Fall Video

I could watch this over and over. Even though Fall has already come and gone here, I wanted to make sure I posted this. I hope you get as much joy out of it as I do.

Novack Annual Visit

Again this September, Grammie (as Henry calls her now) and Grandpa Novack came to visit. Henry absolutely loved having them visit. We did all sorts of fun things, like the Children's Museum, Chucky E. Cheese, and an overnight trip to Newport, Rhode Island.

Newport is a beautiful little seaside town. Quintessential New England. I highly recommend a visit there. We stayed in a little B&B called The Clarkeston. We also visited one of the iconic seaside Mansions of Newport called Rosecliff. It was a huge bonus for me that they were having a Pierre Cardin exhibit in addition to the regular tour.

Henry was quite the jokester during the tour. While the tour guide (woman, mid-70's, white hair, ultra proper) was speaking about the history of Rosecliff to the very quiet group of 20 or so adults, Henry started yelling out "Blah, Blah, BLAH" and then proceeded to blow a Raspberry. I have no idea where he learned this behavior (must be JIM). Grandpa, Jim and Henry thought it was hilarious. As the raspberry reverberated through the halls of this enormous mansion, I pretended that I didn't know them.

Another highlight for Henry in Newport was a visit to the Firehouse. It happened that while Jim, Grandpa and Henry were walking by the Firehouse (the girls were shopping) the Fire truck was coming in from a call. One of the Firefighters invited them in. Henry sat in the truck, got a sticker badge and Hat and is still talking about it.

The visit was lovely and as always makes me sad that we don't live closer. It is obvious how much Henry loves his grandparents and it would be wonderful to be together more often.

Novacks Visit, Sept 2008

Can you spell SMART?

I will start by saying that if this story sounds like bragging, it is. Its mostly grandparents and aunts and god-parents who read this blog anyway, so they won’t mind me boasting about my wonderful child’s accomplishments! If I don’t keep track of them here, I am afraid I will forget when these milestones happen.

Yesterday, while I was working on the computer, Henry was playing with his magnetic letters. He was placing them on the dishwasher and saying some of them. The set has all 26 letters, 1-9 numbers and math symbols like the equal sign. He walked over to the refrigerator and said “Mommie, have all letters my name”, then he arranged what you see in the picture. Ok, it isn’t perfect, but my mouth was hanging open. This spelling effort was without any prompting, help, or even attention (sadly) from me! To be fair, it wasn’t completely out of the blue, because if you ask him how to spell his name, he will promptly say H-E-N-R-Y, but I get the feeling that he has just memorized it. I was very shocked that when given all the letters to chose from, in no order, that he could almost spell it out correctly! I am very proud-- can you tell??

The Great Escape

On Friday, while Henry was napping, I went to take a shower. Suddenly I heard something that sounded like a door and I thought "Oh no, did I leave the front door open?" (we have a screen door so I leave the door open all the time). I put my ear to the door and heard rustling and footsteps. I grabbed my robe and opened the door and standing there was Henry! We both jumped and then he shouted "I got out myself"! The little stinker had climbed out of his crib. Thank goodness I heard him before I got in the shower. There is no telling what he would have gotten into!

I guess it is time to make the move to a big bed. I am not ready for my baby to be such a little boy, but it least it gives me an excuse to shop for new decor!

The Performer

Henry was quite the little performer tonight. I was able to get a few minutes on camera to share.

I hope Henry's love of Buzz doesn't stick! :-)

This weekend is the Ga Tech vs. BC game. Jeff is visiting and yesterday we met Zane and Theresa at Faneuil hall to take Henry to see Buzz. Let's get something straight, I try to be a good wife- when not playing FSU, I cheer for Ga Tech, wear the gear, sing the songs, dress up Henry in Old Gold and White, but I can't help but to be secretly upset that this cartoon like Bee has more pull than Florida State's Chief Osceola. A big man with face paint on a huge spotted horse just doesn't have the same cuddly factor for a 2 year old. Don't get me wrong, Henry knows Chief Osceola and the war chat quite well. But Buzz was a definite hit yesterday. He will not take off the jersey we dressed him in-- he slept in it and has it on today. He continues to tell everyone that he saw Buzz ("He is a big Bee!"). The Cheerleaders were also a BIG hit (hey, I guess this part is understandable). The band, on the other hand, was a bit loud and scary. I just hope this isn't a long term obsession. I couldn't make it through all of football season this way!

Henry's 2nd Birthday Details-- Way past due!

It just dawned on me that I didn't post the photos of Henry's second birthday. We had a wonderful time, celebrating by sharing a party with Henry's friend Griffin. Their birthdays are only 10 days apart, so we had a joint party at Griffin's parents house in Duxbury. It was a beautiful day. We got a bouncey house shaped like a cake and the kids LOVED it. So did the parents. I think the photos can tell the rest of the story, but it was great fun!

Henry's 2nd Birthday!

"What's Dat?"

What's Dat? What's Dat? What's Dat? What's Dat? What's Dat? Welcome to our daily routine. I am not exaggerating when I say that Henry is asking this question HUNDREDS of times a day. I have heard about kids who say "why" all the time, so I guess this is Henry's version of that age old question. He even asks it when he knows exactly what the item is. Over and Over and Over and Over. Tomorrow, I have decided to count a day's worth to see exactly how many times a day he is asking it. Feel free to submit your guess!

UPDATE: I counted all day on July 2. I kept a little tally paper with me. I did NOT count "What's dat man doing?", "What's dat lady doing?" or "What's they doing?" which had to be said at least an additional 20 times during the day. I stuck purely to "What's Dat?" and the end of the day tally was ... 102 !!

When you next see me, if I am drooling and stuttering, you know I have completely lost my mind!

Atlanta Trip- Kevin & Amanda's Wedding 6/7/08

The weekend of June 7thwas an exciting one. The night before leaving for Atlanta for Kevin's wedding, we had a visit from Ronin, Liz, Tal and Sivan. It was complete chaos with all those kids who were hungry for Dinner, but it was really great to see them. We can't wait for our reunion with all Jim's crew in a few weeks.

The trip to Atlanta is the first time we have left Henry for more than a night and we have never been more than a few hours away. It was a little nerve-wracking, at least for me. However, according to the photos and Nana, it seems Henry didn't mind at all and had a blast at Chuck E. Cheese!

On the plane, Jim and I brought books and magazines thinking we had all this quiet time. Turned out that Jim and I talked the entire 3 hour trip. When was the last time we talked for that long without interruption? Who knew we still had so much to say!

We stayed with Sunny and Melinda in Atlanta and Jeff-Ray was also with us. It was so much fun. On Saturday Jim and I were able to attend the Virginia Highlands Festival which made me completely homesick for the old "hood". I used to love that festival and living in the highlands in general. I don't remember there being so many young children, but I guess the neighborhood has grown just as we have. We even got to have lunch at our favorite sushi place, "Harry and Sons". As yummy as I remember!

The Wedding was Saturday evening in Kevin and Amanda's backyard and it was just beautiful. We danced the night away and had a really great time, regardless of the 96 degree weather. It is easy to tell how hot it was by the photos.

On Sunday we were able to see a ton of old friends. In the morning we went over to Dan and Heather's home and finally met Grant. What a cutie! After that we went out to Melissa's. Diane, Adel and the girls, as well as Adrienne came over so that we could all have a mini reunion. Seeing Jack, Ava and Scarlett play made me wish Henry was with us. We also loved holding the rolley-polley Meghan. What a yummy baby! I am so jealous that Diane, Strat and AP get to be together whenever they want. If just a few other people returned it would be just like the old days!

Many adventures!

We've had a ton of adventures over the last two months. We had a visit from Cyndi, Chloe and Mrs. Knight in April. It was so nice to see them and for Henry and Chloe to spend some time together. We had lunch at Ashmont Grille and the kids were amazingly well behaved.

The weekend of May 18 we took the train to Wilmington, Delaware for the Delaware Marathon. Henry loved the train and was very well behaved for the most part. Dinning out in Wilmington was not so successful and we ended up with take-out in the hotel room for the first night (after a failed attempt at an Italian carbo load in the restaurant) and a very quick dinner the second night. Henry and I really had fun watching Jim run the marathon. Of course, Jim mapped out all our stops so we could see him multiple times. Down by the Harbor we met some other kids and were able to play between sightings. Jim broke his best time and qualified for Boston again by finishing in 3:08:44. He finished 25 overall and 5 in his age group. Pretty AMAZING!


On May 29th, I was in San Diego completing my spring project, which is my 4th BREWfest for Qualcomm. It was a great success. This year, we closed down 5th Avenue and J Street in the Gaslamp District of downtown San Diego. All the restaurants and retail shops were open only to our guests and in a parking lot on J street, we built a concert stage and the band LIVE performed. Yes, that is a photo of me with LIVE lead singer Ed Kowalczyk. They put on an amazing show-- they sound just like what you remember from the 90s. I had no idea I would know so many songs! After the concert, we had 3 of the restaurants stay open until 1am for dancing. From a planning perspective, the schedule was absolutely brutal- the city permit to close the street ran from 6am to 6am-- so I worked 23 hours straight, pretty much spending the entire time on my feet and moving. It took me days to get back to normal. I am happy that I have some time off this summer!

June 1st was the annual Dot Day Parade. Henry loved it! Again this year, I am amazed at what a big deal is made for a neighborhood of Boston. Deval Patrick, our Governor walked as well as Mayor Menino (of course). It lasted over 2 hours! As in year's past, I left thinking how much I love our diverse and proud neighboorhood! Hooray for Dorchester!

Coming soon... Kevin Leung's Wedding and Henry's 2nd birthday party!

Henry's Red Sweater Hat

We had a warm streak a couple of weeks ago (of course today it was a high of 48- so it didn't stick, unfortunately) and Henry has just decided that he now loves winter hats. Every time we are in the car he insists on wearing his knit red sweater hat, complete with fluffy ball on the top and ear flaps. Two weeks ago, we had a fluke hot day and it was close to 80 degrees. I tried to talk him out of wearing the red sweater cap, but he cried every time I removed it, and I know you other parents will agree, you have to pick your battles. I had the windows down, enjoying the day and we hit a traffic jam due to construction on some side city streets. We were stopped next to some construction fencing and pulled up next to 2 police officers. One leaned in and said "what's with the hat"? Henry tapped his head proudly and said "RED HAT" with a huge grin. I couldn't contain my laughter-- Henry was sweating profusely, was red faced and looked like a complete nerd. He just needed some head gear to really top of the picture of some geeky outcast. I told the officer that I try to get him to take it off but what can you do? He said "OK, buddy- stay cool" and shrugged. It was really hilarious.

Sesame Street Live- April 27

Last weekend we went to see Sesame Street Live. Henry sat in awe the entire first half. Just wide eyed without making a movement. After intermission, he warmed up to it and started dancing, clapping and yelling out character's names. It was a great show. All and all though, I think he enjoyed riding the T more-- he kept saying "Green Train", "Red Train" the rest of the day. This photo is Daddy and Henry on the Green Line on our way home.

Visit to Nana's House, March 26-April 4

At the end of Nana’s visit to Boston, Henry and I accompanied her back to Ft. Walton Beach on March 26th. Henry was really pretty good flying and we were lucky enough to get an empty seat on both flights on the way down.

While there, I was able to spend the night with Heidi and Sarah who were both in town for their kids spring break. Heidi's parents have a condo in Rosemary Beach, so we met at the outlets and did a little shopping then went into Rosemary Beach for a little wine and cheese. On our way, we actually saw our Highschool friend, Robbie Roberts who joined us for an hour of catch up. It was great to see an old friend. He looks just the same, sounds the same and is still as funny as ever.


The next day we brought the kids to the pool at Sarah’s parents condo, the Seafarer. Henry LOVES older kids and loved being able to get in the pool and enjoy the sunshine and warmth. I loved it too. It was great to be able to lounge by the pool with some of my best friends while Henry was having so much fun.





During our trip Nana and Henry played a ton. They took walks and played in a little fill up pool. Henry chased mom’s cats around endlessly. One day we took Henry to a park in our old neighborhood on Briarwood Circle. It was the same park that was home to my only memory of ever being spanked. I deserved it- I told my mom to “Sit on It” when she said we had to leave. I guess I was watching too many episodes of “Happy Days”. Thankfully Henry will not have the same memories of this park! The area of the park where the play stuff is located is set on white sand that is native to the area. Henry ran toward it saying “Snow! Snow!”. Apparently, we have been living in New England too long. Any thing white looks like snow! Mom and I cracked up.

The last day of the trip we were able to drive over to Panama City and meet my cousins, Robin and Peggy and My Aunt Betty, as well as Peggy's kids Mackenzie and Jordan. They were in Mexico Beach for the week on school break. Henry loved playing with his cousins. We are looking forward to the week we spend with everyone in Mexico Beach in July.

Easter

Ok, Ok, I am horrible blogger. I love to do it, but put it off because of other priorities. I am sure no one even looks at it any longer since there is never anything to see! I admit, I enjoy looking back on things I have documented; sometimes it is the only way I remember the details, so I will trudge on...other readers or not!



We had a wonderful Easter. Nana was in Boston helping take care of Jim (and Henry!) while I went to San Diego for a project and then she stayed through the Easter Weekend. On Saturday we colored eggs and made a huge mess, but tried to just enjoy it and not worry too much. On Sunday we went to Mass and then after a nap (Henry of course), we hunted Easter eggs in the yard. The pictures are so sad-- could this possibly be Easter with all that dead stuff in the yard and us in our sweaters and coats? Isn’t Easter in the SPRING??? Needless to say we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of some warm weather.