57 Weeks Old

I had to look back at the previous posts to figure out how many weeks old he is now. Can't I just say 13 months?!? One of his lower teeth has finally poked through. I'm guessing the other one should be here any day now (numbers 7 and 8). I hope he gets a little break before his molars come in, but I bet not. I have a feeling they're already on their way poor guy.

We are continuing with our Thursday morning art class for 4 more weeks (8 total) and adding a "Baby Gym" class starting next Thursday which should be fun (and funny, no doubt). This is to round out his renaissance education which includes the Friday music class... :) The art class is just an opportunity for him to make a gigantic mess that I don't have to clean up. I do try (often in vain) to get him to make handprints with the paint. Sometimes it works.

I'm attaching a video of him pushing the wagon/truck he got for his birthday. Just in the last week he has gotten really good at it; although, as you will see, his steering leaves much to be desired as does my camera work as I attempt to keep up with him and keep him going in our limited amount of space. The other picture is of him yesterday at playgroup.

13 Months Old

...and 56 weeks too, so we'll wrap those milestones up together in this one post. Henry and I took the train up to Seattle on Tuesday to visit Kati and her lovely family. We had such a wonderful time. It was too relaxing for me and I feel badly that I didn't do more to help Kati who is 36 weeks pregnant. The boys loved playing together and Daniel was so patient and caring with Henry. I got a sneak peak at what life with Henry will be like in about a year...VERY ACTIVE!! I only wish I had taken more pictures of the two of them together. However, Eric did get some of them in the bath together which will be awesome for their graduations and weddings. :) Here's one of him on the train and one at Kati's.

Growing Up!

When did Henry go from a baby to a little boy?!? I was comparing pictures taken of him at about 6 months to pictures taken at a year old and the difference is remarkable. Then today I put him in shorts and his new sandals and it struck me again how grown up he looks (relatively speaking, of course!). We are heading up to Seattle tomorrow morning on the train to visit Kati and her family; very much looking forward to it!

55 Weeks Old

I'm cheating a bit with the pictures this week. The bath one was taken on Tuesday and the other one is him at Chevy's restaurant from last Friday. I need to get new batteries for the camera, so those will have to do for now! Henry is getting so much more confident with his standing ability - he cruises easily from couch to table to TV to chair and back around again. He can pull himself up onto just about anything and has discovered how to climb about lots of things. I've taken to putting him in the basket part of the shopping cart lately because he turns himself around and climbs out the backside of the baby-seat part. And he is quick! The funniest thing he is doing this week is making a clicking sound. Brett taught him to call the squirrels by clicking for them; then he has a couple books that have animal sounds and I guess he thought the chickens sound like they're clicking (instead of cluck, cluck) so he clicks whenever we get to those pages in the books.

Easter

Not that we celebrate Easter in the religious sense...just the chocolate rabbits and such. But we did have a lovely lunch/dinner at my dad's house with the usual suspects. Henry loved all the attention and candy! I wish he would have worn the rabbit ears I got him for longer, but he resisted. Maybe next year! Speaking of next year, it's fun to think that next Easter he'll be able to run around and hunt for hidden eggs!

54 Weeks Old!

I'm late, I know. Sorry! I did take these pictures on Thursday, just didn't get around to posting them until today. We are off to the Farmer's Market in the Park Blocks this morning so hopefully it won't rain!

Sunny Days!

Spring in rainy Portland. Oh wait! Not the last three days! Absolutely beautiful weather and no mosquitos or sand gnats biting (like Savannah). Henry and I have been spending a ton of time outside taking advantage of the sun while it lasts. We went up to the zoo today, but it was so crowded that we ended up not going in and instead went to the kids' playground in the Washington Park. We spent about an hour and a half playing and watching all the bigger kids run around. Then we went down the hill to Elephant's Deli and had lunch. Henry held court at a shared table with a group of retired men. They liked watching him eat all the different foods (roasted bell peppers, tomatoes, noodles, etc.) and drinking out of a "real" cup and laughing, laughing, laughing when I played peek-a-boo with him. I'm posting some pictures and a video of him on the swings.

53 Weeks Old

Did I forget to mention that Henry learned how to climb the stairs?!? He was on the 5th step when Brett discovered him. He is going to be in to everything, I can already tell!

One Year Check-Up

Henry went to see his pediatrician today for his one year check-up. Dr. Gopal said he looks great, sounds great, and seems like he's all caught up in terms of growth. So, speaking of growth...he is 31 inches long and weighs 20 pounds 2 ounces. Unadjusted, this puts him in the 85th percentile for length and 13th percentile for weight! LONG and LEAN. I told her that over the last couple weeks I've felt like he's not been gaining enough weight and so we've been trying to pump his diet up with cheeses, butter, cream cheese, etc. I don't weigh him at home, so it was really just a gut feeling that he was growing longer without putting on much weight. She said that despite being in the 13th percentile, his weight is just fine and not to worry, just to continue what we're doing. She said some kids just eat to survive and not much more! Fat is the number one thing he needs in his diet, followed by protein. He really likes most all foods we've given him...he just doesn't eat very much of them! He is still nursing a little bit, but hardly at all any more. We are trying the Dr. Pantley "No Cry" sleep method, so nursing to sleep is a habit that is being phased out. He's getting lots of bumps and bruises as he continues to climb, creep, and crawl to explore the world around him.