The Sandlot

The 1993 movie the Sandlot was a classic from my childhood. I think my brother watched it at least 20 times and that doesn't include his adult years! If it's on TBS or one of the movie channels, he will still watch it.

The dog 'The Beast' is only one part of the movie, but it's the part that stands out in my mind. A bunch of boys playing baseball, losing their ball over the fence, never to be seen again. Chewed on, slobbered on, and buried by 'The Beast'!

Unfortunately for the little boy whose house backs up to our fence, Niko & Blitz are 'The Beasts'. This innocent boy plays tennis, baseball, frisbee, and badminton in his yard. When the dogs hear him outback, they sit and wait, anxiously awaiting the prize that flys over the fence. While the dogs are excited, the little boy peeks through the slats, hoping his toy isn't being destroyed. Sometimes he rings our doorbell with high hopes of getting his item back. Without hesitation we sadly inform him his item was chewed up. Our Beasts don't hesitate. Objects comes over the fence=destruction.
The first time he lost a frisbee, I felt bad showing him the now 20 piece red toy he so happily played with.
After the 20th time, you'd think the poor guy would be more careful.

On a side note, the movie called it the Sandlot because of the baseball field. In our case, it's the claylot ( our side of the fence).


Look at Niko & Blitz in this photo!!!!
My two lovable trouble makers :-)

Week of the Young Child

This week the learning center celebrated the Week of the Young Child. Since there is so much obesity in the country, our theme 'Get Fit' was geared towards being active. Everyday there was a new theme & activity at the school. Home connections included filling out a paper sneaker that listed how many minutes per night your child was active outside of school. The goal was to turn in a 'Get Fit' sneaker everyday. The kids school wide were active 10,900 minutes!

Monday: I am Fit!
The younger kids participated in gymnastics and the older kids participated in Karate.

Tuesday: I am Healthy!
School wide picnic day. I had to pack the kids a bagged lunch. Dylan was excited to bring his Lightning McQueen lunch box.

Wednesday: I am Talented!
Kids got to show off their talents. I had a harmonica player in my class. Dylan put his dance moves on display.

Thursday: I am Green!
Everyone wore green. We discussed the importance of recycling. A presenter from Feed the Bin came to talk to the kids.

Friday: I am the Future!
Kids had to dress up in their future professions attire. There was a parade at 3:30 to show off the 'future of America'. I dressed Emersyn as a ballerina because she loves music and loves to dance. And... I already had a tutu! Dylan said he wanted to be an animal doctor. I gave him a name tag, he brought in his little medical bag, and a stuffed animal. Dr. Dylan Henry!
Sounds good to me!

The week was full of fun but I'm glad it's over. I took some quick Picts of my kiddos today.

Wonderful Wednesday

She Stands!

Well, Emersyn has made a liar out of me!
I wrote in her 11 month post that she wasn't pulling up. That same day we watched her succeed. She crawled over to the table, her chubby little fingers gripping the table, and with one knee on the ground, the other foot flat on the floor, SHE DID IT! She pulled up independently!
We are so thrilled and very proud of her. Zack & Dylan were clapping, I was tearing up, and she was beaming with accomplishment.

Emersyn doesn't play by the rule book! She does things at her own pace. That may get her in trouble later, but for now we are thankful!

So proud!

Emersyn 11 Months

I've had these pictures uploaded for over a week. Things around the Henry household seem to get busy. When there is a free moment, the moment is interrupted by someone. So my apologies for the late posting.


 Now, onto my precious little angel. Emersyn turned 11 months on 4/10.  This photo shoot was quick since Emersyn is on the move at all times. Getting her to stay still was basically impossible.
As I sit here looking at these pictures, I've realized how much she has grown over the past few months. She has lost her baby look and has the grown-up infant 'I'm almost 1' look. Yes I said it, ALMOST 1!!!! I can't believe my baby is weeks away from turning 1.

As she grows I have a hard time posting about all of the things she is doing. That's the sad part about family living so far away. Emersyn is such a lovable, outgoing, funny, sassy, trouble-making bundle of joy, it's so hard to fill in all the gaps to really understand her as a person. So every month I try, but feel as though words can not express this little human. SO here we go.........

Hair: It's the never ending debate. Do we cut it or not? Emersyn has crazy hair. She has the same colic Dylan does, where the hair on the back side of her head grows to the left. She has more hair on the left side of her head than the right. It's getting long in the back, but not quite long enough to pull into a tiny ponytail. The front bang portion is touching her eye lashes. She gets annoyed by this and tries to move the hair. We've been putting bows in and doing a little pebbles pony poof on the top. I love that it's growing, and can't wait to do fun things with it. I can't bring myself to cut it for she might look like a boy. HA! So we are trying to get past this awkward stage. I know it won't be the last!

Dogs: Emersyn loves her doggies. She loves Niko but currently favors Blitz. They both give her kisses and she loves returning the favor!! She smiles and lets out a giggle every time they sniff or kiss her. It's very cute. She climbs on them, pulls their hair, sticks her finger in their eyes, and leans on them in attempt to stand. They never get mad and always let her do it. We've been teaching her how to pet them using 'gentle hands'.

This is by far one of my favorite pictures from the photo shoot. I was trying to take her picture and she crawled away laughing.

I suppose that brings me to crawling.

Movement: Emersyn is a crawling maniac. She is everywhere and moves faster than you can blink, or so it seems. She trys to stand but is not quite there yet. She is like Dylan at this age and has low upper body muscle tone. While she is advanced compared to Dylan, she still struggles to pull up. With assistance she can do it, just not independently. If you hold her arms/hands, she will try and take a few steps. This tells me that she wants to cruise, but is missing pieces to the puzzle. She needs to be able to pull up, stand and bend to pick up an object, and hold on without letting go. Part of me feels like she will get the hang of these milestones soon, but the other part of me wants to take her for an evaluation. We've been working with her at home but that might not be enough. Our pediatrician told us to wait another few weeks and see what happens. If she's not pulling up then I'll take her to be evaluated by a physical therapist. Once she is confidently pulling up, I know she'll start cruising. She's not lazy or laid back. She is a mini-me, motivated, and continues to try every chance she gets. I know she wants to, but she struggles. She will get there!

I LOVE THIS GIRL!!!!!!

Food: Emersyn puts everything in her mouth. If she finds it before you do, into the mouth it goes! Paper, dog food, toys, fuzzies, socks, shoes, crayons, stuffed animals, EVERYTHING! You would think she was starved. WRONG.....this toothless wonder is a super eater. First of all, she still doesn't have any teeth, but that doesn't stop her. (don't forget we are a household of late teethers) My baby girl eats a ton. At some meals she eats more than Dylan. Fruits, veggies, cheese, crackers, breads, meats, you name it, she probably will eat it. I think the only food she doesn't like is peas. Who really likes peas anyway?!? I'm hoping at this rate she won't be a picky eater like her brother.

Oh, and she still take formula bottles, which we will be weaning her off soon. She loves her sippy cup of water too!

Sleeping: Emersyn is a great sleeper. She goes to bed around 7:30 and wakes around 5:30-6. She takes 2, sometimes 3 naps a day. During the week she takes 2 naps at school. On the weekends, we let her sleep whenever. I know that can be a bad thing, but she loves her beauty sleep. The time is coming where she will be down to 1 nap a day during the week. This is going to be Emersyn's worst nightmare. I dread that day.



Other fun facts:
- Uses a pacifier to sleep, when tired or upset, but she's not dependent on it.
-Loves going for stroller rides and being outside.
- Loves the wind blowing in her face. She thinks it's hysterical.
- We call her tornado Emersyn, as she takes out every toy possible, leaving a HUGE mess in her path. She loves to play with toys that make music, have wheels, her toys, Dylan's toys, and things that she thinks are toys but are not. ie: stereo system, toilet paper rolls, dogs food & water dish
- Water baby! Loves to wash her hands, take a bath, splash, drink, and so on. The pool should be fun this year.
- Has many different laughs.
-Very ticklish
- Dylan is her favorite person to play with.
- Continues to be a Mommy's Girl! LOVE IT!

Words: She makes a D sound for Dylan, calls Zack 'Dada' and me 'Mama'. Sometimes I'm 'Dada' too, but I think she's just talking then. She points at everything, especially the things she wants.
She is slowly learning to shake her head no. She does shake her head yes when she wants something.
Today I asked her "Do you want a cracker?", she shook her head up and down with her mouth open. Describing it doesn't do justice for her cuteness.

 

That's the 11th month in a nutshell. So much to say, but how do I put it all in words?

 

We are weeks away from our baby girl turning 1. I can't believe the time has come!

She is going to have a ladybug themed birthday party, some exciting things going on, and special visitors.

 

Stay tuned................

Gap Casting Call

I obviously think I have the cutest kids in the world! In reality they are cute, but so are thousands of other kids.

I always see cutest kid contests or casting calls for different stores. Normally I don't enter because I forget or simply realize my kids have an almost impossible chance of winning.
This past week I've been noticing many Facebook friends entering their children in the Gap Casting Call contest. I went on the contest page and looked at the submitted pictures. My kids are WAY cuter than half of the submitted pictures. Is that mean? ( oops!)

After talking to Zack I entered Dylan & Emersyn. I had to upload one picture and write 50 words or less about why my child brightens the world. First of all, ONE picture?!?! How do I choose? I decided to use one of Enersyn's 11 m photos. For Dylan , I had to take some non- cheesy face pictures last night. He's at the age where he pushes out this silly, squinty- eyed face. And then, the written part... I can verbally tell anyone how awesome my kids are, but in writing, 50 words or less. Not going to happen. It's basically trying to market my kids. I asked Zack for help but he had a difficult time as well. I did my best :-)

At the end of May the finalists will be announced. From that point, I think the public votes. I can only hope.
Feel free to check it out! Just google Gap Casting Call 2012. I tried to add the link from my phone but it didn't work.


Wish us luck!

Yard Transformation

The grass in our neighborhood is terrible. Slab homes with a yard made from rocks, weeds, and any other strange plants that decides to grow.
Last year we put down new mulch, plants, flowers, and tried to keep our crazy bushes cut back. This year we decided it was time for sod. So the last 3 weekends have been dedicated to the yard. Zack had to kill our 'grass', till everything, and spread fertilizer. This weekend he put the sod down. I have high hopes for a nice looking lawn, but also a lawn the kids can play on. One without rock, clay patches, and weeds. Once the sod was down our yard looked immediately better. When it's all filled in and looking beautiful, I'll be sure to share a picture.

During this process, Zack had his wingman assisting, his mini-me, his shadow.... Dylan.
I took some pictures last week and forgot to share them! Dylan loves helping Zack around the house. It's so cute!!! I love my boys!

Strawberry Picking

This afternoon we went to Vaughan Farms to pick strawberries. Last year we missed the season and I was very bummed. So this year I made it a must.
Check us out!

Easter

Our Easter in pictures...............

Magnificent Monday

I had the day off today and it was wonderful! It reminded me of my days as a SAHM. Oh how I miss those days.

We spent the morning playing in every room of the house. Coloring, reading, building, playing with play dough, and watching cartoons. The windows were open, blowing a cool spring breeze through the house, kids busy playing. Pure awesomeness! Yup, I said awesomeness!!!
We ate lunch together and the kids went down for naps. Zack worked a half day. He travels the rest of the week, so I thought it would be nice to spend some quality time together. We went to the park in the afternoon, one of Dylan's favorite things to do.
It was a day full of laughs, cuddles, and tons of fun. One magnificent Monday!!!


Easter pictures & E's 11m photo's will be posted soon.

Spring Party

Dylan had his school egg hunt and Spring party on Thursday. Parents had to provide 12 filled eggs. We filled our eggs with Tootsie Rolls and stickers.

In the morning his class had their egg hunt. It was more like watching an ant farm. 18 little people walking around, deciding what egg looks good enough to pick up, filling bags to the brim. It was cute. I got to watch since my classroom is next door. They were far enough away that I couldn't get pictures. In the afternoon they had a Spring party. We can't call it am Easter party because not everyone celebrates Easter. The class ate cookies, cupcakes, veggies, cheese puffs, and juice boxes. I snuck in and took Dylan's picture.

Emersyn made us a card. It was a bunny made from her footprint. Very cute!

More Easter fun on Sunday.
To be continued.......

Pillow Pets

Pillow Pets have been on ongoing craze now for a few years. The creator was pure genius! A very soft, cuddly animal that turns into a pillow, fun for all ages. Why didn't I think of that idea?!? Both of our kids have one and love them.

Two Christmas' ago we bought Dylan a panda. He sleeps with it every night. For the most part he keeps the panda in its stuffed animal state, and occasionally opens it up and uses it as a pillow. As most of you know, only super soft animals make 'the cut' in Dylan's eyes. That's how he rates the quality of the animal. "Is it super soft? Yup! Then it sleeps in my bed and I will love it everyday!" The boy has so many animal in his room we have to rotate them in and out of his bed. Panda always stays, so he must be a favorite.
My parents bought Emersyn her ladybug. Right now she is more interested in chewing on the antennae, with the occasional snuggling next to her face.

I took these pictures last month and have been meaning to post them.

Bunny Love