Lowry Park Zoo

We took advantage of our reciprocal zoo pass and went to a huge zoo in Tampa, which was a blast since Henry knows lots of animals now. He took his second ride on a carousel (his first was in Michigan and was last month and he didn't really enjoy it at all, but I'll write more on that very late, late post) and petted the giraffe, and bent his head like a giraffe neck. We found a train for him, and he had a blast ridding, of course! Choo, choo!
I was in the train with him, but am hiding behind the smoke stack. He got to ring the bell and blow the whistle, great fun.
We found some birds for him to look at, which he loved too.





Notice how he has his hat on in all the pictures? He wore his bucket hat so well the WHOLE time we were in Florida! Success!

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Fun in Florida

Henry and I spent last week in Florida! We enjoyed the sun, the water, and had lots of fun spending time with grandparents and Uncle Bryan. We explored the zoo, beach, and splashed in the pool. Henry got to ride on shoulders

ride on trams and trains

and play soccer and golf!

Lots more pictures and stories to come. Of course, I'm behind. When I sat down to write an entry about one of our adventures, I realized that many of my pictures weren't downloaded yet. Grrr. So I'm off to do that first!

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Easter Celebrations

Henry's first experience dying Easter Eggs was successful! The only color he knows so far is blue, so we made lots of blue eggs. He was very careful, and did a great job. He did think that one of the eggs was a ball and threw it in the yellow cup basketball style, but he made the shot! Too funny little Henry.

Carefully checking with the spoon

Helping dad dip the egg

playing with stickers while we wait for eggs to dye - it's a slow process

watching three eggs with mom

the finished products!

We made a visit to see the Easter Bunny and took a family photo. While Henry was nervous, he didn't even cry once!



He opened his Easter basket before church, and had a peep later in the day. He didn't like them too much. That's a good thing.

SOOOO excited for BUBBLES!

Our little Easter bunny. What a difference a year makes!

And while we were hurrying to get ready for church, Henry was playing in the sun porch. He had been looking out windows all morning and talking about rabbits, so while he said "Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit!" over and over again, I didn't pay much attention. But Gabe happened to look out the bedroom window and shouted "there really is a rabbit in the yard!" Good eye, Henry. We think the Easter bunny was scouting out where to hide his eggs for our hunt later.

Family Easter Picture

And after church, Henry's hunt began! He loved pointing to the eggs, running to them and putting them in his basket. Until he discovered there was a snack in each one. Then he had to open the egg as soon as he found it, eat the snack, and then put it in his basket.

And our Easter dinner featured bunny napkins! Check out the instructions here

The kids table!

Happy Easter! We had a fun weekend, hence all the pictures!

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Catching Up

Went to Ag Days at the 4H fair last weekend with Henry's friends Eamon and Owen. Got to see lots of animals, which Henry loved to look at but only hesitantly touched. The preschoolers had a blast, and the big tractors were a hit. All three boys sitting in some vehicle, I forget what it actually was:
And the weekend before, Henry and I went to Sugar Camp Days at Bendix Woods to learn about how maple syrup was made. I'm not sure how much Henry learned, but I learned a lot! It was a cold day, so we bundled up, and found lots of indoor activities to do, like this live folk music:
Henry sat and watched and ate his snack for half an hour. Shocking, because if you know Henry, you know that he doesn't sit for that long. But he was enjoying the live music, and I think that this was the first time he's heard live music like that before, except at church. They sang and played guitar, and lots of homemade banjos, which was interesting. We got to explore some homemade children's games, watch candle making, tour a sugar house, and taste some delicious maple sugar kettle corn. Henry's favorite thing was the horse, which he neighed at the whole time. And raised his hand like a trunk because apparently they reminded him of an elephant!

We're looking forward to our Easter weekend, complete with dying Easter Eggs and an Easter Egg Hunt!

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basketball - for father AND son

We're nearing the end of March Madness, and Henry has developed a fast love of basketball this spring. A love of dab-da-baal to be exact! He asks for basketball almost as soon as we wake up in the morning. The little basketball is just the right height to be a challenge, but one that he can succeed at 9 times out of 10.

Ok, I know this picture is blurry, but look at that concentration, that form! Too bad he's not bowling....

Almost, almost, almost....

Swish!

And to relive the good old days, Gabe took part in some bookstore basketball! Team You're Not That Special, Trust Us, We Read Your Application vs. Team Cupcake was a great game, with a win by the admissions counselors. And of course, the other team provided cupcakes for everyone at the end! Gabe even got some baskets, followed by Henry's cheers of DaDa!

UPDATED: Check out the article in the Observer (the second game reviewed).




Henry brought his own basketball and hoop, which was a big hit with warm-ups before the game, mostly because the counselors didn't have a regular ball to use.

The best seat in the house

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Aruba, Jamaica...

....ooooo I wanna to take ya.....

well, at least to Aruba!

....beautiful beaches, warm sun, bright turquoise water....and happy toes!


We journeyed to Aruba sans Henry to celebrate Gabe's college roommate's wedding.

We walked the beach in the mornings, soaked up the sun and relaxed on the beach and in the pool. I read two books and four magazines. I don't remember the last time I read so much!

The rehearsal dinner the night before was a dinner on a sailboat.
The wedding was at a restuarant on the beach, right near the water. Everyone was barefoot and the scenery was just beautiful. During the ceremony, two little kids were down the beach building sand castles. And a jet ski roared by during the ceremony!The groomsmen wore gold yarmulkes - little Golden Domes!

Happy Third Anniversary trip for the two of us!

The hardest part was being away from Henry. We missed him something terrible. We found lots of things that he would have loved - birds, lizards (alligators) - and we talked about him a lot. It was SO good to see that little baby when we got home.

And a big thank you to grandma and grandad for watching Henry!

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