let it snow, let it snow, let it SNOW

the snow totals here have been historic. I did a great job of making sure that my children are outfitted with warm winter gear that is appropriate for all things "snow" - sledding, shoveling, snow angels, rolling down the hill, etc. however, I failed to outfit myself beyond a new down jacket, boots, and some mittens. my frugal side has me waiting until the after-christmas sales to snatch up a yummy deal on some great snow bibs. in the meantime, we were blessed to have uncle brian and auntie blair offer to take miles and cousin josiah out for their very first sledding adventure! miles kicked the day off with a little pre-sledding shoveling with daddy and snow angels 101 with auntie blair.

henry bug stayed warm and cozy inside with mommy. smart boy.

somehow the hill at my old elementary school seemed a lot larger when I dug into my memory. I guess I might disagree with that statement when I try to haul a bundled up two year old up that hill. especially since the ride down takes no longer than ten seconds. but...to that two year old it was ten seconds of pure bliss.

josiah was less impressed. I'm sure the inability to move in his snow suit or walk in the boots weren't helping to sell this "super fun sledding adventure" to him. and the face full of snow a la brian's boots probably sealed the deal. after his second run down the hill he decided he was a-ok to hang in the sled and watch.

thank you for taking the boys sledding. we'll have to make it a whole family affair next time!

when mom is away, (some of) the boys will play

while Robin, Brian, Blair, and Beth took Miles and Josiah sledding, Henry stayed home with dad.  Robin said that Henry was working on how to use the pinball machine but he perfected it while mom was away.  i figured this would keep people entertained until Robin's next update.

the tenth month

technically this is henry's eleventh month, but that just confuses me when I'm actually posting his ten month pictures. so we'll just go with it, right? yes, I realize that he is nearly eleven months old, but I'm officially WAY behind on blogging and, to be honest, these pics weren't taken that long ago. it's not my proudest mommy moment, but oh well. henry bug is a busy bug. b-u-s-y. he's an absolute sweetheart and will melt your heart as soon as you hear him say "hi!"

a few weeks ago he decided that crawling up the stairs was easy peasy and has taken quite a liking to climbing on anything. in particular, the little picnic table. it's hard to already be saying "no" to the little guy, especially when he just scrunches up his nose and laughs at you!

he's taken quite an interest in talking these days. I remember that miles was talking a little at this age too, but for some reason I thought that henry would let miles do the talking for him. not so. he has LOTS to say and we are thrilled to hear him learn new words or watch him bust out another new sign. the favorite words: daddy, momma, hi, oh-oh, papa, nana, puppa (puppy), ah-duh (all done), and my personal fave - uh dat? (what's that?). oh and he's signing daddy, cookie, more, and all done. genius - I know.

during our latest trip to the ER for an ear infection (on friday night no less), henry weighed in at a "whopping" 19.75 pounds...fully dressed. miles weighed more than that two months earlier! he's still our little peanut. a brave and sometimes bucky little man. his spunky spirit and darling personality are the perfect combination.

stuffed

I'm going to make this one short (on words, not pictures...you do know who this is, right?). we had a lovely thanksgiving holiday stuffed full of food, fun, friends, and family.

toss in a dash of macy's thanksgiving day parade and all is right in my world. it was perfect! henry seized the opportunity to try his first ever ham and turkey. we took all of the screech's and mmmm's to mean, "yes, please!" what can I say, this kid LOVES to eat!

this first holiday without grandpa was not easy. although we could sense the hole, we could all feel his presence and knew that he was smiling down on us. oh, and I say that it was grandpa who gave me permission to take "just a little bit of everything" from the dessert table...with a half-cup of coffee to boot. that-a-way.

and so begins the rush of the holiday season. we are in full christmas mode now. more on that soon!