"Signs"

(Jenn) In Henry's thirst for new words every day, he has learned the word "sign." It comes in handy when we ride anywhere in the car -- he can now yell out "Sign!" every time he sees one in addition to "Car!" and "Truck!" every time he sees another vehicle. And I'm serious when I say EVERY time (you would have to ride with him in the car to believe it). This week, however, I realized that what he thinks is a sign is actually type-written words of any sort. Now, when we read books, he is eager to point out every "sign" he sees. He is no longer interested in any of the pictures on the pages or saying the animal sounds that go with the pictures. I ask, "What does the dog say?" and he ignores me and yells "Sign! Sign! Sign! Sign! Sign!" Story time is funny now but also frustrating. I hope he grows out of this one soon (I think he will, as he recently stopped identifying every wall he sees)!

A Jolly Holiday

(Jenn) The day Shug left, my parents arrived for a visit. My dad had a training for work in midtown for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so he took the train into the city with Ben on those days, while my mom stayed home with Henry and me. For my parents, I think it was mostly just a fun chance to visit Henry, and they were pretty happy to do just that. Henry loved having them, and he has been terrible since they left from the lack of extra attention. In fact, the day after they left, he kept looking around for them saying "pa!" which is his word for grandma and grandpa right now.

We had a great week working on projects, eating out, playing games, shopping, and visiting the zoo. The highlight for me, though, was Mary Poppins on Broadway. I have officially declared it my favorite NYC Broadway play, and I'm recommending it to everyone. I ordered the soundtrack, and I'm looking for a way to talk Ben into going again and getting orchestra seats! It was similar to the classic movie (same story, same great songs) but with just enough of a twist to make it new and exciting. They took out all of the parts that I remember wanting to fast-forward as a kid because they got a little long and boring, and replaced them with new songs and amazing special effects. Tap dancing on the ceiling? Why not? And while all of the classic songs were there, they were just a little different and sometimes placed in a different place in the plot. It really was miraculous. Everyone should see it!

Shug's Visit

(Jenn) A few people have asked me what we "did" while Shug was here (from March 15th-20th). I have to shrug and reply that we did what we do best -- sit around and talk! And if you know me very well, you probably know that I have the best time when I do absolutely nothing, as long as I'm with people I love. So for five days, I was basically transported back to life as Shug's roommate, with the subtle additions of a 1 year old son and a husband who came home at night. It was actually the perfect combination -- I got to have someone to talk to and be with all day (and someone to adore Henry with me), and then still had the wonderful feeling of having Ben return at the end of the day! And I love that Shug and I always have endless stores of meaningful conversations, even when we haven't seen each other for almost a year. What a fabulous friendship!

We got a major snow storm while Shug was here, and we really were house-bound for almost two of the days (and we had one crazy adventure trying to get to a Broadway play in spite of the snow). Luckily, we didn't have a full schedule planned, so the snow was fine (although coming from Alaska, Shug was looking forward to sun). After the storm, we did venture out to the Guggenheim and the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in the city and both fell in love with the MoMA. It reminded us both of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris -- rich, beautiful, moving art (and not quite modern enough to be the offensive type). We also enjoyed NYC hot dogs and got to see the St. Patrick's Day parade on 5th Avenue.

Happy Birthday Dad!

(Jenn) Today is my dad's birthday, and this post is a present for him (and also for my mom, whose birthday is on Sunday). It's the movie you've all been waiting for . . . "The Henry Show 2!" We made the original "Henry Show" about 6 months ago to entertain Henry so he would eat his breakfast. After 6 months, though, its effects have worn off, and he has desperately needed an updated version. So here it is! It's almost 7 minutes long, so I won't feel bad if you all don't want to watch it, but it really is pretty entertaining. I am happy to say that the Gerber mixed cereal is going down very easily now with no objections!






The Henry Show 2 on Vimeo

Vital Questions

(Jenn) There are a few vital questions every kid should be able to answer. Here Henry tackles two of them (you really have to use your imagination to understand them, although Ben and I are pretty impressed). Last night he also conquered "What's your favorite color?" (blue), but we didn't catch that on our camera. Enjoy!






Vital Questions on Vimeo

Pre-Breakfast Snack

(Jenn) I have heard many moms complain that they can't even leave their child to go to the bathroom without an ensuing disaster. This morning I came out of the bathroom to find that Henry had helped himself to a morning snack -- which he found in the garbage can! Why not?

The Beast Drops In

Last weekend we had the pleasure of hosting Jacob as our latest visitor. He was out this way visiting potential graduate schools for Marriage and Family Therapy, and he had the weekend off so he drove up to Jersey to say hello. We looked forward to this fun, short visit, but beforehand we had NO IDEA how good it would be to be with Jacob again! He is such a good friend to us, and we always have a good time, no matter what we do. In this case, we went for a run to the park (it was a beautiful 56 degree Saturday afternoon). Then Jacob went to a priesthood meeting with Ben, and to finish off the day we went out to the Cheesecake Factory to gorge ourselves on extremely good food. Classic Ben/Jenn/Jacob good times, even though it was short.

Here is a picture of Jacob. Remember, this could be YOU in this picture if you come out this way!

The Best Plastic Wrap Ever!!!

(Jenn) For the first 2 1/2 years of our marriage, I had this terrible box of Western Family plastic wrap with the worst cutter edge I've ever seen (it was peeling off the box), and it was really a mess! Unfortunately it was like a thousand feet long, so it never ended, and I couldn't justify buying a new one. So a few months ago, we finally reached the end of the roll, and it was a day of celebration. I replaced the roll with a box of Reynold's Plastic Wrap with EZ Slide Cutter. It's amazing! And I just wanted to share my happiness with everyone and whole-heartedly recommend the best plastic wrap ever! So far, every time I have used it, it has made perfect cuts, with no stretching, bunching, or overlapping to worry about. I know I'm geeky, but I'm urging you to buy the EZ cutter! You will not be disappointed. :)