3 Years, 4 Months

Adventures on the Town

Watching the world go by (at Jamba Juice):

(Henry middle, Jack right.)

One of our more exciting outings, watching a very tall crane put new HVAC equipment up on to the roof of a three-story building (Henry in yellow, Jack in blue):

The boys and I spent nearly an hour watching the crane do its thing. Steve was able to leave, pick up our lunch and return to pick us up without the boys moving hardly an inch. Big machines are fun.

Another exciting adventure, visiting Dad's work!

Jack immediately got down to business:

Back at Home
Henry is very bend-y:

Henry enjoys building elaborate block villages. One of this creations (which he refused to pose with):

The boys were pleased that we brought the outdoor furniture cushions in from the rain, so that they could build an extra-tall couch for their Curious George and Doc McStuffins watching (Henry in foreground with his beloved stuffed animal "Owl, the Grape Purple Penguin," Jack in background):

Quotable Jack
When asked his opinion of preschool, "I don't like school. Too many friends there."

Reading a book in which a plot point involves a toad in the road, "I will bring it home and it will live in my house and I will hug it!"

On the holidays, "Let's decoration it!"

Quotable Henry
When displeased with the choices presented, "That's NOT the options!" (He says this one a lot.)

When Jack asked if he could borrow Henry's notepad, "No, it's not good for you. It's making you sick."

Thanksgiving at Grandma's
Though the wind was a bit frigid, the boys really enjoyed the park near Grandma Loveridge's home. It had all the best park action...

Swinging!

Jack left, Henry right (showing off his awesome bear hoodie).

Spinning! (Henry with tennis ball)

(Henry with tennis ball, Jack with mischievous grin.)

Climbing!

Henry surprised us by being a fearless little climber.

Speaking of fearless little daredevils, back at Grandma's house, playing with the "firepole" in Grandma's room (which was installed to assist Grandpa in getting in/out of bed).

Firefighter Jack:

Firefighter Henry:

The boys really enjoyed playing with their cousins. We didn't get the best pictures (mostly blurry due to frantic action), but here's one of Cousins Nathan and Rosie teaching Henry (foreground) and Jack (background) how to play King Domino:

I don't think the boys really understood what was going on, but they liked arranging the pieces and getting attention from their big cousins.

My parents were happy to be invited to the Loveridge Thanksgiving and drove their little RV up to Sacramento to join the festivities. My dad found ways to help out, including repairing an automatic card shuffler, a process Jack was very interested in.

Future repair-person Jack, watching carefully:

After the Thanksgiving feast comes... Christmas decorating!

Jack (foreground) and Henry (background) get to work decorating the tree:

Henry, very meticulous in his ornament placement:

Let me help you Daddy!

Is this really helping? Jack grabs Dad's head while he tries to hang ornaments. More helpful, Grandpa makes sure Jack stays on his perch: 

And with that, onward we barrel toward Christmas and a brand new year...

3 Years, 3 Months

The biggest adventure of the past month was Thomas & Percy's Halloween at Roaring Camp Railroads in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Thomas and Percy "pull" (in reality, a diesel engine positioned in the middle of the train does the work) a passenger train through the mountains. Unfortunately the boys were pretty tired when we went, but they still enjoyed it. 

Grandma and Grandpa Pool got to come along too. Jack found the train a bit loud, but we were prepared for that possibility.

Henry, taking in the forest:

Jack, watching the river run through the valley below:

Henry enjoys some story time with Grandma:

Henry regales Grandpa with tales of his many adventures:

In a happy coincidence, Grandma and Grandpa brought up new books for the boys: Thomas books! Perfect timing to read after our train adventure.

     

At the Park
Ready for blastoff (Jack piloting, Henry co-piloting):

Ascending to new heights:

Our new park adventure of the month led us to discover a local park with a very high, fast and exciting slide.

Henry (in yellow sunglasses) and Jack prepare for launch:

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

At the same park, Henry waits for us on the formidable stairs up the soccer field:

Around the House
The boys love their spa time:

Henry, foam block architect:

Showing off a Star Wars sweatshirt that was his Mom's:

It was time for flu shots last month. Mom and Dad went first, explained that it would poke a bit but the boys would feel better fast. Henry hopped up on the chair and got his shot with nary even a whimper. The nurse seemed really impressed. We were so proud of him.

Then, of course, it was Jack's turn. After his shot, we quickly whisked him from the medical office while he hollered, cried and repeatedly screamed, "I DON'T LIKE THAT!" Sigh.

Jack, on the move with his shredded cheese:

Jack likes to chase birds, a habit I don't approve of (crows keep grudges, just seems unwise). When I asked him in frustration why he keeps doing it, he said, "I like to see birds who leave fast!" Well, hard to argue with that.

While sitting at lunch one day, I observed Jack attempting to stack the mustard bottle on top of the ketchup bottle. I said, "those won't stack, dude." Jack arched his eyebrow at me, turned the mustard bottle upside and stacked it on top of the ketchup, cap-to-cap. I'm not sure why I bother talking at all.

Mario and Luigi, during their Acai Bowl snack:

On the Town
Henry, at preschool, cruising in the cozy coupe:

Preparing for a future of many broken bones (playing with skateboards at Big 5).
Jack:

Henry:

Halloween
Jack puts up decorations with Dad:

Henry needs a little extra lift:

Preschool field trip to a pumpkin patch on the coast north of town (agricultural lands with sweeping views of the ocean... not too shabby for a humble pumpkin patch):

Henry has never met a pumpkin he didn't like. Jack has never met dirt he didn't need to dig in.

Jack enjoys the irrigation tube slide:

For Halloween itself, the boys picked their costumes from our dress-up collection and then requested face paint. Jack wanted black and green whiskers and Henry wanted white and green (his over-the-eye "ears" were leftover from their school festival earlier in the day).

Ready for trick-or-treating, Henry critter, Momma cat (the boys picked my costume) and Jack Tiger:

"ROAR!" with Kasey:

Jack, on the move:

Taking a short break:

The critters pause for a moment:

The boys have been asking when they get to trick-or-treat again. If they understood the concept of time better, they'd be pretty upset at our answer of "next year."