A Laugh a Minute

Ok, I can officially say that 15 months is my favorite age! You can take that to the bank.

Marc and I laugh everyday with all the new things this boy is doing. He never fails to crack us up with his antics.

This boy cannot get enough of his books! I'll tell him to go bring me a book and he will go to his toy box and bring me one of his favorites. Lately, it's this book he got for Christmas called Trucks, Tractors, Diggers, and Dumpers. I have it memorized. He just grins from ear to ear after I turn every page. What is it about boys and construction vehicles?


We've had a few warmer days around here lately. By warmer, I mean 50 degrees. We've been taking advantage of it and running around the backyard.

Kisses! I just got my first kissy ever today. I know it's strange, but before that he only liked to kiss his Dad's shoe when he got home from work. He would do it like 3 times in a row like he was a royal servant or something.

Posing for the ladies. "You ladies come here often?"

Running around Mom's office. He is always moving these days!

Discovery Place for Kids at the water table. I think he's saying "Wow" here. One of his favorite words!

He's also saying:

- Dada

- Mama

- Go

- No

- Hi and Bye

- Si, short for Betsy

"Yo Gabba Gabba! Yo Gabba Gabba!" He loves the theme song to that show and starts dancing when it comes on. His dancing skills are off the chart lately. Any time a song comes on, he is moving. He is especially partial to the Ipad song and Jennifer Hudson's Weight Watchers anthem "Feelin' Good". He's got soul!

Getting ready for nite-nite with Dad!

Henry likes to fall asleep with things in his hands. This night was pretzels. Sometimes it's toothbrushes, pieces of fake food, or Ritz crackers. Do not try to hand him a stuffed animal or a blankie. He will throw it. He wants random objects.

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Bahama Mamas (& Papas)

What a wonderful vacation! After all the sickness we've had in our household, I couldn't wait to just get away and rest. And sure enough, right after we got there we both took a two hour nap. Much needed!

Soaking up the sun

View from our bed and breakfast's patio

Beach all to ourselves!

Jellyfish at the Atlantis aquarium.

Sunset from Paradise Island

Private beach we visited during the Segway tour

Segway tour! Total touristy thing to do, but it was so fun!

Sunset from the B&B's patio

Beautiful sunsets every night

Pier at a nearby resort. It was freezing! So glad I brought my sweater. I wore it almost every day.

Yay!

Dinner at Traveler's- Best restaurant in Nassau! Try the guava cake. And our clothes match the sunset.

Our room! So cozy. I felt like I was staying in an old Southern plantation...in a Pottery Barn kind of way.

I spent most of my time in this tub reading.

Beach combing

And while we had an AMAZING time, we missed Henry something fierce. This was our first time away just the two of us and I have to say, it took about a day to get out of a parent high alert mode. But what a great chance to re-connect and just hang out with each other with no worries in the world....well, maybe just where we were going to eat that night and what drink I was going to order.

Thanks to Geemaw and Grandpa for taking such good care of my boy! He loves y'all so much!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

The Magic of Christmas

I have always loved Christmas. The lights, the music, the shopping, the traditions...all of it. When it's over, I'm always sad as all the glitter and light disappear from my living room. It went by so fast this year. I could've used an extra two weeks of Christmas this year. And that's what I'm realizing about life with a little one, especially at this time of year. It FLIES.

Christmas was so much more fun with the little guy running around. He's not old enough yet to understand any of it, but to see Christmas through a child's eye...that's the magic.

As I get older, Christmas is still a magical time, but has become a little bittersweet. Spending Christmas at home in the house I grew up in, so many memories flood in of Christmases past. Can it really be that long ago that I was sitting under the tree opening up my gifts from Santa? And now I'm no longer the child, I'm the mother. But, I still feel like that little girl inside. How can it be that I'm the MOM and almost 30 years old?? Is that right? You mean Santa isn't real...huh?! :)

Pardon me, I think I'm just having a quarter-life crisis. Thank you John Mayer for giving a name to my special kind of craziness.

And I missed my Papa this year. More than I have in a long time. I missed the smell of the log cabin and the pipe tobacco. I missed his hugs and his voice. And I think that's another part of Christmas that changes as we get older. We miss all the people that we've spent it with in the past. And I wish he could have met Henry. They would've been best buddies.

Sniff...sniff....alright I'll get back on track, I promise.

We were blessed to be able to spend a whole week at home. Usually, Henry and I will go down for a week, and Marc is only able to come for a couple days, but this year he got to spend the whole week.

Instead of the 12 days of Christmas, I'll call it the 7 days of Queso. I believe we injested that beloved blend of Rotel and Velveeta at least once a day for 7 days straight. Awesome.

Besides gorging on Mexican food, we spent a lot of time just relaxing and playing with Henry. His walking improved like crazy over the trip. When we first got there, he was still a little shaky on his feet but by the end he was practically running. Running like a drunk, but running still.

He LOVED his Uncle Jojo. Now, he rarely meets a stranger but he walked right up to Joey and nestled up against his chest like he was his best friend. Um, he's never done that to me!

We watched the movie, The Other Guys, twice. If you are into quotable Will Ferrell comedies, you must check it out. We were dying laughing! I even got a present from one of the characters. It got a little out of hand. Why I got scratch off lottery tickets from "Dirty Mike and the Boys" (aka Marc), I will never know. It doesn't even make sense. And why I received scratch off tickets from my husband...that's also strange.

We tried to go see Santa on our yearly trip to Bass Pro Shops, but there was a two hour wait! Seriously? It was just like that part in The Christmas Story where Ralphie and his brother get in what they think is the line, only to have that mean old man tell him the line starts back THERE! That was us...I thought it looked pretty short. Dur.

The closest we got.

We rode the carousel instead. Henry tolerated it. I think he's inherited his mom's hatred of rides that go round and round.

This is blurry, but you can see the joy on his face. Ha!

By the time it was time to leave, I really just wanted to stay and have Christmas at Bass Pro in that front lounging room with all the deer heads and the roaring fire. So cozy. I think this longing to spend the night at Bass Pro goes back to one of my favorite memories from childhood. When I was in Girl Scouts, we got to have an overnight campout in the MALL! Best idea ever. I love the idea of camping, but not so much the outdoors. Why not camp indoors in one of my favorite places to go as a 7 year old? Genius.

I think Henry's favorite present was his 4 pack of Chuck trucks. It's a fire truck, a blue pick-up truck, an ambulance, and a dump truck. He kept saying, "Whoa" as I was unwrapping them for him. Although, it seems his favorite toy lately is not a present he received at all, but my very own red CVS card. If we're out shopping around and he's fussy, the CVS card works everytime. He's actually really studying me when I swipe my credit card in the machine. Give him a couple more days, and I think he'll actually be able to do this. He's pretty smart.

"Mom, why are you always talking smack?"

This will go down as the Christmas Marc fell in love with his Droid. And the love affair continues....I might need him to leave the Droid at home when we go on our Bahamas trip. It's getting pretty hot and heavy.

So excited for our Bahamas trip! Here's the place we're staying, A Stone's Throw B&B in Nassau. I have been working out and watching my diet like a mad woman to try and get ready to get into a bikini. Normally, those areas don't see the light of day till at least June so there's some work to be done. I won't be able to wear my pajama jeans on the beach. Just kidding, I do not have a pair of pajama jeans, although they are tempting. Hey, at least I didn't buy the Shake Weight to get my arms in shape!

Happy New Year to you all!! Here's to a wonderful 2011!

Cheers!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Fall Escapades

This post is so late due to a crazy work life as of late, but better late than never!

Is the word "escapade" ever used besides that lovely 90's gem of a song "Escapade" by Janet Jackson? I remember I used to think she was saying "...let me take you on an ice capades". I always wanted to go to the Ice Capades, so the song appealed to me. If I don't know the words to a song, I usually just make up my own. That's what all the cool kids do.

We have truly had some memorable fall escapades this year with Henry. I've visited more pumpkin patches in the past three months than I have in my entire life. Each one had something memorable to offer.

One had the best kettle corn I've ever had. Actually, I only got 2 bites. This guy got the rest.

One that looked just like "Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin" except not animated.

One where I saw two donkeys, um how should I put this....having a fun time together?

You thought I was going to post a pictures of the donkeys, didn't you? You have such a dirty mind.

A young family with 2 kids was also there to witness it.

Overheard conversation:

"Mama, what are those horsies doing?"- Little Boy

"They look like they are having fun!"- Little Girl

"Ah nuthin. They ain't horses at all. Nah, they ain't horses at all!"- Deep Southern accented Grandma. Horses she knew would never do such a thing. For shame.

Henry and his best girlfriend Maddie having a Ritz Cracker snack in the patch.

This look exemplified his mood that day. Even after the cracker snack, something was just not right. I'm calling this shot "Before Ice Cream".

Hmmm...let's give it a try. Chocolate in a waffle cone. Delightful.

"After Ice Cream". Pure joy.

We also took a trip up to Blowing Rock to see all the foliage. Blowing Rock is such a cute little town, but not the place to bring a baby. Strollers are not allowed in any of the shops. And it was freezing!! We had a lunch at a fancy cafe while we were there. It was very quiet inside, so I was a little worried about how it would go with Henry. He was so good! Maybe because he looked the part. His sweater vest and collared shirt fit right in with the sophisticated atmosphere. Ron Burgundy would've liked this place. It smelled of rich mahogany.

"Can I get some service up in here?! Waitress!!"

Poor baby was teething during Halloween and barely tolerated having to wear his tiger outfit. We went trick or treating around the cul-de-sac and then hung out in the driveway to hand out candy to all the kids. It didn't really cross my mind that it would actually be me and Marc holding out the candy bucket, so it was actually us grown ups trick or treating. Awkward. He looked very cute in his costume. I'm glad we went the tiger route. I considered dressing him up as a hamburger.....oh, who are we kidding. That would've been adorable too.

Henry continues to amaze me at the big boy he is becoming.

A couple things he's started to do.....

- He can now walk 5 or 6 steps without falling.

- Loves climbing up the stairs.

- I can tell (mother's intuition) he is starting to understand a ton of words. His newest word is "Go". He likes to say that we're playing fetch with Betsy. He likes to head butt Betsy and burrow his head in her fur.

- He's starting to dance when music comes on. His favorite song is "DJ Got Us Falling In Love" by Usher. He likes it when I sing Miranda Lambert's "House That Built Me" and "The Airstream Song". Or maybe I just like to sing those.

- Still loves peek-a-boo and can now play by himself. He'll go around the corner or pull a shirt over his head by himself to "hide".

- He's starting to like eating with a spoon by himself.

- Pots, pans, and spoons are his favorite "toys". His favorite toys that are actually toys are his school bus and dump truck.

- This kid loves books!! It's getting to be where if I'm reading and I stop, he lets it be known that he wants me to keep going! He's obsessed with anything with a truck or car on it. I caught him reading the back of the newspaper with pictures of cars for sale on it the other day. I feel like I'm raising Joe Dirt. I better get me some issues of Auto Trader.....

- Speaking of Joe Dirt, he's grown quite a mullet. But it's little baby ringlets, so I just can't cut it yet!

- He now has 8 teeth. 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top.

That's all for now! Lots of fun times coming up with Christmas almost here. Can't wait!

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, & Betsy

Little Gym Drama

I decided to take Henry to Little Gym after work on his real birthday. They have a free introductory class, so why not? We went to the 5:45 class. He had just had a big bottle of milk and some snacks, so I thought we were all set and just threw in some goldfish just in case.

He acted like he had never seen people before. He was so clingy and would not let me put his down. Still acting like he was hungry, we went in the waiting room and had a few more goldfish. He would come alive for a minute, but then back to the clinginess. It was so NOT his personality...just strange.

The girl running it came up to me and said, "For the shy babies, they usually get excited when the balls and the bubble time starts."

Um yeah honey, this baby ain't shy. He's just having an off day! Enough with the 3rd degree!

So, we got home, both of us plum worn out. I'm still wondering what was going on with him.

I look down and my fly is undone.

OMG- how long has it been this way?! I was sitting indian style during little gym letting it all hang out! No wonder I thought the parents were giving me dirty looks.

"Hey, let's welcome the weird child predator lady!"

Henry was trying to tell me to get the heck out of there and save us all the embarrassment.

We can never go back there.

.....flashback to traumatic childhood memory.........

I am 14 years old. I weigh maybe 80lbs soaking wet, but I think my new perky 32A's are quite niiice. I buy a bathing suit at the sexy bathing suit place known as The Gap. It is a beige bikini with flowers on it. In denial over my pale skin from an early age, I decide that once I get a tan it will look really good. Right now, it frankly resembles my skin tone just a wee bit.

Fast forward to a hot summer day when I decide to try it out by laying out in the backyard. I go out to get the mail to see if my new Seventeen magazine has arrived. We live across the street from a park. I strut my stuff out to the mailbox and hear these boys yelling, "Whoa, look at that girl!"

I am so excited. I must be looking hot to get catcalls from across the street.

Two days later, we receive a call from the local police department.

Apparently, an indecent exposure claim was filed stating that I walked out of my house in the nude.

Commence tears & much humiliation. The ordeal was solved when a private investigator and my whole family walked across the street and forced me to walk outside the house in my bikini again to make sure we were telling the truth.

My dad decided I would never wear that bathing suit ever again.

The sad thing is, these moments do not stop at age 14.

A guy from The Little Gym called on Saturday to try and re-schedule our visit.

For a minute, I thought it might be the cops.

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy

How Bout Them Apples

I tried to get Henry attached to a paci. He picked his thumb.

I tried to get Henry attached to the special teething giraffe that all the magazines talk about. He picked a wet rag.

I tried to get Henry attached to a stuffed animal or a blankie. He picked apple cores.

He is obsessed with chewing on apple cores. This occupies him for an hour at a time, no joke. He will carry the apple core with him around the house. We gave him one last night and I thought we would have to put him to bed with it. He cried real tears when we took it away.

Thanks to mom and Marie for the great tip. It is a miracle worker.

This picture cracks me up. For some reason, I just picture him saying "Would you like to try my apple core?" in a Forrest Gump voice. "They's my magic apples. Mama said they'd take me anywhere!"

Love,

Lyndsey, Marc, Henry, and Betsy