SNOW DAY

With our first big snow of the season/Henry's life (Valpo got 11 inches on Tuesday)... I could not resist the urge to put the Mister in his "snow suit" and take advantage of the photo op. Being huge fans of A Christmas Story, the outside pics remind us of the famous scene where Ralphie's brother, Randy, falls down in the snow and cannot move his arms. Hilarious! The snow was a bit bright for Henry and he would not open his eyes outside. For those dialing CPS, hold on... we took exactly 3 pictures and he was back inside within the minute!

The end...

...of my maternity leave. I went back to work this week (sad), and Henry had to start daycare Monday. It helps me knowing that this is not permanent right now. Like for example, next week is Thanksgiving, and we have two days off. Then, Kevin will be able to stay with him from December 12 - January 5, and potentially a day or two a week through the end of February. That helps. I don't feel like it is never ending. We are taking him to a woman who used to watch my nieces. With the current economy, a few of her regular kids have not had a need for daycare (also sad), so he is about the only guy there. There is one other 18 month old that is there, but not with any regularity. She is a very nice lady, and seems to really love Hankry. She also only charges us hourly (a very reasonable rate I might add), and only charges us for the hours we are actually there. This is great compared to the centers we are (were) considering that charge a flat rate per week and only allow two "vacation weeks" per year. Her house is less than 10 minutes from my office, so I can spend lunches with him and get a fix any time during the day. However, in an effort to "cut the cord," I resisted the urge to go to him at lunch this week. Hard core, I know. What doesn't help me in my efforts to "cut the cord" is that we had a "snow day" Tuesday. Don't get me wrong, I was super excited for a free day with my boy, but it made it that much harder to take him back on Wednesday. That said, we made it through the week. Yesterday, when I picked him up he would not stop smiling, so clearly he is fine with this whole situation. Theory confirmed...this is all much harder on me than it is on him...

On a side note... now that I am paying someone to watch my child, I am very irritated by this concept. Why would I pay someone for the privilege of hanging out with Henry. He is fantastic...I want to hang out with him. She should be paying me for letting her hang out with him. This lady has the best job in the world...so, if any of you would be willing to pay me to watch him, we have a deal. We can discuss my salary requirements if you are interested.

Here are some pics of the boy enjoying tummy time...

Fun With Scrapblogging... a new distraction

As if I need something else to distract me! I have discovered a great new web site that lets you create virtual scrapbook pages... SO FUN! www.scrapblog.com

For Example:

Hank Gets Political

We voted...did you???

voting takes a lot of thought...

i think i have the right answer...

check out my cool sticker i got for voting...my vote counted!

Handsome Boy

First Tailgate

Henry's Halloweekend continued in South Bend with his first tailgate at the ND Pitt Game. We were parked and walking by 8:00 a.m. Henry was bundled up in a fleece pram (it was only 50 degrees when we headed out), and was not so sure why were awake so early. (He generally sleeps until at least 9). As the fog lifted, so did the temps and Henry was able to show his Irish Pride. We enjoyed the company of "Aunt" Heather, "Uncle" Sebastian, Erin and Rick. Henry slept most of the day in his stroller/tent and enjoyed the ND Band parading to the stadium. During one fussy spell (the only one of the day), he was immediately lulled to sleep by bagpipes, which is the exact opposite reaction than I was expecting. Aunt Heather bought us a commemorative football complete with the date of the game and Henry got his first jersey. When he wasn't sleeping, he enjoyed the sun and just hanging with the guys! . The girls and Hank headed back to Valpo to watch the game/nap, watch a movie and randomly check the score of the game. Sadly, ND lost yesterday, but it was the longest ND game in history, as well as the most consecutive field goals in a game ever. ND lost in the 4th overtime. The Illini, on the other hand, pulled out a win yesterday, so we will be happy with that for now!

all bundled up with Aunt Heather

snoozing in my cool stroller/tent

hanging with the guys (Rick, Dad, Dr. Jack, Uncle Sebastian)

New ND jersey and trying to hold dad's beer

sock mittens... we need to get some mittens apparently

watching the game at home with mom and the girls

Happy Halloween

Henry had a great first Halloween! He has become such the social butterfly and his calendar is filled with dates, meetings and parties. Halloween was no exception. We spent the morning relaxing and cleaning the house. About 2:30 we headed to South Bend. Our first stop was to trick-or-treat at the Troyer's house. Henry was accepting kisses in lieu of candy this year. We were greeted at the Troyer house by the cutest ladybug/puppy and "Aunt" Sarah. He could not stop staring and smiling at Sarah's sparkly cat ears... best thing ever. We then headed to Gramma Pat's house (Henry's great-grandmother on Dad's side). She was so excited to have our little giraffe visit her, and was more than willing to shovel out the kisses he was seeking. We were a bit rushed because Dad had a man-date with Dr. Jack Smelko. They went to the Penn football game, while Henry and I hung out with Aunt Shari and cousins Lauren and Ali. We watched a "scary" movie (The Happening turned out to be more of a comedy, and I don't recommend this movie to anyone) and passed out candy to the 2 trick-or-treaters that showed up. After such a busy day, Henry was pooped, so he stayed home with Aunt Shari and the girls, while Kevin and I got to go out to our first adults only dinner with Sarah and Nate. We had a lovely dinner at Ruth's Chris, complete with a bottle of wine... it was lovely! So, our first Halloween was full of excitement; however, I expect that next year will be a tad more exciting for "The Tank."

P.S. We didn't take many pics, but have a few great ones from our professional pics taken a few weeks ago.

Family Pic (taken from a little too far away)

...with Gramma Pat, Ali (in the blue) and Lauren

Sleepy Pumpkin