Learning to eat

Anna and James are having so much fun learning how to eat by themselves! It is super messy and I'm not sure how much food actually ends up in their little bellies but they sure love practicing! Their favorite finger food right now is a slice of whole wheat bread, torn into tiny pieces. When I am putting in on James' tray he looks up at me with the most amazing smile - as if he is saying "thank you Mamma, you are the best in the whole world!" It is so sweet and gets me every time!

Oh, and check out James' feet - he is always missing one sock - and I mean always!

Goings on around our house

Anna and Jameshe are growing fast! They are crawling all over the place and walking along furniture. They are hard to keep up with! In the spirit of trying to keep them safe (and letting me have even the possibility of making dinner) they now spend part of their days playing in this:

This doesn't make me a bad mother, does it?

Done!

Emma took her last dose of medication in her treatment for leukemia last weekend! This was a very momentous occasion, though perhaps a little anticlimactic. The big procedure to remove Emmas port and the last dose of intrathecal chemotherapy was taken care of in December. Still, January 8th was a day to celebrate! We spent the first medicine-free night watching a movie and eating popcorn right before bed. This may not sound like a big deal but for the past two years, Emma has not been able to eat after 6pm due to her medicine. So popcorn right before bed was a very big deal!

Normal is so nice.

Henry's Birthday Party

Henry had a blast at his birthday party yesterday! The party was at a gymnastics place where the kids could run around, bounce, slide, swing and fall into big pits filled with foam cubes. They had so much fun and were exhausted when the party was over.

Happy Birthday Henry!

Today our little man turns four years old! We are celebrating at home with just the family today and Henry will have a party with all of his friends tomorrow. (That mess you see in front of him in the picture is a waffle cake with strawberry filling and whipped cream frosting that Henry had for breakfast today - it was a hit!!)

Following are a few things you should know about Henry:

*Henry is obsessed with DVD's! He carries them around, organizes them and talks about them constantly. He does like to watch them, of course, but mostly he likes to just have them around - I think. Favorites right now are Toy Story 3, Ice Age and Thomas the Tank.
*Henry is really getting into playing with his trains (the same ones he has had for at least a couple of years - he is finally noticing them!).
*Henry is a planner! He asks us all the time what we are doing tomorrow - and the next day - and the next day. The hard part is that he doesn't really understand time yet. It can make for very frustrating conversations!
*Henry likes to eat mac and cheese, chicken fingers, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pizza - that's IT! One of my goals for 2011 is to get this boy to eat vegetables!
*Henry can write his name! He is very proud of this - as he should be!
*Henry is a sweet, considerate, loving and very thoughtful boy - her brought me these flowers today on his birthday! I think we'll keep him!

Happy Birthday Henry!

Ready for bed

Every now and then I decide that I need a new picture of all four kids together. (This usually happens when I have bought matching outfits, or in this case pyjamams, for them.) It doesn't happen more often because, quite honestly, it is a lot of work trying to get a decent picture of all four at the same time. This is the best we could do today. Sorry James, this time it was your turn to have a funny facial expression :)
The kids had just taken their baths (together - the bathtub was very crowded!) and put on fresh, matching pyjamas - how is a mother to resist that photo op? Now they are all tucked into their beds for the night. Life is pretty sweet!

Fall Fun