Drank the Kool Aid

Well, he did it.  Henry drank the Kool Aid.

Our next door neighbor, Anna, and her friend set up a Kool Aid stand this afternoon, and when Henry and I pulled into the driveway, he said, "Now let's go see what Anna's doing!"  Turns out, she was embracing our street's spirit of entrepreneurship (referring to Daddy's home office, of course) and was selling cold Kool Aid for fifty cents a cup--free refills.

Henry went back for more:

The girls were delighted.  Anna loves Henry, but, mainly, we were their only customers as of dinnertime.  

Henry loved it!

There was still a faint red stain when he went to bed tonight.  Kool Aid really leaves a mark. 

Apologies for the "drank the Kool Aid" reference... or am I the only one who cringes just a tad when it's used?

Happy Birthday, Granddad!

We love you!  Thanks for cooking some great burgers and dogs for your birthday and for letting Henry open your gifts.

We love you!

Random Routine

Henry thrives on routine--not necessarily doing things exactly the same at the same time, but at least doing things in a similar patten.  And, of course, it's always evolving, especially our nighttime routine.  Currently, after the bath, teeth brushing, and pajamas, Henry gets to pick two books to start off the 2 books, 2 stories, and 2 songs before bed routine.  Lately, he and I agreed to additional snuggle/ chat time.  Here's just a short sample of our conversation tonight:

Henry:  "I missed you today."
Me:  "Really?"
Henry:  "Yeah."
Me:  "I missed you, too.  I think about you a lot!"
Henry: "When you get mad, you say, 'Are you kidding me?'"

So sweet.

Good Grandparents

We visited Great Granddaddy and Mema at The Presbyterian Home on Sunday afternoon.  On the way there, as we talked about Great Granddaddy and Mema, Henry finally corrected us and said, "No.  It's Good Granddaddy!"  It's true that Henry has high standards, but I'm not sure what Mema and Granddaddy have to do to be considered great.

Henry and Granddaddy got along well--silliness being their common bond.

We walked over to Mema's wing and spent some time with her, and Henry liked observing the birds in the glass case.

Mema observed Henry and declared him a "beautiful child."

I think that, if she's willing to call him beautiful, Henry should be willing to call her "great."

Fresh Harvested Pizza

Our trip to the zoo and lots of tricycling in the rain worked up our appetites on Saturday, and our garden obliged.

We decided to make pizza with our goods, and Henry was a huge help with rolling out...

 

and taste testing the dough.

He really is a big help, and I am trying to not underestimate his desire to contribute, even if it means getting sauce all over the dough rather than leaving an appropriate amount of edging.

Delicious!

Note:  Henry's pizza did not include any fresh garden ingredients.  Instead, he preferred just black olives and cheese.  Yum!  (especially if you are Elizabeth Farry)

Precipitation Elation

Henry loathes the heat.  We are not too far behind in his disdain, either, so it was a huge relief when the weather graced us with rain--chilly, big glopping rain--this weekend.

Cory and I already decided to head to the zoo on Saturday morning, and when Henry wholeheartedly agreed to the plan, we knew that it would be pretty difficult to back out when the sprinkles started.  Plus, the cooler temperatures beckoned us to ignore our missing umbrellas and just dash from cover to cover to wait out the biggest drenches of refreshing drops.  Once in the zoo, we darted around wiser, umbrella toting visitors and made our way to the reptile exhibit, which offered shelter and lots of excited exclamations from our little snake lover.

The relenting rain gave us opportunity to visit most of the animals who also seemed pretty relieved and refreshed. 

The orangutans didn't appreciated the precipitation, though, and remained in their hidden quarters while we waited out another downpour in their observation area.  Baby Bob didn't show, but Henry did observe that his hand is smaller that Mia, the male.

  We loved watching Henry splash around the little rivers and puddles.

It never occurs to us to buy the little packs of crackers that you can feed to the animals, but a friendly mom whose child had enough of feeding the goats offered the rest of the crackers for Henry to feed to the greedy animal. 

I think that, from now on, rain won't deter us from outdoor time--especially during the hot summer.  Henry acted as though a weight was lifted off his shoulders for the whole day.

See?  No weight on his shoulders.  His arms kept floating up.  (Actually, he's flexing his toned muscles for Joy II (elephant).)

Far Away

Ahhhh...

Yes, Cory and I had to escape to Mexico for a few days to catch some rays, rest, and relaxation.  I decided not to take my good camera and opted, instead, for my practical and sufficient little Cyber-shot.  Only one problem--I cannot find the cord that I need to use for uploading.  No problem, though... most of you probably don't want to see photos of me in a bathing suit--especially since I gained an additional five pounds in just under five days.

Sadly, though, you will have to only imagine an adorable Henry helping me roll my luggage to the gate and then opening his surprise from Daddy and Mama just before we made our way through GSP's dense (ha!) security line.

Thank you, Nana, for keeping Henry safe and entertained while we whiled away our time sipping cocktails by the pool and dipping our toes in the turquoise water in Playa del Secreto.  Thank you, Grandjane, for providing Nana a break from the demands of our picky and messy (hehe) child.  Rest was achieved!  But there is no place like home.