(the formerly) 30 Pound Cat

10 Months

2012-02-18T09:01:00.001-06:00

We celebrated yesterday by going to the park for a bit. She is standing, cruising like crazy, eating regular food, and likes to hold large pieces in her hand while she nibbles from them, drinks out of sippy cups (although she's very particular about what kind she will use), babbles, says "mama", "dada", "hi" and tries to imitate our speech. She keeps us on our toes and brings us joy!

By the way, this photo was taken with my phone. I found the best camera app and I can now edit photos as I take them. So yes, I have been a bit obsessed with using it!

How did it get to this?

2012-02-17T13:17:00.001-06:00

I'm a day early, but I can't believe this kid will be 10 months old tomorrow!

More skating fun

2012-02-16T08:58:00.001-06:00

It was nearly 50 degrees yesterday and we took advantage of it at the rink!

Lots of heart

2012-02-14T11:18:00.001-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Our newest little cupid, Miss G, is getting so big. When she was born, one of the first things I noticed was the birth mark on her forehead. Her brother had the "stork bite" mark on the back of his neck like I did. She had that as well, plus another one or two on her head. We joked that instead of getting bit by the stork, she got mauled.

I don't even really notice it that much anymore, but every so often I find myself looking at it and smiling. Because I've always thought it looked like a heart (or more accurately, the Smashing Pumpkins heart logo, but I digress). It makes it that much sweeter to think of that little heart that she wears on her forehead as a symbol of how much she is loved, how much she was hoped and dreamed for.

As she gets older and it continues to fade and grow fainter, I'll still remember that little heart and what it represents. Even better, one day when she enters those trying preteen years, I can look forward to it making the occasional appearance when she gets mad at her old mom! Happy Valentine's Day to my two little sweethearts!

Blades of Glory

2012-02-08T19:57:00.001-06:00

In typical Alex style, he befriended this kid about 30 seconds after we arrived...

Thanks to a Groupon offer, I signed Alex up for ice skating lessons at Brenton Skating Plaza downtown. First of all, what a great idea this has been for the city! I've been to the Metro Ice Arena before, but it's your basic, boring ice skating rink. This one is outdoors and located right by the Des Moines River. You get a nice view of downtown and can skate under the stars.

Alex did a great job (I was really surprised because I was convinced that he would be a wall-hugger like his dad when it comes to skating), and most importantly, he had a lot of fun.

We hit Zombie Burger after our lesson

Two years ago, I took him ice skating with his cousins, and it was basically Misery, Inc. He was done after I drug him around the rink a few times, and could not stand up on his skates at all. I know that they have walker-like devices to help the really wee ones start skating, but none were available then, so it was, in the words of Slap Shot, "Too much, too soon!"

But of course, I was a total liar about it on this blog:

"Alex's cousins from Chicago are in town this weekend and we decided to take the boys ice skating. Cal and Mac have gone a few times before, but this was Alex's first time. He did a great job and enjoyed it...most of the time!"

Let's take a quick look back:

January 2010: "You do that, you go to the box, you know. Two minutes, by yourself, you know and you feel shame, you know."

New sport: ice dragging

Of course, no post would be complete without a picture of The G!

Basket Case

2012-02-03T19:39:00.005-06:00

Last night, I found this little stinker in our bed. It's not the first time he's taken a snooze in that laundry basket. Sweet dreams, little prince...

Circa December 2006...

Dennis Hopper cake

2012-02-02T13:57:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday, Alex came down with his first ever ear infection. Because of my awesome parenting skills in somehow mananging to keep him from getting an ear infection in over five years, I decided to celebrate with a cake. Or, it was really to cheer up our poor little guy. I saw on dirty, addictive, time-suck Pinterest a recipe for a blue velvet cake and knew that I had to make it.

Kind of like eating the Cookie Monster, no?

Now, I love red velvet cake. It's one of those fun kind of cakes to make, and it always looks cool. I had to try to the blue velvet version, and it didn't disappoint. It's basically the exact same ingredients as a red velvet, but with blue food coloring in place of the red. And, as an added bonus, after eating it, you'll notice an interesting side effect...and it's not the ability to use the F word as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb, drink Pabst Blue Ribbon or listen to Roy Orbison songs.

Three quarters of the way there...

2012-01-24T21:51:00.003-06:00

Miss Fussy wouldn't let me take a good picture...

From crying to chewing on stuff...

Miss G is 9 months old (OK, so it's been about a week, but I haven't felt like blogging)! She's such a sweet little doll-baby, babbling, clapping, waving, crawling, eating, sippy cupping, cruising, tooth-cutting, standing, stair-climbing spit fire. Next month she starts her fencing lessons and baby basket-weaving classes. OK, kidding about the last two. She's not that old, but it seems like she is growing way too fast...so much more so than with Alex.

Holiday Fun Follow-Up - Christmas

2012-01-02T21:54:00.005-06:00

Holiday Fun Follow-up - Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-27T19:34:00.002-06:00

Christmas came and went so quickly again this year, and we had a wonderful, wonderful time. I thought I enjoyed it as a kid, but experiencing it as a parent is a million times better! We get to enjoy some of the traditions I had growing up, and then we've made our own that make our celebrations all the more special.

What a dapper little fellow!

Cousin "rasslin'" as they say in Iowa

Looks.so.much.like.his.dad.in.this.one!

Grandma with her two youngest grandkids!

And look over there! Here's another one!

Babies playing by the tree

Santa made a very special visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house

Here is Santa giving Alex some chocolate coins for being a good boy.

It's hard to fool this one...he kept on wondering where Uncle Jimmy went!

This one loved the Christmas Eve cavatelli from Gino's!

And, she liked sitting on Santa's lap

The calm before the storm...

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T10:15:00.000-06:00

All the best,

The Hennigs - Alexis, Matt, Alex and Greer

Anticipation...

2011-12-24T11:48:00.002-06:00

It's almost here, you can feel it! So we count down the last day in our native tounge:

Oh the chaos, the craziness, the insanity, you can just feel it!

This kid is seriously the best big brother ever. Santa will be sure to leave him lots of presents for being so kind and helpful to his little sister!

"I'm from Holland...isn't that vierd?"

2011-12-23T13:25:00.001-06:00

It's only fitting to feature the member of our family that the blog is named for...Lincoln. He is full of Christmas cheer and glee, as you can see, and counting down to "twee" (more days)!

Three glasses clinking...

2011-12-22T18:02:00.000-06:00

Cheers - Christmas is almost here! For a change of pace, since little G is sleeping upstairs and A is sitting shirtless in the TV room watching "Prep and Landing" (long story, well actually, I don't know the story, because at some point today while he was playing with his cousins, he lost his shirt. I never did find it before I left, and I just had him zip up his coat on the way out!) I featured yours truly demonstrating what I will be doing later on tonight with my mom and two sisters. I picked Tagalog because, well because I'm running out of languages and only have two more days. Drink up!

Mama Mia!

2011-12-21T18:44:00.001-06:00

Mama has been super busy today and didn't have time to be especially clever. With only FOUR days until Christmas, she's in the final stretch of present-buying, elf-hiding, child-cajoling, gift-wrapping and cheer-spreading. Throw in a 4:45 a.m. wake-up call for bootcamp class, a shift at the Y's child care area, a holiday lunch party, teleconference meeting and minor hiccup, and it's been a full day, with plenty more to follow!

Arrivederci, amici, I must go and finish!

Shalom!

2011-12-20T18:12:00.000-06:00

"He" means five in Hebrew

It's sundown, so it means it is the first day of Hanukkah! In honor of this, we are counting down in Hebrew tonight. Greer is with her friend, Mr. Matzo, a toy that I got in Chicago at a Walgreens a long time ago as a joke. I thought it was kind of cute and funny that a piece of unleavened bread was turned into a stuffed toy, probably because a Catholic version would be Mr. Communion Wafer! Which of course, would never get made because it's probably a mortal sin or something...

I know matzo is associated more with Passover, but I don't have anything else in the house! That takes me back to The Bagel restaurant in Lakeview and the awesome mish-mash soup, cinnamon rugelach and all of the other delicious Jewish comfort food they had...yum.

I told Alex that Hanukkah started tonight and he told me that they got to play with dreidels and learned all about the menorah and candles at school. He was surprised when I started to sing the "Dreidel Song", but of course, I only knew the first verse, and as I found out, so did he!

Happy Hanukkah, everyone!

Top o' the Christmas to you!

2011-12-19T19:58:00.004-06:00

In honor of our first bit of baked potato, a little Gaelic to let us know it's only six more days!

Two wild and crazy kids!

2011-12-18T17:26:00.001-06:00

Hey all of you American foxes, we've only got seven more days to swing into Christmas!

Sedm = seven in Czech

Friends, Romans, Countrymen...

2011-12-17T18:52:00.000-06:00

Alexius Octavius Maximus Hennig declares in the language of Julius Caesar that there are only eight days until Christmas.

However, the party begins tonight for this young puer, as it is the beginning of Saturnalia, the Roman winter festival in honor of the god Saturn.

Domo arigato, Mr. Santa

2011-12-16T15:13:00.000-06:00

Konichiwa! Hard to believe we are down to single digits! We are counting down in Japanese today, only nine more days until one of the stealthiest ninjas of all arrives...Santa!

Live long and prosper!

2011-12-15T10:12:00.000-06:00

Greer is mesmerized by the nerdament display

Conversation at our house this morning:

Me: "OK, let's get those nerdaments, I mean, ornaments turned on and under Alex's tree."

Matt: "Alright, I'm plugging them in."

A jumble of flashing lights, talking voices, phaser sounds ensue.

Me: "Wow, that sounds like the inside of a Star Trek convention, or what I imagine it would because I would never, ever set foot inside of one..."

I proceed to drape the nerdaments* (be sure to read the story about the nerdaments) under the tree and set up the Klingon sign for the number 10.

Matt: "Hey, you can't have the Star Wars ornament next to the Klingon sign!"

Me: "What's the difference? They are basically the same thing!"

Matt: "They don't speak Klingon in any of the Star Wars movies. Here, put the USS Enterprise ornament over there so Star Trek is properly represented."

Me: "Oh, I forgot, the fan base for Star Wars is soooo much cooler than the Trekkies/Trekkers, they don't need to invent a fake language for their fans to speak in."

Matt: "No, but some of them DID invent a Star Wars religion, which is just as creepy!"

Me: "Touche. Now, set your phasers to stun!"

*Awhile back, I coined the term "Nerdaments" to accurately describe these lovelies. You can read about it here.

Alex's table: where Star Wars and Star Trek co-exist peacefully

"Luke, I am your Secret Santa!"

Yeah...that's the number 10 in Klingon. Don't ask where I found it, because I never, ever, plan to boldly go there again!

Reindeer Games...

2011-12-14T18:57:00.001-06:00

Norway is home to many reindeer, so it's only natural to count down in Norweigan today next to our hooved friend...

Getting Behind...

2011-12-13T20:02:00.002-06:00

It seems I'm posting these later and later in the day, and I'm trying to catch up. Here is Greer bringing up the rear (ha, it rhymes!) in Swedish. Only 12 (tolv) more days!

Baby, it's cold outside

2011-12-12T21:07:00.001-06:00

So we are counting down in Inuit, the language of (most) Eskimos....13 days to go!

Alex goes in for an Eskimo kiss and Greer is not.having.it!

Carnivale...

2011-12-11T18:51:00.001-06:00

From the land of the samba, Giselle and Rio (or Angry Birds Rio, in our case), we bring you the Portugese number for 14 days until Christmas...

Hawaii One-Five-O!

2011-12-10T15:11:00.001-06:00

Aloha! It may be 30 degrees here in Iowa, but we're pretending to be in the warm, balmy Hawaiian Islands. Only 15 more days 'til the Big Kahuna, Santa, arrives!

Hang ten, dudes!

Sassy wahine!

He's such a good sport!

Des Moines: French for "the Moines"

2011-12-09T18:47:00.001-06:00

Bonjour! Join us for a cafe au lait as we count down the days until Christmas. Where five year olds smoke and drink coffee and wear berets! Sacre bleu! There are but 16 (seize) days left!

I think he totally nailed the "c'est la vie" pose I was going for, no?

"Look bored Alex"

He did a nice job of looking disinterested while holding the paper cigarette, but much acting was not required

And...we started to move into almost crying mode because we were over it

Seventeen!

2011-12-08T18:20:00.001-06:00

17 days in Mandarin Chinese!

I got to play with the chopsticks for approximately 2.5 seconds before they were taken away...

Greenland is covered with ice, and Iceland is very nice!

2011-12-07T19:01:00.001-06:00

In honor of the very cold weather here, and Iceland, we got out our warm clothes, including the stocking hat from Iceland and the scarf I got at an outlet outside of Reykjavik made of Icelandic wool...which is not nice, soft, cashmere-y like wool...it's like scratchy, itchy, bulky wool. If anything, it IS warm and a pretty shade of green. And to agree with the quote from "Mighty Ducks 2", Iceland IS very nice!

Atjan = 18 in Icelandic...yep, it's a real language...and a real country!

St. Nicholas Day

2011-12-06T08:11:00.001-06:00

We celebrate St. Nicholas Day in our house, and this year was no exception! The kids got small gifts under the fireplace. Since St. Nicholas is originally from Greece, we are counting down in Greek today...

Anticipation...

Checking out the fireplace, note that Legos the elf is "watching" from up there.

Opening the gift - an Imaginext Raptor

And as an added bonus, both Alex and his mom have names with a Greek origin - "Helper of mankind"

Delicious Dish

2011-12-05T04:00:00.000-06:00

Our next-door neighbors surprised us with some homemade egg rolls last night, so in honor of them, we are counting down in Laotian today (oh, and they were delicious)! 20 days!

Santa may want to reconsider the plate of cookies...

Frohe Wiehnachten!

2011-12-04T10:26:00.001-06:00

Im Deutsche, bitte:

Einundzwanzig (21) days until Christmas, brought to you by Otto the German Shepherd

Please fraulein, do not think about pulling my ears or trying to climb up on me!

Otto: 21 days until I get a day of peace and quiet from these kids!

I'd rather have the marker, thank you

2011-12-03T11:05:00.001-06:00

Counting down in Swahili...22 days!

Opulence, Christmas has it...

2011-12-02T16:19:00.001-06:00

My little comrades:

Glad my trusty $10 Russian army surplus hat came in handy...

Advent Calendar 2011

2011-12-01T11:18:00.001-06:00

It's December, so it's time for the advent calendar! This is the fourth year we've done it, and I decided to add a twist to it, because it's getting harder to come up with numbers made out of snow, candy canes, toys, yarn, etc. So here it is, I decided to do each day in a different language. This way, I can look like a pretentious snob and also fulfill my tiger mom duty by forcing a new language on my kids every day for the next 24 days, when in reality, I'm just googling "Swahili numbers" and writing it down on a piece of paper.

Without further ado, I present the Advent calendar language of the day, Spanish:

Veinticuatro - 24 days until Christmas!

Hey look, the Imaginext guy wants to play with the frogs!

And my dear, dear friends from my 1995 trip to Tijuana. These little dudes were sitting in a little bodega covered in dust, so I've left them in their original form. Because what college student doesn't want a set of two taxidermied frogs nailed to a piece of wood playing ping-pong in sombreros and ponchos?

They adorned the bar in room 211 in Sanctuary Hall for two years, lived through countless apartments in Chicago, and made the move to Iowa. They may have lost a sombrero along the way, but they are still going strong!

Feliz Navidad, Dudes!

99 Problems and a Greer Ain't One...

2011-11-22T22:22:00.000-06:00

Some video game is using that song in its ads, so I've had to change the words for Alex because he started singing along. He also started singing the "Real Men of Genius" jingle from Miller Lite, and I have no idea where he got that one? Parenting fail on our part, apparently...

Anyway, in conjunction with Alex's birthday party, little G-dawg turned 7 months old! She's full of fun and surprises - crawling like crazy all over the place, trying to stuff dog food in her mouth, pulling herself up to standing. She says "ma-ma" now, eats puffs like crazy, sits in the regular bathtub without her baby tub, and in a few more pounds, should move into the bigger car seat in another month or so. Best of all, she loves her big brother and is completely mesmerized by his antics!

Turkey Time!

2011-11-22T21:45:00.001-06:00

Before we dig into the Butterball variety, I made turkey for Alex's birthday celebration at school on Monday. Since he was born on Thanksgiving, I always like to do something kind of festive for his class treats. A trip to Hy-Vee at 6 a.m. on Monday morning and a venti coffee to fuel my dream of Oreo turkeys was all it took...

The supplies: candy corn, Double Stuf Oreo (you must use this variety!), frosting, Rollos (substituted for mini-peanut butter cups) and chocolate-covered raisins, which I did not end up using.

I originally started out stacking one Oreo on top of another, but I quickly realized that my poor math skills caught up with me again, and I didn't have enough. So, I saw a version with the top of the Oreo taken off for the base, and I did that instead. The Oreo halves left over without the white filling, I simply used vanilla frosting on and they turned out fine. I recommend NOT doing this first, and assembling the body and head before affixing it to the base.

Make the turkey body - stick candy corns in between the cookies, push lightly (cookies will break easily) and not too deep.

Making the turkey heads - first, take a candy corn, remove the tip of it, apply it to the Rollo with a dab of frosting. Take black icing and add two eyes.

Gobble, gobble! Here are the finished turkeys! You can make a more detailed one with arms and feet (using more candy corns). I didn't feel like it and thought this turned out really cute.

Yellow Angry Bird Cupcake Cake

2011-11-22T21:34:00.000-06:00

My son loves Angry Birds and wanted a birthday cake with the theme for his party. He originally requested the bomb bird, but I had visions of kids with mouths stained in black frosting and told him I could do the yellow bird for him.

I decided to make it as simple as possible, I would do a cupcake-cake, since he is turning five and there would be a bunch of kids. It worked out great, every kid got a cupcake, and other than a little initial arguing about who would get the other "eye" cupcake (Alex got one), they loved it. This cake uses 21 cupcakes, so make two dozen and you'll have a few extra to munch on!

Due to time constraints, I used a yellow cake mix from the box for the cupcakes. I did make the frosting, and used Martha Stewart's vanilla buttercream frosting recipe. I NEVER use the 6-8 cups of confectioner's sugar that is recommended. I stick with about 5 and it is more than sweet enough!

You've gotta fight...

2011-11-22T18:23:00.001-06:00

For your right...

To PAAARRRRRRTTTTAAAAAAYYYYY!

The scene: Alex's 5th Birthday Party

The location: Backyard Adventures in Urbandale

The backstory: 15 kids ready to tear it up on a Friday evening

The motivation: Blue drink, candy, cupcakes, pizza and unrestricted play time

The outcome: FUN!

These are the only pictures I got, as I was running around most of the night, talking to other parents, checking on Greer, getting food and treat bags. No matter the age, everyone had a great time!

Catching up with fall

2011-11-13T12:24:00.001-06:00

Lots of fun stuff going on the past few weeks, Beggar's Night, Halloween and the First Snow of the Year!

If you haven't seen the Saturday Night Live "Harry Caray Hotdog" skit then you are probably wondering why the baby is wearing a pair of oversized black glasses with a hotdog costume...

Little Hotdog and the Green (Boomerang) Angry Bird

Re-using the Angry Birds decorations from Trunk or Treat

First snow on Wednesday, November 9. We still had carrots left in the garden!

Get Trunked

2011-10-25T21:46:00.001-06:00

After two years of Montessori, we decided to jump into the fray and enter a car in the Trunk or Treat event at school. We figured, "Why not? It's Alex's last year there, we've had a chance to check out how it's done." Plus, the ultra competitive side of me wants to win the decorating contest...

We chose Angry Birds for the theme, because Alex is in love with the game, especially the green "boomerang" bird that no one else on Earth likes. It's because it's the hardest bird to control, and you have to wing it like a boomerang and if you don't get it just right, it can crash into the ground, and now I'm going off on that ridiculous, addictive game. Anyway, you can't buy a costume of the green bird, so we made it out of poster paint, cardboard, Sharpies (pronounced with a Boston accent - "shaawwwpees", and a mother's precious, precious love.

Once the costume turned out so well, it lead to the car theme, and a weekend spent painting, cutting and cursing large pieces of cardboard. Friday through Sunday was kind of a blur and I'm not sure what else happened, but I think a Libyan dictator with Jheri curl was killed and the Bears had tea and crumpets with Queen Elizabeth and Albert Pujols hit a bajillion home runs.

Matt put together a large child-sized slingshot, no, not actually to fit a small child, but about the height of one. We'd use one of our cornhole/bags boards to have the kids try to slingshot a stuffed Angry Bird into the board hole. We made a pig face on it. We downloaded a DJ's remix of the annoying theme song of the game. I would be the red bird, Matt would be the pig king, Alex the green bird, and Greer the blue bird. We had all of the pieces in place for sweet victory.

Convinced that we would triumph over all of the other Montessori parents, I drove my parent's borrowed Navigator into the school parking lot. I felt like Caesar returning from the Gallic Wars...until...I...saw...the...moving...truck. Holy shizzz...someone rented a fricking moving truck? What are they doing? Omigod, they are totally having a haunted house up in there! How can I compete with mere cardboard and dreams? WHY DIDN'T WE THINK OF THAT?!?

Okay, they didn't have a haunted house, it was actually a pretty display of mums, haystacks and gourds. Very cute and harvest-y. But we definitely dodged a bullet with the moving truck. And most importantly, we had a great time and enjoyed watching the kids play the game and get excited when they came over. It was especially fun to see kids Alex has gone to school with for nearly three years now and their parents. It was just lots and lots of fun!

Six months and eight years...

2011-10-20T10:00:00.001-06:00

Two days ago we had two celebrations - Greer turning six months old, and our eighth wedding anniversary. Greer is just over 17 pounds, and I'm not sure of her height yet, but she is much lighter than her brother was at this age! We are still using the baby carrier and Bumbo seat. She is crawling like crazy around the house, and sits up well. She is eating all kinds of pureed food now, and in control freak fashion, likes to grab the spoon and feed herself. Most importantly, she is a healthy, happy little baby and our family is so blessed to have these two happy events to celebrate!

Miss Mobility

2011-10-11T12:46:00.001-06:00

She's crawling! Miss G started getting the hang of it this past week and is officially mobile...yikes!

Fall Fun

2011-10-04T09:00:00.003-06:00

Look! Mom didn't bring any real toys for me at the park, so I get to play with whatever "safe" stuff is in her purse...like a brush, bottle of vitamins, fuzzy yarn, crinkly baby wipes package!

Painting on the deck

Five Months

2011-09-20T11:45:00.001-06:00

Hard to believe Miss G is five months old! Even though I feel like I've been able to spend so much time with her, it has still flown by! She's just a sweet, happy little baby and such a joy!

Hey, look at my little surprise...

Closer...closer...yep, that's right, two new toofers!

Can't wait to see what next month brings...maybe a crawler?

Buddies

2011-09-16T08:56:00.003-06:00

It makes Mom so happy to see these two playing together. Alex loves to make his little sister laugh!

Beautiful Baby Girl

2011-09-14T23:24:00.004-06:00

Greer had her picture taken at four months. Lemon Tree Photography did a phenomenal job and we can't wait to have our family pictures taken next month.

Sandbox Kids

2011-09-09T15:23:00.001-06:00

Beautiful day, so we played outside in the sandbox!

Greer in her exersaucer

Getting there...

2011-09-02T00:27:00.001-06:00

Miss G is really starting to try to crawl, but Lincoln is not impressed!

Lincoln Update

2011-09-01T21:14:00.000-06:00

Lincoln, our cat who originally inspired the name of the blog, has been quite busy the past year and a half. He's been busy shedding his 30 pound status. At his last vet's appointment, he was down to 24 pounds. The vet was so surprised, because this was a 7 pound loss (which is huge for a cat, especially since the average weight of a house cat is around 8 pounds). He ran blood work, just to make sure Lincoln was not suffering from a disease like diabetes or cancer.

Everything came back fine, and we've noticed how his entire demeanor has changed. He's much more active now, and goes up and down the stairs, from the basement to the second floor. He grooms himself constantly, where Matt used to have to brush him because he couldn't (or wouldn't) do it himself. When I first got Lincoln, he was a big tom cat, about 16 pounds, but solid and lean. Over the course of the first year I had him, he more than doubled in size. I never thought I would be able to get him to lose weight, but moving his food down into the basement, where he has to use the stairs, has paid off.

End of August

2011-08-31T22:31:00.003-06:00

The last week of August has brought a lot of activity to our house, back to school, baseball game, cereal and a little girl who likes to scoot backwards!

First day of school - Montessori morning preschool 3-6 class

Trying rice cereal for the first time - loved it!

Hanging out in my swing, just being cute!

I-Cubs game for Dad's work

Beautiful night at the ballpark

Check it out - 2011 4-A baseball state champs!

7th inning sleep

Four Months Old

2011-08-19T17:08:00.000-06:00

Our little sweetheart Miss G is four months old! She's getting so big - rolling, lifting her head up, babbling, grabbing at everything in sight! No teeth yet, but I have a feeling it will be soon (Alex got his first two at four months). She had professional pictures taken, which I will post when we get them. For now, here are some photos I've taken the last two days...

Fair Fun

2011-08-19T16:54:00.002-06:00

Going to the Iowa State Fair is almost required of Iowa residents so we fulfilled our obligation on Tuesday with our cousins...

No 80s nostalgia would be complete without Bigfoot!

Alex with a wood sculpture of a farmer

This is one of the two big food crazes at the Fair this year: red velvet funnel cake. The other is the fried butter on a stick, which we did not try!

All of the cousins with Grandma!

First a corndog, now some cotton candy!

Looks like someone is trying to negotiate a piece of cotton candy!

Petting a new baby calf

World's Smallest Bull

Checking out some pigs

Sitting in a Hummer

At the Iowa National Guard tent

One last treat before we left!

Just like a rolling stone...

2011-08-01T22:12:00.003-06:00

On Saturday, we rolled from stomach to back. On Sunday, we changed it up and did it back to stomach! Roll on, little one, roll on!

Baptism Weekend

2011-08-01T21:50:00.001-06:00

We were very fortunate to be joined by friends and family for the baptism of our daughter and her cousins. Four children from the same family, and the deacon who baptized them taught every single one of us in high school. We were honored to have Becky and Caleb and Morgan and Jimmy as Greer's godparents and we thank them for their love and support.

Grandpa Jim and all of his great grandkids!

Four generations with a little Hennig lady!

Last two photos are courtesy of my sister's blog - jamesandmorgan.blogspot.com

So busy....

2011-07-19T19:38:00.001-06:00

What we've been up to the last few weeks

Chilling

I'm 3 months old...no big whoop!

Cuddling with a toy

Little Pujols at the plate

Buddies

Check out the minion my mom knit for me

YMCA T-ball

Running the bases...

3 Months

2011-07-18T23:58:00.001-06:00

Hard to believe we are a quarter of the way to being a year old!

She doesn't look anything like her brother, does she?

Bumbo Baby

2011-06-24T14:16:00.000-06:00

Around Town

2011-06-21T23:16:00.002-06:00

We hit the sculpture park and the Botanical Center in Des Moines today, lots of fun!

Two Months

2011-06-21T22:38:00.001-06:00

Greer had her two-month check-up yesterday. She is now 12 lbs., 12 oz., and 23 3/4 inches long. She's a big, healthy girl!

So happy...

2011-06-03T15:12:00.002-06:00

Six weeks old and we have a smile!

Lots of stuff...

2011-05-25T21:54:00.001-06:00

Miss G

Where did she get those long, skinny toes?

Alex finished his flag football at the Y - here he is getting his participation medal. He had a good time and can't wait to do it again in the fall.

We finished up swim lessons at the Y this week. Alex did very well and we are already signed up to take some private lessons this summer to start working on our strokes.

Last Friday, we had a field trip to the nature center at Raccoon River Park. We got to pet Mr. Butters the rabbit, Becky the Box Turtle (who is apparently about the same age as me), and plant a sunflower seed. The weather cooperated and the kids got to play at the park afterwards. Tomorrow is the last day of school for the year, and it's hard to believe it wraps up two years of Montessori for Alex. He will have one more year in the same classroom and then it is off to...get ready...kindergarten!

One month old...

2011-05-18T22:32:00.000-06:00

Kids...

2011-05-15T16:09:00.000-06:00

The bib says it all...

Big yawn...

We represent the Lullabye League!

Alex and his "animal shelter"

Checking out a book

Newborn no more...

2011-05-11T17:32:00.000-06:00

Our little Greer is not so little. Earlier this week, I noticed that the newborn size clothes were getting a little snug. I had to pull all of them out of the dresser and closet, which made me a little sad to think she is already growing and changing. On the bright side, there were not many newborn things to begin with, as we have a tendency to have big babies and know that 0-3 months is the way to go with our newborns!

School goes to the dogs...

2011-05-06T13:23:00.001-06:00

Today was Alex's day to bring in something for Show-n-Tell at school. At first, he said he wanted to bring his favorite Transformer in, but the teachers had said no toys. We told him that Otto would be great to take to school instead, and he grudingly agreed. After talking a bit about him, what he likes, what kind of dog he is, and such, we were ready for his big day. Matt practiced some of Otto's tricks, I took him to the groomer so he would look extra spiffy.

He did great...other than some normal puppy excitement and massive shedding, Otto was a hit. The class also got to meet the newest member of our family, Miss Greer, and Alex was very happy. Here is a video of him explaining where German Shepherds are used.

More Greer

2011-05-02T14:24:00.000-06:00

Two tired kids...

Bundled up for the park in big brother's bunting

The proud big brother

Footprints at the hospital

Greer Elizabeth

2011-04-27T01:02:00.000-06:00

On Monday April 18 we welcomed our daughter Greer Elizabeth. She was born at 11:57 a.m. and weighed 9 pounds, 7 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Three days later, her new cousin, Zeben James Lumley joined her.

We had a wild, crazy, and fun Easter weekend with lots of kids, candy and family! We are truly blessed and fortunate!

Tiny Green Hat

2011-03-13T10:37:00.000-06:00

There are few things apparently funnier than a person wearing a tiny little hat. When I took a picture of Alex wearing one this morning, I remembered that for his first St. Pat's Day, I put one on him then. Hard to believe how big my little leprechaun is!

2007 - Four Months Old

2011 - Four Years Old

Soccer Clinic

2011-03-12T12:05:00.004-06:00

From Daily photos - 2011

Alex took a 5 week soccer clinic at the Y and had his last class today. He seemed to have much more fun playing with the other kids instead of actually learning how to play the game!

Sunny and Nearly 70...

2011-02-17T13:56:00.002-06:00

I'm eatin' mah cookies!

2011-02-11T15:12:00.002-06:00

The Veggiesaurus

2011-02-09T15:25:00.002-06:00

Love...

2011-02-05T16:41:00.001-06:00

Snow Day 2011

2011-02-02T10:44:00.004-06:00

We got a mini-blizzard in Iowa yesterday, not quite as bad as other parts of the country. Schools were shut down and some businesses closed.
But we're doing fine - had some blueberry blizzard pancakes this morning!
Best husband in the world made sure Mom didn't have to go out to get her daily 'Bux fix...
And Otto still likes to dig his nose in the snow!

365 Day Project

2011-01-15T12:20:00.004-06:00

For 2011, one of the things I wanted to do was to take a picture every day of Alex. I started on January 1, and am now over two weeks into it. I may not update the calendar everyday, but the pictures are getting taken!

Today's photo:

Link to the calendar:
Shuttercal Calendar

Welcome 2011

2011-01-12T21:24:00.002-06:00

After the onslaught of posting a picture every day for the 25 days leading up to Christmas, I had to take a little break from blogging. Some highlights from the last few weeks:

Building snow forts on Christmas Eve...

From Christmas 2010

Opening presents at Grandma's...

From Christmas 2010

Then onto more presents at home...

From Christmas 2010

A trip to Itasca to see Cousin Clara's baptism...

From New Years 2011

Here's to many more adventures this coming year!

And then there was one...

2010-12-24T10:36:00.000-06:00

From Advent 2010

Merry Christmas!

I'll drink to that...

2010-12-23T21:17:00.002-06:00

From Advent 2010

Two days!

Three, three

2010-12-22T23:43:00.002-06:00

From Advent 2010

With a little help from my friends (cousins)...

2010-12-21T16:32:00.000-06:00

From Advent 2010

Four days!

Five Gold Rings...

2010-12-20T19:58:00.002-06:00

or Lifesavers!

Six days...

2010-12-19T13:08:00.000-06:00

Keep truckin'...

2010-12-18T13:05:00.003-06:00

From Advent 2010

Only seven more days!
We got to see Santa today - the Clive Fire Department brought one of its trucks through the neighborhood with Santa. We were coming home and saw the flashing lights, so we followed them until they stopped. Alex got to tell Santa he wanted the Imaginext Green Lantern toy. All was good!

From Advent 2010

Crazy Eights...

2010-12-17T21:05:00.000-06:00

Nine days!

2010-12-16T18:37:00.002-06:00

From Advent 2010

Put your hands together...

2010-12-15T16:30:00.002-06:00

Only ten days until Christmas!

Totally floored...

2010-12-14T17:42:00.004-06:00

that there are only 11 days until Christmas!

12 days of Christmas

2010-12-14T02:11:00.001-06:00

Today's version included an annual checkup with:
Five vaccinations
Four Thomas stickers
Three cups of ice cream
Two sympathy suckers
And a flu shot for my buddy!

Bbbrrr-teen days until Christmas!

2010-12-12T10:07:00.001-06:00

Someone wanted to play outside today in the subzero temps...he lasted 10 minutes, which is 9 minutes longer than I would have lasted!

You can't catch me...

2010-12-11T19:25:00.003-06:00

Oops...too late! Alex enjoys one of the gingerbread cookies Grandma brought him!

Well, OK, maybe a nap...

2010-12-10T17:46:00.001-06:00

Worn out after shopping all day (or really playing with Grandma G)! Only 15 days to go...

No time for sleep...

2010-12-09T09:13:00.000-06:00

From Advent 2010

Christmas is coming!

Leggo my countdown

2010-12-08T09:55:00.000-06:00

From Advent 2010

Seventeen delicious days!

Eighteen Again!

2010-12-07T09:30:00.003-06:00

From Advent 2010

St. Nicholas Day

2010-12-06T09:11:00.003-06:00

Nineteen days until Christmas, and St. Nicholas brought Alex a magic helper to make sure he was being a good boy! Alex named his special elf "Legos" and will be sure to see where he ends up every morning!

Bank on it...

2010-12-05T12:46:00.001-06:00

Christmas is coming!

Building a countdown...

2010-12-04T13:44:00.001-06:00

Deck the Floors...

2010-12-03T09:58:00.001-06:00

with the Christmas countdown!

A Very Steve Jobs Christmas to You...

2010-12-02T08:20:00.000-06:00