Kim

Henry's 10 (months)!

Our babe is two months away from being a year old.  How in the world did that happen?  I feel like his development has really exploded over this last month.  He is pulling up all the time now.  He can get to his feet in his crib like a champ...and just the other day, he figured out how to pull up in his Pack 'n Play.  He would much rather be standing than sitting.  We spend a lot of time on the floor with him holding onto me, or the coffee table, or the footstool, or whatever else is around.  He's also starting to enjoy toddling around while you hold his hands.  It's amazing how quickly he got the hang of that!  Oh, and I think it is safe to say that he can officially crawl now - when he wants to.  If there is something he really wants, he'll crawl to it, but he still prefers scooting and other means of getting around.  You probably won't see him crawling from room to room if you stop by. 
Playing with dad's old Curious George.

I like this guy, dad!

Henry will still eat the blended baby food, but he really prefers to feed himself.  I guess it is time to start letting him experiment with a spoon and fork, but I'm just not quite ready for that mess yet.  We're sticking to finger foods that he can just pick up.  I spend a lot of time researching and brainstorming healthy things he can eat like that.  This morning he ate entire blueberry waffle.  I toasted it, broke it into little pieces, and he chowed down.  I was a little worried it was a bit dry (he still won't drink from a sippy cup - more on that in a minute), so I dipped some of the pieces in milk before giving them to him and he loved it even more.  He also loves roasted vegetables - I found the recipe online and it is super easy - just take a sweet potato, red bell pepper,  zucchini, some carrots (and really whatever else you desire), dice them up, toss them in olive oil, lay them on a tin-foil lined baking pan, and bake it in the oven for 30-45 minutes.  The veggies are the perfect size for him to pick up and soft enough for him to eat.  He also loves cheese and black beans, guacamole and pita bread, and will taste almost anything you give him.  He truly hasn't found anything he doesn't like.  Even carrots, which he wouldn't eat as blended baby food, are now on his list of top favorite foods. 

But, as I mentioned, he still won't drink from a sippy cup.  He pushes it away when I try to give it to him...and if I let him play with it he just throws it on the floor or turns it upside down and watches everything spill out of it.  I've tried water, juice and milk, and still, nothing. Milk does seem to be the most appealing to him though.  I think I even tried some formula in there one time.  We've also tried all kinds of sippy-cups.  I know I just need to keep persisting with it.  He'll get the hang of it eventually.  After he turns one, doctors really recommend that you stop with the bottle...Henry LOVES his bottles.  That is going to be a challenge, and I'm a bit intimidated by it, but we'll do it.  And then he won't have a choice, I guess.  He's already dropped one bottle a day, with all the food that he is eating, so hopefully as the solid meals increase, the need for the bottle will decrease, and his love of a sippy cup will increase (come to fruition?). 

At 10 months Henry's also babbling...a lot.  He will mimic what you say and has mastered "bye-bye" complete with a wave.  He will wave "bye-bye" to everything.  It is adorable.  He also waves hello when he's in the mood.  We're working on saying "uh-oh!" when he drops something.  He can only get out "uh-uh!" though.  The "oh" sound is a little more challenging...but he knows what it means.  Also, Matt and I are pretty sure he said his first words/mini-sentence the other day. ;)  For a long time, I have been prompting him to say "Hey Dad!" when we wake up Matt in the mornings.  He will often mimic it, and has been saying "dadadada" for quite a while now, but not really with any meaning.  However, the other day, we were all sitting on the bed in our room and Henry peaked right around Matt's shoulder, looked at him and said, "Hey Dad!" while grinning.  It was the cutest thing.  We're counting it.  It seemed totally intentional...and he's done it again a few times, but just not consistently. 
Playing with all my toys.

His personality is so hilarious.  Mostly, he enjoys an audience and is used to having lots of people around.  I think going to preschool at 12 weeks really helped with this.  He does like his mommy-and-me time though,  and I can tell when he needs some quiet time.  He loves to grin and seems to know just when you say something funny.  He has the best giggle, that is easily brought out when you tickle his belly or his thighs.  His favorite songs are still "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes," "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider," and "Patty-Cake," but he loves all music and will stop whatever he's doing and turn to the TV or iPhone whenever music starts. 
mmm...beans!

Oh, months 9 - 10 have been so much fun.  I really can't believe we'll be planning a 1st birthday party soon, but I am excited for all the fun that is to come.  Happy 10 months little man.  We love you more than words and we really love getting to know you more and more each day!
Kim

Happy Thanksgiving!

Aside from when Henry was first born, I have tried (and been mostly successful at it) to post at least once a week.  I made a book out of this blog from its start, to Henry's birth, and I want to do the same for his first year through his first birthday.  It makes for a pretty amazing keepsake, and it's neat to be able to read my words on the page and not just the computer.  Anyways, I missed this past week!  It was Thanksgiving and we headed out of town on Wednesday.  We returned Friday, but time just got away from me.  So here we are...with the official Thanksgiving update.
Having fun at Nanny's!

It was such a good holiday.  I mean, it is always good, but it was so fun to have Henry here and watch him enjoy his first Thanksgiving Day meal.  We headed to Nanny Lee's house after work on Wednesday.  Henry did ok in the car...he whimpered the first 45 minutes, slept the second hour and then I sat in the backseat and entertained him the last hour.  (We really need to look into a DVD player for him.)  But we made it to Nanny's and he was happy to be out of his carseat.  It was almost his bedtime when we got there, but we let him stay up a little to work out some of his energy and stretch his legs.  It's funny to set-up the Pack 'n Play in the same room where my sister and I always slept at her house.  We always slept well in there though and Henry did too.  He is such a good sleeper, and almost every night either Matt or I say out loud how thankful we are for that.  Mom and Dad made it into town later that night, but Henry was already asleep. 

I heard Henry bright and early the next morning, so we got up, ate breakfast and played while everyone else was waking up.  This is sorta silly, but one of the most fun things this year was watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  This is the first time in a while that I have been up early enough to watch almost all of it.  (I know, that's ridiculous, but hey, I like my sleep!)  So we watched that as Henry went back down for his morning nap.  Time at Nanny's is always very laid back.  We eat dinner on Thanksgiving at 5:30pm, so we had all day to hang out.  Henry provided good entertainment.
Playing with Dad.

People started arriving around 5pm and we had a good crowd of 16 or so.  I spent almost every Thanksgiving at my grandmother's house like this when I was young, so of course, it always feels "just right" to me.  Although, I love the new tradition of spending it at the beach with Matt's family as well.  We are just so blessed to have so much love in our lives. 
The whole crew (Henry and I got to sit at the head of the table - mostly because that part was over the tiled floor and not the carpet - makes for easier cleanup!)

Henry LOVED Thanksgiving dinner.  He ate sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, a little bit of turkey and some jello dessert.  He probably would've kept eating if I let him, but I was afraid he would be STUFFED.  He really chowed down though.  It was precious. 
All I want to do is pull up on everything - and eat Thanskgiving dinner!

Standing is more fun than sitting, Grammie.

Playtime with Grandad Friday morning.

We headed home Friday afternoon, and Henry actually did much better this time in the car.  He didn't cry at all and he napped a little longer.  Maybe the time of day had something to do with it.  I don't know. 

Overall, it was a really great Thanksgiving, full of love, food and family, just as it should be.  We are so thankful for the the blessings in our lives...they are abundant!

P.S. Since Thanksgiving officially kicks off the holiday season, and I LOVE Christmas, I really like to get our tree Thanksgiving weekend if at all possible.  We actually had time Friday night after we got home, so we loaded up Henry and headed out to get this beauty...
First trip to the Christmas Tree lot!

With our tree!

We agree that this is our best tree yet!  Henry is mesmerized. 
Kim

Bald Head Island

On a whim last weekend, we decided to go to Bald Head.  No one was using the house, the weather report was excellent, and we hadn't been in a while (in fact, Henry's been 3 times - including this trip -  since he's been born).  Things were a little hectic packing and trying to get everything together at the last minute, but once we got there it was more than worth it.  Matt and I realized that this was actually the first time we've taken a trip with just the three of us - with no helpful grandparents, aunts or uncles around.  We are always extremely thankful for time spent with family, but it was nice to have a weekend with just us.  Bald Head is always gorgeous, no matter the season, but this weekend it was particularly beautiful.  We could not have ordered more perfect weather, especially for November.

Henry is an excellent baby, however he is not a terrific car rider just yet.  I honestly think he gets bored.  He has to ride facing the back seat, so there's not much to see, and he's all by himself back there.  I mean, I get bored on long car rides...of course he does too!  Once we got to the ferry landing and he was able to get out of his seat and into the stroller, he was fine.  It was pretty chilly Friday night when we arrived, so I had him all bundled up.  Isn't he a cute little Eskimo?

So happy to be out of the car!
There was a little snafu with the downstairs heat in the house on Friday, so Henry ended up sleeping upstairs in the middle of the den that night.  The beauty of Pack 'n Plays is that it doesn't matter where you put them though.  He didn't know the difference and slept soundly (and warmly!). 

I really can say that now, at 9 months, we have a routine.  A good solid routine - with naps and everything!  It took us a while to get there, but we are there.  Henry was up and at 'em around 7:30am.  We had breakfast and he tried out his new seat I'd bought him for the beach house...

Works perfectly!
It was great.  We played and then around 9:30am he usually takes a nap, so I put him back down and he slept for two hours.  It was great. 

That afternoon, Matt wanted to fish on the beach, so we packed up and headed down the island.  There are only golf carts on Bald Head, so it makes things a little interesting with a baby, but we managed.  We switched Henry to a "big boy" car seat last week, but we still brought his infant seat on the island.  We can actually buckle it on the golf cart - which makes for safer riding.  You get a lot of strange looks from people though because it just isn't something you see a lot on the island. I also had a blanket over him while he was buckled in, so you couldn't see the seat belt that was holding him, and I got a lot of judgemental looks from people - I think they seriously thought I had just balanced the car seat on the back of the golf cart - ummm..no...I am not that irresponsible...or crazy.  Promise.

See his seat?
However, once he really won't fit in that infant seat, I am not entirely sure what we'll do.  His new car seat is HUGE, and I'm not sure it'll fit on the little backseat of the golf cart.  We'll worry about that when we have to though.  Anyways, Henry actually fell asleep on the way down the island, so (again, love that infant carrier for its convenience) I just carried him down to the beach in it and let him nap al fresco.

Not such a bad place to take a nap!
It was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon.  Matt fished, and once Henry woke up, we played on the sand.  He loved it.  The fishing was successful, the baby was happy and it was peaceful and serene.  Truly a perfect afternoon. 

Napping while Dad fishes.

Just waking up - ready to play!
We had a wonderful time.  It was hard to leave on Sunday (as it always is), but alas, work was calling Monday morning, so we had to go.  I love taking Henry to the beach though. I  know he will have many adventures there in the future and we can't wait to share them with him! 
Kim

Get Low

Well, it has happened...we've officially lowered the crib mattress. 

Case in point:
Hi Mom!
As I mentioned, we've been working with our little guy on pulling up and he's really starting to get the hang of it.  He wasn't consistently making it to his feet in his crib, but he was doing it enough for us to start to worry about the possibility of him tumbling out, so we decided to quit worrying and just fix the problem.  Hence, the lowered mattress.  He can still pull up, but there's no chance of him getting out (yet). 

He's so active these days, especially in his crib.  I tried to put him down a little early for nap yesterday (because I thought he was tired) and he played in his crib for an hour (apparently, he wasn't tired).  He sits up.  He plays with the toy that's attached to the side of his bed.  He gets up on his hands and knees and scoots backwards until he hits the bumper.  He rolls.  I mean, he is all over the place.  He wasn't crying though, so I let me him play.  Eventually, I did go and get him.  We played together for a while and then it really was nap time.  The second time he fell asleep pretty quickly.  He's hilarious to watch though.  I am just thankful that he will play in his crib like that.  He does that most mornings when he wakes up too.  Makes it much easier to get ready in the mornings when the babe's not screaming for you to come and get him. 

Sometimes I look at him and think that he looks like such a little boy these days.  Other times I look and still see our sweet little baby.  It is amazing how quickly they grow - especially in this first year when their development happens so fast.  He's more fun every day though.  He's at a point now where you can really delight in playing with him.  There's nothing better than his smile and that sweet little giggle.  He really is the best.

Kim

It's a Bird, It's a Plane....

...it's Super Henry!

Sorry, I couldn't resist.  Here's our little Superman from Halloween this year.  I loved how this costume worked out for him.  I think it made the perfect first Halloween costume.  We didn't do a lot of trick-or-treating - just visited our buddy, Dean (Henry was petrified of Dean's lion costume) and then headed over to the Richardsons.  It was just enough though - made the costume worth it, and everyone enjoyed seeing him all dressed up. 

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking:

Superman!



Visiting Dean's house.


This is the best picture we got of the two of them together...poor Henry was so scared.  Dean looked adorable though!

The boys!
Happy Halloween!!
Kim

9 months!

Henry officially turned 9 months last week, but he just had his 9-month check-up on Monday, so I wanted to wait until we had his official stats to post.  Our little guy is 19lbs and 30 inches long!  I can definitely tell he's getting heavier when I'm carrying him around, and we've always known he's long.  He measures in the 50th percentile for both weight and head-size, but his length is in the 90th percentile.  Crazy little guy!  I guess that is why none of his pants fit him properly.  He's wearing 9-12 months clothes, but most of the pants are still too big in the waist for him.  His 6 month pants look like capri pants on him though.  C'est la vie.  He still manages to look pretty cute!

Everything else looked good.  He did have to get two shots - his 3rd Hepatitis B and his flu shot, but luckily, he has handled these much better than his previous shots.  They don't seem to bother him at all.  I am so very glad for that!  Interestingly enough, he has to go back and get a second flu shot in a month.  The doctor said that because this is his first time ever getting one, he has to have a "booster" to build up his immunity.  Good to know.  We also found out he has an ear infection.  He was acting a little under the weather this weekend so I am glad to know the reason.  He's on antibiotic and he seems to be feeling better already.  Matt and I were laughing about how amoxicilan has not changed one bit in the 20+ years since we had to take it ourselves.  Funny how that works. 

The doctor did suggest that we work with Henry on pulling up.  We've been practicing and he's already getting the hang of it.  He's still trying his hardest to crawl.  He's definitely at the point where he wants to be mobile and gets frustrated when he can't figure out how to do so.  For the first time this morning, I looked at the monitor when I woke up and he was sitting up in his crib!  I had to laugh and show Matt.  He didn't get any further than sitting, but I know it won't be long before we are lowering his crib mattress. 

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