Henry at eight weeks

My sweet Henry is two months old. Eight weeks on this earth and he is smiling, cooing, and generally being all that is newborn. I love how he came into our family and everything just felt so complete and so right. And now, of course, I can't imagine us without him-- all 12 pounds, eight and a half ounces of him!


Henry looking at Mama



Henry and Grandma

Evelyn, the costume

Lately, Evelyn has a couple of "catch phrases." The first is really more of an announcement than anything else: "I'm a costume!" Evie tosses a blanket over her head or around her shoulders, sometimes adding one of Daddy's hats into the mix, and she prances across the room. When we ask Evelyn what exactly she is dressing up as, she repeats "I am a costume!" with great enthusiasm. It's pretty funny.

The second thing Evelyn has been saying is "Mama, do you remember (name) from high school?" I cannot keep from laughing when Evelyn asks me this. Since Evelyn loves to tell a good "joke" or make us laugh, you can imagine how often she'll repeat a funny phrase to get a big reaction. Here she is, as a costume:

Snapshot: A sandwich for baby brother

My Mom is visiting and, true to form, Evelyn is very much enjoying the extra attention. All of the excitement has not, however, dampened her love for her brother. Here, she is giving Henry a pretend sandwich and a pat on the back.

Sleep, baby, sleep

I'd love to join Henry in his sweet baby dreams, but I've just spent the past two hours cleaning the house. Well, tidying is more like it. Our house is usually quite clean in terms of "physically" being clean but the clutter just creeps up and accumulates. I can't stand cluttered kitchen counters, I find the suffocating. So, the kitchen island is totally clear, the other main counter will be clear once the first load of dishes is through and . . . wow, this is a thrilling post!

This morning was much more exciting. I stepped away from our lovely family for about an hour and a half this afternoon for a much needed massage. My physical therapist, midwife, and chiropractor all said (on separate occasions) "Wow, your muscles are tight! You should get a massage." I decided to actually heed their advice. I booked the massage for Henry's usual sleepy time, which is not too hard to do since he is a newborn. According to Chris, the both kids did just fine while I was out. When I came home, Henry was sleeping in his swing and Evelyn was working on a block tower in the living room. Success indeed!

The Music Man!

I'm sure that I'm not alone in the fact that I rely on the occasional "bending of the truth," "fib," or "white lie" when it comes to explaining something to my toddler. It isn't my intent to be dishonest with her, but sometimes the real answer to her question (or toddler meltdown, as the case may be) is too lengthy or involves elements she just won't understand. Sometimes, I just want to avoid trouble, especially if we're both a little tired. At the coffee stand, for example, Evelyn sometimes asks for a blueberry muffin. We usually go ahead and get the muffin, but who am I kidding? These extra large muffins are essentially cupcakes without frosting. Have you read the ingredient list? They're practically pure sugar. Sometimes I just tell Evelyn that the coffee stand is out of muffins. She accepts this fact and I offer an alternative snack from home.

Yesterday evening as we ate dinner on our back deck, Evelyn was having a hard time sitting at the table. She just wanted to play and run around and have all of the fun that a gorgeous summer evening has to offer. Then, we heard some music. Chris and I knew exactly what the music meant. We also knew that telling Evelyn the truth about it would almost certainly result in her refusal to eat any dinner at all. I told Evelyn that the loud music we heard from our backyard was coming from "The Music Man." Haven't you heard of him? He drives slowly through neighborhoods, usually in some type of slightly dilapidated white van, and he blasts a carnival rendition of "Turkey in the Straw." Of course, Evelyn instantly asked "Shall we go see the man? Mommy, shall we see him?"

Chris did take her into the front yard and I guess they watched from a distance as the van slowly drove down our street (and then looped back around). I will definitely tell Evelyn the truth about "The Music Man" at some point. After all, she'll probably see kids walking away from the vehicle, ice cream in hand. And, I wouldn't want Evelyn to be embarrassed if, in a couple of years, she asks her friends if they know about The Music Man and they give her blank stares.

Snapshot: Level field

Chris is no longer outnumbered by gals in our house and, although Henry will be a strong member of Team Mama for a while, our guys like to relax together.

Sumer is Icumin In

Today was a quintessential summer day. Chris and Evelyn hit the beach. They almost didn't make it this morning as Evie fell asleep on the way there and clearly needed a nap. After about fifteen minutes or so, she woke up-- still in the car-- and told Chris she was ready for the beach! They had a wonderful time playing on the playground and building a sand castle. Evelyn waded in the lake a bit.


Henry and I stayed home and relaxed a bit and tried to stay cool in the heat. I'm still trying to remember to take it easy. It's hard to believe that Henry is six weeks old today! We spent a lot of time snuggling.



By late afternoon, the house was much too hot for human habitation. We played and dined outside. Dinner was prepared by Chef Chris and it did taste as good as it looked!