plane ride to texas and uncle brad's wedding....

This past weekend we flew to Texas, marking Henry's first plane ride. He was a little nervous but handled it well, even charming the flight attendant into extra snacks and a trip to the cockpit for Luke and him! Once there, we did a little exploring before the wedding...

And contemplated life while looking at the ducks on the river through the city...

and the koi fish at the botanical gardens.

The outlaws of Texas....

Taking a boat ride right through the middle of the city, amazing...

though maybe a little too long...look, little sister is useful already--a great pillow!

Then the wedding! The beautiful bride and groom....

Pretty spiffy...(Love the hat!)

Big Pop and Luke...

and Henry!

The Fitts Men...

Still smiling at the end of the night...And they did great during the ceremony too! Congratulations to Uncle Brad, Aunt Daimie and our new cousins, Jacob and Austin!

first day of school...and a photo shoot for the ages...

It was Henry's first day of 3 year old preschool and so I was trying to take the traditional first day of school shot. I don't know why this series of pictures struck me as hilarious (and maybe it is just me and my sense of humor) but it is just so Henry.

Not too sure about this...

Warming up...

Work it, own it....

Love me...I am so handsome...

I....am....Henry!

And I'm spent! No more pictures, please.

happy birthday, henry!...

For his birthday, Henry requested a trip to the zoo, one of his favorite places.

Watching them feed the elephants...

Three cool dudes on the zoo train...

I am a kangaroo!

Riding the carousel...

and playing on the playground...(We really did see all the animals too, not just play!)

Then home for a Thomas party!

Henry requested a "stand-up Thomas chocolate chip cake." This is my first attempt at making a "stand-up cake." It is not easy and very imperfect, but Henry and Luke both pronounced it the

"most beautiful cake in the world." Makes a mommy feel good about how long it took!!

From the front...

Cake and party hats....

And of course, presents!! What could it be?

Oh boy, a Thomas book!

Happy Birthday, my Henry!!

when daddy does potty-training...

Faced with the hard-stop of school, we knew it was time to push the potty with Henry. It was a difficult 5 days, but after being barricaded onto the hardwood floor with no other choices, the light went on. The break-through really began with a weekend alone with Daddy (Luke was at camp Gigi and Mommy was at work.) H has got it now and he is super-cute in his little Cars briefs!!

I came home to this line of cars one evening--think we have enough?

Sitting on the dock of the bay, wastin' time...

seeing our heroes...

For those of you who don't know (and how could you not!), Cars 2 is coming out in late June. Well, we are just a wee bit excited around here about the new movie. It will be our first real movie the boys will see in a theater and while that will be quite an experience itself, the real anticipation is seeing the new characters and story of Luke and especially Henry's favorite movie guys. Daddy made us a great binder with all the new characters and I know Luke has them all memorized and Henry, most of them (and with names like Kingpin Nobunaga, Francesco Brenoulli, and Rip Clutchgonski, that is a quite an accomplishment!!)

Well imagine our excitement when we found out that real-life sized versions of Lightening McQueen, Tow Mater and Finn McMissile (think James Bond) were coming to town!!

Waiting in the shade while Daddy bravely held our place in the sunny line...

Lightening and Finn in the background

And Tow Mater of course! I love them holding
hands so they don't "get lost" as Henry said.

rewards!!...

Trying to move along the potty training with Henry, I started a sticker chart for every time he...does his business in the appropriate place. We told him if he got 3 stickers then he got a treat. Next time it will be 4 stickers, then 5, etc...gotta keep moving the line right?

here is my chart!....

my treat? a M&M milkshake from my favorite place, Steak-n-Shake!!

Yum!

"I want to move to a different house"

Henry possesses a stubborn streak at 2 that his brother has yet to find. We have no idea where it came from, but for a good while now whenever something doesn't go his way(time out, having to give a toy back, bathtime, etc), Henry has one go to line. I present for your viewing enjoyment, "Angry Henry":

I like the angry swipe at the end too--very "go away, papparazi."

Catching Up

Make sure to check out the the retroactive posts that we just got up from March.

Stomp Rockets with Gigi

Spring Sing

cool dudes...

As we prepare for Disney this summer, I am attempting to make sunglasses a habit for H. Luke is pretty good about them, but Henry was unsure--until a trip to the Disney store netted him some cool Lightening McQueen shades and now he is hooked. Amazing how easy things are when favorite TV characters are involved....

Stomp Rockets with Gigi

Gigi came to visit over her Spring Break and introduced the boys to the greatest back yard toy ever, the Stomp Rocket. Where were these when we were kids?

Spring Sing

Henry's 2 year Old Preschool class had their Spring music program, and despite being one of the youngest in the class (made the cut off by 4 days) he was much more engaged with the hand motions than big brother Luke was at 2. Though at 2, no one is Ella Fitzgerald....

In case you wonder....

...why men always read in the bathroom: we get them started early.

off to find adventure....

wait for me...

can't fool me..