New Frontiers of Parenting

Tonight, Henry literally threw up into Adam's mouth.

Literally.

And, Adam didn't throw up.

He merely turned his head to the side and spit.

He spit quite a distance.

That
is
Love.

(Adam was holding Henry above his head after jiggling him on his knee for a while after Henry ate spinach and potatoes. Men...they don't get cause and effect sometimes.)

Might Cause Ignoring Your Child.

Band Hero by Franti on Flickr.

The older you get, the fewer surprises come your way. Well, at least in the gift-department. However, this year we were truly shocked to open up a box from my parents with a...Wii! What? I mean, as Brooke said when I told her, we don't even have cable...Random! But, when combined with the awesomeness that is Band Hero, you've got yourself delight for hours.

The first day, we discovered that we'd have to take turns so as to not ignore our son or wait until he goes to bed to crank out a few songs duet-style. Then, Christmas afternoon, we took it to Brooke and Freeland's and played for hours together. Band Hero will truly make you think that you are capable of band greatness and that you missed your calling in life to become a drummer. (that is, until you take the drums off of the "easy" setting)

The Ten

We had a wonderful Christmas and I want to share all about it once I get a few pictures uploaded but, first off, can we just pause for a moment and take in the fact that the year 2010 is upon us?

When Adam and I first moved up here, it was May of 2007. We had been married for one year and he was beginning medical school. His graduation date: May, 2011. Oh, sigh. Gasp! So far away, so far away.

Now it is 17 months away! Wow. Wow-za.

Life is flying by like a freight train and you gotta be proactive and intentional about a few things or else *poof* it's 2020 and your sitting in your pajamas watching soap operas drinking sidecar at 11 a.m with Dorito crumbs all over your lap. Not really but time, it is a-flying.

Happy New Year!

Sunday Afternoons

Who doesn't love a good ol' lazy Sunday afternoon? Well, we don't not love it. Two negatives = a positive. We do. We do love it! As captured by this photograph taken on Sunday afternoon.

Adam is currently getting his critical care rotation on, Henry is napping, Powers is eating poultry-flavored tooth-paste. I just watched the finale of Sing-Off on hulu.com. Hey, I liked that show! They should do it again. I anticipate that college campuses all over the United States will suddenly have an influx of a cappella groups singing underneath archways and in stairwells...basically wherever there are good acoustics. I'm all for that. What the world needs now is more doo-wap groups.

A Slower Christmas

This year, Adam and I will be here in Erie with Henry & Powers for Christmas and New Years. And, although it will be nice to have a nice, laid-back Christmas celebration with our dear friends, the Ackley's, We will miss our families.

And Henry will miss getting to hang out with his two big, crazy cousins.

I got this picture from my sister-in-law and just had to laugh. This perfectly captures their boy-ness. Henry is a lucky kid to have these two as cousins.

Thursday Mornings With the Girls

I think I've mentioned before that on Thursday mornings, Henry & I go to Brooke' s house and watch So You Think You Can Dance with Bethany & her. It's a fun tradition and Henry enjoys crawling after the Ackley's animals. Today was the finale (incidentally, although I like Russell, I hate it when people get so excited that they rip off their shirts to celebrate. Whatever happened to a good old-fashioned fist pump?) and as we were getting ready to leave, Brooke said that she had something to show me.

She had tivoed a show called "Sing-Off" which is an a cappella type competition and this dude...this dude in the purple looks JUST LIKE ADAM. We were cracking up!

So, basically...I don't think that Adam is even in med school. When he's doing rotations, he's really hooking up with his A Cappella group.

Adam, Henry & I went to an Ab-Fab Christmas Party at Brooke & Freeland's house on Friday night. It was a sweaters & spirits party complete with wine tastings and winter olympics competitions (boys vs. girls...girls won after a pivotal dance-off). We even brought our Pack n' Play so that we could stay until the bitter end.

Since Adam refused to cross-dress so that we could match (Can you believe him?!), I went alone looking like an extra from Coming to America. At least I was a festive extra?

A few of the gals.

Thanks for hosting, Ackley's. It was muy fun.

Lotsa Snow

Nice Idea

I wish I could add on to our home a giant, padded room...you know, like those in mental hospitals? No sharp corners, just padded walls and floor...

No furniture.

Maybe a few foam bats...that's it. Ideal for child-rearing!

Oh, well. Maybe our next house.

What would you do-o-o

for a klondike bar?

Nothing, personally...I'm not a fan. Today, we are gearing up for playgroup. I have officially decorated our home for Christmas but not put up a tree (gasp!). I just can't bring myself to do it...the living room is Henry's main crawl-around area and I hate to make it any smaller especially now that it's snowy outside, ya dig ponyboy?

Mary Lou suggested that we put it up in the dining room, which is a great idea but I am currently storing our stroller between walks by the window of the dining room and am not sure where I would move it. I think that we'd be okay without a tree...I just can't decide. I feel so grinch. Christmas isn't supposed to be about what's PRACTICAL!

We Just Need Some Horse-Drawn Sleighs

...and this would be a durned Dickens' novel! Or at least a Bing Crosby song...

It is white everywhere outside...Erie's winter has arrived and I have mixed feelings. It is beautiful, I can't deny it. However, I feel a little less flexible with Henry...like, we can't just hop out and run errands as easily and we can't set up a blanket and sit in the back yard (or else we'll be soaked!) However, to focus on the positive- we CAN bundle up and watch Powers chase a tennis ball around in the yard and pounce on snowballs. That makes Henry laugh. I just don't want to get cabin fever...Thank God for the YMCA.

this is Henry clapping. He has a really soft golf clap that doesn't make any noise...for now.

This Christmas, we will be here due to Adam's rotation schedule. I am sad to not be with our family but excited for our new little family of 3 (or 4, Powers included) to begin new traditions and spend spend some quality time together. Plus our dear friends, the Ackley's, will be here and they have become like family to us. Plus, we will be visiting the south in January (Perfect time of year) and Henry will get spoiled rotten then.

Enjoy this Monday!

Chicka-Chicka

Today, Henry and I went out to eat lunch by ourselves for the first time. We went to Chick-Fil-A and it was the perfect place to go! The staff insisted on bringing us my lunch, they set up a high chair, they checked on us, they put away our tray and trash so that I wouldn't have to with Henry! So nice! Henry did well and just ate green beans and people-watched. Poor kid...it has to stink eating green beans and watching your mom eat chicken strips and lemonade.

And, oh my word, I had never had their Chick-Fil-A sauce before but it is so stinking good (and fat/calorie-free, right Les?)

Here is our boy in motion.

Makes me dizzy just looking at it!

What's Going On Here

• Chasing Henry around in order to dress him
• Warming up with winter soups and stews
• Soaking up Henry's sweet laughs
• Wearing Muk Luks around the house to keep my tootsies toasty
• Adam halfway done with his Pediatrics rotation
• Powers licking Henry after meals
• Picking up choking hazards off the floor 24/7
• Blowing rasberries on sweet bellies
• Savoring every sunshine day (it's like a surprise gift)
• Watching So You Think You Can Dance at Brooke's house
• Christmas lights
• Wearing bright gloves on walks
• All three of us running outside to meet Adam when he comes home
• Henry crawling after Powers and giggling
• Enjoying Christmas!