Batman Fever...

All superheroes have this moment -- The Identity Crisis... I believe this is where Henry realizes that with great power comes great responsibility.



In case you are confused, Henry wanted to show people who he is going to be for Halloween... The optional gloves really tie the outfit together. I've never been one for the store bought costumes, but it's pretty funny to watch him run around the house as Batman. I just wish it would have a functioning utility belt.



He is able to leap tall child gates in a single bound...


Here he is acting as TinkerBell / Violets personal bodyguard. That is his game face. It's the same face I get right before he does a karate freak out on me.

Sheri and Ashley came over for a play date last weekend. I'm not sure what mom and Sheri were doing at this particular moment but it doesn't look like either of the girls are very impressed with what is going down.

I'm still trying to figure out how Henry went from this little guy...

to this...

in what seems like the blink of an eye. He is just a regular little dude now. He just got some spiffy new hiking boots with velcro. He is one month into his formal dance training at Grandma Sue's dance studio. He is studying jazz, tap, ballet and freeform / hip-hop. He also claims that they get to play with swords and do pirate dancing. We don't watch the class, so I can't confirm or deny that. Mom and I recently taught both kids how to do "jazz hands" and that is working out pretty good too.

Are you talking to me?

Henry and I went for a cruise down our road on the four wheeler and came upon a dead possum. Henry was very intrigued to say the least. He kept calling it a "Pasta". "Daddy, let's go look at that pasta again" and "why is that pasta got blood on his furs" and so on. Very curious young man. I hope nobody was spying on us with binoculars as we kept making little circles around this little dead possum. That might have looked weird.

Goose Eggs, Nudity, Goat Houses, etc.

Violet is a toddling machine. This is probably the best bump she has gotten to date. She got this one while doing flying body drops on me on our bed.

Henry recovers quickly from a waterboarding session in the tub.

Violet tries on a pair of slippers after a bath.

NUDITY!

Henry and Violet have been staying at Grandma Sue and recently-retired Grandpa Bruce's on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and at the neighbor lady's on Thursday and Friday. Every morning he asks where we are going and when we say Grandpa and Grandma's he says "YAH!". They get to hang with cousin Jada too. I guess a few weeks back Jada tried putting Violet in a headlock and Henry freaked out and said something like "When I get big, I'm gonna shut the door on you and turn out the lights!". I can't say I'm real upset since we have always told him that he has to watch out for his little sister. But Henry has his moments with Violet too...

One of the better things Henry has said to me lately -- Henry is watching cartoons -- I say "Hey Henry, How's it going?" To which he says something like, "Dad, could you please be quiet, I'm trying to watch 'toons." Whatever, buddy. It seems like his respect for me might be dwindling.

We have concluded the cause of the green turds was that Henry had been over indulging in fruit snacks loaded with vitamins and food dye. I think he had been supplementing his diet by pilfering little bags of fruit snacks. We uncovered a cache of fruit snack wrappers tucked away under the wood pile next to our woodstove. We are not sure if he was stashing the wrappers so we wouldn't see the wrappers in the garbage or if he was just too lazy to actually walk to the garbage. He just giggled when we confronted him on it.

Finally, after fifteen months of living in our house illegally--without an occupancy permit--I can say we have passed our final building inspection for the county. What did it take me? Two years and some change? It feels good to not have to worry about that stuff anymore. I can finally focus on my three favorite things: raising goats, chopping wood, and hating the government. I am nearing completion on what should prove to be a very well appointed goat house that is being built almost entirely from left over stuff from building the house. I believe that in the future, my goat house will be the standard by which future goat houses are measured.

Henry James: Medical Oddity

For the past two weeks Henry has been pooping green turds. Not just regular green. We are talking a brilliant and shimmering green -- almost glowing like lime green playdough or kryptonite. My initial theory of eating a ton of playdough now seems unlikely. My next hunches are tapeworm or eating too much squash and other healthy vegetables. Educated or uneducated medical opinions are currently being accepted.

Henry enjoys a train ride from Kaptain Kirby's Express as two clowns stand in the distance. This was a part of the festivities from the recent Ki-Chi-Saga Days in Chisago City. There was also a disease ridden petting zoo and some huge inflatable slides and that kind of stuff.

Mama takes Violet and Henry for a ride with Kaptain Kirby.

This is an old picture from Henry's birthday bash. Auntie Em made Henry a sweet robot costume.

Henry also enjoys dressing up as a bodybuilding pirate. He excels at mischief and general skullduggery. I think they just call it the terrible twos because it sounds better. It should actually be the terrible threes. Below, the toilet paper roll serves as his telescope.

Lately, Henry has been ending up sleeping in our room nearly every night which is getting pretty old. Henry also got a much needed haircut from Poik this weekend.

We got two new goats -- Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. I have some pictures on my other computer. I will try to get some up on the next post.

Violet is walking all over the joint now and is starting to jibber jabber and talk more.

This Is My BB Gun. There Are Many Like It, But This One Is Mine..

Life on the farm, an update...

I keep our dog food in a metal trash can out in the garage and usually the last thing I will do before I leave for work in the morning is feed the dog. This morning I opened up the dog food can and I was lunged at by a tenacious field mouse! So, this morning the last thing I did before leaving for work was shoot a field mouse with a bb gun. I guess I am officially a hillbilly now.

Hey, Violet. The phone is for you. Yeah, it's Olivia Newton John. She wants her outfit back. She can basically walk now. She can walk across a room but still is most comfortable crawling. Her big words lately are daddy, Dora, and I-eeee (Ike).

Mama bought this buffet at a yard sale on Friday...

Henry and Violet play with baby dolls.

Henry and Violet partake in the new dinette set-- a thrift store find. No more highchair for Violet.
Henry "helps" dad mow the lawn...

Henry keeps coming up with good material. Let's see what I can recall from the past couple weeks...

-"Dad can you help me climb this tree, cuz' this is just SO not my day."

I was explaining to Henry that you have to be an old and mature teenager before you can get a drivers license and he comes back with - "Well, dad, my feet are getting bigger, I don't use a sippie cup, I poop on the pottie -- can I drive?"

Henry came out to help me finish up a few odds and ends with the goat fencing project of 2008 and he was carrying his little green John Deere tool box that he keeps his tools and stuff in. So I'm working and he sets down his tool box like it's time to get down to business and says "alright dad, I got my drill, my microphone, and my pink sunglasses". He proceeds to put on his sunglasses and belts out a pretty solid rendition of "London Bridge". His pitch was a little off, but he took that tune and made it his own...

Henry went to Pea Pickin' Flea Market in St. Croix Falls on Sunday and is a big fan. He got a Spiderman action figure for a dollar and lady gave us a free bowl of ice cream.

I made a little shelf / armrest thing on the corner of the goat pen and Henry was sitting up there and wanted to climb down the fence. Mama said something like "be careful, are you sure you can do that?" And he shows us how he climbs down the fence and says "See? Someone should have showed Humpy Dumpy how to do that." He's right.

We might go see about some goat prospects later this week to expand the herd. We'll keep you posted.

The Unknown Stuntman

Henry still insists on doing all his own stunts. His "boy knees" are in classic form. He runs and falls and dives everywhere -- all the time. He loves band-aids.

Does anyone need an electric dryer that works just fine? I could even deliver it in exchange for a case of classic formula Schlitz. It does have a bit of rust on the top that could easily be sanded and repainted. Let me know folks -- this amazing, one time offer is sure to be for a limited time only.

Henry Turns Three, Aqcuires Every Transformer Ever Made...

Henry had a really sweet robot party with a number of family and friends. I can't believe the little guy is three years old. In the picture below he is making his embarrassed face because there are thirty people singing happy birthday to him. I have a bunch more great pictures from the party and will include them at a later date. I just had to get a new post up due to mounting pressure from my readership.

Here is a close up of the amazing, made from scratch robot cake that momma rustled up. Very innovative.

Henry got a bunch of awesome presents including about two million Transformers. Henry will tell anyone who listens that there is more than meets the eye to these toys. Below is an example of gift opening madness.

This is what ice cream cone night looks like at the Johnson house: Total Anarchy!

This is my sweet new hauling rig. I wish I would have had this about two years ago.

I mowed the lawn for the second time this summer and thought some photos were in order...

This is the view looking easterly from the end of our driveway...

Looking down our road from the base of our driveway...

Still chipping away (very slowly) at the landscaping...

Henry proudly points out our bountiful vegetable garden -- three tomato plants and two pepper plants. Hopefully, we will expand our produce operation next summer. I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew for now so we stayed small.

This is the kids little playground area I made for them. Henry and mamma worked very hard on this fine example of of a post modern sand castle.

Henry enjoys himself as the goats free range...

Johnny Drama looking suspicious...

Johnny Drama's days of escaping are soon to be numbered. I am nearing completion of my substantial fencing operation and am quite certain that it will contain my two guys. I even have a real functioning gate.

Coming Soon...

-Henry in his pirate costume

-Henry in his hand made robot costume

-Henry begins dance classes soon

PLUS: Lots of other stuff!!

Henry's Birthday Wish List

Henry wants Transformers, Hungry Hippos board game, puzzles, toys for his new sandbox (shovels, pails, whatnot), books and DVDs, McDonalds gift certificates, and four chickens (no roosters).

Fourth of July, Summer Fun, etc.

We stayed at my brothers in-laws cabin on an island on Spider Lake near Birchwood, Wisconsin for the holiday weekend. Mama spent about two weeks planning and preparing for our epic weekend vacation. Overall, it went pretty well -- no major catastrophes. I downloaded "Holiday Road" by Lindsey Buckingham to my ipod for the trip to provide the feel of a real vacation. We got the guest cabin to ourselves. I've always felt the Danish hip roof offered elegant roof lines. Very nice.

I was amazed at how interested in fishing Henry was. It helps that his older and pretty cool cousin Eli is like a young Babe Winkelman. Below is Henry with his first fish! Look close, it's a little sunfish. He was perfectly content just to be at the end of the dock and have a minnow on his hook. He'd say "Look Dad! I got one!" and I'd say "Nope, that's just a minnow. We'll use him to catch a bigger one." I gave him an old Zebco 404 that I think I got at a yard sale. First thing in the morning he would say "Dad, let's go shishin'!" His next favorite thing was the fireworks.
I made Violet change into a one-piece suit. The thong suit looked ridiculous over a swimmer diaper.

Henry wasn't really into playing in the water until I threw him in the yellow tube. He morphed into a little motor boatin' SOB.
Violet pretending to be a monster...

Here's me nursing a High Life with Vi and Jada.
Pickin' a boog with mama...
Eatin' a boog with Dad. We may have to have some type of intervention. The finger is always at work. Not an exaggeration.
Lazing about with the kids and cousins.

Here are some shots of Henry and Violet chilling out in their new pool from Grandpa Fred! She is big time in her folding chair.

I am 90% to 95% sure he is peeing in the picture below.

Henry got his stitches taken out earlier in the week. He likes Pokeman and still haven't figured out exactly what Pokeman is. As near as I can tell, it is some type of Japanese Dungeons and Dragons stuff. Lots of ins, lots of outs -- very complicated. He has like two books and a trading card that he got from Burger King and somehow with that we "do Pokeman". He likes his Kung Fu Panda guys too. His tastes are very broad. I am pretty sure he will be a renaissance man.

I am working on a major goat fencing project that I envision to putting an end to their Houdini antics. Everything seems to be falling into place.

That Boy Has Kool Aid Running Through His Veins...

Many, many major events have transpired since I last blogged.

• Violet has taken her first steps. She still crawls all the time. However, if we beg she will do a step or two. She loves standing up and will do that on command like a little circus dog. She also loves pointing at stuff and saying "ta". Her favorite things to point at are ceiling fans and shiny objects.

• I bought a sweet 1991 F 150 to use as an extra vehicle when my Subaru is on the fritz and for weekend projects, boat hauling, goat transport, etc. I always felt like kind of a rube pulling up to the feed store and throwing goat chow and straw bales into the trunk of our Honda Accord. We've already used the truck for hauling sand for the sandbox / playground thing for the kid's and it is just super handy to have and has improved my outlook on life. Although I didn't get the impression it was on mama's top ten list of cool things to buy when we have a little extra money, she did say I should get it. Note to self: I think a CB radio and a police scanner would be practical additions for my new rig.

• Last night, I was relayed a message at my softball game that Henry had "cracked his head" and was on his way to the hospital. Kind of a vague message, so I dove into my sweet new rig and peeled out. On my way out of the parking lot I was able to get through to mama on her cell phone and it didn't sound too serious but I figured I better get down there and hang out with them at the hospital. Henry was goofing around on a wheeled cart (kind of using it as a skateboard) and he lost balance and fell hard on his chin on the hardwood. He split his chin wide open and he was bleeding like stuck pig. I wasn't sure what to expect when I got there but he was in pretty good spirits and was just getting prepped for his stitches. They applied some numbing jelly to chin and bandaged it up and we watched Pokeman for a half hour while it took hold. Then a doctor and two nurses came in to start with the stitches. I tell you what -- my son has ice water running through his veins, or at least ice cold kool aid. The staff went about there business and stitched Henry up and the he didn't even blink an eye or move or anything. Henry basically had the exact same look in his eye as John Rambo in First Blood when he cauterized his own wound in an abandoned mine shaft using primitive methods.

Towards the end, I could see one little tear streaming down his cheek as he stared at the ceiling. They gave Henry about a million Transformer stickers for being such an excellent young gentleman.

Afterward, a nurse remarked to me and mama that she was amazed and had never had someone his age or younger be so well- behaved and composed for something like that and that it said as much about us as parents as it did about our nerves-of-steel child. So I guess we are all just pretty awesome in a general sort of way. Note the blood on his shirt. Most of it was absorbed by towels, but there was some on the floor and what not.

I can now envision Henry down the road as a wily four-star general wearing an eye patch and telling people about the time he had to remove his own appendix during a battle. Then he'd stare off in the distance with his good eye and say something like, "we lost a lot of good men that day..."
Violet sitting at the picnic table Grandma Sue and Grandpa Bruce picked up at the thrift store and practicing her Spring Break chug-a-lug...

Me and mama at a wedding reception a few weeks back.