Saturday in Seaside....in video

Six Years Old

Today, you turned 6 YEARS OLD. Six years ago today, our lives changed forever and in a way that that we never expected. You impact people. We consider ourselves the luckiest parents on earth to be trusted to raise such an amazing boy. We don’t take this job lightly, and enjoy every second of it. Since birth, you’ve projected a sweet, calm quiet. You continue to be an observer of people and activities and then quietly try on your own in private. You have become a perfectionist who is not satisfied with anything but what you pictured in your mind. You are very, very artistic and creative and could spend most hours of the day quietly drawing battle scenes, castles, or daddy cooking on the BBQ. You love to build Lego creations and play with marbles or anything that resembles a long lost shiny treasure. You love fantasy worlds of pirates, space ships and zombies. You are still an awesome sleeper, but dislike waking up in the morning. You are the best snuggler in the house and can form into any shape to be physically close to people you love.
This has been a big year of learning and growing. Learning is something that you have grown to love and it shows in your enthusiasm when you read, count, add, subtract and spell from memory. You’ve gained confidence in your friendships and abilities and as a result have grown a bigger “voice” that is really fun to watch.
When you were little, I wanted you to stay little. But, the older you get, the more I enjoy seeing who have and will become. It is an honor to be your parent. We love you to the moon and back and can’t wait to see what the next year has in store for you. Happy Birthday Henry!

Love,
Mom & Dad

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday to the Daddy, the Husband, and the Best Friend.
You make our world a much better place.
You are the very best lego-builder, coach, wrestler, snuggler,
dinner cooker, tooth puller, butt-wiper, driver, dream builder, routine maker,
voice of reason, friend, movie companion, deep conversation partner, supporter,
bug killer, completely 100% no doubt about it engaged father, husband and best friend
anybody could ever ask for.

Thank you for being born. We wouldn't be us without you.

Love, the mommy and your boys.

Faces

of Charlie

Henry lost a tooth....And Charlie pulled it.

Yep, Charlie pulled it.

Ya see, Henry has had a dangling tooth for several weeks now. The last couple of days,

it has been sticking straight OUT, but he refused to pull it. It was like a cartoon tooth.

Tonight, he bit into a piece of bread and pushed the tooth beyond the point of return.

It was bleeding and bleeding, but still connected by a corner.

Nate jumped into action:

floss, gauze,

paper towels, patience,

empathy, a large bribe,

and a dose or frustration later, the tooth was still not free.

Where was I?

I was cowered in the corner of the kitchen

in a tight fetal position rocking left to right

singing nursery rhymes

because the thought of that tooth coming out of my baby's gums

creeps me out.

Don't judge.

So Henry moved to a quiet area

and started working on it himself.

At one point, he thought he swallowed it.

And then Charlie offered to help.

And he pulled it.

And we lost it.

But then we found it.

In the couch.

Thank Goodness - that could have been really, really bad.

And here is the interview after all of the drama:

An Interview

A behind the scenes peek into the minds of a 3 and 5 year old.

They light up my world so much that I am required to share it with you

by law.

Fire Ball in the Sky

One day, the rain stopped, the clouds parted

and a large fire ball in the sky shone its heated loveliness upon us.

When this happens, you drop everything and go outside

because without warning, the clouds eat the fireball and you never know

how many weeks you'll have to wait to see it again.

Saturday, we celebrated the fire ball by walking the first day

of the farmers market.

There are no vegetables there yet, but they had flowers, and music

and food and a super happy family.

And then Henry, with the super duper powers that he has,

unleashed his "park-dar" (park radar) and led us here:

A great day of filling our Vitamin D tanks that will hopefully

keep us trucking for the week.

First T-Ball Game

Saturday was Henry's very first T-Ball game.

"T" stands for "Take a Break on your behind in the outfield",

but more on that later.

Batters 2, 3 and 4:

"Oh bat, let's smash the holy spit out of that ball. All right?"

Batter up!

Rounding the bases, just slightly ahead of his too big helmet:

I didn't know this until Saturday, but the bases are like

little mini trampolines making it impossible to stand still

on them.

Left field.

During the game.

Look alive kids!

The best part was, this was their ready position.

Before this, they were all laying down.

It was one of the most entertaining games I've every seen.

I think it ended in a 42-42 tie.

And every kid that rounded 3rd base just wanted to know "how much longer?"

Henry either doesn't know you have to touch home plate,

or doesn't know that home plate exists because every time he rounded

3rd, he ran straight to his bench and all of the parents and coaches

simultaneously stood up and pointed him home.

Sweet, innocent T-Ball.

Two very proud parents.

Go Braves!

A weekend with Ted E. Bear

This weekend, Charlie was chosen by his class to care for the

class bear, Ted E. Bear.

He was to take Ted every where he went, care for him and

journal about his weekend with Ted.

Friday night, Ted took our family out to dinner.

Ted wanted a loud family atmosphere, so he chose Red Robin.

A little cheap if you ask me.

We questioned Ted's manners, sitting on the table and all.

Henry trying wrestle Ted off of the table.

Ted had abnormally short arms which are fluffy and barely reach

his mouth, so Charlie had to feed him.

Mandarin oranges.

That Ted, he's a funny, funny bear.

Here he is doing french fry tricks.

Charlie and Ted E. had a slumber party Friday night.

Charlie cared deeply for this bear and wished him sweet dreams.

We later learned that Ted E. has a deviated septum which causes him

to snore like a trucker, so Charlie slept very little.

In an effort to get the sweetest picture, I told Charlie to pretend

like he was sleeping next to Ted E.

I think it is safe to say that acting is not in Charlie's future.

Saturday, Ted E. joined us at Henry's T-ball practice.

Since there was a park nearby, Ted insisted that

we play at the park instead because he thought watching

T-ball practice was B-O-R-I-N-G.

Wee!!!

Ted E. was built for plastic slides with his furry

rear and all.

Ted E. loved underdogs!

Until he learned with the bark dust tasted like.

Then we just stuck to the simple basics.

Sunday, we tried to pass Ted E. off as "under 3" and saw

Rio. It was a great movie, but Ted E. chews his popcorn

just as loud as Charlie does and drew unnecessary attention

to our motley crew.

We had a great weekend with Ted E.

Tomorrow, Charlie will present his weekend with Ted E. to his class

and Ted E. will prepare for another weekend with a Roosh Friend.

Charlie's Art Show

Tuesday, Charlie's Nike School had an Art Show to

display the individual and group projects of the classrooms.

I, unfortunately was not able to attend, so Nate took

pictures to share with all of us:

The making of the T-shirt video:

I particularly like the part of the video where the dad is

"For the love of all that is holy we are NOT going back to your classroom for a 3rd time!"

Ok, I summarized, but you know he was thinking it.

Haircuts & Tank Tops

Henry and Charlie have been sporting their handy-me-down tank tops (from cousin Alex)

since the very moment we brought them home on Sunday. Day and night and night and day...tank tops. Henry wears his to school under his school clothes and as soon as he is in the car after school, the shirt comes off so that he is wearing just....you guessed it.....his tank top.

Charlie does everything Henry does, so just read that last paragraph twice and insert "Charlie" where you see "Henry". This particular day, Charlie came home with a blue paint beard. He said he was Batman. We don't question him. Especially when he is in his badass tank top.

Or as you will soon learn "tang tong" as he calls it.

Monday

Charlie, you done Jimmy Buffett proud baby!

(Charlie's remix of Come Monday)

Take me out to the (T) Ball Game!

Henry has started T-Ball!

It's one of those monumental days that you

look forward to since the day you see the extra part on the ultrasound.

T-Ball.

And this is how Henry feels about it:

He rounds the bases in a single bound!

Ok, only because Daddy was there to show him where the

bases actually are.

The Team and their Coaches

The BRAVES.

Their fearless mascot:

Making friends:

Working on hand-eye coordination:

And Balance:

We have some work to do...

Ready for a grounder!

Assistant Coach:

Our mascot trying to escape:

Herding kittens:

Excited to watch Henry experience his first team sport,

make new friends and to watch Daddy coach his first team!

Go Henry!