The Good, The Bad, and The Muddy

Buckle your seat belts.  It's time for another one of my "throw it all in" recaps. 

Beginning with a big thank you and a sad good-bye to Ms. Jennifer, the physical therapist who has worked with Henry since he was born.  We'll miss her!   

 

Henry refusing a posed picture.

Ms. Jennifer introducing Henry to his new therapist, Ms. Mary. 

Henry interested only in his banana.

Ms. Jennifer was great at helping Claire feel

included in Henry's physical therapy.

 

While good-byes are sad, we're happy to say

a big hello to Paul, visiting from CA. 

 

Paul and Claire washing dishes.

 

Joe and Paul playing Frisbee in the street.

 

Last weekend, the kids and I walked to a church carnival down the street.

Face painting - Claire chose a rainbow.

Playing Plinko - she played twice to win a tootsie roll.

Claire insisted on applying the medicine and Band-Aid to her recent injury.  This, I'm sure is in large part because of her new favorite show - "Doc McStuffins". 

 

A doctor for stuffed animals and toys.

 

National Donut Day!

 

And, of course, some pictures of the 5K Mud Run 2013!

Raising money for clean water in Africa.

 

Joe, with sister-in-law, Laura, on the right,

and her brother, Jamie, in the middle. *

 

Now you might be asking, why does Joe have a rubber chicken around his chest.  Well, since costumes were encouraged, Joe took advantage of the opportunity to wear a chicken on an electrical cord over his blue clothes.  Get it? It's "Chicken Cordon Bleu".  That's my man! 

A very patriotic cheering section.

Sylvia, Gracie, Andrew and Claire

Gracie and Claire

Grandma helps Henry get a good view

Here comes Joe. *

 

 

I was too late with the camera, but Joe actually did a cartwheel in the mud pit!

 

 

"The Snake Pit" *

And that's why it's called "The Mud Run".

Finished in under 25 minutes.  A great time!

He came in 8th place for his age division.

But the real star of the show was the chicken,

who made it out A-OK.

Daddy and daughter

 

Henry - future mud runner.

An injured Laura with a sprained ankle still managed to

finish the race strongly.  Feel better soon, Laura! 

 

*Photo Credit to my brother Mike.  Thanks!

 

Well, that's all for now.  Thanks for hanging in there with my many pictures! 



Naptime

 

 

It was naptime, and the kids seemed to be tired after a busy morning.  At first, the sounds of laughter and playing spilled from their bedroom, but I finally heard what I had been waiting for...silence. 

I went upstairs to check on them, and this is what I found.

I love these moments.

 

I'll be back soon to post pictures of this past week's adventures...and mishaps :).

Waiting

Exciting times over here.  We are eagerly awaiting our new arrival. 

Did I forget to mention that we're expecting?

No, not that kind of expecting! 

 

We're expecting our good friend Paul to visit from CA.

 

One particular member of our family (Claire) was especially glad.  When I told her that Uncle Pauly was coming to visit, she promptly prepared by changing into a beautiful dress and putting roughly a dozen "pretties" in her hair.   

She then sat by the window for a good half hour mumbling, "I wish Pauly would come soon.  It takes so long for him to come".  Every time a car drove past, she'd get excited, but when she realized it wasn't him, she'd sigh "Nope, not Pauly".

 

How is Henry handling the excitement? 

Well, that particular morning he was on top of the dining room table, coloring.

I asked him to say "cheese" for a picture, and he said, "I no like 'cheese'.  Color."  I kid you not. 

Turning Two!

This past Sunday was Henry's 2nd birthday, and boy did we celebrate.

Our celebrations began Saturday with a party at Grandma Rosen's house.

 

The Birthday Boy

Opening presents with some help from Claire and Grandma

Cuddling with Great Grandpa

Daddy doing a dandy job of playing hide-and-seek.

Can't find him anywhere!

A Sesame Street birthday cake!

 

Waking up Sunday morning - ready to celebrate 

both his big birthday and Mother's Day.

 

This year, I planned a "Bow Wow Birthday" for Henry.  

Henry has a special relationship with his four-legged friends. So what could be better than a dog-themed birthday party?

  

Claire helped me "wrap" Henry's present - a new

shopping cart.  I thought she did a good job! 

 

We had my family, those who are in town, 

over for lunch - corn dogs, of course!

 

Henry loved playing with his cousins. 

 

Then he opened a few gifts including this one from Claire.  She knows just what he likes, mini Dora books.  It's just a coincidence that she likes them too.

 

Grandpa helping Henry open his gift.

 

This year my dad made Henry a great pull toy with shapes

that pop out when you push them.  Fun for all ages!

Henry wasn't so sure about his cupcake.  I made it to look like a bowl of dog food.  It's just cereal on top, but maybe it looked a little too real. 

  

Last, but certainly not least, we celebrated

Henry's birthday with the Puplis family. 

Henry loving Bailey

Grandpa and Grandma put out a summertime feast for us.

 

And of course, what's a party without Grandma's homemade cupcakes!

Henry approves!

Getting the hang of this present thing.

Cool cars! Even Claire jumped in on the fun. 

 

Thanks to all of our family for making Henry's second birthday so special. 

Wonderful memories!

Joe's Job

It's been an exciting season for MLive as there continues to be a few more changes.  For a long time, newspaper production took place at the Walker facility, while the editing/writing staff worked at the downtown location.  Recently, MLive sold the downtown building and moved everybody, including Joe, to the Walker location.  This week they had an open house to show off their beautiful new offices.  It was a great chance for us to see where Joe works so hard.  We're so proud of him!

 

There they are - the finished product.

 

Joe shows Henry the ropes.

 

Claire makes herself at home - eating an apple

while she waits to continue our tour.

 

Joe doesn't work in production, but it was still nice to

see the other end of the paper process.

 

Henry loved the room to run!

 

And climb!

I love how the kids hold hands in the parking lot. 

Initially,  I started this so they'd learn to stay together (as you may have noticed, Henry has a tendency to take of running in open spaces).  Now, I smile when I see them grab each others hands without me even asking them to.