Flowers, Fish, Food.

While Henry munches on a few Jewel Brand crunchy granola raisin bran flakes, I thought I'd do a quick entry.





















I am delighted to share these new flower photos from my garden. This pink rose is not one of the ones I planted, though they are blooming as well. This is a little surprise rose that's popping it's way up through some dense groundcover. I recently received lots of wonderful gardening books...I just need to find the time to sit down and peruse them. Then I'll be able to actually tell you what that nice groundcover is. The day lilies are also finally blooming....such a pretty golden yellow. I'm waiting for the buds to open on what I've been told might be stargazer lilies.











When Pete got home yesterday I was worn out from a day with No-Nap Henry. I'm hoping for Napping Henry to come back today, or I don't know how either of us will make it through the heat. While I tried to close my eyes for a few moments on the couch, Pete and Henry admired the new Mayan head fish tank sculpture, which Henry picked out at PetCo yesterday. The fishtank had been looking a little barren.










Pete, continuing with his role as Superhusband (which he's especially had to take on while I'm in this busybusy class) went shopping and made dinner last night. He caught me checking in on the grill...as I'm prone to do...but really the meal was his. Delicious. We did get the birdfeeder hooked up outside Henry's window. It's a little precarious, so we might have to explore other options today....So far I've seen one little finch feeding there, but he flew away pretty quickly. I think it will take them a while to get used to being so close to the house. Bird and bird feeder pictures to come...

How does he know?

A short story and some unrelated photos...
Yesterday we were getting ready to take a morning walk. We had to go to the library, and we stopped at Starbucks and the hardware store on the way, since the library doesn't open until 9. Henry was in a mood that is quite typical lately...he wanted to choose what to wear and he was having none of my suggestions. The outfit he ended up in was a white onesie, with his tan overalls...fine, so far. Then he insisted on wearing his fancy shoes instead of his sandals...and his new stars and stripes hat that Grammie bought him at the arts fest in IC. It wasn't too crazy of an outfit, just a little off.... I wish I had a picture of that.
So when we got to Starbucks I wasn't surprised that someone commented on his hat. "And all ready for flag day too!" she said. I chuckled amiably. Come to find out later that indeed it WAS Flag Day yesterday! Somehow Henry knew. He'd never worn the hat before, but yesterday he was all about it. As a sidebar, we were back to the house by 10:30 AM, but still managed to run into at least 5 students or groups of students that I knew. Also got chatted up for about 20 mintues by a friendly clerk named Ziggy at the hardware store. Such a friendly small town!
Right now we're trying to put off Henry's morning nap. He's getting a bit cranky but we need to move his nap time closer to 10:30 if we're going to handle a 9:15 Wiggleworms class. Other plans for the day include shopping for bird seed so we can fill up the feeder Will and Sandy bought Henry for my birthday. We're going to try to set it up outside Henry's bedroom window. Stay tuned for photos of what I'm sure will be an interesting fiasco.

That's My Boy...

I didn't get ANY photos from the barbeque party we had on Saturday. It was a nice time, despite the cold weather which drove us inside, and despite the fact that some of our favorite people couldn't attend due to last minute circumstances....not that our friends who were there AREN'T our favorite people....we just have so many favorites.
Anyway, the point is that I got no photos until the next morning when we were cleaning up. Henry, still in his pajamas, had to put his party shoes back on (just can't let go of that party feeling) and help clean up.

Later that day we braved the chilliness so that Henry could still get his outside ("ai-yi") fix. I donned my gardening gloves to pull a couple weeds. Henry was intrigued, so we thought we'd try his out for size too. Sue H. gave them to him, along with his gardening tools, as a housewarming gift. We got the left glove on with all of the fingers in the right spots, but the right hand lost patience with me.

When we finally came in from the cold we decided to make some cookies to surprise Papa when he got home from practicing with his new rock and roll cover band. Henry very much enjoyed helping with the cookies. He's a big fan of the stand mixer. He did not, however, like limits being put upon his cookie dough tasting. When I finally had to say that that was really-no, really this time-the last taste, he put up a bit of a fit. The fit continued through multiple attempts at distraction...including suggestions of water drinking and dog petting, until finally, in desperation, I put on the Muppets. I just grabbed the first one I could get my hands on. Turns out Henry's a huge fan of James Coburn. If you have not seen this episode, I highly recommend it. It has some very good Animal bits.

I suggested to Henry that perhaps he would like to sit in his bouncy seat. He preferred to stand. He clapped at all the appropriate times.
On a sidebar...tonight while I was in class learning about the PPVT-III and the EVT vocabulary tests, I had a realization that Henry could probably already get through the first stage or two of the EVT. This is a test in which students are shown a picture and asked to give one word describing that picture. Henry would have scored perfectly on the prompts which showed pictures of: cup, mouth, dog, hair and clock. There's nothing like the feeling of realizing your child is ready for the world of standardized testing.

Henry tries his hand at blogging...

It's a chilly sort of day today, so Henry and I spent our morning inside. We're hoping for a bit of a warm up and for the rain to stay away, because my 2nd grade class is supposed to be walking over to the Village Green for our end of the year celebration, and we were going to join them. My co-teacher is going to call soon and let me know the status of the trip...they may postpone for Monday. So far this morning we did a little drawing with colored pencils,

listened to some music, set up Henry's train, which hasn't been up since the condo... and then Henry snuck off to play Papa's guitar.

When he caught me with the camera he decided he wanted to try his hand at photography too. He took a couple shots of himself and of me.



I tell you...the boy has an eye for an interesting angle. He's got vision. Pair that with his style, musical talent, sense of humor and gardening skills and you've got yourself the perfect man in cute little baby form! Keep an eye on this guy...he's going to be going places. And I don't say that just because I'm his mother...

A Busy Day...

Henry and I did some gardening this morning. I cleaned out this little side garden where I had planted the tomato plant. It is doing very well...even had a few little blooms recently, so I think we'll have tomatoes this summer! Today I dug the weeds out from the bed and cleaned up around the bricks. I planted two little yellow pepper plants (also from Mom) so that the tomato won't be lonely. While I was working I unearthed a little army guy. He's probably been there at least 3 years.
I also put a jack-in-the-pulpit in the ground. It went in the back of the yard, with the bluebells and violets. I hope they all do okay!





















Good news for Carrie...the mint is coming back. I may try some mojitos this weekend!
I got a shot of the little redheaded bird that's been visiting my feeder...anyone able to tell what it is? It's finch sized. I guess I could look in my book.



























Later this afternoon Henry and I spent some time playing with a tub of sand. He decided he wanted to feel it with his feet, and then he just climbed all the way in. He sat there playing for about 15 minutes.
When Pete came home we had a little dinner and then walked over to the velodrome to see some bike races. Henry loves watching them speed by. He points and yells "Go Go Go!!" He didn't like it when we took his mini-basketball away from him, but he had almost dropped it on the track. Actually, he did drop it during the national anthem, but Pete scrambled and got it before it went on the track. When you come and visit (whoever you are) we'll head over to the velodrome. They do races at least every Thursday night, and it's just $2 to get in. Pretty fun.
Pete put Henry to bed tonight so I could make some brownies. I was also supposed to get some homework done, but that hasn't happened. They went to bed at least two hours ago....but I haven't seen Pete yet. He must have conked out on the floor.

Best Intentions

I had all intentions to take pictures this weekend. I specifically wanted to take pictures of people other than Henry...maybe pictures of those people holding Henry or playing with Henry, but not just Henry. Alas, I took no pictures at all. My brother, however, had his super high-powered camera out, clicking away....at Henry.
So. Here's Henry pointing out clocks...

Playing with rocks...

Dodging the Papparazzi...

Just generally being cute....

We were in ICIA for the Iowa Arts Festival and much fun was had. We look forward to going back again for the Jazz Fest...a favorite every year. Last year, at Henry's first JazzFest ever, he made the news! We're hoping for a repeat.
Now, off to bed for me. I've been up 'till midnight way too many times recently. And it's class again tomorrow, which means another late night.

Roses and Boots

Our first rose has bloomed in the backyard! It's a lovely pale, pale yellow. More of a cream, really. It's not from either of the bushes I planted, but rather from a renegade rose that I didn't even know was there...
Our bushes out front are starting to put out some tiny little pink roses too. I'm sad to think of how much we need to prune them. Pete gets a little annoyed every time we pull a car in and we have to scrape past the thorny branches.
Henry and I got a package from Grammie today. It contained some birthday presents for me (thanks, Mom!) and these great boots for Henry. She was certain he needed some galloshes. Now I need some so we can stomp puddles together. Henry was delighted to try them on right away, and did not complain at all when we put them back on to show Papa. What a shoe hound my little boy is!
We end today with a shot of Henry coming in for a kiss....

Oh dear....

Snobby?

You Are French Food

Snobby yet ubiquitous. People act like they understand you more than they actually do.

What Kind of Food Are You?

Update:
I like this much better...

Your Seduction Style: Au Natural

You rank up there with your seduction skills, though you might not know it. That's because you're a natural at seduction. You don't realize your power! The root of your natural seduction power: your innocence and optimism. You're the type of person who happily plays around and creates a unique little world. Little do you know that your personal paradise is so appealing that it sucks people in. You find joy in everything - so is it any surprise that people find joy in you? You bring back the inner child in everyone you meet with your sincere and spontaneous ways. Your childlike (but not childish) behavior also inspires others to care for you. As a result, those who you befriend and date tend to be incredibly loyal to you.

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

Finally, the wedding...

Gorgeous Ellen in her dress....oh, and a dapper Don too....


The Embrace...


Amber and Betsy give a toast...


The band (Hot Buttered Rum)...



Don spins Barb around the room...


The party continues into the evening...


Our breakfast spot...


A last stop for 'real' coffee...


And that closes out my blogging session of Ellen and Don's wedding.
I'm not sure where the two of them are right now, if they're vacationing yet or not. I hope they're living up the love, wherever they are!! XOXOXO

Birthday Celebration

Pete took me downtown today to see Spamalot then out for a fun dinner. The show was hilarious, based on The Holy Grail movie, but with some new funny bits thrown in.

We had great seats, (as long as we could ignore the chatty lady behind us) which Pete bought on Craigslist. And were laughing at the program before the show even began. It made us think of my cousin Mark, as I think he may have been the first person to introduce me to Monty Python...and there were plenty of Scandanavian jokes thrown in. Mark, of course, lives in Sweden now. We plan to send him a program.
Dinner was at a shmancy place called Sushi Samba. Pete had been given a gift card while I was still pregnant with Henry. We wanted to save it for a time when I could actually enjoy some drinks and raw fish...tonight was the night. We ordered a 3-tiered appetizer dish which had 'Sawagani' ("flash-fried Japanese river crabs"). I tried not to appear startled when it arrived, but I did have to ask "how am I supposed to eat those things?" I'm not sure if this photo (courtesy of my cell phone) does the little guys justice.... we were told to just pop them in our mouths and crunch them like toasted pumpkin seeds. The problem was that they were about the size of ping-pong balls (okay, small ping-pong balls) and they had eyes. I hesitated, but decided I should just go for it. The 'Caipirinha' cocktail helped a little bit.

It was an experience, but I would not order them again. It's one thing to know you're eating something that used to be a living animal. It's a completely different thing when it looks like it is staring at you and might pinch you with it's tiny little claws. And when you look up from your second cocktail and realize that you're dining across the street from the Anti-Cruelty Society, well, then you really start to feel a little creepy.
In any case, it was a fun birthday celebration. Thanks, Honey!

The wedding day finally arrives...

We all got ready in our room. The boys were looking dapper, and helping each other with their ties. Henry was very excited to be in his fancy shoes. He can't get enough of those things!



When we got to the wedding location (see Amber's blog for links to everything) Pete helped set up the sound and I went poking around looking for the bride. I found her downstairs, applying make-up in her tasteful, minimalist way. Her hair had also been done up that morning. She later told me that there was still hairspray in it after two washings. She looked lovely...and wasn't even in her dress yet!


Ellen was being watched over by her mother, sister and baby niece when I arrived...but the ladies just kept coming. We can sniff out a new bride like nobody's business.


Here's a picture of the hall before all of the festivities began. Henry helped set up the mics. and we enjoyed peeking at the caterers outside preparing the salmon.





Yum! Best wedding food ever! See Amber's blog for soem up-close and personal photos of the food. I tried to get a shot of the tables downstairs, but was battling batteries and card space on my camera the entire weekend.
Next post: photos of the bride in her dress!!!!