Weekend Update 12.19.10

1. I should not have complained about snow. Early Thursday morning we had an ice storm. Much worse than snow. At least this year's was not as catastrophic as "The Ice Storm of '09." The roads, however, are still pretty treacherous. As is our back porch, driveway, steps, and sidewalk. We haven't found the bag of salt yet.

2. The creation of Christmas gifts goes on. I really LOVE not shopping in December. Frances and I went to the Walmart (crazy wild Saturday night, I know) for a few supplies, and I was very glad not to be worrying about purchasing gifts. Instead, I focused my energies on finding junk food. And shrinky dinks. Succeeded on the junk food. No shrinky dinks in Walmart, though, in case you need some. I guess I'll have to trek to Hobby Lobby sometime if I want those. The upside to that situation is that I'll have a good excuse to drive through Chick Fil A for another peppermint chocolate chip shake!

3. For as much as we've been in the house lately, you would think we could make some headway on the cleaning. You would think that, but you would be wrong. I swear it seems to get worse every day. Where does all of this junk come from? I need to watch a few episodes of Hoarders and then go throw some crap out. If I had been thinking, I should have just planned to give everyone hand-me-downs for Christmas presents. Looks like I'm all set for Christmas 2011, though!

4. The cats will be outside cats. Any minute now. Really. I mean it. It's just really cold. And they like to hover outside the back window meowing pathetically. I think I could stand them inside except for one thing: the kitty litter. And one other thing: the jumping on the table. Last night Biggie ate Henry's mac 'n cheese while Henry took a potty break. Not a happy scene. Apparently, though, cats don't enjoy Cheerios. Gipper is certainly happy about that!

5. Henry would like for everyone to admire his gingerbread man. Notice that it's actually a gingerbread house. Details details.

Today Henry and I made a gumdrop "reef." "It's bee-you-tiful!"

6. This week when I refer to the baby as Fran, Henry says, "I want you call her Frannie, Mommy." Okay then.

Lately Henry loves to tell me, "You are my mother. I am your son."

If I don't see ya, Merry Christmas!

Weekend Update 12.12.10

Snow Snow Snow!

(and not much else)

1. It has been much too cold to do anything outside, so we've been doing lots of inside cleaning, and baking, and soapmaking. For my readers who don't live in Kentucky, when bad winter weather threatens, everyone rushes to the store for "bread and milk." Literally. As in, we (not thinking) made a routine trip to the Kroger for a nice Saturday afternoon outing. Bad idea. I suspect that everyone in the 5 county area was in our Kroger buying bread and milk. Luckily we still managed to snag some. (Hey, it was already on our list, I swear!) Imagine that a hurricane was coming and Rouse's was running low on batteries and bottled water--fun trip!

2. A few things Henry has been saying lately:

--I like that "Soda," referring to Yoda.

--If you recall his favorite movie, Frosty the Snowman, you know that there is a bunny rabbit named Hocus Pocus. Henry likes to pretend that he's playing with the rabbit, but he calls him "Focus Focus," or sometimes "Hokist Pokist" if he's corrected.

--He does like to repeat everyone's full names. He knows Henry Dennis Chatham, and Dennis Edward Chatham, and Becca Perry Chatham. Our favorite, though, is Frances Aunt 'Ree Chatham!

--Frequently he points out when everyone is in attendance by yelling out, "Whole Family!" and then naming out everyone. Sometimes the whole family also includes the Gipper, and occasionally Biggie and Smalls as well.

--A couple of times this week I've caught him calling his baby sister Frannie. No more, "Her name is Frances, Mommy!" I guess.

3. Frannie has 2 real teeth (bottom front). She loves to show 'em off, except when I want to snap a picture. Also, "She is a wiggle worm," according to her big brother.

Weekend Update 12.5.10 (2 weeks worth!)

1. Thanksgiving was lovely. We were joined by my whole immediate family. Dennis made the roasted turkey and stuffing (basted every 20 minutes, thank-you-very-much), which as always was delicious. Jacob also contributed a tasty, crispy fried turkey. We couldn't get anyone to take leftovers home, so we ended up with three gallon ziplocs full of leftover turkey meat. At least that's when we gave up and tossed the rest. Also delicious: Marie's pumpkin cream pie a la Pioneer Woman, Kelly's green beans, Mere's cranberry sauce from scratch, oyster artichoke soup, Doodah's salad...

2. Gipper has two new "little sisters." We adopted 2 cats. Yup, two. The idea was to get a barn cat to take care of the mouse problem. So far we have two inside cats and no dead mice.

Meet Biggie. She's our combat killer (we hope).

Meet Smalls. She's our diva.

She also has six toes on her front paws.

Side note: Do you ever watch the show Hoarders? Have you seen any of the episodes in which a hoarder has 30+ cats in the house? I can only imagine that the stench must knock you over before you even get in the door. Just having cats in two rooms of the house with a litter box that's cleaned twice a day is already disgusting.

3. Henry's favorite Christmas show is Frosty the Snowman. He begs to watch it every day. He also yells for the song every time we're in the car. (There is a sequel to Frosty, Frosty Returns, starring John Goodman as the voice of Frosty. Please don't ever watch it-it's just terrible.)

4. According to Henry, the newest member of our family is Pepper, our Elf on the Shelf. Every night Pepper magically goes to visit Santa to report on Henry's behavior, then returns to a new perch in the house before anyone wakes up. First thing each morning, Henry runs around looking for Pepper. When I get home each day from work, he has to show Pepper to me first thing.

Henry: "Mommy, look at Pepper! He's on the clock!"

Me: "Wow, how did he get up there?"

Henry: "He flied up there."

Me: "He did?"

Henry: "Yeah! With magic!"

5. Rookie Boot Camp is over. Dennis finished it. I almost did, but I strained my right adductor group (aka inner thigh) and had to sit out the last few sessions. The good news is that I was able to ellipse and run on the treadmill this week without much discomfort, so I think my lying around doing nothing was successful. We're planning to rejoin the next session, but I don't think it starts up for a couple of months. I'm definitely not ready for the regular boot camp, so I'll stick with the rookie version for a while. Or maybe forever.

6. Frances is crawling, pulling up, and cruising around the coffee table. She also can stand alone for 10-20 seconds at a time. I suspect she'll be walking any minute now. Frannie loves to talk to her toys, and her babbling has become very conversational (with some raspberries thrown in for good measure).

7. This year we are again trying to give mostly handmade gifts, which really makes the season more enjoyable for us. Yesterday we went to the Lex to do some shopping (unfortunately I haven't quite figured out how to hand-make Toy Story figures). It was immensely painful, and the nasty sleet/snow/rain wasn't helping, either. Hopefully we won't have to travel back until after the holidays.

8. Delicious winter evening drink: hot spiced apple cider plus butterscotch schnapps. Yum!

Equally delicious old standby: hot cocoa with peppermint schnapps. I urge you to try one of them soon. You will be a happier person for it.

9. Speaking of delicious/peppermint/cocoa combinations, yesterday I had a Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake from Chick-Fil-A. If you are within driving distance of a Chick-Fil-A, get in your car now and go buy one.

Seriously.

I'll wait.

Isn't it awesome? Okay, sorry if you are reading this on Sunday and drove all the way out to CFA just to realize that they are closed on Sundays. When you try again tomorrow you will realize the extra trip was worth it because the milkshake is that good. Oh yeah, so I take back what I wrote earlier about not going to Lexington again for a while. I need to go back for a milkshake. Or three.

10. Henry is doing really well at getting himself dressed. Some mornings he shows up in our room fully dressed and ready for the day. Other days he's completely naked or just in his underwear, "My need help get dressed on!"

It's Christmastime!

Weekend Update 11.21.10

So the Weekend Update is a bit like Five Things Friday, but I won't guarantee that you're getting 5 things every time. Also, I haven't yet come up with a wittier title. I'm open for suggestions.

Like most 3-year-olds, Henry can be terribly hilarious to talk with, whether he knows it or not:

1. (In response to someone calling the baby Frannie) Henry:"Her name is Frances, Mommy."

Me: "But her nickname is Frannie. Is that okay?"

Henry: "Yes, but her NAME is Frances!"

2. Henry had a difficult time adjusting to his new preschool, "Mommasori."

But now if you ask him how his day was, he replies, "I calm down at that new school, Mommy."

3. Not surprisingly, Henry doesn't quite yet understand the difference between can't and don't. One of his favorite expressions: "I can't like that broccoli."

4. As a loud truck passed us today while walking downtown: "That truck scared my ears!"

5. Me: "Henry, guess what I heard last night when I came home?"

Henry: "What?"

Me: "An owl!"

Henry: "What do owls eat?"

Me: "Mice and insects."

Henry: "And what else?"

Me: "I don't know, what do you think owls eat?"

Henry: "Pancakes!"

Henry went from "I can't like to fly that kite" to "let me do it!" in just an afternoon.

Gipper has been doing some "'splorin'" lately, much to our chagrin. He apparently is so doofy and loveable that he doesn't even realize when the neighbor dogs are about to eat him.

Henry's "Tookless" Halloween costume. He's very proud of the costume Mommy and Daddy made him!

(Side story: There was a little party at Mom's Morning Out for Halloween. I asked Henry what his friend Lucy wore to the party. "Her mommy not finish making her costume yet." So sweet--everyone's mommy must make their costumes!)

Less than a week after Halloween, the Chatham family jack-o-lanterns were finally carved. On the left is "Zoey's pumpkin," on the right is Henry's.

I take my food very seriously, Mommy.

Earlier today we tried to arrange a photo shoot outside (time to get our Christmas cards in the works)...

...fail.

A few *fairly* recent photos

More to come in a day or so...

Cool tricks! Cool tricks!

Let me show you some of my cool tricks.

The somersault is Henry's go-to cool trick.

Only occasionally does someone get injured when he's doing this.

Frances is kickin' it in tummy time.

Look at this cool barn! We need one of those!

Sometimes I mix it up by sitting in my Bumbo chair.

Look at how good I'm getting at this! I could make this into a career.

Henry will kiss you, and you will like it!

When I dip, you dip, we dip.

We tried to bring out Henry's "old pool," but it only lasted through one day.

Possibly because the monkey pool over-wintered on the back porch, it didn't survive very well. The upper section wouldn't stay inflated, the canopy was filthy, and it basically collapsed after about half an hour of use.

Obviously Henry didn't mind; he went ahead and had a great time anyway.

Here is Henry in his "new pool."

Grandmom sent this pool, which holds 2000 gallons, as a prize for Henry becoming very-close-to-almost-entirely potty-trained. We invited Henry's friend Lucy (and her mommy, my good friend, Anne) for the first swim yesterday. It was a success! Daddy was smart enough to buy a cover for the pool, so tonight when Henry got in, it was lovely, clean, and warm(er).

That's how I roll.

Yup, I'm going back to belly now. Don't act like you're not impressed.

Kitchens and apples and bikes, oh my.

Cousin Zoey recently turned 3. So, of course, Dennis (and Henry and I, but mostly Dennis) built her a little play kitchen. It's similar to Henry's blue kitchen that we made for his 3rd birthday.

Here the cousins are, checking out the finished product.

A handful of the few apples gleaned from the old apple tree in our backyard.

We don't know what type of tree it is, but the apples were sweet and a little tart. Unfortunately, rehabilitating an old apple tree can be much more difficult that starting from the beginning. The tree definitely needs some TLC if it's going to be healthy again. Since it's only a couple of hundred yards (at most) away from the new trees, we'll have to take care of it as well to prevent any diseases or pests from spreading.

The beginnings of our apple orchard.

Dennis planted 12 one-year-old trees this year in our front pasture. They are six different varieties: Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Cortland, Sweet 16, and two others that I cannot remember. (Any help, Dennis?) We also planted two pecan trees that seem to be doing well; the jury is still out on whether the eight blueberry bushes will survive.

Henry's first ride on his new McQueen bike.

Don't worry, Mere and Doodah went directly to Walmart to buy him a matching helmet just after his inaugural ride. Note the McQueen sippy in the McQueen handlebar basket. Stylin'!