New Links

(Ben) Just wanted to announce the new links on the left to more blogging friends. Check them out!

Far Far Away

(Ben) At church last Sunday I was asked to lead the music for Sacrament Meeting. I almost lost all composure while in the middle of "Far Far Away on Judea's Plain" when I looked down and saw Henry swinging his arm for all he was worth. He had his eyes glued to me and a huge grin on his face--so proud of himself for being able to lead the music too! He has carried his chorister talent beyond the chapel since Sunday. Jenn was at the grocery store on Monday, and he conducted every pop Christmas song that came over the loud speaker. After a few measures of each song he'd give up, but at the start of every new one he'd light up and "strike up the band," usually getting a fellow shopper's attention in the process.

We've just started experimenting with embedded video, so here are a couple of clips. As always, all of our videos are available through the link to the left.



Maestro Henry on Vimeo



Move your arms like Henry on Vimeo

Our Christmas Tree

(Jenn) So the plan this year was to use a fake Christmas tree that we borrowed from Kara and Dave. But when we actually set it up, we just couldn't do it. Something just didn't feel "right" or truly "Christmassy" about it. So we fiddled around with the budget and forked over $45 for our new favorite addition to our home. I'm positive it was the right choice. One of our big worries with a real tree this year was that Henry is on the loose, and his path is one of destruction. But he's been better than I thought he would be. Pictured here is his first moment discovering that if you pull hard enough, you get a free ornament to chew on. So after that, we moved all the ornaments out of his reach. He's been learning animal sounds (check out the new clip on our videos link, left, if you don't believe me), and so I've been trying to teach him, "What does the Christmas tree say? RRRRAAAAAARRRRRRR!" It's been working pretty well. We also added a new rule to our family list of rules: If you touch the Christmas tree, you have to sit down (the ultimate punishment for the kid who walks perfectly well but still can't stand up).

Santa's Lap

This is Henry on Santa's lap at our branch Christmas party. He was definitely a little scared of the whole experience. He doesn't really like bearded men in general. If only he knew . . .

Birthday Cake

Every kid has to have the chance to fingerpaint with frosting on their first birthday. Henry seemed to be a natural at this. These pictures show the progression (or regression?) of the Monster Cake (created after his favorite book That's Not My Monster).

Henry's Happy Birthday

Henry is officially one year old! His birthday was on November 28th. We had a little party with Grandma and Grandpa Iverson as well as Pat and Bernie, our next-door neighbors who have adopted Henry. This is his first experience with opening presents! He's definitely all warmed up for Christmas.

Christmas Tree Farm

This is Henry and Grandpa Iverson at the Christmas tree farm in Virginia. We went with the Ludlows to help them cut down their tree. It was a fun outing, although we were a little disappointed to come home to our fake and not-so-fresh smelling tree. What beautiful trees!

Washington D.C.

(Jenn) We live about 4 hours from the Ludlows' house in the D.C. area. We are so glad to have them so close (relatively)! We spent Thanksgiving with their family as well as Mom and Dad Iverson. This was my first trip to D.C., and I loved visiting the monuments and free Smithsonian museums. Pictured here are the Capitol building and the Washington Monument.

Central Park in the Fall

(Jenn) Here is fall having her final fling. Autumn is gorgeous on the East Coast, and I am in Heaven with so many trees. In New Jersey I think the leaves changed about two weeks later than they did in Utah, and then they also lingered a few weeks longer. I'm never anxious for the trees to become bare, so I enjoyed every last day of it. This picture is of Central Park on the weekend Kara and Dave came, which was November 11th. It was probably the last fully beautiful fall day.

Manhattan Temple at Night

When Kara and Dave Ludlow came to visit, we went to Brian Regan's comedy show (which was good, clean, hilarious fun) at Lincoln Center. Just across the street from Lincoln Center is the LDS Manhattan temple. It is very much in the center of the city, complete with cars honking and busses whizzing by right in front of it. What a beautiful sanctuary in the middle of a chaotic place.