Summertime

Henry enjoying some ice cream at our local farmer's market.

Children's Museum

I finally got around to taking Henry to the Boston Children's Museum today. He went with his friend Kate and had such a great time - I think we may end up needing to get a membership to help get us through the cold winter months. The museum has a giant play area for kids his age which is where we spent most of our time. He also participated in an "experiment" station where he discovered the joys of shaving cream, and had a ball at the water/boat tables where he became thoroughly soaked (good thing I packed him an extra outfit!). The bubble room was too crowded this time around, so that will have to be our first stop next time.

Henry and Kate (they look solemn, but they were having a good time - trust me):



Climbing up to the "tree house":



Fun with shaving cream:



Getting soaked in the water room:

Just a few things...

First, a fun picture of Henry from this afternoon (he is a big fan of playground bridges):



Also, what I discovered after leaving him briefly unattended yesterday morning:







This morning I caught him emptying the guest bathroom toilet with his stacking cups, but alas did not think to take a photo.

Don't be too jealous...

Last night Beth and I saw Neil Diamond at Fenway Park. Neil was fabulous, as always - alhough Beth and I were both saddened by the lack of "Forever in Blue Jeans". He made up for it slightly with a fabulous encore of "Cracklin' Rosie" and "Coming to America". Ahhh....how we love Neil and how we love Fenway. What a combination!

Henry is 16 months old!

Henry is 16 months old today!

Here is a photo of him on this day last year:



And here are some pictures of him from the park this morning:

Cape Cod

The Powells are back from Cape Cod and our first "real" family vacation. We had a great time - we had a rented house in Dennis Port:



That had a private beach:




Henry enjoyed walking on the sand and having us help him jump the waves.




Grandpa Norman was with us from Saturday through Wednesday morning. Nana Gayle, Papa Mark, Uncle Dave, and Aunt Jen were with us the rest of the week. We also had a few visits from Auntie Beth and Auntie Thibes so it was a full and fun house to be in.

We spent our days on the beach, touring our favorite towns on the Cape, eating massive amounts of fried sea food, and relaxing. We spent two days on Martha's Vineyard - one day in Edgartown and one day in Oak Bluffs - and Henry was a trooper on the ferry rides to and from the island.



All in all it was a great vacation. Thank you to everyone who joined us!

15 month appointment

Henry had his 15 month pediatrician appointment today. He is currently measuring in at 26 pounds, 3 ounces (70th percentile) and 31.5 inches (65th percentile). So, not as abnormally tall as he used to be, but he still looks huge to me!

Everything else looked fine - Henry appears to be a typical toddler (at least this was the pediatrician's assurance to me as Henry writhed and screamed in a tantrum due to having his ears checked). He only had one vaccine and has graduated to the "big boy" shots in his arm instead of his thigh.

In other Henry updates, he has learned to spin and this morning said the word "shoes" clear as day. His molars continue their slow march of doom and three of them are currently poking every so slightly out - the 4th remains stubbornly under the gum.

We leave tomorrow for a week on Cape Cod - we will update when we get back!

First Haircut!

Henry's hair has been getting a bit shaggy and dangerously close to a mullet lately, so we decided to take him for his first "official" haircut (ignoring the times Mike has gone after him with his razor while Henry sits in his high chair).

The scene of the crime - also known as sensory overload central:



Henry's hair "before":



Sitting in his chair...not yet aware of the trauma to come:



Starting to realize he doesn't like haircuts:



Realizing he HATES haircuts:



Better after being released from the chair:



Henry's hair "after", complete with faux-hawk. He is too cute: