Santa Cows and Isaiah's Birthday #1

Isaiah wasn't sure about sitting on his lap, but was very interested in Santa

So I just wanted to make one last quick post before Isaiah and I leave St. Kitts tomorrow. We've had a fun week preparing for Isaiah's birthday celebrations here on the island and also trying to get everything packed for us to head home. Last night, we went to a program the older prep school kids performed called, Santa Cows. It was based on a children's book and the kids acted things out as the story was read and also sang a couple of songs. It was really cute! Isaiah LOVED the music and of course, the cows! After the program, Santa showed up with presents for the kids that the parents had provided. Isaiah was excited when Santa called his name and he opened his gift--a drawing pad, crayons, and a pack of gum! Mom is just as excited about this gift since it will hopefully help keep him occupied during our plane rides tomorrow!

Santa

Josh took Isaiah to pick up his present from the Elves

Opening his present

Damon and Erin (Santa got Damon a puzzle!)

When we got home I made Isaiah's bday cake for tonight and let him pick the colors...he picked green, red, and blue!

This morning at school, Isaiah got to celebrate his birthday during morning assembly and I also brought in a special snack for the kids for snack time and afterwards, Isaiah's preschool class sang Happy Birthday to him and gave him birthday hugs! Hope you enjoy the pictures and for all of you back in the good old US of A....we will be seeing you very shortly!!! :)

Isaiah wearing the Happy Birthday glasses

I took in a special snack for the kids--fruit in ice cream cones with whipped cream on top!

My baby boy...not such a baby anymore! :(

Eating some fruit with Mommy :)

More Thanksgiving!

Pumpkin Pie and Little turkeys made from oreos and candy corn

So first, as promised are some pictures of our Thanksgiving lunch at the prep school last Thursday that I stole from a friend's blog. Isaiah LOVED the little dessert turkeys that they made. When I got the dessert plate and we sat down I said, "Isaiah do you want to try some pumpkin pie?" He looked right at the plate and said while pointing to the little turkey, "NO...I want that!" He ate the WHOLE thing by himself and I got to eat the pumpkin pie, which to be honest was just fine with me!

The huge tent set up on the basketball court

The tables were covered with cloth tablecloths and they had real silverware for everyone

Friday was a normal Friday for us again and Saturday morning we spent some time relaxing as a family, then Josh studied for a bit while Isaiah and I ran to the grocery store. After Isaiah's nap, we all headed to our friend, Jason's house where we had organized a Thanksgiving of our really close friends. It was an AMAZING afternoon. We are so lucky to have such great friends here that have really become our family away from home. And although the church Thanksgiving was really wonderful Thursday night, some of the girls and I had conversations that Saturday really felt like a Thanksgiving we would have had at home. It was just comfortable, relaxing, and so nice to spend the day all together. Isaiah was so well behaved and played with Damon and Beau all afternoon. I really don't think Isaiah or Damon ever sat still for more than a minute or two unless they were truly engrossed in playing with something!

Jakki's fabulous turkey!

Jakki unstuffing the bird (while Long and Jake watched)

Harley carving the turkey with Josh and Jake

(I'm sure Josh was giving him hints on the best way to handle meat!)

Erin and Damon

Yesterday I went to church in the morning and sang with the worship team while Josh kept Isaiah and Elijah, so Jason and Jen could also enjoy the sermon. The boys had a really good time and I think they wore Josh out a little bit! Our power was randomly out from about 12:30 in the middle of the night Saturday until around 11am yesterday, so Josh went to the Johnson's to keep the boys, so they wouldn't get so hot at our house. Isaiah and I hung out at home the rest of the day while Josh headed to school. Then as Josh headed to Bible study last evening, Isaiah and I went over to Emily's (where the ladies' Bible study usually meets) where we had a Christmas movie night and pizza and watched WHITE CHRISTMAS! It was so fun to watch a great holiday movie with a small group of girls and Isaiah behaved himself for the most part.

Beau and Isaiah smiling for us!

The Henrys!

Isaiah and Damon building cars

Banana cream pie, Pecan pie, and Oreo cheesecake...YUM!

Overall, even though we are far from home, we had a really wonderful holiday weekend. I'm now counting down the days until Isaiah and I are headed home (5 more) and trying to get everything organized and packed, so we will be ready. We are planning to have friends over for cake and ice cream Friday evening before we leave Saturday to celebrate Isaiah's 2nd birthday. I can't believe in less than a week that our baby boy will be 2....it seems like only yesterday! I'm so excited for you all at home to see him....he's grown and changed SO MUCH since we were home in June. It should be exciting!

Isaiah and Damon were throwing the soccer ball back and forth

With Jake's help, the boys had a wonderful time building a fort on the couch!

The boys chilling in their fort

Happy Thanksgiving from St. Kitts!

Elijah, Brody, and Isaiah admiring the Turkey centerpieces

(Made from apples and gumdrops!)

I hope that everyone got to enjoy their turkey day at home with family. Since we weren't able to be with our families in the U.S., we instead spend the day with our St. Kitts family here on our little island! For lunch, we headed to the prep school at Ross (where Isaiah attends preschool) and although I had my camera, trying to get lunch for yourself and a toddler at a buffet outside under a tent and keep him occupied long enough for you to eat really didn't lend itself to any photography moments. I apologize...if I find someone who posts any pictures, I will steal them to show you all back home! It really was a beautiful lunch. Isaiah and I ate at 11:30 and then Josh joined us at noon when his class finished.

A view of all the people in the Clubhouse...it was pretty packed!

People filling their plates

After lunch, we all headed home together to relax, get Isaiah a nap, and get our dishes prepared for Thanksgiving dinner #2, which was our CCF (Caribbean Christian Fellowship) dinner for church last evening. This year, we were able to have our dinner at the Marriott Golf Course clubhouse and it was amazing! The Clubhouse was so nice and spacious and it's a good thing...I'm sure we had at least 120 people there! A lot people who don't normally come to church came too, so it was nice that people invited others to join us to celebrate the holiday as well. There was so much food and great company and it was a very enjoyable evening for all 3 Henry's!

Side dishes

...more side dishes

...and even more side dishes!!!

The packed dessert table

Isaiah hadn't seen his buddy, Elijah, in almost 2 weeks due to Isaiah being sick and then Eli getting sick, so Isaiah was bouncing off the walls! Isaiah also got to hang out with Brody and Beau and our neighbors, Matt and Diane came as well and brought their 5 month old son, Mason, who Isaiah LOVES, so he was thrilled all evening to have so many friends to hang out with. Josh and I took turns watching Isaiah and getting ourselves dinner and drinks and both got to have a relaxing evening to talk to friends and play with the kids. Overall, it was probably one of the best Thanksgivings and definitely the best St. Kitts Thanksgiving yet!

Isaiah, Beau, and Brody were dancing in front of the TV

(Eli was too, just ran out of my picture!)

Brody and Isaiah checking out Josh's grub

Boy pile up!

The other exciting news is that Isaiah and I will be headed home 1 week from tomorrow! I'm getting a little nervous about flying with Isaiah by myself, even though I've done it once before and also a little sad to be leaving Josh behind. He's starting to buckle down and already studying for finals though, so I know he'll have plenty to keep him busy when we leave and we will be even more excited in 3 weeks when he is able to join us at home! So...to everyone at home, we will see you VERY soon! And to all our friends here in St. Kitts...thank you for a truly amazing Thanksgiving! We love you!

Isaiah and Brody checking out the game

(This one's for you, Dad and Mark!)

Sick little boy!

I'm finally taking time to update the blog! It was a little bit of a rough week for us last week. Isaiah came home last Friday with a really runny nose, congested head, and a nice, wet cough. We suffered through it over the weekend, but decided that Isaiah should be seen by a doctor. Mark that down as another new experience for us in St. Kitts! Actually, we were really lucky and friends of ours had recommended Dr. Holness, who is actually a family doctor and not a pediatrician, but was supposedly good with kids. Monday morning right before I called to make the appointment, Isaiah yelled from his bed, where he was playing and when I looked at him, his little hand was covering up his left ear and he said, "My ear hurt Mommy!" Then I was really glad we decided to take him to the doctor because it really seemed like he had an ear infection! We made it to the doctor's office in the afternoon and everyone was WONDERFUL! The office itself was nice, clean, and organized (which may be expected in the U.S., but definitely not the standard here in St. Kitts!), which made me happy. The nurse practitioner we saw first was great with Isaiah and let him push buttons and turn things on, so he wouldn't be scared. Then we saw the doctor who was really fabulous in dealing with Isaiah. There were no tears and the doctor was able to check everything he needed. Isaiah was correct....his left ear was infected, so Dr. Holness prescribed an antibiotic to clear that up, which I was able to pick up at the in-office pharmacy. He also prescribed a decongestant/cough supressant for Isaiah as well, which seemed to help him sleep during naps and at night. Now a week later, he's good as new. Still a runny nose at times, but mostly he's perfect. He is back at school today for the 1st time in over a week and was excited to see his friends this morning! Hopefully he has a great 1st day back!!!

Being sneaky.

Double duty....playing lacrosse and mowing at the same time!

Having some fun!

Look at that dimple!!!

So...my week mainly consisted of being home and trying to entertain a toddler within the walls of our apartment! He asked all week long to go to "Yeli's house" which is how he says Eli! And apparantly all week, Elijah was asking his parents to see "Zisaiah" too! It's nice to know that Isaiah's buddy is missing him as much as Zay was! Josh ended up staying home 2 afternoons with Isaiah, so that I was still able to go to work, which I very much appreciated! On Saturday afternoon, we went to St. Christopher's club to help Jakki celebrate her 25th birthday with a pretzel making party. Her family makes them every year on the day after Thanksgiving and she really missed it last year, so we did it for her birthday instead! It was really fun rolling out the pretzels and trying to make fun and creative shapes! We had a good time and it was nice to spend some time with friends as always!

Some of our magnificent work!

Diana showing off some of her pretzels

Work has been a little frustrating this past week. We have been expecting our next shipment of food since the order was placed in early October. We're never quite sure how long it will take to ship from the U.S. and then how long it will take to clear customs in St. Kitts, so it's always a waiting game. We were told last Thursday that it would be delivered to campus Friday morning, then later got a message saying that they didn't even think the container had arrived on island yet. Now today we got word that it is on island and it will hopefully be delivered tomorrow, so now Isaiah will be going to school an extra day this week, so that I can work and help get things put away and organized as we will have 40,000 lbs of dog and cat food to unload tomorrow! I'm praying that it actually shows up according to plan tomorrow....I was getting worried that it would end up being delivered on Thursday and I would have to miss Thanksgiving lunch at the prep school with Isaiah!

Coloring :)

Sidewalk chalk!

Having a snack in his chair on the porch!

Play time

Elijah and Isaiah smiling and having fun last Wednesday night

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. Nothing has seemed very interesting in comparison to all of our Halloween festivities! We haven't had much going on...Josh has been studying, I've been working, Isaiah's been going to school, and Isaiah and I have had a few trips to the beach and pool in the last week and a half. Josh has had a few more tests and quizzes and continues to do great! He's really pushing for a 4.0 this semester and so far, he is well on his way to accomplishing that goal! I am so proud of how hard he works and how dedicated he is to becoming a great vet!

Eli smiling as the boys played

We built them a fort on the couch to play in

Isaiah ready for the beach and watching Backyardigans while Mommy got ready

Look how long he is!!!

We're all getting very excited for our upcoming break. Isaiah and I will be headed back to PA in just 24 days and Josh will follow us just 12 days later. I'm so looking forward to some extra time and home and I'm definitely not sorry to be missing finals time here on the island!!! We (Isaiah and I) are usually going stir crazy with not much to do since Josh studies all day, sometimes comes home for dinner, and then studies until bedtime! Hopefully us being out of his way will help him get things done and also keep Isaiah and I happy with things to do and people to visit in Everett! Isaiah doesn't totally understand what is going on yet or what is going to happen in a few weeks, but we've been explaining to him that he will be going on an airplane and will get to see everyone very soon, so hopefully as it's happening he will know and understand what's going on.

Cheese!

Showing me the "White one"

Coloring me a picture

Running in the grass

That's about it for us. One of co-workers has had a friend visiting this past week, so I got to work an extra shift on Monday, which was great. Josh got to go to a welcome reception for the West Indies Annual Veterinary Conference which Ross hosts every year and is happening this week on St. Kitts. Josh got to go, since he is the treasurer and part of the Executive Board of SAAVMA, which is the vet school equivalent of student government. At his reception on Sunday night, he found out that Dr. Dutra (his mentor and the vet he worked with in Pittsburgh) is here for the conference and some vacation time too, so we are hoping to get together with her for dinner once or twice while we are here. Also as part of the conference, Ross hosts an alumni reception at Brimstone Hill Fortress, which Josh and I will be attending Friday evening and there are supposed to be Fireworks!!! I'm really excited! :) It will also be nice to have a date night with my husband!

Beautiful baby boy

Watching for the motion light to turn on (his new favorite thing!)

Eating his popsicle and watching the cars go by

Smiling for Mommy

Showing me his popsicle

(And he loves his new chair Mimi!)

Our church is having a Thanksgiving dinner again this year, so I'm helping coordinate what people are bringing and also volunteered to help with decorations. Instead of having it at the resort where we usually have church, this year we are having at the fancier Golf Course Clubhouse, so that will be really nice. We have a lot more people coming to church this semester than in the past, so I think it will be a HUGE dinner and will be nice for us to spend time with our St. Kitts family!