Kim

8 Months

This past Wednesday, Henry officially turned 8 months old.  For some reason that sounds so old to me!  It just seems so close to 1 year, which is insane.  How are we already approaching Henry's first birthday?  Our little guy is growing by the minute.  He continues to be such a happy little babe who loves to laugh and gives out smiles with just a little prompting. 
Trying on my winter hat!
At 8 months, he is eating all sorts of fruits and vegetables.  Sweet potatoes, bananas, apple sauce, and mangoes are probably his favorites, and he still won't eat carrots. That's the only thing I've found so far that he doesn't like.  He also likes oatmeal, will eat rice cereal, and he loves the baby yogurt.  He definitely gets that from his dad! And peaches hurt his stomach.  He loves them, but I've stopped giving them to him because the aftermath just isn't worth it. 
Just this week, he's figured out how to pick up his puffs (these are basically softer cheerios) by himself.  It is so fun to watch him discover a new skill like that.  As soon as he figured out that he could feed himself, he was excited (to say the least), and tried to get all of them in his mouth as quickly as possible.   He's eating solids at least once a day and I am really trying to get them in him twice a day - breakfast and then late afternoon.  Some days though, I just run out of time!  We'll get better though.  No worries.  He also gets six 5-oz bottles each day.   It's funny because whenever I've tried to bump his bottles up to 6-oz, his stomach gets upset.  It's like 5-oz is the perfect threshold for him.  Whatever works, right?  He's clearly not going hungry and is on a great schedule, so I am not worried. 
Henry's not crawling yet, but he does a lot of pushing up on all fours and rocking back and forth.  He's very mobile when laying down and even though he's not crawling, you definitely have to watch him - he'll wiggle right off the blanket on the floor and be under the Pack 'n Play before you know it!
Wait, how did I get under here?
He's doing great at preschool.  He loves his teachers and his little friends.  There is a lady that comes in to their class each week to do music and she stopped me in the hall the other day to tell me how much Henry loves music.  I have to agree.  He loves anything playing on the iPod and he loves when I sing to him.  Currently, we sing "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" a lot and also, "The Wheels on the Bus."  He really is too funny. 
Henry's still a great sleeper at night, and we're working on napping in the crib.  I've been really successful these past two days at getting him to fall asleep for his nap in his crib, but both days Fisher has spotted something out the window and barked and he's woken up.  Once he's awake, it's over.  I've got to find some solution for that.  I love Fisher (who, by the way, just had her 2nd birthday!), but it definitely annoys me when she wakes the babe.
So that's the 8-month update.  We're having lots of fun and he's keeping us busy.  School pictures are this month.  I can't wait to see how they turn out!
Enjoying the cooler fall weather!
Kim

Ka-BAM!

I feel like our house has been knocked on it's backside this week with germs.  Last Saturday started out normal enough, but by lunchtime, it was evident that Henry was not feeling good at all.  He was fussy and sleepy and just generally didn't feel good.  We spent most of the day just trying to make him comfortable and rocking him to sleep.  He didn't have a temperature on the thermometer, but he was emanating heat, so I gave him some Tylenol.  This seemed to help, but I knew we were in for a long night.  That evening, I gave him a bath just because I knew it would help him to feel better.  He did enjoy it and played in the tub, but I could tell he still wasn't right.  Luckily, his appetite was not affected at all and he happily ate as he always does.  I had a feeling we were in for a bad night and indeed we were.  He just couldn't sleep.  He had a really runny nose and every time he laid down he couldn't breathe.  Basically, we spent all of Saturday night on the couch.  He'd sleep for 45 minutes and then wake up and cry.  It was so pitiful.  Sunday wasn't much better, and I begin to notice a rash on his arms and legs.  I was afraid he was having an allergic reaction to the Tylenol, so I stopped giving it to him.  He wasn't any worse, just not any better.  He did sleep a little better Sunday night.  Our pediatrician has a walk-in hour for established patients from 8am - 9am on weekday mornings.  Since he was only a little better on Monday, and his rash seemed worse, I decided to just take him in on our way to work/preschool.  I am so glad I did.  What I thought was an allergic reaction to Tylenol turned out to be Hand, Foot and Mouth disease.  Luckily, it sounds much scarier than it is...and at that point, he was actually over the worst of it.  Hand, Foot and Mouth is a viral infection that tends to spread quickly through daycares and preschools.  It usually shows up as a rash on the hands and feet (Henry had it all over his arms and legs) and some children can get painful sores in their mouths as well.  Luckily, Henry didn't really have any of those.  The rash doesn't itch and it takes a few days to go away. I was just glad to know what was wrong.  Our doctor also said this is probably why Henry's been drooling so much over the past week or so.  Who knew?  Anyways, there is nothing you can do to treat it because it is a virus.  It just has to run his course.  We came on to work/preschool and the preschool director suggested that I keep Henry out of his class for the day, so he hung out with me.  My plan was just to work until he got fussy and then head home, but he did great and we ended up staying the whole day.  I think because he didn't feel great, he was content to just hang out and relax. 
Poor little guy. Helping mom make copies on my sick day.
I decided to keep him out of preschool on Tuesday too, just to give him another day to recover.  I could tell a big difference in his demeanor by Monday evening and Tuesday he continued to improve.  By Wednesday, his rash wasn't completely gone, and his runny nose still exists, but he was much happier and ready to play, so I took him back to preschool and he's done great since.  It is so pitiful to see him sick and I am so glad to see him feeling better.  It really breaks your heart.

Matt started feeling under the weather at the start of the week too and now at the end of the week, I am feeling it a bit.  Nothing major, just your typical fall cold that leaves you feeling weary and not 100%. 

Whew.  I am ready to get these germs out of our house! 

In the midst of all of that, we celebrated Matt's 29th birthday.  We celebrated with Matt's family Sunday night and then they babysat for us so that we could go out on his actual birthday Tuesday night.  It was nice, but he wasn't feeling 100% so I'm pretty sure it won't go down as his best birthday ever.  However, we are thankful for this past year and for all the adventures it held and we know that this next year is going to be even more exciting.  We have so much to look forward to!
Kim

Play Time!

These days, Henry is doing a lot of playing...and a lot of drooling.  I can't feel any more teeth coming in, but if you looked up "teething" in the dictionary, I'm sure you'd find Henry's picture!  He is constantly drooling and chewing.  He will put whatever he can in his mouth to chew on, including my shoulder when I'm holding him.  Sometimes, after holding him I feel as if I've spilled water all over myself because of all the drool.  Ew:)  But of course, I don't really mind all that much.  He's not fussy or upset, just drooly and chewy.  We're trying to provide lots of chew-friendly things for him.  He loves his giraffe toy, Sophie, and he enjoys chewing on the cold teething rings.  He also chews on his paci, his fingers...honestly, whatever he can get his hands on. 

Chewy chewy
As you can probably tell from the picture above, he's at an age now where he loves to play with toys.  He'll sit on the floor and bang on them and throw things around and kick them and just enjoy himself.  It is a lot of fun to watch him manipulate and interact with all of his toys.

Put things in, take things out.  This is fun!
I even caught this sneak peak of him playing on the mat in his preschool room.  I try not to check in on him too much during the day, but I happened to be walking by and caught this picture...

I know it looks like he's the only kid in the room, but the others were there, I promise!
 Henry's other new trick is sticking his leg up in the air - he looks like a cheerleader.  He really likes to do it when he's in his highchair if I don't have the big tray snapped on.  I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. 
Go bananas!
We're having a lot of fun with him these days.  He just has so much personality and loves to laugh and have fun.  The weather has cooled down, and we've been taking a lot of walks in the stroller.  Fisher's even gotten to come along a few times.  With fall approaching, I am really looking forward to the impending holidays.  I can't wait to show Henry a Christmas tree for the first time, to let him eat his first Thanksgiving dinner (baby style, of course) and share all of the fun that comes with the season with him.  Maybe we'll even get lucky and have some snow this year.  I won't hold my breath for that though.  Regardless, he continues to be such a blessing.  I'm not sure how it is possible, but I really do love him more every day.
Kim

A Boy and His Dog

...are best friends from the very beginning.
Aren't they sweet?
Kim

Labor Day

As far as southern standards go, Labor Day officially marks the end of summer.  This summer really has flown by.  It has been one of the rainiest summers I can ever remember, but we've certainly had our share of hot days and plenty of humidity.  This year, we headed to my parents' house at the beach for the holiday.  My sister, brother-in-law, and the twins were there as well.  We hadn't seen them in forever, and it was so fun to have everyone together and see Maddie and Audrey play with Henry.  They love their little cousin and he was fascinated by them. 

Cousins!

With Audrey!

Hanging with Maddie!

Too much sweetness in this picture!

Henry looks so big next to the girls. He is about half of their weight already.  I think he'll catch up with them in just a few years. 

With three little ones in the house things were a bit crazy, but we still had a great time.  Vacations have certainly changed a lot since last year, especially with such a young babe who can't spend a lot of time in the heat.  I spent a lot more time inside and a lot less time on the beach than usual, but it was all worth it and I try to cherish every single moment like that.  Just seeing how quickly the twins have grown and how independent and intelligent and beautiful they are makes me realize how very quickly this time will pass with Henry. 
With Aunt Steph

I love Granddad!

We did manage to take Henry down to the beach for a while on Sunday.  He absolutely loved it!  He played in the water - all he wanted to do was jump (that is all he ever wants to do!), and he loved just watching the waves roll in around his feet.  He'd pick up huge handfuls of sand, but there were plenty of eagle eyes around him to ensure it didn't make it to his mouth.  Overall, I'd say he's definitely on his way to being a beach baby.  I know a lot can change in a year, but I sure hope next year he loves it as much as he did this year. 
Grammie with all the grandkids!

Family self-portrait

Loving the water!

This is so cool, dad!

Enjoying the waves.

Sunday evening we celebrated Dad's 60th birthday.  Maddie and Audrey love birthdays and had helped Sis bake a cake for dad. Mom went all out and bought a "Happy Birthday" banner and little birthday horns.  It was all very sweet.  And delicious. 

I am continually thankful for all of the amazing family with which both Matt and I have been blessed.  I am also so thankful that Henry will get to grow up surrounded by so many wonderful people who love him dearly and are incredible examples of love, grace and strength. 

Happy Labor Day and here's to fall.  I think I'm actually looking forward to it this year - mostly because it means the start of the holiday season and I absolutely cannot wait to celebrate Christmas with Henry!
Kim

Back to School!

Well, we survived the summer (with a lot of help from my wonderful mother-in-law and two very sweet babysitters) and preschool is now officially back in session.  Henry was excited this morning...

Back to School!
He's such a happy guy in the mornings.  I am really looking forward to him getting into a routine again and us finding a new rhythm.  I am extremely thankful for all the help I had this summer, but like most of us, Henry definitely does best with consistency.  I could tell a big difference the weeks that he was with the same person all week versus the weeks when he hopped around.  He is very adaptable and does well in most situations, but routine definitely works best.  Plus, it is nice having him just down the hall again!  He's so much bigger and more mobile than he was when he was last in preschool in May.  Even though he's in the same class and has the same teachers, I think it will still be a completely new experience for him.  I know he loves commotion and action, so it is going to be good.

Oh, and see his little shoes?  I realized that now that he can play more and stand in the exersaucers, it might be a good idea to start putting shoes on him when he comes to school.  I also realized that I had several really cute pairs that had been gifted to us that he had never worn and is in danger of soon outgrowing.  Therefore, we will be trying to wear all of our new shoes these next few weeks!  Aren't they precious?  So far, they don't seem to bother him at all.  He hardly seems to notice they are there.

Happy back-to-school day little man!

P.S. When I picked Henry up from his class today his teachers told me that he got right back into his routine like he had never left.  He even took two small naps for them!  He sure won't do that for me, but I am glad he had such a smooth day!
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