2 Year Appointment

We had Henry's 2 year pediatrician appointment today and all is well with our little guy. The best part was that he finally had an appointment with no vaccines!!!! He did have a finger prick for his lead test but was totally fine with it (of course, he then had a complete freak out over having the band-aid on his finger, but what can you do?)

His height and weight are staying exactly on at 75% for height (now 35.5 inches) and 60% for weight (now 29.3 pounds). According to an oh-so-scientific "height predictor" calculator I did online today, this means he should be at least 6'1" as an adult - we shall see.

Naturally we discussed the lovely "terrible two" behavior he has been experiencing, and the Dr assured me that he is not in need of intense psychological help. I received a mini-lecture on more adequately ignoring Henry's whining (oh, he is the KING of whining), so "Operation Ignore" should be starting tomorrow.

We also finally get to take him off whole milk and got the official OK on all nuts (good thing since he has been having peanut butter sandwiches for a few weeks now), and I got the exciting news that I really don't need to be quartering his grapes, hot dogs, etc. anymore. Anything to save time these days!

To celebrate his good appointment I treated Henry to his first ice cream cone of the season:



Then we went to the park and did this for about two hours (no joke):

Party Time!

Today we had a small birthday party for Henry - train themed, naturally:



Even the deer got in on the festivities:



The kids all got train favors:



And of course there was a train cake:



Henry enjoyed eating the cake:



Playing with his balloons:



Being crazy with his friends:



And opening presents:



Unfortunately, the day was SO exciting that Henry was unable to take a nap. So, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather in the afternoon (80 degrees!) and head to our favorite walk on the Battle Road:



Next year we have decided to have his party AFTER his nap time!


Thank you to everyone who came and everyone who sent birthday wishes to Henry. Also, a big thank you to Nana and Papa for making it out for the weekend!

Elmo

The birthday weekend extravaganza began today when we took Henry to see "Sesame Street Live" with his friend Kate. Henry was very, very excited to see Elmo, and once the lights dimmed he became almost catatonic while staring at Elmo, Big Bird. and the rest of the Sesame Street crew.

Henry and Kate before the show began - not yet fully aware of the joy to come:



The show:



Henry's expression the vast majority of the time:




An attempt at a self-portrait - Henry once again had his eyes glued to the stage and a slack jawed, mesmerized expression:



The show was an hour and a half and included a 15 minute intermission. Henry did really, really well until the last 10 minutes. He was definitely ready to go when it ended, then refused lunch and actually REQUESTED a nap (a first!) Looks like Elmo is a wee bit overstimulating for the 2 year old crowd, but still a very good time.

HENRY IS TWO!

Happy Birthday, Henry!!!!!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Cupcakes!

The birthday celebration(s) began today with cupcakes at Henry's daycare. Our little chef was very involved with making the cupcakes, and, of course, was a big fan of eating them.

The Insanity of Henry

This isn't the best video (and the quality seems very poor at the moment), but it gives a somewhat good example of the insanity that is Henry on a daily basis. Actually - and sadly - this is almost calm for him.

A few brief notes:

1) I have no idea where his pants are. I swear, he is usually in a full outfit

2) He actually speaks quite clearly now, but when very excited about something tends to speak more "gibberish" like he is here. I think it is hysterical.

Patriots' Day

Today is Patriots' Day in Massachusetts. It is a holiday to commemorate the Battle of Lexington and Concord (the first battle of the Revolutionary War). Not only is it a nice day off from school and work (for some...), but more importantly it is the day the Boston Marathon is run.

The Marathon goes by about a block from our house (we are about 3 miles from the finish line, which is just a few blocks from Mike's office). So, today Henry and I got to spend some time watching the marathoners go by.





Cheering for the runners:




Clapping for the runners:



Apparently the Marathon was VERY exciting for Henry, since we are now an hour into his nap time and he is still sitting up, loudly singing the alphabet song, and generally not sleeping. Send some sleep vibes our way...

A Passage to India

Mike, our fearless traveler, has returned from his trip! He left on a 7:30 AM flight on Monday morning, flying first to London and then to Mumbai. I got the email from him that he had arrived at about 2:30 AM Tuesday morning. Ouch. Mike braved 95+ degree days, a 9.5 hour time change, endless meetings, and the perils of malaria for 5 days, first in Mumbai and then Delhi. After another 18 hours of travel time today, he has returned safely to Boston.

Henry was VERY excited to see his dad upon waking from his nap. Although the two of us had a good week together, we are both very, very happy he is back.

I sent the camera with Mike (hence the lack of posts this past week). After all, it was his first - maybe last - time in India. The country is so amazingly different and interesting, it can be hard to express just with words. So, for your viewing pleasure, here are Mike's photos from his week in India:




What is that you say? There is only ONE picture here? How can this be? Did Mike really only take ONE picture during his trip?* With all the new sights, two cities, impressive hotels, and his first trip on a "double decker" airplane????

Yes, it is true. Now you know who takes all the Henry pictures.

* Fine - to be 100% honest he actually took TWO pictures, but Henry accidentally erased one. It still doesn't make his extreme lack of picture taking any better.

Happy Easter!

It has been a big day in the Powell house.

First, Henry got in his Easter outfit and made me some breakfast:




Then, he discovered what the Easter Bunny brought:






He really liked his new sunglasses:




And the eggs of treats Nana sent:




He really, really, really liked his first taste of Peeps:






This is what happened during the post-Peeps sugar craze:






After we calmed him down we colored some eggs:









And we are now taking a much needed nap.

Happy Easter everyone!

Eggs

Henry had his first experience with coloring Easter eggs yesterday at an "egg dyeing" party. He was very excited about the prospect (chanting "color eggs! Color eggs!" the entire walk there), but once faced with the actuality of dyeing eggs he was very confused. I suppose it IS odd when you think of it.

He only smashed a few eggs (the older girls were very gracious about his destructive behaviors) and ended up enjoying using crayons on the eggs. He was very serious about the whole thing, as you can see:

The things we get excited by these days..

Today was one of those days that I suddenly stopped, looked at myself, and thought "WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME???" This sudden realization that I may have gone insane came as I was leaping with joy around the bathroom, clapping my hands, and singing a song I created called "Henry peed in the potty - YIPEE!", while Henry clapped along and kept demanding "more song!!!"

So yes, I am insane, but the bigger news is obviously...HENRY PEED IN HIS POTTY!!!!!!!

I don't think he quite realized what he did, and in no way shape or form am I thinking full potty training is imminent (I just need it to happen by September 2010 for preschool - I've got time, folks), but it at least gave me opportunity to heap on the praise and maybe get him thinking the potty is a "cool" thing.

Yeah, this is what I get excited by these days.

In 39 Days...

***

In 39 Days I will walk 39 miles during my participation with the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer -Boston. My friend Tiffany and I make up "Team Henry", and we will be up and ready to go at U Mass Boston at 5:30 AM on Saturday, walk 26.2 miles that day, camp out in a tent that night, and walk 13.1 miles back on Sunday. We will be walking with over 3,000 other men and women who share the same commitment to help in the fight against breast cancer.

I am thrilled that Team Henry is walking for the 2nd year in a row. Last year's Walk was an amazing event, and we can't wait to do it again (pouring rain, blisters, and all)! Tiffany and I each have a son named Henry and we want to make sure our Henrys don't ever need to go through the trauma of having one of us, or any other friend or family member, be diagnosed with this disease.

I STILL NEED HELP THOUGH! All walkers are required to raise a minimum of $1800 in order to participate. Thanks to so many generous friends and family I am now at $1,398!!!! Thank you SO much to everyone who has donated and supported me thus far.

I have $400 left to raise in the next 39 days! If you have not yet donated, please take a look at my Avon Walk page: http://tinyurl.com/6gdedg

Donating is easy, and you will be making a giant impact in the fight against breast cancer.

Thank you so much to everyone for all of your support!!!


***(In case you can't tell, his shirt says "Cool kids wear pink - The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer". So much for their so called "toddler size"...)

Another congrats!!!

Congrats to Henry's good friend Kate, who has become a BIG SISTER to new baby brother Ben!!

You can check out his supreme cuteness in Kate's blog.

Happy Birthday!

Devon and Henry would like to send out a big Happy Birthday greeting to Mike, who is 33 today! Happy Birthday!

In honor of Mike's birthday, a beehive cake was (of course) baked. Sadly, after a string of stellar cakes over the years, today met with our first beehive cake disaster. It may have been due to some slight overcooking, or maybe the pan simply was not greased and floured enough...for whatever reason Mike's sad beehive cake was stuck in the pan and had to be basically dug out. Not pretty. Then, I cut too much out of the middle trying to even out the halves to stick together, causing a gaping hole between the two halves. Much buttercream icing was made in an attempt to fill the hole and to somehow fix the maimed exterior. It is...not pretty. In fact, I am too embarrassed to even post a picture of our sad beehive cake. Instead, I will show a picture of what could have been:



Sorry Mike - at least it will still taste good!

Happy Birthday to our favorite husband and dad!