Rodeo 2010 to 2011

For some reason, kids like to run up and down this astroturfed hill inside the animal area. And Henry did the same both this year and last....and boy he has grown!

Time with Oma

After the Bayes family departed, we were blessed to have Oma stay four extra days to just have fun with Henry. Usually Henry is a guy's guy, but with no guys around (Mark even left for a business trip), he got more acquainted with Oma. And even got dance lessons for free!

Bayes family visit

We were lucky to have Oma, Opa, Uncle Matt, Aunt Jaime and most importantly Ellie and Tyler come to visit for President's Day weekend. Henry really enjoyed time with his cousins and has talked about them non-stop since they left. You can see we enjoyed cinnamon rolls, time at the park and a lot of wrestling time too!

Snuggling with Dad

Sorry - we were on a accidental blog hiatus, but are back! Below Henry and Dad enjoy some cuddling while watching the Purdue game.

Christmas Season

I never knew how much fun Christmas could be with a 2 year old! The entire Advent season was exciting - complete with our first Advent calendar. We had a ball opening gifts with Henry this year and I think he enjoyed it too! We have a tradition of opening gifts on Christmas Eve, so you'll see most pictures are in pj's before bed. On Christmas morning, we opened the big gifts, which included a tricycle.


Completing the Advent calendar - placement of all pieces by Henry


Opening the storybook read by Grandma and Grandpa Franke


Lining up the dinosaurs on the town play mat while the recycling truck waits in the background


Pure bliss of a 2 year old boy at Christmas

Santa Visit

Tuesday, we went to visit Santa at our local mall. We had very low expectations, but Henry was not at all hesitant to sit on his lap and talk. But who knows what he told him!

Thanksgiving in the Fort

Yes, it is the week of Christmas and I am just getting around to talking about Thanksgiving. My bad! That tells you how busy December has been. The other reason for the delay is that I didn't have many good pics from the weekend. Now that Mark's sister Mary (who is a professional photographer) is in Fort Wayne, I let her do her thing. And boy, I was glad that she did!

A ton of good photos are on her blog, which I will link here: http://frankebell.tumblr.com/ You may need to scroll down a bit to see them all, but in the meantime you can enjoy pictures and commentary on her daughter Jane.

We'll be sure to be better at Christmas, but until then enjoy our Turkey Day.