The Official Blog of Henry and Claire Solomon!

Doodle!

2012-02-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

Henry's fifth birthday party was a blast, thanks in large part to Doodle the Clown. She wowed the crowd with her magic, face-painting, balloon animal-making, water-squirting, rabbit-out-of-a-box-pulling, and very loud background music...

Are you not entertained?!

Doodle really takes face painting to a whole new level.

Ethan and Henry as Batman and Spiderman

Our neighbors, Jacqueline and Dianna

Nat...

...Two-Face (Luigi)...

...Emmy...

...and the rest!

Will the real Spiderman please stand up?

Not every face got painted. (Note to self: locate checkbook.)

The old snake-out-of-a-can-of-peanuts trick gets 'em every time.

Capping the party off with ice cream cake! (It was actually capped off with a search for the seemingly thousands of foil chocolate wrappers left in every corner of our house, but for purposes of this blog entry...ice cream cake!)

Five Years!

2012-01-30T06:13:00.000-08:00

Henry turned five years old on January 17! Birthday party pics to follow soon...

The Mountains

2012-01-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

We spent New Years in Highlands, N.C. with friends. It was a much needed weekend of hikes, moonshine, football, s'mores, naps, pancakes, shopping and fires in the fireplace...

Here's a group shot, sans adult men, before a short hike to that waterfall in the background.

Here's a shot of the longer hike to the top of Whiteside Mountain. You can probably spot the problem we encountered about halfway up. Blues Traveler was right: the mountains win again.

But we did make it to the top...

...even Claire!

Back at the house, Riley and Claire try to keep the boys out of their castle.

Time for s'mores...

A table of bed-heads

Lest you be concerned, we were protected in the event of attack by supervillain.

The Rest of December

2012-01-08T11:49:00.001-08:00

Here are some more pics from the end of 2011...

Henry, taking after his cousins, is a fish. Here he practices diving at his weekly pre-k swim lessons.

Happy Hanukkah! The toughest part was keeping both of them from blowing out the candles!

Claire gets a princess doll in a carrier...

...and Henry gets a guitar shirt that really plays! Cousin Aliza, Henry's teachers would like to extend a heartfelt "thank you" to you for this gift.

Claire may have been welcomed to Judaism at her naming last spring, but no less so by eating Chinese food on Christmas night.

Some pictures defy description.

Monkey Business

2011-12-29T20:42:00.000-08:00

There aren't a lot things Henry and Claire enjoy equally, but bananas are a definite exception. Every morning, they each eat a banana almost immediately after waking up, usually while watching PBS Kids -- or "SportsSection" (i.e., SportsCenter).

But it's not all fun and games. As you can see, eventually Claire has to get dressed and go to work...

Now if only she'd remember to put the new cover sheets on her TPS reports...

Boo!

2011-11-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

Henry looks forward to Halloween at least as much his birthday. And judging by her reaction to her first time collecting candy, Claire will be the same way...

Henry used to introduce Claire as "my sister, Claire Melon." He didn't know how right he was. Judging by the beret, this particular watermelon is French. Henry has had this Flash costume ready to go for months.

Daphne watches over our spookified front steps, hoping to steal candy from shorter trick-or-treaters.

Sidney the ladybug was there too...

...and so was Ryanansky as Batman...

...and Riley as Scooby Doo.

The record will show that Claire's first trick-or-treat resulted in a mini-Heath bar...

...which she nursed (and LOVED) for the next 45 minutes.

Although Henry was out of his costume and Claire's beret began to resemble a green chef's hat, a Halloween family portrait

L'shana Tova

2011-10-31T06:59:00.000-07:00

We spent Rosh Hashanah in Chapel Hill last month, and Henry and Claire got to visit grandparents, great grandparents, Uncle Ryan and Cousin Luigi...

Claire works her magic...

...by helping Grandpa Marty make his stock picks

She's also a musical genius.

Two silly boys eating soup.

Still Never Lost the Party

2011-10-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

Pictures from our last trip to Oxford....

The pics taken after this one were not quite as "happy," though Duckie kept his composure throughout.

Posing with Natalie...and cotton candy

Cotton candy doesn't lead to calmly posing for pictures.

Claire and her friend Riley...and yes, those are Shipley Donuts in the background.

Henry and Sanders stopped running around for the .7 seconds it took to snap this one.

Road Woes

2011-09-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Why do we always come here?

I guess we'll never know.

It's like a kind of torture

Just to watch the show.

-- Muppet Show Theme

Change is coming.

Top Chef, etc.

2011-08-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

Couldn't resist posting this picture of us with Stacy and Kevin and...Richard Blais. We had a great meal (sans kids) at One Midtown Kitchen as part of their summer chef series, and the Faux Hawk himself was kind enough to pose with us. Delicious!

But getting back to the real subject of this blog...

Claire is walking all over the place, but only while holding onto someone's hand or behind her push cart. She could walk if she wanted to...she just doesn't know it yet.

Her future's so bright, she has to wear 1989 Pizza Hut Back to the Future Part 2 promotional shades.

Eastbound and Up

2011-08-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

Technical difficulties with our external hard drive have made posting pictures more difficult lately. I'm working on getting those resolved, but in the meantime, here are some pictures from our July trip to Carolina Beach with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Ryan and Luigi...

Hold on to your funnel cake, boardwalk carnival-goers...the Dynamic Duo is on the scene.

Hooray, Henry finally likes rides!

Even scary ones!

And this was the "serious one"

Pretty sure they're watching Superman here

Grandpa helps Henry get used to the surf...

...while Grandma keeps watch to prevent Claire from eating sand.

Claire is a third-generation beach-lover.

Meanwhile, back at the beach house, the boys take advantage of the downtime between Grandpa's sets of old family slides...

Better Late Than Never: Claire's First Birthday Party

2011-08-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

This post is more than a little tardy, but it's been a crazy summer. Here are some pictures from Claire's first birthday party, which he had at our house in July. She had lots of fun with her family and a few friends...

Grandpa Marty gives her a pre-party pep talk. Bonus: if you are struggling to remember what a tube TV looked like, see background.

The traditional first-birthday corn on the cob

The somewhat more traditional first-birthday cake and ice cream

Alexis and Grandma show Claire her first "real" baby doll. I believe they are kindly letting her know that she was never that quiet as a newborn.

Deep Down in Florida

2011-07-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

We spent July 4th weekend at the beach in Sarasota, Florida. We didn't know that our hotel would be ground zero for something called the Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix Festival and all the tattoos and 80's hairstyles that go with it, but we had a great time anyway...

Hooray for indoor baseball! We took in a Cards-Rays game at "the Trop" in St. Petersburg one night. I don't like domes, but we weren't complaining about the 70-degree temp once we were inside.

Claire enjoys her breakfast in our hotel room while Henry sleeps in the background.

I don't know what she's planning here, but it doesn't look good.

This was Claire's first time to the beach. She loved it, and didn't even get upset when she ate large quantities of sand...

...but she definitely preferred these dried apple pieces.

Captain America shows off his new flip flops, which led to some very funny walking difficulties during their first hour of use.

Thanks to a well-positioned balcony, we had a private Fourth of July fireworks show without even leaving our room!

Claire Ellen Turns One!

2011-06-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since Claire was born...and a whole eight months since she stopped screaming.

Queen for a day. Much more than a day, actually...

That drool is to be expected. She seems to be getting about six upper teeth in all at the same time.

Once cake, one candle. As Henry says, this one is "made from homemade."

Cue obligatory shots of sugary, goopy, cakey mess...

Looks like that sugar coma hit a little early. But she liked it, no surprise. If you think this is gross, her bathwater looked like the post-Deepwater Horizon Gulf Coast.

You should have seen the other guy.

Randoms

2011-06-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent shots showing what Henry and Claire have been up to...

"Friends" means never having to explain why you're in the bathroom with each other while on the toilet or balancing a stick on your face.

Pop teaches Claire an important summer lesson: how to eat watermelon.

Success!

Here's one way to handle 95-degree temps during the first week of June.

****** in a box!

This One Goes to Eleven

2011-06-05T20:21:00.001-07:00

Claire turned eleven months old last weekend, meaning she's less than one month away from face-in-the-cake time!

"Attica!"

"Back off, you're messing up my close-up."

Some Things Are Best Left to the Professionals

2011-05-15T13:12:00.003-07:00

These pictures were taken by Brooke Battersby, a professional photographer, on May 8, 2011...

The Fishin' Hole

2011-05-09T19:18:00.001-07:00

Is there a better way to spend a nice Sunday afternoon than fishing out of a paddle boat? Maybe. But it's still a lot of fun, especially when you're looking for low-key activities during tonsil-surgery recovery. So a couple of weeks ago, we joined the Wolff Pack for a trip to the lake (a short trip to this particular lake, about two miles from our house)...

This is the hat Claire would have worn to the Royal Wedding had she not declined the invitation (or to the Kentucky Derby if she were old enough for bourbon).

She sat this one out, watching us from the shore and occasionally chewing on pine cones.

Henry handles the fishing pole. Unfortunately, the fish weren't biting that day, so he got a realistic introduction to the sport.

North Mississippi Allstars

2011-05-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

We were in Oxford last weekend for Double Decker. When you have two kids under the age of five, the key to a successful Double Decker Festival is beating the crowds to ride the double decker bus (and also, them not breaking any of the art)...

Henry waits, very seriously, for that bus ride

Once aboard, Claire shows off her new favorite activity: waving

Grilled cheese with a side of live music

Someone is excited about her new red shoes

Pop shares his perch on Square Books' balcony with Henry

And finally, Henry and his buddy Sanders -- and Claire -- break it down North-Mississippi-hill-country-blues style...

Claire Turns Ten (Months)!

2011-05-03T21:18:00.002-07:00

Goodbye Tonsils!

2011-04-28T04:36:00.001-07:00

When you get strep throat eight times in seven months, the recommendation is usually to have your tonsils out. So that's we had done for Henry earlier this month. It wasn't fun, but two weeks later, he is back to 100%. (Although his voice is an octave higher than it used to be -- a temporary thing, or so we've been told.)

The essentials are laid out, including his new Pillow Pet from Aliza.

But first a little in-room basketball...dressed as Superman, natch.

As you can see, he was not really worried going into this.

Doing his impression of Jack Nicholson from Something's Gotta Give

Did I mention he wasn't worried (though he probably should have been about his gown riding up)? Unfortunately, he wasn't quite this happy "on the other side," but he managed thanks to Lortab, popsicles, Jell-O, homemade ice cream, watching lots of TV, eating meals in front of said TV, getting presents, and various other ways of being catered to and general spoilage.

BTW, despite what the picture might imply, I did not perform the surgery.

Nine Months!

2011-04-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

Claire has now been "out" as long as she was "in"! Alexis and I might have differing opinions as to which seemed like it lasted longer.

There is no overstating how much Claire loves Daphne. She smiles and reaches for her every time she comes near. (Daphne loves Claire back, but that may be due to the constant rain of Cheerios, pasta and fruit she enjoys about three times a day.)

Devora Elona

2011-03-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

In the Jewish tradition, a naming is a ceremony in which a newborn(ish) girl is welcomed into Judaism and receives her Hebrew name. Claire's naming was last month, and she was given the Hebrew name Devora Elona. We chose Devora to honor Claire's great-great grandmother Dora Schuman. (And Devora also happens to be Grandma Debby's Hebrew name.) Elona was chosen to honor Claire's great grandfather Earl Solomon, Sr. whose Hebrew name was Elizar. Although Elona is a form of the Hebrew word for "tree," it is pure coincidence, and not at all an indication that we took Henry's suggestion to name Claire "Tree Villain."

We said the prayers; Claire chose to eat them.

Claire was lucky that all four grandparents could take part in the ceremony...

Thankfully, Henry had a steady hand during this part.

Good Ones

2011-03-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some great pictures we've taken recently...

Donruss Rated Rookie: Henry shows off his t-ball jersey and hat

Gran Gran was in town for Claire's naming last weekend (update on that coming soon)

Like his cousin Luigi, Henry on occasion likes to spend some time in formal attire (not pictured: his smoking jacket)

Claire takes advantage of the early spring weather with Jonathan, Natalie and Henry

Great Eight!

2011-03-06T06:01:00.001-08:00

"Ta-daaaaa!" Claire is eight months old! (We celebrated this milestone in March because, FYI, there is no February 30.)

Looks like Costco membership is less exclusive than it once was...

Sketch Artist

2011-03-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

We've called Henry lots of things during his life, but "artist" has never been one of them. Usually, his "art" is just scribbling on a piece of paper. So imagine our surprise when tonight he actually sat down and drew a self-portrait. He was pretty proud of this, so we had him pose next to it...

He'll have you know, those are eyebrows directly above the eyes. (And he'll point to his own eyebrows to make sure you understand that point.)

After he "signed" his art with multiple number 4s (for his age), we asked him to draw Claire. The result was this blue face. You may notice that he drew her with teeth. Although she doesn't have quite as many as this picture indicates, she is getting two bottom teeth in...and Henry really is proud of her for it.

The Many Faces of Claire Ellen

2011-02-22T20:53:00.001-08:00

Now that Claire is a happy baby (for the most part), it's a lot easier to show her fun side...

She loves to sit up. But no crawling yet. This is a good thing because we haven't yet installed child-proof locks to block access to cleaning products, dishes and the good liquor.

Ready for her close-up!

She's filling out that Pampers #2 quite nicely.

In her not-so-secret garden

First Valentine's Day!

Taking her first bath with Henry. This look may or may not be a plea for help.

If I Ran the Circus

2011-02-22T19:53:00.001-08:00

I had the day off on Monday, which was great timing because the circus was in town. So Henry and his cousin Natalie and I went downtown to see the Greatest Show on Earth...

That hat came with the cotton candy. I don't want to say Ringling Bros. charges a lot for concessions, but their cotton candy price appeared to have been influenced by the growing unrest in Arab nations. Someone check on Quaddafi's connections to the world's supply of pink sugar.

You better believe seven motorcycles driving in circles inside a steel ball was a highlight.

Yep, they still have tigers. Eight of them, in fact.

What better way to finish off an afternoon at the circus than with a trip to the Varsity?

Everything a growing girl and boy need!

Seven Months!

2011-02-03T09:18:00.001-08:00

Claire celebrated seventh months of age by going on a paper rampage. She actually tries to eat paper all the time. She may be part goat.

** Thanks to the Wolffs for taking these pictures!

Mint Julep Solomon, 2003 - 2011

2011-01-31T19:56:00.001-08:00

I'm so sad to report that our beloved golden retriever, Julep, died late last week. It was a complete shock to us -- she was totally fine when we went to sleep and she had died by 6:45 the next morning. Julep was a present Alexis and I gave each other for our wedding and so was named after the mint julep, a common Deep South wedding gift. Below is a short tribute to Julep, a dog whose sweet disposition radiated as vividly as her fear of balloons...

She didn't always weigh 84 pounds. She used to be so skinny that her "grandparents" were concerned about her health.

Another puppy pic

She loved to be loved, even by less-than-gentle babies.

She was also an occasional TV-watcher -- if a show caught her interest.

Always the prankster.

Julep's memory will be with us always, not just because we'll be cleaning up her dog hair for the entirety of the time we live in our house, but because she was a loving pet who never wanted anything more than a comfortable chair and a scratch behind the ears.

Henry's Birthday Part II: The Party

2011-01-25T21:06:00.001-08:00

Henry's super hero-themed birthday party was last weekend and was a raging success. There were several Spidermen, Supermen, Batmen, Supergirls, a Wonder Woman (see Alexis, below) and a Green Lantern (yours truly). Claire made an appearance in the role of trusty sidekick.

This look says, "let's get right to the candle-licking."

Thanks to the giant foam pit, all of the super heroes took turns practicing their flying techniques. Above, Henry/Batman-with-Superman-undershirt leaps to save the day!

Luigi/Superman gets some serious lift-off.

A trio of Supergirls!

Another trio of Supergirls!

Pop watches Henry think of a wish

Henry's Fourth Birthday Part I: The Actual El Guapo Birthday

2011-01-25T20:44:00.000-08:00

Henry turned four on January 17 (!) and thanks to the MLK holiday, we got to spend the whole day together as a family indulging him.

Henry's teacher, Ms. Ayer, was kind enough to spend part of her day off with us, giving us a tour of her husband's body shop. We spent the morning looking at car engines, riding hydraulic lifts and sitting in real race cars! This picture was taken just before Henry and Ms. Ayer's son Carl (Henry's pronunciation: "Car...uhl") got temporarily locked inside this particular race car.

Posing with Ms. Ayer at our delicious birthday lunch at Nuevo Laredo. One day, having lunch with his teacher on a holiday from school will turn from a special treat into a horrible nightmare...but not yet.

One of three super hero costumes given to him by Mindy. Thanks to this one, we only rarely see his face now.

Birthday dinner with his Atlanta cousins and wearing the crown Natalie made for him!

Four! More! Years!

Snowpocalypse Now!

2011-01-18T21:20:00.000-08:00

You'll be happy to know that we all survived Snowmageddon 2011 thanks to, among other things, heavy coats, ski gloves, a borrowed sled, snow ice cream, hot chocolate, Kahlua, Saran wrap (see below), and a grocery store within walking distance.

Henry did not want to take off his "Superman cape" (wizard cape) even for a neighborhood walk.

After a failed attempt to buy snow pants, we took drastic measures to keep Henry dry during sledding and snow angel-making: layer of pants, layer of Saran wrap, another layer of pants. Don't laugh, it worked. But that may be in large part because he wanted to come inside after about 45 minutes.

His favorite activity of all was probably ice-throwing.

If this were a video, it would probably look more like kids playing and less like a Civil War battlefield.

Even Claire got into the act -- check out these fancy snow boots Aunt Suzi gave her!

They remain as clean as they appear in this picture.

Zero and a Half

2011-01-02T20:34:00.001-08:00

"Cause That's What Brian Boitano'd Do..."

2010-12-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

We took Henry ice skating last week with his cousin Natalie (an expert ice skater, btw...don't ever challenge her to a best two-out-0f-three races across the ice...just sayin'). You may recall that Henry's been pretending to ice skate since the Winter Olympics, so this was a pretty big thrill for him. It was also the perfect opportunity to wear his new scarf!

There was a lot of slipping and sliding...

...and a couple of falls (that were as much fun as remaining upright)...

...but by the end, he was doing pretty well as long as we held on to him.

In the video below, Henry shows his off his double axle / triple lutz / double loop / double toe loop / triple Salchow. It all happens so fast, you really can't even see it.

Eight Crazy Nights

2010-12-19T20:29:00.000-08:00

This month, we celebrated Claire's first Hanukkah -- and the first in our new house! Claire briefly paid attention to the candles and that was about it. Henry, on the other hand, was all in.

Here, he takes an opportunity to study a toy catalog. This is not a staged picture, I promise. He really does like to take his time on the potty. He comes by this trait honestly.

Ryanansky came over to light the candles one night (while his new baby sister was being born). He got a guitar, so now he and Henry can jam.

One of the biggest things on Henry's wish list was a scarf. (Yes, a scarf...we think because his stuffed bear wears one.)

21st Century Shabbat: Henry says the blessings while Pop and Gran Gran join in via Skype.

Claire enjoys one of her gifts -- Sophie the Giraffe. What's the difference between Sophie and a dog toy, you ask? Marketing. But she does love it.

Apples and Oranges?

2010-12-14T20:35:00.001-08:00

Henry and Claire don't look very much alike now. But we were curious to see how Claire compares to Henry at five months. So...this first picture was taken of Henry in June 2007. The second picture is of Claire two weeks ago. Other than smiley faces and general cuteness, I don't see a lot of similarities. But you may disagree.

Five Spot!

2010-12-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

Giving Thanks

2010-12-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

We traveled to Chapel Hill again this year for Thanksgiving--Claire's first! As the picture above shows, she was often the center of attention.

Of course, sometimes she shared the spotlight with Javy.

We didn't make it to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year...so why not dress up like one of its biggest attractions?

Even though we had a very casual Thanksgiving meal, Claire decided to dress up for the occasion.

She bonded with Aliza and will no doubt be asking her for fashion advice soon.

With Grandpa Marty

Uncle Scott thought he had told a funny story, but Claire disagreed.

* Thanks to Emmy for helping with this blog update!

Photo Dump

2010-11-29T21:04:00.001-08:00

Once again, I've been delinquent in posting new pictures. So to catch up, I present the following random assortment...

Looking deep into Grandpa's eyes

She doesn't do much eating in it yet, but Claire now joins us for dinner in her high chair!

This thing is a lot of fun...

...but not nearly as much fun as when Pants-less Henry Claus is around.

This is a picture of Henry "emailing" his teachers to invite them over for dinner. His idea.

Two Buzzes are better than one, especially when playing football.

In this video, Henry tries to entertain Claire, but ends up once again creating potential future blackmail material:

Four Months (and Lazy Blogging)

2010-11-18T20:55:00.000-08:00

This is pretty tardy since she'll be five months old in a couple of weeks, but here are pics of Claire on her four-month birthday. The first two were taken in the Grove (she's still a little too young for a sun dress) and the third one back in her PJs at Gran Gran and Pop's house.

More Cowbell

2010-11-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Claire spent her first Halloween as a cow -- Claire-a-Belle Cow! She strolled around our street for a while watching Henry knock on doors, then helped greet trick-or-treaters at our door before calling it a night.

Henry of course was Buzz Lightyear. He's obviously a method actor because he's been practicing that role around our house for months. This is a picture of Buzz rescuing Claire-a-Belle from our already-rotting jack-o-lantern.

Turn on the charm, kids -- there's candy to be had!

Power couple! Henry poses with his good friend and next-door neighbor, Jacqueline. This is our official entry into the sweetest-picture-of-the-year contest.

Henry regales us with his own Halloween carol, which I would guess he calls "Halloween Is Very Special in the Night." It has approximately ten verses, but all of them sound pretty much like this.

Smile!

2010-10-27T03:40:00.000-07:00

It's gotten a lot easier to capture Claire's smile lately

Looks like these two were just caught red-handed

She speaks (and, at the :21 second mark, meows)...

Apple Pickin' and Corn Mazin'

2010-10-21T04:35:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we had some outdoor fun, October-style. We headed up to North Georgia for some apple picking with Henry's friend Ryan. And on the way back, we hit a corn maze!

Eating the profits

Looks like a keeper

Alexis looks like she's worked in an apple orchard all her life

The entire apple-picking experience was made possible by the Baby Bjorn

What do you do when your peck (we really did pick a peck) of apples is full? Obviously, you put some apples on top of a box, grab some sticks and have at it.

After drinking apple cider and muscadine slushies and eating fried apple pies and apple fritters (and observing how lucrative the apple-based tourism business is this time of year), we headed down the road to Uncle Shuck's corn maze! As you can see, the maze itself is quite impressive. In fact, you'd never know from this picture that Uncle Shuck also affords visitors the opportunity to shoot corn cobs through a pneumatic PVC-pipe cannon at a rusted-out 1988 Ford Escort.

Navigating the maze

Looking at the map, it appears we took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

They dole out justice the old fashioned way in North Georgia...or at least at Uncle Shuck's.

Oktoberfest

2010-10-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

Claire's stomach issues have gotten much better and she is a lot happier as a result. She even had her first true laugh the other day. Here, she spends some quality time with Grandma.

Claire and Henry with cousin Luigi...and a dog toy

Henry is prepared to play Memory with our friend Jonathan, even if the lights go out.

October = pumpkins!

Claire doesn't yet know how to make a silly face.

Three Months!

2010-10-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

No, this is not a kimono.

Couples Retreat

2010-09-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

Emmy and Henry

Claire and Pop

Ryan and Henry (being silly before soccer)

Claire and Henry

Claire and Mommy

Football Is Back

2010-09-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

College football has made its glorious return. Which means that our weekend trips to Oxford have also returned. Here, Henry and tailgate buddies Stephen and Lizzie attempt to fire up the troops.

Claire made her Grove (actually, Circle) debut and was a big hit. She also got to meet Aunt Kitty for the first time! Like many other tailgaters, much of Claire's nourishment came from a bottle. But unfortunately for her, she could not supplement it with pork tenderloin, pasta salad, piminto cheese and Uncle Kevin's caramel cake.

At the game. For good or bad, Henry has learned how to yell for the Rebels. He now knows the "De-Fense" chant and also made up a cheer of his own: "Go Rebels! Put 'em in jail!" I think this comes from his belief that superheroes put the bad guys in jail. He also refers to the other team as "the bad guys."

For the record, Claire was 66 days old when she attended her first Ole Miss game (although she left in the second quarter). Don't worry, she was only in the sun long enough to take this picture.

At Gran Gran and Pop's house the next morning...with cousins Emmy, Lexie and Natalie who also made the trip.

Claire is lucky to have so many cousins ready to sing to her at a moment's notice!

We all had this look after the game was over...but it's much cuter on her.

Two Months!

2010-08-30T20:35:00.001-07:00

Claire turned two months old yesterday...

...and she's so excited, she's running in place while lying on her back!

Face-off!

The Lou (Part II -- Magic House Edition)

2010-08-25T20:48:00.001-07:00

We spent several hours last Saturday at the Magic House, St. Louis' ginormous children's museum. We could have spent two full days there, but we did our best to hit the highlights. Here, Henry climbs the beanstalk which takes kids from one floor to the next. (Adults have to take the stairs...booooo.)

In the "bustruction" area, Henry works a backhoe

Ladies and gentlemen, the 52nd President of the United States. Mr. President's first initiative is to require all cars to be dark green convertibles.

Standing inside a giant bubble

This is a picture of where Henry would still be if we'd let him stay

Using the skills his Grandpa Bob taught him!

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"..."Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall"...and now this classic.

Bonus video: at Citygarden downtown, life imitates art.

The Lou (Part I)

2010-08-25T20:05:00.002-07:00

Last weekend, Henry and I met Gran Gran and Pop in St. Louis for two baseball games, a trip to the zoo and a visit to what has to be the best children's museum in the country, the Magic House. It was Henry's second trip to St. Louis, but the first one since he was six weeks old, so I do think he got a little more out of it this time around. Here, they pose in front of a statue of Pop's childhood hero, Stan Musial.

"Go Crazy, Folks!" Henry crouches in front of the Wizard.

One of the highlights of the trip was making this Fredbird puppet at the Build-A-Bear Workshop inside Busch Stadium. It cost us an inning and a half, but these two were inseparable the rest of the weekend.

BTW, I'm not going to pretend that Henry understands the intricacies of baseball yet, but in a call to his mommy, he correctly summed up our first night as follows: "Albert Pujols made fireworks."

Nothing like a healthy snack of cotton candy at the ol' ballpark.

Ever driven through Metropolis, Illinois? Suffice it to say, this town has capitalized on its awesome name. Unfortunately, this picture shows why you can never trust a stranger to take a good picture. I'm guessing she has a financial interest in the wrought iron fence industry, because that is clearly the focus.

Stepping into some pretty big shoes here.

Henry calls out the starting lineup. I somehow doubt Randy Winn has ever elicited such an enthusiastic reaction. P.S. -- I promise we had better seats for the Friday night game.

False Advertising

2010-08-17T20:57:00.001-07:00

If this picture were on a consumer product, the FTC would levy sanctions for false advertising. The warning label should read, "objects in photo are less calm than they appear."

All swaddled up and enjoying her Gran Gran blanket.

An early-morning smile...definitely her best time of day. Proud she's not afraid to wear horizontal stripes.

Cousin Aliza visited last weekend so she could meet Claire. In this picture, she takes a break from Henry showing her each and every one of his Hot Wheels race cars.

Blue Ridge Mountain High (Part II)

2010-08-16T06:50:00.001-07:00

More fun in the mountains!

Trying to keep his feet dry while walking through a creek in flip-flops...not an easy task

Posing with Grandpa, Grandma and magnifying glass

A couple of chiefs

Attica!

The only thing missing here are the mint juleps

Blue Ridge Mountain High (Part I)

2010-08-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Alexis, Henry and Claire spent a week in the North Carolina mountains last month (and I joined for the weekend) with Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma Sylvia, Auntie Karen, Uncle Ryan and Luigi. There was lots to do, including soaking up the sub-80-degree temperatures...

Does it count as a nap if it happens before 8:00am? In a house with a newborn...yes.

Mining for gems...just like the Seven Dwarfs!

Grandma Sylvia enjoys holding her first great-granddaughter (out of six great grandchildren).

Mmmmmm...s'mores! (Or, as Henry calls them, "snores.")

One Month!

2010-08-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

These one-month pictures are a week late, but Alexis had the camera with her in the North Carolina mountains. Pictures of that trip coming soon...

Meeting Lexie, etc.

2010-07-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

Claire finally got to meet the last of her cousins when Lexie came home from camp. She was very good while Lexie was holding her. (After she left...not so much.)

Sleeping Superman-style in the bassinet...

Off-label Boppy use

"The Kids"

2010-07-20T18:11:00.001-07:00

We've begun using a term at our house that will probably be around for a while: "the kids." Here are the kids posing together...

Uh oh, looks like this is taking a sinister turn.

Cousin Emmy came home from camp last weekend and got to meet Claire for the first time (even though they had already exchanged letters). I think she gave Claire a thumbs up.

Meanwhile, Big Brother...

2010-07-14T04:06:00.001-07:00

Lots of people have asked how Henry has responded to having a baby sister. The answer is that he's been fantastic. He loves to talk about her, tries to comfort her when she cries and helps us out by fetching things like burp cloths and blankets. He hasn't shown the first sign of being jealous--something were a little concerned about due to his Jesse Jackson-level love of the spotlight. He's also enjoyed spending time with all of his visiting relatives...

Picking blueberries in our backyard. (Technically, these are in our neighbor's yard, but I promise we have their permission.)

These made for some pretty good blueberry pancakes that night (breakfast for dinner FTW!)

This is obviously an intense game of "Toy Story-dinosaur-bumper-hockey," which requires protective headgear consisting of mini-Major League Baseball helmets. Duh.

While Claire gets her first ever bath at home, Henry comforts her by "reading" Mimi's Toes, a book we used to read to him during his first baths.

Group hug!

What's Up?

2010-07-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hello there

Would love to see this look going on at 2:00am

Grandma was a big help during the first week and a half!

Grandma Sydelle meets her first great granddaughter

Claire snoozes while Grandpa Marty, Grandma Sydelle and (who else?) Buzz Lightyear say cheese

Coming Home

2010-07-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

We finally left the hospital yesterday afternoon and brought Claire home to see her home and room and meet her dogs.

First non-hospital-provided outfit!

About to load into the car

Julep and Daphne give their welcome-home sniffs

Still with their hospital bracelets on

Riding in a car is tiring work

Henry came home from camp to find his new sister on the couch. So far he's been very good to her...but is not quite ready to hold her

Cousin Natalie got some quality time with Claire last night. This looks like the beginning of beautiful friendship.

Introducing Claire Ellen Solomon!!!

2010-06-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

Claire was born today at 1:56pm! She weighed exactly 7 pounds, was 20 inches long and was cute right from the start. Here are some pictures from the day with lots more (pictures and commentary) to come....

Clue

2010-06-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

The first clue to the name is in the above title. Here is the second:

You all, everybody
You all, everybody

Acting like you're stupid people
Wearing 'spensive clothes
You all, everybody
You all, everybody
You all, everybody

The Nursery

2010-06-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

Well, an update on the status of Baby Girl Solomon: if she doesn't come today on her own, we're going to the hospital this evening and she will be delivered tomorrow morning. We can't believe it's finally happening! (On the other hand, we can't believe it hasn't happened yet, considering her due date was yesterday.)

So here are some pictures of the nursery which is now 99% finished. But first, a look at what we started with...

This is what the room looked like when the prior owners lived there. After exhaustive negotiations, they refused to leave this bedspread behind. We bought the house anyway.

The process begins...

This changing table is the heaviest object in our entire house. If a tornado comes through Dunwoody, we're all squeezing underneath.

These closets were pretty gross and falling apart.

With apologies to Henry, "Taa-daaaaa!!"

Closets fixed

Lots of hours to be logged in this chair

Diapers--check. Wipes--check. Letters from cousin Natalie on the bulletin board--check. Only one thing's missing now...

Pardon Our Mess

2010-06-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

We've got some great things brewing on Coach Nutt Ridge Drive (as Henry calls our street), so it seemed like a good time for a redesign. Stay tuned for breaking news, which could come any day now...

Pregnant Pause

2010-06-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

As we count down the days to the arrival of our new addition, here are some images that capture the (relative) calm before the storm...

Eight and a half months...won't be long now (says the guy who's not carrying a small watermelon in his belly)

Henry knows that sharing things is part of being a big brother. I'm just not sure he understands that attention is one of those things.

Al fresco bagel and juice (before the humidity arrived).

Kids, we're putting in a pool! It may not be Griswold-quality, but this is our makeshift swimming pool -- with water slide!

Summer scene

Professional icing-lickers celebrate another of Alexis' 29th birthdays.

Sanders Comes to Town

2010-06-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

Our friends Jonathan, Carmen and Sanders visited us earlier this month. It's always a party when Sanders comes to town! He and Henry are like two peas in a pod...

Believe it or not, the boys are doing yoga here, which they both (inexplicably) have experience with.

Of course, falling down is the most fun part of it.

An alligator and a bear make their scariest faces.

Boys will be boys: just another picture of two mostly-naked boys hugging each other after taking a bath together.

Catching Up

2010-06-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been negligent with the updates...it's been a busy month around our house as we get ready for our new arrival. (Which is only about four frightening weeks away!) Anyway, here are some pics from a visit from Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Ryan and Luigi earlier in May....

Getting a photography lesson from Grandpa at one of our favorite Italian places, Il Bacio. Or, as Henry calls it, "Chinese." (We have no explanation for that one.)

Twinkies!

Pinocchio entertains the crowd

Henry uses Grandpa's still life techniques and attempts to capture this arrangement of his car-themed toys.

Then he wanted to get a picture of us sitting behind his toys while he looked down from this stool. (And btw, he's even jettisoned these nighttime pull-ups and now wears big boy underwear even to sleep!)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

2010-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Disney World (Part IV)

2010-04-23T18:10:00.001-07:00

We spent our last day at Epcot. Henry brute-forced his way through the whole day without a nap and did just fine.

At the Japan pavilion, he got to make a traditional Japanese Noh mask...which he immediately used to try and scare everyone around him, including strangers.

Looks pretty happy in these 3D glasses right? And he was fine for the first 15 minutes of Honey I Shrunk the Audience. It was when the whole theater started shaking back and forth to simulate being chased by a giant cat, causing Henry to yell "Mommy, where are we going?!", that we had to make our early exit.

To say that Henry had a crush on Snow White would be an tremendous understatement. He showed off for her in every way and got so nervous, at one point it looked like he was doing a Mary Katherine Gallagher impression.

A quick dance before eating German food and saying goodbye to Disney World. Ricola anyone?

Disney World (Part III)

2010-04-21T19:01:00.000-07:00

Hollywood Studios. Disney's smallest park, but the one with Playhouse Disney and Cars characters and the Muppets. So score one for three-year-olds!

Yep, Handy Manny was there en toda su gloria de habla española. Also pictured here are Felipe, Squeeze, Pat and Dusty.

Ever wonder what it would feel like to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds? You actually get to find out on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster...all to the tune of Aerosmith's Love in an Elevator!

Ever wonder what your face would look like if you accelerated from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds...?

If there would have been a place to light candles, Henry would have done so.

Here's to another 50 years!!!

Minnie Mouse chocolate-covered apples. The Imagineers have left few stones unturned.

Disney World (Part II)

2010-04-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

We spent Sunday at Animal Kingdom. That morning, we went to Donald's breakfast safari, where we got to eat (among other things, Mickey-shaped waffles) with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy.

The whole gang. Turns out, Donald shoots a lot fewer cannon balls when you get him in a one-on-one situation.

A very special moment...Henry was pretty much in awe.

Henry has a tiny Mickey that serves as a sort of travel-sized Duckie--it serves the same purpose because it's soft and has a tag. When Henry met the real Mickey, he took him by the hand and led him to Alexis and then asked her for his Mickey. He wanted to show it to the real Mickey...and he even demonstrated how he uses it by taking the tag and rubbing it against his cheek. Real Mickey was not at all creeped out by this and actually seemed touched.

A ride on a flying triceratops

So I told Henry to stick his head in this cheetah's mouth and act scared...and what do you know? He did a pretty good job. Home Alone remake, here we come!

Disney World (Part I)

2010-04-10T15:06:00.001-07:00

To celebrate my parents' 50th (!!!) wedding anniversary, the entire family -- six and two-thirds grandchildren, two daughters, two sons-in-law, one son, one daughter-in-law, one patriarch and one matriarch -- spent five days at the Happiest Place on Earth^TM, Walt Disney World. It was Henry's first time there and he loved it (Maelstrom, spinning tea cups and Honey I Shrunk the Audience in 3D notwithstanding). His favorite parts, besides the joy of spending almost a week with his cousins and Gran Gran and Pop, were meeting Mickey Mouse, Snow White and the real Lightening McQueen and Mater. I'm sure he also liked staying up past 10:00....but what else can you do when you have 8:30 reservations to eat Eissbein-Gratin mit Gebackenen Zwiebeln at the Germany Pavilion?

We were contractually obligated to pose for this picture.

Besides the perfect weather, we also enjoyed great timing. This parade started up about ten minutes after we walked through the front gates.

A dream come true: driving a race car (a red one, no less) with Pop riding shotgun!

The Mad Tea Party, aka the tea cups ride. He was having fun until I started spinning our cup a little too fast. Whoops. Obviously, this picture was taken after our tea party got a little too mad. (But Natalie and Lexie weren't complaining.)

Mouse Gothic. Made out of plants.

We were a very large group. And this picture shows only 5/7 of us.

Guitar Hero

2010-03-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

You may remember that we tried to potty train Henry a while back, but those efforts were interrupted by the swine flu. But we finally made another go of it recently and the results have been outstanding. So now Henry is out of diapers and in to big boy underwear! His reward? A "real" guitar! Check it!

Pickin' and grinnin'

In this picture, he's playing the guitar solo from All Along the Watchtower

Always leave them wanting more

The "Bolympics Player"

2010-02-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

We've been watching the Olympics a lot around our house lately...which has inspired Henry to want to be a "Bolympics player" himself. Here he is competing in some of his events.

(Nude) ice skating:

The luge:

Cross-country skiing:

The Sex Party

2010-02-21T20:17:00.000-08:00

As most of you know by now, we are expecting our second child in June. But you may not know about this envelope, which has been burning a hole in our pockets for almost a month. Its contents? The baby's sex.
The thing is, we were never sure if we wanted to find out what we're having, so we told Alexis' doctor to put the answer in a sealed envelope. That way, we could take our time deciding whether to find out. But of course, having this envelope immediately turned the question from "If?" to "When?"...and "How?" So here's what we did:
This weekend, I took two king cake babies and tied a pink ribbon around one and a blue ribbon around the other. Then I took the babies and the envelope to a local bakery and told them to peek inside to find out the sex and then put the correct baby into a cake -- and seal the other baby in the envelope. Then we had our family over....for a sex party.
After pizza and wine -- and a lengthy discussion about the legitimacy of Olympic curling (for the record, I love any sport that allows this guy to be an Olympian) -- we had a very dramatic cutting of the cake...

The cake was nothing fancy...on the outside.

This was when we started getting nervous. But soon afterwards, we got our answer!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

(...spoiler alert...)

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Kevin was the lucky one who found the baby--and it was pink! Good thing for him, that does not mean he's having the next baby.

Not that we don't trust Henri's Bakery, but we quickly checked the envelope to make sure no mistakes were made. Looks like they got it right! (Not pictured: reality sinking in.)

Exhibit A...

Suzi and Stacy had baby presents for both alternatives. Here is the first of what will be many, many, many pink items in our house. Obviously, we're thrilled. But after three years of raising a boy's boy, this will be a challenge. I wonder if she'll be as quick as Henry to read a zone blitz...?

White Death 2010

2010-02-18T19:05:00.001-08:00

After being teased by news footage of virtually every other city in the United States under a blanket of white, we finally got a good snowfall of our own! Needless to say, Henry -- who talks about snow angels and snowmen so often, you'd think he lived in Whoville -- was beside himself with excitement.

The view from our kitchen

Sled run #4 out of 404. Thanks to our highest-ground neighbors who kindly let the entire neighborhood use their front yard and driveway for two straight days of this!

Mindy came for some of the action...

...and so did Ryanansky.

Did I mention the neighbors also provided the sleds? I've never wanted to invest in a sled, knowing full well that such a transaction would guarantee at least a decade of snowless winters. But last weekend proved that it pays to be prepared!

Little Drummer Boy

2010-01-26T20:41:00.001-08:00

Q: What do you call a guy who hangs out with musicians in a band?

A: The drummer

Henry actually asked Alexis to take this video. He says he was singing about snow--which is debatable. But he does end with a flourish!

Three Years!!!

2010-01-25T18:02:00.000-08:00

Henry turned 3 years old on January 17th! All together now: "I can't believe it's been three years!"

His birthday party was at the Purple Hippo, where he and all his friends from his class worked on an art project that included gluing, painting, stringing beads and various other things that either stain clothes or roll all over the floor...

The tongue shows that he is hard at work. Is this what Michael Jordan looks like when he paints?

Grandma was a big help

The kids did a surprisingly good job of stringing beads

On this day, it's okay to toot your own horn...

...but probably not okay to toot it directly into your friend's face

The cake! We wish we could have done this, but we did sort of have a budget.

Henry poses with two of his favorite presents: his new football from Gran Gran and Pop and his "field" from Mindy!

...but that doesn't top posing with two of his favorite people: Grandpa and Pop!

Who Needs Ansel Adams?

2010-01-09T22:26:00.000-08:00

Gran Gran and Pop gave Henry a camera for Hanukkah--and it was a hit. The night he opened it, he took 187 pictures. Thank goodness for digital. But his pictures really do form a sort of diary of our last few weeks. It just happens to be a story told from a point of view 36 inches off the ground. The funniest thing about these pictures, besides the Orson Welles-style camera angles, is the things he chose to photograph. In some cases, he stopped what he was doing and ran to get his camera so he could take a picture of a toy or a piece of fruit. Other times, he made us pose next to something--like a storage bin.

Here is a sampling...

Catching Up

2010-01-04T08:44:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a long time since the last post, but for good reason. As many of you know, we moved into a new house over the holidays and have spent most of our time over the last few weeks packing and unpacking boxes (but not enough time throwing things out--how did we ever accumulate this much stuff?). Anyhoo, what follows is December in a nutshell.

The new house: all visitors will be welcomed with open arms...if they promise to ignore the (temporarily) teal shutters.

But before the move, cousin Lexie spent the night and enjoyed a delicious breakfast of biscuits prepared in our 15-degree-tilted oven.

Lighting the Hanukkah candles with Henry's friend Ryan (a.k.a., Ryanansky)

Good thing Aunt Kitty gave Henry this headband flashlight so he could see the Menorah.

I think the picture of Henry on his hat is supposed to represent a candle. Or something like that.

In the new house--and in a functional kitchen--Henry helps his Grandma make soup.

He also helped Grandpa drill holes for a new shelf. So yes, this is the Fisher Price masonry drill.

New Years Day meal at the kids table!

Bathing cousins. Please note that the jet of water is coming from a squirt toy, not from a human.

Muppet Takes Manhattan (Part III)

2009-12-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

After Thanksgiving, Alexis, Henry and I returned to the City for the rest of the weekend. We did lots of walking, eating and sightseeing and generally soaked up all the holiday sights and sounds.

But it wasn't all walking. To Henry's delight, there were a few cab rides too. He had said that he was most excited for the trip because he was going to ride in a "taxi cab!!!". Sure enough, he was so happy with his first cab ride that when we were getting out, he told the driver, "Thank you for driving us!" Here, you can see he even developed the proper technique for hailing a cab.

One night we met Alexis' childhood friend Beth and her son Drew at Big Daddy's Diner. This picture represents the one millisecond of that meal that they were both still.

Can't go to NYC without going to Times Square. Luckily it was only a few blocks from our hotel. (Thanks, Priceline!)

After a trip to the Central Park Zoo (where we were unsuccessful in finding Madagascar's Alex, Melman and Marty, but did find lots of penguins), we walked around some other parts of the Park and saw this cool scene.

Later that day, Henry really did us a solid by falling asleep in his stroller. That gave us a chance to do something not geared for a two-year old. So we high-tailed it up to the Museum of Modern Art where we were able to spend over two hours. Henry will never even know how close he was to this Van Gogh original.

"It's all ball bearings nowadays." This thing should really help fix that seventh Fetzer valve.

Fact: these paintings are arranged in the order in which each variety of soup was released by The Campbell Soup Company. Knowledge is power!

Muppet Takes Manhattan (Part II)

2009-12-08T17:49:00.001-08:00

After the parade, it was off to New Jersey for Thanksgiving. But first, a ride on the subway!

Grandma did a good job of reining in the "crazy" but there was one hitch -- in the most uncomfortable holiday/tongue/pole incident this side of A Christmas Story -- when Henry actually licked a subway car pole. He did not seem to miss a beat, but we are still recovering from it.

Thanksgiving dinner with Grandma, Luigi and Uncle Ryan. Not pictured here in spite of their delicious cooking are Aunt Pat, Uncle Scott and Aliza

It was a constant battle for Uncle Scott's toys

Grandpa gets some help blowing out his birthday candles

Posing with the "greats": Grandpa Marty...

...and Grandma Sydelle (and three lollipops)

Muppet Takes Manhattan (Part I)

2009-12-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

Alexis' Dad's wish for his 60th birthday was to take his two grandsons to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, an event he shared many times with his own children before their family moved away from New York. We were more than happy to help that wish come true.

The happy Grandpa

A view from above

Smurfy!

Don't worry, Snoopy's not missing, he's floating about 100 feet above

Don't even try to tell him that he's using his "noculars" backwards

The pride of Leland, Miss. approaches

To infinity...

Not everyone enjoyed a perfect view

This Is Why I'm Hot

2009-11-23T20:16:00.000-08:00

Trying on his new mittens and hat for our big Thanksgiving trip to New York!

Yum, caramel apple

Hiding inside his own "clubhouse"

Hmmm, looks like large-cap stocks benefited from the dollar's continued weakness

Oh, and hey LSU....got a second?

Spy Cam

2009-11-05T20:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks to weekly photo albums created by Henry's teachers, we get a peek into what goes on at school. The answer is: lots of cute two-year-old shenanigans.

Making a tree out of his arm and hand with Miss Daniela

This is either another art project or on-the-job training at Home Depot

Fun with handkerchiefs

Pajama day!

And what better pajama day activity than making French toast?

A spot of tea?

I guess the grind of a four-hour school day eventually gets to you. Good thing Gabby was there to tuck him in.

...Does Whatever A Spider Can...

2009-11-01T07:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween from Spiderman, a fireman and Princess Jasmine!

Henry said he wanted a jack-o-lantern with a happy face, so I modeled this one after his own toothy smile. Then he said he wanted a "sad nose," which he explained was round and red. I hope this accomplished that request.

A pose before the Great Candy Rampage of 2009

Sometimes they would knock on the door while saying "trick or treat." And sometimes they would knock while screaming "LA! LA! LA! LA! LA! LA!" (This happened only after they started sampling the candy.)

Showing off some of his new booty to Ryan's daddy. He's still at the age where bright colors > chocolate. He'll learn.

Tailgate

2009-10-27T21:18:00.001-07:00

"Deep inside, we're still the boys of autumn, that magic time of the year that once swept us onto America's fields."**

We went to Oxford again last weekend, this time with Mindy to watch Ole Miss beat Arkansas. Turns out, swine are good for more than just spreading the flu--they're also good for getting your offense back in gear. Here, Henry makes a shifty move in the Grove to evade would-be tacklers Stephen and Sanders.

A brief moment of still for a pose with tailgate buddies Stephen, Lizzie and Sanders. I swear we do put him in other clothes, but on gamedays the jersey has to come out.

The helmet sometimes comes out too. Good thing we keep that thing at Gran Gran and Pop's house or he'd try to wear it to school. And yes, that is him lining up in punt formation.

The size of these smiles tells you this was taken post-game.

More punting.

There were calmer moments last weekend too. Like watching Madagascar with Pop...

...and relaxing with Duckie, even if through a facemask. I love this picture--it really does sum up Henry's personality.

** You might think this quote is from Pat Conroy or John Updike. But it's actually from Archie Manning.

Weirdo

2009-10-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

Normal is boring...

(Then again, so is wearing the same jersey over and over again...but you have to choose your battles and this is one we're not fighting.)

I think the only thing that stopped him from driving away is that he doesn't know how to drive stick.

All the news that's fit to print.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2009-10-07T20:37:00.000-07:00

Big changes around here lately. Henry finally said goodbye to the crib...

...and hello to the big-boy bed! And there were no regrets. He loves it and has been talking about it non-stop. The first two nights, he wouldn't even let us read him a story. ("No story, big-boy bed!")

Alexis gets assistance from her interior designer understudy.

The finished product.

Two duckies should keep the bad dreams away...

Football, Tattoos and Helicopters

2009-10-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

We took Henry to the first home game of the season last month. Although it was the third game that he's gone to, this was the first one that he actually understood he was at a football game. And he loved it. Among the highlights: the pre-game helicopter fly-over, the band, Jevan Snead, Dexter McCluster, endzones, handoffs, the Jumbotron, kickoffs, the field, his ticket and his tattoos.

In the Grove, his friend Stephen checks out Henry's tats.

"People, kickoff is in one hour...we need to get moving!" At least, I think that's what he's saying here.

The pure joy of a tight end release on third and short.

Breakfast the next day with Sanders. Rain, rain, go away...

Hodgepodge

2009-09-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

Some of our (and Henry's) friends came over last night. When five kids running around got a little too loud, out came The Lion King. The voice of James Earl Jones soothed the savage beasts.

Hiding out. Did Ikea envision this use of its Björkås? I döubt it.

Teddy Graham snack while sitting on the counter. Not a part of snack time: the 40-year-old bottle of Old Crow in the background.

Celebrating Emmy's birthday with Hibachi...wanna see an egg roll?
Happy Sweet 16, Emmy!

Cousin Aliza

2009-09-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

Our cousin Aliza came to visit a couple of weeks ago. Henry is a really big fan. He spent most of the weekend saying, "Watch this, Aliza!" followed by a performance of some sort, including but not limited to hopping on one foot, drinking milk, playing with a toy car, or running in place. Whatever the feat, it was followed with "Did you see that?"

We spent Sunday afternoon at an arts festival. This picture was taken right after we got free samples of Fuze fruit juice, which occurred immediately after we paid $4.00 for lemonade.

Yep, Beatles: Rock Band! Here, it's Henry as George Harrison (guitar) and me as Ringo (drums). In this scenario, Aliza is Yoko and Alexis is the Maharishi.

Do you like my hat? A quick Go Dog Go before bed.

Are You Ready?

2009-09-02T07:54:00.001-07:00

He is.

On the Throne

2009-08-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Well.
As soon as the doctor said "It's a boy," this little tableau was inevitable. Except, I guess, for the being outside part. The story behind this picture is that we've been potty training Henry for the last couple days, so his potty goes pretty much everywhere he does--including outside. And yes, that is the sports page.

Success! Time for a chocolate reward (bribe)!

Here is a more traditional potty locale, with big-boy underpants in the foreground. You may note the strategic location on the hardwood.

Field of Dreams

2009-08-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

These days, Henry wants to play baseball every night when I get home from work. So after quickly drawing a field using sidewalk chalk, we tee it up. What part of rain boots doesn't scream baseball?

I think this is pretty good form save for the footwear.

It's hard to tell from this picture, but this is Henry manning second base. But as you can see, his defense is more Yadier Molina than Chase Utley...

Every now and then, Henry feels generous enough to give me an at-bat. And when that happens, he very carefully takes his place in the field to play defense. This squat is most likely due to his belief that all baseball players are either batters, pitchers or catchers.

Separated at Birth (Part V)?

2009-08-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

"The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good."

Mmmmm...donut...

2009-08-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

Back to School!

2009-08-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of the new school year. Henry is happy because most of his friends are in his class again--and because his classroom has a two-story clubhouse in it! Bad news though for fans of the attention span: their window looks out at the playground.

America's Dairyland

2009-08-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

We took our last big summer trip to Wisconsin last month for our cousin Jenny's wedding. The wedding was in Madison and we spent the weekend there before driving up to the Wisconsin Dells for three days of family fun. Never been to the Dells? Imagine Branson, Missouri, only mercifully further away from Arkansas and with a lot more water parks.

Luigi and Henry can't wait to start their day.

No, Henry has not changed his hair style to "the Donald." This is an action shot of him bouncing off the wall of a moon walk. This moon walk was one of many activities at Jenny and Tim's wedding, including face-painting and balloon-animal-making. How fun was it? One of the kids was overheard saying, "this is the best birthday party I've ever been to!"

In the Dells, we found a farm that lets you pick your own raspberries and blueberries. Probably not surprising to learn that the biggest challenge was getting the boys to put the berries in their baskets instead of their mouths.

Someday the mountain might get 'em, but the law never will.

We also played miniature golf...3D pirate-style! Note to anyone who may play golf with us in the future: Henry cheats. He cheats bad.

A Sweet--in name and description--family portrait: Grandma Sylvia with all her great grandchildren (plus Becky).

Dizzy

2009-07-16T21:55:00.000-07:00