Nearly two

Wow, Henry is nearly two years old! I keep thinking of him as a baby, but he really isn't anymore. He is talking so much--it is so much fun hearing him try to pronounce words and readily repeats what you ask him to say (even if his attempt isn't quite accurate). Daddy taught him to repeat after him during prayer, and it is just about the sweetest thing in the world. Henry is also becoming a bit feistier (sniff sniff!) and loves saying "Go 'way!" and "Sop it!" (stop it) and especially relishing a good "NO!!" with a blood-curdling scream. He will hit but then will "be soft" right afterwards when you ask him to. He still loves songs, although he can be particular about what song and say "Sop it!" if you start singing a song he isn't interested in. He loves to help ("Hep you!") and to be held ("Hehd you!").

Henry is getting quite good at jumping, galloping, and running. He also really enjoys climbing on things--like Robbie's bunk bed--and trying to do everything that Robbie does. He is able to sit longer for books and will now sit with me as I read a longer picture book to Robbie, although he still prefers that I point out (or now he does) different animals and objects, like "monkey!" and "balloon!" etc. Henry also enjoys drawing with Robbie, although his favorite thing to do with markers apparently is to leave the tops off so they can dry out. We've had marker on our white bedspread, the couch, the cabinets, etc.

I continue to be so grateful for his sunny, friendly nature. Leaving him with a babysitter is generally not a problem, and he really enjoys nursery. After I was gone on my trip to Atlanta, he was more clingy for a few days, but he wasn't too fazed. He loves to be held and give kisses. A recent love he has is to put his lips against your eyebrows or cheeks or lips--he will often tuck his chin in and pull back with a pleasurable look and say "Bloooww" (brow). It's kind of funny. (As a side note, I don't like to kiss the kids on the lips, but Henry just pulled me in!)

Henry wants to be in the thick of things and cries out when any injustice is observed (like the other night he only got an Andes mint instead of an ice pop because I didn't want him to get messy right before bed). He even learned to have an accusatory, tattle-tale tone to his voice when he comes up to inform me or Michael what Clara or Robbie has done. (Lucky for them, most of the time we can't understand what the infraction was!) Clara and Robbie will sometimes fight over who gets to play with Henry, which is amusing but also tricky. Robbie enjoys playing on the bunkbeds or swing with Henry and Clara likes to play with his blanket with him. Henry loves waving goodbye to Daddy in the morning and gets very excited (along with the other kids) when he arrives home.



We sure do love this boy!

Preschool "Goodbye Ceremony"

Robbie's preschool class had a graduation goodbye ceremony on their last day. They even played "Pomp and Circumstance" as they processed in to the sanctuary. While I think that "graduating" from everything is a bit much, I have to say that the program was super cute and I was quite impressed with all that his teachers got a bunch of four-year-olds to memorize.

 Standing all in a row, preparing to sing.

Some songs were more serious, but this one was "Play that Funky Music, Teacher" with some sweet air guitar moves performed by the class.

Receiving his certificate by his teacher, Mrs. Sherwood.

 Got his cap and everything. Phew--he made it!

Robbie has had a great year in preschool this year. The kids are all super sweet and their parents have been great as well. It's been fun getting to know other parents in the community. After a lot of prayer, fasting, deliberation, and angst on my part, we've decided to give him another year of preschool before Kindergarten. So now he will get to do the four-day half-day class in the fall. In the mean time, hooray for the preschool grad!

A weekend with the Lansings

Ted and Joy came up to visit a couple of weeks ago--it was so great to have them. Even though they only live two hours away in Richmond, it is just really hard to get together with our schedules, etc.

 And the fact that it was her birthday made it even more special! I made a chocolate cake in her honor. Michael saw it in the fridge and asked, "Did you run out of frosting?" "No," I informed him. "It's a rustic cake." We had a good laugh at that one. I did legitimately not frost the sides on purpose, but I had had quite a few cake issues that day (it was the second one I'd baked--the first one--a quinoa chocolate cake that actually tasted really good but fell apart).

 Henry only has eyes for the candles and cake.

Such great people.

Joy and I got pedicures on Saturday morning while the husbands watched all the kiddos, and then we took them up into the Shenandoah National Forest for a hike.

 It took forever to get up there--we did Little Stony Man loop past Skyland--and despite my actually picking the wrong trail and despite the chilly weather, everyone did great. Fortunately, it was only a mile round-trip.

 And the views were amazing!

 Ooh, those rocky outcroppings made me nervous. Amelia (their daughter) discovered that a stick thrown out would just boomerang right back because it was so windy.

 I really enjoy these family hiking trips.

We stopped at Skyland lodge afterwards to grab a little bite to eat before heading back home. The fire was so nice. 

It was definitely a memorable adventure and a fun weekend!

Alex and Charlotte's sealing

Last weekend, we drove down to Atlanta on Friday to witness the sealing of my brother Matt's oldest son, Alex, to Charlotte (Xingwen) Hu. They had actually been married civilly last summer because of some Visa issues, and this was the anniversary of her baptism. The sealing ceremony is always beautiful and powerful, made more special this time by being in the sealing room with family.

We were doubly blessed because we also got to see the Weilers, who kindly hosted us.

 Melody was such a trooper--even though she had gotten her wisdom teeth out a few days before and was feeling miserable, she was still in good spirits and took time to read to Clara and be the kind aunt that she always is.

 Grandma and Grandpa were also heading to the temple, or to the building just behind it, for a family history training meeting. They now have the calling that my parents did years ago as area family history advisors.

 Clara and her cousin Faith were able to do baptisms before the sealing. Two temples in two months! Pretty awesome. They were able to do family names from Nana, which made it extra special.

 Clay's girls kindly watched our kids in the temple annex, and then we hung out at the entrance waiting for the bride and groom. Here are the kids with cousin Lia, who is getting so big.

 Clay and Amie and their beautiful daughters.

 Our temple photo attempt.

My favorite people.

 The happy couple! (with a sweet photobomb)

 Matt and Clay were sweet with our kids, as always. Even though I wish that my kids knew their extended family more, I am grateful for the opportunities that we have to see them.

 When we ate lunch at La Madeleine afterwards, it was great getting to know Alex and Charlotte a little more (I hadn't talked to Alex since before his mission!). They are such neat people, and I am excited to see what their future holds.

 And it was so nice that Nana and Papa could leave their mission for the weekend and that we could see them!

Nana and Henry--fortunately Henry warmed up to them although we didn't have much time to hang out before we headed back to Harrisonburg on Saturday afternoon.

 The twins, seventy years apart.

I am proud of these missionaries!

Despite the length of the drive, it was worth it to be a part of such an important event in our family.

A smattering

Michael sent me a lot of pics from his phone to include on the blog. I am so grateful that he is such an involved father who loves his kids. Here is a glimpse into some of the fun views he has captured.

 We got these "bodysox" for the kids for Christmas, hoping they would help with self-calming and sensory issues (I was going to get one for Clara but figured the boys would want one, too). They haven't been used as much as I had hoped, but they are still fun. Robbie has enjoyed his the most.

 Henry learned to climb out of his high chair. Uh-oh.

 Because one pair of glasses just isn't enough.

 We have filmed a few Bible stories on Sundays with the kids. It's been pretty fun--here Robbie is playing Abraham.

I think Sarah is shocked she has had a child.

 Robbie's Magna-tile creations continue to impress us. He just wishes they could stay up forever . . .

. . . and that Henry would stay far, far away from them.

 During Robbie's soccer game, Michael participated in a fundraiser with his staff to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters--they played at the bowling alley. Henry was the star of the show.

 Michael said that Henry would attentively watch his ball go down the lane, watch it hit the pins (if any), and then wait for it to return to the ball holder before trying again. He also showed a few dance moves to Michael's staff.

At another soccer game, Michael watched Henry while I went on an errand with Clara. They had a lot of fun on the playground at RMH.

 Happy boy with a good grip!

 Brothers holding hands after the game.

 A few weeks ago, Michael went with Clara on a stake youth hike. At the top of High Knob, King Benjamin (Chris Mayfield from the Harrisonburg 2nd ward) spoke to the youth.

 Michael said she was a great hiker.

I can't remember where he took this but what a shot.

Michael surprised me by getting us tickets to see Riverdance in Charlottesville at UVA. It was super fun! The dancing was awesome, and I enjoyed some of the fun interactions between the dancers/actors. Such a thoughtful idea.

Girl's trip: Pinners Conference in ATL

A couple of months ago, my friend Jenny reached out to see if anyone would be interested in joining her in driving down to Atlanta for a Pinners Conference. Basically the conference was a huge expo floor where hundreds of vendors could sell their amazing (mostly handmade) products and dozens of classes were offered taught by popular bloggers who have been pinned a lot (presumably). While not a super huge user of Pinterest, I do enjoy it and also really enjoy learning new skills. Michael was totally supportive and so I hopped on board.

I confess I often talk myself out of doing things like this, mostly because of the prep involved and the guilt I feel in leaving my family. I almost cancelled the week before, but I didn't and was really glad I went. I think my favorite part was just being with Jenny and Monica, enjoying good conversation with two women who are fully converted to the gospel and who love their families. The time in the 8+ hour car trip down and back sped by. (And the fact that we got back at 3:30am on Sunday and then headed safely to church at 9 was a tender mercy!)

As for the classes, I attended eleven (I think?) classes, one every hour and a half or so. I learned little snippets about a lot of things, some of which was very new (watercoloring) and some of which was information with which I was familiar (tablescaping, entertaining, etc.). I enjoyed analyzing the presenters (is that bad?), trying to figure out how authentic they really were by the difference in their "prep face" and their "game face" as they got ready to begin their class. It made me think about blogs and how some are a facade while others are a true representation of who that person really is (and makes me question my own!).

 Fashion essentials was taught by a cute girl who somehow made you believe you could totally pull off any trendy outfit.

 The gal who was teaching the Instapot class knew a lot about them, but unfortunately her three pots were plugged into one outlet and the circuit blew, causing them to lose pressure and not cook. Super bummer! But maybe an Instantpot would be a good Black Friday buy. Maybe.

 This water color class was one of my very favorite classes--and the only class we had all signed up for together!

One class was on macaron-making. It looks quite daunting, and frankly, I love my chocolate chip cookies so much that I don't know if I'd ever take on a recipe that is so temperamental. But buying them was a fun treat! I also got a few other fun goodies--some of the handmade jewelry and prints were lovely.

Robbie asked me what I was going to do at the conference, and I told him, "I'm going to learn new fun things!" "You can't learn new fun things!" he insisted. "You can only learn about church things!" Happy to prove him wrong. The tricky part now, however, is to make sure I actually use the skills I learned.

A trip to Baltimore sans Mom

While I went down to Atlanta for the Pinners Conference, Michael took the kids to Baltimore for Friday and Saturday. I was so impressed that he was willing to do that--I have not even been brave enough to take the kids somewhere like that by myself. They had a terrific time and went to both the children's museum and the aquarium there.

 "Tuhwtle!" is one of my favorite words that Henry says.

 Dolphin show (the dolphin is in the air--takes a second to find it in the photo).

 Navigating the climbing tunnels at the children's museum.

 Future conductors, perhaps?

 I could see Robbie being an engineer (maybe not a train engineer, but some other type).

Life is always a party with Daddy!