7.22.2008

bowling perfection


have you ever found someone the perfect gift?

i mean one that you just can't wait to give because you know in advance how much they are going to love it?

well, clint and i have a strict "no new toys" policy...
maybe it's more like a guideline...
anyway...

when clint came home last night with a tot-sized bowling set
we threw our policy/guideline out the window

and counted down the minuets for foster to wake up so we could see his bowling delight.
we were not dissapointed.

trains and cars and kitchen sets are all getting lonely from lack of attention

because our little foster is currently mastering his form
and bowling strikes :)

7.20.2008

for the love of...

row-row
do i post
for the love of...
your little smile
your little peachy skin
your not-so-little blue blue blue eyes


i can't help it.
every picture seems cuter than the one before
how do you do it, little pumpkin?
if only i could bottle and sell your cutie cuteness
then everyone could have what i have right now...

you.

7.17.2008

a first


today i asked you what my name is.
every other day i have asked this question, i got the same answer:
"mommy"
in the cutest little voice i have ever heard.


but today, when i asked you what my name is
you giggled and said:
"angie"
never has my name sounded so strange and so cute at the same time

7.15.2008

wordy picture-imperfection

in a very long word, today was prolifically-photo-unfabulous
i got yet another "free" picture coupon from the picture people in the exton mall
and being a henricks, i have trouble passing up anything "free"

if you have ever gotten "free" pictures taken, you know that the "free" part is only "free" so they can make you so marvelously in love with the perfect pictures, that you can't help but spend 2 months salary on the "fabulous" picture packages that you could print out at home for $7

so, off we go. coupon in hand. on the prowl for free pictures.
we arrive 9 min late as usual
immediately, i can see we are going to have issues.
foster is in "a mood."
the kind of mood that only a chocolate milk and a long nap will cure.
not only is he in "a mood" but apparently even minute details turn his typically pleasant disposition into red-faced, un-photo-flattering tears and temper-tantrum floor flailing.
normally, we would just go home and take a temper-tantrum curing nap, and our little world would be perfectly pleasant again...

but we were already here.
already wearing an adorable skinny tie/white shirt combination and skinny jeans
(my new favorite outfit. can you tell? i have only posted 7 pictures of my child wearing the exact same clothes. sorry.)
plus, my coupon expires soon.
it would be like throwing away free money. and after all, i'm a henricks.

at this point, foster is practicing his somersaults on the mall carpet amid dried puke and half eaten cookie crumbs as he licks the germ-ridden carpet fibers and finishes with a hair-raising headstand resulting in leg flailing that nearly knocks a little girl out of her stockings and sunday shoes.

i keep my cool. pick him up off the floor, and we are ushered into the little photo taking room. no doubt to the glee of the other mothers in the waiting area with their non-somersaulting children.

the photographer enters. a very pleasant girl, but no doubt unprepared for the world of pain foster is about to impart on both of us.

the white photo background is over here.
a red, perfectly kid sized sports car (with foster inside, death grip on the steering wheel) is over there.
i attempt to pull him out of the car and put him in the photo taking area.
screaming ensues.
off fly his shoes as i tear him away from the car.
tears streaming.
arms and legs flailing
i become the mom i hate
"come on sweetie...be a good little boy and show mommy your smile! let me see your pretty smile! come on wittle boiy (pleading)...you can do it...ok foster stand up...stand up foster. (frustration building) Stand UP!" to no avail.

sticker bribing ensues
bribing aside, stickers are a brilliant plan
sitting and sort-of smiling results.

wait 20 min for photo girl to print out 15 digitally enhanced, black and white, sepia, cropped and perfectly placed pictures in perfectly beautiful frames.

my inner monologue fights with the fact that they charge and extra $5 just to print a picture in black and white (so stupid) and that all the pictures they print out and frame to taunt me into spending $176 for something i could frame myself for $15 will be promptly thrown out as soon as i walk out the door.

first of all, i don't really even like most of the half-crying pictures, but still, i hurt inside at the thought of a perfectly good picture being thrown away (my henricks coming out).

second, who can spend $147 on ONE framed picture?
i'm sorry if you are reading this and you yourself have purchased one of these over-priced pictures of perfection.
take solice in the fact that my debit card was burning a hole in my pocket even today, just waiting to jump out and purchase the glass and wood that so elegantly housed my son's image.

the 1/2 hour picture presentation ensues. i quickly pick out the one remotely decent picture (ignoring the putred black and white checkered box foster is sitting on) and say "i'll take that one...the FREE one."

i literally grab the picture and run out.
debit card still safely stowed in my purse
FREE picture in hand.
1 hour of torturous picture-not-so-perfection is over
end result: vow never to return again

we are off to the food court.
foster is begging for chicken fingers, rowan is begging for a bottle and i am begging for 5 min of no flailing and no picture people :)

7.11.2008

it's been...

almost 3 years since you first came to us.

oh so small...smaller than a spec...smaller than small could ever be.

i remember saying you were going to be a soccer player

my ribs were sore for weeks from all your practicing

even before you were you, you were practicing.

your literal name itself doesn't mean much.

foster acctually means "forest"

but to me, your name means everything.

a big name for a little boy

but you wear it well.

uncle stephen foster is the bearer of your name

and your legacy started with him before he even knew it.

your name means strength and tenderness

it means knowing how to love life

knowing how to make your own fun, and mocosons out of faux leather

honoring people in the most honoring ways

loving people who no one else will love

no one else will have a name like yours, my sweet little foster kade

it is unique because you are unique

uniquely talented and carefree

God-given talents that we have not even seen yet

your name is big for such a little boy

but you will always wear it well.

wear it with pride because your Maker spoke this name long before it was you.

it is your legacy, this name.

7.10.2008

our week...

skinny ties
salty waters
orange shovels
sunny babies
sandy brothers
no sock sneakers
red bucket walks
bucket showers
boardwalk marchers
squirty cans




7.02.2008

today you said...

lala...a hug "i would like to give aunt lala a hug"
bees, ouch! "don't worry, i won't touch the bees. i know they will sting me"
nai nai road "we are on nai nai and papa's road, right?"
fosie do it "i don't need any help. my name is foster. i can do it"
snaaack time "snack time...right now!"
gols "golf"
i'm hungee "i am hungry. may i have something to eat?"
a mooie, a goorge i woud like to watch curious george"
beckfas, unch "breafast, lunch"
a sancasl, a fosie "look, i just smashed your sandcastle. my name is foster."
a do it "i can do it all by myself"
a bruuise, a mama "mommy, your shin bone is bruised. perhaps it is from my golf club?"
a funny, a fosie, a see "i would like to watch a home movie of foster. i'm funny"
a hug...niiccce "i'm giving you a hug. how nice of me!"

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin