Tailgate

"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

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

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

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

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

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?

He is.