It's a Girl!!

I think we can finally put this whole Gary ordeal to bed. We got a baby girl yesterday at 1:05 pm. Everything went really smooth. Only about five to ten minutes of pushing. Seven pounds, eleven ounces and twenty-one inches. Not too shabby, huh? We named her Violet Sophia. She is every bit a lady.

There is a large construction project going on at the hospital and there was serious stuff going on outside our window starting at 7:30 am. We're talking masonry saws, hammering and that sort of junk.

Henry is a little confused and mad about this new situation. Hopefully he will adjust. So far he has done a lot of pointing accompanied by quizzical looks.

It looks like the teams are even now - two dudes and two girls.

Here is the first photo of her. She is still smothered in that ricotta cheese stuff and still has a foot long umbilical cord for a belly button.

Momma said this one should be captioned something to the effect of "oh my goodness, where's my sock?".

Oh Gary, We Hardly Knew Ye...

But with death comes new life. I think it is go time. Don't call us, we'll call you...

Cliff Hanger: The Hummingbird Whisperer

There is a hummingbird living in my garage. I shall call him Gary.

Last night I was in the garage when I heard a noise from behind me that sounded like a huge moth flying around. I hit the deck. To my surprise, it turned out to be a hummingbird. Weird. Well, he kept flying around the light bulbs like he was looking for some nector to snack on. I watched him for about five minutes in bewilderment and intrigue. They flap their wings super fast and what have you. I don't know how they keep doing that without taking a break. After the initial novelty wore off, I tried to gently coax him out of garage without success. It was getting late and I had to get going back to my folks to get to bed. I couldn't leave the garage door open. Such a security breach was simply out of the question. I had to close the door and shut the little guy in my garage for the evening.

When I arrived at the house this morning to let the dog out and check on the house and stuff, I couldn't find Gary. I frantically searched the garage and finally spotted him perched on my window sill. I decided to approach him and open the window so he could escape. I slowly moved to open the latches and crank open the awning style window. He didn't budge. I had my camera with and snapped a few close ups and then tried to nudge him to see if he would take off for nature and the great outdoors. I barely touched him and he tipped over like a little Precious Moments figurine. Not cool. Gary was down. I am guessing he must have been pretty wiped out from flapping his wings all night and had to take a break. I thought that maybe he was parched and need something to wet his whistle. The only refreshments I have at the house are Mello Yello, A & W Root Beer, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Oreo Double Stuff Cookies. I drew the obvious conclusion and took a bottle cap and filled it with a few drops of PBR and Oreo cookie dust, mixing it up a bit, and offered it up to Gary. To my astonishment, he did not cotton to my offering. I decided it was best to leave at this point.

If you examine the picture closely you will note that Gary left a little spot of hummingbird tinkle and a small hummingbird doo-doo on my window sill. Aside from that, what a majestic creature.

The new baby will be coming soon. The house is still not done. Cripes.

How About That? Two Days In a Row...

Henry's ex-girlfriend Ali turned two a while back. Momma and I are too lazy and absent minded to remember things like cameras to document our child's life (my bad). Luckily, Ali's mom is a real pro with the camera. I lifted some of these photos from their photo sharing site.

Henry and Ali hadn't seen each other since June or so of last year. This was kind of an awkward moment for Henry as he had to admit he has been seeing some other ladies at his daycare. He handled it with dignity and finesse. I tried not to eavesdrop, but I think I overheard him say, "I'm sorry, baby. I still think about you all the time." Henry is wearing a vintage Kermit the Frog t-shirt.

Here is Henry gobbling a cupcake and showing why he is commonly referred to as the gold standard in cuteness.

Henry took delight in cruising around on a tractor.

Henry and Ali partying in a backyard tent thingie.

I don't know what was going on here.

I Like this one. I think Henry looks like a major league pitcher about to deliver some serious heat like he's Carmen Ronzonni. I think Ali was impressed. Here's the announcers call:

Hank Johnson is throwing pure gasoline today, folks. On a one and two count, checks Gruber on first, shakes off the first sign. Here's the delivery from the stretch, and Hank goes inside with a brush back pitch showing Julio Franco who's boss. That little man has cajones.

All photos used without permission.

GUYS!!!

OK, I'm a little behind. Here is a ultra cute picture of Henry decorating Easter eggs with Grandma Judy and momma and me.

Henry is getting to be a real talker, although he can be hard to understand sometimes. I will say words for him to repeat and he is pretty good at that. The other day I said "Can you say DVD?" and for some reason he said "DDD and ABCs" -- and he said it with attitude like Tyra Banks. I'm not sure what he meant but me and momma laughed.

He is becoming alarmingly obsessive about his "guys". He has played for them for 5-6 hours straight. No joke. He just got a whole mess of vintage guys from a yard sale. If he is in the zone with his guys and we want him to do something else he will try to carry all his guys and there respective vehicles, accessories and what have you with him. This is pretty much physically impossible and he starts dropping guys. This morning it lead to a total meltdown. But for some reason when it is time for me to go he is pretty well trained. I say "it's time for your guys to go nite nite, buddy", and he runs into his room and chucks his guys into his crib and says "ni ni guys" and he is ready to head out to daycare. The other night he took about a dozen select guys with him for his evening bath. He didn't play with them. Instead they just floated around. He pointed at them and said "guys swimming".

GUYS!!!!!

Let's see... what else... the house is getting there. My pa got started on some trimming this weekend. The nursery and Henry's room are virtually finished. We ordered our appliances over the weekend -- 10% off at Home Depot. I have spent roughly $25,000 at Home Depot this past year. Scary. My brother went with me to pick up some goods a while back ago and was impressed that an employee strolled by and greeted me by name. I guess that is all I got right now. In conclusion, Henry is big into his "guys" and my ongoing saga of home construction continues. Oh, I recently uploaded another Henry vidoe on YouTube -- nothing too crazy -- just another slice of life piece showcasing his exquisite nature.

Easy Rider

This is Henry dropping a deuce as he plays with trucks in our improvised sand pile at the house. We have a huge pile of sand left over from backfilling the garage.

Here is Henry and mama playing in the sand.

Henry plays as Ike casually licks himself in the background. Ike is half Pit Bull, half Hungarian Fighting Mongrel and 100% teddy bear.

He still has no interest in potty training even though he will often grab his butt and say "POOP! POOP!". We let him sit on the toilet for a couple of minutes but he's just not into it yet. I am pretty sure he is just messing with us.

Henry had Rice Crispies for breakfast this morning and is very dexterous with a spoon. The young boy can shovel cereal or apple sauce like nobody's business. Seriously.

After a bath there is nothing more pleasing to Henry than running downstairs nude and hopping aboard his mermaid tricylce with fuchsia handlebars and elegant streamers. There are four songs you can play by pushing buttons on the dashboard. However, Henry rides to one song and one song only -- the "I'm a Happy Mermaid" song. I think he likes the beat more so than the words. I don't know, I guess I'm just saying that.

Here is me taking a cat nap in the sunshine on my custom '92 Suburu Legacy Shitbox Edition as mama and child play in the sand. Me and my dad installed the flooring and it looks really, really great. My brother grouted most of the tile and I even installed the front entry door. We had a tempoary beater door in up until now. The cabinets and countertops are delivered and ready to be installed. After that, I think the plumber can finish up. The garage doors are probably going to be installed this week. The other big stuff to do yet is siding, soffets and fascia, hanging interior doors, and interior trim and railing... and maybe some other junk like buying appliances and what not and sanding and finishing the floors upstairs. Other than that, she's pretty much turn key! The end is getting closer, I can feel it. Vaya con dios!!!

A "Can't Miss" Episode of ER...

We had to take Henry to the hospital last Thursday. His breathing was kinda labored and shallow and we were a little freaked out by that. So we called the triage nurse and she advised us to bring him in - stat (that's medical terminology I picked up from watching General Hospital as a youth). He was put on a nebulizer thingie for a little bit. He didn't mind that and he even got to keep his mask -- it had a dragon on it. Check it out.

They had to take blood from him and used a large needle and wrapped a bungie thing around his arm to make his vein pop out. It took me and two nurses to hold him steady. When provoked, our little guy has the strength of six aggravated chimps. Either his little toddler veins were not producing a good blood flow or the nurse lady was incompetent but it was a mild fiasco and Henry was not liking it much. To make matters worse, the blood took to long to sample so it was useless to the blood lab! They had to take blood again! This time they just pricked his finger. I can't figure out why they didn't do that in the first place. Knobs. Next, he had to have his little toddler chest cavity x-rayed. He wasn't a big fan of the x-ray deal either. After that: STEROIDS!! Yah!! They diagnosed it as a bronchial infection and gave him steroids and apple juice. Then he vomitted the steroids and apple juice. I think there were some ravioli's mixed in there too. Yeah... Then we had to readminister the steroids and he didn't want to drink anymore. I'm just guessing it tasted about how it smelled -- like finely aged hamster urine. We had to coax him to drink it. So we got home at about 10:30 pm that nite. Needless to say, I didn't get much work done on the house that evening. All things considered, Henry was very brave and patient throughout the ordeal. Our little Butterscotch Stallion... there's just no bringing him down.

We are laying tile at the house now. Wide plank rustic hickory floors are next. Kitchen cabinets are to be delivered this week. Things are starting to shape up. The thought of having the house done before baby #2 gets here was a joke initially. Now it is grim reality. Must hurry.

Here Comes Trouble

Seriously, how cute is my son?

His name is Reggie Turdsmore and he is a model for Baby Gap. Doesn't he look like a thinker?

Here he is with his lion mane wig dealie on. I think it makes him look like Rick James.

Henry has entered a stage of development where he is learning many new words every day. He remembers names, places, animals. It is really crazy.

This is our clawfoot tub that I refurbished. I got it off of Craigslist for a few hundred bucks and just did a little sanding and painting and what not and there you go!

Here is a before photo to illustrate the elegance that I am capable of with clawfoot tub restoration and in marrying up. I bet she could get a job on The Price is Right.

The past week has been pretty exhausting. No time to work on the house. I had a continuing education class all week on time-value of money theory. Imagine a room full of cool people discussing very interesting things interupted by exquisite catering. It was pretty much the opposite of that.

We have been trying to prepare Henry for the arrival of baby LaTeesha. He kisses Mama's tummy and points at it and says "baby".

Henry & House Updates

Henry continues to produce very decent art work. Markers and crayons are his favorite medium.

He was bitten at daycare today. It left a mark.

Henry loves playing with Little People and action figures and what not. He calls them his "guys".

Yesterday we were playing this game where I would say "who farted?" and we would point at each other and say "you". Then, one time, I asked him again and he said "Jo Jo" -- one of his buddies from daycare. Maybe you had to be there. I just thought it was cool that he already knows how to blame other people for stuff. He is growing up to be such a fine young boy.

He is totally off the nuk.

Our laundry room is a shade of plum. We had our belated painting party last weekend and got quite a bit done. Many thanks are in order to those who showed up to lend a hand. Grandma Judy has been a varnishing work horse. Grandpa Fred and Jonny and Brenda painted and primed on Saturday and Sunday. Thank you so so much. There is still a fair deal of painting to go. After that, I lay tile and put down the wood flooring. Hopefully, the cabinets and countertops will be done soon after that. After that -- trimming and what not... who knows.

A Cry For Help -- Brittany Spears Style

We no longer take pictures of our child. Here is one from the vaults -- a classic. He is doing fabulous. However, we have decided it is time to stop the insanity and break him from the nuk. His momma read in one of her modern parenting magazines about how to perpetrate such a scheme on your child by snipping off the end of the nuks with a scissors. He pops the nuk into his mouth and immediately takes it out in disgust. He is onto our game and pretty mad about the situation from time to time but overall the transition is going well.

We learned one important lesson when we had our painting party at our old house in Hudson -- DON'T TAP THE KEG UNTIL AFTER THE PAINTING IS TOTALLY DONE. Drips and runs increase exponentially with alcohol. I should have known better. I will be extra careful not to make the same mistake again. We are having a painting party this coming weekend, March 3 & 4. I will be there day and night now through Saturday morning trying to get the whole thing taped and primed and ready for paint. Saturday and or Sunday, anytime, any help would be greatly appreciated. Elegant snacks consisting of caffeinated beverages, Oroe cookies, Doritos, possibly some artichoke dip and what not will be provided; Beer and whiskey served upon completion of a days work. The ol' lady is all over me to get this house finished up. Help a brother out. Did I mention the snacks and Old Milwaukee tall boys?

Below are our custom mortise and tenon stairs as Ike looks on. SWEET!

This is my garage - taped and sanded, eleven foot ceilings, in-floor heat, Andersen windows, welding recepticle. I already have a pin-up calender for decoration and planning purposes. Sweet Moses, I'm living the dream. I guess technically I won't be living the dream until it has garage doors and openers installed. Oh well, close enough for me.

Did anyone hear the street scuttle about that Anna Nicole Smith? I heard she had a baby in the Bahamas.

I Shot the Short Guy From Hall & Oates

Here are four beautiful generations of Johnson boys under one roof celebrating Grandpa Walt's 90th Birthday party. This was right before the dancing girls showed up.

Henry with Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Sue.

Here is Henry doing stuff in my garage. Henry has really taken to putting stuff on his head. Here he is wearing my old hardhat from the old days as a laborer. You can see the door I'm supposed to be staining in the background and the clawfoot tub I'm supposed to be refinishing in the background. I'm workin' on it.

When we were in Las Vegas we went to a shooting range where you can shoot machine guns. One of the fun parts about that is you get to pick out a target to shoot up. My question is whether the guy from Hall & Oates knows that there is a company that makes shooting targets bearing his likeness. Nice moustache.

Some of you already checked this out on YouTube - Here is a link to a video of Henry "helping" us learn the sex of baby #2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbdwzGdtZoM

Play Dates, Wrestling Masks, Midgets, Sign Language & and a Cliffhanger Regarding the Sex of Baby #2

Henry had a play date with Baby Gracie last night. You can check out baby Gracie's blog BABYHEAD. It is not quite as elegant as Henry's blog, but I'm not here to judge. While you're at it, you could also check out Baby Elsa's blog, LIVE! FROM WYOMING, MN. Our posse of friends and associates all decided to have babies at the same time.

Despite the chaos of home construction going on, I was able to sneak out of town to Las Vegas last weekend with my brother. We went to some rock 'n' roll concerts and drank much beer. I also saw a latino midget dressed up as a leprechan - one of the highlights of the trip. Below is a photo of one of the bands. Note the ski masks - all the happenin' west coast bands wear ski masks or wrestling masks on stage and many have dancing girls on stage. This phenomenon is sorely lacking in the midwest.

These guys didn't wear masks but they make up for it by being the only band that I know of besides Spinal Tap that has more than one bass player. They need that extra bass. This is Deadbolt.

Henry's communication skills are developing very rapidly. He is always talking and babbling. He can understand most of the stuff we say to him and he usually tries to reply even if he doesn't make any sense at all. Here is a link to a video of Henry staking out the fridge for some milk. We no longer have to guess if he is hungry or thirsty. Sometimes I like to mess with him and make him say please three or four times before I give him anything just because it's cute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEu5NgZcdXI

Things with the house are moving along nicely. The plumber, electrician, and heating guys are mostly done. We have stairs going to the basement and our garage slab was poured this past Tuesday.

Baby #2 is also moving along nicely. We had an ultrasound done last Monday and everything is allegedly normal. With Henry we opted not to find out the sex so we would have a fun surprise on the birthday. This tim we decided to have the nurse lady write down the sex of the baby and put it in an envelope if we decided we wanted to find out what it was. Well, we were unable to handle the suspense and immediately opened the envelope when we got home. I will make the official announcement after the immediate family gets the word. However, I will reveal that we were able to rule out a hermaphrodite! Our blessed lives continue.

Reading, House Stuff, Chickens & What Not

Henry is a big time reader. As you can see below, Henry would rather read than watch the Simpson's.

No time to keep up the blog lately. I promise when things get back to "normal" I will get this thing updated more, OK? Down the road when I look back at this specific period in my life I think I will refer to it as "my Vietnam". I am a prisoner in my own life -- afraid to answer to phone and discover the most recent horrors that goes along with being an amatuer general contractor. I could spend much more time complaining but I will spare my readership. Besides, it's starting to get kinda exciting at the house.

We have our furnace hooked up so its warm and we almost have the loft level flooring done. The concrete guys are doing there final grade in the garage and basement so we can put down the rigid foam and put down our tubing for the radiant heat. We have about 55% of the roof papered. I should have the woodstove hooked up in about a week or so. That's the major stuff.

Here's me and Lil' Guy hanging loose on the bridge. We have a bridge in our house. Henry has been acting up a bit lately so we have pulled him from daycare. Now I just drop him off at the house in the morning and put his freeloading butt to work. He can't do much in the way of heavy lifting -- I bet he could only bench press about 15 pounds -- so he mainly does clean up and that type of thing.I got the hang of sweeping really quick.He can do it one-handed...

He can even use two brooms at once.

The above photos remind me of a scene from the 1980s breakdancing film Breakin' where Ozone incorporates a broom into his dance routine -- or was it Breakin' 2: Electric Bugaloo?? I don't remember. I was always more of a Beat Street fan myself.

Henry's mama and I were pretty shocked the first time we turned around to find Henry climbing up a ladder at the house! Not cool.

Here's my baby and my baby's mama.

This weekend I spent a gift card I had from Fleet Farm on a flat-free wheelbarrow tire and some poultry raising equipment. I need to get my spring order ready so I can throw my hat into the farm fresh egg ring. Happy MLK to all. WHOO-HOO!

Henry Don't Take No Mess

This is Henry getting surly with the papparazzi. If you look closely at his tongue you will note some chewed club cracker residue. Henry has an insatiable appetite for the club cracker. If we ever decide to become hobos and ride the rails, Henry would be completely content with a diet of tepid water and club crackers.

For Christmas Henry gave me two bloody noses and a long scratch on my face. He has sharp fingernails and a mean fish hook move. Oh yeah, he also gave me a sweet down vest. We gave him a bunch of awesome presents including but not limited to various and sundry farm animal figurines (he is BIG into cows and can say Moo! on command -- but sometimes says Boo!), Little People stuff, a piggy bannk thing with fake money,and some other stuff. He got the new Fisher Price farm set from Grammy Judy and a really sweet Jeep from Grandpa Fred. He is also set in the footie jammie department for a while. Henry also got these sweet one peice old guy long johns.

Below is a picture of Henry getting super pissed because I can't figure out how to open one of his new toys. I think the toy manufacturers go a little over the top with the packaging. Also, it was about 5:30 in the morning. Not cool. Doesn't he seem generally disappointed in me?

Christmas came and went pretty fast. The highlight of the season was watching our little guy open up his presents and play with them.

Henry lost another great grandma in the week preceeding Christmas. My grandma passed away a couple weeks back after never really recovering from an aortic valve replacement surgery. She decided she didn't want to continue with dialysis and having about fifty tubes and contraptions and what not going in and out of her. We were able to visit her a couple of times and say our goodbyes and she seemed to get a kick out of seeing the little baby great grandchildren -- so that was nice.

The house continues to progress slowly. We have most of the front porch done. I might try and get the woodstove hooked up this weekend and possibly tackle a few other random tasks. I was hoping the son's a bitchin' Xcel energy dingleberry's would be done trenching in the utilities by now. Such is not case. I hate them so, so much.

Other than that, it has been a totally awesome holiday season!

Below is a link to a short documentary film of my wife and I putting Henry to bed on a typical Tuesday evening (about 7:03 pm). You may have to watch it a few times to catch the intricate dialogue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bsNgxmE7hA