We took Henry for his two year check up this morning.  It was quick and uneventful, which is great.

He weighs 37.25 pounds and is 36 inches tall.

The average height and weight for two year old boys?  28.4 pounds and 31 inches

The average height and weight for FOUR year old boys?  35-37 pounds and 37 inches

So, yes, he really is that huge.

He also had blood drawn for a routine lead level check – I’ll update when we have the result.

Our old family practice doctor isn’t working at the clinic anymore, so now we’re seeing the Nurse Practitioner there and we’re really happy with her!

Henry has been building with legos a lot lately.  Yesterday he made a robot by himself.  He used probably 10 pieces and made a little creation and showed it to us saying it was a robot.  This morning he made a choo-choo.  He’s been playing over there with the legos for about a half hour and he’s putting together a track for his choo-choo now.  I’m just having a good time watching him build stuff and wanted to mention it.

He’s very interested in trains.  On Friday we’re going to the train museum in Duluth for his birthday (which is actually Saturday).

 Tonight we had our first fire of the year and we heard frogs for the first time.  Based on their calls, it seems we have:

• Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer)
• Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica)
• Western Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris triseriata)

This evening I went up into the woods and cut up some really large trees that fell across the trail.  Once I get (or make!) a trailer cart I’ll carry them out to the wood pile.

Delia just went out and caught a snail in the pond and brought it back in a little jar.  Now she’s reading about snails here:

http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Snails/snail.html#pondsnails

It’s so cool that she can read.  I was anxiously awaiting her being able to do her own research on things she gets interested in, and now she can do it!

emiLy later adds:  This afternoon, Delia and Henry and I were outside and we went down to the pond.  Delia told me that some snails have gills, and that some come up to the surface to “take a deep breath” and go back down.  I had no idea about either of those facts, but they are indeed true — she read that web site and understood what she read enough to then tell me about it later!!  We’re completely amazed.

Our kids were little demons today.  I don’t know what got into them.  That’s all I want to say about that.

Tonight, during our long attempt to get Delia to sleep, she read a whole full-page poem out of the poetry book I read to her at night (the one my dad read to me).  She needed help with the bigger words, but she had the motivation to finish the whole page, and I was amazed by how many words she did know and how quickly she could call them out.  After we read the poetry book, I put on some Old Time Radio for her, and after one fill Burns and Allen and half a Fibber McGee, she finally fell asleep.  I told her about how people didn’t used to have TVs so they listened to radio shows.  “They listened to TV?”  No, they didn’t have TVs at all.  “Like how Mom didn’t have a TV when she was little?”  No, there were no TVs in the world!  They hadn’t been invented yet.  “Do they still have radio shows?”  Not really.  “I wish they did.”

She requested a show with jokes, which is why I picked the shows I did.  The Burns and Allen we listened to was about a chicken farm, so she could relate a little.  Maybe we’ll try a western next time.

We have seven geese in our pond this morning!

Last night just before dark, Henry brought his boots into the living room for me to put on him.  He then said “ow-die!” which means “outside.”  It was a bit chilly by then, but we went outside and walked around and rode the 4 wheeler a bit.

He got up late yesterday (after both kids were up until almost 11 the night before) so we were hoping to keep him awake all day.  Around 4:30 we rode down to the swings, and soon the neighbor and some friends came by on her horses.  I took Henry over to pet one and she invited him to sit on it.  I put him up there and it became clear that he wasn’t going to get off the horse without a fight.  She walked him around a little and then I had to drag him off, screaming.  He cried all the way home and obviously needed a nap.  He slept until around 7:00, and once again it was about 10:45 before the kids were asleep.

We got the trampoline out yesterday and the big spools.  Once the ground thaws out more, we’re going to get the swingset set into the ground.

The kids and I spent the day outside yesterday, enjoying the beautiful weather.  We played in the sandbox, stumped in puddles, rode bikes, and rode the 4 wheeler.  Delia took pictures with her new (our old) digital camera.  We saw an eagle, and ducks in the neighbor’s pond.  I spent some time working on getting the swing set installed, and I even successfully welded one leg.

This morning I saw a pair of geese fly over the pond.  They chose to keep moving, but once more of it’s thawed I’m sure we’ll have visitors.

We had two ducks in our pond today!  The main pond is still frozen, but the little adjoining swampy one has open water and that’s where they were.

I also collected 6 eggs this morning, so the chickens have stepped it up.

Emily and the kids come back from Florida today!

I went for a walk in the woods with Foley today.  I noticed him chewing on something, which is fairly common.  There are deer bones to be found.  But when I got closer to this one, I noticed it still had pink meat on it.  I walked farther and found a leg.  I followed the trail of fur and found a big piece of hide.  I never did find the rest of the carcass, but man did they spread the fur around.  I also saw lots of deer and moose tracks, and moose and bear poop.  I put the trail camera out where I saw some tracks, so maybe I’ll have some nice pictures when I go back to get it.  I wanted to walk to one of the high ground spots but there was a lot of standing water in front of it.  I thought I could make it around by carefully stepping on snow and logs, but instead I wound up with freezing cold, soaked shoes.  There are a lot of downed trees nearby, so maybe I can cut some logs and lay them down to make a bridge.

I’ve been outside all day getting chores and projects done.  The weather is beautiful.  I hauled the recycling in the barn to Babbitt, picked up all the garbage in there that the dogs pulled apart, chipped away at the concrete on the poles for the slide (I think I’m going to need to rent a jackhammer again), fixed the siding on the garage, put the netting back up on the chicken run, and quite a bit of other stuff too.  I even rode the quads a bit, but mostly to go and retrieve Lucy.  I chased her into the woods and saw a gray jay that let me get really close.

I’m working on trying to get Lucy to stay close.  I think it’s hopeless.  Just when I think I’ve made a little progress, she runs off again.  I’m keeping her in the kennel since she’s a bad girl.  Foley gets to stay out.  He’s a perfect gentleman.

The chickens are laying again!  I found 5 eggs in there this morning, including a white one.  I think some were from yesterday.