certain DVD's, especially Ice Age. He doesn't necessarily need to watch them but he like to talk about them and carry them around. He takes 3 or 4 in his backpack when he goes to Grandma's house.

4. Henry loves to eat Macaroni and Cheese, PB&J's and Chicken Nuggets...and not much else. (Except for breakfast when he does eat oatmeal most days.)

5. Henry is very concerned with whose turn it is to go to Grandma's house, Emma's or his - this is one of his favorite topics to talk about!

6. Henry loves driving over railroad tracks. Nothing makes him happier than when we go out of our way, just so we'll have to go over them. If we see a train in the process, Henry's life is complete.

7. Henry sleeps with about 6 stuffed animals and his aquarium in his bed. He is very specific about "who" he wants there and knows instantly if "someone" is missing.

8. Henry holds my face gently between his hands when he really wants me to listen.

9. Henry has to cry every time he is dropped off at school - but only until Daddy or I has left his line of sight...then he is fine and has a lot of fun.

10. Henry is the sweetest, most loving little boy in the world - how did we get so lucky!?

I was thinking back to when Emma turned three. I thought she was such a big girl then. Maybe its because Henry is the younger sibling but I still see him as being my baby. I suppose that will change after these twins come...

That elusive "perfect" picture...

Every year, I struggle with getting the "perfect picture" to send out as Christmas cards. I realize that with two small children (and sometimes a couple of adults and/or a dog thrown in there too) this is a losing battle. Still, I try.

On Sunday, we went to a Santa Brunch. I thought this would be a great place to get that perfect picture I've been dreaming of. There would even be live reindeer to pose with - how could we go wrong!? Well, as you can see from the results above, perfection wasn't quite reached. Emma tried so hard to smile sweetly while putting her arm around Henry...Unfortunately, Henry wasn't exactly cooperating.
Today we tried again. We have fresh snow on the ground - great for Christmas picture taking! So, what I finally realized today was that Henry has no idea how you smile on command...The above picture shows Henry "smiling" (I know this because when I told him to smile he said - "I am!") What he was doing was squinting his eyes and holding his breath. Sometimes he would open his mouth wide a stick out his tongue as well. Poor guy, all he needed was a little coaching in the art of smiling!
In the end, after dozens of pictures, I think we ended up with something pretty good. (Thank goodness for digital cameras - however did we survive before that wonderful invention?)

One more thing checked off my to-do list!

'Tis the season...

This is what we woke up to this morning. Talk about a couple of happy children! I feel that if it has to be cold, it might as well snow - it makes everything so much prettier! (It's easy for me to say that since I don't have to do any shoveling...)

Looking Back....July, Part One

Continuing with our look back, July is next up. We started the month at home where we had lot's of fun before our big trip to Sweden (more on that in Part Two!).

Emma loves the Fancy Nancy books and went to a Fancy Nancy party at the library with Grandma. Emma was all dressed up in her finery, just like Fancy Nancy - the character, not the Grandma :) They read a book, had refreshments and learned a little bit about table manners - I hear it was all very cute!
I just love the picture of Emma with the oversized tub of popcorn - who can eat that much popcorn?! Our family of four could not finish it! We took the kids to see Ice Age III - talk about heaven for little Henry. He continues to be obsessed with his Ice Age DVD - hopefully Santa will bring him the latest release for Christmas!

Fourth of July was a blast! Mitchell was here visiting which made it all the more fun for his cousins. We started the day with the parade in our little town. In the afternoon we went to a carnival with lots of rides and games. Emma was fearless on those rides! I wouldn't want to go on some of the things she went on! Later, dinner was at Aunt Eileen's house. Emma and I started a new tradition - we made an American flag cake with strawberries and blueberris on top that we brought to dinner. I'll have to get a picture of it next year! As darkness set in we watched fireworks and played with sparklers - I was sure someone (read Henry) would get burned but we made it through without any injuries! By the end of the night, we had some very tired kiddos - and parents too for that matter...

Nutcracker Tea

Emma, Nancy and I went to a Nutcracker Tea yesterday. It was the cutest thing! First we saw a performance from the Nutcracker by some amazingly talented dancers. Then we had our tea, complete with finger sandwiches and cream puffs shaped as swans (see picture below - Emma was just tickled by this!). Next was supposed to be a make up and hair styling session followed by a photo op with one of the ballerinas. For some reason Emma did not want to do this and had a brief, but intense, meltdown. On to the next thing - arts and crafts! Emma loves anything having to do with coloring, cutting, gluing and stringing so this was more to her liking and the meltdown was over. She made an adorable little Christmas tree ornament out of buttons (sorry Mormor!). Our last activity was a mini ballet lesson that Emma participated in with gusto. It was especially sweet when Emma ran the opposite way from everyone else in the circle - she didn't seem to notice but was smiling from ear to ear. The sparkle in her eyes is something to see! Thank you to Grandma for a wonderful morning!!

All dressed up for the big event.

With two beautiful snowflakes.

Emma was a very enthusiastic ballet student!

The swan shaped cream puff!

My house is beautiful right now...

....not!!! But when the painters are finally done, I will be so excited!!!

Family Fun!

Our Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful. Emma and Henry played with their older cousins, who the really look up to! Rachel, Naomi and Mitchell were great with the little ones and they all had a good time. It was like having babysitters around all weekend which made it very nice for Dan and me!

Of course Thursday night was Thanksgiving dinner at Eileen's house...check out the kids' table with the beautiful bread basket:

Dinner was fantastic as usual. My favorite is always the stuffing - I should really get the recipe!

On Friday morning we all went bowling. I wish I had remembered my camera for this event because it was so cute watching Emma and Henry try to get a bowling ball down the entire length of the lane. Eventually someone took pity on us and in addition to the obligatory rails, we also got a ramp that the kids can rest the ball on and then let it go so it will have enough momentum to make it to the pins. I had never seen this before but it was fabulous! It's great that you really can take the whole family out bowling, even the "babies". Another cool feature (I get excited about stuff like this!) was the fact that the rails could go up and down automatically, depending on whose turn it was to bowl. This way, the adults don't have to have the rails up while the kids can. Anyway, it was a fun activity for all of us!

Saturday brought a lot of errands around town and lunch with all the kids. That night Rachel and Grandma made lasagna for everyone and we celebrated David's birthday.

It was a very fun weekend that I was completely exhausted from when it was over!

Now onto the next holiday...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm lucky, all I have to do is make a pumpkin torte for Thanksgiving dinner. Other than that, I can just show up and eat all the wonderful food!

We just finished watching the Thanksgiving Day parade on tv. Emma and Henry were excited to see all their favorite cartoon characters on floats and as balloons. Soon the family is coming over to watch football and then I am hoping for naps before we head off to Aunt Eileen's house for dinner.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Yesterday

Our incredible art project :)

Yesterday was a fun, though exhausting day! I got to spend the morning with Emma at her preschool where we worked on an art project together (a gorgeous turkey breadbasket made out of a paper grocery bag...I wonder if Aunt Eileen will let us use it at the dinner table on Thanksgiving??), listened to Mrs. Bewalda read a story and of course had a snack. All the kids were just precious and seemed so excited to have a parent or grandparent with them at school. I wish I could bottle this time in Emma's life and use it later on when she is a teenager and undoubtedly won't want anything to do with me...



After my morning at school I had two doctor's appointments between which I ran a bunch of errands. Both doctors told me that the babies and I are doing just fine! Even though I was sure this would be the outcome it was still nice to hear it out loud from the experts :)



While I was running my errands yesterday I started to panic a bit, thinking about all the gifts I have to buy and the increasing length of my to do list. I think a little bit of panic is common this time of year, at least for me, but it is still not a good feeling. So what did I do? Today I sat down and made a "master list" of things that I need to do, things I need to buy, etc. Somehow that made me feel better, even though I didn't get to cross a single thing of my list. At least I have everything in black on white...is that strange?? Anyway, it will all get done - eventually.


Emma turned into a mouse at preschool the other day.

Looking back....June

So to catch up a bit we have to start all the way back in June when we went to Seattle to visit Sofia and her family. This was our first trip since Emma's diagnosis in October of last year so we were all very excited about it. Emma and Henry had a wonderful time playing with their cousins and we all enjoyed visiting with the family. My parents and Fredrik and Pilar visited at the same time so it was quite the family reunion!




While we were in the Seattle area, Dan and I took the kids to Bainbridge Island for a little day trip. The kids loved the ferry ride over and we had a very nice lunch and stroll around the picturesque island. It was a great place to take some sweet pictures of Emma and Henry!

The main reason for our trip to Seattle was the Rock 'n Roll Seattle Half Marathon that Sofia and I participated in on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. We raised money for a very important cause, got in better shape through all that training and had a wonderful time running in our first race! Almost immediately after we finished we were talking about doing it again - maybe even trying a full marathon next time! I sincerely hope we can make that happen!! I was so excited to have Emma, along with the entire family, there to cheer us on. It was a truly incredible experience all around! Looking back, and being 5 months pregnant, it is almost surreal to think that I actually ran 13.1 miles...

Back home again... I wish I could set this collage to music! Henry has been obsessed with the song "I Like To Move It" from Madagascar 2 for a long time. Whenever he hears it he starts dancing his funny little dance while singing along. I love it! These pictures were taken at a baseball game tailgate where the dj played Henry's favorite song. So cute :)

How to start anew?

After such a long time of neglecting this poor blog, I don't even know where to begin to catch up. Do I even try? Should I just start with today and move forward? That just doesn't seem right. There have been a lot of fun things happening around here these last few months and it would be a shame to just ignore them like they didn't even happen! So starting tomorrow, we will be catching up - we will start with a trip back to the summer.

Hokies Win!

We had a fun time watching the Hokies beat Nebraska with some friends. There are actually some VT alums in our little town! Who knew?!

I couldn't quite get the right orange and maroon colors for the icing...oh well, you get the idea...

Wow!

So do you see the cool little widget there to the right? The one that has two babies and shows you a countdown of the days left until their due date? Well, those represent our little miracles...yes, we are expecting twins! It is still a bit unbelievable and we haven't quite gotten used to the idea of doubling the number of little ones in our family but obviously we couldn't be more excited!!

Emma can't wait to have two babies in the house but Henry, of course, doesn't understand what is happening. He'll find out soon enough, when his entire life is turned upside down!

Emma's First Day of School

We have been waiting for this day for such a long time, just short of a year actually. Emma is finally back in school! Needless to say, there has been much excitement in our house leading up to this day. To say Emma has been looking forward to her first day of 4 year-old preschool is an understatement! She woke up bright and early yesterday and the first thing she said was, "I have to get dressed for school!" I had no problem getting her motivated to eat breakfast, brush teeth and take the prerequisite first day of school pictures. Emma was ready to go!
Once at school, she ran into the classroom with a casual wave and barely a look back at me. I had to call her back so I could get my hug - maybe she didn't need it, but I sure did!

Emma's excitement had not diminished when I picked her up a short two and a half hours later. She bolted out the door into my arms (I didn't have to ask for a hug this time :)) and started telling me about everything they had done. She was speaking very fast but I think I got the gist of it - they had glued popcorn kernels to their initials on a piece of paper, had a snack (cookies because it was a little boy's birthday!) and had read stories and sung songs. What a great day - it was absolutely incredible to see Emma so happy!!

Henry had his second day of school yesterday. My little man tried so hard not to cry :( As soon as turned to corner to leave, I heard him start crying. He wanted to be brave...but it isn't easy being 2-and-a-half...

I had a very nice morning all by myself. This was a new experience for me. It almost felt like I had forgotten my kids somewhere....

Henry's First Day of Preschool

Today was a beautiful, sunny day - perfect for the first day of school. Henry was ready with his backpack and excited to go to preschool for the first time. Actually, I think Mamma, Daddy and Emma were very excited for Henry to go to preschool. I don't think Henry had any idea what this really meant. Since he can't remember Emma going to school (she hasn't been going to school for almost a full year), he had no point of reference at all.
After a somewhat stressful morning (we really need to get the routine down again - none of us - except maybe Dan - is used to rushing out the door in the mornings) we made it to school. Henry was all smiles and immediately started playing with all the toys. Emma was happy to see her old school and made sure everyone knew she is now 4 years old! Unfortunately Henry's smiles vanished when I gave him a hug and said goodbye. The tears started rolling down his cheeks and he looked oh so sad. Poor little guy! The nice teacher picked him up and carried him, still crying, to where the other kids were and Emma and I left. I knew Henry would be just fine as soon as we walked out the door but it was still hard seeing my baby so upset.
As predicted, when we came back to pick him up, the big smiles were back - we could hear him chatting up a storm as we walked in the room (that boy is such a talker!). I got a big hug and he started telling me all about his day. According to Henry, his first day ever of school went like this: He played with puzzles, went down the slide, pushed buttons and went potty. Not a bad day!
Hopefully there won't be any tears when he goes back on Monday.

Tattoos?

Emma and Henry had fun with stickers the other day. I couldn't help but think of tattoos when I saw this "art" all over Henry's body. I hope this is not a sign of things to come...not that there is anything wrong with tattoos - I would just rather not see them on my baby :)

Henry, by Emma

Emma took this picture of Henry. I like it. It's very artistic, I think. My baby looks like such a big boy!

Pretty as a picture

I just love this picture of Emma! Her hair is starting to grow back (Emma is so excited about this and reminds me several times a day that she will have long hair again) and her eyelashes are getting full again. Doesn't it look like she has eyeliner on because of all those new little eyelashes? Most of all I love the quiet smile on her face. I took this picture during a steroid cycle so the fact that she is happy at all is amazing! My brave little girl!!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband,

I love you!

Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner to help us celebrate Dan's birthday tonight. Dan's favorite sweets are Rice Krispies treats so Emma and I made a Rice Krispies treat cake for his birthday. Dan was excited but the kids much preferred the store bought "proper birthday cake" with Homer Simpson on it that Daddy brought home from work :) I suppose I should have gotten a picture of that cake too...

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is one of my favorite days of the year. I had honestly not given this day too much thought, other than as a day to honor my own wonderful mother of course, until I was finally a mother myself. Four years ago (can it really be that long ago??) Emma was 5 weeks old and Dan and I drove to Chicago to have brunch with Jen, Rick and their son, my godson, Jake. They were visiting briefly and this brunch would be our only chance to see them. It was a perfect day -the weather was gorgeous so our drive to Chicago was a pleasure. I remember feeling very special that day - like I was part of a club that I had longed to be in for quite a while. Before we left the house in the morning Dan had given me a "pocket locket" - a big heart that opened to reveal a picture of our newborn. I loved it and I still do! I don't even remember the name of the hotel where we had brunch but it was very nice - as these things usually are. "Us moms" were all given the obligatory flower as we were shown to our table - my dried rose is still hanging on the wall in my closet - I love glancing over at it every so often and smiling at the memory of my first Mother's Day. We had a wonderful time with dear friends and our beautiful baby girl.

* * * * * *

Today was another sweet day. Some things have changed - Dan and I now have a four year-old and a two year-old. Some things haven't - we went to a tasty brunch and ate too much :) New traditions have been started - I was woken up this morning with breakfast in bead. Emma and Henry had helped Daddy make a bowl of berries and cream for me. They had even been to Starbuck's so I could have a venti cafe mocha first thing this morning. Emma and Grandma had baked chocolate chip cookies earlier in the week so I was given a big tin of them. Emma was very proud of the fact that she had signed her name and Henry's name on my card. In fact, both Henry and Emma had very proud smiles on their faces as they woke me up - I definitely shed a tear or two - they are just too precious! How can I not love Mother's Day!

* * * * * *

I hope all you fabulous moms out there had a wonderful day with lot's of love from your little (or not so little) ones!

Emma and I with Jen and Jake on my first Mother's Day.

Emma at 5 weeks old.

I wish I would have managed to get at least one picture of us all this year - somehow this didn't happen...there's always next year...

Tiara-making with Morfar

Morfar and Emma worked very hard making tiaras from the kit Aunt Eileen gave Emma for her birthday. This little four year-old has so much patience - it always amazes me! She is also a bit of a neat freak. (I wonder who she gets that from? It couldn't be her mother, could it?) Before they started, Emma told Morfar they needed to get a newspaper to "protect the table" since they would be using glue. That's my girl!!

Emma in the finished product.

Not an easy day for Henry...

We went to the year-end show for the local ballet school today. Emma is in the youngest group they have, "Creative Movement", so she is not quite ready for the big times yet :) The children and young adults who performed Snow White today did an excellent job and Emma loved every minute of it. (well almost every minute - she is 4 years old after all...) I had anticipated Henry having a hard time sitting through an hour and a half without causing a major disturbance but I hadn't planned on him really hurting himself while watching the ballet - it's not exactly a contact sport! While sitting in Dan's lap he tipped forward and hit his forehead hard on the balcony railing right in front of us. Poor little Henry - he was in so much pain and cried that awful cry where he almost couldn't catch his breath. Dan took him outside until intermission and then, like the tough little boy he is, Henry was just fine. He hasn't said another word about it - he just looks like he should be hurting like crazy! I feel so bad for him!

Sunny side up eggs for dessert!

For our Easter dinner dessert, Emma and I made sunny side up eggs. It is a fun idea that my mother shared with me. When I told Emma we were making eggs for dessert she thought it was the strangest thing but she didn't argue - she just wanted to help!

Here is what we did:

• We made a loaf of poundcake and put a slice on each plate.
• Then we put dollops of whipped cream on the poundcake slices.
• Lastly we placed canned peach halves on top of the poundcake and whipped cream.

Voila - there is your sunny side up egg!

Easter is so much fun when there are little kids around! Coloring eggs, having an Easter egg hunt and finding their Easter baskets is absolutely thrilling to a four year old and a two year old. Because the kids get so excited, so do the adults!

Now that the kids are napping it's time for Mamma to get her workout in - I have to try and burn off all those chocolate eggs...

HAPPY EASTER!

Emma's Party!

Emma had a wonderful time at her little birthday party last weekend. The party was very small but it didn't matter one little bit to Emma. Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Eileen came to help us celebrate the big day and Emma was thrilled. Homemade pizzas had been requested by the birthday girl - pepperoni pizza to be exact - so of course that is what Mamma made for lunch. (There was also a shrimp and veggie pizza and a cheeseless pizza for Grandpa) Later, for dessert there was a Hello Kitty birthday cake and yummy chocolate covered pretzel sticks that Emma had helped me make earlier in the week. The only other request Emma made was that she wanted a pinata. (I think this is becoming a tradition at our birthday celebrations) This year's pinata was a butterfly and it was filled with the obligatory candy that only Henry really wanted. Emma just liked to pull the ribbons and get showered with candy, she didn't really want to eat any of it...go figure! After the pinata was emptied and a little playing was done, it was time for gifts. Some favorites were a gumball machine (Emma is obsessed with gum!), princess books, a family for her doll house and a tiara-making kit. There was one gift that was too big to wrap so I simply covered it with a blanket. Emma had been eyeing the blanket all day but assured me that she hadn't peeked. She was so excited to see what was under there. When she finallly pulled the blanket off and found the beautiful baby doll carriage Mormor and Morfar had sent, she burst into tears! Apparently, Emma had been sure it would be the "big girl bicycle" she has been asking for the last couple of months. She was so disappointed! (Sorry Mormor and Morfar - she loves the baby carriage now) Luckily there was also a card from Mamma and Daddy explaining that Emma would have to come with us to pick out just the right bike.

By this time, Emma was unfortunately not feeling well. We ended up having to take her to the emergency room at Children's Hospital. Luckily her counts were so good that we didn't have to stay over night.

What a roller coaster day! All in all, I would have to say it was a good one. Emma had such a good time at her party!