Extreme Sports Fanatic

Sometimes, the end of a long day at the end of a long week makes for some lax parenting:

Random Pictures

Just a few random pictures from the past few days...

Climbing a tree with Kate:



At the Frog Pond:




Practicing his headstands:

Lobsters

Tonight we went to dinner at my cousin Drew's house, where we were treated to a lobster feast. Henry LOVES lobsters - not eating them so much, but watching them in the market, his stuffed lobster, etc.

He was very excited by the sheer number of lobsters there were:



He carefully selected his lobster:



With his cousins, waiting for the "lobster race" to begin:









Then he got to help put his lobster in the pot:






When he first saw the lobsters fully cooked and being dismembered, he cried out "OH NO!!!", but he soon got over it.




Alas, he did not actually eat any lobster this evening. But, we have high hopes for next time.

Big Papi

We finally broke out the T Ball set for Henry. We definitely should have done it earlier, because he LOVES it.





Henry also has discovered the joy of somersaulting (which he calls "flipping"), and now takes everY opportunity to do so:



Earlier today, Henry was hanging out on our backyard wall:



Sadly, he fell off. In the midst of his tears, he kept yelling "JUST LIKE HUMPTY DUMPTY! I FELL OFF THE WALL JUST LIKE HUMPTY DUMPTY!"

He makes me laugh.

Sprinklers and My Gym

Friday was another busy day - we started off with a water playdate in our backyard (not many pictures - the kids discovered how to carry the sprinkler about and aim it at people. I need a waterproof camera!)




It ended up raining in the afternoon, so Henry and I headed over to a My Gym play session with his friend Jake.



Henry climbed rope ladders:


Went crazy with the parachute:




Loved the "pillow fight" game:



Rode the giant swing:



And generally went nuts.

Paint-a-Palooza

One of the activities my Moms Club does in the summer is "paint-a-palooza", where all the kids gather at a playground to paint, use sidewalk chalk, and generally make a mess that can then be rinsed off in the sprinklers. Henry had a grand time painting at it this week:






Then, at the park today, Henry decided to "collect mud" in his bucket:






He has been getting a bath about three times a day lately, and I STILL find sand in his sheets every morning. I guess this means he is having a good summer...

Tents and Tunnels

It has been exceedingly warm here the past few weeks. so we have been staying in more than we like to avoid sun stroke. Henry has found a lot of new ways to keep himself entertained - lately he has become obsessed with his IKEA tent and tunnel.

The tunnel finds many new and exciting places in the house:







And the tent has been re purposed in imaginative ways:

Dentist

Henry had his first dentist appointment today! He did really, really well. He made the hygenist laugh as she was leading us to the exam room when he exclaimed loudly, "I am REALLY excited to go to the dentist!" (I guess I did a good job of talking it up!) There was not a single tear the entire visit. The dentist did a great job making him comfortable, showing him all the tools, and making the entire visit like a game. I wasn't even in Henry's eyesight for the majority of the exam, and he still did a great job. He had his teeth "counted", checked, and polished, and he was proclaimed to have teeth in excellent shape. The only sad news is that the dentist recommends we try to have him lose the lovey habit (he chews/sucks on his blankie lovey all night, and it is shifting his teeth. No need for more orthodontics than I am sure he will already need. After all, I think he inherited my teeth - the poor kid is due for a LOT of braces in the future). I think doing so will be very, very, very hard, so I am not looking forward to it. Mike and I are going to try and come up with a plan of action that is the least traumatizing for Henry - the poor kid loves his lovey. Wish us luck!

Swimming

Henry had his first swim class this Saturday!

Unfortunately, the rules of the pool were that the parent not in the water had to sit on the far side of the pool, so unfortunately this is it for photos:



Rest assured that Henry had a great time. He was fabulous with all the kicking exercises, floated on his back for over 10 seconds, and was able to pull himself out of the pool on his own for jumps back in. He had a little more trouble with the arm exercises, but more so because he just wanted to kick (surprise, surprise). We take this class for 8 weeks, and then we start him in the "no parent in the water" class. Henry keeps asking to go back to swim class - hopefully next week he has just as much fun!

Family Fun Day - 2010

It was Mike's company's "Family Fun Day" today - always a great time for everyone.

Once again, the bounce house was Henry's favorite activity:




He also spent some time with bubbles:





Had his face painted (the first time he has wanted to do this - I was surprised!):





Played with various outdoor toys:




Saw some fun animals (note the change of outfit and clean face - let's just say it was a messy and sweaty morning):





And got to help hold a Burmese Python!:




All in all, an exciting day.

Summer Concerts

Our favorite park has free concerts on Wednesday evenings in the summer. Tonight was the opening concert for the season, and Henry and his friends had a great time playing in the fountain, eating a picnic dinner, and dancing to the music.

Everyone's favorite summer treat- watermelon:


Watching the concert, doing some crazy dance moves:





Then, the bubbles came out:




And tackling began:



Ahhh, summer.....

Photo Shoot

We have mentioned many times before that Henry has an outstanding group of friends. Some of his friends were made at a very young age (his very first friend - Kate - was met when Henry was 6 weeks old and Kate was 4 weeks old. They have been buds ever since), others he has met more recently at school and through playgroups.

A great group that we hang out with regularly is his Tuesday afternoon playgroup. This particular Tuesday was a scorcher (it felt like over 100 degrees), so we decided to skip the park and do something different. We headed over the the local mall for some fun at an indoor playspace...and a photo shoot.

Yes, we thought it would be fun to have five 3 year olds have a professional photo shoot together - a fun reminder of our Tuesday afternoon playgroups. Henry, Jake, Meredith, Alexander, and Lila (with a few cameos from siblings Liam and Akash) were outstanding subjects. You can see the pictures here:

http://www.photoreflect.com/store/Orderpage.aspx?pi=0IPJ0FY3000000&po=0&pc=38

After the insanity of photos, we took the kids out to eat. I must admit there was some slight trepidation on my part (the kids were a tad wound up at this point), but they were all perfectly behaved. Thanks in part to the Bendaroos I brought:






(yes, Henry is the sweatiest child you will ever meet. It is ridiculous)


On the way home, Jake and Henry held hands the whole way:




Here's to great friends!