Sunday funday?

Clearly, whenever The Bangles wrote their smash hit Manic Monday, they did not have children that they took to church.  Sunday funday my rear.

Our morning was going pretty well until about 10-20 minutes before we needed to head out the door.  Then I decided I'd had enough of Walter's snot, so I ran interference with the magical demonic bulb.  Walter then began to yell.  And by yell, I mean much louder than any other normal human baby scream.  I'm now half deaf.  He yelled for a solid 8 hours. Or was it only 15 minutes? Whatever it was, he was seriously mad.

 

Meanwhile, Paul was manning Henry while also trying to pack the diaper bags.  Henry managed to pull something on himself in the pantry. So he started screaming.  Paul picked him up, comforted him, but also attempted to multi-task and put his shoes on as well.  As he rounded the corner to grab Henry's shoes, he bashed Henry's head into the wall. Let the full-on wailing commence.

We climbed in the car, turned up Henry's music (we can't go anywhere without the Precious Moments Sunday School songs lately), and turned the air-conditioning on full blast.  That's when the screaming from both children stopped.  Henry needed music and Walter needed the air-conditioner.  It was a peaceful, quiet (minus full-blast Zacheus) ride to church.

I don't think I started to feel normal and calm again until the Affirmation of Faith.

When we picked the kiddos up, everyone was in an awesome mood.  We made a brave and rare last-minute decision - let's grab something for lunch.  Like at a real restaurant. Tacos are always easy and quick, so off we went.  

 

 Happy, happy baby.

 Stare-off.

 Henry cracked first.

We finished eating and headed to the car. Henry has been in especially fine form today - he's been skipping, laughing, hopping, waving and talking to strangers, etc.  I think this fine mood made him especially brave - he decided to rip his hand from Paul and try to run through the parking lot.  Bad decision.  Paul grabbed his arm, leaned in, discussed the situation and possible consequences.  Henry decided to test whether Paul was serious.  Bad decision #2.  One spanking later, Henry was sobbing hysterically in his car seat.  And then he got more hysterical, because that's what tired 2-year-olds do.  And then he started coughing.  Oh crap. More coughing. Oh double, triple crap.  I threw a size 4 diaper across the car (as I was buckling a cooing, laughing, calm Walter in), and Paul did his best to catch the reappearance of lunch.  It wasn't necessarily all that successful....

We now have two children napping, 1 scrubbed car seat, and a load of clothes in the washing machine.  And it's only 1:30 p.m.

Paul and I work like a well-oiled machine during the week, and rarely have any issues getting the kids out the door by 6:40-6:45 a.m.  We don't need to leave for church until around 8:00-8:10 a.m., and more than 50% of the time, we end up in the car in silence.  Whether the silence is due to exhaustion or because we've been on the verge of a near fight, it seems like a rarity that everything moves smoothly on Sunday.  And this only seems to happen on Sundays. What is up with that?!?

So when you open up the church directory and see this family

 

please realize there's a 50/50 shot it's a minor miracle we made it through the doors dressed, in one piece, and with our clothes slightly clean.  If we look a little crazed, give us a few minutes - we should look much better by the time the sermon starts.

Mixed-Up ABCs

Sometimes the ABCs are hard. And sometimes you just want to sing them on repeat.  That makes for a mixed-up, re-mixed rendition.  Enjoy. :)

7 Months

Walter turned 7 months old in the midst of Henry's birthday weekend.  I cannot believe how huge this baby is!  He was so tiny at birth compared to Henry, but he's most definitely making up for it now!  He officially has 4 teeth, which are visible almost all the time when he grins. :( I'm gonna miss those toothless smiles.  He is now wearing 12 month clothes, though I'm still squeezing him in 9 month clothes since he only fit in them for about 2 weeks (growth spurt!).  Though he is helmeted 23 hours out of the day, I did take these photos of him without his helmet.

This is how this baby looks most of the time he's awake - grinning from ear to ear with at least one hand in his mouth.  So kissable. So lovable.

Gimme, gimme, gimme.

Henry has become SUCH a ham. I LOVE IT.

Okay, Mama. Enough photos.  I'm bored. Raspberry time.

Raspberries are boring too.  I'll bite the chair - that's entertaining!

No, Henry, you can't get up yet. Sit back down.

Fine, I'll just punch Walter for entertainment. Yes, Walter thinks it's hilarious.  Good grief my house is going to be wrestlemania all the time....

Look at this face. Paul Meredith, Jr.

Henry received lots of trains, trucks, and similar items for his birthday. As soon as this kiddo was dressed for church on Sunday, he had to dive in and play before we left. Every train is now known as "Thomas the TRAAAAAIIN."

Here is my sad attempt to take photos of these two before church:

Birthday Weekend!

Henry's 2-year-old stats:

Weight:  33 lbs 10 oz. - 97th percentile

Height: 38 in. - >100th percentile

Head: 21 in. - >100th percentile

 Conclusion: He's huge.

Henry had a big birthday weekend, which technically started on Friday.  We had plans to go to the fair with my mom and dad.  When they knocked on our front door, Aunt Gracie was standing there too!  Yay for surprise visitors!!!!!!!

We decided a train ride to the fair would add a whole level of excitement. 

Looking for the tickets.

And pushing every button he could reach.

While waiting for our train, there was all sorts of entertainment. Racing, marching,

pointing out other trains that passed by,

and playing chase/hide-and-seek with Aunt Gracie!

What a ham.

We FINALLY made it to the fair!! And Henry has been referring to Big Tex as Big Henry since he laid eyes on him. I have no idea why.  Henry is precious, and Big Tex is, well, creepy.  At least that's how our preacher described him yesterday. :)

Eating a corny dog in front of Big Tex is almost a rite of passage in these parts.  You'll hear no complaints from our crew!!

The petting zoo was amazing, as usual.  The bonus this year was that it wasn't crowded AT ALL.  And Henry was totally into it.

Up close and personal.

Kangaroos weren't really into it...

And I couldn't get picture of Henry actually feeding the baby giraffe because I was too busy petting it. It's not every day you get to pet and feed a baby giraffe!

Llama llama red pajama.

TEACHER!!!!  The absolute most hilarious thing that happened all weekend was right as this picture was taken, Henry got bit by teacher. Oh, the irony.  Of ALL the animals to bite Henry, it had to be teacher.  I'm not sure whether he sobbed hysterically due to the bite or due to the disappointment that teacher would treat him that way. I always had the reputation in the family for getting bit by all our animals (growing up, I got bit by all our horses, our hedgehog, our hamsters, etc.), so join my club, little man. :)

Loved the ferris wheel.

And he LOVED his funnel cake.  Right before the funnel cake, Henry and Gracie and I rode the log plume, which I thought may terrify him.  He did not like getting sprayed by various objects, but absolutely loved going down the hill.  We barely slowed down and he kept saying, "Again! Again! Again!"  It's hard to explain to a 2-year-old that we can't ride something again because it is not worth the $5-per-ride-per-person.

After we got a good nap post-fair, we did our family birthday celebration. Gigi baked a chocolate cake, which Henry only got his grimy fingers on twice before we sliced it. :)

Delicious.

Henry agreed.

On Saturday, we had Henry's first little birthday party at the park.  From the time we woke up at 7:00ish to the time it started, the temperature dropped 20 degrees.  Oh, and it rained too. Fantastic. 

We brought Henry's trampoline, which was his big present from Gigi and Papa.  Apparently, Crayola's washable markers are not waterproof. :)

Poor Renee! She was such a trooper and stayed at the party way longer than I would have!!

The Colensos came totally prepared and Savannah stayed warm and dry.

Natalie was ready to go.  She was not shy about voicing her opinion. :)

Savannah ("B") finally decided to brave the cold. Well, kind of. I think Clyde may have actually be using her to stay warm....

Sophia wasn't phased at all.  She got right down to business and colored away!

A big shout out to our friends for actually showing up and sticking around for more than 5 minutes, despite the horrible weather! It was a memorable one [understatement]! I'll keep my fingers crossed for all the upcoming birthday parties over the next few weeks and hope the weather actually behaves!!