Boo!

(10/31/04) A great Halloween weekend. Saturday night we went to the Swart's house for a fun party. Sunday we went to church, visited the Whelans, and then, after naptime, went to the Wenzel's for their party and trick-or-treating. After filling up on some great food, we all went out to ring doorbells. I was the guide, and Jill the official photographer. Henry, or "Hank P. Hank" as he likes to call himself now, was a convincing ghost, and scared a few candy bars out of the Wenzel's neighbors before heading back to watch Dora the Explorer's Halloween special. This is Henry's first official "trick-or-treat".

Ghost in the Kitchen

(10/24/04) Adults cowered and pets took cover as this spooky toodler scared us with his pre-Halloween costume tryout.

Pun'kin Patch

(10/19/04) Jill and Dale took Henry to the pumpkin patch today to prepare for Halloween. They gathered plenty of suitable pumpkins, and when a rainshower hit, they ducked into the barn, where they saw a turkey, pigs, goats, and a donkey.

"Warm Soup, Pancakes, and I'm Big..."

(10/18/04) ...is Henry's answer when I ask him how he is able to jump so high on his red yoga ball.

Hank King Cole!

(10/17/04) Henry makes his first joke! Or the first joke that I got! In the evening, playing in his room, he dragged his piano bench to the center of the room, grabbed his guitar and stood it in front of him, and pulled a stick across the strings, announcing he was "Hank King Cole" and laughing hysterically. I was laughing too, but I didn't really get the joke until he brought me his "Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever" storybook and asked me to turn to the Old King Cole story. The story refers to the "fiddler's three", one of whom is pictured below and used by Henry as the model for his own character. Can a two year old make jokes? I guess so!

Baking Cookies

(10/13/04)

Santa Ynez Valley

(10/12/04)

On the Beach, with Grandma

(10/10/04)

A Window into Paris

(10/5/04) Henry is looking at a photo of us at the Eiffel Tower. We are able to email photos home almost every day, which Grandpa and Grandpa match to the associated drawing in the "This is Paris" book that Jill bought before we left. When we get home, Henry pulls out his globe, gives it a spin, points to France, and says "Paris".

"My Tree"

(10/02/04) This is Henry's tree. It's at the Biltmore Hotel, but to him it's "my tree". He likes to run down the grassy trunk with his arms out like airplane wings. He usually falls down giggling at the bottom. Can you see Grandpa peeking around it?

Goodbye, Henry

(10/01/04) We take Henry to school and say goodbye for two weeks for our Paris trip. We've been telling him for days that we're going away, but he doesn't seem too upset!