Work hard play hard

We're going to try a new styley for showing pictures ... give us a shout if you are excited or morosely depressed by this.

Henry has been a real trooper about the basement. He's been pitching in with his Pat (hammer), Turner (flat head screwdriver), Felipe (Philips-head), and Stretch (tape measure).

After we're done working, he hangs out in the pool. What a life!

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All Frickin' Day!

We've been through 3 and a half days without Mommy, and have witnessed the following:

• Daddy commenting to Mommy on the webcam that Simon (the cat) was crying "All Fricking Day" to then hear Henry start cackling "All Fricking Day" over and over and over again
• one more crushed finger, this time cracking the nail in two, at the hands of the basement renovation
• the last Amoxicillin dose from the accursed Strep Throat Incident of 2007 (that was terrible ... when babies can't sleep, it's just like being a newborn again)
• a four-hour stretch in which there was multitasking between framing walls and doing laundry
• a lot of really adorable phrases from Henry, including 'mommy airplane a ca-GA-go' and talking about the hospital that Henry and Daddy were born at (how does he remember this stuff?)

Mommy, don't worry ... the animals are still alive and everyone is pooping where they're supposed to.

Where's Mommy?

... in Chicago (Henry's pronunciation: ca-KAH-go!). Mommy is off saving the planet in Chicago, at a conference for a week. I know, a week! Of course the toilet broke yesterday, I cut myself shaving this morning, we're out of bread, the sink was filled with dirty dishes, Henry has what might be poison ivy, he didn't go to bed until 10:30 last night and we're just getting started on Day 1!

The blogs this week may be a bit more detailed, as I chronicle for Mommy all the comings and goings on the day.

Henry went to Gaga's today to play, and will go again on Wednesday. Then it's Grammy and Grandpa on Friday. This morning, Henry asked me about a zillion times on the trip over where we were going. I turned it back on him: "Where are we going, Henry?" He'd get a big smile and say "Gaga's House!" I think he just liked to hear himself say it. We made sure to bring his "Cars" board book (he's addicted to that movie), and he carried them very matter-of-factly like a briefcase ("... and we're running a special on these wonderful children's books ... would you like to take a look?").

That's about it for now ... more later.

Happy Fourth of July!

Old Glory
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

OK, OK, it's the 22nd of July, but I'm just trying to catch up! Sheesh!

Henry followed up his gigundous birthday bash with some well-deserved rest on the 3rd. Then we took a big breath and plunged into the Fourth! We got up early to go to Grammy and Grandpa Rayo's for UA's parade, which seemed much longer than it has in the past. It was great except that now mid-80's cars are now technically "vintage" -- but still ugly -- and they were featured more prominently than ever in the parade.

We collected Henry, Mom (Gramma), and Tom to take them back to our house and wish Gramma safe travels back to Florida. Then we were off to the Doo Dah parade! We found a great place on High St. (which we later found out was the end of the parade route) and settled in for what we thought was the 20 minute wait until the parade got to us.

An hour and a half later, still nothing. I need to remember that, of all the wonderful thing that Doo Dah is, it is not punctual.

Or reverential. We saw the dancing Fidels, the Popemobile, the Columbus Gay Color Guard, more fishnet and facepaint (think Rocky Horror) than I care to think about, and other reverie. (EDITOR'S NOTE: why is it always the folks that are "pleasantly plump" that decide to wear their lingerie out in public? Maybe it's the fattening of America that I'm witnessing ...)

We took our second quick breather, nixed our picnic plans because of a torrential downpour, then went to dinner with some friends (I know ... dinner out on the Fourth? No BBQ? Sacrilege!!!). The irony was that it was bright in Sunny as we walked into Hunan House to commemorate the birth of our country.

We booked it back home to stroller over to the Clintonville fireworks. Henry loved the "twinkles", but really didn't like the "loud loud loud." I cupped his ears throughout, and he fell asleep midway through. He didn't even blink through the finale!!!!

Then we went home and slept. And he woke up early the next morning. Drats!!!!

Ah, to be green!

EDITORS'S NOTE: this has nothing to do with Henry. Read accordingly.

Kermit's right ... it's not easy being green. Whether it's going without Chinese-made goods (even for a year!) or trading in your F350 for a Prius (and I know, I know ... that Prius can't haul your fifth-wheel, which I see as the only excuse to have that big truck), it's a serious sacrifice.

Uncle James (that's Thornburg, not LeBron ... sorry Henry) turned me onto a great book called WorldChanging, which turned me on to an even better blog: http://www.worldchanging.com/. He's since started a very amusing green-tech-humorous-cheesehead blog here:

http://insourceoutsource.blogspot.com/

(alright, disregard the cheesehead part)

I've also subscribed to it on this blog, so you can see his most recent over there on the right ----->

If you've read James's stuff, you know that he has a unique (and quite welcoming) sense of humor. I dig it ... check it out if you want to. And I promise, the next post WILL be about Henry.

Happy Birthday, Henry!

Birthday boy!
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

COLUMBUS, OH - There has been much hubbub about this anticipated event in Clintonville, OH. And then there was much procrastination in writing about it.

Here is a transcript of an interview on the day of Henry Rayo's second birthday.

Dad: So, how old are you going to be, Henry?
Henry: Two! (holding up all five fingers)

Dad: What day is today? What day do you turn two?
Henry: July second.

Dad: What do you want to do on your birthday?
Henry: Do SummerFarts (somersaults)!

We had every intention of making this birthday a smaller one (we planned for 40 last year) but once we started writing invitations, we knew that the small party was never going to happen. So we made the menu smaller: Ice Cream Social!

So it was still 40 of Henry's closest friends. We still decked out the house. But we didn't overstress our kitchen or our parents with chicken and sides for 40 ... we just bought a chest freezer and pointed everyone to the ice cream bar.

Henry practiced with Mommy all week to blow out the candles, but had a little stage fright when it came to the big moment. Asia helped.

Then Uncle Jimmy crawled in a box and fell over (see earlier post).

Fun!

Poor Boxman!!

In true cart before horse fashion, here's a video of the end of Henry's birthday party ... we'll tell more about the actual party soon!!!

(That's uncle Jimmy in the box, and I'm the big jerk with the hippity hop ... sorry, Jim!)

Happy Father's Day!!!

Henry and Daddy
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Whew! We're just recovering from Father's Day weekend. The whole thing started on Friday night. After putting Henry to bed, Sarah got started on Father's Day gifts, and I packed us up for a trip to scenic Ypsilanti, Michigan, to visit the soon-to-be newest father (and mother) in our family, Bryan and Sarah. We both got finished around 1:30 AM.

So, whose bright idea was it, then, that we try to get on the road by 6:00 AM? Crappers, it was mine. I shoveled myself out of bed, threw Sarah in the car, and almost got Henry in before he woke up. We thought that if we left early enough, he'd stay asleep, and keep sleeping through most of the trip. He didn't agree with the plan. He was great, though, and did sleep about 45 minutes of the 3 hour trip.

When we got there, it was baby shower for Sarah (and Sarah and Sarah, by the way), and it was a manly bike ride for the three Rayo dudes. We rode through some of Ann Arbor's finest paved trails, and had a picnic lunch (packed in Columbus, OH, I'll have you know).

We had a cookout that evening, brunch the next morning, a thrilling (and I mean thrilling) trip home, and dinner with Gaga and Papa on Father's Night (that is what the evening of Father's Day is called, right?)

Then I fell asleep. I just woke up.

Loving the Rose Festival!

Henry blowing a kiss
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Henry has been growing and changing and is still absolutely adorable. This is a picture of him at the Rose Festival in Clintonville. We strollered up with Tenzin and Aunt Rachel, and Uncle James met us there. Henry danced and ran and "smelled" the roses. Actually, he tried to smell them by exhaling through his mouth (which we tried to explain to him was "blowing", not "smelling"). He then found a stick and started "fixing" the trees. And he hiked his first hill. I successfully taught him that it is proper form that, once on top of the tree, it is proper to collapse in a heap of exhaustion, wheezing "Hoo ... hoil ... that was hard!" He was a big fan.

In other news, bedtime has once again changed, and I think we've finally got the hang of this round. We negotiate how many books (default: 2) and how many songs (default: 1) that we'll have before bedtime, then a quick hug and a kiss and Night Night. There was a week of short-lived crying about this new plan, but we're cool now. Weird aside: Henry started talking about his "sister" during bedtime this week. And no, there's nothing to it ... it's actually kind of eerie ... does he know something that WE don't know?

Destroying the crib ... part II

Destroying the crib ... part II
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

This is Daddy giving explicit instructions on how to reduce Henry's crib to kindling

Never (I mean never) expect to sleep in

Destroying the crib ... together
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Oh Patron Saint of Insomnia, in what way did we vex you? Was it our hubris in thinking that Henry was ready for a big boy bed? Was it our naive assumption that, since Henry got up early the day before and went to sleep late, we might be able to sleep in? Do you simply have it in for us since we're parents and you obviously don't like parents?

Please consider the destruction of Henry's crib as a peace offering. A token, really, of how much we are willing to do to garner your favor. Destroying a bed is the ultimate symbol of insomnia ... take this crib so that we can live (and by live I obviously mean sleep)!

Please consider last night our penance and let us go on our way. Please consider Henry's 2:30 AM nightmare and his subsequent wailing and inability to get to sleep. Please consider that, after all other techniques were used, we brought him into bed with us, ensuring that sound sleep would not be visiting either of us. Please consider Henry getting up at 6:00 in the morning, when both of us knew that he would not go back to sleep. Please consider all of this as you determine our fate! I know, I know ... we've had it easy the last year as Henry's been sleeping well. The simple fact is that we're not used to it anymore ... and Henry isn't taking naps all day, and if the dude is awake, he's running (and running and running).

If that isn't enough, then there's a fiver in my jeans on the dresser just for you.

Oh our glorious hammock!

Sarah's hammock
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

So, momma got a hammock for Mother's Day! Which means that Daddy got a hammock for Mother's Day! After poring over which hammock to buy (do I buy a brazilian? nicaraguan? mayan? **gulp** american rope? cotton? polyester? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!), I finally pulled the trigger on this Nicaraguan number.

I got the whole thing online (stand and all). I was a little nervous, but when it came, it all looked good. Then I went to the hardware store to get the lumber for the stand. After realizing how big a 10 foot treated 4 by 4 is, I started wondering again what I was getting into. This stand is 6 foot tall, 10 feet long, and is supported by two 4 foot legs as a base. It is ... gigundous. But it is glorious once you get in.

I left Sarah to take a nap as I went to get Henry from his. When I returned 20 minutes later, she was completely enveloped in it, cocoon style. Henry had absolutely no idea where she was, and she was in Thornburg sleep mode (if you don't know what that is, thank your lucky stars).

So I'm counting this in the "finally got her the right gift" pile.

Happy Mother's Day, mommy!

What a good lookin' family!
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Mother's Day went off without too much collateral damage. There were reports of two toddlers running laps around Confluence Park in Downtown Columbus, but the authorities came up empty when they got to the scene. There was also some underage bike riding (isn't 22 months too young?) and a growling lion sighted (he's showing his teeth in this picture).

All in all, though ... another weekend successfully tamed!

Henry in his big boy bed!

Henry in his big boy bed!
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

I know, I know ... he doesn't look too excited about this quite impressive milestone. That's just how he wakes up ... he gets it from his mother.

Over the weekend, we decided to have Henry try out his futon for naps, but keep the crib for night-night. He seemed pretty cool with it. The first day, he slept the normal nap time and we heard from him as soon as he woke up. Sunday, though, he took what I thought was a three hour nap. I'll never know for sure, though, because when I finally went up to wake him up, he was sitting down on the floor happily playing with his shoes. How didn't I hear him, you ask? Funny story, actually ...

I was getting the house ready for a cookout we were having with friends, so I was out doing yardwork. I had not planned on going in to get the monitor because I was just finishing up as Sarah left to do some teacher junk. At least she said it was teacher junk. Anyhoo, I was just putting all the gear away to start fixing the food when I noticed that my ... wedding ... ring ... was ... gone. PANIC! I looked around quickly to survey the scene, only to see a yard bag, filled with yard waste, staring ominously at me. It had to be in there. So I dumped the entire thing out again and starting wading, handful by handful, through ivy guts, plant clipping, myrtle shavings, dead leaves, and the bits of Christmas tree that must have fallen off on the way to the front curb (still there from January!). After searching through the WHOLE F'ING THING, I found my ring! I rejoiced, stapled the thing to my finger, cleaned up, and busted inside.

So anyhoo, Henry did great with the naps. Last night, to up the ante, he asked to sleep in the bed. So we tried it. After crossing our fingers, we awoke the next morning and Henry was good to go (except for the vacant expression and extreme displeasure at having his photo taken this early.

We'll see how it goes!

Henry, mess

Yogurt closeup
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Henry has been learning so much ... his vocabulary is skyrocketing, his dexterity and balance are crazy-improved ... but, alas, his messiness has not improved. Or you can say his ability to make a mess has also improved mightily. This face is the result of him literally painting himself with yogurt after he decided that he didn't want any more.

He had a great time. And the best part? We threw away all of our bibs two months ago (check out the glop on his shirt) and the blue cartoon pipe-looking things behind his head are part of his placemat, which dad (in)conveniently forgot to put on the table. You can check out the rest of the Flickr gallery (click on the picture) to see how the table fared.

Instead of telling him no, I ran to get the camera! I'm sure that won't bite me in the ass in our very near future.

Great weekend

What a great weekend ... Henry learned how to plant flowers, turn on the hose, hit Teddy with a stick, and throw all the decorative rocks that are in our garden. Oh yeah, and break the glass spheres that are (were) in the garden.

And the big news: Henry has a play area in the back of the yard that (1) does not have a bunch of piles of yard waste that Daddy had neglected to deal with for three years and (2) is not overrun with ivy that, again, Daddy had neglected to deal with for three years. It is lined with pine bark nugget mulch, is surrounded by evergreens and has a Maple tree smack dab in the middle. We call it his "campgrounds", and his tent has already been set up. His tent has also been hastily taken down minutes before a spring deluge hit and blew over just about everything in the yard, including our patio table and anchored umbrella.

We also tested out the bike trailer ... Henry now has his pick of the buggy (his wagon), the 'troller (his original stroller), and the bike trailer whenever he wants to traipse around the neighborhood. He doesn't much like the trailer.

We'll have some pictures up anytime now. Like, at least before Winter.

Greetings from Florida!

Henry reaching
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Henry wanted to make sure you all knew that he went on vacation! Click on the picture to see this and all of the pictures from the vacation.

Henry's new car

0326070817
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

... with Elmo riding shotgun! Henry was laughing in his seat (which is in the backseat of the car) when we rolled up to day care. The minute I unbuckled him he shot across the console and ended up in the driver's seat. He worked the steering wheel, changed gears, checked out the parking break, mugged for this picture, and made sure that Elmo was sitting up straight. Like a good driver should.

But ... no seat belt! Luckily the car wasn't moving, the keys weren't in the ignition, the parking break was on, the driver's door was open, and Henry was content with all of it.

Next ... flying lessons!

Graduation!

M MJR MSR
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

It has taken a week, but things have finally cooled down enough to document the fateful day, March 18th, 2007, in which a degree a degree was conferred on me. Here's me with my Mommy and my Daddy. And that is the Horseshoe in the background (O-H!). Archie Griffin spoke at the gathering, and is slowly convincing me to give money to OSU as a proud alumnus.

We had a great breakfast, the ceremony went smoothly (albeit slowly) and then back home to hang with family and, of course, watch the NCAA tournament. Duh!

Unfortunately, Henry didn't have a good week following. He couldn't hold his ... uh ... raisins at the ceremony, and had all manners of gastrointestinal problems the following week. Poor kid! He was, as he always is, a trooper through all of it and barely complained although his tummy was in knots and his backside was in open mutiny against him.

Now I have to figure out what to do with my Degree!

Oh G'Dosh ... I Keezy!

Welcome to Henry's first phrase! As he was launching himself around his futon, which we've opened up into bed (in addition to his crib ... he calls the futon his "summer bed", much like our place is the Hamptons is our summer house), he overheard me once again saying ... OH MY GOSH! YOU'RE CRAZY! So he started repeating it over and over, but realized that I was talking to him, so he changed the pronouns accordingly.

Therefore .... "Oh g'dosh .... I keezy!"

He also seems to know the difference between crazy and silly. A quick dance or bopping his head side to side or sticking out his tongue ... silly. Trying to jump off the bed, or run through the jungle part of our backyard, or wrestle with Teddy ... crazy.

He is keezy.