George comes home!

We welcomed George home last Sunday with balloons, signs, and Curious George decor. Nanna Proctor and I had too much fun decorating for Chris George. The doting grandparents were darling and enjoyed much time snuggling with George. Chris and Stacie tried to introduce Henry to his first boy cousin, but he was far more interested in wrasslin' with Uncle Chris. He'll change his mind one day when George can wrassle too.

Fish! Wawa! Sharp! Pin-gin!

I heard this phrase on repeat during Henry's first trip to the Georgia Aquarium. He loved it! We went with four of Henry's friends, and it was darling to see them get so excited together about the fish. Henry's favorites included the sharks, penguins, and touch-screen computer (just like Mama's iPhone, but bigger!).

Happy Birthday Batman!

Our nephew, George Christopher Makris, was born today at 1:35 AM! He weighed 7 lbs., 9 oz., and was 21.25 inches long. He has a full head of dark hair and is the spittin' image of his Daddy (those Makris genes sure are strong!). Mama Stacie is doing great and resting comfortably. We had the chance to meet him earlier today, and he is a dream. We couldn't be happier for them and can't wait to enjoy many rowdy times ahead with our three boys!

Baby Bump Cousins

Aunt Stacie and I have had the privilege of sharing pregnancy together. We are 11 weeks apart, so we thought we should get a photo to show our boys how beautiful they made our bellies. Of course, Uncle Chris had to jump in on the fun and compare his own Batman-adorned belly. This will be the first and last baby bump shot of the cousins together because Aunt Stacie has hit 40+ weeks, and we should be welcoming our first nephew in just a matter of hours!

Christmas and New Year's in the Peach State

We celebrated a belated Christmas with Nanna and Grandpa at our house. Our tree was filled with gifts bearing large tags so Henry could spell out his name. After having two Christmas mornings in Michigan, Henry knew exactly what to do with a present! Elmo was clearly a theme this year, along with fun outdoor toys like a sled (with ice packs that slide in the bottom to use in snow-less GA!) and a cottage for the backyard. Henry loved Christmas with Nanna and Pa, even if he only took one bite of his banana split breakfast. One day he will learn what a delicious tradition that is.

We rang in 2012 with Nanna, Pa, Uncle Chris, and Aunt Stacie with a festive Chinese dinner. Chris provided the festivity by supplying blinged-out top hats and themed napkins. Stacie said it best - "Chris really loves holidays." After dinner, we entertained ourselves until midnight with Gus' new present: Big Game Hunter for the Wii. Who would have thought a plastic orange shotgun could be so entertaining for our rowdy group of grandparents and pregnant ladies?!

We ended the weekend with a Southern New Year's Day dinner of roasted pork (for progress), black-eyed peas (for good luck), greens (for money), and cornbread (for humbleness). It was delicious, and Henry is bound to be humble this year after his three helpings of cornbread!

Christmas in the Mitten: The Video Edition

While we were in Michigan, Henry spent some time perfecting his somersaults and percussion skills. Papa, you should know that even though Henry appreciates the private drum lesson from the drummer in Detroit's most famous Old Man Band, we would not like a set of drums next Christmas.





We caught two "Henryism's" on camera during Christmas morning at the Longo's. The first is "happy feet", where Henry expresses his excitement by kicking, stomping, and grunting. The other can only be known as "crazy eyes", and I'm afraid it's hereditary. My apologies, dearest son.






We taped Mom and Dad Makris opening their gift from all the "kids" since not everyone could be there this year. Enjoy!

Christmas in the Mitten

We spent seven cold but fun days in Michigan for Christmas. My high hopes of playing in the snow with Henry were dashed; all I have to show from a week long trip is a pitiful little dusting. It didn't matter much because Henry wasn't too fond of the "told" (his C's are T's) anyways. He's already a Georgia boy!

At Grandma and Papou's house, Henry had fun standing in the foyer and flipping the light switches. His mind was blown when Papou let him operate the remote for the outdoor Christmas lights! He also got a nice early Christmas present when we accidentally let him open a package with his gift from Uncle Alex, Aunt Anna, Ella, and Mila. Oops. It just meant a few extra days of Lego building!

On Christmas Eve, we attended mass with the Makris family and enjoyed a traditional Italian dinner with the Longo family. Henry's favorite part was blowing out the candles on Jesus' birthday cake. After a bedtime story of the Night Before Christmas from Papa, Henry said "ni night".

Christmas morning was a joy. Henry's excitement was contagious. He loved his musical instruments from Zia-Zia, his parachute and magna-doodle board from Papa and Mimi, and his locks and latches puzzle from Aunt Cathy and Uncle Joe. Staying true to toddler form, he also loved a cardboard box.

For Christmas dinner, we headed over to the Makris home. He enjoyed his lawn mower from Uncle Joe and Aunt Abby, and his Elmo Doctor Book, and tool puzzle from Grandma and Papou. After handing out kisses, Henry took a nap while we enjoyed a delicious dinner and opened the rest of our gifts. Mom and Dad loved the canvas of Mila to add to their collection. We also gave them (and the other two sets of grandparents) a cute plaque to display with their "names." Later, Henry happily enjoyed Grandma's homemade pfeffernusse cookies and milk on special Christmas china, because Grandmas can do that sort of thing.

Before our trip was over, Great Papa Longo came over to visit some more with Henry. And again, because grandparents can get away with it, Henry enjoyed even more Christmas cookies during his visit.

Our flight home was delayed. Henry passed the time playing near some large windows in the terminal. When the sun popped out for a moment, Gus, who has taken as many pictures in his life as I take in a day, noticed that the light was pouring over Henry, and he was quick to grab the camera for the last pictures of our trip. Who knew tax lawyers had an eye for the beautiful?