Christmas Eve

Henry enjoyed his first Christmas Eve at my parents house. We learned some big news on this night, my brother Brian and his girlfriend Emily are engaged. We are all very excited for both of them and happy to have Emily join the family. Unfortunately I did not think quick enough and do not have a picture of either the happy couple or the ring, but Kate does, so check out her blog for those pics. The boys all enjoyed their gifts and I think Henry was a bit confused at first, but he was able to get the hang of things as the night went on.

Henry and Daddy played a Christmas carol on the piano.

Cole and Luke got a ride on tractor from Bompa, Henry thought he deserved a ride.

Henry got some puffs from Grammy.

A Day with the Nephews

On Saturday Kate came down with the stomach bug, thanks in large part to my family as we had all had it and she was certainly exposed. It was only fair of me to take her kids as she so often helps out with Henry. It was a great opportunity for Kevin and I to spend so much needed time with the boys as although we are able to "see" them almost every day, we do not have time to enjoy them. Aside from our house totally not be equipped for four boys ages 8 months to six years old, we had a blast. Jack and Kevin argued over whose turn it was with the video games and Henry and Cole argued over a spot on my lap. Luke kept himself quite busy with a large empty box we had and his trucks of course. Kevin and I also braved the elements and took all three Castor boys oustide while Henry napped. We had a lot of fun and according the Jack, the snow at my house IS much better than the snow at his house. Here are some pictures from our action packed day.

(P.S. Later that evening my brother Brian aka "Bubba" came home from Washington for his first visit since joining the Air Force in May. We all surprised him at the airport and then enjoyed a short visit at my parents. My pictures were blurry so go to the Castor Boys blog and check them out)

Henry trying to take Cole's sock off, it's payback Cole!

When Cole was taking a break from unwrapping my gifts under the tree, he would take the ornaments off and in this case, "ride" it.

Cole was a little dissappointed that Jack and Luke got to go outside without him, so I caught him trying to dress himself so he could outside too.

Poor Cole had to wear my scarf because his brothers were throwing snow at him and his face was getting wet.

Here's Luke after being thrown in the snow by Kevin.

Jack after be thrown.

And Cole, yes Kevin threw him as well because he was crying at his leg yelling "me, me, me," he later realized it wasn't as much fun as it looked. I believe Jack started calling Cole "Randy" after this move.

Snow Day!

Today I got sent home from work early due to the snow storm (thank you Governor Rell!). It was very nice to spend some much needed time with Henry as we have all been quite sick in this house and as a result extremely busy. Henry and I used the day to catch up on some laundry, gift wrapping and playing of course! Here are some pictures of our snow day, spent inside. Maybe tomorrow we'll venture out.


This was the first time I had let Henry watch the laundry, as you can see, he is quite interested, he probably would have stayed there all day if his chubby legs could have held him up.

Here's Henry putting the final touches on Daddy's present.

Henry is wearing his new Christmas shirt Grandma got him. If you look closely you can see that Rudolph's nose lights up, it was very challenging to get this picture.

Henry has been finding this toy more fun now that he can move the seat around the table, most of the time anyways.

A Day Home Sick

On Sunday evening I came down with a stomach bug and therefore stayed home from work for two days. Despite having the stomach bug, I certainly enjoyed my extra time home with Henry. Luckily he has no symptoms yet, let's just hope this one misses him.

Here's Henry enjoying our "soup" for lunch.

Here's Henry waiting for Kate to bring me some soup and ginger ale.

Getting Our Christmas Tree

This weekend Kevin, Henry and I picked out our Christmas tree. We ended up finding a nice tree with long needles, I forget what the kind is called, but it's beautiful. I let Henry sit on my lap in the front seat while we drove through the tree farm. He loved being able to watch out the window and bouncing around. I fear that he like "off roading" a little too much and may cause some trouble with his cousins when he gets older.

Here is the tree Kevin wanted to get, probably because he is the one responsible for getting the tree into the house.

Henry getting a lift from Daddy.

The tree we came home with.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Henry experienced his first Thanksgiving last week and to no surprise he loved every minute of it. Of course he would love a holiday dedicated to good food! I was a little sad because Henry had a very cute "My First Thanksgiving" shirt that Cole wore last year, however it was too tight for Henry. I did, however, make him wear the headband that went with the outfit, despite Kevin's efforts to prevent this. Henry was able to try a lot of food, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and my mom even sneaked him some chocolate pie (after she was told not to!) which Henry thoroughly enjoyed. During dinner we noticed that some squirrels from the neighborhood helped themselves to their own feast on our front steps!

Grammy giving Henry chocolate pie, he really did like it.

My little turkey enjoying his stuffing.

Henry's Auntie Kerri got him a toy from Aruba, and he has been having so much fun with it. Here he is showing Grammy how it works.

Helping Mommy!

This past weekend Henry and I worked hard to complete all of our chores together because Kevin worked all weeked. Henry was a great helper with the laundry and with cutting coupons. I hope he continues to enjoy helping me as he gets older!

A Weekend in Boston

A couple of weeks ago Henry and I went to Boston to visit my girlfriends. It was our first overnight without Daddy, and all in all it went well. We had to make it a "girls night in" (with Henry of course), but I don't think anybody minded. We missed Jil and Kristen, but as you can see from the photo below, Henry had a chance to say hello to Kristen on the phone. The plan was to go on a much wanted duck tour, however due to the tours being sold out, we settled for a late lunch and some catching up and perhaps some rumor starting (not on purpose of course). Henry was quite a gentleman at lunch and enjoyed his sliced banana the hostess was kind enough to bring him. Henry conked out early and slept through all of our noise, which was fairly surprising to me! We had a great time and can't wait for our next trip! Thanks again Meghann and Laura for sharing your home with us and to all the other girls for a great night!


Henry "talking" to Kristen on the phone.

Awww! How cute, I think Chrissy looks almost as excited as she did on her 21st birthday license photo!

Showing off his moves for the girls.

A bottle with Meghann in the new hat she bought him in Bermuda! You look great Henry!

A little disappointed about finding out the duck tours were sold out, but we'll try again in the spring and we can bring Hibiscus along! (Hibiscus is Anne-Marie's unborn child for those who were wondering)

A photo with the roomies, Thanks Guys!

Reading his favorite book with Tama, you can tell she gets a lot of practice.

Yup, that's a professional aunt at work!

Happy Halloween

Henry enjoyed his first Halloween tonight, actually I think I enjoyed it much more than him. He was a good sport in his costume though, keeping it on long enough for everyone to see him. He loved getting dresses up with his cousins and he even went trick or treating. He did not get many treats though, thanks to me. He still loved seeing all kids in costumes and handing out candy. All the boys before heading out.

Henry thought Cole was funny in his cow costume.

Catch that monkey!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

On Sunday we celebrated Kevin's dad's birthday (it was actually on 10/21). We had a yummy meal of turkey, stuffing and potatoes, all of which Henry thoroughly enjoyed(except the turkey, he's too young) and opened some presents with Grandpa. Judging from Henry's excitement of the food and the presents, I think he is really going to enjoy the holidays.

"I'll get that for you Grandpa."

He was so happy to play with the paper, he didn't even care what was in the box.

That's right Henry, you need to earn your keep.