Changes

Ahh, the power of a girl. The boys willingly traded in light sabers and bikes for curling irons, blow dryers, and brushes.

Miss Halle came to stay with us this weekend, and the boys got a lesson in doll beauty.

It's been wiggly for a couple of weeks now, but on Saturday, Hunter finally finished the job!

Side note: Jordan took Hunter into the clinic for x-rays to make sure all was well with his mouth about the third day the tooth was loose. Hunter is not quite 4 1/2, which is pretty young to loose a tooth, but the secondary teeth are ready, so no concerns.

And finally...Swim party season has begun. By 7:30 in the morning the boys are begging to be outside, and our "backyard" is prime water party ground. It's going to be a great final few weeks here!

Papular Urticaria or Chicken Pox?

I sold one of the boys' beds last weekend, so they are sleeping on their mattresses on the floor. Last Monday, Henry woke up with what I thought was a bug bite right at the base of his spine. As the day progressed, I noticed there were now three or four little bites there and quite a few around his neck line. So I washed all his bedding, vaccumed the floor, and didn't think about it again. Tuesday, he was the whiniest little guy ever. His tummy was pretty sad all day and just before bed, he had a little fever. Then the thought hit me- "What if he has chicken pox?" He got the vericella vaccine just over two years ago, but I've heard it could happen. Wednesday I called his pediatrician and in we went. Her words to me. "It could be chicken pox or it could be papular urticaria. I can't say for sure one way or the other." In English- It could be chicken pox or he could be having a super sensitive reaction to a bug bite. Um, thanks- that's what I said when I walked in the door. So she told us to treat it somewhat like chicken pox, but she wouldn't give us an official diagnosis of such. As the days have gone on, more spots have come and they all follow the traditional pattern, so I am taking a mother's liberty and diagnosing him myself. He has chicken pox! He was pretty sad to miss nursery today (we only went to church long enough for Hunter to give his very first talk in primary-which he rocked!) but other than that he's fine. The spots on his face are from playing in the mud Wednesday afternoon. He's a little ichy, but he's doing fine. There are more spots on his back, but these are the only pictures he'd let me take.

Picnic Table 1, Hunter 0

While playing Jedi-
Watch out for the picnic table one must.

Nothing of Consequence

I find February and March to be a bit like the third quarter of a basketball game: it just kind of drags on with little excitement. Thankfully the Strong Memorial Museum of Play is always like the last minute of a really close game- a whirlwind of excitement!

The boys love to "fly" this airplane. With a million kids and only two chairs, getting to be the pilot or co-pilot are coveted positions.

In honor of Mr. Potato Heads induction to the Toy Hall of Fame, an entire section of the Museum is currently focused on Mr. Potato Head. My boys loved "driving" the Safari Jeep.

Henry's Mr. Potato Head had have a purse. He was so proud of himself for finding all the parts and pieces by himself.

Hunter's was a little more traditional.

And when it's too cold to leave the house, Dad and his boys are fine tuning their old school race car skills.

So nothing much of consequence to blog about, but I'm tired of seeing Henry's birthday blog every time I log on to enjoy the excitement of everyone elses Feb/March. It will be April soon though, and then our lives will pick up in pace and excitement. So until it does, we will continue to be thankful for a great museum. And a great dad.

Finally 3!

Henry has not liked still being two when Hunter gets to be four, so he's been waiting for weeks to turn three. Jordan had some out of town business, so we actually postponed Henry's birthday a few days (you can still get away with things like that when your child doesn't fully understand the calendar). But yesterday was the day! And in Henry's world, you can do or have anything when you're three. Pizza and games at Chucky Cheese for me- because I'm three! A CARS cake it had to be- because I'm three.

Daddy said the candle would taste yummy. I didn't know he was just teasing me- I am only three.

Henry has grown and learned so much in the past year that it astounds me. He is my handsome prince and I love that he loves with reckless abandon; he gives loves and kisses like nobodies business. He may look/act exactly like his daddy, but at heart he is his Mama's boy! We're so proud of our little one- Happy Birthday Henry.

Worth the Wait!

The boys have been saving their money (with lots of help from family) for just over two years. We always knew it was a "Mickey Mouse House" fund, but only in the last year did we decide to make the leap before leaving NY. The boys worked really hard- we have added many gross, dirty pennies found in a parking lot to the fund. So, the day after Christmas, we let them open up their bank and count the money. I'll admit, I was impressed!

The last week of January found us escaping yukky cold Rochester for a week in sunny warm Florida. Can I just say, I would worship the sun if Icould! It honestly makes my soul happy. We were lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Higham come as well; they too make my soul happy.

I know the boys may not always have true memories of WDW, but right now it's all they can talk about. I constantly hear about this ride or meeting this character, and I love how their faces still light up when they talk about it. Besides, in 15-20 years, they'll have the implanted memories from their scrapbooks to carry them through. It was a great trip, and I feel strengthened to survive the rest of this artic winter that is devoid of real heat producing sun.

Winter in our World

The New Year found us on a fabulous sled hill with some great friends. We went to the same hill last year, but it was tons better this year. It was warmer, the wind was calm, and both boys could walk back up the hill by themselves this time. It was a great outing.But when Henry's done, he's done.A recent playdate graced us with the fun of an inside "snow storm". It's amazing the amount of little clingy bead things are in about half of a large bean bag. It's even more amazing the mess two four year olds and an almost three year old can do in about 30 minutes of un-visually observed playtime. (My friend and I were upstairs chatting while the boys played in the basement.) A perfect example of why we need to visually check on our kids, not just always trust their verbal answer of "We're just playing".

Oh well, nothing an extra four hours with a borrowed shop vac and a batch of blueberry muffins (for the shopvac owners- our apartment maintance crew) didn't fix. Gotta love the winter time!