Big Brother Day

Yesterday Pete took the day off work so that we could have a special day for Henry before the baby comes. We drove out to a mall that has a Build A Bear store so that Henry could pick out a bear to "make" for the baby. He chose a good one and helped to stuff it. You can see him pushing on the pedal of the fluff machine as the lady holds the bear.
Then he chose a heart, gave it a little kiss and put it inside the bear.
After that he gave the bear an air bath and brushed it out a little bit.
And then he got to name it and make a birth certificate. (We skipped all the steps where it asks for your full name and address. Sneaky Build A Bear!)
After all of that excitement we did something just for Henry...the Choo Choo Restaurant in Des Plaines! Henry was interested to see that there was a special Christmas engine with Santa driving. Yummy burgers and fries were had by Pete and I, while Henry stuck with his favorite- grilled cheese. Do notice the ever-present winter hat-head 'do that Henry is sporting.
After the fine dining Henry took a short ride in the train. When we got home Henry put the new bear in the baby's crib. See the pretty baby nook? Please ignore the clutter on the dresser....we're still working on that. We're also working on what to hang over the fuse box, and whether that's really safe to do. Here's another shot of the crib. You can see the cute bear with its birth certificate and also Henry's two baby dolls, which he has decided should be in the crib.
Finally....today Mary and Peter came over to help Pete paint the third bedroom. It was such a help (They even brought lunch! Thank you! Sorry I didn't get any action shots...Henry and I were trying to avoid the fumes.) They even got the trim painted. Farewell, Prince Kyle! Here's the only photo I can find of what the room looked like "before". See the lovely mural, which extends onto the door frame and ceiling trim. On the opposite wall was a lopsided "fireplace" with crossed swords above it, and the words Prince Kyle. The interesting thing is that the people who lived here for two years before us didn't even have kids... Anyway- here it is now. The color is called Moose Mousse. I'm so glad Pete chose the darker of the two options I gave him. I told Henry I thought it looked like chocolate milk- which is what I was going for. Now every time he walks in the room he makes slurping sounds. We did a little bit of rearranging, and now we have a nice space to rock the baby where I will be able to look out the window. Rather than set up the changing table, which would just add more stuff, I think we'll buy a new curved changing pad to put upon the dresser. Should work out just fine!
So, those of you that come to visit and spend the night: we have made a couple sets of extra house keys. Bedding for the futon is in the bedroom closet. Towels are in the hall closet. A variety of frozen foods are in the freezer, which we will try to keep stocked for the next few months. The grocery bags are kept on a hook across from the washing machine and we will happily give you directions to the grocery stores. Please, make yourself at home. Just don't mind us if we wander into your room at night to change the baby's diaper.