Home is where the rush typically is

We're home!  It was an excellent vacation, and, to top it off, it was a marvelous return back to Greenville.  Our flights went smoothly.  Henry made friends on the plane and in the airport then slept through the second leg.  Grandjoe was waiting for us as as soon as we stepped outside the gate.  The house is clean (as I must have it so before leaving for a trip) and so is Penny.  Laundry is going and the fridge is now stocked with next week's groceries.  Daddy grilled a yummy dinner.  Exhausted-but-still-managing-to-be-sweet-Henry was asleep by 6:50.

If every day was this smooth, we wouldn't need to go to Maine to relax!

Mr. Independent

Our little guy is asserting himself quite a lot lately.
The northeast is bringing out the stubborn independence in Henry, and, so far, we are caught between giggling at his constant insistence that "Henry do it" and our own fears of letting go--especially atop the large slides at the nearby park.Henry is loving Maine even though he refuses to try lobster, and we are having a wonderful time here. This second family summer vacation is off to a great start, and I'm sure that Henry will learn to do some new stuff (with and without our help) while we're here.

Getting ready

We head out for our vacation to Maine tomorrow, so we went to the library this morning and then did some last minute shopping.Even though this hat has an SPF of 50 and looks fabulous on Henry, we ended up not buying it. Hope we don't regret it!

School Days of Our Lives

Henry was bitten a couple of time last Friday, and the new director at the YW called us to meet with us that afternoon. She let us know that, based on her classroom observations, she thought it would be best to transition Henry to a classroom containing children closer to the age of two. We agreed, and Henry spent this week making that transition.

I got a chance to observe him in his new classroom this afternoon both with and without him knowing I was watching.  My final observation is that Henry loves it!  He was fitting right in with the new classmates, and, as we were already expecting based on lots of positive feedback from his teachers, we think the transition is a "go."  

• Evan started kindergarten.
• Grandjane started a new school year with a new principal.
• Nana secured a new position and started another school year.
• Elizabeth, Josh, and Caleb started their sophomore year at USC.
  
• Henry is transitioning to the 2 year old class at the YW.

Like sands through the hour glass... so are the school days of our lives.

Tonight...

Henry told me he loves me.  "I'ah you, Mama."

I keep falling in love over and over with this boy.

Bus... Drive

Courtesy of the Ekebergh's, Henry attended his first Greenville Drive game tonight, and while I'm sure the game was exciting for some, he was mainly into the "bus!" (trolley), the trolley wheels, and the slides in the playground.Poor Niklas. I was at the top telling Niklas to "Go, Go!" He would get excited, and then Henry's 5 minute scoot down the slide would cause him to get stuck in the rear. Linsey and Chris would then gently admonish Niklas and instruct him to be careful with Henry. I must say that I was very impressed with Niklas' patience with both Henry's stop-go skids and the conflicting encouragers from the adults.
I'm glad that our boys got to play together, and I can already imagine their future friendships. Perhaps one day, when they are older, I will slip in a suggestion that Niklas will be a good friend to have, and nearby, Linsey will quietly suggest the same to Niklas. And, despite their innate desire to defy their moms, they will find themselves drawn to become the best of friends.

On the count of 2!

Totally safe... no way he'll get hurt.