The Henrys visit

We are so lucky!  Marion and David have several family members in Phoenix, and when they asked whether the two of them could stay with us for a few days while they made the rounds for a visit, we were thrilled to say Yes!  

They are the easiest company ever...  They came and went as they pleased - and weren't offended when we did the same...  Easy to feed, low-maintenance to entertain, and though it doesn't even require stating: they are awesome babysitting help (I even got a haircut -- bliss!).

Come back any time, Henry fam!

*****

Just like old times -- except Nolan fills up Mr. David's lap a little more these days.

Speaking of full laps...

*****

Mr. David is also a great quick-action photographer and snapped several sweet pics of Nolan.

*****

 No beautiful day is complete without a little park time.

A kid at heart!

 (Still can't believe you guys were here!)

 Scarlett and Marion soaked up some rays.

*****

On their final day in Phoenix, David and Marion treated Nolan and me to a morning at the Desert Botanical Gardens.  I had never been, and it was a beautiful time of year to go.  I must say: I had no. idea. there were so many varieties of cacti and yucca and succulents.  And it's amazing they can get so many non-native plants to grow out here!  Not sure you could have even seen the whole place in a day.

The Garden was also hosting several special Chihuly exhibits, so his works were scattered throughout.  They are so amazing. 

 An acquired taste: the desert beauty grows on you after a little while.

 ...except for this.  This will never be pretty.  It could be a sermon visual illustration for sin.

 Chihuly's "red reeds"

 Marion learned the 3 qualities required to make a "desert".  I don't remember what they were, but Minnesota didn't qualify.

 More interested in Cheerios than in Chihuly.

 A great day spent with some great people!  Thank you guys for your generosity.

*****

All good things must come to an end.  

We are so happy you came, Marion and David!  Looking forward to next time!

Family Collage

Just goofing around on picmonkey.com tonight, as I'm trying to get a feel for it before using it for Scottsdale Moms Blog.  Made this little collage I thought I'd stick in here for fun.  :)

14.5 months

- Your size 3 diapers do the trick during the day, but you wear size 4 overnight.

-You generally only get a binkie at naptime and bedtime, unless we are on a trip.

- "Touch" remains your only word (sounds like "thu"), but you sign several things:

more, banana, blueberries, hat, so big, book, water/drink, milk, and all done

We are working on "please" -- seems to be a hard one.

- I am trying to teach you different facial features, but I think you are confused... Every time I say, "Where are your eyes?", you sit down, squeal great big and kick your legs wildly.  ?!?

- You love to grin and clap your hands, so you regularly applaud me and yourself.  I love that slicing a banana onto your tray often brings down the house, where you're concerned!  All the world's a stage.  :)

- Though you don't say the words "hi" or "bye-bye" yet, you wave to practically every person we meet.  When we are at home and I pick up any kind of shoulder bag, you start waving to the pups to tell them bye-bye because you know we are on our way out the door.

- You nap from around 12:30 - 2:30 most days, and you sleep 6:30pm-7am.  You are such a rockstar in this department.  We dropped your morning nap about a month ago, and we both love the freedom it gives our days!

- We always leave the house to go somewhere in the mornings.  Most days it's to the gym, where you play in the childcare and I enjoy a workout class.  Other times we go to the zoo, the train park, the regular park, MOPS or the Children's Museum.  In the afternoon, we often play in the backyard and walk the pups.  Sometimes the days can feel long - especially if your dad is super busy at work - but truth be told, we have a darn good life, you and I!  We love Arizona in the wintertime, and we have been trying to take full advantage of these beautiful days.  We owe your dad a lot for working so hard so that I can stay home with you and we can enjoy all of these things together.

- When we say, "Good girl, Khaki", you crawl straight over and pat, pat, pat Khaki squarely on the back with a wide open hand.

- You think sippy cups are exclusively for drinking water (which you love), and you absolutely refuse to drink milk (or anything else) out of one.  You only want milk from a bottle and given before nap or bedtime.  I'm inclined to press it..... but you're such an awesome and easy sleeper, I'm thinking maybe we shouldn't mess with success....

- Your favorite foods are bananas, blueberries, Kielbasa sausage, broccoli, grapes and green peas.  Oh, and cheese pizza, which you just had for the first time at a friend's birthday party this weekend when you ate 2.5 pieces.  Seriously.

- Your favorite toys are anything that isn't a toy.  Cupboards, light switches, Qtips, toilets, trash cans...

- You get better at walking every day.  Our days of having a crawler are definitely numbered.  You stand up on your own and take 8-10 steps before lowering yourself back to that tripod crawl.  You never fall uncontrolled, so it's just a matter of you deciding you're good and ready.  One of these days, I know you're just going to take off and not look back. Yikes!

- You are turning into a climber.... onto the sofa, the fireplace hearth, the stairs... anything you can try to climb, you will!

- You have 12 teeth --- front 4 tops, front 4 bottoms and currently cutting your 4th molar.

- You are getting better about not putting things in your mouth right away.  When we are at the park, if you find a rock or something else of interest, your first response is to hold it up and try to hand it to me.

- Your red hair is shorter after that first haircut, but it is no less red!  Sometimes I just marvel at it -- and your red eyelashes.  I love this about you.  :)

*****
You are fun and energetic and curious and healthy and wonderful.
We love you so much, Buddy.

Valentine's Day 2014

We're overdue for a photo shoot with the bear - and Valentine's Day seemed the perfect occasion.

 *****

sniffing the pretty flowers...

blowing kisses...

 

cheesing it up...

 Then boredom starts to set in...

 No children were harmed in the making of this blog post.

 We can't say the same for the bear.

 Shoved the chalkboard off...

 Next goes the bear...

 And now he's mad that everything's on the floor.

 The End!

*****

Valentine's evening was dripping with all of the Must-Have factors:

Expensive gifts and handwritten love notes...

Fine Italian dining...

...complete with drinks...

...and, of course, chocolate...

 ...which was shared with the dog...

...but she didn't share with the other dog.

 There was close conversation over dinner... 

...kissing, hugging and laughter...

...and reading a good book in a warm bubble bath.

At our house, Mikel read Nolan a story about "Mommy Love" to close out the night.  I thought that was a sweet selection.  :)

 ...and I even got to catch a glimpse of the sunset.

I dare say: Valentine's Days only get better as the years go by.  I am lucky indeed to have TWO special guys with which to share it.