Secret Treasure

Preschool technically ended last Friday, May 25, and since they had "graduation" for the 4-year-olds, it closed at 12pm instead of 1pm.  This meant that Henry had to hang out with me in my office for an hour.  True to form though, he was awesome.  I had this portable bassinet that my mom bought when he was first born.  It is sort of a much simpler Pack 'n Play.  Anyways, Henry was content to lay in it and play with his toys for about 45 minutes so it worked out perfectly.  However, he wanted to be where he could see me (and I wanted to see him, of course), so due to the layout of my office, he ended up half-way under this little nook in my desk.  It was so cute and I felt like I had a little secret treasure hanging out with me - half-hidden to the rest of the world. 
You know, just hanging out under mom's desk!

Milestones

Throughout the week I have so many moments when I think, "Oh, I should blog about that!" But if I don't write myself a note, I completely forget by the time I sit down to actually blog.  I guess I still have a bit of "mommy brain," and I am going to go ahead and assume that it is never going to go away.  I will just have to do the best I can, I suppose!

It has been a great week.  Last Saturday, May 26, was one year since we found out we were expecting!  How crazy is that?!  A lot has changed, of course, but it doesn't feel like a whole year has gone by.  I still remember that night so clearly (and chronicled it in my first-ever blog post here).  When I think back on all that we've experienced since then, I guess it is easier to see that it has been a whole year, but still...wow.  It's been a crazy journey, but now we have Henry and he is pretty much the best thing ever.  I've learned so much about myself and Matt through all of this, and now each day I get to learn more and more about our babe.  Let's just say, he's awesome :)

This past weekend was Memorial Day weekend.  We debated going to the beach, but there was a small tropical storm on the way and they were calling for rain for most of the weekend, so we decided to stick around here.  The weather turned out to be really nice, so we had fun going to the pool a couple of days.  Henry did great.  I just brought him in in his car seat and made sure we got under an umbrella in the shade.  He napped a little, then when he'd get restless I'd take him to the baby pool and dip his little toes in the water. He didn't react much, but he didn't really get to "swim."  Once he can sit up a little better I'll put him in a float and hopefully he'll like that.  As much as he likes baths, I think he'll really like the water once he really gets in it. 
Lounging by the pool

Wearing my bathing suit, swim shirt and sun hat!
Also, I am happy to report that Henry has been sleeping in his crib at night all week.  Since we stayed in town this weekend, I decided that we should go ahead and try him in the crib.  I knew he was ready, but honestly it took me a little while longer to be ready.  He is really starting to squirm when he sleeps though and I knew he'd appreciate the extra space in his crib.  He's done really well.  The first night he woke up a little early, but otherwise he's been sleeping in there the whole night.  He still hasn't mastered rolling over, but he is excellent at squirming, so I went ahead and took the bumpers off of his crib.  It doesn't look as pretty, but that's not really the point, is it?  As a shower gift we had received a set of breathable bumpers - they're made out of mesh so a babe can breathe if they press up against it, but they keep legs, arms, pacifiers, etc from falling through the crib rails.  They seem to be working well so far.  He moves so much!  It is kinda amazing.  A lot of nights I put him to sleep with his head at one end and by the next morning he has managed to rotate himself around like a hand on a clock so that his feet are at that end and his head at the opposite end!  Our monitor is a video monitor (which I love), so I can check on him in the middle of the night, and sure enough, usually he is halfway around by 3am - 4am.  So funny!  He sleeps through it all though - I guess he just likes to move. 

Speaking of his movement/squirmy-ness...one morning, just before he started sleeping in his crib, I woke up and looked over at him in his Pack 'n Play and he had kicked his blankets up and onto his head!  It wasn't bothering him, but needless to say, that is not what a mama wants to see, and I knew that he was now too mobile to be sleeping with a loose blanket in his bed.  Just like with the crib bumpers, he's at this strange stage where he's mobile enough to get himself into trouble, but not mobile enough to get out of it.  Now Henry sleeps in a "sleep sack" every night.  It's basically a blanket that you wear.  It's a little goofy, but it keeps him warm, and most importantly safe.
In my sleep sack
He's growing so much every day.  I really love this stage because he is so fun to play with.  He loves sitting up (he can't sit up on his own yet, but he loves if you hold him or sitting in the bumbo), and he is constantly curious about what is going on around him.  When I'm feeding him in the rocking chair downstairs, he turns his head to try and watch the TV at the same time!  When he gets older we'll be sure to encourage him to do other things besides watch TV, but right now it is pretty cute when he tries.  He babbles and coos and generally makes his opinion known.  Oh, and the best part of him sleeping in his crib?  Each morning when I go in to get him he greets me with the biggest smile you've ever seen.  It is the best. 

Big Boy

It seems that just in the past week Henry has really turned into a little baby, rather than just an infant.  He smiles a lot and has even started laughing at you this week.  There is nothing better than hearing that little laugh.  I think I'm addicted to it.  He is still working on rolling over.  Now he's started trying to roll from his back to his stomach.  He is so close to succeeding, but his arm usually gets in his way.  I think he'll do it any day now.  He was playing in his Pack 'n Play the other day and I looked over at him and saw this:
So close to rolling over!
I had to laugh.  He was happily playing though, so I let him be.  I know I've been saying this for a few weeks now, but he's really learning to use his hands.  He grabs toys and loves to try to get everything into his mouth.  He plays a lot and loves to play with you.  This morning he played with Matt for a long time - laughing and talking and moving all over the place.  The days of him leisurely hanging out are quickly disappearing.  He also is very vocal - talking and making all sorts of sounds as he plays.  I love to hear him.  He definitely thinks he communicating with you when he babbles!  He's still a great sleeper at night, and we're still working on the naps during the day.  He will take a great nap in my arms, but I'm really trying hard to get him to nap elsewhere.  I do love cuddling with him though. 

The other funny thing he's doing now is this:

This is the sight I often wake up to in the mornings if he wakes up early - all his covers are gone and he is chattering and kicking his legs up and down.  It is so funny.  He brings his legs up above his head and then drops them down. Brings them up again and drops them down.  He should have the best ab muscles around! 

It is amazing to see him growing and changing so much every day.  However, there are so many aspects of his personality that are the same as they have been since he was born. I still feel like I know him better than any other person in my life.  All of his intricacies and favorite things are so familiar to me.  I know just how to hold him when he's sleepy so that he falls right asleep (in my right arm, on his side with his stomach against mine), and that he pretty much only cries when he's hungry or sleepy.  We love this little boy so much.  I told Matt the other night that he is by far the best thing we've ever done and that being a mom is my favorite adventure so far in life.  I can't say it enough - blessings abound!

Miles for Myles

This weekend we headed to VA for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Great Strides Walk.  We walk in honor of our little cousin, Myles, and this was Henry's first time to participate.  The walk was the best one yet and over $200,000 was raised for the foundation.  It was a gorgeous day and our team was one of the biggest ones there.  This little guy is more than worth a cure, and we'll keep walking every year until we can truly say that CF stands for "Cure Found!"
The man of the hour!

Hanging out before the walk

Grandad and Henry

Ready to go

Team Miles for Myles!

Strolling with Dad

Easy riders!

A Very Special Day

On May 6, 2012, Henry was baptised at our church.  It was a very special day and one that I won't forget for a long time.  Our minister is retiring at the end of June, and I really wanted him to be the one to baptise Henry, so not long after Henry was born we set the date for his baptism. 

The ceremony

Proud parents


The baptism


Our entire family was there - totaling over 20 people!  We had people from NC, SC and VA.  Henry's Uncle Brendon even made it back from Afghanistan in time to be there!

The entire crew


Henry wore a special outfit that Matt's mom bought for him.  He looked so precious in it and maybe if he has any little brothers down the road, they can wear it too.  We shall see.

Henry did awesome during the service.  I was a little nervous that he might fuss or cry, but he slept for most of the service and then was a perfect babe for the baptism.  He was awake and just looked around at everyone.   He let Woody (the pastor) carry him down the aisle as he was introduced to the church and even went up to see the choir.  He's such a good babe anyways, but you just never know how he's going to do in a new situation. 

After the service everyone came back to our house for a picnic.  It was the biggest party we've hosted at our house since we've lived here and it was the first big celebration for Henry.  The food was delicious and the weather was nice, so we had great time just enjoying everyone and celebrating Henry. He slept through most of the cookout, but nonetheless, I know he loved it :)
Celebrating Uncle Brendon's return

Table Decorations

The cousins and Grammy with Henry

The dining room table with all our food


Hanging out with Grandma

Enjoying the company

Playing in the backyard

So sweet!

First time for Cous and Rob to meet Henry!

The great grandmas

With my nieces
It really was a great day.  Another thing that made it wonderful was that Henry's friends Dean and Lynley were also baptised that day at another church.  We are all so blessed - blessed by all of the love that surrounds us, blessed by all of our amazing family and blessed by our sweet babe and all that he teaches us every day.  What a great day for the memory books!

4 months old

I think I start almost every post these days with, "it is hard to believe, but..."  Perhaps that will just be my mantra for the rest of all time, as each day I am more and more amazed at how quickly our sweet babe is growing and all that he is accomplishing and learning with every passing minute. 


Well, hello there!
 Henry will be 16 weeks old this week, and he is so full of energy and love.  He's really discovered his hands now.  I can tell that he realizes that they can do things for him.  We're still working on our coordination, but he's resting his hands on his bottle as he eats and when I take his bottle out he immediately uses those hands to try and bring it back to his mouth.  Also, he loves holding on to his pacifier while he's sucking on it.  A lot of times he's half sucking on his paci and half sucking on his fingers.  I can hear him in the backseat of the car making sucking noises and I know that's what going on!  He also grabs on to everything in sight.  I have to be careful when I am holding him because he loves to pull my shirt down, and usually he wraps his other arm around mine and grabs onto whatever he can get a hold of back there, be it my sleeve or my skin!

After I wrote that post on rolling, Henry decided he didn't want to roll anymore for a while and only did it once more.  However, yesterday he rolled 3 times again, and he is getting so squirmy when he lays on his back, that I think it won't be long before he's really rolling all over the place!  I definitely don't leave him unattended on his changing pad anymore.  He can squirm and scoot and almost roll.  Personally, I can't wait for him to be able to sit up by himself, but we're definitely not there yet.  He's doing great with his head though and does pretty well in the Bumbo.  Things still get a little bobbly after a while, but he's really improving. 

Aren't I sweet?

He still remains the sweetest babe and a great sleeper at night.  Mostly, he only cries if he's hungry or sleepy.  The grumpiness definitely catches up to him in the evenings if he doesn't get in a good nap, but otherwise he's a really sweet baby.  I know we can't complain.  Everyone keeps telling me, "just wait until your next one - God gives you an easy one first so you want to have more!"  Great.  Thanks.  But, whatever comes down the road we'll handle, and for now, we'll just be really thankful for our happy, sleepy babe!  I put him down at 10pm (although he usually falls asleep after his 7/8pm feeding), and he goes right to sleep, and doesn't wake up until around 7am.  During the week, we're starting to get into a good routine in the mornings and a lot of times he wakes up while I'm in the shower, but he just lays there and plays in his Pack 'n Play (yes, still sleeping in that by our bed) until I get him out around 7:45am.  I think I could probably put him in his crib at night, but honestly I really love having him right by our bed.  In time...in time...

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day and Henry and Matt truly made it special.  The day certainly holds a whole new meaning for me now, and I feel like I have a completely new understanding of my mom and all the mothers out there. The day started out perfectly when Henry woke up a little earlier than I wanted him to so I put him right beside me in bed and we had some early morning snuggles. Then, "Henry" surprised me with a very sweet card and some chocolates.  We headed to church and then out to lunch afterwards.  After that, Matt watched Henry all afternoon while I ran some errands and did a little shopping.  I love the babe, but it was nice to shop around and run to the grocery store without him! We grilled out last night and just enjoyed our sweet family.  Really, it was perfect.  And to top it off, my "real" present was tickets to see Wicked this week.  I've heard nothing but rave reviews about that show and am so excited to see it.  Matt's mom and dad are going to watch Henry while we go, so it should be a fun evening out.  

Stay tuned for a post on his baptism last week. I'm just waiting to get some pictures, but it was an amazing day.  We had so many family members here to celebrate and everything was perfect.  It was a really special time for our little guy and we are so thankful for everyone who celebrated with us.
Still love to stick out my tongue!

Houston, we have a roller!

This morning, at exactly 14 weeks old, Henry learned a new trick...


 ...and I forgot to take a photo of the end of the trick, but he manged to successfully roll from his tummy to his back three times!  At first I thought it was just a fluke.  He doesn't love tummy time and has attempted to do this before as an escape method, but has never been successful.  However, since he did it two more times, I am going to go ahead and say that it's official - our little guy can roll from his belly to his back!  I know this means more rolling is ahead and that we're going to have to be super careful now when we lay him places.  Our days of a stationary babe are slowly disappearing.  Crazy, but so sweet.  He is getting so big!

Baby Henry

Well, little one, it seems you've acquired a nickname from all the other little ones in your life.  Your cousins deemed you "Baby Henry," since before you were born, and now all your classmates at preschool have also given you this name. 

Henry is the youngest in his preschool class and each day when I bring him in his teachers say, "look, it's our baby Henry."  His class is almost all girls - in fact I think there's only one other boy and he doesn't come all 5 days a week - and most of the girls now consider Henry their living baby doll.  They are all still young themselves, but can toddle around and a few can speak a some words.  One of the little girls always sits right beside the teacher when she's in the rocking chair with Henry, and rocks her babydoll just like the teacher is rocking Henry.  It is very sweet.  He's a charmer already and it is great to see him loved at preschool  (almost!) as much as he is loved at home. 

He's doing great there though, and we're trying to get into a routine once we get home of taking a long afternoon nap.  He definitely needs it now - I think preschool wears him out - and the days that he hasn't gotten a long nap he is GRUMPY by the evening.  I am trying hard to get him to sleep for at least two hours.  Yesterday, we managed to do that and he was a much happier babe.  Here's hoping we can get into this new routine. 

Henry's now 14 weeks.  He's definitely found his hands and is learning that he can grab things (like his pacifier when it falls out of his mouth), but his hand-eye coordination isn't quite developed yet, so he hasn't figured out how to get his pacifier back into his mouth once it comes out.  He still loves sucking on his fist when his pacifier isn't available and he is very talkative when the mood strikes, cooing and making all sorts of noises to whoever will listen. 

Here he is with a sweet Peter Rabbit that one of the ladies at church gave him. 
This Sunday is Henry's baptism. We have a lot of family coming for this special day and I am very excited.  I hope Henry does well in church. We did a "practice run" at church last week (the first time we've been since his birth) and he slept the whole time.  I hope he does that this week.  We're hosting a cookout at our house afterwards.  Matt keeps telling me that I need to relax, but honestly, I love planning parties anyway, and this is really the first party that we've gotten to throw for Henry!  Of course I am going to make it a big deal!  More details to come next week!