Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Volume 1

My friend who has 4 kids puts these volumes on her blog - and I love how they document the crazy things that happen in a household... So I decided to finally start my own. I figure we're in for a lot of strange happenings, so why not document them so we have all these cute (or not so cute) things to share with the kids when they are older. So Volume 1... I don't really have a photo to document this, so I just put his little face on here. I'm actually glad I don't have a photo... you will be too once you hear what he said. He came out of the bathroom this morning with his pants down, as usual, wanting me to pull them up for him. I said, Henry, you can pull them up. He said "OK Mommy, but I didn't put my face in the water this time and drink the potty." What do you say to a comment like that? I just looked at him and said, Have you ever done that? And he said, "No, no, Mommy... Henry said not this time." Now I'm fairly sure he has NEVER done that -- but, why on earth he made that comment out of the blue baffles me... who knows?

Where's Wy?

This is Wy's home... my leg. Seriously, if you ever come to our house and wonder where he is, just find me! He is in this phase of being connected to me.... There are days I savor it b/c I know it will pass ever so quickly -- Oh little Wy, you are precious... :) But there are also days that I'd like my leg back!

Valentine's Day

I had such great plans for valentine's day... Jonathan was actually gone over night with the youth group -- so Saturday morning before he got home, I decided to make his favorite cookies... homemade sugar cut-outs with homemade frosting. All was well... until half way through cutting them out, Henry says he was done and that he wanted to go lay on the couch. OH shoot... Henry NEVER turns down a good cookie-baking session... so I knew that wasn't a good sign. I get about half way through frosting them when it all hits... he had picked up some sort of stomach flu -- and it was not good. Wyatt got it that night too! Happy Valentine's Day Mommy and Daddy... we had planned on ordering in Chinese and having a bottle of wine... but the night just never quite panned out. Oh well... the little guys are well now... and as it is, we had to eat all the cookies since we couldn't even get Devon and Beth to take some!! :)

Zippy - this is for the Renshaw's!

When we lived back at Mirimar, our good neighbors let us borrow Mr. Zippy - the green push toy. Henry started using it back when he first started walking. And now, Wyatt is using it! Mr. Zippy has long been a hit with all the children -- I'm not sure why... with his now missing eyes and his bright green body... BUT, nonetheless, he's like a kid magnet. So, THANK YOU Renshaw's! Someday, your grandkids will be very happy children when they come to visit you :)

Training

This will be our family for the next few months. We started training for another half marathon - we're doing the Festival 500 in Indy. This has been a mental battle for me. When Jonathan is convincing me to do this, I have every excuse in the book as to why I can't = I'm too busy. I have two small kids. When do I run? It gets dark too early to run by myself. I'm too busy. If I run by myself with the kids, I have to push a jogging stroller and two kids which equals about 70lbs. If I wait to run with Jonathan, it's right during dinner time and it's getting late. I work part-time from home and already find it hard to get my work done. I'm too busy. I'm already tired. I don't want to get up earlier and go to bed later. On and on and on... BUT... I do want to spend more time with my husband enjoying a hobby. I do want to stay fit. I do want to practice self-discipline in all aspects of my life... my life as a believer in God's Word, my diet, my excercise, my family... Ahh!!!! Well, the funny thing is I didn't have to decide. My dear brother and his wife actually "surprised" us by entering us into the Festival 500 as a Christmas gift - paid our way. Merry Christmas Michelle! Aren't you so excited?? Oh gee... this should be fun. Suffice it to say, we have a plan... we have a plan... we have a plan... naptimes in the stroller on the wknds, evening runs, runs with friends, reading LOTS of Runner's World... it will work, right? Devon and Beth better watch out... paybacks are... well, they'll just have to wait and see... :)

Thawing out

The snow is all melted... it was almost 60 degrees today! Wow... that's unusual for February in Ohio. But, hey, we weren't complaining. These are some pics from just a few days ago. This is the creek in our backyard... it's so great. It was beautiful once everything started thawing out a bit. Henry and Wyatt are real troopers in the cold weather. We take walks if it's above 22 degrees or so... Henry always insists on NOT wearing gloves. Well, he insists on not wearing a coat either - but I enforce that if we're taking a walk. He just puts his hands in his pockets. Btw, do you see the Walmart sticker on the inside of his coat? The guy at Walmart insisted he take one. Henry kept saying to him, "No Thank you. Henry don't like stickers." Which, sadly, is true. We have really surprised the Walmart, Kroger, and Trader Joe employees... cashiers are always insisting and he just keeps putting his hand out saying, "No Thank you" -- at least he's polite, right?? That day at Walmart, I just said, "He'd love a sticker!!!" Grabbed it and got out!

the Cleaner

I sent Henry upstairs the other day to get a pair of pants. He got his first ones wet from washing his hands, and he does not like to wear wet pants. After about 10 minutes, I went to the stairs to ask if he needed some help finding the bottom drawer. He said, "No, Henry's just makin' a mess." I thought... well, it can't be that bad. He's happy - so I'll let him continue in whatever he's doing... After another 20 minutes passed by and I hadn't heard anything, I thought it would be best to check on him. Here is what I found. Not that bad... I mean, look, he was literally cleaning his drawers! He had pulled all the clothes out and had a spray bottle. Too cute... we finally did manage to redress him.

Blueberries

I have discovered why Indians used things like berries as war paint (or decorative paint?). It's a beautiful color when applied to the skin. Hen & Wy both love blueberries. I let Wyatt eat them on his own the other day for the first time... a real treat :)

Is this too close?

I thought I read something recently that said research is showing that it is irrelevant how far your child sits from the TV. I'm going to trust that research... are you wondering why the TV is on the floor? It's a long story. Too long for the blog and not that interesting!

Winter Storm!

Yippee!! We finally got a winter storm! It was so great -- we loved it. Henry had fun playing outside with the little boy next door and sledding down the hill in the backyard. Wyatt loved it for a short while... :)

Henry & Anna

We had Anna over today. They are like two peas in a pod. After she went home, Henry told me Anna was his best friend. So sweet. This is completely off subject, but I need to document it somewhere. Lately, Henry has been saying stuff to us like, "Mommy, Henry's bottom is saying Henry needs a cookie." Or, "Mommy, Henry thinks Sprite (pronounced fwite) would be good for Henry's bottom." We keep wondering why he keeps referring to his bottom. We never say stuff like that "a cookie would be good for my bottom"! I figured it out today. We were eating breakfast and I gave him water with his oatmeal. He didn't look thrilled, and I said, "Henry, water is good for your body." And he said, "Yes, it is good for Henry's bottom." And I said, "No, your b-o-d-y." And he said, "Henry's bottom?" I said, "Where's your body?" He points to his rear end. And I said, "No, your BODY..." And he points to his rear end again. I say, "Henry, that is your bottom, not your body. Do you know where you body is?" And he just shrugged his shoulders and said Henry don't know... then took another bite of his oatmeal. Well, that answers that unknown. We will be sure to specify the difference b/t body and bottom now! :)

the Ankle

Jonathan has weak ankles. Blog followers from last year will remember when he sprained his ankle a few days after the birth of Wyatt (see the bottom 2 pictures). Almost exactly a year later, he sprains the opposite ankle.
We were about an hour out from leaving for a b-day party when Jonathan said he wanted to fit in a quick run. So... fine... just please be home and showered in time to leave. Time is ticking while he is gone and I keep thinking, I can't believe he is running this long... at the same time, I'm thinking... it's strange he is running this long... maybe something happened. A few minutes later, he comes in the door limping and falls on the living room floor. Two blue pills and a bag of green beans later, he shows up to the birthday party late. Thankfully, it wasn't near as bad as he thought it was and wasn't near as bad as last year. We're getting ready to start training for a half-marathon, so he would have been very disappointed!

Wyatt's Birthday Cake

We kept the birthday celebration for Wyatt real low key this year. It was actually really nice!! We were watching Anna and Payton that night, so to Henry, it all felt very party-like. Henry helped me decorate the cake earlier in the day. He was so sweet all day... kept patting Wyatt's head and saying, "Happy Birthday Baby Wyatt..." And if Wyatt would cry or fuss, he'd say, "You can't cry Wyatt. Don't be cranky. It's your birthday!" We think Wyatt liked the cake, although he treated it more like a science experiment :) I think he squished more of it in his fingers than putting it in his mouth.

Happy 1st Birthday Wyatt!!

Born 7:58am, January 23, 2008 - 7lb. 12oz.
We've been busy ever since! You are such a joy to us and we are ever so grateful for the gift of this past year... we love you so much little Wy!