A Weekend Away

Last weekend, we were blessed with a few days without kids to be adults! Okay, well, we didn't necessarily always ACT like adults, but the point is, our kids weren't there to see us! Thanks to Jim's parents (and all the other grandparents!!), we headed to the beach to enjoy a weekend that included no dirty diapers, naptime woes or early wake-up calls. So much fun! Though we talked about the kids a lot, and most of us didn't actually sleep in, it was so nice to be able to enjoy one another's company without interruption all weekend long.

***

We did a lot of sitting and magazine catch-up

Had staring contests...

Took pictures!

My best friends!


Who says girls don't have more fun?

Laughed...

a LOT.

Aren't they so adorable in their glee?

Listened and enjoyed.

(Seriously, that's a big one!)

Played games

Told stories

Enjoyed Steph's stories. Hee.

Sarah rescued a birthday present that fell behind built-in cabinets!

Ate, drank and relaxed

Still talking...
(I love the look on Sarah's face here. Do you think she is thinking, "She's so funny" or "I wish I could have a chance to say something.")

***please notice gigantic belly!

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend away with our best friends. To echo what Jen said, we have been so blessed with this group of people. Words can't even come close to describe the relationships we share, except for to say they are a gift from our precious Lord! I love you all!!

***

Beach Getaway 2009

There are a few more pics to share, but either I'm going to have to convince Jim to get to work on his semi-annual blog or I'll do it later. :)

I needed a cleaner look...

...and so here is picture to go with my not-really-a-post.
***
CHEESE!!!

By the way, I can barely stand...

If you were wondering where every mother with toddlers in the Portland Metro area was today, I can tell you. They were all at the zoo. And half of them were pregnant...like me! So every time I thought to grunt in discomfort, I had to man-up and pretend to be A-OK. I can be tough. Sometimes. :)

*

Since the sun was out and very WARM today, Jen had the great idea to go to the zoo. Get the kids out! Christy and Bella came, too, and we had a great time maneuvering around all the other 500,000 strollers in the park. It was a perfect day, and Henry and Carson had lots of fun telling each other where to run and which way to look and laughing at...wait...we still have no idea what they kept laughing at. I didn't take too many pictures, and the ones I took aren't awesome, but here's a sample of our day!

Carson and his buds

The real deal

Goats!

The long awaited (seriously) turn on the tractor.

Keeping hydrated!

Lunchtime on the lawn. Cheese!

(Don't they look so happy?)

They were having a very serious discussion about the bats. Something about how they are scary and stinky.

And here's me - oh wait. I mean, here are the hippos. What I meant to say was, here is what I felt like by the end. Did I mention all the hills we climbed? Oh, and that the hills were where Henry wanted to ride in the stroller?

Jen found a nice shady spot on the lawn for our picnic lunch. Here is a video of our lunchtime conversation:

Henry and Carson decided it was not time to eat, but time to play. So here is what they did while the mommies ate:

No really, it's all they did:

And to end the day, we went to see the sea lions, which were a huge hit with the boys. As you can see, they were so excited and had to keep telling Jen when to look so she wouldn't miss them as they swam by. I mean, they were easy to miss. Hee!

It was seriously the perfect day for the zoo and the boys had so much fun. Totally worth it. Sydney was, of course, an absolute doll the whole time. Now I am hitting myself for not having a picture of her! It was also fun to spend some time with Christy and Bella, who is so stinkin' cute!!! Yay for sunny days!

Bright, sunshiny day!

Finally! The past few days have brought us the

most awesome weather! They've been the perfect Oregon days - 70, warm, with a nice breeze. Henry and I took full advantage of being outside yesterday, doing everything from chalk and bubbles, to playing in the sprinkler and playing with friends in the culdesac. We even concluded the day by ordering pizza and eating outside with our neighbors. I mean, when you get a day like this here, you'd better do all you can to enjoy it to the last minute!

*

Here are some pics from our afternoon:

Playing in the sprinkler fully clothed...why not?

I love when he yells at me, "Mom! My shorts are getting wet!"

One must also refresh the feet by getting socks and shoes completely drenched.

This next pic just reminds me of what a big boy he is becoming! He's not a baby anymore!

Cheese, mom.

Playing golf (or hockey) with our neighbor, Andrew. He's got good form, no?

Yay! Another nice day today! Supposedly rain tomorrow! We're outta here to enjoy some more sunshine!

I couldn't do it

Well, I thought I could be patient. Really, I think I did a pretty good job. It got pretty long. Sometimes it was cute. Sometimes it stuck straight out in a million different directions. I tried to ignore the constant impulse to constanly lick my hand and smooth it down. The literal last "straw" was Wednesday, when I picked Henry up from the playroom after Bible Study and they had been playing in the ball pit. He was all sweaty. And he resembled a majorly disheveled scare crow.
*
So.
*
We have gone from this:



To this:

Henry seems to like it. He even posed special!

The only major letdown is that he looks so much older!

What's a mother to do?

Nothing if not determined!

I got an early birthday present today from my old boss, and in true fashion, she stuffed the gift with bags of candy. A pregnant woman's best friend! On the ride home, Henry asked to hold the gift bag and being the super-nice mom that I am said, "Sure!"

A few minutes later:

Henry: I want to eat this candy, mommy.
Me: Not right now Henry. Maybe a few pieces after lunch, ok?
Henry: No. I want some now.
Me: Well, sorry bud. Not right now.
(pulls out cellphone to call Becky)
Henry: mmm.


About 10 minutes go by...
I'm thinking to myself, what a good kid I have. He's so quiet back there. Sweet boy.

Me: Hey bud, whatcha thinking about?
(turns around to glance quickly at him)
Henry: (chewing away) It's yummy!
Me: What the?!?!

People. He knawed his way to the sugary deliciousness.

The victim:

Sigh. Well, I can't scold him really. #1, I let him hold the bag. #2, I'm pretty sure I would have done the very same thing at his age. Mom's on the phone...I can chew pretty quietly... So I just laughed and took the jellybeans from him. He got sad and there was a tear, but I told him I'd give him a few after lunch and as soon as he realized he wasn't in trouble, was happy again.

What a nut!

Counting the days till summer...

I cannot wait to be able to go to the park any day of the week. Wow, does it make Henry a happier boy! He could go and go all day and never want to go home. It's also nice for me, who doesn't have to do much but watch. :) My friends and I have talked a lot about how with each new stage of childhood, there are better things and worse things you have to deal with. Definitely, one of the better things at Henry's age is that I can pretty much trust his safety at the playground. It used to be constant vigilance and minor heart attacks at any slight movement in the wrong direction...but no longer. I still stand pretty close to wherever he is - he is only 2 1/2 after all - but it's so much more enjoyable to watch him explore and run and play without worrying over his every step. There is still a little overprotective watching, as Henry's height (okay, and weight) makes him so big on the play sets made for the 2 - 5 age group and he prefers the age 5 - 12 sets. I am therefore watching for the bigger kids to NOT trample my little guy. Luckily, the times we go to the park are usually school times for bigger kids. So far, no casualties! At the playground this week, there was a kid who was probably 4 or 5 swinging and jumping onto things that were way beyond Henry's wildest imagination of motor skills. Still, Henry leans forward as if he's going to jump right off the platform and copy the other little boy. I, with thoughts of emergency rooms in my head, caught his little tummy with my hand and told him he wasn't big enough to do that yet. At precisely that moment, the other kid had swung back onto the platform and was standing right next to Henry...the very same height. Henry looks him right in the eye...down to his toes...back up again. Sigh. I'm sure Henry is utterly confused. I need to say "old enough."

***

There is really nothing like the pure joy Henry has written all over his face when we arrive at a playground. He can't unfasten his car seat fast enough! I know this will be a treat for me as well, when I'm too ginormous to do anything else before Wyatt's arrival and too tired afterwards. :) God bless the man who invented the playground!

***

We were lucky to get out to the park twice this week before the rain blessed us once again (this morning). Here's one of the days where I actually remembered my camera:

You gotta love the self portrait attempts with kids! Either someone's not looking or someone's head is cut off!

Things to work on?

When you play with Playdoh as much as Henry, a mom has got to get pretty creative to keep it interesting. Today, I decided we'd make a pretend baby. Henry loved it! He of course, named him Baby Wyatt and asked me to make him a crib, bottle and blanket. What a sweet boy! Oh, except he kept putting the blanket over the baby's face and smooshing it. And the baby's eyeballs kept falling off. Something to be worried about?? Please enjoy the following pictures and video of what I believe to be Henry trying to be a good big brother. We've still got a few months, people...

*****

Um, is this not so cute? He kept wanting to feed him!

A Day at the Park (finally!)

We finally had a couple days of fabulous weather here in Hillsboro, and we took full advantage of it. As soon as I saw the sun, I woke Henry up from his nap and said, "We're goin' to the park!" And what a fun time! Henry, of course, was in heaven and just ran and ran all over the playground. Me...well, I was also in heaven. My baby boy has grown up so much. Just last summer, Henry had so much trouble climbing up this particular play structure (at Rood Bridge Park) and was not interested in tube slides. Now he's a pro at the climbing and was all over the super-tall and covered slides! I was so proud! And everytime he came down, he'd look at me with that huge grin that says, "Did you see me, mommy?" Can you get more precious? I'm sure I sound like a weirdo mom that I'm excited about how well my boy played, but his motor skills have changed so much and it is so nice to be able to trust him to be safe. :) We stayed for almost an hour and a half and Henry never stopped once. It makes for one happy boy! Now I just beg...bring on more sunshine!!!

*****

Waiting patiently for his turn

Climbing up

Hi, mom!

He had fun on all the balance structures, too!

There it is! Yes, baby! I saw you!

Weeeeeee!

Woosh!

Yah!

I've been tagged...

Aren't you proud, Jen? Here's the 4th pic from the 4th folder on my computer. Henry at 9 months. Buddy!

Who do I blogstalk? Just about everyone on Jen's blogroll. Seems to be a common theme! :)

I tag: Karla, Michele and Annie

Introducing...

Wyatt Paul Marr

These were from a couple weeks ago at our ultrasound, when we found out he's a healthy baby boy! I know this blog is a little delayed, but better late than never. :) Wyatt was stretching and dancing and sucking his thumb for us as we watched. Those little things are some of life's greatest blessings! Henry talks about Baby Wyatt every day and can't wait for him to "get out of mommy's tummy" so he can play with him. Hee. Gotta love it.