Nesting Projects & 38 Week Belly Pics

OK Baby, we're ready for you! Amazingly, I just about have all my nesting projects finished, which is unheard of prior to a baby's arrival (at least in my experience). So, I must be missing something! But, in the meantime, I will share the completed projects!

Some of these projects have been in the works for awhile so I'm excited to finally post some of the "in the process" pictures.

Henry helping to assemble one of the many pieces of furniture purchased in the last few months . . .


Henry just loves working with tools and is surprisingly very good at it!

On my birthday (wayyy back in May), Nate and Henry took it upon themselves to surprise me by putting together the bassinet. We didn't use one of these with Henry and he was an awful sleeper as a newborn, so our hope is this will be money well spent. I know, I know, but at least it makes us "feel" like we have some control!

Henry helping with the assembly process . . .





Henry going "Night Night" in the bassinet basket and checking out the closet in his new room. It was very exciting at first, because that is where the ball pit balls from his 1st birthday were stored. It is much less exciting now filled with clothes!



And Henry checking out his "new" bed. Technically we bought the same exact crib as he had in the nursery, but it felt new to him! And we felt a little crazy buying another crib when he was already 2, but since he's never once tried to climb out and sleeps so well in it, we decided not to change up his routine! And the bright side is it converts to a toddler bed, so it should grow with him!



And the finished product of Henry's new room!!







And the baby's new room (we decided to give it a whole new look so Henry wouldn't feel like it was his old room. And because Mommy decided she wanted a change!). . .







The finished bassinet, just waiting for baby!





To prove we're still waiting, here are the 38 week belly pics . . .



And these have nothing to do with nesting or the new baby, but Grandma and Henry just looked so darn cute in their matching outfits I couldn't help but share the pics!



And the wait continues . . . :)

Balloon Festival

This last weekend was the Tigard Balloon Festival. Since I didn't have it in me to make it to the early morning launches this year, we opted for the evening festivities. They had carnival rides, bands playing, plenty of food vendors and of course some hot air balloons! Since the balloons wouldn't be out until dusk, we weren't sure how Henry would do staying up so late. But he had a wonderful time! (Oh, and I'll apologize up front for the picture overload, but he was having so much fun I had a hard time narrowing it down any more).

We had a picnic on the grass, watched the carnival activities and listened to the band play. (And completely off track, but I never thought about how much saying "Band play" sounds like "Band-aid". As we were getting ready to leave for the festival I was explaining to Henry where we were going and what we would be doing. As soon as I mentioned listening to the bands play, his face lit up, he pointed to his knee - the scene of a previous owie - then he ran to the bathroom asking for a band-aid. And yes, he got his Band-aid. How could I turn down such a cute interpretation?) :)





Henry watched the rides carefully and made sure to get in his fair share of dancing.






Yay for Henry snuggles!

He helped Daddy carry the bag to get a closer look at the carnival festivities.





We opted out of trying any of the rides and headed back to the grassy area to relax and listen to the band some more.


Henry enjoying Daddy's version of a Carnival ride.


Too much fun!

And finally it was time for inflating the hot air balloons! All the balloons stayed on the ground for the evening festivities, but watching them light up against the night sky was really fun to watch. Henry wasn't sure what to think of the loud fans and bright fire, so he was quite serious making sure they did it correctly. :) I was afraid that it was a stressful experience for him, but I was relieved when it was all he could talk about on the ride home and the next day. I guess he was just taking it all in!











And to finish off the weekend, we had our first BBQ of the summer with some friends. Henry and Claire had so much fun playing together. They chased each other in and out of the house, took turns going down the slide and Henry made sure to show Claire how to water all the plants. So much fun and we can't wait for more summer BBQs!

Henry's 2 Year Stats

OK, so really it's his 2 year plus 6 week stats, but that just happens to be how his 2 year appointment worked out. :) Everything looked fine health-wise and development-wise. And he "lucked out" with only needing 1 vaccination and no more until he's 3. He did wonderfully and didn't even cry with the shot because he got so excited about the band-aid that the nurse put on.

His official stats:
Weight: 25 pounds
Height: 33 inches

We knew our guy was petite, but we were surprised to see that his height was only in 14th percentile (and weight in the 12th percentile - pretty much where he's been since birth). According to the Dr., that would mean he will end up being about 5'6", but anything can happen. I'm guessing he will be taller than that since by my percentile heights as a child I was only supposed to be 5'3". And standing at over 5'8", it makes me not too focused on percentiles and statistics. We'll just have to see what the future holds! And for those that are concerned, his head size is right in the 50th percentile. :)

And, now some Henry pictures (and stories)!

This isn't the best picture, but he had so much fun at this restaurant that it makes me smile every time. I'm fairly certain he put smiles on all the faces in the place! He happily greeted any passerby with a "Hi" and a sweet wave (or "bye" if the situation called for it). He didn't want any of the food we offered until we put the bowl of rice in front of him. He then proceeded to go face first into the rice and eat it like an ice cream cone. It was a bit messy, but he was happy, eating and quite entertaining so we just went with it. Crazy toddlers!



He's also getting into everything. He's learning how to open all the doors (now that he can finally reach) and likes to turn on every light in the house (and you must be very sneaky to turn off some of the lights!). He also loves to wash his hands and takes his step stool around to the sinks and reaches from his tippy toes to play in the water/wash his hands. Such a busy guy, you've got to keep your eye on him at all times!



He also had his last swim lesson for the session. It was boat safety week again, so of course the camera was a necessity. Hopefully we'll be able to find a place and time to take him swimming this summer since we opted not to commit to another round of swim lessons with baby's due date just around the corner.









Today we took advantage of the summer weather and headed out to the park. He had to try out every piece of equipment available. Slides, stairs, swings, tire swings, he played on them all! And after giving everything a test run (or two), he announced he was "all done" and headed back down the path towards the car. I was pretty exhausted by that point, so I was happy to oblige. :)









But, before we could make it to the car, he noticed a grassy area filled with little daisies and ran to check it out. He pointed them out to me and when I told him to go ahead a pick one he bent down, picked one and gave it to me. Ahhh. Mommy's first flower from Henry! :)






My flower




A "bouquet" for Mommy

While the temper tantrums and stubbornness are not fun with a two year-old, I think the little discoveries and conversations more than make up for the hard times. (Just don't ask me if that's true in the middle of one of his tantrums because I may change my mind!). :)

Father's Day at the Strawberry Festival

For Father's Day, we headed out to Lee Farms for the Strawberry Festival. The Brunson family met us there and we had a lot of fun exploring all the activities.



Before the Brunsons arrived, Henry and Daddy made sure to check out the big slide. Henry loved it and made sure to tell Avonlea to make her Mommy and Daddy take her on the slide too.





One of Henry's favorite things to do lately is water play, so he was excited to figure out the water pump on the farm. . .



He also had a great time driving the tractor. . .





The daddies taking the kiddos on the slide . . .





Checking out the goats . . .



Pony Rides!!







More fun with Daddy - Checking out the live band and enjoying a hay ride around the farm. . .



Another trip down the slide (of course). At this point in the pregnancy, I decided it was probably a good idea to let Daddy take Henry for all the slide rides! :)



And a trip through the hay maze (and many many trips down the tunnel slide) completed our day at the farm.





Such a wonderful adventure and a belated Happy Father's Day to all you dads!!