Lighting up (a tree)

The Detroit Christmas tree was lit up this weekend, and because of Ben's work, we got into an event held by United Way. It was great--good food, lots of desserts, fancy dinner for professionals and a fun room for kids. There were all kinds of activities like coloring, cookie decorating, and a photo booth. We mostly stayed in the kids room...

We tried to get Henry's face painted, but every time the brush went near his face, he turned to look at it. We gave up after a few attempts.

He picked up these two rolls and it was awhile before he paid attention to anything else.

There was a man doing balloon animals. Henry got a candy cane, though we had to carry it around until he was done eating.

Still eating a roll...

Ben guarded the candy cane while Henry's hands were full of bread.

Henry was very popular with the adults and kids. Young kids about his size (but usually six months to a year older) would walk up to him and point at him or talk to him. One little girl kept giving him hugs.

Last year we took a picture in front of this tree, but we were outside and it was freezing. And I was 8 months pregnant. And Ben had a mustache. This year was much better.

The tree lighting festival is by far the best thing Detroit does. The city is all lit up and alive. It's one of the very few times that it's actually full of people (despite how it looks in this picture)

Touchdown!

Morning routine

Being a mom is stressful. But there are little moments that I know I'll remember for a long time that make it so rewarding. This morning Henry woke us up and "snuggled" with us in bed, like he usually does. To paint a picture, his snuggling usually involves laying his head right on your face, putting cold hands on any exposed bit of skin he can find, and crawling all over the bed (and us) while talking loudly. Oh, and since he's been sick, wiping his nose all over us and the bed. It's one of the best parts of the day.

This morning, I had a hard time waking up, so wonderful Ben took over Henry and let me doze as much as was possible with a hair-pulling almost-one year old. Henry spent most of the morning following his dad around. They took a shower, which is always a fun interaction to see. Ben teaches Henry how to flick water in other people's faces and Henry sucks the water off Ben's shoulder and giggles. When it came time to pull Henry out and get him dressed, both Henry and Ben pouted quite a bit.

As soon as I had Henry dried and diapered, he took off back down the hallway toward his dad. He loves watching Ben and he especially enjoys mimicking him. Henry has his own toothbrush, and when Dad brushes, he brushes (even if it's with the wrong end). Same with brushing hair--Henry wants to have his hair brushed if that's what Ben is doing. On mornings when Ben just wets his hair down, so does Henry.

Lately, when it comes time for Ben to leave for work, Henry can tell. He starts crying as soon as Ben puts his jacket on. Poor kid. This morning was no exception. We have to distract him when Ben walks out the door, because he's so sad to see him go. I love that about him. Then in the evening when Ben comes home, it's awhile before Henry wants anything to do with me again. I love my boys. One of the things I love most about them is how much they love each other.