Tuesday, June 14, 2011

I am the Mother of Invention

Henry loves to invent things. I'll say, "Man, I hate having to brush your crazy long hair!" and he'll ask, "Should I invent something that would keep my hair brushed so you don't have to do it?" And then he'll be off with his popsicle sticks, bits of ribbon and other stuff he's collected and saved (and by saved I mean shoved) in his art dresser.

Today I went inside the house ahead of Henry and heard a loud roar like a jet flying overhead. When he came in he told me it was a helicopter, but that "it flew by so suddenly I didn't have time to turn on my camera" -- he has one in his head, you know -- "but I think I'll make something that will automatically record anything flying overhead."

Here is the camera he built from paper, tape and a toilet paper roll:


In his left hand are drawings of all the possible objects the camera could record: helicopter, airplane, blimp or zeppelin.


See what I mean about the hair? I'm still waiting for that invention.

What's cool is that he knows these things don't really work, but that doesn't stop him from continuing to create and invent. In Henry's imaginary world anything can happen. The mix of creativity, engineering and art just astound me, and it almost makes the mess (did I mention he never wants to throw out any of his creations?) worth it.

Almost.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Finally Asleep

Last night my husband's band played a show, which meant I was on the hook for getting both boys off to sleep. Sometimes this is a simple matter and they're both in dreamland without too much trouble. Last night, however, Henry would not.stop.talking and Silas would not.stop.rolling.over.

I think Silas is at the very beginning stages of crawling, so when he rolls onto his stomach he'll push his upper body up with his arms and kick his feet. I love that he's working so hard to figure it out; however, I wish he would do it on his own time.

After they were both finally out I shot this video of them. There are few things sweeter than a sleeping child, unless maybe it's two sleeping children. In it you can see how HUGE Silas has gotten -- at his six month doctor's visit on May 23rd he was 19lbs. 4.6oz. (80th percentile) and 17.72 inches tall (83rd percentile).

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Henry Quotes (May 2011 Edition)

I just found a Mother's Day card that Henry made at school in his backpack. I told him it was beautiful and he said, "I'm glad you agree."

The other day Henry was watching "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" with his half-sister Maddy. At one point Maddy leaned in toward the screen and said, "Go Lady! Go go go!" Henry burst out laughing and said, "Maddy, you don't have to say that!"

HENRY: I'm starting to feel sick again. I guess that means no school tomorrow!

HENRY (on hearing that his older brother works at BOTH union buildings on campus): You must be really busy. How do you manage it all?