The Minnesota Zoo

On Monday, Henry and I went to the Minnesota Zoo with our friends Michelle, Jaxon, and Landry. It was a hot, humid day but we survived! The highlights for Henry were the sucker he got to eat, the chickens and pigs. My favorite event was watching Jaxon and Landry feeding the giraffes up close! Amazing! Here are some pictures from the day- I'm sure Michelle has better pictures so maybe she'll post some on her blog. Michelle and I agreed that maybe the zoo is a trip that would be easier and less sweaty with the dads along!


Deep in thought...probably thinking about what he could do to make me nervous!


At the turtle pond: Landy, Jaxon, and Henry

Hmm, how could I scale this fence?

Walking with Jaxon (Thank goodness for Jaxon - I don't know what we would have done without him!) This is a little while after Henry's pants fell down while he was running with Jaxon, "Uh-oh." :)

Henry was so excited to see the draft horses in the farm area. He enjoyed petting them until one horse decided to itch her head on the fence which really frightened Henry (In his defense the horse's head was the size of Henry!). After the horse visit, he would make this face and try to climb up my shoulders whenever he thought an animal was getting too close. He couldn't wait to get into the goat pen until we got in the goat pen...then he wanted to get out!

Henry and the Big Mama Pig. He kept walking around making grunting noises.

All the kiddos on the pig. In case you are wondering - we did see real, live animals at the zoo. It just so happens that it is a little easier for me to take pictures of the kids with the fake ones!

Henry with the baby chicks. As excited as Henry was about the baby chicks (he tried to "cheap" to them), he held on tightly to his treat from lunch. This sucker was probably his favorite thing about the zoo...not mine.

Just hanging out with the fake chicken and the sucker.

Zonked. He tried so hard to stay awake on the way to the car. He was sitting up straight swaying back and forth and then...out. He's shirtless because he had sucker pieces and popsicle juice all over his shirt (and his hair I might add) and it was hot!

Pajamas and Bathtime

Saturday Morning: Henry turned his pajama pants into a hat.


Anyone for "Hide and Seek?" He thought he was so funny...and we agreed.


Saturday Night at the lake. He loved looking at his reflection on the metal plate in the bathtub. He would slide on his tummy to get different views.

Happy (this is before we tried to dry his hair and put him in bed)

Purses, Make-up, and a Backpack

This week Henry and I made a quick trip to "the cities." Grandma pulled out the good old Fisher Price Little People stuff which Henry really enjoyed. Henry is keeping us entertained, as usual. Sometimes it seems like he's just a little man.


Playing with Aunt Erin's purse (I think he was hoping it would have gum like Grandma's does). As you can tell, unfortunately, I've influenced his fashion sense. The only difference is my key word is "comfort" and Henry's key word is "strings." It is getting increasingly difficult to get him in any pants/shorts that don't have "strings" or "ties" in the front. It is not unusual for me to get out of the shower and find him on his bedroom floor, dresser drawers pulled out with pants all over, trying to put on a pair of sweatpants that has strings even though it's 80 degrees outside. Anyway, he does have some really cute shorts that go with this shirt, but as you've probably guessed, they don't have strings! Oh well, he looks handsome no matter what he's wearing.


Miss Adeline dropped by for a quick visit.

First Backpack: My friend, Jenna, and her family gave Henry this backpack. I had some things packed in it for an evening of babysitting by Grandma Ammermann when Henry found it. He had to wear it around the house. It was not light (as you may know, I never pack light) and at one point he tried to squat while wearing it and fell over backwards! I can almost see him going off to preschool...I have to grab a tissue.

Double duty: taking a rest and first time serving as a door stop.

Very proudly displaying his first encounter with eye shadow.

His first Icee-Pop on the front steps. Now he's always trying to get into the freezer!

Weekend at the North Shore

This weekend we made our annual trip up North to Tofte with the Leverentz Family. We were missing lots of cousins but it was good to spend time together. Henry had fun playing with his cousins, running, and listening to the guitar being played by Uncle Dave, Aunt Megan and Boppa.
Sorry there are so many pictures, I couldn't decide.


Henry helped me make Grandma Leverentz's carmel rolls for the weekend.


He insisted on rolling the dough by himself...


...and eating some of it, too.




Greeting the bear at Dairy Queen in Two Harbors.

With Boppa and Grandma. He was very good at eating every one else's ice cream at DQ (I guess our lessons on being thrifty are taking hold).

Walking with Daddy on the rocks at Sugar Beach. He has a few skinned knees and elbows (and lots of mosquito bites) to show for this weekend.

A picture of what is to come in a few years...

A guitar lesson with Boppa. He loved listening to the guitar!

At the Temperance River. His independent and adventurous sides came out here. Thankfully, Aunties Karen and Megan walked with him in the river. What fun!

Walking with Auntie Megan.

One happy little boy.

Throwing rocks in puddles.

Time with Daddy.

Not the best pic, but hey, we're all in it.

The North Shore Group 2009

Trying out Grandma's curlers. He is always fascinated by these!

Feeding seagulls with Daddy. Truth be told, Henry was eating the bread instead of throwing it. "Nummy," he would say, "More."

Mommy and Henry

Listening to music with Auntie Megan on her ipod. He thought this was very interesting!

Obviously having a great time with Auntie Erin on the rocks!

Family Pic. I think you can see the gum in Henry's mouth if you look closely. Interesting fact: If your child chews (and swallows) enough Orbitz Mint Gum, his poopy diapers smell strangely minty...hmm.

Froggy Rainboots

Henry got these boots for his birthday last year. He pulled them out of the closet last week and tried them on. They fit perfectly and I thought he looked so cute wearing them.

Henry's Birthday Party

We had a birthday party for Henry on Sunday at Lake Florida. It was very windy to say the least. I had to change into capris and after 2-too-many Marilyn Monroe moments! Anyway...It was a good but busy day. Henry took a long nap after the party.

We are so very blessed to have a healthy and happy little boy. We're praying that Henry will have a wonderful year - and that we can keep up with him!


The Cake...you'll notice that although there is a tractor on it, I obviously did not make or decorate this cake and it is not in the shape of a tractor...and it's not pink!


Henry testing the cake - he thought it was almost as delicious as the pink Farmall...maybe I do have a future in cakes!


Getting ready to blow out the candles with his cousins (L-R: George, Sam, Charlotte, Megan, Lauren)

With Henry's Great-Grandmas: Grandma Josie and Grandma Berg

Playing with his new tractors - we may have to build a shed in our family room to house all of his farm equipment.

Henry's 2nd Birthday

Last Saturday was Henry's 2nd birthday - how is that possible? Patrick, Mary and Addie drove in from "the Big City" to help us celebrate. Henry's birthday dinner was a memorable one: pork chops that shrunk and looked burnt but actually tasted great, fajitas (the back up dinner when the p. chops burned), baked potatoes (made to go with the original plan of pork chops), fruit and ice cream dessert. As you can see from the pictures, Henry had lots of fun with the Walker family! We are so thankful for their friendship and that they were able to be here to celebrate with us.


Patrick and Henry reading "The Runaway Bunny."


Henry giving Patrick a kiss while reading.

Patrick was a sport - he read "The Runaway Bunny" about 7 times! Henry really likes Patrick...a lot!

Aren't they too cute? Henry and Addie "playing."

Opening presents - this has been a favorite.

Addie is just the sweetest!

Henry is saying "Cheese" for this picture. He loves the songs on the CDs that came with this book. He likes clapping along and singing.

Addie gets familiar with the trucks!

Playing trucks together. Henry was very suprised that Addie could crawl now...maybe he was also a little concerned that she was going for his trucks!