Henry's Birthday

Happy Birthday Henry!  You are 5 years old!

You are typically the first to wake at our house, and so you come into our room and say cheerfully, "Good Morning!  How did you sleep?"  I respond, "I am still sleeping buddy".  To which you naturally ask, "Can you get me some cereal?"

On your birthday, though, instead of heading down for breakfast right away, you were excited to open your presents.  You had found them awhile back in the basement, and so you asked eagerly, "Can I open my Octonaut toys?"  

George modeling your new Captain Barnacles mask.

After opening gifts, you enjoyed the chocolate chip waffles you had picked out for breakfast, and then you and Dad got ready to go on your class field trip.

You and your class went to Calvin College's ecosystem preserve where you learned a lot about wildlife.

You and Gryffin made sure to get front row seats.

In the afternoon, we had a special visitor for your birthday - your teacher, Ms. Sybil.  She does a home visit twice a year for her preschoolers, and it worked well for her to come for your birthday. You (and George) enjoyed showing her your new room and your toys.

For dinner you chose to have macaroni & cheese and corn.  A birthday meal fit for a 5-year-old.

An Octonauts birthday cake decorated by Claire and Dad.  You wanted lemon cake for today and chocolate cake for your party with extended family.  Two good choices!

Happy to be FIVE.

Three days later, on May 15th, we watched a few home videos from May 15th, 2011. You were just getting settled into the NICU, waiting for your first surgery to repair your omphalocele. 

Can't believe how far you have come in five years.  You were so little, so fragile.  And now, you've surpassed both the doctor's expectations and our hopes.  We are so proud of you.

You are quirky and energetic.  You are funny and sensitive and full of imagination. You are serious with your studies, but playful at home.  You like legos, cars, and riding your bike.  You tell great knock, knock jokes.  Lately, your favorite show is Octonauts and have become amazingly knowledgeable about marine life, surprising us all, and sometimes even strangers, with interesting trivia.

We love you Henry Sam!  

April Review

April showered more house projects, but we had a lot of fun along the way.

staining with a smile

I had so much fun as chaperon on a mini field trip for Henry's class where we walked down the road to the "big kid campus" to watch the 1st-3rd Grade Talent Show.  Pictured is Henry and his best buddy Gryffin (on the left) with their teacher Ms. Sybil. 

Watching traffic from the overpass.  

Ms. Sybil made sure to teach the children how to signal for the trucks to honk their horns.  The kids loved it!  Gotta appreciate the well-rounded education our children get at a Montessori school.  

A selfie while waiting for the talent show to begin.  

Gryffin cracks me up.  One performance into the show, he asked "Is that the last one?"  Uh, no Gryffin.  He collapses in angst, "This is the worst!"  The next hour was spent trying to keep him awake, which was not an easy task I tell you!

On the bright side, it made my day when Claire asked her teacher if she could go sit by her mom during the show.  I know the day will come when she will be embarrassed to sit by me, but until then, I will soak it up. 

A Spring Cake for Spring Break!

Getting ready to paint bedrooms.

Covering our kids in Scripture.

Our prayer for Claire: Zephaniah 3:17 and Philippians 4:13

Our prayer for Henry: 1 Samuel 1:27

Our Prayer for George: Galatians 6:9

We are SO THANKFUL for all our painting helpers.

Pictured is Joe's buddy, Casey, who helped paint the kids' bedrooms.

Also, Joe's mom and her friend Mary helped paint the nursery and our bedroom.

My dear friend, Mindy, helped paint the sitting area and the stairwell.   

We decided to stay with rather neutral colors for the kids' bedrooms since their favorite colors change on an almost weekly basis.  But in an effort to help them customize their space, we let them paint their closets with the color of their choosing, which they seemed happy with.

Just a bit of prep work and then Claire is ready to paint her closet.

Grandpa and George hang Claire's closet shelves.

We have been amazed through this renovation process at how George has become obsessed with working with Grandpa.  He would stay by his side all day, wanting to know exactly what Grandpa was doing.

With the painting done, Claire and Henry wanted to spend their first night upstairs.  Claire set up her sleeping bag, and without hesitation, Henry set his next to hers.  Claire graciously allowed him to share her room for the night.  

Night #2, however, didn't go quite so smoothly.  Claire was ready to have her room to herself, and so without an ounce of subtlety, she picked up Henry's sleeping bag and threw it outside her door. Henry, ever so calmly, picked it up and put it right back where it was.  Not sure he's as eager to have his own room.

Somebody get that boy a hammer.  He has work to do.

We enjoyed an evening with our Pastor and his family.  

Plenty of time to talk council matters and still play some Mario Kart.

George visited with Great Grandma Puplis while Grandpa and Grandma 

Puplis took advantage of a nice weekend to help paint the upstairs doors.

It's official!  

Furniture has come out of storage, and the kids are moved into their rooms.

George does have a mattress on the floor in Henry's room so that he can practice sleeping in a big boy bed.  I think he still benefits from being contained in a crib, but Henry loves to have him close.

Finally warming up to the idea of having his own space.

This is the unfortunate result of our Queen-sized box spring that refused to fit up the steps.  Where there is a will...and some tools...there is a way.

Another picture of George shadowing Quality Builders.

He saw Grandpa on his stool and had to get his own.  He would much rather play with tools than toys.  We've tried to appease him with plastic or wooden tool toys, but he knows the real thing, and he won't settle for less.  Gives me gray hair, but it's just so cute.  

March Part 2

Here it is the end of April, and I am just finishing up the March blog.  But the good news is that last week we passed all our inspections and were able to move everyone into their bedrooms.  Which means we can also begin to unpack and start to empty out our piles of boxes in the garage.  So now taking a bit of a break from all the finishing touches and the unpacking that needs to be done, here are the pictures from "March Part 2". 

Yes, the extra square footage has been nice, but for some reason 

we tend to still cluster within a few square feet.  I'm not complaining.

Claire's first play-date at our new home with her bus buddy Will.

While Dad has been serving as builder and contractor, he has also been serving as Grandpa and babysitter.  Each morning he takes a break to watch the boys while I bring Claire to school.  Just enough time to read Henry a book and throw the ball around with George.

Joe looked forward to spending his birthday in Colorado to celebrate "Uncle" Pauly's wedding, but that meant we had to celebrate a few days early with dinner at Russ' before he set off for his trip.

I love Claire's expression - totally jealous that George gets 

to help Dad open the present.  It's hard being seven!

The Lego White House.  

The bonus room upstairs is coming along.

Our bedroom.

A slumber party while Dad is away.

Back home and right to work, "Young Joe" 

learning to lay tile for our upstairs bath.

And now for the grout.

Painting the spindles for the railing.

Always with a tool in each hand.

Claire helps patch her trim in her bedroom.

EASTER

Emma, Nolan and Henry at the Easter Egg Hunt

George was surrounded by candy but found one 

little sucker and was happy to call it a day.

Avery and Claire with their goodies.

Swinging in her Easter dress.

HE IS RISEN!

Oops, startled George.

A little hug ought to do the trick!

Yep, all better.

HE IS RISEN INDEED!