Henry the baby, becomes Henry the boy

Henry and his crib parted ways this weekend. Because I'm a hormonal schmuck, I had to pause a moment as I watched Andrew disassemble the crib. Another symbol of his babyhood was disappearing. His rocking chair, however, stayed put. That part of our routine won't be changing anytime soon and I've already put in a request that when our next resident arrives, we find ourselves a second rocking chair.

Perhaps I shouldn't speak on his behalf, but I think he's pretty thrilled with his new bed. Henry is still cooperative when it comes time to take his nap which brands this transition a certified success (knock on wood).

Moments after closing his door this afternoon, I heard him break into a tearful ballad.

"Here comes the first bump in the road." I thought to myself as I headed back to his room. However, after a quick investigation, I discovered that the source of his trouble wasn't his new bed, but rather he was upset with his smoke detector. His two year old imagination had him convinced that the green light was actually a dragon (*gasp!) and that it was watching him. A quick conversation with Mom washed those dragon fears away. He's currently asleep (Eliza's sitting here next to me with a paintbrush in hand if my potential blogging neglect concerns you).

The changes continued with a summer haircut courtesy of our in-house stylist: Andrew. Don't cry, Mom. It will grow back in time for the wedding. It looks even better when styled... something my brother Mark has forbid me from doing. Sorry, Mark. It's true. I've been putting product in his hair.

Eliza was happy for her brother's sleeping promotion.Speaking of Eliza, she also received a raise this weekend.

Saturday morning, the kids and I hit a few garage sales while Andrew was at the temple. My brave efforts were rewarded when we scored a sweet bed frame.

That night, Andrew quickly went to work on a few repairs. After improving its overall safety, he and I painted it while listening to Breaking Dawn - my current book on CD. How's that for a romantic date night activity?

As I consider how and where I want my kids sleeping when the baby arrives, I've put rearranging her furniture/wall decor on hold until I have my mind made up as having the bed directly next to the wall no longer meshes with the previous arrangement.

We have four bedrooms. Each child can have their own room, but I'm tempted to put Eliza and Henry in the same room for the "fun of it." They are best buddies. But when I gear up for the switch, I can't ignore the positives of having them in separate rooms. I keep teeter-tottering through each scenario, frustrated with my constant state of indecision.

Moving on... I took the kids to their yearly well-child check up last Friday.

Eliza finds herself in the 50th percentile in both height and weight for the second year in a row. She's currently 37 lbs. Henry has likewise stayed in the 15-20th percentile in height and weight. He is currently 25 lbs. His size is the product of his genes. He eats all that I offer him and there are days when the quantity of what he eats rivals the appetite of a 15 year old teenage male.

Eliza, poor thing, had to receive four shots! Henry walked away with a battle wound of his own. It was super difficult to watch. I was so proud of her bravery and grateful for her understanding of why it is necessary to protect ourselves from "da-deases" (diseases). She was waddling (and complaining) like a pregnant woman for the rest of the day. The Tylenol eased her discomfort a great deal.
Here she is in her "Cinderella" check-up gown that we were allowed to bring home for her to decorate.

I'm grateful I opted to schedule their appointments on the same day as Henry mimicked his big sister's obedient actions closely. The doctor said he couldn't ask for two better patients. I can't take credit because honestly, what's more exciting than an actual otoscope? The promise of stickers and an otter-pop from Nurse Kathy were also motivating factors. Still, I couldn't control my mouth as I listened to her piercing cries.

"WHATEVER you want, Eliza! It's yours!!" I promised her. Days later, she's finally settled on her choice. It looks like we will soon be purchasing ourselves a game of Hi-Ho, Cherry-Oh in celebration of her bravery.