My daughter bought some special bubble blowers so that I would have something fun to do with the boys when I was to take care of them the next day. In the morning, Henry woke up demanding a hair dryer; we kept asking him why, but he was so insistant. Finally, we realized he wanted the BUBBLE BLOWER, which looked to him like a hair dryer. He was so adamant about needing his hair dryer, that we ended up letting the boys play first thing in the morning- still in their jammies.
Henry WANTED me to take his photo today! Most images I have of him are when he’s in motion, in the tub, or confined to a high chair. Here, he is actually smiling and looking at the camera- hurray!
My grandbabies are here!!! Not much time for blogging- but here’s a quick tribute to Henry’s curls (photo taken yesterday on the beach at Monterey):
He is so cute I could just eat him up! Really- the cuteness is just overwhelming! Seriously CUTE!
What fun it was to do songs and puppets at Miles’ preschool today! I was definitely in my comfort zone, and Miles did a great job sharing his Gramma and Papa with his friends.
Here is Rags meeting the kids.
We did a snowman song and the kids were acting out the snowmen with their funny hats.
My husband is our guest photographer today and shot the above photos at the preschool. He did a good job, didn’t he?
At the end of the day, Miles earned a sticker for following directions.
We drove Miles home and he proudly showed his mama the beautiful Thanksgiving decoration he made.
Two boys- one having fun at home, one having fun at preschool!
Henry had his first experience with my puppet apron this morning while his brother and mama were at preschool. This relic from my preschool teaching days when my own children were small has five pockets, each with a puppet which goes along with a song. At Henry’s age, Miles would sit quietly and do all the motions with each song. We knew this wouldn’t be the case with Henry the whirlwind. He loved the puppets- but especially loved taking them in and out of the pockets (Nite-nite, monkeys!). Here he is playing with Mr. Frog.
We spent much of the morning at the community center gym, which is filled with equipment for the kids. It is in the same building as Miles’ preschool, so Caitlin was able to get a bit of work done too. Miles’ favorite activity right now is swinging on the rope; Henry likes the balls and being pulled around on the scooter board. Both boys had a great time playing firefighters and hiding from “bad guys”.
Happy Henry!
Miles is so proud of being able to swing on the rope.
“The bad guys are hiding under here, Henry!”
We’re here!
Miles is his Papa’s biggest fan and is seldom more than a foot away from him. He has grown up quite a bit since September- and is currently obsessed with his office supplies (checkbook, business cards, lists etc.). We gave both boys some new clothes, and Miles quickly cut off the tags- not because he wanted to wear the clothes, but because he needed them to add to his business cards.
Here are the two best buds:
Henry is still his exuberant, active, friendly, talkative self- at absolutely the cutest stage ever. His language skills have grown even more since we last saw him; every thought that goes through his head is immediately expressed. Miles was an observer and a thinker at this age (he still is). Henry is an explorer and a talker. And, like his mother always said, he says “I do it myself.” And like his Uncle Matt, he puts on his boots , says, “I go to work,”and walks out the door. The latest home improvement project is latches for the doors.
Henry is trying on some new clothes in this photo; he is trying to figure out the buttons.
Photography note: I am SOOOO glad to have the external flash for this visit. I remember my frustration last Thanksgiving getting my exposure correct. There was no way I could have taken photos inside in the late afternoon today without flash. The sun was so low in the sky even at 3:30 that I would have been using maximum ISO for every shot.
It was all about Henry, while Miles was at preschool this morning.
Henry playing in his “boat” (with Cooper keeping a suspicious eye on the activity)-
And Henry playing Row Your Boat with Papa-
Today is Miles’s first day of preschool for the year. Here he is checking out his hair.
His mama is the preschool director, so it was her first day too. And it’s her birthday!
After they left for school, it was Henry’s turn at the sink. Brushing his teeth comes second only to washing his hands as his current favorite activity to do ALL MY HIMSELF.
Miles and Papa:
Upside down
Matching slippers
And then, here is Henry sitting in a drawer. . .
And, to prove that we are at Yellowstone, here is a young male elk making himself at home on the lawn.
Last night as Caitlin and I were watching the Olympics, our power suddenly went out. We sat on the front porch in the moonlight, watching bats swooping by until we figured there was nothing else to do but go to bed. Their big red golden, Cooper used the excuse of unusual circumstances to sleep with me.
The power was still not on when we got up this morning, so we drove into Gardiner for breakfast. The boys spent the morning playing outside. Here’s Henry playing in the sandbox.
Neither of our phones are charged, but my MacBook and MiFi still have a charge, so I’m able to post my photos. As I write this, some help has arrived- a good friend arrived with a generator. The fridge is now plugged in, and later we plan on charging our phones.
We took a drive this morning to a trailhead where we are thinking of doing a family portrait in September. There were lots of boulders for the boys to climb, which was fun for both of them. The lighting was harsh in late morning, so, if we are going to try for a family portrait session, it should be in late afternoon.
We were just getting in the swing of things, when Caitlin spied a herd of bison coming up the hill toward us. We hustled out of there!
And here is the bonus baby photo taken in his crib this morning!
It was a quiet day at home today- outside playtime, Candyland, stories, singing, dancing, coloring. The group of mama and baby elk returned after an almost two week absence, so the boys’ outside time ended abruptly.
Here is one of the baby elk nibbling on the lawn.
And here is Miles looking out at the elk during the late afternoon thunderstorm.
And last, but not least, here’s Henry playing five little monkeys jumping on the bed (on Gramma’s bed).
melinda anderson photography 